Chapter 4: Save the Imaginary Friend

"Is that the girl I heard about?" asked Usami, commanded by Miaya.

"Yes," answered Chisa. "She's my former student."

"According to the report you gave, Yukizome," began Kyosuke, "she had injuries that suggest impalement through multiple parts of her body. Her wounds were synonymous with that of torture."

"I found her body abandoned after the school shut down. If I had to guess, it was a group of rampaging, jealous Reserve Course students."

"…" Miaya stared at the window they were in front of. The trio was observing the unconscious body of Chiaki, who became an interesting topic of discussion in the Future Foundation. Not only was the girl who should be dead still living, but her wounds were closed. It was a strange case that nobody had been able to crack.

"You said her wounds were already closed when you found her?" asked Kyosuke.

"It was shocking to see. Despite what must've happened, she was still barely clinging to life. I can't even comprehend what the poor thing must've gone through. If only I was a better teacher…" Chisa had a sad expression while Kyosuke made one of his rare sympathetic looks.

"Nobody could've predicted what would happen, Yukizome. It's not your fault."

"A-alright… Thank you." Chisa had to bite her tongue to keep herself from bursting out into laughter. You're just too easy, Kyosuke.

"What will happen to her now?" asked Usami.

"As Chisa requested, we're doing all we can to keep her alive. However, if she continues to show no signs of waking…we'll be forced to take her off life support."

"What!" yelled Chisa, frustrated. "You're just going to let her die? Chairman Tengan authorized this, so…"

"Tengan authorized that we assist in sustaining her life on the grounds she has a chance of awakening. The only reason she's alive is the machines and medicine. Sorry, Yukizome, but we can't afford to waste valuable resources on someone who's already dead." Kyosuke walked away, leaving Chisa feeling annoyed.

Shit, she thought. I was hoping I'd be able to keep holding him off. Honestly, even I'm starting to doubt whether Nanami will ever wake up. Did you miscalculate, Kamakura?

"Yukizome," began Usami, "do you mind notifying me when she wakes up?"

"Huh?" Chisa turned to Miaya while putting her friendly face back on. "What for?"

"If she wakes up, the mental damage that's been done is unavoidable. I would like to take her on as my patient."

How fortunate. I figured I'd just instill enough fear in Nanami to scare her straight. Having Gekkogahara work on her is a much better alternative. I suppose there is a risk Nanami might tattle on me, but…I can't pass this up.

"You're such a sweetheart, Gekkogahara!" cheered Chisa while softly grasping Miaya's small hands in her own. She retracted her grip when she saw how red the therapist was. "Oh, sorry. I forget how shy you are. Anyway, it'd be wonderful if you could help her. I just hope it doesn't get in the way of your work."

"That will be no problem for me!" happily said Usami, which was weird because Miaya still looked embarrassed.

"I'll let the whole medical ward know to notify you when Nanami wakes up. I think you'll take a real liking to her. Me being her former teacher and all, I think you two are alike."

"Really?" Miaya could only guess what she meant. "It would be a big help if you could tell me everything you know about her."

"Oh, of course! I just have one request."

"What is it?"

"After you introduce yourself, let me say a few words to her. There's a special…welcoming I want to give her. I'll leave the rest in your capable hands after that."

"I'm sure she'd love it! Seeing your face will certainly trigger a strong, positive reaction."

"I'm sure it will…"

VVV

That conversation transpired about a week after Chiaki's body was brought in. It was at the same time the current Future Foundation was officially established, and all the division leaders had been assigned. It was disturbing to think how close Kyosuke was to ordering Chiaki to be removed from life support.

It took only a second for Miaya to notice the mental trauma the former Ultimate Gamer was under. She had dealt with some insane cases in her career, but this one felt like uncharted waters for some reason.

"That should last you throughout the day," informed Seiko, administering the daily dose of medicine. "If you start feeling any pain, let me know."

"Okay," answered Chiaki with the same somber expression she wore all the time now. "Your medicines are really great."

It was hard to tell because of the mask, but Seiko smiled when she heard the praise for her work. "It's nothing really. See you tomorrow!" She was skipping while exiting the room.

"As you could tell, Kimura loves it when people praise her work," informed Usami. "She'll probably be in a good mood for the rest of the day."

"I didn't notice."

"Hehe, my mistake."

The daily therapy sessions had been going on for two days now. From noon to dusk, Miaya would try and have a conversation about anything Chiaki wanted to talk about. She didn't want to tackle the main root of whatever the problem was yet, so she settled with some small talk. Even that was proving to be difficult because the only things she'd ever do was play her game or absentmindedly stare at the floor.

There was another interesting subject that caught Miaya's attention.

"You never told me what you and Yukizome talked about." It lasted for only a moment, but Miaya could see the faintest twitch of the gamer's eyelids.

"We didn't really talk about anything…" she answered.

Throughout her tenure as a therapist, that kind of change in expression was synonymous with an unpleasant memory. In total, the subject of Chisa had come up three times. Every time it did, Chiaki would react how she just did. The way Chisa described their relationship made them sound extremely close. If Miaya knew nothing about their relationship prior to this, she would have assumed the two had a bad history with each other.

It could be thinking of her teacher made the memories of her classmates appear, and that's where the reaction came from. Should I push this subject now? No. Until I get a better picture of what happened—I can't risk her relapsing. I should change the subject.

"You must've been really happy to see your belongings survived."

"Yeah."

Another problem was Chiaki would opt to give short answers whenever she could, making it hard to carry a conversation. Miaya would have to direct in a way that would make Chiaki answer more thoroughly, but she also couldn't make her feel pressured to talk.

"Was there anything that didn't make it? Maybe a piece of jewelry or a memento?"

She tugged on a strand of her hair before answering. "I had a Gala Omega hair clip that I would always wear."

A special item? I can use this. "Gala Omega, you say? Isn't that an old arcade game where you'd have to shoot enemy spaceships?"

"You've played it?" Chiaki slightly widened her eyes while she looked up for the first time today. Based on Chisa's explanation, the only thing that would truly get a rise out of her was games. It made complete sense with her being the former Ultimate Gamer and all. However, the only reaction talking about games the current Chiaki would give was a faint interest. Luckily, Miaya wasn't a novice in the gaming department.

"I'm certainly not as skilled as you, but I would play video games a lot when I was younger. In fact, playing games are what first interested me in computers and programming. I never mentioned it, but my main job in the Future Foundation is cybersecurity."

"So games let you discover a talent that was really useful…unlike me."

"You don't think your talent is useful?"

There was no response.

Miaya recalled something Chisa mentioned. Chiaki never thought too much of her talent—but it was because of that talent, she was able to make her class get along.

I wanted to avoid any topic dealing with her class…but she's starting to open up a little more now. Maybe I should—

"Why did you become a therapist?" asked Chiaki, breaking Miaya's train of thought.

"Hmm?"

"You were able to make a fully interactive avatar like Usami, and you're in charge of cybersecurity. If you're so talented with technology, why did you become a therapist?"

"Hehe, so you want to talk about my backstory? Let's see… I guess it's because of a bridge I used to live by."

"A bridge?"

"When I was in middle school, I was silent all the time. It wasn't because I was being bullied or anything; I'm not really a speaker. As a result, I always find myself listening."

"You helped other kids at your school with their problems?"

"I would sometimes, but Hope's Peak Academy found me because of a job I had. There was a bridge famous for being an area lots of people would come to commit suicide. So one day, I was walking home when I spotted a middle-aged businessman about to jump. He had lost everything, and his wife had left him. When it looked like he was finally going to jump, I approached."

"…Did you save him?"

"All I did was listen and say whatever came to mind. I ended up convincing him not to go through with it after almost an hour. The authorities then took him to get the proper help he needed. Everyone was so impressed with me being able to help that man, I was offered a job. Can you guess what it was?"

"They would ask you for help if anyone was going to jump?"

"Correct. It was kinda like I had my own special hotline or something. Whenever someone was going to jump, they would stall long enough for me to get there and talk to them. People who couldn't afford a real therapist would come to the bridge for a chance to meet the legendary kid therapist. I guess because of me, that bridge ended up becoming famous for another reason. I'm not sure about the exact number, but I had saved over forty people from jumping; there was never one person that jumped when I was there."

"But, instead of hanging out with friends, you had to deal with people that were ready to give up on life. Wasn't it hard?"

How can I say this? "Despair is a truly unfair thing. It's incredibly easy to find, but really hard to get rid of. That makes it all the more special when an individual is able to leave despair and turn towards the future. That moment when I see a person who's lost all hope, and I inspire them to live on—it's indescribable. I believe all life is special, so I truly do love helping people see there's a light at the end of the tunnel."

"…" Chiaki was silent while she looked down again.

"It does get pretty hard, as you said. I've dealt with young children and people with a short time to live. It would be easier to just forget about them and move on, but I carry them all with me regardless of the pain." Chiaki made a surprised expression, which told Miaya that her last statement earned attention.

"Can I ask you another question, Miaya?"

"Of course, silly! You can ask me anything!"

"You said that…you would carry all those memories with you, even if it hurt to think about those people."

"You betcha!"

"…What if something happened to one of those people—something bad? What if there was something you could've done about it if you were stronger?"

She's talking about herself. What could she be referring to? Maybe her classmates or family? I need to tread carefully.

"Can you explain what you mean by stronger, please?"

"If people you cared about were hurt, and no matter how hard you tried…you knew you'd never be able to stop it because you're too weak. Even though you might've enjoyed those bonds, they make you suffer when they're destroyed. That's too much, right?"

I still can't tell whom she's referring to. She's making a conscious effort to not tell me the exact details. The last thing I want to do is turn this into an interrogation. I'll answer honestly, and hope she tells me the truth on her own.

"That's an understandable stance to take. It's true when you open yourself up to bonds, you risk the pain of having them broken. Being afraid or ashamed of being weak is common."

"So, you agree it's better not to—"

"Now, I'm not saying that. Life itself is a huge gamble. I get wanting to be alone sometimes or not talking much—I've always been like that. However, avoiding other people because you're afraid you'll get hurt, or because you think you're weak, is by no means a solution. You'd be better off living in a bubble on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere."

"Then, what should you do if those bonds do get broken?"

"That's up to you to decide. You can endure or move on, but you can never give up and run away. Those that make an effort, even if it ends up failing, are truly the strong ones. Like you, Chiaki."

"I-I'm not strong…" she murmured, looking away.

I think I pushed a little farther than I should've with that last part. Although, she does seem more relaxed now.

The hours that passed afterward was pretty uneventful. Miaya would ask simple conversation starters, like what her favorite foods were. She was hoping to make a bit more progress on what they were talking about earlier, but she knew this was a process that needed to be slow and steady. Fortunately, this was all moving along faster than she thought it would. Still, there was a feeling she had because she sensed something was missing. There was a certain factor that didn't fit.

"Looks like our time is up," notified Usami, after Miaya checked the time. "Good work today!"

"Thanks."

"Until tomorrow!"

Miaya departed the room and was met with the smiling face of Chisa waiting further down the hallway. The way she was leaning against the wall made it obvious she'd been waiting for the therapist to appear.

"Did you want to talk to her?" asked Usami.

"I had some spare time, so I'd thought I'd get an early progress report if that's okay."

"She always has a lot on her mind. The biggest problem I can see so far is depression and pessimism. Also, the way she talks makes it seem like there was an event that happened where someone was hurt because of her."

"Oh? Could it be related to our class? Even I still feel horrible about how I failed to help them. With her being the class rep, she probably feels the same way I do."

"There's something else I noticed…"

"What would that be?"

Miaya was about to tell her, but that same feeling she had from before kept her from speaking. She wanted to tell her about Chiaki's reaction every time her name was brought up. Until she knew exactly what it meant, she didn't want to mention it.

"It's something I feel I should keep to myself for now. I wouldn't want to worry you about something that could mean nothing."

"That's fine—confidentiality and all that. If you need my help with anything, just let me know."

Chisa left, leaving Miaya alone in the barren hallway. I've dealt with many different cases. So, what's this weird feeling I keep having? I can tell Chiaki certainly isn't a bad person, but it feels like she's hiding an important fact. I guess I'll know more as the rehabilitation goes along.

VVV

Chiaki had always considered herself to be a night owl. She was never a big fan of waking up early and staying up until dawn was no problem. It was for that reason, she could lay completely motionless and stare at the ceiling despite it being midnight. She was feeling restless, and she—shockingly—didn't want to play her game right now. In the end, she opted to just lie still and think to herself.

I've been awake for four days now.

She tried stretching her limbs to see if there was any pain. There was a degree of discomfort, but it wasn't anything overbearing. She asked Miaya if she'd be able to walk again to which she responded by saying it was important to focus on her mental health so the physical part can go along easier. Although, she wasn't sure if she wanted to take it that far.

Ms. Yukizome said she would turn me into the savior. That means…as soon as I heal, she'll do whatever she has planned for me.

No matter what angle she looked at it from, she didn't see any way past Chisa without huge risks. She thought about telling Miaya but decided against it. If what Chisa said was true, the gamer could be putting the therapist in danger by telling her the truth—and that's if she believed her. Either way, she was completely terrified to go against her. Any thought of rebellion would be met with the image of Chisa's despair-ridden face shoving her into that elevator to be executed.

Why is all this happening?

Despite Miaya's warm words, she didn't see any kind of light at the end of the dark tunnel that was her life now. If there was some happy ending to be found in all this, she couldn't find it. Out there, her friends were causing pure mayhem along with a large part of society. In here, she had to deal with her insane former teacher.

That wasn't the most noticeable problem plaguing her, however. There was another strange phenomenon that occurred every night when she was alone.

"Ugh, you're such a worrywart," groaned Junko, sitting at the base of her bed. "Don't you know it's much simpler to go with the flow, like me?"

"I don't want to be like you," answered Chiaki, not even bothering to look in Junko's direction.

This strange development started the first night after she woke up from her coma. She had no idea what her hallucinating Junko of all people meant. It went without saying she never wanted to think about the fake fashionista, but here she was having an imaginary back and forth with her.

Is this some side effect of the medicine?

"A side effect?" said Junko, reading Chiaki's thoughts. "Can you imagine watching one of those commercials where they try and sell you some medicine, and when they name like a hundred possible side effects—it says it may also give you hallucinations of your most hated foe? Hahaha!"

"…"

"Silent treatment? You're the one who called me, so the least you could do is contribute to the conversation."

"You're not real."

"Oh, I'm real. I'm the total embodiment of your fears and insecurities. It just so happened to take the form of the girl who ruined your life and nearly killed you. Talk about a dysfunctional relationship!"

"…"

"More silence? This must be so frustrating. You hate me so much, and I left such an imprint on you that I'm basically you're shadow now. Normal girls our age should be worried about our looks or college entrance exams…but that shit is way too boring for us—am I right?"

"…"

"Look at the bright side. Even though all of your friends have abandoned you…you'll never be alone again." Junko turned around with the same sly smile she always had. "…Because, you'll always have me."

Unable to contain herself, Chiaki hastily grabbed the mirror that was lying on the desk and threw it at Junko as hard as she could. Junko's figure vanished before the mirror collided with the opposite wall and shattered. The gamer sat up as if she didn't fully realize what she just did.

A few seconds later, someone came running in. It was one of the male medics. "W-what happened?"

"Sorry… I was clumsy." The man looked visibly suspicious, but he shrugged and went to clean up the broken pieces of mirror. After he was done, he asked her if she was okay before leaving.

Those episodes only last for a minute or two and seemed to always happen around the same time. She was clueless as to whether it was a side effect, or maybe she had lost her mind. She decided to tell Miaya about her problem before she put a hand over her mouth and yawned. After the exhaustion hit her, she pulled the blankets over her head and fell into a dreamless sleep.

Author's Notes

Using Miaya is fun, but it takes a lot of research to get her profession accurate. I had to look up a lot of things about psychology. Also, I had to give her a unique spin because Miaya is supposed to be a little odd, at least that's what I feel. It was worth it, though.