There Will Come Soft Rains
"It's called Titty Typhoon," Asahina said. "How is that not a strip club? Or at least inappropriate."
"Exactly!" Makoto agreed. "Komaru's way too young for this."
"Well, she can wait outside," Hagakure argued. "It doesn't mean the rest of us can't check it out. We're all overage."
"Actually, despite its questionable name, the brochure indicates that Titty Typhoon is a music venue," Kirigiri said. She was skimming over a tourist brochure she'd liberated from the motel's lobby. "They did serve alcohol. Given that fact and the choice of name, I imagine that back in the day, the scene inside wasn't family-friendly."
"But. . . there's no alcohol now and it's not a strip club." Komaru pumped her arm "I can go inside!"
"I don't know. . ." Makoto said.
"Aw, come on. She deserves a break." Hagakure ground his knuckles into the top of Makoto's head. "You gotta cut the apron strings and let her grow. Besides, she's hanging out with Fukawa. What hasn't she heard by now?"
Normally, Komaru wouldn't want to go into a place like this, but it looked really cool. It had a flashy storefront with its name in big bubble letters that would have lit up if they were plugged in. The outside was purple and orange with silver splashy designs that looked like someone had thrown buckets of paint at the wall and called it a night. Plus, everyone else was going in so she wanted inside, too!
That wasn't to say everyone was here, though. When Hagakure had announced his plans to visit Titty Typhoon, Togami had said something about how all this walking was for plebeians. Touko had elected to stay behind, too, claiming she needed to support Togami, although Komaru suspected she was tuckered out. Plus, Kamukura was still at Hotel Mirai. Probably stopping an angry mob of Despairs from coming after them.
When they pushed the doors open, Komaru announced the first discovery: it was dark inside. Makoto rolled his eyes. It might have been successfully sassy if, when he hit the wall, he had actually hit the light switch. They watched him fumble around for a bit, and then Kirigiri stepped forward and found the switch on her first try.
"You're amazing!" he gushed.
"There's a bar?" Asahina gasped in shock, even though Kirigiri had already told them about the alcohol. "Do you think. . .?"
"Not a chance. They would have taken it all with them," Kirigiri said.
Hagakure walked into the center of the grey-blue dance floor. "What a waste. All this wall space and not a single skimpy poster."
"Ugh. You're disgusting," Asahina said.
"Don't pin this all on me!" Hagakure said. "I'm just doing what all teenagers do. Right, Naegi-chi?"
"Don't drag him into this!" Asahina shouted.
"Why not? I wasn't the only one who took a peek at you guys, you know?"
"You. . . what?"
Komaru didn't know exactly what he was talking about (nor did she want to know), but Kirigiri's eyes had narrowed. Kirigiri didn't seem surprised though; it was more like she was confirming something she had once overheard.
"Nothing!" Hagakure cried. "We didn't do anything fishy. Nothing at all! Naegi-chi can back me up. Right? Naegi-chi?"
They looked around. Given that the dance floor was bare, it should have been easy to find him. But he was nowhere to be seen.
"Congratulations, you've frightened him into hiding." Kirigiri's chest rattled as she breathed, like a growl.
And thus began their game of hide-and-seek. Kirigiri went straight for the bar and checked behind it. Asahina went for the stage and the back curtains. Hagakure trailed her, unable to figure out a place to search for himself. Komaru almost walked into the girl's washroom, and then reminded herself that even if he was having a panic attack, her brother would never go in there. She headed into the boy's washroom instead.
Her little sister instincts struck true, for of the six stalls she saw, only the third stall door was suspiciously closed. He hadn't locked it either; the moment she placed some weight on the door, it swung open. There he was. Somehow, Makoto had fit himself into the space between the toilet and the stall wall. She cleared her throat and waited for him to tell her off for invading a boy's-only area.
Only he didn't. He didn't even look at her.
She clapped her hands in front of his face. "Hi! That's a public washroom's floor. Don't you know how gross that is?"
Instead of getting up right away, Makoto ducked lower instead. That allowed him to peer under the stalls, so that he could search for any other pair of feet. Knowing it was only her present relaxed him somewhat, but his neck was still trying to sink into his torso.
"How mad is she?" he whispered.
"Asahina-san? She's not mad anymore. She's just looking for you."
For some reason, that only seemed to make things worse. His teeth cracked together so hard she swore there were sparks.
"It was Monokuma's idea," Makoto blurted out. "He's the one that told us to. He insisted!"
"Wow. Everyone's was right: you would be a terrible criminal," she said. "Can you come out now? She's not mad at you and it's really gross to see you sitting on the ground and I'm trying not to gag."
"She's pretending she's not mad because everyone else is here," Makoto muttered as he got to his feet.
"Really? I didn't think Asahina-san could control her emotions that well."
Makoto gave her a long look. He dithered, "Well, no, I guess she usually can't."
"Then you're overthinking this." She grabbed his arm and pulled. "Come on!"
They burst back onto the dance floor. Komaru was about to shout that she had found him, but yelped in fright instead when Kirigiri was right there. Specifically, she was leaning against the wall next to the door to the boy's washroom.
"So, he was in there," Kirigiri said simply before pushing herself off the wall and walking away.
Okay. Thanks for explaining things like usual, Kirigiri!
Makoto clung to her as Asahina got closer. In fact, if Komaru closed her eyes, she could use the tightness of her brother's grip to guess how close the other woman was. He peeked out from behind her neck, chin resting on her shoulder.
"Why'd you run off like that?" Asahina asked.
Makoto looked confused.
"It doesn't matter," Kirigiri said. "We found him."
Kirigiri made her way to the stage. Asahina shrugged and followed. Her poor brother still didn't seem to understand what was going on.
Hey, they had entertainment, now. There was an actor on the stage: Hagakure had plucked an empty beer bottle and was lamenting the tragedy of a bar without booze. It might have been dramatic, but he kept talking fancy and using words she didn't know.
"It's Shakespearian," Makoto told her. "I'm surprised he would read anything like that. Maybe it's fun to read when you're high."
Hagakure continued his dramatic reading. The four of them watched from the floor in front of the stage. Komaru still didn't understand what Hagakure was saying, but she guessed he was mangling it because Kirigiri looked personally offended. Asahina looked off, too, but not in the insulted way Kirigiri did. More like. . . frightened somehow. The hairs on the Swimmer's arms were erect, and she kept glancing at Kirigiri for some kind of comfort.
"Makoto, if I was going to be angry about what you three did, I would have let you known before this," Kirigiri said suddenly. She turned. "Didn't you notice that I knew you were there?"
"What are you. . . ? You knew they were peeping?" Asahina said, aghast. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I had a towel on. It was no big deal."
"But not everyone did. How could you betray the girl code like that?"
Kirigiri stared at her blankly.
Asahina said, "You really didn't do anything but detective stuff when you were a kid, huh?"
"See? It's no big deal," Hagakure said, having somehow heard them. "Nobody got hurt so let's pretend it didn't happen."
"You're not off the hook. I can't believe you dragged Naegi-kun into something like that, cause it obviously wasn't his idea."
Even though Asahina had more or less absolved him of blame, Makoto still recoiled as if that pointing finger was aimed at him. He looked to Kirigiri for help, then to Komaru, even though Asahina had fixated on their older comrade. If Hagakure was currently a demonstration of the loud, flailing kind of fear, then Makoto was the quiet, cowering kind.
"I'm sorry!" Makoto blurted out, drawing attention back to him.
Asahina blinked. She worried at her lower lip as she looked Makoto up and down.
"Tell you what: if you do something for me, I think I can forgive you," Asahina said slyly.
". . . What?" Makoto asked slowly.
Asahina grinned and bounced toward him. "I get to call you Makoto!"
"What?" Makoto and Kirigiri said at the same time.
"Yep. And you can call me Aoi!" Asahina bounded forward and grabbed Makoto's hands. "It's not that bad, right?"
"O-of course not! Aoi. Aoi-san."
"This is fine with me, Aoi-chi," Hagakure cut in.
"That condition wasn't for you!"
While the two squabbled, Komaru took the opportunity to check on her brother. He was mouthing Asahina's given name to himself with his signature look of gormless confusion. Touko was right; her brother was a shameless flirt.
With a dramatic gust of wind, the double-doors to the venue burst open. On the breeze came green leaves that swirled past Kamukura's majestic form. He took a deep breath – like one of those cute girls in an air-freshener commercial – and surveyed the room.
"Naegi-kun, it's time to go."
Makoto walked over without hesitation. The rest of them followed slowly, unsure what was happening.
"Here." He handed Kirigiri a handheld radio. "Soda-kun and I created these. It will allow you to contact those at Hotel Mirai, should the need arise. Refrain from testing it. They will spend the next two hours prank-calling if you do."
"That's useful," Kirigiri said. "It's certainly easier than making our way there ourselves. What do you need him for?"
Kamukura looked her in the eye. "You know why."
Kirigiri nodded mysteriously. To the rest of them, she said, "Electric Avenue is nearby. If we're done here, we should explore that."
"There's nothing dangerous there," Kamukura added. "I was there earlier."
With her brother in tow, Kamukura drove off on the forklift. Not towards their motel, but the opposite way toward the hospital and Center Island. Komaru watched them nervously and then approached Kirigiri.
"It's fine," Kirigiri told her. "I wasn't the only one who had contact with Naegi-kun while he was with Ultimate Despair."
"I don't get it," Komaru said.
Kirigiri said, "Not all our allies are on this island."
"We're going to see the others?"
"No," Kamukura said. "We are going to Hotel Mirai, but not for Ultimate Despair. Quite frankly, it would be best if we didn't run into them at all."
"Oh," Naegi said, disappointed.
They walked through the gate marking Ultimate Despair's compound and down the cobblestone path. Though he craned his neck every way, Naegi didn't see anyone near the cabins. Closer to the hotel, he could hear voices, but Kamukura steered him away. They walked left, away from the hotel and toward the standalone cabin that Kamukura had claimed for his own.
"We're going in your house," Naegi remarked.
Kamukura opened the door and nudged him inside.
Kamukura's house was a nice-looking, log cabin, like in one of those old American movies. There were wooden floors and wooden walls, the latter of which were covered by pale wallpaper that looked paper-thin. There were no doors he could see from the entranceway. Just a small hallway that veered sharply to the right and disappeared.
"I apologize for the mess," Kamukura said. "I haven't had the time to clean this place fully."
"The mess?" Naegi raised his eyebrows. "It looks fine to me."
"Look at the top sill of the door. There's dust," Kamukura said with disdain.
". . . I'm flattered you think I'm tall enough to notice that," Naegi said dryly.
Kamukura led him into the first room they saw – an office, apparently. The rustic, wooden design continued here, only broken by a small red carpet that was in front of a wooden desk. There were shelves and a couple of cabinets, all bare. The only thing of note was the laptop sitting on the desk and a bunch of electrical things pushed into a corner.
"I constructed a satellite dish earlier," Kamukura said. "We have connection to the internet now. Sit."
He did. Kamukura opened the laptop and began typing.
"I will be in the large room down the hall," Kamukura told him. "Find me when you are finished here."
Sure. Although it would be nice if Naegi knew what he was supposed to be doing. Kamukura wasn't talking though, so he watched the slow loading bar on the screen as it filled up.
"One last thing, Naegi-kun. Don't say where we are."
Huh?
The screen flickered to life. It was a wall. A wall and a floor in a room. That was . . . exciting. He turned to ask Kamukura, but he had already walked out. Naegi moved the cursor around, but nothing happened.
There was, however, noise coming from the speakers. Like the sound of someone rifling through papers in the background. Naegi turned his head to the side and pressed his ear against the speaker. However, the noise stopped shortly after. Frustrated, he raised his head –
And cried out in alarm at the sudden face. The virtual rabbit cried out and jumped, too. It was kind of funny considering that the person in the wheelchair, the person controlling the rabbit, didn't budge.
"Hello, Makoto!" The plush white rabbit waved cheerfully. "It's been a long time since I last saw you. Oh, you're looking good. You have a nice, healthy glow to you."
He laughed. "That's probably the sunburn. Miaya-san, I thought you were . . . with the Future Foundation."
"You don't need to be so formal," Miaya said. "The Future Foundation generously gave me a house, but I work for the good of mankind."
The good of mankind? So, hope? Plus, Kirigiri had trusted her so. . . Miaya didn't really work for the Future Foundation, just like Kirigiri! Still, if they gave her lodging, that meant they were close. That meant she was within their reach.
"Miaya, are you okay?"
"I'm okay. Are you worried about me? Can you tell me why?"
"The Future Foundation!" he gasped. "You should get out of that house. Don't trust them. They might pretend to be your friends, but they're not."
"Is that what they did to you?"
He nodded. A paranoid urge made him check the room for cameras. "They used Kirigiri-san to trick me. I thought they were on my side, but they. . . Miaya, did you ever know someone named Iwata Torio?"
"Yes, he was one of my employees. I haven't seen him in a long time," the rabbit said sadly.
"They . . . they killed him," he choked out. "He helped me get out, but Munakata didn't even care. They just killed him. Just like they killed Kuma. They shot him and. . ." He sniffled and rubbed his eyes until they were clear of tears.
"You can cry," Miaya said gently. "I'm not going anywhere."
That reminded of what Kamukura had said after that incident on the boat. It brought a smile to his face even as his eyes flushed hot with tears. He wept and as she promised, Miaya waited patiently.
"I knew him well. I know he cared about you a lot," Miaya said after it was all over. "That's the kind of person he was."
"He has a niece. . . In Sixth Division. Can you tell her what happened to him? Tell her that she died protecting the Ultimate Hope from the Future Foundation."
"Of course," Miaya said. "Now, are you okay?"
Though there were tears still attached to the bottom of his eyelids, he nodded.
"Do you want to talk about him?"
He shook his head.
"Kirigiri-san said you went somewhere far away. Ah!" The rabbit held up a paw. "You don't need to tell me where. Wherever you are, is it nice?"
"It is! Everyone keeps worrying I'm going to burn up." He laughed awkwardly. "My cheeks are a little tender, but it's not that bad."
"I love sunny getaways. It must be the happiest place on earth for you."
His smile drooped. The rabbit, which had been twirling around and shooting sparks out of its wand, stilled. Its plushy head tilted to one side.
"Can I ask you a question?" Miaya said. "You don't have to answer."
"Okay."
"Are you happy?"
He stared at her. "Why wouldn't I be? All of my friends are here and my sister is here, and the Future Foundation can't find us."
"Hmm. You love your friends."
He nodded.
"I love people, too. Talking to everyone is my job," Miaya said. "But sometimes, I need to be alone. It takes a lot of work to get along with everyone, and I need that time to recharge. Personally, I reserve two hours a day for me-time."
He tried to smile, he did, but he could tell that it fit awkwardly on his face. He looked away.
"Ack!" The rabbit lurched back onto one foot, like a cartoon elephant that had spotted a mouse. "I shouldn't have said that. I hope you don't think I'm too weird."
"You're not weird," he said. "Kirigiri-san likes her private time, and so does Kamukura-kun and. . . and Togami-kun. . ."
"They do? I guess it's pretty normal then."
He frowned. "Aren't you a therapist?"
The rabbit froze. Its cheeks went rosy-red. "That doesn't mean I'm self-conscious. What are you going to do after this?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't asked anyone yet."
"Hmm. Whatever you do, I'm sure you'll have lots of fun. After all, you're on an island full of people who love you!"
For some reason, that sentence fit oddly in his ears. It made him. . . he didn't know. There was something fluttering in his stomach. Something slimy and cold curling up inside him. He touched his cheek as the rabbit spoke again, feeling like he was trying to understand something spoken in a different language.
Miaya didn't say anything after that. The rabbit waited. The feathers on its small wings fluttered.
"I. . ." Naegi said. Elbows tucked, he brought up his knees so his feet were on his chair with him.
"Makoto, are you okay?" He shrugged. "You know there are lots of people there who care about you, right? So, whatever you choose to do, they'll understand. And if someone doesn't, you can always ask for help."
That's where the conversation ended. He hobbled out of the office and into the large room Kamukura was repurposing into a bedroom. The other man put down the table he was carrying and faced him.
"How was it?"
". . . Fine."
Kamukura said, "It's getting late. I'll return you to the motel."
Kamukura led the way out of the cabins. There were lights on in the hotel but once again, Naegi couldn't see anyone outside. The sun was beginning to set, painting the world in orange. Kamukura was ahead by a couple of steps.
"Kamukura-kun?"
"Yes?"
"It's. . ." He moistened his dry throat. "This place is beautiful."
Kamukura looked back.
"Yes, it is."
Review Responses:
Guest (Who also reviewed last chapter): No problem. I didn't think you sounded rude at all.
Other Guest: Did you read The Lion's Den? This is a sequel to that story, and it's pretty explained in there.
