Chapter 21: Hole
Ryota Mitarai
Ryota hesitated his hand over the enter key. Fujisaki-san had set up walls of monitors and servers along the long hallway towards the Bio Lab. The command sat, prompting an interaction. He'd gotten the confirmation that everything was set to go, Kimura-san had confirmed they were all healthy for the program. Everything was safe, it all relied on him pressing the key under his finger.
He tapped it, applying a tiny amount of pressure. Not enough to trigger it. Ryota took a deep breath. This was what everything was leading up to. So he pushed down. The program began to run, lines of code flying past far too fast for him to understand. "Did… Did it work…?"
"Yeah… I think it did…" The Programmer smiled widely. "It'll take a few minutes to process, but it should be up and running soon!"
"I can't tell what's going on though… How will we know?" The Pharmacist leaned over, looking at the lines of functions.
"Kamukura-kun figured we'd want to watch, so…" She spun around in her chair, facing the other monitors, turning each of them on. "These should give us an idea of what's going on…"
"Huh?" Ryota looked at the figures, floating in the darkness. Kuwata, Yukizome-sensei, and Tsumiki-san were all hovering in front of a door, on separate monitors. While Hinata was suspended in front of a bench. "What's happening?"
"It's just loading in all the assets… It'll be up soon, I promise…" She said, growing tired of answering the same question. "Ah! Ah, here we go!"
The settings began to materialize as the four took a step. They each seemed in a trance, stumbling forward. As Yukizome-sensei took her place at the front of the room, Tsumiki-san sat at her desk. His eyes darted to the Artificial Intelligences.
They seemed at first glance to be uniform between the two simulations. But there were subtle differences. Each AI pulled from the participant's perception, and their views were going to cause slight variations. Saionji-san was quieter and talking with Koizumi-san in the teacher's, but she was antagonizing the Nurse in hers. The differences wouldn't change anything too drastically, yet they were prevalent.
'Ahem, hey everyone… I've got word from the school. Due to the encouragement from the parade, the school will be sending us on a trip!' The Housekeeper echoed in both, though in her own, she seemed surprised.
'Where? Are we going to Novoselic? I could show you all my family!' The Princess smiled. There was a slight offset in the calendar, Tsumiki-san's showing a few days earlier than Yukizome-sensei's. Kuwata's was running at the same time, having decided that before everything happened would be better for his recovery. Meanwhile, Hinata's was an entire year before the others.
He turned his attention to the Baseball player's screen. 'No, we're going to a small island off the coast.' Their teacher answered, in response to a similar question. His eyes were dragged to the Fashionista, happily chatting with the avatar. If she had been absent, it would have caused him to be suspicious, so she couldn't just be excluded. She had been formed based entirely on his perception of her, so she had been reduced to a typical airheaded valley girl stereotype. After everything she'd done to Ryota and his friends, it felt surreal.
"Hey, what'd I miss?" The sound of mechanical whirring broke him from his thoughts. "Komaeda-kun is set up in the infirmary… His arm should be fine, but we gotta keep an eye on him." Gekkogahara rolled up, peeking at the screens.
"Just the start of things… Nothing too important. It seems they're not suspicious of anything, so that's good." The Programmer smiled. "They're about to leave on the trip… Though the AI in Hinata's hasn't shown up yet…"
The Animator turned to the fourth monitor. He was sitting on the bench, tapping his foot. If he were to leave the area, he'd be met with an untextured void, and the illusion would be broken entirely. Even as seconds stretched to minutes, he waited patiently. Until finally, the artificial intelligence showed up.
It was identical to the Class Rep he knew, although younger, and her skin was clear. He gave a small, sullen smile. 'Hey there… Sorry I'm late.'
'It's alright. I'm glad you made it…' He quickly stiffened his expression, looking to her hands, holding an envelope. 'What game's in there?'
'Oh, it's not really a game…' The AI opened the package, pulling out two pieces of paper. 'These are tickets to Jabberwock Island.'
'Is that, like, a new arcade or something? I've got an essay due tonight, so I don't think I can stay out too late.' He shook his head.
'Hmm… There's an arcade there? Does that count?' She mumbled. 'Oh, and I've talked to the school, so there's nothing to worry about. You're excused for the next two months.'
'I-I'm- You- What!?' He shouted. 'What are you saying?'
'C'mon… You always seemed super stressed about school, so a vacation would be good for you.' It reached out and grabbed his hand.
'Vacation!? What do you mean? Where are you going!?" He gave a concerned look.
'You'll see.' He was pulled to his feet, before the screen went dark. Simultaneously, the other three blacked out.
"Huh? What happened!? Did it crash!?" Ryota scratched his head.
"No, it's just… Loading the island." The Programmer replied, leaning back. "They're just synced to the same timeframe to make things easier."
He sat back in the chair. "So… It's working, right? No problems or anything?"
"Nope… It's all okay." She spun around, typing something into the main monitor. A few seconds passed before something else popped up. An identical visage to Fujisaki-san, he'd heard referred to as Alter Ego during the early stages of development.
It began to talk, listing off a diagnostic test. The words went in through one ear and out the other, Ryota not understanding any. He sighed, focussing back on the screens. Eventually, one lit up.
'Huh…? Where am I?' Yukizome-sensei's was the first to load, with her blinking the sun out of her eyes.
The Nurse's AI, along with a few of his classmates were waiting around. 'A-A-Ah. You should d-drink s-some water…!'
Nidai-kun quietly poured some into her mouth. 'Gahaha! You were pretty hazy this morning! You passed out on the plane!'
'Plane? Where are we? Where are the others?' She fretted. Ryota had scripted this section personally, as it was the most important part. If they believed in the transportation, all would be fine. Of course, planning for everything each of them could say was impossible, so it was a simple narrative for the AIs to work off of.
'The human avian machine has taken us across the sea, to a land of mystery!' Tanaka-kun exclaimed.
'He means we are on that trip… Everyone else is already exploring. We should go catch up.' Koizumi-san smiled.
By the time the Housekeeper had gotten to her feet, the next simulation loaded. They each accepted the story. Hinata was especially concerned, wondering how Nanami-san got her hands on an island for just the two of them. He eventually accepted to have a look around, clearly flustered by the fact that he'd be spending the better part of two months alone with her.
Other than that, the start had gone off without a hitch. They would have to keep an eye on how things were progressing. If any one of them were to figure out the true nature of the island, their recovery would be in jeopardy. But as things were, he could step away and get some much needed rest.
Chiaki Nanami
A week had passed since the start of the program. She side-eyed the Lucky Student, sitting at his desk and smiling as if nothing was wrong. His arm was wrapped in a cast, which aroused some questions, which he explained away as bad luck. Mitarai-kun had shown no intention of telling them what had really happened, nor what he said he was going to do to her. But his frequent glancing ensured her that he was as paranoid.
It was up to her to say something about him, but if she did, she wasn't sure what could happen. They would obviously be mad at him, and it would probably lead to him being expelled. Which would also mean he couldn't stop the program, or worse. Yet her mind always halted her before she could act on it. He had a gun. All it would take him is a second, before anyone else could stop him, and she'd be-
"Fuhaha… The Supreme Overlord of Ice has deemed you a worthy use of his time!" Tanaka-kun bellowed, standing over her desk.
"Hm…? What's wrong?" She looked up at him for a moment, before her eyes were torn back to Komaeda-kun. "Do you need my help with something…?"
"Could it be you haven't noticed!? Hmph, I see… Converse with me, demon to demon…" He crouched down to her eye-level, once again drawing her attention for only a moment. "You have requested us to be more perceptive to your distresses, and you appear distressed."
"Oh… Yeah." Chiaki bit her lip. This was her chance. Nobody would be mad at her. They couldn't be mad at her. "Komaeda-kun said he was going to kill me."
She forced out in a single breath. It felt so casual, despite the actual words. Was this what her life had devolved to? Had people wanting to kill her been normalized? A few of her nearby classmates halted their own conversations, looking over. "He WHAT!?" The Breeder shouted.
If she hadn't gotten everyone's attention before, he certainly had. "Oh, sweet! I get to beat someone up!" Owari-san grinned, cracking her knuckles and turning to the Luckster.
"Hold on! Hold on! What the fuck!?" Soda-kun clutched his beanie.
"Yeah, I'd also like to know. What the fuck?" Kuzuryu-kun moved, placing himself between her and the others. Pekoyama-san quickly followed suit, drawing her sword.
"Uh… He didn't want the program to happen… So he said he'd kill me if they still did it… And they did it, so he might…" She answered, hiding herself the best she could from his view. Her statement was an exaggeration and vilified him, yet it was the best she could come up with.
"You piece of shit!" Saionji-san declared.
"Yes! You 'piece of shit'!" The Princess repeated.
"You know, I always thought it was suspicious he returned the same day everything happened. Gone for over a year and he suddenly reappears before…" The Imposter didn't finish, but implied enough.
Through all this, he continued to smile. A few seconds passed, him seemingly unaffected by the situation. "It's shameful. For such hope to need to be sacrificed… If only I was able to stop it…"
"Shut it, creep!" The Photographer crossed her arms. "You're not getting out of-"
She was cut off by a raspy laugh. He reached into his blazer. Everything seemed to slow. Pekoyama-san instantly tackled Kuzuryu-kun to the ground, leaving nobody between him and her. The glint of the grip reflected into her eye as he pulled it out.
He was going to kill her. Her friend want to murder her. Chiaki had to move or she'd die. She dove from her desk, but it wasn't enough. He quickly readjusted his aim downwards. His finger tightened around the trigger.
She waited for a few moments. The sound of the shot never rang out in the classroom.
It took her a few moments to recover, slowly peeking her head up. Owari-san already had him pinned to the ground. The gun had also fallen to the floor, the chamber spilling out. It's empty…? She didn't dare say out loud.
Not until someone touched her back did she fully return to her senses. She flinched and quickly looked back to see Mioda-san, an apologetic frown on her face. "Hey Chiaki-chan, are you hurt?"
"I… I don't think so…?" She panted, only then realizing she'd been holding her breath. Only a few pins and needles, as well as the unabating stinging in her foot remained.
The Musician seemed at a loss for words, continuing to pat her back. "That's good… Ibuki doesn't really know what to say…"
"God dammit!" A shout came from the ground as Kuzuryu-kun hauled himself to his feet. "What the fuck just happened!?"
"I guess… He ran out of bullets before coming here? Where the hell'd he even get a gun!? Those're like… Impossible to find." Soda-kun pouted. "What gives!?"
"I wasn't talking to you!" He rolled his eyes. "Why the fuck did you tackle me!?"
Pekoyama-san had finished putting her sword back in its bag. "If you hadn't moved, you would have been caught in the crossfire. If there was any."
"That was the point!" He grumbled. "Fuck, shit… You okay?" The Yakuza turned his attention to her.
"Uh, yeah… I'm not hurt…" She looked over herself again, making sure there was nothing. "Nothing hit me…"
"I have a feeling that's not what he's asking…" Koizumi-san crouched, taking pictures of the weapon. "We're here to listen if you need to talk…" She gave an obviously forced smile.
"O-Oh… Then, yeah, no I'm not… Okay." She mumbled. "I just need a minute alone, and… I'll be back…"
Chiaki grabbed her cane and hobbled out the door. Barely making it out of earshot, she broke down, nearly tripping over her own feet. If they got too worried, they'd probably come looking for her, so she slowly made her way down a floor. It would delay them enough at the very least.
She made her way into the washroom, stopping in front of a sink. Hesitantly, she turned on the faucet and cupped some water, before splashing it over her face. It dampened a few strands of her hair. Her mind ground to a halt as she struggled with contrasting emotions that dug inside her, like a raging fire. Betrayal, anger, relief, sorrow, all coursed through her mind.
The Gamer felt her legs give out, sending her tumbling down against the wall, racked with guilt. She couldn't suppress the impulse to cry. "Woah, huh…?" Somebody exclaimed, walking in the room. Had they already found her? She cracked an eye half-open, met with a blue gaze. "Oh, hey, I know you… You're her…"
"Oh… You." Chiaki stumbled through her mind for a name, brushing some tears out of her eyes. "Asahina-san… Right? You said you go by Hina…"
"Yep, that's right! And you're… Nanami-chan. I got it right, I totally did!" She smiled.
"I'd be more surprised if somebody didn't… Know who I was…" She spoke with a hint of bitterness in her voice.
"That's fair… Anyway, you were, like, crying… What's wrong?" The Swimmer crouched, so they were eye level. "Well, other than… Y'know…"
"Yeah, well… The whole 'y'know' sucks a lot…" She retorted. Even against her own intention, her voice carried a resentful tone. Someone was trying to help her and she was being awful to them for it. "Sorry… I just… It's a lot."
"No, no, I get it. You've had to worry about dying and stuff. But now that Eno- Er… She's gone, you don't have to do that anymore." She shuffled over, sitting next to her on the ground.
"I wish…" She remarked. "B-But it just keeps going… It's not going to stop… This is just what I get, I guess…"
"Okay, I'm a little lost… Um…" She tilted her head.
"I used to think my life was good… I had friends and games. But now, it's just… Awful…" She forced herself to look over, meeting her eyes.
"Well, if your life had a face, I'd punch it and say 'stop being a jerk'." She pumped a fist. "I don't really know you, but nobody deserves to go through what you did."
"No… No they don't…" Chiaki wiped some snot from her nose, giving up on trying to stop her weeping. "I didn't deserve it… I did everything right… But that… That… That good-for-nothing baddie… That… Bitch…"
"Oh yeah, and I'd beat the hell out of her too!" The Swimmer added. "Here, you want a hug?"
"Oh… Not really…" She mumbled, inching away slowly. "Nothing against you… But I'm a little… Wary around your class… Because of the 'y'know'."
"Huh? Okay… That's okay. Well, uh… You're still really upset… If it's just about everything that's happened, I get it but… I feel like something new has happened." She tilted her head. "I guess, if you don't wanna talk to me, I get it… But…"
"Well… Someone I thought was my friend… Has just made everything worse…" She kept her words vague, still processing it herself.
"Hm, well… At least your friends are just regular jerks, and not evil like mine." She glowered. "What did they say?"
"Well, a week ago he said he was going to shoot me. And, like, three minutes ago he did… Or, at least tried." She mumbled.
"What!? Are you hurt!? Is that why you're sitting!?" She spun around, looking over her for a wound.
"No, that's not why I'm sitting… And I wasn't shot… Apparently he was out of ammo." She stated, taking a moment to go over the facts.
"Wait, so you almost… You almost just died!?" Hina-san stumbled over her words.
"I guess…? I'm not dead, so…" She scratched at a scar on her thigh.
"Why do you sound so casual!? If you need to talk to someone, I can call Gekkogahara-chan. She helped me after… Maizono-chan… Wait, no, this is about you, not me. What do you need?"
"Not her… I… I don't know how I… It's like if I don't almost die once a week, the universe will get bored… It's all like 'Oh, Chiaki hasn't suffered enough today, let's ruin her life some more.'" She took a breath. "Somehow my mind has just… Normalized this… And now I'm whining about it on the floor of a washroom to a practical stranger…"
"I don't mind! Complain, rant, do whatever makes you feel better!" She reached out and grabbed her hand. "I'm here for you."
"Yeah, I got it… I should probably get going, though… They'll start to get worried if I'm out too long…" She pouted, grabbing her cane.
"Huh? Wait! Hold on, I still gotta say something!" The Swimmer protested.
"Hm…?" Chiaki caught herself before getting up. "What…?"
"Ah, well, um… I'm not really sure. But I can't just let you leave! No, not happening." She tapped her forehead. "I got it… We could meet and do some exercises and stuff. Whenever I'm down, I do some swimming or laps and feel better. So you should do it with me!"
"I'm not really… In any condition to swim." She wiggled her cane. "And running would just be worse."
"Oh, yeah. I was gonna ask about that. Did you hurt your leg or something?" She asked.
"Right, you… You don't know what happened during the 'y'know'…" Chiaki mumbled. "I got… Hurt really bad…"
"Oh… Oh okay… I thought, just cuz it's been a month and all… You'd have been okay by now." The Swimmer gave her a look, mixed between sympathy and curiosity.
"Yeah… Really bad… It was, uh… It's…" She struggled to get the right words out. "Do you… Do you just want to see it?"
"What!? No!" She shouted. "Okay, well, yeah… But I don't want to… Um, only if you're, like… Okay with it, I guess."
"Yeah…" Chiaki took a deep breath, slipping her shoe off. Her own friends hadn't even seen the majority of her wounds, yet here she was, showing them to, at best, an acquaintance. She slid down her sock, revealing slashes of varying sizes. After a particularly drawn out final strip, she slipped it over the ball of her foot and pulled it off.
"Wh-Huh!?" She gagged, recoiling. Upon first glance, it appeared her foot had a gaping hole, taking up half the width, although only partially true. A thin, translucent stretch of repairing skin held it together, with some globby pink scabbing. Some torn veins and nerve-ends, as well as shards of shattered bone were visible through it, as was the other end of the room. A dull red pulsed as her heart pumped, speeding up as she was reminded of the pain she'd felt. Hina-san hesitantly opened her eyes after a few moments. "How? What? God!"
"Yep… I screwed up and was caught in a spike trap…" Chiaki grit her teeth, speaking as if she'd only taken a hit in a game.
"Hguh…?" Emotions raced across her face, before settling on horror. "How… How can you say it like that!?"
"Well how else am I supposed to say it!?" She argued. "Either I say it like that, or I say exactly what happened. And that'd only make it hurt more!" The flash of anger faded as fast as it came. "Sorry… Do you… Have anything else?"
"S-Sorry… How do you even… Walk like that?" She shivered, staring as if in a trance.
"Well, I… I don't." The Gamer gestured down to her cane. "I can't. And if I try, well… It…" She was about to say it 'hurts like hell', but it felt too tame. "It's probably worse than anything you'll feel… Ever."
"Mhm… Yeah, I think so…" The Swimmer finally pulled her eyes away. "Maybe you should… Have some protein. Sakura-chan said that helped when she got hurt."
"I… Think I'll pass." Chiaki sighed, sliding her sock back on, tugging it up to her thigh. "I've stayed too long anyway." She adjusted her toes to a comfortable position with her fingers, unable to do so regularly, before slipping on her shoe.
"Okay… Um…" She floundered around for words. Eventually, she sighed and jumped onto her, pulling her into a hug. "I'm, like, super sorry for all this!"
"Uh, I… Thank you…" She bit her lip. "I just gotta keep on… Living. Or what was this all for, right?"
"Y-Yeah! Um… Okay, you can go… Wait, what about the guy who shot you? Or tried to. Whatever." She frowned.
"Ah, I think my friends… Will have taken care of him by now." Chiaki pulled herself upright, clutching her cane harder than usual. "Thanks…" She quickly shuffled out, avoiding making things more awkward.
The stairs felt more daunting than usual, as she forced her way up them. Once at the top, she stuck to the hallway's middle. An irrational fear struck her, a hidden buzzsaw could be waiting for her to get too close, the walls ready to betray her. They seemed to close in as she made her way through. She shrunk her form, pulling her arms in close. Her pace quickened, hurting her foot as she stepped. She could feel her vision fading away, until it went dark.
"Hey! Nanami-san!" A shout broke her stupor, followed by someone shaking her..
"Huh…?" She looked up. A gap spread across her memory, from then, to where she was now. Chiaki was sprawled out, face down, in the middle of the hallway. "Where am I…?"
"Well, you were gone for a while… So Tanaka-kun and I came to look for you." The Princess helped her to her feet. "I know you wanted some time alone, but we got a little worried. When I saw you were lying on the ground, I could not help myself but shout."
"Indeed. Your form lying on the ground… Was able to disturb even my heightened senses." He frowned.
"Yeah… Sorry…" She pushed herself over, sitting up. "Agh… I think I hit my head. When I fell."
"You fell? Are you okay?" Sonia-san crouched down, feeling her forehead.
"I… I don't think so…" She groaned, rotating her shoulder. "Like, I'm not hurt… But…"
"Hmph… I understand." The Breeder squatted on her other side. "But as I said, we are willing to hear you out."
"I got that… Uh, well… You're… You should just go…" Chiaki recoiled from their touch.
"Nanami-san? What is wrong?" She asked, pulling her hand away.
"Well… You're basically in danger just by being around me… Aren't you?" She looked up at both of them. "So you shouldn't be around me."
"Oh… I do not mind. Because you need our help." The Blonde grabbed her hand.
"Heh… Fear is just a mortal concept. Danger is not enough to dissuade me." He added.
"No… I'm serious…!" She scooted backwards, out of their reach. "It's only a matter of time before someone else tries to hurt me… And you guys could get seriously hurt too… So just stay away. And then you can be safe. And I won't need to worry about you."
"Nanami-san. I will not just leave you… Like I said, you need help. So let us help you." She crawled right after her.
"Stop… Stop." She fumbled, her weak protest falling apart. "If not for me, you'd just be happy and alright. You wouldn't need to worry. So… Just let me go… I'm the reason everything sucks, anyway. So just get mad at me and leave…"
"I don't hate you for it, Nanami. I know how it is… Being the king of hell doesn't come without it's qualms…" Tanaka-kun let out a sigh.
"Every king or queen will someday lose their crown…" Sonia-san added. "It is what I have been told since I was old enough to understand. It was meant to make me 'humble' and a 'good ruler'. But was always just a total bummer."
"I don't get it…" She apprehensively let her take her hand. "Why are you… Saying that."
"I'd rather be happy, spending time with you than not. Life should be spent the best you can, and I say it's all together." She frowned. "You've fought so much to stay with us… So I'll fight for the same thing."
"The Supreme Overlord of Ice is not one for powerful wording, so he relinquishes this to the Dark Queen." He added. "Though he does agree."
"You… You really…?" She fumbled around for any words. "Thank you… You're… Good friends…"
"Here… You should get off the floor." Sonia-san smiled. Together, they helped her up.
"Thanks… Uh… So… Where… Is he?" She used them as support as she walked, not trusting her own foot.
"Nidai-kun and Owari-san have taken him to the security. I presume he's going to be expelled, or worse." She spoke, no remorse in her voice. "Meanwhile, my stalker has 'confiscated' the weapon. He made a big deal about it."
"Okay…" A mix of views swelled within her. After a few moments, she spoke. "Good… I'm not in the mood." Eventually, they reached the stairs. "I'm a little hungry… It's probably around lunch now, right?"
"If you desire, I shall deliver the news of your wellbeing to the mortals. You two can continue to the Hall of Dining." He smirked and departed.
"Oh… I know! I could get you some Novoselecian Chocolate. It's our largest export!" Her eyes lit up.
"I like chocolate…" She smiled. "Though that's not much of… Food. Plus it'll take a while to get here, won't it?"
"Then we shall cook a banquet! Hanamura-kun offered to show me his skills many times, so he must have known I possessed the cooking abilities." The Princess pumped her fist.
Time passed, slowly, achingly. Chiaki still had days where she wasn't even able to muster the strength to get out of bed. Sometimes lasting up to a week. But her friends were always there to support her. Some releases that she had been waiting for, that had slipped her mind, finally came out. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood quickly became one of her favourites, and a highlight of the year.
The last of the Autumn leaves fell away, replaced by snow covered branches. As November turned to December. Eventually, they set up a countdown until the end of the Neo World Program in their classroom. It helped her get up in the morning, at the very least to check it.
It wasn't until a few days before that they noticed. By coincidence, or on purpose, the program would finish on Christmas Day. Even Mitarai-kun was surprised by the discovery.
Their Eve party was early in the day, as they were all eager to wake up in time. Chiaki couldn't get herself to sleep. Worry, that the program would fail and it would be a waste of time. Anxiety, that they'd all blame her. Hinata-kun worst of all. Horror, that she'd basically brainwashed them all over again.
They were scheduled to wake up at midnight, but they would need some time to come to terms with everything. That was what Mitarai-kun had said. They agreed to meet up at nine, if everything went well.
Chiaki tossed and turned, fiddling with a copy of Pokemon Black. It had eluded her, having come out the same day everything happened. Castelia City's street was enveloped by darkness as the night cycle set in. Midnight had come.
They would have just woken up. She pulled herself up, unable to just lie down. Her struggle came to a head, and she lunged herself at the door. She needed to be there for them. And they would need her.