The Collar

"This can't happen again."

Ren's words echoed around his cabin with a strange hollowness, as if they themselves were acknowledging they had come too late. It tied a tiny knot in Nevermind's stomach that couldn't be ignored even when she tried sitting perfectly straight. Kuzuryu, if he was experiencing the same thing, had opted for the opposite approach. He had collapsed into the backrest of his chair, arms crossed behind his head as he refused to look at anyone.

"It can't happen," Ren said. "If we are accepting responsibility for these people, then we can't keep ignoring the problems we see. We should have intervened with Komaeda-kun and Naegi-kun earlier. We should have noticed something was wrong with Naegi-kun earlier. We should have noticed Komaeda-kun earlier. And we should have realized that Kamukura-kun was also in distress."

"I'm not disagreeing, but it's not that easy," Kuzuryu said. "Komaeda's been a fruitcake since the day we met him and . . . How are you supposed to deal with that? How were we supposed to sit down with that guy and set him straight without feeding one of his weird fetishes? You two may be all buddy-buddy now, but do you think that would have happened if he hadn't been nailed to the wall by a serial killer?"

"I don't know," Ren admitted wearily. "But we should have tried instead of just ignoring him."

"It is difficult to get to know people when they make it so difficult," Nevermind said.

"I'm not saying that we need to succeed, but we should still check up on them," Ren said. "We should at least be aware when someone loses their mind."

Silence followed. Ren's leg twitched as if he wanted to tap his foot. Kuzuryu, chin resting in his palm, looked like he was chewing on some deep thoughts.

"Shall we finish this conversation later?" Nevermind asked, wary of the rising tension.

Kuzuryu was on his feet before anyone else could speak. He slouched toward the exit. The other two followed after a moment.

From an objective perspective, this was a lovely day. It didn't feel like it to her though. The sun burned rather than warmed. It pained her eyes; she had to use her arm to shield them. Although it was past breakfast, there wasn't a lot of activity outside. Usually, at least half of her class would be lounging around the (thankfully cleaned) pool. But the only life she saw was Pekoyama trying to drag Tsumiki out of her cabin.

"Is this one of those problems we should be noticing?" she asked.

"Nah," Kuzuryu said. He kept walking. "Peko told me she was going to check up on her. Guess she decided Tsumiki needed some fresh air."

Ren and Nevermind exchanged a look. Tsumiki was clinging to her doorframe and looked on the verge of tears, but it was Tsumiki. That was her default expression. And it didn't look like anything was really wrong. Still, with their recent conversation fresh on his mind, Ren strode forward to quietly argue with Kuzuryu. She would have joined them, except. . .

. . . Except something small and firm smacked into her ankle. Her skin prickled as something lightly raked along her ankle. She looked down and all the bad things in the world were forgotten.

"Maga-Z!"

Tanaka's adorable little hamster continued clawing at her leg like he wanted to climb it.

"San-D, you're here, too. And Jum-P and, oh, Cham-P!"

It was unusual for Tanaka not to be with them. As she thought that, a pinch jerked her out of her thoughts. She pulled her leg away just as Maga-Z went in for another bite. His teeth snapped shut on empty air and he sat there, bemused as if he had blinked and found himself teleported somewhere else. The spell lasted until she moved, and then Maga-Z scrambled away to join the other three. As they regrouped, all four of the hamsters stood and stared at her with frightening intelligence.

"You want something," she said to them. "What is it?"

They scurried off. She followed them. In less than ten seconds, their destination became obvious. As she walked up to Tanaka's cabin, the hamsters squeezed under the door and disappeared.

She knocked. She knocked louder. There was no response from the other side.

This felt wrong. This had been off from the moment the hamsters came to her without their dark master. Quickly, she stepped to the side and checked behind her. Her vigorous study of horror movies had taught her that this was a prime time to be ambushed by a serial killer! But the only people she saw were the four she had seen before.

The door was unlocked when she tested it. That was . . . No, no, no. She wasn't walking into a creepy church. Tanaka was a sweetheart. His herd of beasts with shining eyes and luxurious coats spoke of a gentle heart hidden under all that bluster. And even if her hypothetical serial killer was responsible for the unlocked door, Tanaka was a dark wizard sponsored by hell beyond silly weapons like knives.

The door opened into a mostly dark cabin – though that was normal for him. Most of Tanaka's rituals had to be performed by candlelight, so he had gone to lengths to ensure the proper environment could be created. For example, he had never been content with the effectiveness of the regular curtains and had stitched several together to make blackout curtains. The result was a cave-like darkness.

Though today there was a bit of light. There were candles on the ground, regularly positioned. It looked like Tanaka had set up a ritual. But if that were the case, then why had the Devas been running around? Tanaka had told her many times that they were essential to his spells.

"Tanaka-kun?" she called. The reply she got was the sound of tiny claws skittering across the ground.

Her step forward seemed to echo. It was hard to pick out anything; she could only catch rough outlines of large objects. But from her own cabin's layout, she knew the approximate location of the light switch. Thus, she treaded carefully across the wooden floorboards, trusting that the Devas would have alerted her if someone other than her or Tanaka were present.

She was a couple of steps from the switch when she stepped on something that wasn't wood.

"This is. . ." she murmured as she knelt and pinched the soft fabric. Tanaka's scarf. No other piece of clothing had that feel. She traced the edge, following it off the ground until it massed and there was something firm underneath. Ah, it must have been wrapped around his neck like usual.

But. . . why was he on the floor? She traced the curve of the outer wrapping up to the top where it was warm and matted and what was that -?

His hand clamped around her wrist, squeezing dangerously before suddenly releasing her. Though Tanka didn't grab her again, she could taste his nervous energy; she could feel the air vibrating as his hand shook.

"Tanaka-kun?" She grabbed more urgently at the scarf. He tried to stop her, but she hooked a couple of fingers underneath and peeled the top of the scarf down. A choking stench slapped her in the face, one that she was intimately familiar with.

She simply knelt there, her thoughts frozen. Then it hit her at once: the squealing hamsters, the wet heat on her fingers and the metallic miasma lingering in the back of her throat –

She screamed.

She felt a hamster dodge past her foot as she charged the door. Kuzuryu and Ren were already on their way with Ren making much better time. Words weren't needed. Even at their distance, the fear on her face was visible. Further away, Pekoyama and Tsumiki noticed the commotion and paused.

"H-he. . ." she stuttered as Ren slid past her. "It's Tanaka-kun - !"

"Where is he?" Ren demanded. "I don't have my night-vision googles."

"Then turn on the light, dumbass!"

She was closest, so she did it and with a flash, the scene became apparent.

Tanaka was laying on the floor. At first glance, it wasn't that alarming. The furniture around him was undisturbed; his clothes were as neat as usual. One hand was clamped over his throat which was odd, but not an immediate sign of trouble. The only clues that something was amiss were his paler-than-usual face and the raw panic written in his eyes.

"Hey! The hell you doing?" Kuzuryu demanded.

Tanaka didn't respond. One of his hamsters hopped on his chest and rode the swell and ebb of his chest.

"He's. . ." Nevermind groped at her own throat and slowly, they began to understand. Ren looked and found it half-hidden under a desk: a small blade with blood on its tip.

"Oh, fuck," Kuzuryu hissed.

Ren swallowed and then approached Tanaka. Like Nevermind had, he knelt and reached for the scarf. . .

"Don't touch it!" Kuzuryu snapped. "That scarf might be the only thing keeping the blood in."

Yes, yes. Kuzuryu would probably know basic first aid and – Oh! Oh, Tsumiki had been out there. Ignoring the questions from the other two, she ran out of the cabin once more. Tsumiki and Pekoyama were still present, still on guard after seeing the other two flee. She called out to them and while Pekoyama immediately lurched her way, Tsumiki stayed strangely still. Pekoyama had to go back and haul Tsumiki along.

As Tsumiki entered, Ren immediately yielded to his superior and asked, "Tsumiki-san, what should we do?"

Tsumiki made a sound like a hum. An empty stare drank in Tanaka's state and she cocked her head to one side, saying nothing. Surely, that merited relief, didn't it? If Tsumiki, one of their resident medical experts wasn't that concerned, then surely it couldn't be that bad. It was just nothing. Just a paper cut, and the Devas had overreacted.

Pekoyama cleared her throat. "Tsumiki-san."

Tsumiki looked at Pekoyama for a long while. Too long. Then Tsumiki shuffled forward. With a steadiness that seemed so out of place for the usually shy nurse, she took her place next to Tanaka and pried his stiff hand away from the scarf. With two fingers she pulled it back just enough to check the injury.

"This. . ." She looked confused. "It's not fatal."

"Of course not!" Nevermind cried out. "This was just an accident, yes?"

"No," Tsumiki said firmly. "It couldn't be. But he didn't aim for the arteries. This is treatable. Tanaka-kun, what were you trying to do?"

He didn't speak. That wasn't surprising when Tsumiki looked like she was sticking her fingers into his throat.

"We can ask about that later," Ren said. "We need to get him stabilized first."

"We should move him to the hospital," Tsumiki said. "I can treat the bleeding, but we need better equipment for anything more."

Both Kuzuryu and Pekoyama blanched at the thought of carrying Tanaka across the islands with his wounds. Ren, less-versed in medical care, had no such qualms and demanded to know why they weren't picking him up immediately. The hamsters agree with him and squealed at the top of their lungs.

"Rough treatment could aggravate the injury," Nevermind recited from memory. "Especially if there are. . . ."

Bones shards hidden in the wound, her textbook voice babbled happily. She had barely seen Tanaka's injuries for herself as it had been her nose that alerted her to the problem, not her eyes. In lieu of that, her brain had to make its own images. Swampy memories crept into the forefront of her mind. Other men, some she had known, with slashed throats and distorted screams or chests that had burst and –

Pekoyama firmly grabbed her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Me? I'm fine!" With her focus disturbed, the memories sank back out of reach. Pekoyama looked at her for a long second, and then returned her attention to the rest.

"We should make a stretcher," Pekoyama said. "Get Soda-kun, take down the door – it'll have to be enough."

There was a sense of irony in how Kuzuryu, the master, so swiftly obeyed. The rest of them had to take at least a moment just to let their brains translate those sounds into words. But almost from the moment Pekoyama had begun speaking, Kuzuryu had started following like their brains were intertwined. He was out the door before the rest of them even thought to look that way. It wasn't long before Kuzuryu returned and when he did, Soda saw the blood on Tsumiki's hands and did what he did best.

He screamed like a little girl.

Once he calmed down, they worked quickly, but Soda's scream had already attracted attention. First to arrive was a bleary-eyed Mioda who looked like she hadn't slept last night. Second was Nidai, who apparently had thought the screaming was the beginning of a party. Last was Koizumi, who watched from a short distance away, concerned but fearful of getting in their way.

"Let's move," Ren said to Pekoyama and Nidai, each of whom held one side of their makeshift stretcher. Nevermind scooped up the Devas and followed.

One week. Could they please have one week of peace? Though given that her class was a gaggle of weirdos, maybe that was asking too much. Still, she would have thought that Tanaka had the experience to avoid injuring himself during one of his weird rituals. Talk about an irresponsible man!

If there was one silver lining, Tanaka was still conscious and able to keep pressure on his neck. If he hadn't been, the hamsters would have sat on the scarf done it for him. For despite Nevermind's best efforts, they had squirmed out of her grip and onto her shoulders so that they could launch themselves onto Tanaka's stretcher. They were still there as they filed into the hospital.

"There's an examination room in the left hall," Tsumiki said. "I'll get supplies."

Tsumiki and Ren left together. The others headed for the examination room. Koizumi alone hesitated, unsure which group to follow. And since she was the only one still there a second later, she alone spied a bit of movement from behind a tinted window. Who. . .?

But there was only one person it really could be in the end.

She chased the shadow. As she stormed through the door it had been behind, she glimpsed Kamukura disappearing into another room.

"Hey, where are you going? You saw that, right?" The only thing that stopped her from outside yelling at him was the memory of his face last night.

"Yes," Kamukura said, "although I am not sure about the details."

She told him the story as best as she could, based on what the others had told her. Kamukura nodded at the end, and simply said it made perfect sense. Something about that made it seem like he was speaking about something other than her story-telling skills.

So, she asked.

"Isn't it obvious? The timing gives it away," Kamukura droned. "Tanaka sought to affirm his allegiance to Enoshima Junko. He gave his voice for despair. What better affirmation than to make sure he can never take it back?"

"You mean. . .?"

"Tanaka Gundham was trying to carve out his larynx." Kamukura flipped his hair over his shoulder. "Obviously."

Carve out his. . .? A bit of vomit stuck in her throat. She couldn't picture Tanaka doing that to himself. Instead, the picture that floated into view was that of Nevermind and the black sludge that had appeared when she scratched at it too hard.

"I-it can be fixed, right?" she asked.

"With the proper skill, most likely."

God, as insufferable as Kamukura could be, she was still thankful for his utter certainty about everything.

But as Kamukura continued to stand there and do nothing, that newfound confidence trickled away.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

"Why should I?" Kamukura said. "Naegi-kun would enjoy this, wouldn't he? Although he would have preferred more blood. . ."

"I. . ." What the hell? "Did we even know the same person?"

His eyes flashed. "Last night, he said –"

"Is that the Naegi-kun you actually like? Because the Naegi-kun I think about is the one we first met and he wouldn't!"

Kamukura didn't say anything. She didn't either. She was done here. She couldn't deal with. . . with whatever this was. She ran and ran until she was at the examination room with everyone else.

"How is he?" she asked worriedly. "Is there something I can do to help? I can pass you things."

"Ren's got that," Kuzuryu said.

"Are you ready?" Ren asked Tsumiki.

"I th-think so," Tsumiki said. "I –"

The door opened. Tsumiki squeaked in alarm and grabbed the nearest hand she could.

". . . You haven't properly sterilized those, have you?" a bored sounding Kamukura said.

"N-not fully," Tsumiki said. "But I've kept them clean in general and I don't think we have time. . ."

"You do," Kamukura said. "Don't apologize. You're a nurse, not a surgeon. I wouldn't expect you to know that."

"Oh, w-well. . ."

"Go on, then."

Tsumiki jerked to attention and grabbed the medical tray. She ran out of the room with such a clumsy gait that it was amazing she didn't trip.

Once she was gone, Kamukura said, "You keep acting as though she's an expert in all medical subjects. You may regret that, someday."

"That may be, but you are an expert in all medical subjects," Nevermind said as she beamed with relief. For a second. Then she remembered who she was talking to and asked, "You are here to help, yes?"

Kamukura remained where he was, studying everything. His head tilted to one side. "I could finish this.

He didn't answer directly. Instead, Kamukura glided across the room. A slight swish from his hair was the only sound his body made.

He nodded at Ren. "Remove the bandage. I want to see what I'm working with."