Tokaku fell to the ground sobbing. She balled her eyes out; the tears streamed down her face and plummeted to the earth below mixing with the puddles. Her skirt, her knees, and he shoes – they all muddied as she sunk deeper into the fresh mud. She was alone in this grassy knoll, not that it would have mattered if there were people around or not. She was inconsolable. Beyond comforting. She was alone now. More alone than she had ever been.
She wept because there was nothing else she could do. She didn't think she would bother seeking out the chairwoman. She had no wish to be granted. Of course, the deal of the Black Class was that if the objective was accomplished, then they would grant your very wish, but this was just another lie. Not all wishes could be granted. Tokakau's wish was amongst the impossible, and she knew very well that it was. For her wish was dead. The person who she wanted the most was dead. Haru was dead, and her blood was on Tokaku's hands. Tokaku balled, choking on her own tears. Gradually she arose from her prostate position, fresh mud dripping off her knees and clothes as she did so. She put her legs into motion and like an automaton she walked back to her dormitory, sobbing all the way.
That thought in particular was what made this ordeal the most potent kind of hell. It would've been easier if she simply failed, if Isuke, Haruki, Banba or any of the rest had just simply killed got past her and killed Haru. At least then she would have some purpose, seek out some cold-blooded revenge. She would have some outlet now to express her hatred and her rage into. It would've been easier if she failed. But she didn't. She succeeded, and now Tokaku will have to live with that forever. It was a pyric victory, but there were no spoils to reap.
Tokaku barged through her door, and instinctively slammed it behind her. She couldn't decide what to do. She wasn't even thinking of what to do. All she could do was look around and see the ghosts of Haru everywhere. They were everywhere. They were sitting on the beds. They were sitting on the sofas. They were at the tables. They were at the windows. And they each looked at her and smiled. Haru was always smiling. Tokaku wept. Tokaku remembered reading once that often traumatic events were hazy in the memories of those who experienced them. But not for her. No, she remembered the moment well. Too well. She recalled the moment where the knife plunged into her with complete lucidity. She remembered the sound it made – it made her nauseous. The event played itself out in her mind's eye, much to her dismay. Haru was everywhere. The blood was everywhere. She was in hell.
"What have I done?" Tokaku mumbled. She yelled, "Oh dear God! What have I done!?" And then she collapsed on the floor and cried some more. "I killed her. I killed her," she mumbled to the floor. Her phone buzzed and instinctively she reached into her pocket and checked it. It was a text from Kaiba. Tokaku snapped. "Oh, I don't have time for your bullshit!" Tokaku mumbled before throwing her mobile across the carpet. "This is all your fucking fault!" she yelled. She sobbed more, turned on her back and repeated, "All your fucking fault." And then she said, "Fuck you. Fuck the lot of you."
She stopped crying, and somehow found the energy to crawl across the floor into her bedroom and into bed. "Haru," she sobbed out, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Haru." This took up the final remainder of her stamina and she closed her eyes and she passed out. And her sleep was disturbingly comfortable, more comfortable than she felt she deserved.
She awoke. It was nighttime. Tokaku looked and saw that she was in a bed. Haru's bed. Her aurora radiated still through the sheets. Her presence lingered still, but it was no fitting substitute. It was just another ghost. She must have dragged herself into this bed subconsciously. Tokaku assessed this because she actually had no real idea how she came to be back in the room. She had but faint memories of the walk back. She remembered the silence. Usually, there was some activity as the cavalcade of characters meshed and interacted with each other. But now she was alone. Her wailing must have been the only sound in the past few hours.
She arose from the bed, and stood there. Tokaku wasn't certain of whether or not she was through with her weeping. She felt dried up, but she wasn't sure. She never really cried before. She never really had a reason to before now. At the present moment, Tokaku felt empty. She had never felt so alone and empty. Like a shell. An eggshell that had been cracked open, and from the wound poured out the yoke. Tokaku was a broken, empty eggshell. She didn't even know why she came back here. There was nothing now. No reason to be here.
'She's gone,' she thought. 'There's no point. She's gone.'
Tokaku looked around and saw Haru's knapsack that she used for class.
'What's that sticking out of it?' she asked. She went over and pulled out the book. It was a copy of the Shakespeare play they performed in the year. Romeo and Juliet. Tokaku recalled the incident - with Hitsugi and Chitaru. She remembered when Hitsugi killed herself, and then Chitaru followed suit. Haru had been devastated by that moment for a while afterwards. She was always sensitive to things like that. Tokaku admitted that she didn't really feel any particular way about the affair. She was only interested in defending Haru, and if two assassins wanted to wipe each other out then her task was simplified. Tokaku remembered feeling relieved that three enemies were taken out that day. Now, she felt a little guilty for having those feelings. Now, she could understand what it was like to be a star-crossed lover. She was Romeo now. Or Juliet. Hell, she was both of them.
'At least we're not starring in it,' Tokaku said to Haru. Her roommate was ecstatic as usual over the play. 'Oh, come on! Don't be like that, Tokaku-san,' Haru replied, cheerily as usual. 'It's only normal to want the starring role.'
'Well, I'm not normal then. This whole thing is a complete waste of time. Plus, there are so many vantage points for the others. I'm just glad we have our more trivial parts and we'll be done quic-' 'Oh, I think I know what it is!' Haru smirked.
'What are you talking about?'
'You're stage shy, aren't you, Tokaku-san?'
'Eh!?'
'I never would've figured it before, but now I get it!'
Tokaku blushed. Haru was more perceptive than she often gave her credit for.
'No, I'm not.'
'Yes, you are! Admit it!' Haru poked her teasingly.
'Knock that off or I'll kill you myself.' Tokaku said, intending to be playful, but her tone was filled with the usual, cynical sombriety.
'Oh, you shouldn't make jokes like that, Tokaku-san! Anyway, I'm sure you'll be fine. I should be much more worried. I'm not good at sword-fighting, but you've been doing it all your life! You'll be a natural!'
Haru smiled. She always does. Tokaku smiled faintly herself. 'It's okay,' she said. I'll instruct you.'
'Really?' Haru's eyes glimmered and her smile grew wider. The assassin blushed.
'But not for this stupid play but because you might actually be able to defend yourself and not be so useless for a change!'
'Buu- I don't know why you bothered to become my protector if you're going to be so mean! Anyway, we need to practice or else we'll fail. Now, which character am I again?'
'You're Mercutio. And I'm Tybalt.' the bluenette responded. Tokaku had the leading line. They positioned themselves to start, but Tokaku paused before starting. 'It's just that,' she sighed, 'I've never actually performed in front of people before. I mean, I've done demonstrations and things for my training, but never, you know, this.' Haru smiled.
'It's okay! I've done plays before! There's nothing to it. Just think of it as another demonstration for assassinry or whatever.' Tokaku's fears subsided. The two practiced their scene. Tybalt stabbed Mercutio, and he fell.
Tokaku reread the scene. And then she dropped the book. And suddenly it all made sense. It all made perfect sense. Was it really a coincidence that the Black Class practiced this play out of all the plays ever written – a play about star-crossed lover's? And not only that, but that they out of everyone were selected to play Tybalt and Mercutio. Hell, the play was about two people destined to die through their meeting. And throughout the whole time of the Black Class, every event had been shaped by the-
'It was rigged from the start!' Tokaku realized. "The whole time – the chairwoman – she's been … she's been playing us. She made me do this. I've been an actor the whole time!"
"She wanted me … to be the one to kill her."
And Tokaku fell prostrate once more. And she once again wept. She killed Haru because it made sense to. She had to see if she genuinely loved her or if she was just a pawn. She thought that by killing her she would prove that she had independence. But now she realized that she had no independence. She was still a mere pawn. Her reasoning was illegitimate. She had killed Haru for nothing.
Tokaku assessed her situation. Although she felt rage towards the supreme murderess, she knew the situation. There was no hope of ever exacting a revenge scheme. The chairwoman governed the entire world and had an inestimable amount of manpower at her disposal. Even as of now she has probably moved away into the shadows forever gone from the world of light. Tokaku did not feel that revenge could be done, and even if it could be exacted, Yuri Meichi's blood sacrifice would not renew Haru's life.
Haru. That was all she could think about. She didn't want vengeance. It violated her every impulse, but she didn't. She simply wanted Haru. She wanted her company, her reunion.
Tokaku looked up and saw something steel on their table. The steel glittered from the moonlight shining in through the windowpane. Tokaku recognized it – it was her favorite possession. It was her knife. Tokaku smiled. There was only one thing left to do. The only thing she could do. The only thing that mattered now. She rose up and walked slowly in the darkness towards the moonlit table. She reached into the beam of light and retrieved her knife.
She was going to do it. She was going to kill herself. She had too. There was no alternative. It was pre-written after all. It was time to finish the play.
She flashed back to a class at the Private Academy 17 and she remembered Kaiba teaching her about seppuku- ritualistic suicide. An honorable killing. But there was no need for fanciful rituals today. She didn't even need them. The cold steel penetrating her flesh and the blood that would flow from it – that would be purification enough. That would be redemption.
She held up her dagger and faced the blade towards her. Tokaku was an expert in human anatomy – she knew where to thrust. Right into her heart, a slow death – one she deserved. The moment had come and she was ready. She fell to her knees once more – her final bow.
"Haru," she whispered as she raised her dagger into the perfect position. "I'm so sorry. I love you, and we'll be together again soon."
But as Tokaku's eyes locked with the sharp precipice of her blade, she was disturbed by a tapping at their door.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! She heard the tapping and she became curious. Her curiosity overwhelmed her suicidal tendency. Because who could it have been? Everyone was gone and she was the only one here. She was the only one left who even knew about this part of the school.
The tapping rapped again. Tokaku wondered if she should ignore it and go on with her business. 'If I carry this out it won't even matter who it is.' She tried to reshift her focus back solely onto the tip of her knife, but she couldn't maintain it. She couldn't explain it, but something was moving her to answer. Something beyond plain curiosity. A spiritual force was summoning her.
TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! The tapping increased in timbre. She got up and through the darkened room she approached the door.
TAP! TAP! A couple more taps sounded before she turned the doorknob. The tappings stopped. Tokaku paused for just a brief second, and then she pulled a wide her chamber door.
And before her, indeed, was a terrible premonition.
"You," she said to the phantom that stood before her. "How? I killed you. You we're dead." She stepped back in a bit of shock.
"Hello Tokaku-san," said the cheery blonde.
"No! You died! I stabbed you!"
"Well, I guess I just have muscles and bones of steel!" She smiled as she jokingly flexed her arms. "Like Superman," she laughed.
Tokaku remained in shock. She breathed heavily. Feelings of rage gradually returned to her and coursed through her blood.
"I came to talk to you. Hope this isn't a bad time. Do you mind if I come in-?" she was cut off by the sensation of cold steel to the throat.
"I should've checked your pulse. Assassination 101. But now I'm not distracted. So, this time I'll be sure to verify."
"Now, come now," Nio said undaunted. "We can talk about this, I'm sure. Like two civilized people." Nio smiled. She put up her hands. "I'm unarmed, see? All I want to do is talk to you."
"Don't give me that bullshit. I'm not civilized, and neither are you." Tokaku frisked her enemy. When she was certain that she was unarmed. She withdrew her knife and stood out of the blonde's way. Nio took this as an invitation.
She bopped her way over to the lounge chair and sat down in it, all smiles as if nothing had happened. Tokaku turned on the table lamps. The room became illuminated, but the shadows still remained strong. She sat on the sofa and simply stared down her guest.
"May I have some tea or-?"
"No."
The awkward silence resumed.
"Why?" Tokaku finally asked.
"Pardon."
"Why did you have to live and she had to die. It would've made me so much happier to know that you were at least buried."
"Ah, now come on now! Is that anyway to talk to a guest?"
"Haru is dead, and it's all your fault. You and your boss."
Nio feigned offense. "Um, I'm sorry? Last time I checked YOU were the one who thrust that dagger into her. Not me! Hell, I was actually trying to protect her from you! I mean, it was a long time ago, I know, but I believe that WAS how that little incident played itself out."
"It didn't play itself out! Don't give me any of that shit. It was all pre-determined from the start. Me falling in love with Haru, it was all a part of the plan. That chairwoman of yours wanted me to be her killer."
"Um, I'm sorry. You were at the meeting, right? Haru was the next in line for the premiership, Tokaku, or did you forget that? So why would Meichi-san want Haru dead? They're family, after all."
"I don't know why you did. That's the only part I can't figure out. Power or something." Tokaku pointed her accusatory finger at the minion. "But you did. I'm sure of that. I've been noticing all the signs! The play we did? Romeo and Juliet! And Haru and I playing Mercutio and Tybalt. Your boss of yours was guiding the two of us to that point! So, you may have used me as your instrument, but you still killed her."
"Wait, hold up! So, you're basing this conclusion of yours on a play? On a school play you did for some class credit? Wow, you legit sound like a madman. I hope you know that! Is this really what love does to people?"
Nio stared at the somber assassin. Her face didn't flinch.
"Tokaku, the play was decided by the Mizorogi-san himself. Meichi-san didn't involve herself in the trivialities of his lesson plan. Yeah, you're right about us expecting someone to volunteer her services to Haru, but we didn't know it was going to be you. How could we do that, I mean realistically? And you proved us wrong! Haru never had a hold on you."
Tokaku was quiet. Her face was stone. Nio did start to feel a little fearful. Tokaku was no truly unpredictable. "In fact, we're all a little bummed out that you were right because now the Black Class was kind of all for nothing, really. We're going to have to do all that work all over again and find a new Queen Bee candidate and assemble a new class together and it's going to be a lot of-"
"You should've died. You deserve to." Tokaku and Nio looked at each other in silence.
"Well, you are just really rude today. What did I do now?"
"Just everything about you. You're evil. You deserve death. And don't think I'm just knocking you. I deserve it, too. We both do. What is the point of us? Both of our families are dead from our line of work. You just got lucky and got picked up by bigger people. You mislead people and get them to kill each other for your amusement."
Tokaku looked away from her and out the window. She stared up at the moon.
"But at least all those people volunteer for your slaughterhouse. I became even worse. I convinced an innocent girl to die for me. She never did anything, and I still killed her … I-" She choked up a bit. Tokaku tried to maintain her composure. She wasn't alone now. She was vulnerable. "I killed her, and there's nothing…there's nothing." She stared down, but she held her tears. She held onto them the best she could.
"Well," Nio said. She rose up and clapped her hands together. "I see that you're going to be busy listening to some grunge and slitting your wrists, so I won't delay you any longer. This has been a fascinating existentialist discussion, but unfortunately solipsism is not a part of my job description. So, I'll have to leave you be." And Nio left the room and went out into the dark hallways.
And Tokaku was alone again, but not for very long. As she was about to cry again, she was disturbed once more. Nio came rushing back into the room.
"I'm sorry for bothering you again, Tokaku-san, but I'm afraid that I completely forgot the reason I even came here for! My apologies, but I'm still recovering. I was dead a few hours ago as you know."
Tokaku put her hands up to her face. A few small tears streamed past her palms. "Oh my God! What do you want?"
"Me? Nothing. It's just unfortunately due to recent circumstances that we couldn't have predicted, we have to withdraw your wish and expel you from Class Black. The Premier extends her sincerest apologies."
Tokaku stopped crying. She pulled her hands away and looked up at the blonde.
"I'm sorry. What?"
"We have to expel you from Class Black due to recent developments-"
"Yeah, I get that. What developments?"
Nio smirked. She couldn't contain her laughter anymore. "Well, you see – about five hours ago, Haru regained consciousness, hehehe," Nio chuckled. Tokaku's face was as golden as she imagined it to be. "So, since your attempt failed, we have to withdraw your wish. Nio was about to roar with laughter. Tokaku grabbed her, cutting her off.
"Why didn't you just tell me that from the start?" Tokaku yelled. Some spittle hit the blonde's face.
"Disgusting! Say it Tokaku, don't spray it."
"Damn you, why didn't you tell me this earlier!"
"Because it's so damn funny!"
Tokaku threw the blonde out of the way and rushed for the door.
"Do you even know the name of the hospital?" Nio chuckled.
Tokaku got the name from her and then she rushed out.