Emerald Musician Chapter 7 (Part 3)
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dangan Ronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei, or Secret by The Pierces.
Warning: This is a rather dark chapter, containing character death, cussing (courtesy of Kuwata, Oowada, Naegi…and a couple others, I think)[which is censored for the most part], and what I think is a somewhat detailed description of how the character death comes about. If you don't want to read that part, skip past the announcement of the execution to the next line break.
"Wha…!" Kuwata-san gasped, paling. "W…what are you saying? It's just a coincidence…" he tried to play it off. "It's just a coincidence it looks that way! Those numbers turned into letters by chance!"
"No, it wasn't by chance." Kirigiri-san contradicted. "She wrote that message behind her back, on the wall she was leaning on…she probably reached back only with her hand, while the rest of her body stayed facing forward." Kirigiri-san concluded. "And because she had to write it that way…what she wrote turned out to be twisted 180 degrees when looked at straight on…you can try it yourselves. If you try to write that way, you'll end up writing upside down."
"…The f***…? This is just a far-fetched theory, isn't it…?" Kuwata-san was pasty white, his hands visibly shaking. "I'm the culprit?" he demanded, suddenly furious. "Who the f*** qualified you to declare that!?"
"If you aren't the culprit," Kirigiri-san questioned, "why did you decide to destroy evidence?"
"…Huh?" Kuwata-san seemed thrown by Kirigiri-san's allegation.
"Naegi-kun, you already know about this, don't you?" Kirigiri-san continued. It rather puzzled me, how she kept prompting Naegi-san. "The evidence Kuwata-san tried to destroy."
"That's…" Naegi-san began. "The remains of the shirt tha was on the floor in front of the incinerator, isn't it?"
"The culprit probably got blood sprayed all over them after they stabbed and killed Maizono-san." Kirigiri-san concluded. "To get rid of his blood-stained shirt, he took it over to the incinerator and threw it in."
"But some remains were left over…" Celes-san mentioned. "Weren't they…"
"I'm sure the culprit didn't even notice. "Kirigiri-san replied. "If they did, they should have been more agitated by now. Isn't that right, Kuwata-kun?"
She was psyching him out, getting him more and more on edge until he would finally let something slip. It was working; Kuwata-san's eyes were wide with fear, his hands shaking almost violently.
All of a sudden, a certainty made itself known in my mind.
Somehow, some way, I was suddenly and absolutely sure that Kuwata-san was the culprit. It felt the same as earlier, before we had discovered Maizono-san's body, when I had been sure something horrible had happened. The same tingling of my skin and the tight feeling in my gut. I didn't know how, but I knew in my very soul—if such a thing existed.
Kuwata-san was the culprit.
It made me feel sick, to be so oddly certain without absolute evidence, despite the strong case towards Kuwata-san being the culprit. I clenched my hand into a fist, my knuckles turning white. Time would tell if I were right.
"…Can't tell the culprit based on the remains of the evidence themsleves," Naegi-san was saying as I returned my attention to the trial, instead of that odd buzzing tingling inside my skin, "there are other details that can help."
"…It seems you've already got it, then?" Kirigiri-san stated more than asked. "The answers to all the riddles…"
"Yeah…" Naegi-san replied quietly. "Somehow, I think I do…" he took a breath, drawing himself up. "If we figure out the method used to dispose of the shirt," he continued, "we should be able to tell who the culprit is."
"I…is that so…I see…I understand now…" Kuwata-san whispered, looking furious. The tingling under my skin intensified, and I shivered. "If you can't open the shutter gate in the trash room, you can't get close to the incinerator…you can't even push the switch to turn it on…and the only one with access to that shutter gate's key…is the person on cleaning duty!"
His conclusion made sense. It was logical. But still…that buzzing told me that Kuwata-san was the culprit. It felt like bees were under my skin, buzzing fiercely every time Kuwata-san spoke. I desperately wanted o cover my ears and drown everyone out, like a child.
"Ha ha ha ha…" Yamada-san chuckled before Kuwata-san's statement seemed to sink in. "…What?!" he shrieked.
"The only person with access to the trash room's key…is the one on cleaning duty, isn't it?!" Kuwata-san demanded.
"In other words, the only person who can get close to the incinerator…" Fukawa-san concluded, "…is whoever is on cleaning duty?"
"If you can't get close to the incinerator, there's no way to dispose of the evidence…" Kuwata-san continued. "…therefore, the culprit is the person on cleaning duty!"
I bit my lip. Kuwata-san seemed to be trying awfully hard to convince everyone that the person who was on cleaning duty—Yamada-san—was the only one who could be the culprit. Almost…too hard.
"Wait a second!" Naegi-san interrupted. "There was one way to destroy the evidence for someone other than the one on cleaning duty!"
"Still, there s no way to put fire to the incinerator without opening the shutter gate." Oogami-san stated.
"No," Naegi-san disagreed, showing us all a picture of a shattered glass ball on his Electro-ID, "is't not impossible, if you use this."
"It's broken, but it looks like a glass ball…" Oowada-san muttered.
"No, it was supposed to be…a crystal ball…" Hagakure-san stammered, looking stunned.
"Using this…?" Fujisaki-san wondered. "In what way?"
"The culprit aimed at the incinerator's switch and threw the ball through a gap in the gate…" Naegi-san explained. "That's how they were able to push the incinerator's switch and turn the fire on!"
"Threw it…" Yamada-san gasped, "through a gap in the gate…?"
"Remember what you told me, Yamada-san? You were surprised that the fire had been left on; you even stated that the fire was off when you were last there." Naegi-san stated. "Even though you held the key, someone turned the fire on without you noticing…that was because the culprit managed to push the switch without opening the shutter gate. Then, after the fire was on, he rolled the shirt into a ball and threw it in the incinerator!"
"H…Hey, what are you saying…?" Kuwata-san looked striken.
"But in order to throw both of those…wouldn't the culprit have to be a very good throw?" I mused, chewing at my lip.
"The state of the trash room after the evidence was disposed of tells us that the culprit never went inside…the broken glass ball…the fire that was left on…the burning remains that were left behind…" Kirigiri-san murmured. "That's a crude way to destroy evidence. If the culprit was the person on cleaning duty, they would have made a cleaner job of it."
Her statement struck me as oddly hilarious. I could feel laughter bubbling up in my chest as I slowly began to truly realize the truth of our new reality. This was actually real. A horrible, pitiful, fictional reality. Even as Kuwata-san argued for his innocence, even as the First School Trial drew to a close, I felt as though I was walking on a razor-thin wire, suspended above an abyss of hysteria and insanity. Distantly, I realized I was shaking, horrible, bone-deep shivers. The buzzing filled my ears.
I swallowed, and took a deep breath. Then another. Then another. Eventually, I felt moderately in control and looked back around. My freak-out could wait until I was in private and could freak-out without embarrassing myself.
Right.
I took another deep breath.
Later.
Kuwata-san's angry voice broke through my reverie once again; I was zoning out a great deal—I had to suppress a shaky, slightly hysterical laugh at that—but then again, I had a fair excuse. I hoped.
"I'm telling you!" Kuwata-san yelled. "It isn't the end of everything!"
"Kuwata-kun. It doesn't matter what you say. I've already solved all the riddles…" Naegi-san said implacably. "And here their answers!
"So, let's start from the very beginning…yesterday night, the culprit went to the room Maizono-san was staying at..that is, my room." Naegi-san began. "It is likely that Maizono-san wanted to kill the culprit and called him to the room. Then, she attempted to strike him with the kitchen knife she prepared ahead of time…
"…but that's when things started going against her plan. The culprit used a sword that was in my room to counter-attack in defense." Naegi-san continued. "As a result of that move, Maizono-san got her right wrist broken by the sword…and the knife snatched away from her.
"Maizono-san, who was being chased by the killer, managed to escape into the shower room." I could almost see the scene playing out in front of my eyes. "The culprit tried to chase her in, but for some reason the door to the shower wouldn't open. My shower door gets stuck easily, but the culprit didn't know the trick to it and that's why they couldn't get it open. I told Maizono-san the trick to it, and that's why she knew. But the culprit didn't…
"Nevertheless, the culprit managed to break the door open, and then, using the kitchen knife…they…stabbed Maizono-san…" Naegi-san swallowed. "But Maizono-san left a dying message with her remaining strength…
"…she wrote it behind her back so that the culprit wouldn't notice. And then…even that strength was gone…" Naegi-san took a deep breath, clearly forcing himself to continue. "After they killed Maizono-san, the culprit became distressed and decided to destroy some evidence.
"First, they took off the bloodstained shirt they were wearing…and then they thoroughly cleaned my room with a roll cleaner that was there. They wanted to remove every trace they visited that room…after that, the culprit went to the trash room in order to destroy the shirt they took off. They wanted to burn that bloodstained shirt in the incinerator."
In order to clean themselves of the blood on their hands? To try and purge themselves of their blackened hearts?
"But the trash room had a locked shutter gate, and they coulnd't get close to the incinerator…Instead, the culprit used a glass ball that was forgotten by Hagakure-kun in the laundry. The culprit threw the ball through a gap in the gate, and switched on the incinerator's fire. It's something unimaginable for a regular person, but the culprit had confidence they would do it.
"That's because they were a 'Super High School Level Baseball Star'." 'Super High School Level Baseball Star'…that was Kuwata-san's title… "The ball that was thrown straight at the incinerator's control panel hit its target. And the incinerator started to work. Relaxed after he destroyed the evidence, the culprit left the trash room…
"…But that's where he miscalculated. The burning remains of a sleeve from the shirt he had thrown fell from the incinerator onto the floor. The culprit didn't even notice the thing that would become the deciding evidence against him…isn't that right, Kuwata-kun?!
"It seems that Hagakure-san left this glass ball in the laundry…perhaps Kuwata-kun first wanted to go wash the blood off his shirt"—ha! Good luck with that…ask any girl-"and found it there? That's when he thought of that method…"
"So how is it, Kuwata-kun?" Kirigiri-san questioned. "Do you have a counterargument?"
"A…counterargument…? Of course I do! You think I'd just let it end here?! Isn't everything you said just hypothesis? You don't have any concrete evidence, do you?!" he sounded almost crazed in his demands; I could almost picture foam at the corners of his mouth. "If you don't have evidence, it's all a frame-up! I won't have any of it!"
"In that chase, I think you should tell him about the evidence that shows he's the killer, Naegi-kun…" Kirigiri-san stated. "I think you…probably have it…"
A last piece of evidence against Kuwata-san? The last…nail in his…coffin…?
"When the culprit broke down the shower room's doorknob, he didn't use something that was in the room." Kirigiri-san continued. "So what did the culprit use instead?"
Naegi-san looked thoughtful, think it over carefully despite our limited time, which was ticking away with every second. It was quiet for a moment.
"I'll never accept this!" I couldn't repress a flinch as Kuwata-san burst out loudly. "You're all retarded! Retardedretardedretardedretarded!"
The argument that followed was thankfully short; Kuwata-san was panicked, stumbling over nonsensical repetitions of rejections and insults whereas Naegi-san maintained an almost implacable calm as he slowly began to recount the final piece of the puzzle of Maizono-san's murder.
"The knob on the shower door was fastened by screws," Naegi-san said. Despite the low tone of his voice, everyone could hear him over Kuwata-san's raving. "So what tools did the culprit use to unscrew that doorknob?"
"When you want to unscrew something…you usually use a screwdriver."
"We have one in the tool sets we were given, 'right?"
"They must have used that…we don't have any other tools around."
"But the tool set in my room doesn't show any signs that it was used." Naegi-san stated firmly, breaking through the mumbling.
"That must be because the culprit didn't realize they were in Naegi-kun's room and mistook it for Maizono-kun's!" Ishimaru-san burst out, with an air of realization.
"The tools set's were only given to the boys, to they didn't think there was one there…" Fujisaki-san mumbled.
"In that case, whose tool set did the culprit use?" Naegi-san asked.
"Retardedretardedretarded—!"
"The culprit must have used their own tool set for this job!" Naegi-san concluded.
"Retardedretardedretarded—!"
"Kuwata-kun, would you please show us your tool set? If what I'm thinking is correct…" Naegi-san continued relentlessly. "The screwdriver in it should have traces showing it was recently used!"
"Retardedreta…huh?" Kuwata-san seemed stricken.
"If you want to tell us you used it somewhere else, we expect a full explanation about where and why it was used…" Togami-san snapped, looking at Kuwata-san disdainfully.
"Let me warn you first…" Kirigiri-san warned. "Don't try and tell us you lost it."
"Re…ta…rded…" Kuwata-san looked horrified. "Re…ba…rtet…?"
"It seems he doesn't have a counterargument after all…" Togami-san scoffed.
"So it seems…this is the end…" Celes-san mused pensively.
"Upupupu…It seems you have reached your conclusion." Monobear commented cheerfully. "Well then, let's get on to voting!" he laughed sinisterly. "Please use the button in front of you to vote, you b*****ds! Oh, and let me say it just for caution's sake…don't think of not voting for anyone! You wouldn't want to be punished for such a trivial thing, would you?"
I stared at the innocent little switch in front of me. I had to select a name on the dial next to it and press the button to cast my vote. My hands trembled as I selected Kuwata-san's name on the dial. This voting…we were essentially playing god, passing judgment upon another as best we could…did we even have the right? Did we have the right to try and decide someone else's fate like this? We…a bunch of high school freshmen…were being forced to pass a very real, very fatal judgment upon another.
It was in that moment, as I pressed the button, that I realized just how much our lives hung in the balance.
"…Right! Well then, give it all you have! Who will be voted as the culprit?!" Monobear snickered. "Will it be the right answer, or the wrong one—? What will it be—?!"
As Monobear spoke, the machine in front of where he sat lit up, looking very much like one of those machines I'd seen in some Western spy movies once or twice. The three dials on the machine began to spin, cycling through all of the options. My breath caught in my chest as it began to slow. The red button on a platform behind the machine lit up, with a little LED screen below it.
Finally, the machine came to a stop…on Kuwata-san.
"What do you know!" Monobear exclaimed. "You hit the jackpot! The culprit who killed Maizono Sayaka…It really was Kuwata Leon!"
A wave of relief swept over me, leaving my knees weak. Abruptly, I realized that I was relieved that I had just condemned someone else to death, saving my own skin. Self-disgust replaced the relief almost immediately as I looked over to Kuwata-san.
He was frozen, some mixture of terror and horror and shock and resignation and fury and some kind of unnamable emotion that I couldn't think of and his eyes darted up to meet mine. Horrorstruck blue met my own wide, emerald green.
A chill went down my spine as the tingling buzzing under my skin intensified. For a moment, I could almost see Kuwata-san's panicked thoughts in his eyes, speaking to me as loudly as if he were screaming them for the world to hear.
Then the connection broke when Kuwata-san's gaze flickered away. "…huh?" he squeaked finally, "H…hey…wait…a…second…" he turned to Monobear.
I looked down at my feet. Surprisingly, I wasn't angry. Not like some of the others. No—I just felt…resigned. Tired.
"Kuwata-kun…" Naegi-san seemed strangely unhappy that he was right. Shouldn't he be triumphant? Proud that he had found the villain of this twisted story? "Did you really…kill…Maizono-san?"
"I…can't believe it…" Asahina-san gasped.
"You f****r!" Oowada-san demanded furiously, face turning red. "Why would you do such a thing!"
"I…didn't have any choice…" Kuwata-san rationalized, as though trying to convince himself that he was free of any true guilt. "I was about to get killed myself…th…that's why…I didn't have any choice…" his eyes sought out my own again, and he seemed to search my face for any sign of mercy. He turned away, defensive fury twisting his features.
"It would have been the same if it was any of you!" he yelled furiously. "Just because I was Maizono's target…It suddenly…went all wrong…!"
Nobody really had anything to say to that.
…it was true, after all.
"Or…do you think I should've just let myself get killed?" Kuwata-san asked.
I swallowed through my abruptly dry throat. So…this was our victory. We had found the killer, and saved ourselves from dying by sacrificing the killer's life. I had never known that a victory could feel so very…hollow.
"It's all because of…that video…" Naegi-san mumbled in the sudden silence. "What was on it…managed to disturb even me…" was he talking about Maizono-san's video? "It must have been so much worse for Maizono-san herself…" he seemed caught in his own thoughts, unaware that he was speaking them aloud. "Her dream and her friends were the most important things in the world for her…
"Showing her that kind of video…showing her friends…Maizono-san…must have been…" Naegi-san trailed off, looking almost distraught.
"As expected, show business is scary!" Monobear laughed. "Those people can kill someone just for nothing more than 'human relations'! Beneath all those exemplary personalities lie their true faces, full of nothing but madness!"
"W…what did you say…?" Naegi-san abruptly focused on Monobear with an almost frightening intensity.
"Yes, I know how it is. Indeed, I do. You must be in despair, being betrayed by Maizono-san like that." Monobear said, seeming nonchalant. "Love, friendship, compassion…the stronger these feelings are, the deeper you fall into despair when they are broken! If you don't believe me, you can ask Asahi-san over there! She had more than enough experience,"
I stiffened as Monobear gestured at me. Without stopping to ponder what Monobear meant by me 'having experience' with the despair that came from betrayal, Naegi-san looked incensed by Monobear's words and burst out passionately.
"Don't play with me! It was all your fault, wasn't it?! Everything Maizono-san did…Everything…" Naegi-san seemed lost for words as he progressively grew angrier. "Everything…It's all because of you!"
Furiously, he lunged for Monobear, seeming fully intent on destroying our robotic principal.
Before he could get far, Kirigiri-san grasped his shoulder and held him back even as he struggled to get at Monobear. "Please stop it," she requested. "If you really want to defeat her true enemy…please let it go for now…"
Naegi-san was silent for a moment before wrenching himself free as he gritted his teeth. "…S**t!" he swore uncharacteristically, glaring up at Monobear's tauntingly grinning face.
"Aa, my heart is fluttering. I thought I was about to be attacked." Monobear sighed dramatically. "It was a close shave! Oy!" Monobear unsheathed his claws in a not-so-subtle reminder of what would happen if we were to attack him. Unbidden, Enoshima-san's bloodstained body, face frozen in an expression of betrayal rose to the forefront of my mind. My stomach churned.
"…And so!" Monobear continued, catching my attention. "You have splendidly discovered the culprit in this School Trial! So now it's time to get to Kuwata Leon's punishment!" Monobear sounded positively gleeful at this.
"P…punishment…!" Kuwata-san paled even further. "E…execution…? W…wait a second here!" he looked around frantically, trying to find someone who would support him but finding no one. "I only killed her because I didn't have any choice! That's it! It was self-defense, wasn't it?! I was just defending my own body…"
"What exactly was 'self-defense' about your actions?" Celes-san asked. Kuwata-san reeled back as though he'd been slapped. "In order to break the shower room's lock, you used your own tool set, didn't you? That is," her face had an innocent look even as she dealt out cruel, truthful words. "After that girl closed herself in the shower, you deliberately returned to your own room…used a screwdriver you got there to break the 'lock' and made the killing strike. You had plenty of chances to stop yourself. But you didn't do so…you really did feel like killing her, didn't you."
"N…no…I mean…" Kuwata-san seemed stricken by the bitter truth in Celes-san's words.
"I've had enough…" Naegi-sam said, his face tired and angry. "Let's just stop this."
"Oh, would that be okay with you?" Celes-san asked sweetly. "You were Maizono-san's best friend, after all." I looked away. "Your precious Maizono-san…was killed…wasn't she?"
I hated this; I wanted to get it over with, but at the same time I wished it would never happen. That this was all a dream. But…that was impossible, wasn't it? This was real.
…what a bitter truth.
"I have no intention on blaming Kuwata-kun alone…of course, I'm not going to blame Maizono-san either." Naegi-san proclaimed. "I mean, the only one who's evil here is that thing!" he pointed at Monobear.
"Huh…?"
"If it wasn't for you…this wouldn't have happened to either Maizono-san or Kuwata-kun…! What we should be fighting isn't one another…it's that guy. The single person who planned all of this!" Naegi-san spoke passionately, clearly furious.
Somehow, though, I couldn't bring myself to believe those words. Monobear may have set everything up…but Maizono-san and Kuwata-san had decided to do what they had. And maybe if Monobear hadn't trapped us all in here they wouldn't have done it; but he did, and they did what they did.
In the end, Monobear may have set them up to fall, but they were the ones who decided to fall. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
"Oh, did your sense of justice suddenly awaken?!" Monobear asked tauntingly. "But you know, there is nothing more immoral than a sense of justice. Isn't a bunch of guys brandishing their justice the reason we still have wars?" Monobear's voice turned a sort of sweetly cruel, dripping with acid and honey. "Is that the reason you suddenly have a sense of justice?"
"Shut up…!"
"Oh well. Rather than argue…we should get to business! Everybody is waiting!" Monobear cackled.
"Please, I beg you…!" Kuwata-san pleaded. "Stop it…!"
"I won't hear no excuses! If we want to keep the public order, we must punish offenders! Those are our society's rules!" Monobear snapped.
"P…please stop!" Kuwata-san looked around frantically, searching for an escape. There wasn't one.
"This time, I prepared a special punishment for Kuwata Leon, the Super High School Level Baseball Star!"
"NONONONONONONONONO!" Kuwata-san screamed, backing away.
"Let's give it our best! It's punishment time!" as he spoke, Monobear pulled out a wooden mallet which he hit the large red button with. The LED screen under the button lit up, displaying a scene almost like one would see in an old, 80's or 90's video game.
GAME OVER
KUWATA LEON HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.
COMMENCING EXECUTION.
~A Million Fungoes~
Metal clamped around Kuwata-san's neck, before yanking him back using the chain attached to the collar. He struggled against the pull, before being dragged harshly into a corridor to the side of the courtroom.
We were quickly herded after him, ushered along by Monobear.
When we arrived, we were greeted by the sight of Kuwata-san chained to a pole in the middle of what looked like an outdoor baseball diamond surrounded by barbed-wire fencing.
To the side, there was a machine-gun type thing that Monobear was stationed at while we watched from the other side of the fence.
Slowly, the machine-gun began to shoot baseballs at Kuwata-san, hitting with dull, meaty thuds. As it sped up, it began to circle around Kuwata-san, beginning to beat him to death with the baseballs.
I watched, horrorstruck, as Kuwata-san's face twisted with agony.
Then, there was a pause. Kuwata-san's eyes opened wide, staring his death in the face as the baseballs closed in.
Then his face was obscured by the many, many balls that hit his face. If he weren't guaranteed death before by the fact of the baseballs hitting his vitals…he was most certainly now.
Abruptly, the barrage stopped. The balls bounced and rolled away, streaks of blood on many, leaving Kuwata-san's limp, bruised, bloody corpse hanging off the pole.
(End of Execution)
I vaguely noted that I couldn't breathe; the coppery, metallic tang of the smell of blood hung heavily in the air, choking me.
I followed as we were almost shepherded back to the courtroom, leaving Kuwata-san's bloody, limp, lifeless corpse behind us. I wrapped my arm around myself, staring blankly at the floor in front of me. I absently noted what was going on around me, ignoring it all.
Not for the first time I wish I had my violin here, or that I could just hide away and lose myself in the music and forget. Forget that I had condemned someone to death to save myself. Forget all of the horrible things that had happened today. Forget the world even existed.
I just…wanted to forget.
My eyes burned, and I bit my lip in an effort to suppress my tears. I had long ago learned that showing weakness like that would only make me a target. I swallowed around the lump in my throat.
Was this the life that awaited us? Being picked off one by one, surrounded by death and blood, never knowing when the next murder would occer? If it was…then I was unsure I would able to bear it without breaking. Without giving in to the urge to bury myself in my own head and forget.
I don't know how long I stood there, fighting back tears and cloaked in numbness. It was only when I was finally back in room, alone…
…that I allowed my bitter, painful tears to fall.
…
Got a secret, can you keep it?
Swear this one you'll save;
Better lock it in your pocket,
Taking this one to the grave.
If I show you, then I know you won't tell what I said…
'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.
~ Students Alive: 13 ~
/End.\
So… yeah. I'm posting this on Christmas, so happy holidays to everyone and Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates Christmas and all the proper sayings to everyone else who is celebrating a holiday. In all honesty, I just spent about three/four hours writing this up. I'm tired. So please forgive the shortness of this A/N.
Anyway, this chapter ended up at about 18 pages in Microsoft Word and 4,506 words not including the A/N. I think that's pretty good. Also, this is being posted with the first Interlude, so be sure to read that…and the next chapter (which is already written, but needs to be typed onto the computer) should be up within the next few days depending on how I feel, etc.
Also, a quick explanation on Asahi's mood swings. She is experiencing emotional turmoil and towards the end what I hope is a somewhat fair portrayal of mild shock that is only the latest thing on top of a bunch of taxing, traumatizing experiences in one day. I know I'd probably feel very similarly if I were placed in the Asahi's shoes during these past few chapters.
I hope that answers any questions on that count…oh, and the song is by The Pierces and is called Secret. I definitely don't own it.
Please R&R!
Ja ne, Minna-san!
~Happy Camper27