Hooking themselves to the tree branch using their legs, and holding a pair of binoculars, Shino peered down at the gathering groups of people by the lake. They hadn't been able to get to the woods the day before, but knew that finally, the police had found the remains there.
And according to my parents I'm still just a 'frivolous little girl', they thought in distaste as they trained the binoculars onto the divers preparing to jump in. They'd never dream that I could be capable of anything like this. Their 'untalented' daughter pulling off murders without even the slightest hitch. The bodies only being found now. There was, of course, the thing with their glitter spider-that really had been a shame. But nobody had come knocking, so they were reasonably sure that it must have been lost somewhere else or just straight up not recovered.
There's bigger fish to fry anyway.
Even from such a distance, they could feel the tension had heightened, the scene was practically vibrating with it. They didn't think that there were any actual bomb disposal experts of anything of the like at the scene, but the presence was definitely overkill for the faint possibility of a body (or parts of one). No wonder that over on the other side of the lake, about three officers were having to herd away gawkers.
"Terrorism," Shino murmured, knowing nobody would hear them from this vantage point. "that's absolutely bonkers. We're hardly on that scale."
Yet, of course, their actions had incited protests, and Keiko had sent video footage of the offices of a local politician being vandalised as a result of his public speaking out in favour of Hope's Peak's status quo. Other people had posted videos and articles of their own, igniting lots of debate into Hope's Peak's impact on society-some of the more radical one were calling for boycotts of products and organisations run by alumni unless they spoke against Hope's Peak. Nothing had actually been blown up or burnt down, but they were definitely unsettling the balance.
Still, they wouldn't be calling it 'terrorism' if it was any other institute, one that was not so far-reaching and up itself.
Shino shook their head and readjusted the binoculars. The divers had apparently hit gold and now they were coming up, with a bundle whose bin-bag wrapping was gradually coming undone. Focusing on that, they could see blond hair coming out of a bun, a loose, floppy limb. They hadn't thought of dismemberment, back then. None of them had.
At that point, Shino put the binoculars away, and quietly slid down the tree. They knew, sooner or later, the net was going to be cast wider. They were going to try and find which way Sachi Tatsumi and her assailants had come from, what traces they may have left behind. They were going to look at her ruined face and removed fingerprints and wonder why, when it'd be clear who she was anyway.
But they weren't going to find them. Not when they'd got this far.
After all, we need to continue to the point we actually become what they say we are.
…
"Looks like it's working! We'll need to get an actual animation on that screen, but yeah, all is good on my end!"
Shino and Kaneda were wandering around the warehouse that was on the Artificial Beach, setting up the cameras that they would be using to watch and record the game, once it started. But they had their phone out with them, with Hatsumi on a video call, testing the software and making sure that what they put up actually worked. She could almost imagine that they were together, that her footsteps were making noise on the floors, that she was laughing and joking with them.
Almost.
"Damn, animation, that's never been my forte. I suppose Hana would've been good at that crap," Shino groaned.
"Oh yeah, I know, " Hatsumi said. "She would have been-the bear looks so damn good. Shame we couldn't get actual, like, little robots. "
"That would have been too easily traceable, though, regrettably." Kaneda intoned dramatically. "Still, I believe that Sawada-kouhai may know a thing or two, we can utilise him to make animations for the screen, then we don't have to risk ourselves."
"Aww, but then those brilliant masks are gonna go to waste," Hatsumi pouted. "Aren't they?"
She looked over her shoulder at the pile of masks that Shino had collected from Keiko the other day. Despite their pre-schooler randomness, there was something terrifying about them.
"Yeah, yeah, Nakajima could have knocked up a couple robots for us, if he used his brain. "
Hatsumi blinked at the screen. Shino had barely said Sho's name since everything had happened, except to say, icily, that he deserved what had come to him. And it was true, but even after all this time she was honestly having trouble wrapping her head around the fact anything had happened at all. It had only been days before that Sho had been sitting in here with her, and they'd been going through all the names of kids she'd known in the Reserve Course who'd be interested in potentially dating Sho, and how she would have done the setting up herself if she could.
"You know what, you totally need to go for the Shuuhei-Emlyn vibe, because I mean, come on, they're by far the best couple in the entire school. You'll just be kicking it a notch up by being inter-course."
"Hah, inter-course."
"I knew you'd spot that, dirty boy. Which is why I said it in English."
Sho waggled his eyebrows, and then leaned back, sighing.
"So, I guess opposites-attract kinda thing, yeah? Which half of the dynamic am I? Am I alluring and mysterious?"
"Naaah, mate, you're no Emlyn Grace, no offence." Hatsumi laughed. "But hey, being the Shuuhei has it's charms, right? Ordinary, but charming with it, cheerful and amiable and boy-next-door."
"Hmmm."
Sho pouted for a moment, but then shrugged with a broad smile.
"Hey, I can live with that! But, like, bad-boy-streak too, right? So, got anyone who's dark, handsome but also completely wholesome?"
"Hmm," Hatsumi made an exaggerated thinking face. "Let's see…"
Just a few days before, that had been. And then she was on one end of a video call and watching Sho tell them all "I was up there on the roof that night" and being so incomprehending, wanting so badly to not understand because understanding would mean the truth was what it was.
She had been glad, to find out that he'd died after that. She really had been. But more than that, she wished she had been there to land a blow herself. After everything-she'd thought they were friends. How could he have sat there and laughed with her about his romantic goals when all this time….all this time…
"Yo, earth to Hats!"
Hatsumi blinked and looked over at the screen of her phone, where she saw Shino and Kaneda peering at her. Ah, but remember also, the way he looked. Even that same day, there'd been moments that'd given her pause. But she had ignored them, and look where'd that gotten him. She pasted a smile onto her face.
"Yeah, he could've, but no way would I want him to have touched her designs after what he did!" she pointed out.
"True, true." Shino nodded. "Speaking of which, you heard, they might've started finding him. They seem to be on a corpse roll, which is good for us-"
"Okay, I've put these cameras up now!"
Kaneda had moved away from the view of the phone for a moment, and now Shino turned it around so that Hatsumi could watch him bound down from the foldable step stool that they'd been carrying around with them all day. Kaneda flashed a peace sign and laughed, and idly she nodded the green streak in his hair She cross-checked her list of cameras and then nodded at the phone.
"Alright, start wandering around and I'll activate it."
She entered a few commands into the laptop on her lap, and then a window opened up showing the two of them happily wandering around one of the spaces that would serve as sleeping quarters for their captives. Fuck, I want to be with them so much. SO MUCH.
"Oh maaaaan, looks good! Wouldn't want to be sleeping there though!"
"So it works?" Shino asked.
"Yeah, it works!"
"Oh beautiful!" Kaneda exclaimed. "Everyone's going to be so pleased to hear that when we regroup."
"Shino, please tell me we're regrouping here, so I can see everyone in the flesh."
"Huh, yeah, yeah." Shino looked up at the room camera rather than the phone in their hands. "Naturally, obviously. We'll make a party of it."
"Can I come over to take a look-round myself?" Hatsumi asked, impulsively, longingly.
"No, not yet," Kaneda said. "It's not safe for you."
"Yeah, we're having to be really careful. Things have been going crazy but they're not crazy enough yet…"
Shino paused, thinking, and Hatsumi idly pulled up her browser, opened to the tab with the news alert she had set up, seeing reams and reams of smaller incidents motivated by Despairs' Descent, as well as progress into the investigations of the disappearances. Sure enough, there were new stories of body parts being found. She'd have to read them closely later, but she quickly switched back to the window showing the camera feed.
"..but when they're in here, you can be the first one who makes the in-person appearance, okay? Try out one of those masks too!"
Hatsumi lit up a little at the idea. Not much-it was still so inadequate, it still felt so far away. But she loved the idea of it. Yes, I shall hold onto that. And finally being able to gather with all the others in person, that too would be something. She could tease Sosuke (annoyingly), Kumori and Riku (both affectionately), try and reach out to Mihoko again, needle Mizuki and Mokomichi about their relationship. Minah would be resplendent and Azuki would snark and Keiko would fuss over them all.
Almost like the past….
"Anyway," Shino carried on. "Can you zoom in?"
A few keys, and Hatsumi confirmed to them that she could indeed zoom in, and then turn the camera around to sweep across the small space. Shino and Kaneda then checked a few of the other dorms, and then considered themselves done for the day.
"What do you want for dinner? I can't be arsed to cook." Shino declared.
"Pizza?" Hatsumi asked after a moment.
"Got it! Hanging up now, alright?"
Sure enough, Shino hung up, and Hatsumi closed the camera application on her laptop, thus turning off all the cameras. Despite the fact the lights were on, and the laptop itself was also still on, she felt as if she was still in darkness.
And for a while, she remained in it.
…
10
The excitement was building, as people shuffled and murmured, looking up at the sky. Azuki tapped his phone's camera, made sure it was in focus, and held it to the sky. Next to him, Daniel did the same and they huddled together.
9
Daniel, apparently on an impulse, switched to front facing camera and then took a selfie, and Azuki spluttered.
"Hey!"
"Come on, it'll look good!"
Azuki pouted, but knew he had a point.
8
"Almost there…." He murmured. "Almost there."
Daniel looked over and grinned, his hat having slipped slightly over his face in the selfie process. Azuki reached over and corrected it, but his friend wasn't perturbed.
"Excited?"
7
Azuki shrugged off-handedly, and looked to the dark, dark sky. Whether back in Japan, or here, he normally loved the anticipation of the New Year. The excitement, the possibilities. New years meant new hopes, and usually he was raring to go and get things done.
But it's different this time.
There were no real possibilities, not anymore. Only this dark, dark road to nowhere.
6
"Dude, what was that, you weren't speaking English?"
Azuki blinked and looked over at Daniel.
"What is it that I said?" he asked in English?
"Uhhhhhh…." Daniel scrunched up his face and tried to imitate the sounds. Unsurprisingly, it went badly, but Azuki got the gist, enough to realise he had thought out loud.
"Ah, ah, nothing to worry about."
5
Daniel gave him a look, and Azuki glared back, hoping that would be enough to deter him, but instead he stared back, looking concerned.
"I really need to teach you more Japanese. You know what, that's my New Year's resolution."
If I even make it through alive.
"Naaaaah, I'll get Hana to teach me. She's prettier."
Evidently, Daniel hadn't meant to say that last bit, as he promptly shut his mouth and blushed furiously. Azuki laughed aloud and jokingly shoved Daniel, but the distraction was only momentary.
4
"No, but, you're okay, yeah? I know things were pretty shitty which is why I asked my dad to ask your dad and all that…." Daniel switched back to French. "But you know, things look different when it is the beginning of the year. Maybe they will be able to find the person who is doing all those horrible things."
3
Azuki shook his head at that, not even sure where to start. Or even if he should. What would Daniel say or do, when he realised that at least some of it was down to him? That he'd been inciting protests, spreading (true) rumours….pretending that the murders were theirs to terrify the world.
"Maybe."
Such a feeble cop-out, but what else could he do?
2
The excitement mounted all around them as the countdown chimed out, and Azuki shook his head again, adjusting his phone. Across the river, they could see the final preparations being made.
1
Ah, I don't want to go home.
Azuki tried his best to make sure that the sentiment did not sneak out this time, but this was the truth. He did not want to go home. He wanted to stay here, with one of his friends, have his mother and the other of his friends come to visit. Study fashion and have picnics and gradually slip away from the blogging lifestyle.
Perhaps, in another world, that would have been his true New Year's resolution.
0! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Colours burst across the sky, popping and fizzing, looking like flowers and stars and all sorts. Dutifully, Azuki took photographs while Daniel bounced around more excitedly, accidentally bumping into other people. Then, he tucked his phone into his pocket and stepped back slightly, tilting his head and looking up again.
Midnight had struck in Japan ages ago, so no doubt now most festivities were finished. Perhaps some were visiting shrines or relatives, or simply enjoying the day. Or maybe, like him, they were just going through the motions and wishing and hoping for something different.
"HEYY!"
Daniel appeared again, breathless and with his hat askew once again. Azuki rolled his eyes.
"We need to get you a new hat before I leave."
"What's wrong with this one?"
"Uh, everything? Look at it! Half-blind is NOT a good look!"
Daniel mock-glowered, then tugged Azuki's arm.
"Come on, let's go celebrate properly okay! You'll be leaving tomorr-wait, it is still technically tomorrow you're leaving, right?"
"Yeah, smarty pants, it is."
Ah, may as well try to enjoy all of this at least, right? With a rueful smile he allowed himself to be dragged away, all while the sky continued to bloom.
…
As Mihoko approached the post box, she steeled herself to carry out the decision she'd made just days earlier, from the comfort of her childhood bedroom. After days of thinking over it during long distance graveyard trips and visiting New Year shrines with her family, it had seemed to her to at least be something. A paltry something, a weak something. One that the others, if they had to make it, would surely dress up as a compromise or something of that nature.
But it was what it was. The glitter spider with its beret torn off, any finger prints wiped off, packaged in an envelope with the address of Towa City's police station carefully typed onto a label and affixed on the front. The beret, thrown away in a bin covertly during a shrine trip. It was hardly conclusive of anything, but she knew full well that when it was received, it would point in a particular direction. It would make no difference in absolving her, and in truth she suspected nothing would absolve her without also harming her. But again, it was something.
She knew there was no way any of them would suspect that she was the one who'd found it and held onto it all this time, yet she found herself looking furtively around in case somehow one of them popped up randomly on this street in her hometown, watching her. It wouldn't be that far out of the ordinary, not anymore, not for them. But all she saw were ordinary people, and though she remained furtive as she slipped the envelope out of her bag, holding it so her hand mostly obscured the label, she relaxed her shoulders just a touch. A deep breath, a brief moment of hesitation, and then it dropped in with a soft thunk, joining a pile of other letters. She wondered, briefly, if any of those letters had such explosive power as this one old Halloween decoration, but then she shook it off.
It's done.
She let out a breath, and hitched her bag higher onto her shoulder. The extra weight of her notebooks and sheets of paper was objectively only a few extra grams, but it felt so much heavier than that. Still, it was not an unbalancing weight, more grounding. She gripped the handle tightly, and had to steel herself again before taking her next steps.
And then she moved, into the next term and everything it would bring.
This is one of those weird chapters, in that while nothing particularly heavy or dramatic (since it's another of those transition-types) to make writing difficult happened during it, but the writing of it was still hard. To be honest I'd say this is one of the lower quality chapters, but I did my best to make it the best it could be so there it is. Hope you enjoy it anyway.
