Whisper In My Ear
The hospital was like a morgue, and it wasn't just because of the late hour. It felt hollow somehow; there was an emptiness that suggested that not only did no one live here, but that no one could live here. Despite Tsumiki's best efforts, great swaths of the hospital's walls were still rubbed grey with dust and grime. It was a stain that didn't wouldn't come off with the swipe of a wet cloth.
Something squeaked in an unseen hall. There was a quiet noise: high-pitched and regular like rattling chains. Komaru whimpered and inched close to Kirigiri. Kirigiri glanced at her, and then led them in a direction that Komaru just knew led closer to the creepy, creepy sound.
"Do you think it's a ghost?" Komaru asked.
Flatly, Kirigiri answered, "No."
She shivered. "I hope not. The last time I met a ghost was creepy. I don't want to do it again."
"You met a . . .?" Kirigiri shook her head, as if waking from a dream. "I don't want to know."
The noise became less scary as it got closer, but Komaru still kept one step behind Kirigiri. It was a little funny to think about, because Kirigiri looked like a pretty, non-threatening girl from behind. But one second of eye contact was enough to tell anyone how wrong that was.
The noise was coming from a cart. The two of them spied it just as they rounded the corner of the first-floor hallway. Behind the cart followed a pale, skinny woman with long stringy hair like the ghosts in all those horror movies her brother made her watch . . .
"What?" Kirigiri said after Komaru screamed.
"I-I'm sorry!" the ghost shrieked as she cowered behind her cart. "I didn't mean to scare anyone!"
Kirigiri rubbed at her temple. "Stop screaming. I'm getting a headache."
"Um, I have a cold compress. H-here!" Tsumiki grabbed what looked like a bean bag and thrust it at Kirigiri like there was a gun to her head.
"That's not necessary. Is your current task urgent? We need to talk."
"If she has to, Owari-san can wait a little longer. . . Huh? Wait!"
Tsumiki and Komaru both jumped when they realized Kirigiri was already leaving without them. Thankfully, even with those long legs, she was easy to keep up with.
"I'm presenting you with a new case. A new patient," Kirigiri corrected as they climbed the stairs. "I trust you'll treat it with the utmost secrecy."
"I will," Tsumiki said. "As a nurse, I'm required to keep all patient information confidential."
Kirigiri led them into a room that was way too big for just the three of them. A thick, black curtain lined the back wall, as if they were about to watch a play open. They pulled out chairs from the perimeter of the room and arranged them into a triangle. Kirigiri took her seat immediately, crossing one leg over the other. The sharp tip of her heel bobbed threateningly.
"Um, so who's the patient?" Tsumiki asked.
Him. Even as she thought it, Komaru whirled around in her seat to check the door. No one was standing there. The door was still closed. The secret was safe. Meanwhile, Kirigiri appeared to be thinking about what to say, which allowed the silence to stretch on. It was nerve-wracking. With each tick of the clock, the chance of being discovered grew that much higher.
"It's my brother," Komaru found herself forced to say.
"Makoto? Is he sick? I didn't notice anything wrong with him," Tsumiki wailed. Her face took on a pasty pallor, like she was the one who was sick.
"That's because this was recent." Before Tsumiki could relax, Kirigiri said, "He's relapsed into despair."
Oh. That was blunt. After a delayed reaction, Tsumiki said, "Like Owari-san?"
"He's not starving himself, but the point stands."
"He's in despair? But that means . . . Th-that's. . ." Tsumiki bunched up the skirt above her knees. "I don't know how to treat that. I don't know what to do. I'm sorry! I . . . I don't know how to help!"
She wailed again, and it was shriller than before. Yet somehow, it was easier for their ears to bear. Maybe it was the emotion behind it. For while Tsumiki shook and clawed at her temples, she remained strangely focused on something that wasn't here, like she about to spring at some unseen foe and tear it apart with her bare hands.
"Tsumiki-san, listen to me. We're going to help him, but we need your help to keep him from those who would make things worse." Sharply, Kirigiri interrupted Tsumiki the moment she began to argue. "I know all of you care about him. However, some of your classmates are not well and will not understand that Naegi-kun is not, either. We need to distance him from these influences."
". . . Can I see him?"
Kirigiri's eyebrow lifted just the tiniest bit.
"When there's an opportunity, a nurse should always base their evaluation off firsthand observation," Tsumiki prattled, speaking like she was reading off a clipboard. Maybe this was easier for her to handle if she resorted to theory. "Facts can be miscommunicated or lost when someone tries to perform a diagnosis through hearsay, especially when the other party is untrained."
"I'm a detective," Kirigiri said bluntly. "My entire career is based upon making accurate observations."
"But you're not trained in medicine," Tsumiki insisted. Her lips were pursed a little in defiance.
Komaru glanced at a stony Kirigiri. This wasn't good. Although she wracked her brain, Komaru couldn't think of a good reason to say no. But she knew they should. Tsumiki was still one of them and Makoto –
Kirigiri said, "Finish your business with Owari-san and we'll go see him."
"E-eh? What's wrong?" Tsumiki said in the wake of Komaru's loud groan. "Do you have a stomach-ache?"
"She's fine. Why don't you finish attending to Owari-san? Then we can see him together."
Tsumiki jumped to her feet and bowed quickly, bumping the chair behind her. As if afraid they'd yell at her for that, she scurried out of the room quickly.
"You need to learn to control yourself," Kirigiri said once Tsumiki was gone. "Your brother is better at containing his reactions."
"Why would you say yes?" Komaru asked. "I know she isn't as bad as the others, but she was still one of them. Are you sure it's safe for him to see one of them this early? Couldn't we wait a day, or at least make it Pekoyama-san."
"She already knows. Therefore, it's best we don't anger her needlessly," Kirigiri said. "Additionally, this means I will be present for their first meeting. I'm certain Naegi-kun intends to attack her, so observing will be very useful for when we plan our future strategies."
"You're using her as a target dummy? That's a little cold."
Kirigiri leaned forward. "Naegi-san, you need to understand that your brother is an active threat. Right now, he's focused on Kamukura-kun, but we don't know when that will change – and it will. He may not want to hurt us, but Ultimate Despair never thought they were hurting him either."
They caught up to Tsumiki in Owari's hospital room. Komaru had never been here since Owari had taken up residence – nor had she planned to. Owari was scary. Really scary. Komaru still remembered watching her pounce on Kirigiri in the dark. And Owari was just as scary in the day. Everything about her profile was wrong thanks to the effect of starvation; she looked like some tall, long-limbed monster one would expect to have fur and sharp claws. At least the red eyes were gone now.
"You have a bit more colour," Kirigiri observed. Komaru didn't know how she could tell given that Owari was already tanned.
"Is that good?" Owari asked.
"It means you're getting better," Tsumiki said happily.
"Huh. Better." Owari scratched the side of her nose. "What does that mean?"
"It means you eat three healthy, well-balanced meals a day and get sufficient exercise," Tsumiki nearly shouted.
"Okay, okay. Sheesh. Not my fault you and Coach have me on bedrest."
"How are you feeling?" Kirigiri asked.
"Fine," Owari said snippily, and it was apparent that was all she intended to admit.
With Tsumiki's checkup done, they returned to the motel where they found Hagakure sitting cross-legged and palms pressed together in a prayer pose above his head not far from Makoto's door. Hagakure's hum wobbled in pitch with his trembling, masking the sound of their approach until Kirigiri cleared her throat right behind him. He shrieked and leapt to his feet, then froze in an awkward, one-footed stance that made it look like he was in the middle of some ritualistic dance.
"Hah! My prayers have been answered." Proudly, Hagakure grinned and gave them a thumbs-up. "I knew it! Ever since I found that magic crystal ball, my ability to communicate with the spirit world has increased by 30%."
He showed them a spherical object that fit in the hollow of his cupped palms. It was milky white, sculpted from frosted glass that made it hard to see through to the other side. Although the shape was spherical, it was far from smooth; the shape had been created by binding dozens of hexagonal plates together.
"That's a Christmas tree decoration not a crystal ball," Kirigiri remarked.
"Huh? No way! This is a genuine crystal ball made of. . ." He trailed off after realizing that Kirigiri simply didn't care. "A-anyways, I got the stuff, but to install it, I'd have to take out the current doorknob, which means nothing would be keeping him in."
Kirigiri gave him a look. ". . . Hagakure-kun, there's nothing locking him in right now. That's why I'm asking you to install a lock."
He went pale.
"Regardless, you don't need to worry. we're going in. We'll keep him distracted while you work."
"Thanks!" Hagakure laughed out of relief. "Great, so if anything happens, just yell and I'll get the hell out of here!"
And to think Hagakure was both the biggest and oldest person here. But Komaru had learnt that this was the extent of what you could expect from him. At the same, she found it odd that Tsumiki hadn't said a word about them installing a lock on Makoto's door. Then she remembered that for the entirety of the time they had held him captive, they had kept Makoto locked up. Calling them out now would be hypocritical.
When they entered the room, Makoto appeared to be in the middle of deciding whether to take a nap. He laid on the bed, but on top of the sheets rather than below. His teddy bear was held close, with an arm locked around its neck in a vaguely threatening manner, like Makoto would rather choke the bear to death than let it leave.
"Kyoko-san!" he crowed, naturally noticing the most demanding presence first. "You're back again. Is everything okay?"
He looked like himself. The concern sounded like him. The only thing that seemed off was how much he had lit up. He was too happy. She hadn't believed her brother could ever be described like that, but here they were.
"I'm just here as an escort," Kirigiri answered, shifting Makoto's fervent attention from her to the person smiling shyly at her shoulder.
"You brought Mikan?" He clapped. "That's a great choice! I still think we should bring Kuzuryu-kun in as soon as we can, though."
Kirigiri didn't react. Tsumiki, however, glanced from her to Makoto and asked, "Um, what do you mean?"
"Oh, Kirigiri-san and I are working on a project and we're glad to have you onboard!"
"That's awfully presumptuous of you when she obviously doesn't know," Kirigiri said as she walked around the perimeter of his room. Her fingers followed alongside on the wall. That wasn't an idle gesture. She was looking for something, but Komaru didn't know what.
Makoto countered. "It's Mikan. She'll help us."
Tsumiki raised her hand just above shoulder-height like a shy schoolchild. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but I'm not sure what I would be helping with."
"Makoto-kun," Kirigiri said sharply, "this isn't the time."
Mindlessly, Makoto stroked the head of his bear. "You don't need to feel her out, Kyoko-san. I know Mikan will help."
It was impossible not to pick up on the simmering tension. Though technically it wasn't aimed at her, the inclusion of Tsumiki's name left the nurse in the thick of it. Something lurched in Komaru's chest when Makoto switched his gaze from Kirigiri to Tsumiki. The way he softened when he saw his nervous friend, that was all him. Makoto hated making people uncomfortable and would shrink in on himself somehow to make himself less threatening. But that smile he wore. . . She couldn't think of a term better to describe it than ghoulish.
"You will help, won't you, Mikan?" Makoto said. "You don't care what it is. You'll help me because that's what friends do."
"Y-yes, that's right!" Tsumiki said proudly, as if she were the one who suggested it first. "Friends do favours for each other."
"And if you would help out Enoshima, then you would definitely help me." Makoto grinned. "Because we're just as close as you two were – maybe even more!"
Was that true? Judging by how Kirigiri looked Makoto's way, even the world's greatest detective didn't know. And how could they figure it out? How could anyone see the way Makoto radiated joy like a sun and turn him down? If you did care about him, how could you break his heart? Tsumiki certainly couldn't, and she agreed with an almost fanatical zeal.
"Come here." Makoto scooted to the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to him. "Let's talk."
"Makoto-kun, this is not the time," Kirigiri barked again.
"It isn't nice to ask people to help you without telling them what you're really planning." Makoto stared hard at Kirigiri. "Sometimes, it has unintended consequences."
That was a verbal jab. It had to be. There was no other explanation for the inflection he chose. Komaru hadn't thought her soft brother could stand up to a fight with Kirigiri – verbal or physical – yet here he was, picking some kind of fight. Was she going to have to protect her brother from yet another problem he started?
Thankfully, Kirigiri didn't take the bait. Instead, she changed the topic of discussion – and its participants. "Naegi-san, can you open the window? It's stuffy in here."
Uh, okay. This must have been an attempt to distract –
"Komaru?" Makoto blinked. "Oh, Komaru! Uh, when did you get here?"
"I've been here the whole time?" Had he not noticed? His own flesh and blood? Well, maybe she couldn't blame him. Kirigiri was beautiful and scary, so it was easy to overlook the people around her.
"Oh. . . That's awkward." Makoto cleared his throat; his cheeks were brushed red. To Kirigiri, he murmured, "Sorry. I didn't realize . . . A-anyways, what's new?"
Komaru exchanged a confused glance with Tsumiki. It was nice to know she wasn't the only person lost here.
"He seems healthy, although he is a bit skinny." Tsumiki leaned against the motel wall outside Naegi's room. She picked at her sleeve. "He doesn't appear to be in distress."
"Naegi-kun's injury isn't one that is visible," Kirigiri said. "Regardless, thank you for taking the time to evaluate him. Is there anything else you need?"
"Not right now," Tsumiki said and although her voice trembled, it was difficult to tell that she had been completely panicking a few seconds ago. But that was the life of Tsumiki, Ultimate Nurse: bouncing back between extreme emotions so quickly that few of them had lingering effects.
"Then you should return to your duties at the hospital. Remember: this matter is of the utmost confidentiality," Kirigiri instructed.
Once again, Tsumiki gave them a bow and scampered off. There was no need to supervise her departure; in regular circumstances, Tsumiki was too timid to act on her own. Naegi had tried to embolden her, but had abandoned that path when he realized that his little sister was present. That was, in fact, the most valuable piece of information she had gathered today: Naegi had already decided he didn't want Komaru to assist them in usurping Kamukura, and that was overwhelmingly valuable. That discovery alone proved that agreeing to Tsumiki's demands had been the right choice.
And it wasn't the only discovery, either. She had known Naegi would try to manipulate Tsumiki, and he had. She had learned that for at least the beginning, Asahina would have to be cautious. She knew, and Naegi would, too, that the tactic he had attempted on Tsumiki would be the next effective against those two. Ideally, Asahina would have learned her lesson after what had happened on the voyage here, but until she began to cope with the emotions caused by Naegi's dwindling sanity, Asahina may forget.
But that was for later. Right now, she needed to test the lock. Its installation should have been simple, but Hagakure had his occasional moments of breathtaking incompetence.
"Did letting them talk help at all?" Komaru asked. The younger Naegi still sounded sullen that Tsumiki had been allowed to visit her brother.
"Yes. Tsumiki-san cannot be left alone with him, but she can supervise him with a partner." She turned the knob. Good. It was working. "For example, she can be paired with someone Naegi-kun wouldn't trust to keep a secret, like Hagakure-kun."
Komaru grimaced. "You think Hagakure-kun would help?"
"It's just an example." She nodded at Komaru. "Thank you for your assistance. You can leave now. I need to speak privately with your brother."
"A-are you sure you'll be okay?" Komaru asked desperately. "If me and Tsumiki-san can't be alone with him. . ."
"It's fine. I know what his ulterior motives are." And he thinks I'm on his side.
Kirigiri left Komaru behind walked inside. Naegi was sprawled out on his bed again. He looked at her, then past her, waiting for the door to open again. She got all the way to the chair before Naegi realized that no one else was coming. Like a switch had been flipped, he flipped over and pushed himself up to his hands and knees.
"I have something to show you, if you're not busy." Naegi pulled out some papers from underneath his pillow. "Maybe you could give me a hand, too. I'm not too good at this."
He offered the papers to her. She took them. The paper on the top was an illustration of a feline, but a bipedal one with eyes like coal. It had disproportionately long front limbs (although that could have been a consequence of his less than stellar drawing skills) armed with thick, sharp claws. She went to the next page. This illustration was of a canine. Once again, the animal was a biped with arms more akin to a human being. The page after that was filled with thick, black lines from Naegi furiously crossing out whatever he had drawn. To her, it looked like it had once been a drawing of a bear.
"What are these?" Kirigiri asked.
"Designs for Soda-kun." His breath escaped in a little whump. "Like I said, I'm not very good at this."
"Designs for what?" she said slowly.
Slowly, like someone was chiseling it into his face strike by strike, his lips stretched into a smile. "The main advantage Kamukura has over us is strength. No one can go one-on-one with him, or two-on-one, or three-on-one. . . You get what I'm saying. If we want to stand on even ground with him, we need to increase our numbers. There are tons of scraps laying around, so Soda-kun should be able to make some robots. Obviously, they can't be Monokumas, so I'm trying to come up with something different. Say, Kirigiri-san, what's your favourite animal?"
She looked at the papers again. Were these designs physically possible – no, that was a silly question. They were possible when he had the Ultimate Mechanic at his call. This was dangerous. Much more so than she had anticipated. And he was still waiting for her answer. Naegi was looking at her so earnestly, so eagerly. . .
"Worms," she said flatly.
". . . What?"
"I like worms. They serve an invaluable function to the ecosystem while remaining out of sight." She handed the papers back. There. Let him try to design a deadly robot based on a worm.
"That's. . . unexpected," he said. He stared down at his papers, as if coming to an understanding about how impossible his new design task was. But he would try. She was counting on that. "Also, we need to speak to Kuzuryu-kun soon."
"I've been thinking about that," she lied. "Is that wise? As you said, Kamukura-kun has the advantage of strength, and Kuzuryu-kun isn't known for his cool head."
Naegi thought about it. The back of his head hit the headboard. "You're right. This is why you're the Ultimate Detective, not me."
One landmine defused, although this new one Naegi was planning to bury at Soda's feet would pack a bigger punch. "Pekoyama-san is also out of the question."
"Why? She can keep a secret."
"Not from Kuzuryu-kun."
"Just tell him them that he's not supposed to know," Naegi said. He seemed perplexed, like he didn't understand why this was an issue.
"Tell him. . . Why would that matter?"
"Because Kuzuryu-kun's always wanted Pekoyama-san to be more independent. He'll never admit it to anyone but her, but seeing Pekoyama-san act as his servant really bothers him. If you tell Pekoyama-san a secret and she tells him that he shouldn't know, he won't like it, but he won't force her to tell." Naegi frowned and pulled out the scribbled-out image of the robotic bear. He methodically began tearing it into strips. "And she'll agree to keep it quiet because it's in his and my best interest."
"That's. . . a brilliant assessment," she said. She wasn't lying, and that was troubling. Had Naegi been quietly profiling them from the beginning, or had despair brought his hidden potential to the surface?
"You should go talk to her," Naegi said. He took one strip of paper and rolled it in his palm.
"I will. I'll do it right now." Of course she would. Without knowing, Naegi had handed her a weapon on a silver platter. Apart from her entanglement with Kuzuryu, Pekoyama was the only member of Class 77 that could be trusted. Having the Swordswoman on their side made this plan that much more feasible.
Right before she left Naegi's room, she looked back at him. Naegi was grinning. In his palm, he held several rolled-up pieces of paper.
They looked like worms.