Chapter II
Four Letters to Kouko Kaminaga
Entry I
Dearest Kouko-chan,
I've only begun to realize that there are only so many questions that have left me with no answers within the first events of your absence at the Myoujou Academy. Indeed, for instance, I am heavily curious as to where you had gone and how well you are doing after your failed, albeit quite admirable, assassination attempt of Ichinose Haru. I hope that I shall be able to find some peace of mind about you if I keep writing letters to you that your eyes may never rest upon.
It regretfully pains me to say that we have not left any form of contact or communication with each other, though this may only mean that I must cherish the time we had spent together at the Myoujou Academy. I still remember the final moment of your presence as a student of the Black Class, those lovely flowers that were placed upon your desk on the morning after the night of your failed assassination attempt: red spider lilies…
Seeing those flowers, I admit, initially scared me, and they still scare me as I am writing now, for I fear of never meeting you again. Kouko-chan, I'm not sure how well you are fluent in the language of flowers, but let me say that I have experienced enough to understand the meaning of red spider lilies: they essentially represent loss, longing, and death; they are also suitably nicknamed "The Flower of Death." There are various tragic legends and superstitions revolving around this cunning flower, all of which relate to lovers that meet only a set number of times and never see each other again, no matter how strong their promises may be. Thus, the fact that those red spider lilies were before my vision startled me in the high possibility that I will never see you again; it is therefore the death of our paths ever crossing again, to put it more accurately.
At the same time, a part of me fights against this senseless superstition. In our contemporary world, of high-end technology with touch tablets, big screens and social networking, all based upon the purely rational logistics of quantum mechanics, such superstition of never seeing you again is completely laughable. Kouko-chan, as I am writing now, I am sitting at your desk, the desk in which you once sat on to outline your master blueprint in your attempt to assassinate Ichinose. Around me is an oddly calming silence, with 21st century lighting giving radiance onto the pages beneath my hand. Everything manufactured in this room, from the geometrically-minimalistic furniture to the simply-designed curtain linings, is at least less than half a decade old; it feels as though it only means that meeting you again is a possibility worthy enough to believe because such ridiculous superstition is absolutely erroneous.
I shall take a break from writing now, dearest Kouko-chan. I will be back to write more later; this I can easily promise.
Later:
Upon further solitary reflection, I've come to realize that perhaps writing letters to you may be, overall, a silly activity.
Yet I cannot help but feel youthful when I think of you. There is something inherit about you, Kouko-chan, that makes me feel invigorated again. In fact, there is almost a kind of assured promise when I think of you, regardless if we will ever cross paths again. I am even writing you letters in a diary! If that doesn't suggest the attitude of a girlish teenager giddy in love, then I must be a deranged old woman simply desperate to hang onto my remaining remnants of life that I am given…!
Oh my, perhaps I have carried myself away a bit too far…
Well, no matter. Since I highly doubt that your eyes will ever read these words, I give myself permission to release whatever feelings are burning within me, to release it out through the written word so that I may comfort myself. I feel as though the next few entries will be filled with what I thought was unthinkable to speak to another being, especially regarding the feelings I harbor for you.
I must go now, Kouko-chan. I need to make sure everyone has checked into their rooms — as a side note, I have taken your role as class representative and I hope you don't mind — for the night, ready for sleep (sleep calls to me as well), because tomorrow is another round of this playful game in which we were all summoned to accomplish. I wonder if anyone shall attempt to kill Ichinose tomorrow?
Fondly,
Suzu Shutou
Entry II
Dearest Kouko-chan,
It's become a recent habit of mine these days to ponder on your whereabouts now. Wherever you may be, I do not know, and thus, I cannot relate to you in any manner in the present because you are taking part in activities that I cannot understand since I am not there with you. Thus, the only suitable solution I see as fit for this one-sided communication now in this present entry is giving you an update on the Black Class of the Myoujou Academy.
Let me start from the beginning, as more events had happened than I had imagined would be easy to write about.
Soon after you left, Sagae Haruki was the next player of the hunting rounds for Ichinose Haru. At this time, the Black Class was in the midst of a classic Shakespeare production: Romeo and Juliet. Never mind that this play has been overdone to the point of dread and eye-rolling, especially when done by a bunch of high school students with no proper training in acting, though Mizorogi-sensei mentioned it was a requirement to help fulfill the academy's annual culture festival.
And so, we were all given our assignments. If it so interests you, I was given the role of a nurse, a minor role of the production, but my costume was like that of a maid instead. However, the outfit itself was wonderfully sewn by Banba Mahiru; who knew that the girl had such raw talent in designing clothes? Somehow, I wonder what it would be like to appear myself before you in such a costume; I'd hope you'd at the very least appreciate the aesthetics.
Anyway, as we prepared the first day in making the production, we mostly hauled around stage props at the school auditorium. I did my fair share, delivering opened and unopened boxes of fabrics and wood, and in spite of its arduousness, I found the physical work satisfying enough. At this point, I noticed nothing unusual except for Kenmochi Shiena's amazing energy bursts. As Kirigaya Hitsugi and Namatame Chitaru (both playing as Juliet and Romeo respectively) were rehearsing their roles in the famous scene of their evening meeting, Kenmochi kept on exploding like that of a thunderstorm, consistently pounding the two girls for their lack of traits that made a suitable Juliet and Romeo. In Namatame's case, she constantly badgered her for not bringing out the sexiness and manliness that is Romeo; I believe she was asking for a bit too much. I initially found it amusing — Kenmochi is young, after all, and when the young have their powerful streams of youthfulness, there's literally quite nothing that stops their ambition from ever ending. (You, Kouko-chan, are young as well, but you display your ambitions in a far more secluded, esoteric manner… Actually, I find this quality highly attractive, another reason for me to keep you in my thoughts…)
With all of her lively dynamics and vitality, I was sure that it would give her some kind of confidence boost in that she would be able to successfully assassinate Ichinose, but there was no sign of anything yet that indicated Kenmochi was moving forward.
You could only imagine the surprise for all of us the morning afterwards when we found out Sagae Haruki had been eliminated. Of course, we were all surprised to learn of this sudden fact; it was unprepared and offbeat with the expectations I had. Mizorogi-sensei seemed to be hit the most, for not only was Sagae Haruki also suddenly "transferred" out of the class, he also came in the morning babbling on and on about how the stage was ruined because the metal lighting extensions from above had all collapsed onto the floor, ruining all of our hard work we had set up from the day before.
The details of Sagae's assassination attempt aren't too distinct, but from what I gathered, I noticed a red welt line that circled Ichinose's neck, and I deduced that that must have been Sagae's doing. Ichinose did her best to pretend nothing was there, playing like the innocent girl she plays, though the stares at her neck were loud and clear. Of course, Azuma Tokaku was guarding her like a dog, and it wouldn't have done any good to question the welt mark considering that an Azuma was there anyway.
Later, as we arrived to the school auditorium, Mizorogi-sensei kept clamoring about how all of our "perfect" work was gone and that he was deeply sorry we would have to waste time to repair everything. I managed to whisper to Hashiri Nio during the time if anything had happened the night before regarding Sagae, Ichinose and Azuma; the blonde merely smiled and shrugged my question off, but it only confirmed my suspicions that the struggle had definitely taken place at the school auditorium. Meanwhile, Ichinose seemed cautious about the stage setting when we first arrived there as a class; she kept glancing up, as if to check that nothing was falling on her. On multiple occasions, I recognized Azuma glancing furtively up with Ichinose, and then turning back to reassure her that everything was stable and safe.
As of now, things have resumed back to the way they were, if you exclude Sagae's new absence and that Kenmochi is still raging on about the production thus far. To my knowledge so far, no one has sent out an advance notice to Ichinose, whether privately or publicly.
I am still tempted to bet that Kenmochi is concocting something currently. Perhaps she is giving out the advance notice now in private while the rest of the Black Class is in their dorms, waiting for the next day. Of course, Kouko-chan, I will update you on the latest when I get new information.
Speaking of which, tomorrow is the day of the production. I'm not sure what to expect out of tomorrow, but whatever it is, I can feel its excitement already hammering within the Black Class.
Later:
I can't sleep.
It's as simple as that, I really can't sleep.
Kouko-chan, even though tomorrow is a big day, and I should be getting as much sleep as I possibly should to make sure I am prepared for the production tomorrow, I still can't help but stay up at night to continue writing to you.
I am thinking of you, if that is why you're wondering I have stayed up late.
Though we barely know each other, I have wondered without any shame: What was your wish? If you had successfully assassinated Ichinose Haru, what would be your wish?
Kouko-chan, though your eyes may never read these words, I am ready to tell you my wish if I were to succeed in assassinating Ichinose.
To be sure: Suzu Shutou is my real name and I use my real name under the most careful circumstances. This is something that I have always been sure of, no matter how old I've grown.
I was born with an extremely rare condition: Highlander's syndrome. This syndrome prevents your body from physically aging as time goes by, and because this syndrome is so rare, even the world's leading biologists and geneticists still can't figure out this complicated problem, especially due to the lack of good numbers of people born with this disorder.
I am also not fifteen years old. I have appeared to be fifteen years old for at least over a hundred years now. I was born during the Meiji Restoration era, in the year of 1880. (A side note — I often lie to others about the date of my birth year, claiming to have "forgotten" when in reality, I choose rather not reveal my personal details so freely.)
A long time ago, when I was truly young, a child younger than ten years of age, I had a very good friend. We only parted with each other when necessary, for he and I were very close with each other. The funny thing was (and we used to joke about it so often), I was one year older than him, and our birthdays were only separated by a day. My birthday was on July 14, while his was on July 15; since this strange circumstance had happened, we would always joke about how I was always going to be one year older than him, no matter how hard he tried to catch up to me in age. Jokes like this were some of the little things that kept our bond strong; we were such good friends that our families and acquaintances had thought we would eventually fall in love and get married, and I wholeheartedly believed it myself.
It never happened.
As the years grew by, he grew older and older, and I stayed forever young and fifteen. When he needed to find a wife to start his own family, I was not allowed to marry due to my youthful looks, deemed too young for a man like him. For this, I had to part my ways with him, only allowed to see him during certain times throughout my life. And it wasn't just him; it was the rest of my family members and friends as well. My mother and father left me, as did my other siblings and my closest friends, having all gone ahead before I.
This experience left me in ruins, and while they say time mends the wounds of the past, it has never mended my wounds for me. I have not been healed by time at all; I have only grown used to the wounds that still bleed even today in 2014.
So now what?
Well, putting it more into a modern perspective, my wish (should I succeed in assassinating Ichinose) is to find a cure to my burdensome syndrome. I'd wish for the world's finest researchers, doctors, scientists, whomever it takes to cure me of my disorder. Then, I'd be able to age normally and die at last. As you can see, this is not an instant suicide wish; I have no wish to jump off a cliff and die instantly.
However, I still have my doubts. Even if I succeed, can my wish be granted with full satisfaction? I have kept up to the latest in science and technology, especially in regards to the human body. There has not been much regarding the Highlander syndrome, and I find it more often reported in the news media of scientists actually discovering ways to reverse aging. It pains me, for I am a part of a quiet, highly underrepresented minority who does not want to remain young forever…
I plan on sending my advance notice to Ichinose soon. I found a nice tropical paradise the other day resting within the Myoujou Academy, and I have decided that it is here where my attempt in assassinating Ichinose will occur. The plan is glamorously fun, and I will write more tomorrow in full description.
Kouko-chan, as I write these words now, I am tired… I will be back to write more another time, but now, I am exhausted, and after having written these words down on paper, I have made a considerably empty space within myself that requires a fair amount of personal reflection… I bid you a goodnight, wherever you may be. Sleep well.
Fondly,
Suzu Shutou
Entry III
Dearest Kouko-chan,
What a surprise of events! Three players have been eliminated from the game! This has been quite an adventure thus far: Kenmochi Shiena, Kirigaya Hitsugi and Namatame Chitaru have all been eliminated within twenty-four hours!
I seem awfully strange right now, don't I? I'm not one in normal support of killing games, but I would be lying if I said that this assassination game didn't thrill me. Imagine, though, three assassins out within a day! And Ichinose Haru, the target, still lives!
Kenmochi Shiena was the first to go, with Mizorogi-sensei saying that she had to be hospitalized suddenly last night, around the same time as I was writing to you. This morning on the big day, she was gone, which naturally made Mizorogi-sensei upset, but he prevailed without any further problem. His insistence was admirable, and his words still ring within my ears: "For her sake, as well as ours, let's make sure this play is a success today!"
Everyone in the class instinctively thought that it was Azuma who had naturally done something to protect Ichinose, but I thought it was a bit out of character for someone like her to have taken down Kenmochi with a poisonous needle. It also turned out that Kenmochi had also issued her advance notice last night, but that had no impact on the fact that she was eliminated.
Meanwhile, as the day rolled on, I told myself I would discover as much as I could to discover the truth about what happened with Kenmochi, but it seemed that there were more events to take place before I could make the next move on my own.
As we were in the middle of our play, I was out on stage along with Kirigaya and Hanabusa (playing as Juliet's mother), acting out a scene upon where Juliet gets admonished by her mother for falling in love with Romeo. It was going smoothly until Azuma came abruptly onstage, with no forewarning, carrying Ichinose in her arms, placing her directly next to Mizorogi-sensei in the audience. Without any care of the large amount of attention she garnered, she proceeded to have a sword-fight with Namatame, claiming to be her opponent. At that point, I thought perhaps Namatame had sent her advance notice to Ichinose, but even Hashiri was surprised to learn this, saying a makeshift statement about how Romeo would fight Tybalt (Azuma) for Juliet.
In the end, the sword-fight eventually led outside of the school grounds, relieving us of our worries in case any physical fighting would actually occur on the stage. As the production called for a short intermission, Kirigaya went out to stop the two from further fighting, but not before notifying Hashiri that she knew she was going to fail her assassination attempt. Hashiri, in the meantime, was eager to distract Mizorogi-sensei from finding out the truth between the sudden, unplanned fight between Azuma and Namatame, buying Kirigaya enough time to bring them back and leaving me to figure out the pieces of the puzzle I had gathered so far.
(If I were to talk of my thoughts at this point, it would still be incomplete and incomprehensible, so I shall continue with the events that happened afterward.)
Eventually, Hashiri led me in on much of the details that I was missing. Apparently, Namatame Chitaru was not interested in killing Ichinose Haru so much, for her target was Angel's Trumpet. For whatever reason, I probably will never fully know, as Hashiri herself isn't so clear on why Namatame is so adamant after her as well. To Namatame's misunderstanding, she had thought Ichinose was the Angel's Trumpet, though it turned out to be Kirigaya instead. This only made the irony so terribly bittersweet!
When the intermission was finished, and the play arrived to a scene where Juliet was ready to drink her potion given by Friar Laurence (Hashiri), there was one final moment of surprise.
Namatame walked out on the stage as Kirigaya was ready to drink the prop potion, carrying a bottle of poison in her hand as she was doing so. As Kirigaya admitted that it was her potion —also saying that the two were truly enemies and could not be with each other — Namatame suddenly pulled out a knife, ready to take her life. Thankfully, Inukai had blinded the lights upon the two on the stage, preventing anyone from seeing the blood that escaped Kirigaya.
When the stabbing was done, Hashiri walked out, still playing as Friar Laurence, explaining Kirigaya's wish (which was to escape with Namatame once all of this was finished, a perfect coincidence in that both Juliet and Romeo wanted to escape their families to be with each other). Overcome with tremendous emotion, Namatame only felt it was reasonable to take the poison she had found within Kirigaya's belongings and ingest it herself, thus causing her death as well.
By now, witnessing this was rather the emotional journey in a day; I can't recall a moment in my life when such love and emotion and adrenaline had ever been rushing so much in my system, and I only wished that perhaps you could have been there with me to have experienced the thrill of it all along with the rest of us… or, with me, at the very least.
I will be back to write more, dearest Kouko-chan… Right now, I am a bit exhausted from all the writing I have done, but my urge to continue writing to you has not stopped. (My duties as the new class representative call to me anyway.) I will be back to write again.
Later:
As of yesterday night, I remember telling you that I was planning to send my advance notice soon. In fact, I have decided that tomorrow after class, I will attempt my assassination of Ichinose Haru. One might think, "Don't you think it's a bit too much, especially right after the Romeo and Juliet production?"
It might be a bit too much, but it only serves to make this killing game all the more exciting!
I have not even told Hashiri Nio yet about my plans, nor have I told her about my wish, for she shall be in surprise too.
Anyway, my plans for tomorrow shall take place in a tropical haven, a wonderful side of paradise in this chic academy. Remember how we used to take walks throughout the Myoujou Academy, Kouko-chan? Well, even after your "transferring," I continued participating in this walks alone, and I found this delightful little wonderland comprised of swimming pools and slides, as well as a mini-tropic forest, all under one of the academy's glass domes. Upon discovering this haven, I immediately knew it was here where I wanted to set up my assassination attempt, for I knew this would be perfect: a game within a game.
I asked Mizorogi-sensei to reserve this paradise for our class for a set number of days, and I would eventually pick one certain day to use my chance in killing Ichinose. It turned out that I'll be using the paradise immediately rather than waiting for the days to go by. Perhaps I am being impatient?
Moving on, while everyone is changing into bathing suits to enjoy themselves, I will give myself the opportunity to strap a small, but effective, bomb around Ichinose's neck. It won't explode immediately, but I have programmed a code in there to prevent the bomb from going off. There are three chances to get the code right; if all three codes are entered incorrectly, Ichinose is gone. If there are no attempts to defuse the bomb, it will still explode by the time midnight has arrived.
The code is a four-digit number, and I have used regular playing cards as numbers scattered around the paradise for Ichinose and Azuma to find, hints written in the advance notice. If the two find all of the cards, well, that would mean they would have to guess correctly to put the code in. The hints are riddles all meant to be figurative, for it's much too easy to mistake the cards for their supposed whereabouts when their actual location lies completely elsewhere.
Yes, I suppose an easier way of doing it is just having the bomb strapped around Ichinose's neck and finishing it at that, completed with merely an automated detonation. I wouldn't need to set up the code, nor would I need to set up an elaborate game. But it wouldn't be much fun, and I believe that not even having a game and finishing up the target right there simply adds no excitement.
Well, we shall see how things go for tomorrow. Azuma may be an Azuma, but it is clear how much she is a dog, for she is blind to many aspects about life itself as dogs are wont to be.
Kouko-chan, I should probably be heading for sleep now. I will be making my move in this killing game tomorrow, and I should be wise enough to take the advice that I should rest my body before this big day.
Fondly,
Suzu Shutou
Entry IV
Dearest Kouko-chan,
This may or may not be my final letter to you.
Today is July 14, so yes, it is my birthday today. How old am I, then? I am 134 years old… How strange. I am a 134-year-old woman inside a 15-year-old's body.
Kouko-chan, as I write now, it is early morning, and classes are to begin shortly. I will quickly proceed my activities for the day and continue my plans.
Odd, if I were to succeed in assassinating Ichinose Haru today. Then, I would essentially be receiving a birthday wish, wouldn't I… How reminiscent of my childhood. I have not recalled a day in my recent past where I have gotten anything for my birthday.
I have told you of my past, the basic summary of my life thus far. I have never revealed this classified to anyone else, never mind another young girl like yourself in which I feel so warmly attracted to. My entire life as of right now is at stake, and I somehow relish this moment, this excitement which I feel pulsing throughout my body. Imagine, me, succeeding! If I succeed, then I could perhaps finally go on and live a normal life in growing old and dying normally, and knowing this serves me great pleasure and joy.
I want to continue writing more to you, but my hunting round is coming sooner than I think it is, and it would be best to leave now for today.
Fondly,
Suzu Shutou
A few things to keep in mind:
(a) Future chapters will be much longer, because this /pathetic/ author here has decided to write a frickin' intense epic about Kouko and Suzu, something that didn't happen out of her original intention.
(b) This chapter was written while I was drunk on apple juice, so my brain was half-dead. If there are any errors, kindly point them out in the reviews so that I may fix them at a later time.
(c) This is probably due to my laziness to individually PM everyone, and also because I was not expecting so many favorites/follows to sprout upon releasing only the first chapter (and PMing everyone would consume too much of my limited time), so: to everyone who is interested, thanks a lot for showing your interest in my fanfiction/writing. I'm not sure how else to express my gratitude other than that I hope I don't let you down, and that this may eventually bring you satisfaction in one form or another.
(d) This chapter was delayed because I was heavily jet-lagged after coming back to the States (I traveled to a country in Europe for my summer thing, let's leave it at that), so I'm sorry about the late chapter. I ended up sleeping a couple of days away because of my unpleasing sleep debt.
(e) I have tremendous upcoming headcanons reserved for Kouko and Suzu in the next chapters, so bear with me if anything here still seems boring by any chance.