Part 3: Who Was Takuto Maruki?
Monday. The beginning of my six day week and besides Kawakami shooting daggers my way (and Ann's way too) in regards to this Maruki guy, I had a nugget of positive news from Shiho: she would stay until the questioning was over. It would give her time to get her affairs here together. To Ann's credit, she went to see him during her lunch whilst mine was spent with Shiho as usual. Before I could be held back the umpteenth time by Kawakami, I made my way down to the first floor. I then made a beeline for the infirmary which was to the right of the stairs by classroom 1-D. I just stood in front of the door for a while - I'd writ this place off knowing full well how Kamoshida infested the infirmary. The old nurses and doctors ended up fired for breaking their Hippocratic Oath on Kamoshida's coercion.
"Hey, Joker. You going to see Maruki-san or not?" Mona spoke up.
"Sorry…I'm a bit on the fence." I continued to hold my reservations and would do so for a while.
"No. I get it - you couldn't turn to this place back when Kamoshida was around. A lot of students probably won't turn to this place again…" Seeing as I had nothing to lose talking to this man, I entered the room. Considering the size of the room was the same as any classroom, the usage of space was phenomenal. There happened to be three patient areas in the back of the room with beds, equipment and privacy sheets to go. The left wall had shelves and cupboards which were presumably filled with medicines and remedies. Maruki was seated in a recliner chair whilst the couch accommodated two people (three if one wanted to squeeze). Dead centre in the room was a coffee table. The bowl on top had some fresh fruits and on the underside were some hard candies and other munchies.
"Oh? Amamiya-san. I didn't think you were coming." Maruki surmised. There was no dubiousness in his tone to be found but I still didn't like that assumption.
"Why would you come to that conclusion? You've never even met me." I defended.
"I was briefed on the students who were required to see me by their homeroom teachers." Kawakami's written all over this…
"If you want to leave, I won't stop you and it won't affect your record here." he assured.
"So, you're saying it's optional for me. I don't expect the same can be said for other students, right?"
"While I can't give you the answer to your question, I am indeed saying it's optional for you. You won't need to worry about Kawakami-san intervening." he confirmed. So I'm not locked into this. Excellent.
"You seem relieved, Amamiya-san."
"I kinda am, Maruki-san. Is it okay to call you that?" He'd chuckled a little and relaxed his posture.
"I don't mind in the slightest. Do you want to talk today?" What was this man's deal? From the way he'd presented himself, he was respectful and very attentive to what happened around him. He had no agenda behind the question and truly left the choice to me. Thinking that Kawakami would pick up on my non-attendance and give me undue hell for it, I decided to stay and take a seat.
"Before we begin though, I want to catch up on my sleep so you'll have to block the rest of your time out for me."
"Go for it. You've got the posture of an overworked leader. I'm just glad you wish to stay." Thank goodness...
"Joker…you're really stopping this man helping other students who need him?" So what, Mona? What do I care about them anyway? Shameless as it was, I started sleeping for around an hour before waking up again via my trusty alarm. Maruki had a pastoral expression on his face, unbothered by my discourtesy.
"How can I help you today, Amamiya-san?" he began.
"...To be honest, I figured you would know where to begin." I answered.
"I…see. Well, I'd like to congratulate you on your efforts along with Takamaki-san, Suzui-san and Sakamoto-san in bringing down Kamoshida. It must've taken considerable guts to be able to openly oppose what he did and convince the authorities to listen."
"Thanks." I replied.
"Is it okay if I ask about your record? I skipped over that section of your brief because I want to hear from you first of all before I look. That way, I won't form a biased opinion of you."
"Isn't that a bias of its own?"
"Maybe." After giving the explanation of my record and what surrounded me during that time, Maruki came to a conclusion.
"It makes the fact you went as far as the SIU even more commendable despite your shortcomings with the police. What was it that motivated you to bring him down in the first place?" That's all? It's pretty easy to answer this question…
"Shiho. She was the only reason I even cared about Kamoshida in the first place. I'd never met the guy and if I didn't run into her, he would've carried on and I wouldn't have done a thing."
"Are you serious?" Maruki gasped.
"Do I sound like I'm joking?"
"...Not at all." he remorsefully said.
"Seeing her in the state she was that day, I felt like I was looking in the mirror. It would plague me if I didn't do anything. I suppose I would end up not caring about anyone at all otherwise."
"That's…a rather solitary means of student life." Hoping to reassure the doctor, I placed a positive spin on my next reply.
"It's not all doom and gloom. She and a few other special women in my life have helped me to try and steer clear of that sort of life. I wouldn't say my guard's down very much but nowadays, I'm a little less cynical." I recounted to him the events of that first day, omitting the private conversation Shiho and I had. As I went on, Maruki seemed to have an approving smile.
"She really means a great deal to you. I understand she convinced you something was wrong but…what led to you putting together and conducting your investigation?" He maintained his eye contact and remained neutral.
"It wasn't mine to begin with. Ryuji was the one who convinced me and Ann to help him look into the abuse. He was the one who went through Kamoshida's bullshit during the track team days and somehow caught onto the volleyball team. There was no convincing anyone that I wasn't the person who ran the investigation so I didn't bother wasting my breath."
"And the day after, Kamoshida almost took your life away within the confines of the P.E. office based on his flawed, incomplete logic. The SIU department has taken evidence that they needed from the office and a thorough clean of the room is in the works." The works? Kobayakawa! Get off your ass and sort that shit! Such were my thoughts as Maruki got out of his seat, went over to the sink area and filled the kettle.
"Would you like anything, Amamiya-san?"
"Peppermint tea would be nice." As he placed the kettle to boil, he then took a seat and his next words took an unexpected turn.
"Forgive my forwardness but…there's a lot that doesn't make sense afterwards. The message about taking everything he ever loved away and confessing was one thing but the next day Kamoshida confessed every deed he did. There was no way a man who was as crooked as he was, to continue his prolonged abuse towards students, could ever become an honest person on his own. It felt like the things that drove him or…the things he loved, he couldn't remember. It was almost as if his very will was stolen." His observational ability was so honed that it was insane the SIU didn't have someone like him in their offices.
"..." Finishing up the teas, he brought them over. Placing mine down, I blew on the cup before taking a sip. Tantalising.
"I'm sorry. I keep going on about my wild theory when I should be hearing you out."
"What exactly does the theory concern?"
"Cognitive psience." What?! Keep a level head…I wouldn't have expected something so close to home for Futaba to arise in the room.
"Do you happen to know about a woman named Wakaba Isshiki?" Straight to the point…he must've done his prior research.
"A little. What's her relevance to the conversation?"
"We happened to head to the same uni some years ago…I'll spare you the details. It's just, her research in the field was groundbreaking - no doubt, she was close to a revolution before her incarceration. I figured her research would help to innovate my own and propel me to move forward. When looking into your guardian, I made the connection between the two…sorry if I've offended you." Hmm…he may have his own copies of her research. That could be a viable lead for Futaba…
"I have a single question: do you have copies of Wakaba's research?" Maruki's aura became defensive and had a suspecting tone going forward.
"...What would it be used for?" So it turned out this doctor suddenly had worth to me. Not a flat out no, eh?
"If you do...I want to try and get her out of trouble. I'm helping someone who wants it even more and I know just how useful it would be to them. Even mere scraps would go a mile."
"I see." Maruki happened to keep a relative cool.
"I can help you with your research in exchange."
"Amamiya-san. I'm sorry to inform you on this but...I don't feel comfortable taking that risk on your health in leaving you this burden." Maruki hinted. Burden? I'd actually be making good on my deal with Futaba in helping her. Whatever the weight of this is wouldn't compare to the cost of welching out of my deal with her. Maruki took note of the determination in my eyes but he wouldn't budge.
"That's truly a let down, Maruki-san." Futaba will do her magic and we'll see you turn around.
"You're going to try something? No matter what moves you may pull, it won't change my stance." So that's not an option either…
"I don't mean that as an insult, Amamiya-san. It has on here lack of respect for any authoritative figure or body, no clear motivations or goals in mind and an inherent laziness." Oh? It seemed whoever put the brief together had some accuracy in doing it - I had no respect for those in power who don't use it properly, I kinda wanted to stick to being a normal student and yeah, some things I really couldn't be bothered to do.
"As far as I'm concerned, you're the complete opposite: you're a man with a mission that must be completed no matter how difficult it will seem. There's a maturity around you which I'd like to explore." Maruki was convinced otherwise.
"So there's no way at all you can help me?" I asked again. He sighed.
"...As much as I highly suggest against this, if it's what you truly desire, then let us come to an agreement. In order for me to be comfortable sharing what I have with you, I want to practice techniques for fortifying your mind so that the emotional weight of the research doesn't traumatise you forever. I will let you take some time to deli-"
"I accept!" I affirmed. Not only would Maruki-san's proposal work magic for our Metaverse efforts by helping us increase our understanding but it would allow for Futaba to gleam into the activities her mother did when she was around, helping to rebuild the foundations of their relationship.
"Already?!" he replied, fully gobsmacked at my promptness.
"I'm fully sure of this."
"You've not even heard of the consequences." Maruki chuckled.
"You don't get just how grateful I am to you right now. Thank you very much." He'd had a warm smile afterwards.
"You're welcome. The next time we meet, I'll begin to inform you on techniques and my research so that you have an understanding of how you can help me. How have things been going otherwise?"
"Eh…could be better. I've peeped the room for my new club and cleaning the room isn't going to be a walk in the park with everyone else. Not to mention, I've got to get some bits to spruce up the room too and make it feel like a club room." Then figuring out how the hell to get our name out there in the world…
"Aha. I would choose to look on the bright side: all of your potential club members will grow closer together helping one another in a common goal."
"That's just it. She might be leaving the school altogether whilst my kouhai Sumire can't join anyway. We'll be down to four members before we've even left the gates."
"Have you contemplated speaking with her parents? You could convince them how much you care for their daughter. Besides, it's not set in stone, is it?" I wouldn't be respecting her wishes if I did that…
"Well, I'll keep it in mind." We'd continued to discuss more things on several different topics and before I knew it, my session with Maruki was over.
"I'm truly glad to have struck a deal with you, Amamiya-san."
"Likewise, Maruki-san." Shaking hands, I then left school and took a direct journey back to Leblanc, not stopping for anything. I really didn't need Sojiro's ire on top of the civil war we'd still had. Unfortunately, I'd invited the ire of the other Sakura in my life and would know nothing about it until seeing her.