I'm trapped.
There's no escape.
I fall deeper into despair as these thoughts cover my mind. How could this happen to me?
"Ugh..."
I can feel sweat rolling down my forehead. I can't keep this up for much longer...
Mayuri...
I'm sorry.
"Okarin! Here's another bag!" Mayuri says cheerfully, shoving another bag full of cosplay supplies on top of my arms.
"Gah... M-Mayrui! I'm at my limit here! If my arms are crushed under these weights, the organization will be quick to take advantage and kidnap me! I would be forced to rely on wit alone to escape their agents."
"Ummm... Kyouma, I can carry some bags for you if you want." Rukako had been dragged along this shopping expedition by Mayuri as well. Even after what surely must be hundreds of rejections, she still tries to get Rukako to cosplay.
"Ah, Rukako. I am fully capable of carrying these burdens myself."
"Are you sure?"
"... Well, if you are offering, perhaps you could help me with one or two bags." I say with a red face.
Even though Rukako had volunteered, my pride still suffered damage, as if I had forced her to help.
Wait, he's a guy.
Or, he used to be a guy. We turned him into a girl with that D-mail.
Bah, this is getting to complicated.
"Rukako!" Mayuri held a skimpy dress up to Rukako's face. "You would look so cute in something like this!"
"Mayuri... It would be embarrassing to wear that in public." Rukako says with a downcast expression.
"Awwwww... But you would be so popular!" Mayuri pouts and turns to me. "Okarin, wouldn't Rukako look so cute?"
"Yeah, sure. Are you about finished shopping yet?" Honestly, I wasn't paying to much attention to their conversation. I was just concentrating on not dropping anything with the overflowing bundle of supplies in my arms.
"Eh? Kyouma...?" Rukako stares at me, blushing furiously.
Then, I realized what I had agreed to.
"Oh, that is... ah I mean..." I fumbled over my words.
"Cute is Justice!" Mayuri chirps.
I sigh. This was going to be a long day.
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"Look here, Okabe." Kurisu pointed at the Phonewave's inner parts. She had opened a side panel, exposing its components.
Kurisu had finally finished upgrading the Phonewave. After she was done, she called me on the phone to come to the lab and look at it. I knew that it was impossible for it to be damaged, but I just wanted to see it for myself.
"I put the finishing touches on the Phonewave. As you can see, no broken wires." Kurisu said.
"So this means that it really doesn't carry over damage from timelines."
"That's what I told you! Are you saying you didn't believe me?" Kurisu huffs and glares at me.
"Hey, I'm just telling you what happened! It's not like I wanted you to be wrong."
"It was probably just unfinished in the previous world line. You rushed me out of the lab, correct? Maybe I was planning to double check the Phonewave, but couldn't and missed something." Kurisu turns her attention from the Phonewave to me. "Anyway, what I really want to talk to you about is Mayuri. Does she really die today?"
I put my hand up to my head. Again, I was forced to face the grim truth of this situation. "If this timeline is anything like the other two, then yes. Moeka and her men break into this lab at around 8 and shoot her. Even if I take Mayuri away, the Rounders find us anyway! She just... dies."
Suddenly, I hear a loud clanking noise outside.
"Huh?" I rush to the window. I see Suzuha, with her bike on the ground next to her.
"Suzuha?"
Her pale face meets mine. She's trembling.
Crap. She must have heard me.
Suddenly, she picks up her bike and speeds away!
"Wha- Hey Suzuha wait!" I shout. But it was no use. She was already almost out of sight.
I curse and run out the door to run after her.
"Okabe, what are you doing?!" Kurisu shouts at me.
I don't respond. Judging by Suzuha's reaction, she must have overheard me. This was all too suspicious. Suzuha is obviously not who she says she is. Being able to disarm those armed men, and claiming that Kurisu is a SERN spy was enough to raise my suspicions. If she knew something that could help Mayuri, then I have to go after her!
As I run in the direction Suzuha went, I pull up my phone to try and call Suzuha. Perhaps I could convince her to talk to me.
...
...
...
She picked up!
"Suzuha! I need to ask you something!" I shout while running.
"... I'm sorry." Suzuha sounds defeated for some reason. "It's probably my fault."
"What?"
"It's because I depended on you guys... So I'm going, this time for sure. Bye."
What the hell is she talking about?
"Wait Suzu-" She hangs up on me.
Damn! I guess I have no choice but to chase her after all.
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Finally, after some running around, I notice that the satellite on Radio Kaikan's roof was glowing. There were revolving lights on. Several onlookers were pointing at it and gasping in surprise.
Was Suzuha in the satellite? In a previous timeline, Suzuha had run away just like this time during the rain. Right after she did, the satellite had vanished. That could be written off as a coincidence, but it was happening twice in a row!
Wait a minute. She's also related to John Titor, wasn't she? Suzuha said that her father went by the name of Barrel Titor. The same last name as Titor... What if...
Was the satellite a time machine?
Empowered by these thoughts, I rush into the building. I have to stop her before she travels through time!
As subtly as possible, I started moving to the entrance of Radio Kaikan.
Since everyone was distracted by the lights, I managed to get to the stairs easier then expected. Jumping up the steps, I make my way to where the satellite was. On the 8th floor, there was a silhouette moving around inside of the satellite.
"Suzuha!"
The silhouette stops moving. Slowly it starts making its way out.
"Okabe..." Suzuha stares at me with dejected eyes. She was crying. Her fingertips were red and swollen.
"What are you doing?!"
"... It won't move." She won't meet my eyes. Black smoke trails out of the satellite. I could smell the aroma of burns even from meters away.
"Suzuha... That's a time machine, isn't it? You're a time traveler."
Suzuha faintly nods. "Yes. I'm... John Titor."
"... I thought John Titor was a guy." In my shock, that was all I could really think to say. I instantly regretted saying something so dumb.
Suzuha smiles. "I guess you could say that it was just part of my disguise."
"Why do you need a disguise?"
Suzuha's smile quickly turns into a frown. "I'm hiding from SERN."
"Was the stuff you posted true?"
"Yes. Well, most of it. I really did come from 2036 in this time machine."
"Didn't Titor say that his time machine was on a Chevy?" I decide to ask her about the John Titor that had appeared in 2000.
"I've been thinking about that since you emailed me about this supposed 2000 Titor. That was probably me from a different world line as I didn't stop in the year 2000."
"Answer me this, Suzuha. Why did you rush to the time machine? You overheard my conversation with Kurisu, yes?"
Instead of responding, Suzuha asks me about it.
"Is it true? Does Mayuri really get killed by SERN?"
"It's true. The raid should begin in 5 hours or so. I time leaped from the future." I explain.
"Time leap... So you guys completed your machine." She looks at me thoughtfully.
"More importantly, why do you think that it's your fault?" She didn't inform SERN about our whereabouts or anything, right? Then she should have no responsibility for the raid on our lab.
"I'll tell you everything... You and Makise Kurisu."
I don't know why she trusts Kurisu all of the sudden, but as long as she tells me what's going on, I won't complain.
I notice her burnt hand, and offer her a handkerchief.
"... Thanks" Suzuha smiles gently at me.
"It's nothing. Let's just get back to the lab."
