Logic Is My Sword

by Itherael

It's often said that one person's insanity is another person's reality, and believing such was improbable. But if you were to reach a junction where self-delusion and insanity are the only choices left to take, what else can you be expected to do? Simple, defy the irrational world by choosing the path of logic, for I refuse to compromise my principles for the sake of convenience.

7. Obsession

(Inside the Cathedral of Causality)

And so another day passes, Muru Muru. Although for Hachiman Hikigaya, it does not seem to be over just yet.

It would be boring if it did, yeah? Teehehe! I knew she would act eventually!

Patience my friend, we will speak of that soon enough. Let us acquaint ourselves with the previous day's events in order.

Meh! You're so boring, Deus Ex! So, what happened was… eh? I forgot in all of my excitement for right now!

Well, for Hachiman Hikigaya, he learnt of the delicate situation his unique circumstances has caused within Heaven. It seems we are not the only party watching his movements, although, Heaven was forced to send their goddesses to monitor Earth due to the interference of the Synapse in Yggdrasil's visual feed.

The Synapse, huh? I wonder what those guys are planning… I mean, they started to move all of a sudden, and with the angeloid following that human, things will get interesting later on, hehehe!

The sole fact that he watched the future with those lens, made the wheels of fate make a large turn it seems. It is incredible, how those two can alter their destiny and of all others so easily.

That weirdo had an interesting day, eh? I really like that Usui guy. I personally would have chosen him as a participant. Too bad his fixation with that lame woman brings down all the good he can be.

Regardless, Takumi Usui is helping him handle himself with the possible suspects for the game. The list never ceases to increase, so the knowledge he can provide will give Hachiman Hikigaya an advantage.

He did give him a hand with those two game freaks. Well, I can't deny his circle of friends is interesting. I could actually see how different they were when they gathered in that place. Most of them are still dumb though.

Whether our participant believe it or not, they are key in allowing him to win the game. The same could be stated for Kiyotaka Ayanokouji.

Well, that Kiyotaka guy spent the whole day with that gamble maniac. It seems he had decided to uncover everything about her in order to move on to his next suspect. Seeing that crazy woman, it will be a tough nut to crack.

It is indeed a difficult first suspect to handle, but I do know Kiyotaka Ayanokouji will manage to do so. Hachiman Hikigaya himself has made progress with the young goddess, so let us see how it develops.

Yeah, yeah, whatever Deus Exy! That girl had finally made a move, and what a development! She knows how to get what she wants! She's really interesting! No doubt why you chose her for the previous game.

She is indeed a wild card, and I certainly look forward to witness for what she has in store for our participant.

Let's just hope the game doesn't end so soon because she winds up killing him. Would be interesting though.

This is nothing but a trial that he will have to see through. I have faith he will, Muru Muru.

Meh, let's see how it goes.

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Hello Readers! It's me Kujikawa Rise and today I'll take charge of the review response! Of course, I'll have the help of NirvFrk97-kun so we can answer in behalf of Itherael-chan to the best of our ability! Alright, here goes!

(NirvFrk97): Right… Time to answer the reviews.

Purifies Miracles: 60k word count? It was that long, eh? He's happy to give you more to read! Teehee! The change of name to Code Yuri was a prank of our beloved author since he got his hands on a game called Doki Doki Literature club. Isn't that right, NirvFrk97-kun?

(NirvFrk97): ...-kun? Please don't remind me about that time.

Guest 1: It was, yeah? Hehe! I said no perverted questions… but I think I can let that one slide. It's an interesting question, and I'm sure the heroines will have a hard time answering it, so I APPROVE!

OutOfReality08: (NirvFrk97): It isn't. Remember, Deus Ex said it was female that he has to find. The thing that he keeps bringing it up is that he doesn't belong there, he replaced the Hachiman that existed before his arrival. It's a switch out of souls basically, who knows what happened to the one that existed in this new world?

The Black Wolf of the Arks: Are Itherael-chan's three stories connected? There's only one way to find out, yeah? But who knows? Maybe? And believe me, it is really, like… reaaaally complicated! Teehee!

(NirvFrk97): While it is convoluted, I don't think it's hard to realize whether or not the three stories are connected…

Abyss Trinity: I think so too! XD

Echonic: Let's just hope Hikigaya-senpai can do so! I'm rooting for him too!

Lucius: Belldy really did it! Way to go! I should probably be more like her so my senpai likes me more! Kamijou-senpai meeting both of them, you say? Well, I'm at the edge of my sit, too!

jam99chgo: You can always give a quick read to the segments of Onizuka-sensei! Every character is introduced there! (NirvFrk97): Maybe his one-tracked mind was too focused on Haruno to keep track of the others.

EvilMagicman: (NirvFrk97): No one expects the Queen of the Yanderes! But yeah, tough break for good ol' 8man, he had a pretty good day and now his night looks bleak. How bleak? Well, that's what you're here to find out, right? As to Gasai's attraction towards him, that will be explained in due time. Patience shall reward you someday, just not today.

(Risette): Ayanokouji-senpai will have a lot of friends in the future, but Hikigaya-senpai too! We'll have to see what happens really later on, yeah? And about that creepy girl, well… let's hope he can deal with what's to come, which I'm sure it won't be pretty!

Oh, right! the previous summary was:

"Logic is my sword. Reason is my armour. Knowledge is my map. Empathy is my compass. I, Hikigaya Hachiman, will find the TRUTH, no matter the consequences."

NirvFrk97: Wait… what are you doing here?

(NirvFrk97): Saving the world, of course. And exposing Itherael's petty grudge against me.

(Risette): You two know how to get along, eh? XD

Lord D: Yeah! That game is very creepy! The reunion was my fave part, too!

WhiteHero: That certain spiky-haired senpai is sooo cool! I also can't wait to see him! Kasumigaoka-senpai is actually annoying! Yukihira-senpai is too cool, so even someone as her can be his friend! Hmph!

A lotsa things are going on, but Hikigaya-senpai will have to focus on dealing with that creepy girl! If anyone can do it, it's him! And thank you for the questions! I'll be sure to use some of them in my interviews!

blahto: Nothing is certain, but… I do think he will! And the question was for me? Aw… and nope! My thick-headed-senpai is too focused on being awesome to notice this cute girl!

Luna Warsong: (NirvFrk97): Yeah, no, that Yuri crap only pissed me off. Now he's Goblin Slayer (late to the party on that one) in our Docs page and in his deviantArt.

Yeah, Belldandy has managed to understand 8man a large amount. Looks like she pays a lot of attention to him, then again, that's mainly because she was tasked to observe him in the first place.

Takao will be a tough person for 8man to put up with, she's at the top of the list of the new people he hates. 8man does indeed see Tendou in a significantly better light, she piqued his interest.

Usui's a character that's for sure. He'll be a big help for 8man, but not overwhelmingly so. Remember, Usui did not get along with the previous Hachiman, and staying true to his character, Usui will not recall everything because he ignored a lot of things about that Hachiman.

There seems to be a good relationship between the two of them, that's true. Glad Itherael added that in, great world-building.

Yeah, it was bad for both parties involved. We'll see how that ends up.

It's Gasai, logic is thrown out of the window with her around.

(Risette): I'll be sure to have these questions in mind for the interviews!

A Certain Pissed off Guy: Accelerator-senpai! I'm your fan! And sure! That's a good question!

Guest 2: And here's more! :)

Dimiel: Itherael-chan likes it a lot, too! Satisfying? I'm sure he's glad to hear that! Don't cry! Here's the next one, silly!

srosnan99: (Itherael): I understand your concern, however, when I started this fic, I had a view on how I wanted it to be, and I'll need these characters for this story to reach what I had in mind when I started. Just so you know, I already lowered the amount after discussing it with my beta.

About your second point, well, considering the amount of things happening and the characters, an introduction arc was of need, and you got a point when you say it's 500 pages more or less long, but I think is necessary for me to start the real plot.

I appreciate you find my story entertaining, and all I ask is for you to bear with me a little. I won't disappoint.

shiroryuu012: Monster of Logic and Imagine Breaker meeting… Eheheh…

(NirvFrk97): Why are you drooling? Get your head out of the gutters and finish your response.

(Risette): Oh, sorry. Whoopsies! A-anyway, I really like Belldy, she's so sweet and beautiful! Maybe if I was a goddess, senpai would notice me! And oh my! That girl called Medaka, I hear she's so strong, and since she seems to be friends with Ayanokouji-senpai, it's gonna be difficult for my loner-senpai when she strikes! Hopefully, he will have someone as strong as her to fend her off.

skbeh: I enjoyed it, too! XD

Gabriel790: (NirvFrk97) Recklessness happens to the best of us. 8man will learn from his experiences.

Mc. Goonahelid: (NirvFrk97): Yes, that vision raises a lot of questions as well. But will things pan out the same way 8man saw it? Will things be better for him, or worse? Who knows?

Takao may have been cute for you, but 8man can't stand her. Yes, he was fine with Tendou. And writing the guys' scene was pretty fun.

Miura's pretty adorable in this world.

We'll let you decide how dark this chapter is.

Thanks for your support.

Lady Dalila: Yes, it's troublesome to think that someone would get so much power, although I have no idea what the Synapse is… The angeloids were made there… right? Belldy is sooooooo kind, of course she would have faith in him, which is something Hikigaya-senpai finds strange and hard to respond to. I'll miss Yukihira-senpai, too! :(

At least we still have Prince Usui-senpai!

NPwall: Well, here it is! I'd say enjoy, but considering what happened in the previous chapter…

Epic Snow: (NirvFrk97): Haha, Belldandy is someone that's fairly good for 8man but Miura's cute too. And yes, we've thought the existences of Angeloids, Belldandy's people and To aru's Angels through. The relationship between Synapse and Heaven was my brainchild. Shidare had to take a backseat for a lot of the latest chapters so far, such is the chaos that is 8man's life.

adv: Itherael-chan always does, eh? I root for Belldy, too!

(NirvFrk97): We did attempt posting in other sites, but thought twice on it.

CacciaFulmini: (NirvFrk97): Nice to see you again. I see that you published your story since we last interacted, I hope that's going well for you.

There does seem to be a lot of cliffhangers with our chapters.

Yeah, new characters seem to show up fairly quickly and for the ones that are already established friends with 8man help expand who the previous one was.

I'll admit, Itherael and I aren't as well versed with Ayanokoji's LN counterpart only his anime self. We did ask about it and have a rough idea on his personality. Though you should remember, this is deep in the future, aspects of his personality may have changed in that time.

Yes Belldandy had a large role last chapter, she's gotten closer to 8man as well.

Thanks for the review and good luck with your story.

Knight of Athos: Hmmm… I don't know if you should be happy welcoming that insane girl…

Guthut: I imagine you already read it, hehe! XD

Lektorr:(NirvFrk97): Yes, indeed. Looks like they live in the same world. What will that mean in the future?

Just don't mistake it as love, that's not what it is. I'll say that much at least.

The reunion was a fun write, the entire scene was in fact.

Will he make it out fine, or will he not? I wonder…

Glad you like the girls. Thanks for the review.

BentShuriken: (NirvFrk97): 8man is a hindere, hindere. The Idol can handle the rest…

(Risette): Why, thank you my good little boyo! So… that's right! A lotsa and lotsa is happening! Every character will have the time to shine, I assure you though!

Azukin: Here is one at least ;)

Guest 3: (NirvFrk): Do look at the cover art of this story. Itherael's dA account has a bigger version, that's how many characters 8man will meet; some are male, others are female. Get used to the large amount of characters.

Yeah, 8man is being forced to do things he normally wouldn't stand, such is the cruelty of this world.

PhatomRPG: Everything will happen eventually, I assure you. Anyhow, you want that question for Tsukamoto specifically? Okey! I'll ask her that when she's interviewed. And to Tendou-senpai, too?

The Epic Legion: (NirvFrk97): Yeah… A troll…

Yeah, Belldandy developed a lot and has grown closer to 8man.

Glad you enjoyed the reunion as well. It was enjoyable to write.

I think I speak for both of us in that we take pride for being able to show how every character already has established ties with one another. 8man is the outsider, after all.

Gasai is here, let's see what happens.

Smosher: Miura-senpai has a lot of personality, I give her that, but I still will root for Belldy. Interesting question by the way!

Mugiwara N0 Luffy: (NirvFrk97): Time and time again I'm in awe in the content of your reviews. The amount of details you keep track of is nothing short of impressive. Maybe we should have you be our unofficial summary writer. Just kidding. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoy the chapter.

The Azure Heart: Why thank you! These are interesting questions and I'll definitely use some of the in the interviews! Look forward to it!

LoveMadness: I love love love love love it, too! ;)

Profezia di Morte: Is that Italian? Well, I have no idea what you said there, but I'm sure it's something good… right?

tsun: (NirvFrk97): Do try and be patient, we don't have so much free time to be able to get these chapters out in such a fast pace. Both Itherael and I have academic responsibilities, and he has additional stories to work on. That's why we go for length instead.

The End Game: Guys are dumb, but yeah, they are funny. When my senpais are all together, they often really do funny… although perverted stuff… like spying on us when we were at the hot springs. I wouldn't mind having senpai d- I-I mean! W-well… Hehe… N-Next!

Guest 4: Here is one! :D

Supreme King of all Kings: (NirvFrk97): Please have mercy on us… It's 60k+ words, I'm a lone Beta-reader/Co-author.

(Risette): Don't whine NirvFrk97-kun, makes you look like a loser!

(NirvFrk97): …Anyways… I can't answer your first inquiry, that's spoiling. All I can say is please be patient.

Wait, did we answer your second one?

For your third, he's not playing with their lives, not sure where you're getting that from. He has to do some things he doesn't like in order to continue living in this world, so he's lying to everyone except Usui who found out about him. And help for what, exactly? If you're referring to the game, he can't rely on them just yet for that. It might not be the case for Belldandy (he doesn't know that), but Devluke fits the qualifications.

There are no rules, not really, if he wants, he can just go ahead and kill every girl that can be the creation. But for the same reason he doesn't try to befriend Deviluke as quickly as possible, he won't use the aforementioned method because it would go against his character. You can't expect someone like 8man to be able to befriend others so quickly, even now, he hasn't befriended anyone new except possibly Usui. Miura, Shiromeguri have the advantage because they're familiar people and Deviluke and Belldandy have theirs because they live with him. But he wouldn't call them friends, he's not even sure how to do that.

Do you now? I wonder if that's true…

You're asking for something pretty impossible. What does 8man know about the energy readings that Deus Ex emits? How do we even know that Belldandy will be able to track his energy in order to lead him to the creation? And with in regards to his wish, 8man might be deserving of one now but because of "his" history, it still won't be granted. The reason why Heaven is watching Earth closely is because of the Angeloid threat. You're making assumptions without realizing that they might not apply to our story.

(Itherael): Deus Ex Machina goes beyond everything that can be understood, and I assure you that not even the God of Belldandy's heaven would have a mean to analyze him. Deus Ex machina is a good of time, not related to any kind of religion or myth, which makes him something unknown.

R-king 93: The one whose words can cut through any truth, eh? That actually sounded sooooo cool! It does suit Hikigaya-senpai!

Dark Durian: Yeah, it seems he can't catch a break! Let's hope he can handle this…

Mokkel: (NirvFrk97): Nice moment for the others, an odd and new experience for Hikigaya.

That might be the case here, but more often than not, there are harem protagonists with little to no personality. They carry a stigma for a reason.

Rush103th: Who knows if the Megami Tensei will be involved directly, teehee! We'll just have to wait and see, yeah? The main goal of this story is for the readers to get to know these new characters, via Hachiman's eyes at least. It's also a good for you to know anime you probably missed and you'll find interesting!

AnimeReader779: (NirvFrk97): Hopefully the wait won't be long. But we do have our chaotic lives to deal with (i.e. my car died last week).

Guest 5: They won't stop writing, and senpai knows it, too!

Guest 6: It is? I bet Itherael-chan is happy to hear that!

Well, these are all, thank you for the support! See you guys at the bottom!

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Itherael: From the next chapter onward, I'll answer all reviews via PM, and those that are guest, I'll answer here their inquiries in one only response should it be necessary. I'm sure some of you find irritating the fact that the review responses are way too long, however, should that not be the case, tell me and I'll bring it back again. I will always respond to every review whether it's here or via PM.

Don't forget to open a tab to the profile of this story so you can access the links for the music and the pictures.

Anyhow, let's get to the actual chapter.

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Logic is My Sword

Chapter 06: As expected, Gasai Yuno's Obsessive Tendencies Spell Disaster for Her Opposition.

6-0

Obsessions.

Psychologists tend to refer to them as a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable ideas or feelings, usually attached to an object or person of interest. Often, this sort of behavior is attributed to a mental disorder that a person may suffer, but it is not necessarily a requirement in order to have obsessive tendencies.

It stemming from a mental disorder though is probably for the more extreme spectrum of those kinds of obsessions, so let's approach the one that is less dangerous.

Well… can't say I'm familiar with them… or maybe I am.

But what would I personally call an obsession?

I would refer to them as relentless thoughts, images or ideas that won't go away. Things that lead me to be misguided about my priorities.

The closest thing to an obsession that I experienced would again be during the times that I exchanged messages with Orimoto Kaori. At the time, I was excited that someone actually found it in themselves to notice me and go out of their way to actually interact with me. I felt as though it was because she held a special kind of interest in me.

I would have my focus entirely on what the next message from Orimoto would entail over the course of a few weeks. I would sit on my bed, just waiting to see what she would say with a ridiculous grin on my face. If she waved at me during school hours, I would timidly wave back, foolishly believing it was something that only I received.

It was disgusting, it was pathetic. It was an obsession.

Hindsight of course taught me that there was no actual foundation for my zealous infatuation. I simply deluded myself into thinking her attention towards me was special. But that wasn't the case, Orimoto was merely a nice girl, nothing more. The consequences after my eventual ill-fated confession were no one's fault but my own, that is why I can easily say I hold no resentment towards her. It would be egotistical, not mention cruel of me to blame her for what happened after. She didn't actually do anything wrong -even if she was disingenuous- I was the idiot in the situation, I suckered myself into thinking I liked her and that it was somehow reciprocated. Blaming her for the repercussions… I'm not so self-absorbed to do something so inconsiderate.

Of course I'm wary of her because an emotional wound is still a wound, but I do not feel any true hatred for the girl named Orimoto Kaori.

That is how perilous obsessions could be, even more so when the object you're obsessed with was created from a misunderstanding. By then, you head into delusion territory.

I still see that as the worst mistake of my past. Though my 'black history' is battling for contendership.

So as you can see, obsessions are not simply worries about your everyday problems; they often feel impossible to control, and the scary thing is, you might not even realize it's an obsession. Often, the obsessions are so debilitating that you have difficulty keeping up at work or maintaining personal relationships. And they can be so distressing that they cause you to try to get rid of those previously mentioned 'obstacles' in order for you to not stray your attention elsewhere, because that precious thing that has consumed your mind will make you anxious whenever you are not devoting focus on it.

Besides those particular circumstances with Orimoto, and some other minor occurrences, I could safely say that I wasn't really obsessive… not to a dangerous degree at least.

Some types of obsessions can be relatively harmless. For starters, having a constant worry about catching a deadly disease or that you will be contaminated by others with their germs that leads to an intense paranoia that can only be alleviated by being prepared with with a regular source of hand sanitation.

Though I remember hearing once that such continuous use of antiseptics is actually detrimental for your health. It was something about it destroying your body's own good germs that fight off diseases which ironically leaves you defenseless to many kinds of diseases.

Another example could even be a fear of disorganization. Having an excessive impulse to keep things under your control, to the point that even a minute deviation can lead to an outburst of frustration.

Of course these two examples are usually connected to that one disorder. What was it called again? Obsessive Compulsion Disorder? Something like that, right? That was the acronym at least, I think.

In the end, neither one will really bring harm to anybody, if anything, it just seems so tiresome to experience. Society as a whole will probably see such quirks in a negative light, but what else can you expect from superficial idiots? I mean, look at how Otakus and NEETs are treated for example. It's not a wonder that they're recluses since the hollow society continues to stigmatize them.

I could never imagine how it'd be like to be so obsessive over something so insignificant. Although I can understand the desire to remain in control over certain things.

However, what happens when you, or a person, becomes the object of obsession?

What does it cause to the person who is innocent and yet, is the object of an irrational and disproportionate interest from someone else?

I never experienced that if I'm to be honest, since I was most of the time ignored, so I can say without any doubt that I was never the object of someone's obsession, but if I were to describe what it entailed… Well, I knew nothing about this until I started watching some shows featuring cops and investigators talking about serial killers and homicides of the past…

I remember that I sometimes couldn't even sleep after watching an episode.

But they granted me knowledge at the very least.

'Obsessive love', as they called it, is a condition in which one person feels an overwhelming and fanatical desire to possess and protect another person toward whom one feels a strong attraction, with an inability to accept failure or rejection. Although it is not categorized specifically under any specific mental diagnosis, it was argued that obsessive love is considered to be a mental illness similar to the many personality disorders that exist out there.

Depending on the intensity of their attraction, obsessive lovers may feel entirely unable to restrain themselves from extreme behaviors such as acts of violence toward themselves or others. Obsessive love can have its roots in childhood trauma and may begin at first sight; it may persist indefinitely, sometimes requiring long-term psychotherapy.

Believe it or not, this tends to happen mostly in women rather than in men. Why that is, is unknown, although I wouldn't be surprised if the social norms placed on both genders factored into this.

And now comes my current situation.

Never would I have thought that I would be forced to experience at face value what I saw in those scary and crude tv shows.

So I guess that in my own way, but at a much worse degree, I was about to experience what Orimoto did when I momentarily became obsessed with her. Luckily for her, she was ignorant that I held such notions towards her.

Sadly, I won't have the same fortune as her -being blissfully ignorant. And the one who has the obsession over me won't have the rationality I hold to realize that what she holds are nothing more than illusory preconceptions.

I share one thing with Orimoto though, we were both completely unprepared for such sudden experiences. For her, now only an irrelevant memory of the past, and for me, a nightmare that was about to come. Who could honestly be prepared for something as awful as this anyway?

Not me for certain…

6-1

Ugh…

My eyes slowly begin to open, although everything was completely blurry.

…what? …where?

I remember being outside, and I don't feel too cold so I must have been brought inside. I can feel the telltale signs that I was sitting down, my stiff neck was a good enough indication. When the heck did I decide to take a nap in the kitchen? Those are never a good idea, especially sitting down.

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Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 06 Section: Song 01

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"Argh, shit…" My head is killing me… What the hell happened? I reach to grab my head and…

Wait… Huh? I can't move my arms? Why can't I move my arms?

I blink a numerous amount of times before my vision finally focuses and I'm able to see clearly again. It was then that I notice that I was in a dimly lit room that looked nothing like my kitchen, before looking down and realizing that my arms were restrained to the armrests of the chair I was seated on.

I try to wrench my arms free, but the rope around them held without budging at all. The only thing that suggested my tugging was even effective was the creaking of the wood, but I was sure to immediately cast aside any illusions that I was strong enough to break the armrests off with enough applied force. This new body may be stronger than my original one, but it's not superhuman.

Crap, I just realized that I couldn't move my legs either. I'm completely stuck just sitting here!

I feel my heartbeat begin to rise as my anxiety shot straight through the roof. Argh, damn it. My head is still killing me. It was slowly beginning to dull but… Shit, it hurts.

But I'm starting to recall what happened earlier. I was outside and just about to head in before I was ambushed by that pink-haired stalker. She hit me with a stun gun and put me to sleep by smothering me with a drugged rag.

Shit! Seriously!? This is completely fucked up!

Who the hell is this girl!? And why the hell did she kidnap me!?

I was just a high school student! The worst I experienced was being rejected by my peers, I didn't get stalked and assaulted by psychotic females in the middle of the night! What the hell is wrong with this fucking world!?

My sheer panic of recalling what had happened and not being able to move was worsening my headache and trepidation. I was rapidly approaching hyperventilating territory in my hysteria.

Stop…

Stop.

Stop!

GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF ALREADY!

I snap out of my hysterics at that. My breathing was heavy, my heart was still pounding, but I'm able to see things a bit more clearly now.

That's right… Panicking won't help me here, I need to try and relax. Even if I'm in a bad situation, I can't let it ruin my composure. It'll spell disaster for me if I do.

Hah…

It takes a while, but anxiety levels fall to more manageable degree alongside my now-stabilized breathing. My head was still bothering me though. My panic did me no favors there and now my pounding headache returned with a vengeance.

Ack… I have accelerated healing, don't I? Can't it make it go away any faster?

Bah, whatever.

This time, with a calmer mind, I take a better look at my surroundings again. First, the blazer of my uniform was gone. Then I look behind me, ignoring the strain on my stiff neck, and take note of my source of light.

The room I was in was pretty dark, but there were a few windows to my left that allowed moonlight to shine through, allowing me a decent amount of visibility in the room. One of them was broken. That must mean that we're in a run down area somewhere.

I'm not sure what time it was, but with it still being dark out, it's most likely past midnight already.

Turning back, I roll my neck to rid myself of its soreness, I then notice that there was another source of light inside of the room.

I look towards my right and see a television set on a table. It was on, and it looked to be caught between some kind of channel and static. Luckily for me, it was muted so I didn't have to put up with the garbled up dialogue it definitely had.

There was a commercial on or something. From what I can tell, it looked like the star was some brunette girl in a bikini or at least I think it is, she was showing significant amount of skin with only some splotches of color protecting her modesty. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell that she had her hair styled in ponytails. Judging by her… physique, she was pretty young, probably one of those teen idols. Ugh… Where the hell do people get the idea to have some young girl pose in such scantily-clad clothing on public television? Get your heads out of the gutter you perverted, corporate old farts. And you, idol, go back to school instead of parading around in that unseemly attire.

I turn away from the screen with a roll of my eyes. Even in such a situation, I can't escape from the shallowness of society.

Hmm… My eyes finally adjusted to the low light so I can see even more now.

And… Huh? What's that up ahead?

I could see three other chairs in front of me, facing me actually. They were hidden away in the shadows, only barely being hit by the light of the television, had my eyes not adjusted I doubted I could have seen them there entirely.

In the chairs were… other students that were my age? …What on earth?

"But don't worry, I'm currently dealing with the matter! I want you to see their deserved punishment."

I immediately feel a chill crawl up my spine as my breath momentarily hitches. That's right… She said that to me didn't she? These three… They're among those that attacked me after school on my second day in this world.

She actually did it… The madwoman managed to abduct three athletically capable teenagers and myself in one night. That woman… What the hell is she?

And why just three of them? There were five of them, weren't there? Well, I guess the one that was left behind might have still been licking his wounds, but what about the fifth one? Why was he missing?

I guess I should be glad that at least two of them were spared from going through this insane situation. Still though, three out of five -well six if I include myself- isn't a good ratio, I would prefer none of us to be here honestly.

I relax the tension that momentarily returned to me as I looked closer at the three sports heads, they're were each out cold and even more tied up than I was. Even their necks were restrained. Geez… That didn't look comfortable at all.

I could roughly recognize them. I regarded their attack so unimportant that I couldn't have been bothered to memorize their faces. Huh, they each had a bruise on their face -albeit significantly faded.

That pink-haired girl probably used that to her advantage.

What do I do now? They're all unconscious, possibly through similar means as I was. Think, Hachiman, think.

Ah, that's right. She implied that she was already in the middle of dealing with this situation. Maybe she rounded up these guys before targeting me. They might have been under for a longer time than I was. Maybe my accelerated healing let me come to much faster than they could. If that's the case, maybe they're due to wake up at any moment.

I doubt that deranged pinkhead plans to have them sleep through the night.

I look around briefly to make sure she wasn't hidden somewhere or looking through one of the windows. …No. Everything looks clear, the door that's at the end of the room is closed as well. I don't know where she could be, but I have to take advantage of this moment.

"Oi…" I say in a tone that I hope is loud enough to gain one of their attentions, yet quiet enough that it's inaudible from outside the room.

No answer. Great…

"Oi." This time I'm a bit louder. Tch, it still wasn't enough. I wait a few seconds and listen carefully to make sure no one was in our vicinity. No, the coast is clear.

"Oi!" I hiss out this time. Thankfully my latest attempt paid off, when I notice the head of the boy in the center of the three move briefly.

It remained still for a moment much to my chagrin, that is until the guy whose head moved before suddenly jerked awake.

"Wha?" He his eyes look around wildly as he regains consciousness. Well, he's not panicking yet so he's probably just trying to straighten out his thoughts. Oh dear, I sure hope he doesn't cause a scene after I tried so hard not to call attention towards us. That'd be detrimental towards all my hard work, you knoooow?

I can feel my shoulders sag.

Hah… Using humor in order to cope with this stressful situation, never thought I'd be the type.

I look back up to see the muscle-for-brains at the brink of his own hysterics.

"Eh? Huh? Wha-"

"Keep it down," I state flatly, keeping my voice low.

I take it upon myself to interrupt his outburst before it began. I already went through my own bout, if I saw how it looked from the outside, I would immediately be able to visualize myself doing it which would lead me wanting to die out of sheer embarrassment. Please spare me from that.

"Wha? Hiki-mushi!?"

"Quiet," I snap at the idiot. Who the hell is 'Hiki-mushi'? At least get my name right if you're going to call out to me dumbass. I don't have the patience to deal with your stupidity right now.

"I… I can't move!" He begins to panic as he realizes his predicament.

I sigh since he still managed to carelessly holler even with me trying to quiet him down. Such is to be expected, if even someone who prides themselves over their composure like I do can nearly succumb to hysteria, what can I expect from someone like him?

"You're tied down to the chair," I state out the obvious to him. Maybe the sooner he knows, the sooner he'll be willing to talk with less panic.

"W-what the fuck!?"

"Quiet down already," I scowl at him, "What if that girl hears us?"

That promptly shuts him up. His breathing was agitated so he was only just keeping himself together. This means I'll have to be careful in how I handle questioning him. If I don't, he'll break down again and will definitely gain our abductor's attention.

"Do you remember what happened?" I ask him slowly.

He sagged in his chair, or at least he tried to. The restraints on his neck didn't really allow him to hang his head down. He was grimacing in pain too, probably had a headache like I did. He silently nodded as a whimper escapes his mouth.

I wait for him to compose himself so he could expand on his answer. He looks up after a minute or so, there was still fear evident on his face but he was lucid enough to talk to now.

"I… I was coming back after visiting the captain in the hospital," He levels me with a glare, "One of your lackeys attacked him the day before, now he's going to miss our next tournament. He wasn't even aware of the beating we planned for you!"

I merely raise an eyebrow at his sudden shift. Is this really the appropriate time to bring up that sort of thing? Where was this bluster when you first woke up? Don't think I'm going to take you seriously after you nearly had a breakdown just a minute ago.

And what lackey could you possibly be referring to-

Ah…

Harima… It has to be. Who else was so fervent to get back at these guys for me? But… it seems he got the wrong guy… I don't remember a captain being there, then again, I don't even know what sports club they're in.

"I see…" I said curtly, then sighing.

"Did you send that punk after us?" He questioned.

"I don't care enough about any of you to bother with such a troublesome thing." I reply honestly.

The boy coughed before replying, "Didn't seem that way… that same punk attacked one of us just in the morning."

So that's what happened to the fifth one.

Either way, I shrug, or at least, I make an attempt to do so, "What he does is his own decision. I couldn't care less about revenge."

This launches the idiot into a rant that revolved around cursing me and Harima. I flawlessly ignore it as I think about my delinquent acquaintance's actions.

That did sound like something Harima would do. Geez… I would pinch the bridge of my nose if I had the freedom to move my arms. And my headache had just gone away…

Argh… You stupid delinquent, you just caused me more problems. Didn't I say I had no interest in retaliating multiple times?

Bah, whatever, this is all irrelevant right now.

"The girl," I cut in his tirade, "What happened with her?"

He glares at me briefly before deflating, "I… I saw her when I was walking back. I… thought she was hurt because she was limping. Then… she…" He grimaces in pain again as he tries to remember, "She put a rag in my face and then…"

He took a deep, shuddering breath afterwards. I feel a bit a pity towards him, this abduction came without warning, and as far as he knew, it was unwarranted. Which is true to be fair, it's not like I would wish this fate on these guys.

"What about the others?"

"O-others?" He looked back at me in confusion. He didn't even notice them? Well, he can't move his head at all...

I gesture to his sides where the other two were flanking him. They're were still unconscious.

"W-what the fuck?!" His eyes move to the corner of his eyes frantically.

Aw crap… He's finally at his wits end. I don't think he'll be able to snap out of it as quickly this time.

He was screaming random names at a fast pace, so I couldn't catch them. At this rate, they'll remain as the Nameless Trio. They were only just starting to stir due to his outburst.

Shit. This is bad. He's being too loud again…

Oi, quiet down before-

The door suddenly slams open, effectively shutting up the idiot and snapping the other two awake. My heart began to hammer again.

My eyes widen in alarm as that girl, the one behind this entire insane situation, enters the room. I try my best to keep a cool head, but I can feel my breathing become erratic.

You need to calm down, Hachiman! Showing fear is the worst thing you can do now! Just… I just need to breathe deeply… Damn it… It would have been better not seeing her at all…

Just as the jock said, the girl with pink hair limped as she made her way towards me. It wasn't just a ploy to get him to lower his defenses, she was genuinely hurt for some reason. I couldn't really see her face clearly due to the darkness of the room, however, once she stood before me and leaned before me, the light of the TV illuminated half of her face.

I blink in surprise as I finally get to see the expression she carried.

---

Go to profile, SEE: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 06 Section: Picture 01

---

Her cheeks were a bit red, as if she were blushing, and she sported a smile, a cheerful one that didn't correspond in this situation at all. What's up with that? Weren't you supposed to be a kidnapper? Or are you that happy for having us here, you psychopath?

"Hachi~!" She said happily, her hands gripping my knees as she gaze at me with… devotion? What? I couldn't even react to her unsolicited touch, the terror within me was much too large. "You're finally awake, Hachi!"

I remain silent at her elated behavior. Only staring at her with furrowed eyebrows, though I know confusion was written all over my face. What's with this girl?

The others behind us were completely awake now, both making a huge ruckus in reaction to the situation they found themselves in while the other was just begging to be released. The pink-haired girl acted as if they weren't even there, keeping all of her attention on me. That's a terrifying aspect she has there.

She tilted her head, still smiling. It seems like she was waiting for me to speak.

What the hell was I supposed to say? I didn't know this girl, and no one's mentioned anything about her. Hell, if I remember right, she said she didn't have the courage to speak to me until tonight. That would make this our first actual meeting, wouldn't it?

I swallow heavily, trying to will my trepidation under control. I let out a breath and look her right in her unchanging eyes.

"…What is this?" I ask her warily. I'm confident that my voice didn't betray the fear I was feeling right now.

"KYA! Hachi properly spoke to me~!" She holds her cheeks with her hands as she giggles to herself, she looked like a twisted version of a bashful schoolgirl. It gave me the creeps.

"H-huh?" I squeak out in reflex. Damn it…

"I've waited so long to hear your voice…" There was something about the smile she had. Objectively it looked fine, but the alarms blaring in my head were telling me that something wasn't right. "I'm so glad you're finally looking at me."

I suppress a shiver and gaze at her in bewilderment. What the hell is she saying? Besides, there is not much to look at in here.

"And I'm especially happy that you're here with me," She stands up, her smile still inappropriately warm, "Now you can see just how much I cherish you."

I frown back at her, what does she mean?

Honestly, what is my story with this girl? She's an unregistered contact, none of my supposed friends have made a single reference to her, and my room didn't contain a picture of the two of us as children that indicated that we were long-lost childhood friends.

I seriously hate that plot point in these newer shounen romance mangas. Though I found myself enjoying that one with the quintuplets, at least the plot in that one moved faster compared to that stupid 'Fake Love,' or whatever it was. The former's protagonist was able to move on from it in the earlier chapters instead of pretending he did and gathering other uninteresting female love interests who all pined for him for no reason other than either being nice (lol), or because of that stupid key and locket.

I'm getting angry just thinking about that poor excuse for a story, thank goodness I dropped it and Komachi had the good sense to do the same later on.

Back at the matter at hand, this girl seems to be a wild card of her own. No apparent ties, no sense of right or wrong, and a dangerously deep attraction towards me.

Our relationship is nonexistent seeing how she just admitted that this is the first time I ever talked to her. She isn't even wearing a uniform that indicated she was from Sobu or even from Yuuki's school, which I counted as a mixed blessing. On one hand, there's no stalker to worry about in either Sobu or Sainan, but on the other, it keeps me from being able to avoid the area her campus is located in since I ultimately don't know where it is.

It seemed we weren't in each other's immediate vicinity for at least the last two years. So, what? Does that really mean that she's a complete stranger that takes that 'love at first sight' garbage seriously?

"Ah, but I'm not ready yet. You woke up a little earlier than I expected." She giggles again, "Hachi is just full of surprises, isn't he?"

"Why are we restrained?" I ignore what she says and steer the conversation back to 'here and now'. This girl is bad news, plain and simple; but acting out doesn't seem like the best option for me, even if I really wanted to scream and shout.

"Didn't I tell you, Hachi?" She looks at me fondly, stop doing that. "I want you to see me prove how much you mean to me."

She said that before, yes, I remember, "...How?"

"By making an example of these brutes who hurt you silly," She smiles at me as if I were an ignorant child. And frankly that scares me the most. She's an honest-to-goodness psychopath. Her morals are practically absent, and she's treating what she wants to do as something inevitable and understandable. It's completely unfair that I got stuck with someone of her caliber!

It seems a thought came to her or something since she suddenly began to pout.

"Ah, but I couldn't get all of them, I'm sorry Hachi."

It's unnerving that she actually looks regretful…

I guess even this girl has enough sense in her head to not abduct people from hospitals or their own homes. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if she debated whether she should attempt it or not.

"…What are you going to do to them?" I actually didn't want to know the answer, but asking 'Can you please let me go?' didn't seem like a smart idea. Through process of elimination, that seemed like my best choice.

"What they deserve silly," She leaned to me with a shy grin, "I want them to feel sooooo sorry for daring to attack you! This is how it's supposed to be, Hachi."

She keeps on saying that but what does 'What they deserve' mean exactly? It takes a lot out of me to not react to her words, but I do grimace a bit and feel the hairs on my neck stand on edge. What's with that twisted logic? In what world does that make sense to you?

"...Is that so?" I ask slowly, willing myself to not stutter.

"Yes, Hachi!" She giggles, "To show how much I care for you, I'll make them repent of what they did…" Her eyes acquires a cold light when she glances at them, her 'kind' expression completely gone. Wow, that is just one scary face you're making there, whoever you are!

The look in her eyes are the same as last night… well… earlier in the night actually. I don't know how to explain it well, but it's as if they dulled into lifeless husks. Is that how my eyes looked like to others? No, my eyes were picked on for looking like a dead fish's, they never held an intimidating quality. Not like this girl's did.

I didn't think it was possible, but she has the cold eyes you would expect from yanderes in manga. They're much more terrifying in real life… Just what I needed… curse you Deus Ex!

I remain silent. I don't have any words to respond to her with. Can you blame me? How am I supposed to have a rational conversation with someone that holds no rationality in the first place? Talking to a brick wall seems like a much easier task compared to this high hurdle!

"Let us go, you fucking bitch! I know who you are! Gasai Yuno!" The boy at the left spat angrily, "You won't get away with this, crazy bitch! We'll report you and Hiki-mushi for this fucking bullshit!"

Hold on! That's not the way to talk to the one that practically has you completely defenseless, you idiot! You're supposed to grovel at her feet and beg for her to show you mercy! There's no time for defiant facades! You're just signing your death warrant!

And why the hell am I being lumped in with her!? I'm clearly tied up like you lot!

But… at least I finally know the name of my stalker… Gasai Yuno… I wonder what could have possibly happened for her to become obsessed with me.

"Is that so…?" She tilts her head, sporting a blank expression. She approaches him slowly, her face darkening, "Who do you think you are? Can't you see we were having a wonderful time together, and then you spew your bullshit with that disgusting mouth! I won't ever forgive you for harming Hachi."

What's this 'wonderful time' you're referring to, Stalker-san? And such vulgar speech from you too… Wonderful… Am I the only one that doesn't feel the need to curse outside of my internal monologues? It doesn't make you sound cool, you knoooow?

...Still coping with humor, eh? Geez… I'm just about scared out of my wits here.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Another gasped in terror. She grabbed some clothes and inserted them forcefully on their mouths, effectively shutting them up. I looked on with wide eyes.

"I'm just doing this for Hachi! It's all for him! He never did anything wrong to you, and yet, you all ganged up on him and beat him up… you won't get away with harming Hachi. I won't allow it."

Her intentions are good(?), albeit misguided to a large degree. And her methods… They're questionable at best, depraved at worst. And that's probably still an understatement…

I blink as she suddenly walks towards a table I failed to notice was there until just now, from it she picks up a… knife…

A knife.

She has a knife.

Why does she have a knife!?

What the hell could possibly be the reason that she has a knife on her person!?

My eyes widen as she holds it just before her face, a soft tint of pink painting her cheeks. She's… completely off kilter… I just realize now that she may have been that serial killer roaming the streets of Chiba. But then… wouldn't that mean that the people she's killed were for my sake? But Aikawa said there wasn't a single connection between victims, if it were her… Then wouldn't it be traced back to me!?

"W-what is that for!?" The guy in the middle manages to spit the cloth from his mouth, and shouts, still trying to break free, but no matter how much he tried, it was to no avail.

"Are you retarded? What do you think a knife is for?" She responds with a dark tone, the light in her eyes lost. "To cut, right? To cut…" She steps to the trio, gripping the knife tightly. "It works wonderfully with flesh! I mean, when I cook and cut beef, it's so easy. It must be the same way with you, right?"

Oi, oi… What kind of backwards thinking is that? There's no way the flesh of humans is anywhere near the quality of that of beef! Human flesh is supposed to be disgusting, don't you know something that simple!? We're not desirable at all for carnivores! Look at sharks, they only attack us because they think we're fish not because we're nutritious and tasty!

Why am I getting so hung up on this? The point is that normal people shouldn't be excited at how human flesh compares to beef!

"G-get away from me! Y-you'll regret it if you do anything else!" Spat the guy desperately, "Y-you'll go to jail!"

Gasai tilts her head, "I don't think so. You're the miscreants that attacked Hachi…" Her gaze darkens, "But the police won't do nothing to apprehend you. If they don't… then…" A disturbed smile spread across her face, "I'll do it myself. I'll punish you for Hachi's sake!"

No wait, please don't say that. I have nothing to do with this. Don't go and say you're doing things for my sake when you're clearly acting upon your own selfish reasons and using me as a poor excuse of a justification. I don't need you trying to put your horrid actions on my conscious.

"Oi… That isn't a good idea, Gasai," I speak out loud, "Hurting them won't change anything."

The pinkette slowly turned to me, "But Hachi, they have to learn their lesson…" She pouts, and closes her eyes, "Besides, I brought you here so you can see their punishment for yourself," She giggles, "So you just sit there and watch, silly."

"I'm serious, Gasai. Stop before it's too late," I try to reason with her, but something tells me that I may need another approach. Still… might as well try. "You can't go back after crossing this kind of line."

"Didn't they cross the line first?"

I grimace at how easily she's able to simplify things. Gasai, while you and they share intent, there's a difference in extremes that you both went through…

"They're… just idiots who let their inflated egos and masculinity get the best of them."

The pinkette tilts her head, as if failing to understand my point, "Which is the reason they must suffer, right? To let such pettiness lead them to attack Hachi… they must suffer the consequences..." She notices my expression of disapproval and frowns, "It seems Hachi is being a little thick-headed…" She walks to me and I can't help becoming tense. "How about if Hachi lets me prove that I'm doing this for… love…" Her face reddens at that last word, before she walks behind me.

Damn it, I try to turn my head to look behind me but it's of no use, my field of vision doesn't reach that far back because of my fixed position. I hear the sound of something cleaving wood before I sense her standing right behind me. My eyes immediately widen as she suddenly attempts to put some rope in my mouth. I try to turn my head away but she forces her way in and ties it to my head.

I no longer have the ability to speak.

W-wait! No! No! Take this off of me! Get it off this instant you crazy fucking bitch!

My body reflexively begins to move on its own to try and get me out of this predicament. My fear and anxiety returns to me with a fierce vengeance. I'm sort of glad about the rope in a weird way, what would have been screams are only coming out as grunts.

I try to stop my body from its instinctual panic, but I'm already at the point of hyperventilating. I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do. I'm a fucking high school student! I never had anything happen to me that could even compare to being kidnapped!

This damned world, forcing me to put up with this bullshit!

Panic becomes anger, anger becomes… was this fury? I distinctly remember feeling this way at the end of the fight a few days ago. It was foreign, yet familiar, and something I don't remember ever experiencing before arriving here. I've been angry, who hasn't, but never have I been so consumed by it as I am now.

I defiantly try to flail my body in order to break out of this chair. Right now the last thing I'm thinking of is being rational about this. Can you blame me? Being unable to move, having my voice be restricted… I refuse to allow myself to be in such a powerless position. Not in this shitty, stupid world!

I won't. I WON'T.

---

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 06 Section: Song 02

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"Hachi…" I look up to see her just before me, "That's not a face you should be making…" I blink as she, for the first time, looks at me neutrally, her eyes disturbed. "Hachi…? Are you mad at me?" She sits on my legs and straddles me, resting her hands on my shoulders. She doesn't seem to be embarrassed in the slightest compared to her bashful act from before. Get off of me, you pink-haired psychopath.

She stares at me for several seconds, her expression unreadable. I use this time to forcibly relax the blind anger that washed over me. I can't afford to succumb to it. Not here, not now. Anger makes you narrow-minded, it doesn't help you like fictional stories and anime lead you to believe. It makes you reckless, more liable to make mistakes, something that can spell disaster for me.

This anger won't give me super strength that will help me break through the restraints, it won't let me restrain her and prevent things from getting worse. This is reality, and in reality, anger makes you prone to impulses. And in this situation, impulses won't help me.

I need to keep it together. Don't act rashly in front of the woman that holds all of the advantages over you, Hachiman. To completely regain my composure is too tall of a task to ask for, but to at least get myself back to a manageable level of control is what I need to do.

"Hachi is acting weird… I'm only doing this for you, silly… but it seems it's not enough," She stands up, walking behind me. Then she approaches the trio, the one in the middle gritting his teeth. In that moment I notice that she has the knife again.

While the other two still had their mouths filled with cloth, they could still be able to make sounds of fear, yet the one in the middle started to shout, "Get away, bitch! I'll fucking rape you and kill you if you come any closer!"

I simply release a shuddering breath through my nose. I have no right to reproach what he was saying, even if it was crass. It's merely a bravado on his part in a vain attempt to ward her off. I may not have been as bad, but my anger did get the best of me as well. My previous actions were those that I wouldn't have expected from myself.

Rage, huh? What a dangerous emotion. It's unexpectedly enticing. And before you know it, it can consume you. It's no less as risky to fall into as obsessions are.

Gasai stands before the middle boy, and to my horror, and with no further consideration, she plunges the knife through one of his legs, a loud cry of pain echoes in the room at her action. I'm completely stunned, staring in utter shock as the boy continues to scream, the other two at his sides once more trying to break free in order to avoid a similar fate.

WHAT. THE. FUCK!?

She… She wasn't joking! She really does want to punish the others in retribution for their actions!

What in the hell is wrong with her!?

"S-STOP! Ah! You fucking bitch! It hurts! AHHH!" Gasai doesn't seem to be even registering the dreadful screams as she just stares at him with an impassive expression.

My breathing picks up again as I watch in terror, I couldn't even turn away because of the rope she added. And as much as I wanted to, I was unable to close my eyes. They were firmly glued onto the scene.

"'It hurts'?" She asks monotonously, almost as if mockingly, "How do you think Hachi felt when your group beat him up? Don't you think that hurt him?" She presses the knife deeper into his flesh to emphasize her point. An even more horrid scream follows in response.

I cringe at the unmitigated brutality. I almost feel like I'm about to faint, but because I'm the regular focus of Gasai's attention, I will myself not to in self-preservation.

You read about this stuff in the darker fantasy novels, and gory media, but to see it in real life is an entirely different story…

"P-please! Please stop! I'm s-sorry!" The boy whimpered desperately, and I only felt pity for him. Regardless of his involvement in my attack, he doesn't deserve this. "I'm sorry…"

The inhumane girl steps back while pulling out the knife, earning another scream from him, yet she remains calm and collected. She examines the bloodied knife closely and turns to me, "See, Hachi? He's already asking for forgiveness," She smiles, her cheeks gaining color, "I told you I was right, Hachi!"

I obviously can't respond but I painfully grind my teeth against the ropes in pure anger. She's trying to prove that she's doing the right thing, or at least, the right thing for me, but it's clear how fucked up her logic works, even ignoring the fact that she put us all in these circumstances in the first place.

"But…" Gasai's face makes an abrupt change, a scary one in fact, "Even if he apologizes, I have to make sure he won't do something like that ever again…"

My breath hitches as I see her approach the same guy with her knife in hand.

"NO! NOOOOO! GET AWAY! I SAID I'M SORRY! I'M SOOOOORRRY!" He shouts, to no avail.

Gasai grabs his hand, his index finger in fact, "I'll make sure you remember what you did to Hachi. This is retribution."

I try to turn away, but feel the restrictions keep me from doing so. This time I shut my eyes tightly as more terrible screams are heard in this god-forsaken place.

"AAAHHHH! MY FINGER! YOU FUCKING BITCH!"

I don't want to look… She did something to his finger… And my mind was going into overdrive guessing what she had done, just thinking about it makes me want to vomit. I lower my head, managing to control the content of my stomach from coming back to my mouth. I feel sick…

I slowly open my eyes and gaze back at Gasai, who with slow steps, backs away from him, tossing something onto the ground. I truly appreciate the bad lighting as I can't see what it was… But… I could already guess as much. And that fact made my blood run cold.

And the fact that Gasai doesn't look the least disturbed by what she just did is the worst of it. What could have possibly made her this… detached? I just can't understand.

I can hear the desperate sobs from the wounded boy. The light of the TV allows me to see that his hand was bloodied and no longer had the middle finger. I trembled violently as I felt as if ice went down my spine. Damn it…

That's certainly something he won't be able to forget. The same goes for me…

Gasai suddenly claps her hands together, her hands stained with blood from what I could tell.

"Are you crying because you lost a finger, or because you are feeling remorseful of what you did to Hachi?" She asked with a mocking tone, also reeking skepticism. "No… of course not… you only cry because you feel pain. You don't mean it!" She shouts at him angrily, and the boy leans back against his chair in pure, unadulterated fear.

"P-please, don't! I'm really sorry! I…" Despite his desperate pleas, Gasai didn't looked the least affected, and to his dismay, the pinkette approached him again, knife in hand, "S-stop…"

Blood dripped onto the ground repeatedly, the sound of each drip echoing eerily across the room. I can only watch him, powerless and unable to speak due to the cloth on my mouth. She's going to kill him eventually, her expressionless face shows that much. I don't think that torturing him or the other two will be enough for Gasai to make up for the beating they gave me.

She isn't planning to stop any time soon, and it's just with this first guy too. The others haven't been touched yet. And with one missing a finger…

She might just…

No… She will kill them…

Again, I'm thankful for the rope in my mouth, or else she would have heard my pathetic whimper.

I should have realized it since the beginning. Gasai never meant to only torture them until they repented, or whatever else she sought from them. I should have realized it sooner, I mean, it was so obvious how this was going to end. Someone who kidnaps others in public wouldn't be so considerate as to let them loose after she was done torturing them. And they knew who she was, and she didn't even bother trying to hide it.

Even disregarding the mutilation of one of that guy's fingers, if any of them lived though this day, they would definitely report her to the authorities, and I'm certain that she thought about that too.

Gasai Yuno won't stop the torture until they are all dead.

How could I possibly prevent that? Is there anything I can even do?

"There's a saying, you know?" Gasai starts, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. And since you all hit him real bad, then I'll take all you eyes and teeth. Fair enough don't you think?"

That's not what the saying means at all! It means that vengeance should be equal. They didn't cut my finger off!

She giggles, "You all brought this upon yourselves when messing with Hachi."

And with a sudden motion she cleaves the knife on his shoulder.

"I… Ah! AH! AAAAAARRRGGHH!"

She backs up, seeing the knife impaling the boy's shoulder before she grabs the handle and begins to press it further in. More desperate screams echoed in the room, one worse than the other, the other two making sounds of fear despite that the cloth filled their mouths.

"Argh! Ah! Ahg…" The tortured one of us whimpers sadly.

I'm completely frozen as I watch, I couldn't react due to the utter shock I was feeling. My heavy breathing and my inner panic were the only indication of my outward awareness. The others weren't as lucky(?), they were both crying and screaming out in anguish. If their seats were of lesser quality, they would have been able to break out of their restraints from how wildly they thrashed around.

The pinkette narrows her gaze as she walks around them, leaving the knife inside his body like if it were a perverted scabbard of flesh. Not caring for his cries of agony, she walks away and gets something from the left wall. I couldn't see what it was until she steps at my side, carrying it. I blink in terror as I see that she carried a crossbow… you gotta be kidding me! Where the hell did she get that from!?

All four of us react at the appearance of the projectile weapon. In his sheer panic, the nameless male on the right is able to slip the cloth away from his mouth. But same as the one in the middle, he is unable to utter anything but whimper.

Gasai lifts it up.

Wait… Wait… Wait!

Pointing it at the untouched guy to the left, she shoots the crossbow at him, the bolt impaling his upper chest, a muffled cry from him followed before he slumps down, his body trembling as he weeped. The boy to the right looked in terror at the bolt, "You're fucking insane! You're… you're a monster! How can you do something like this!?"

She ignores him and loads another bolt in her weapon, her expression emotionless.

The boy she shot wasn't dead, it's subtle but I can see that he's still breathing. The damage caused by it wasn't mortal as it landed away from his heart, but I'm no doctor. Still, I'm sure the loss of blood will do him in eventually. Then she aims again, at the same target. If she hits him again, he'll surely die.

"Keep your mouth shut or I'll hit something vital," Said the crazed girl. "I'm not trying to kill him, but if you don't shut your fucking mouth, I could accidentally aim at his head." She comments coldly, focusedly pointing the crossbow to emphasize her point. That logic doesn't make any sense, then again, nothing of this does.

And once more, another bolt is released, this one landing in his leg. The boy's head shoots straight up, his face writhed in pure agony before his expression relaxes and he slumps down. He's unconscious. The one in the middle soon joins him, either because his pain was too much or the experience became too much for him.

"It…" The boy on the right, and the only one still awake, looks at the impaled boy, "It went through his fucking leg! Shit!" He turns to her, "Why are you doing this!?"

She cocks an eyebrow, "How many times do I have to tell you that this is retribution for what you did to Hachi…" Her tone is venomous, her eyes lifeless, "Are you a retard?"

"But you still have him all tied up like us!" He shoots back, "It's just… he's as scared shitless as any of us, yet you still try to avenge him by making him see all of this against his will!?"

"Shut up!" Gasai, for the first time becomes aggressive, "You have no right to speak on Hachi's behalf! Only I understand his feelings! Only I can make you pay for what you did to him! This is the only way to show him how much I love him!" She loads another bolt and this time aims at the boy recriminating her, "Trash like you would never understand!"

She fires the weapon, the bolt landing in his abdomen.

"Guh!" He winces in pain, "Fucking bitch! It's hurts dammit!" His breathing had become agitated, "You… no matter what you do, even if you kill us… you'll… you'll be thrown to jail to be fucked up by the other scum like you!"

"I won't get caught," She responds, suppressing a laugh, "Nobody will ever know what happened. Once I'm done, I'll burn this place down. And I'll be able to have a date with Hachi!" She giggles as a red hue spreads across her cheeks. "Nobody will care if you disappeared," Her face makes another abrupt change, "And even if they discover that you were killed, there's already a serial killer in Chiba, so they will simply attribute it to him, her, whoever that is."

"Y-you're not the serial killer?" He gasps in disbelief.

She turns to me, ignoring him entirely, as she now smiled warmly, "Oh, and don't worry, Hachi! I got it all planned so we won't get separated when we're done with them, hehe!"

I gaze at her in equal bemusement. It wasn't her? She's seriously not connected to the deaths of those other people?

No… I guess it makes sense, in a stupid sort of way. She only seems to act in this manner when it comes to me. Aikawa didn't conveniently point out how the ones who died were people I knew, or have interacted with before. That would have been an obvious sign may Gasai have been involved. She might not be right in the head, but she has her own reasons to act, as ridiculous as they may seem. Those other two victims were random individuals, with no connections to each other nor myself. And without me being a factor, Gasai wouldn't feel the need to do anything.

But still… her not being the serial killer just makes her that much scarier.

The amount of planning she went through to lead to this situation speaks volumes at how methodical she's capable of being. It'd be naive to think she was acting on an impulse and careless enough to not plan on covering her tracks.

"Alright! Let's continue then!" She picks a rope, leaving the crossbow leaning to my chair, and approaches them.

"Get away from 'em, freak!" The only boy of the three left conscious growls.

"Time to shut up," She tries to tie him by the mouth again. However, Gasai met resistance as her victim closes his mouth shut. Seeing this, Gasai grips the bolt, impaling his stomach and begins to twist it, forcing him to scream in pain. Using this chance, she puts the rope on his mouth, shutting him up. "Finally, you were making me angry, and I don't want Hachi to see me like that."

She walks to the table again, picking up a small hammer. I begin to pale at the thought of seeing her savagely use it on them. She walks back towards the sole boy, who stares back at her in fright, still bleeding from the bolt in his stomach.

I need to stop her, but I can't even speak, damn it…

Gasai leans and gazes at his tied arm, her eyes wandering until they land on his hand, "Those hands that marred Hachi's face, those dirty fingers." She holds his hand against the arm of the chair, "Breaking time…" She mutters darkly.

Oh shit… she…

The hammer is lifted upward before landing harshly on one of his fingers. The boy cries out in pain through the cloth, a sickening sound echoes. I harshly bite the rope in my mouth, and shut my eyes tightly. I couldn't watch, and I cursed the fact that I was forced to hear the disgusting sound of fingers being broken by a hammer. The accompanied muffled cry didn't make it any better.

I open my eyes once the his cries stop, seeing her step back.

"After this, you won't be hitting anyone ever again," She said with a smile before turning to me. "Isn't that right, Hachi?"

I stare at her for some seconds before closing my eyes again, when she lifts the hammer up once more.

Damn it…

6-2

I'm not sure how much time had passed. An hour? Two?

It was still dark out and there was no indication of dawn arriving. I guess… everything that happened slowed my perception of time and put me under the illusion that a significant amount of time had passed.

I couldn't find it in myself to care anymore.

Gasai had moved on from the third one after breaking all of his fingers. She took her time for each one, breaking another every time he looked to be going unconscious. In the end, the pain from his fingers being systematically smashed in were eventually too much for him to bear once the adrenaline wore off. Not to mention the bolt still stuck in his abdomen.

They were still alive, she hadn't done anything afterwards. I had expected her to shoot more bolts at him, but she seemed disappointed when he was noticeably out cold. After that she left the room, saying that she would bring something good for me, whatever that is. I couldn't care less.

While she slowly broke the third one's fingers, I began to grow numb to the terror-inducing acts. Call it overexposure, but I stopped feeling anything after a while. It wasn't a calm nothing, it was just that, nothing. No fear, no anger, no sadness. I was completely numb.

But it's something I'm familiar with, although the causes were completely different. I suppose I could find this as something lucky to occur, if I'm numb, I'm no longer prone to lashing out from the emotional turmoil I felt. And that will help me immensely here.

It wasn't going to be permanent, I knew that. Maybe this is what they call shock, and I also know that this night will haunt me for the rest of my life. Hah… I hate this world so much, it should have never existed.

I'm sick of all this. I don't fucking care anymore.

The game, this world. It can all go to hell for all I care.

The door swung open, and I slowly raise my head, my dull gaze staring blankly at the woman with pink hair. She was holding a tray, from my sitting position I could see there was a jar. She approaches me and kneels down, giving me a good look of what the tray contained. Apart from the jar, there was also two plates, one with bread and the other with some stew, and an empty glass.

"Hachi!" Gasai calls cheerfully, "I brought you dinner! You must be feeling hungry."

I wasn't. Not even close. How could I be expected to be? I saw three people get tortured by this sadistic woman. I wanted to regurgitate my previous meal the entire time. How she is able to transition to a 'normal' setting says all there is to know about how off kilter she is.

Heh… It seemed a lot longer than just a few hours ago that I was eating with Belldandy's company back at my house. I'd much rather be interacting with her and Deviluke than this woman here. But that's not much of a compliment anyway.

She blinks, "Aren't you hungry, Hachi?"

I only stared at her, my numbness didn't allow me to transfer any emotion to my gaze. If I was to compare it, I feel it'd be similar to her own emotionless look when gazing at the trio she kidnapped. I didn't make any attempt to respond, I only stared back.

"Oh! You can't speak, I'm so silly!" She giggles, putting the tray on the table. With that done, she removes the rope from my mouth. "Now you can speak, and eat!" She rests a hand on my head, but I don't react to it at all. In fact, I only slump forward a bit and breathe heavily.

"..."

She smiles and picks the glass, filling with with some orange liquid. She extends the glass to me with a shy expression, "Hachi, have some orange juice."

"..."

I only continue to breathe. And I begin to think.

---

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 06 Section: Song 03

---

I need to analyze everything surrounding this moment and pick my options. There are no goddesses, aliens or 'friends' that can help me now. There was only one thing I have left now.

My only weapon, my only Sword.

Logic.

"Hachi?"

Gasai Yuno. A pink-haired girl in high school. Roughly the same age as me. Acts sweet, but has a darker side to her personality.

Sadistic. Capable of slowly torturing others in multiple ways. Has no problems with screams of agony.

Violent. Same reasons as before.

Cruel. Went out of her way to cause pain through the uses of many tools and weapons.

Delusional. Believes that their pain and eventual deaths will absolve them from their 'sin' of attacking me.

Cold. Shows no reaction at all to either cries of pain nor those of desperation.

Calculating. Planned this entire thing. Held no illusions to allow the others to survive this night. Planned to cover up her tracks of the acts occurring. Was going to use pre-existing serial killer to take the blame.

Resentful. Has the ability to hold grudges against those who do me harm. Holds them as personal offenses. Does not forgive.

Obsessive. Everything she's done is for 'my sake'. Implying that she wouldn't normally do this otherwise.

Emotional. Everything is fueled by said obsessive desires. From how she acts, it can be inferred that she holds a dangerous infatuation towards myself.

The demise of the three are undesirable. Their disappearance and deaths may be traced to me because of what happened a few days ago. Harima may also suffer the same fate because of his previous attack on another one of them.

They must survive this predicament. If possible, use Deviluke's memory device to remove their memory of this night. Also, recruit Belldandy to heal their wounds completely.

Overall goal: Survive the night with everyone alive.

Immediate objective: Convince Gasai that what she did was pointless and prevent her from continuing.

How to do so? Take advantage of her attachment to me, and show no mercy until she is convinced.

"Hachi?"

Enact plan.

---

Go to profile, SEE: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 06 Section: Picture 02

---

"Is this all what your feelings amount to?" I could barely recognize my voice, "Huh… what a joke."

She blinks, tilting her head, "Ehhh… what?"

I look back up at her, "Is that all that I mean to you?"

She blinks once more, assuming a confused expression, "W-what do you mean, Hachi?"

"What exactly did you prove here tonight?" I ask flatly.

She looks at the silent trio, her expression becoming stern, "I taught them a lesson, right? They deserved it, Hachi…"

"Did you? All I saw was a child throwing a tantrum because their favorite toy was damaged."

Her eyes began to water, "Hachi… that's not true, I only wanted-"

I interrupt her, "Any person can lash out at whoever acts against them. Kids especially, older people don't have the luxury because of our society's laws. You didn't do anything impressive here, all you did was act on your own and cause me further trouble."

"No!" She retorts, "They beat you up, Hachi. The only way for them to learn is to suffer like you did! I only did this for Hach's wellbeing!"

She's losing her composure. A possible risk to be sure, it's unclear whether my words are making things worse or leading to something else. Regardless, I can't stop. I found the chink in her armor, it's precedent that I press on.

"It's such a shame too. I was finding you so interesting," I flawlessly lie, "I'd like to have you around, but if you can only cause me problems… then it's pointless, you know? Especially in this situation."

Emotional manipulation. Make her think that I hold an interest towards her and mean no ill will. Requires me to put on a facade that I would normally hate doing. Irrelevant in this situation, my survival matters most.

"N-no! I don't want to cause you problems Hachi…" She drops her gaze, "But I can't let them go. They have to die or else, the police will arrest me and we'll get separated."

Her reasoning isn't entirely wrong, but I can't sympathize at all for obvious reasons.

"Say you kill them then," I explain, "Sure the serial killer that's out in Chiba can take the blame. But they have a history with me from two days ago. And with my reputation, I can easily become a possible suspect for the police. And then there's an acquaintance I have that can get caught up in all of this too. He's an idiot, but I'm rather fond of his company. Either way, we won't be in each other's proximity."

Every word that came out of me was said without a single emotion bleeding through. Although I did fake an amount of wistfulness when lying about finding her interesting, everything else I've said was done flatly.

"That's…" She begins, yet her voice fades, "I hadn't thought of that…" Her voice becomes dry, her eyes assume a cold light. "There would be one only good way to prevent the police from suspecting you." I narrow my gaze at that, "If Hachi ended up wounded, he could say that he was attacked by the killer, too…" She bites her lip, "But I don't want to hurt Hachi… "

Being harmed is also undesirable, too many questions will be asked by the others if I'm not able to heal in time. Again, I can't find it in myself to react to her 'solution'. Normally the threat of possible harm would intimidate anyone, I felt no such fear.

"Even if I manage to lie to them," I look at the still unconscious trio, "They'll question why I was involved. And even I can't give them a foolproof explanation to not arouse suspicion. Wouldn't you think it was odd that the three others were killed and mutilated while I managed to survive with not as many wounds?"

Her eyes widen in realization, she stands up, looking thoughtful. She looks lost at what to do. I continue to observe her every move, realizing that her plan had one big mistake she never took into consideration despite that it was meant to 'help' me, and that was: Me. While she planned to use the serial killer to avoid any suspicion towards her, she didn't really think about the repercussions it would bring me due to my history with them, after all, the first suspect should they die would be the one who had the most reasons to attack them. Myself.

She pulled out a cell phone from her skirt, and started using it. Her expression became grim, as if realizing something she didn't expected.

"Hachi, what should we do then?" She ask, but her gaze still seems to be lost. She stands there looking at nothing in particular, "What should we do…?"

"You'll have to let us go," I calmly tell her.

She turns to me with a cold expression, "I can't do that."

"I won't report you, if that's what you're worried about," I fake a wry smirk. Appeal to her infatuation. "Didn't I tell you? I find you too interesting."

"I know you won't, Hachi, but they will," She looks at them with a harsh expression, "They will, but I won't let them."

"I can handle them," My face is neutral once more, "I know two people who-"

"Vixens?" She turns to me immediately with a blank expression.

"Tools," I 'correct' automatically to stem her underlying threat, "And they'll serve me perfectly for these three."

"I trust Hachi, but I don't trust whoever you're talking about," She leans to me, her pink eyes focused on me. "How will they even prevent them from talking to the police if it's not by killing them?"

"That's my secret to keep," I wink at her. She flushes at my gesture, emotional manipulation continues to work effectively. "If all goes well, I can make everything about today disappear. And it'll only be memories that we share together. No one else."

Deviluke's device can remove their memories of tonight, and Belldandy can heal their injuries. They won't recall anything about tonight, and we'll be scot-free.

Her face brightens, "For real, Hachi?"

"Really," Again, I feign a smile, "But you can't be around when they show up. I can lie to them about why I'm here, but if you're around, I won't be able to do the same."

I also do not want to run the risk of her reacting violently at Belldandy's presence.

She looks at me in suspicion, "Hachi…? I wouldn't… like to be betrayed…"

"…" I remain silent for a moment, her hesitance is becoming a hindrance. And if she continues to do so, at least one of the trio will soon die from blood loss and everything I've attempted would have been for naught.

A possible solution would be to have her believe that she matters to me. Explicitly saying it is not preferable, she can easily assume I am saying so in self-preservation. That leaves, being covert and having her come to her own conclusions.

"Gasai," I call out her name, "Do you know why I find you interesting?"

She scratches her cheek nervously as she blushes, "Why…?"

What is needed to say requires me to appeal to her emotions again. The quickest way to do so is to expand on my gimmicked 'interest' in her, her obsessive infatuation will lead her to focus solely on that and if I succeed, she'll be more likely to submit to my will.

"You're a cute girl, Gasai," I say evenly. Her blush deepens, "But that's not what matters to me. A lot of girls can be cute. But you… You have something special that I haven't seen in others."

She leans to me, "Hachi…" And averts her gaze as if she suddenly became shy, "What is it?"

"Complete, unwavering… genuine devotion," I answer her, using that word to describe the pink-haired girl is frankly an insult towards the word, but I ignore the thought. "That's a trait that is usually difficult to find in these times, but you have it."

"Yes!" She nods her head happily, "I'll do anything for Hachi!"

I stiffly nod at her enthusiasm, she's proven as much tonight. In her own, demented way.

"Yes, I noticed. Every female I know questions me constantly, either in mistrust or because they want to instill their will over mine," I look at her in what I believe could be one of amusement, "You don't do it like they do. You already believe in me, and you only question me because you want to understand me more. And seeing that I matter so much to you makes me want you to… well…"

'To matter as much to me as well.' Is what I leave unsaid. At least that's what I anticipate she may take away from my statement. And hopefully that's enough for her. I can't continue on with this for too long, the shock/numbness that's been of great help to me this whole time won't last forever. Every emotion will come back with a vengeance and I'll lose all the progress I made.

"Alright, Hachi!" She says cheerfully, "Let me untie you." She walks behind me and starts manipulating the ropes. Soon I feel them loosening until they come off completely. I look at my arms before I massage my aching wrists. It was a relief. I can hear her crouch and she does the same for my binded feet. Once fully liberated, I stretch them out to work out the stiffness and slowly stand up.

She extends the glass of juice for me to drink, and while I don't want to take anything from her, I need to do so to keep my cover. I nod in thanks and take a drink from it. I hand it back to her when I'm done.

"I'll need my phone," I tell her as I study my wrists.

Fortunately for me, there was no sign of rope burn. I can attribute that because of my accelerated healing again. And now that I have control over my body again, I managed to notice my blazer hanging on a chair at my left. I grab it and put it back on.

"Who will you call, Hachi?" She asks innocently.

My gaze at her was aloof, "Someone that can helps us right now," She hands me the phone, "However, I'll need you to stay quiet."

She blinks and tilts her head at that, but ultimately nods with a smile.

I look up at the unconscious trio. I need to stop those two from bleeding to death, and there's only one that can cure them without me having to call for an ambulance. I hope the goddess's healing abilities will be enough for them.

I look back down at my phone. It was 2:37 in the morning. I was right, it only felt longer than it actually was.

I look at my contacts, and remember that Belldandy doesn't actually have a mobile phone yet. I recall that my parents were planning to get her and Deviluke some today because it was a free day. And I cannot rely on contacting Komachi because she's having a sleepover.

I frown to myself.

This is unfortunate. That only leaves… I'll have to take the gamble and call my house phone. It's a risk, but, I need the goddess's assistance.

I click the call button and wait to see how this sudden game of chance will repay me.

"...'lo?" I hear a soft voice, heavy with sleep, mumble. Deviluke.

Not as preferable considering that she is currently angered at me. No, not relevant at the moment. I will leave that for later.

"Deviluke?" I try to put a bit of emotion to my voice. My tone is normally flat, but I have no doubt she will notice me being overly so.

As I wait for a response, I notice Gasai looking intently at me, which would easily have been unnerving, luckily I'm unaffected.

"Hachiman? Why are you calling home?" She asks with a somewhat muffled voice, "Aren't you here? Belldy told me you were."

"I took a walk and…" I pause for a moment, "Some things happened, and I need some help."

Her reply took some seconds to come, "Help? Did something happen?"

"Yeah," I answer, "I can't explain it on the phone, but, I need your memory device and Belldandy right now."

"Yeah? Ehhh… sure, I guess? Where are you?"

"I'm…" In my rush to seek their help, I forgot to check where I was. That was reckless of me. "Not entirely sure, I wasn't really paying attention where I was walking before ending up here. You can track my phone right? Use that."

Gasai's gaze intensifies as I continue, and I assume she didn't like where this was going. I'm gonna need to calm her down once I end the call.

"Alright…" She says almost quietly. "Hachiman?"

"What is it?" I ask. Considering her personality, I can guess what she wants to talk about. Even if it wasn't the appropriate time, I shouldn't reject her when I'm asking her for a favor.

"Y-you know… I'm… I'm sorry for overreacting…" And before I could speak, she adds, "You may not feel the same about me, and I shouldn't impose my feelings on you… whether you believe them to be true or not. It just made me a bit sad… hehe…" She lets out a resigned giggle, a weak one. "Sorry, Hachiman, for being so dramatic."

"…" I remain silent. I wasn't expecting her to apologize to me, in fact, I didn't expect her to take all of the blame. That wasn't fair. Even in my current state of numbness, I feel a pang of guilt in my heart.

I can feel Gasai's livid glare at my phone. Reflexively, I put a hand on her shoulder as if reassuring her. That may defuse her for a moment. I also know that I couldn't answer Deviluke's words properly right now. I'm not in the right state of mind, and I'm positive that Gasai won't respond to it well.

"...Make sure you two get here as quickly as possible," I tell her simply. That's all I could afford to say.

She takes some seconds to answer, and I assume she was expecting something else from me,"Y-yeah, Hachiman. I'll tell Belldy right away. She couldn't sleep for some reason."

"Thanks," I hang up the phone after that.

I look at the ground for a moment, I can feel the inklings of disgust towards myself but shove them down immediately. Not yet. I can hate myself all I want later. Just… not yet.

"Who were you talking to, Hachi?" I blink, noticing the somber expression Gasai sported.

"I told you, people I could use to help us," I look back up at her calmly.

"Who are they?" She pressed, her eyes lifeless.

I narrow my gaze, and turn to face her completely, "Family friends from abroad, and… 'special' as well."

She tilts her head and steps up to me, "Special?"

"They have…" I pick my words carefully, "Certain talents that can be of great help here."

She blinks, light coming back to her gaze, "You mean they're espers? I thought they all studied in Academy City?"

Espers? They exist? Well, that's not important now. So that's why my father held distrust towards that city. Something that doesn't naturally exist in the world is intimidating to think of after all. Whatever the case, I'll focus on my current matter first.

"I don't know the specifics, but they are," I nod at her, "Can you keep that to yourself?"

Gasai leans to me and grabs my hand with both of hers, much to my chagrin, "Alright, Hachi. If you say they can help, I trust you. However, what are we going to do about them?"

I glance at her hands holding my own. It's starting to become a struggle to not react automatically anymore. This emotional shock I'm experiencing is starting to wear off already. I shake my head and try to keep my head clear. It's not over yet. I'm almost there.

"One of their talents can make them forget about this," I pause for a second. I have to assume that with it being an additional oddity in this world and what they're seen as back in mine, espers are most likely a product of human achievement. It won't be unnatural like magic. "And I don't know the exact science behind it, but, the other one can speed up their recovery. With them, they can make it seem like tonight never happened to those three."

She becomes somber again, "Are you sure about that?"

I raise an eyebrow, "If they can really accomplish that, you mean?" I ask.

"No," She shakes her head, "I mean if it's okay to let this trash go free like that. They won't even remember the punishment I gave them. If they don't die, if they don't remember what happened today, all I did for you will be for nothing, Hachi."

"You did enough tonight, Gasai," I tell her cooly, "You've proven your devotion to me, and that's all that matters. What happens to them afterwards is insignificant compared to that. Don't you agree?"

She rests a hand over her chest, red spreading across her face before she flashes me a warm smile, "Hachi… I'm so happy."

I look at her smile and feel disgust and rage begin to well up inside me. Again, I immediately quell it. Acting on those impulses won't lead to anything good. She's shown to be well-versed in the usage of weapons, and I expect she can easily neutralize me if I were to try and assault her right now. And when I lose, she will kill me for betraying her. She can hold as much devotion as she wants, but someone who's as mentally unstable as her getting betrayed and 'broken hearted' will end messily for me. Attacking her, neutralizing her, is too much of a risk.

But that's not all I'd risk…

If I was in the emotional distress that my shock prevented me from falling into, I am unsure if I wouldn't have been capable of taking her life. I wouldn't have been regarding logic at all, I'd be running on pure instinct and my flight-or-fight response would have been screaming at me to kill her. To make sure she would never do this sort of thing to me ever again.

I suppress a shuddering breath. To think that I was so far gone… It's amazing how one night changed everything.

I walk to the trio, to observe their current state, "We can't let any of them die, or else my acquaintances won't be able to prevent the police from searching for them should that happen," I turn to her, "Gasai, do you have medical equipment? They've lost a lot of blood."

She blinks and scratches her cheeks.

"There are some bandages in my bag and alcohol," She responds, walking to the table. She picks a red bag, retrieving from inside the aforementioned items, "Do you want to stop their bleeding, Hachi?"

"We can't let them bleed out, Gasai," I tell her stiffly, "That would be counterproductive."

She smiles, "Okay, Hachi." And then blinks, as if recalling something. "Oh, I need to remove the traps I set around here." She giggles, "I'll go remove them in the meantime, okay?"

Traps? I suppose I should have expected as much from her.

"...Go ahead." I respond. She giggles to herself and leaves the room. I sigh, releasing the tension that was coming back to me.

---

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 06 Section: Song 04

---

Then, I turn towards the wounded trio, they looked really bad. I can't leave them like this, however, I've never been in a situation where I was supposed to give medical treatment of any sort, to anybody. My gaze darkens as I breath deeply…

I need to calm down, I can't let this get to me just yet.

I kneel in front of one at the left, the one with the two bolts through him. If I remember right, it's said to not carelessly remove objects that have been impaled through someone. It was supposed to be a cruel twist of fate that the object itself is what prevents you from losing too much blood because it's inside. Take it out and we make things worse for both wounds. I need to apply pressure over his leg to slow the bleeding from the bolt going through it. Tying the bandages tight in the undamaged area over the wound will have to suffice. It'll slow the blood flowing out even more, giving us more time.

There's not much else I can do here. The bolt in his upper chest has to be left alone.

Focusing my attention at the one in the middle, I examine the knife wounds on his leg first. Treating this one's separate lacerations will have to make do for now. The knife that was still buried in his shoulder won't be touched and I can't do anything about his amputated finger right now.

Speaking of that…

The finger. We'll need it. Hopefully Belldandy's healing magic can reattach it. It should have been in ice, but hopefully it's still good enough and necrosis hasn't set in yet.

I suppress another shudder when I finally find it. This night will haunt me for a long time. Actually, once my artificial composure runs out I'm sure every memory will come back to me all at once. And I predict it'll come soon.

I put the detached finger by the table to not lose it and walk back to him. I carefully and lightly douse his mutilated legs with alcohol. He whimpers but doesn't wake up. I don't take any chances and slowly wrap up his wounds with the available gause.

Once satisfied, I move onto the guy at the right. His hands, they were a complete mess. I grunt softly and grimace, it takes a lot for me to not gag at the sight. I probably shouldn't touch them, I don't know how to set bones back in place. And I also don't want to run the risk of waking him up from the pain. And there's still the bolt that Gasai stabbed him with, buried in his abdomen. Thankfully, it wasn't as deep as the others, but still, pulling it out was inadvisable.

Neither of them reacted to me throughout the whole time… Really, their shallow breathing was the only sign I had that they weren't dead.

I'm no doctor, I even can remember those complicated names and terms they use, despite that I heard them in many TV shows, but that doesn't mean I could't at least provide some first-aid to them. As limited as it was.

I let loose a long breath. It wasn't much, but I did what I could. I wonder if Gasai finished getting rid of her traps.

I see her coming back inside, some chains and other things in her hands, "Hachi! I'm back!"

"Did you finish?"

She nods her head, letting go of the chains and whatever she carried. She looks at the tray and walks to it, "Hachi, you didn't eat what I made for you."

"Ah, sorry," I wasn't hungry at all, considering the dreadful sight here, "I got caught up stabilizing the others."

She grabs a spoon and the plate with stew and offers it to me, "It may be c-cold but," The pinkette starts fidgeting, "I made it thinking of you, Hachi."

I stare at the utensil and at the bashful girl holding it. Had things been different, I would have seen this as something endearing, but the scene behind me showed me the truth. Still, it would be unwise to ignore her. I have to keep playing along for her, just a bit more.

I take a moment before opening my mouth and eating the offered stew. It was delicious, but my mind was elsewhere so I didn't bother to focus on the taste for too long.

She looks at me in expectation, as she shuffles her hands over her skirt, "H-How is it, Hachi? Did… you like it?"

I simply look back at her, "It's good."

"Really? I'm so happy," She giggles to herself, "Hachi finally tasted my food!"

I glance outside. Some time has passed since I made the call. Deviluke and Belldandy are due to arrive soon, especially if Belldandy decides to teleport. If she hasn't already, she's probably trying to find a place to be covert about it and not catch attention. Either way, Gasai can't be here when they arrive.

"You should probably leave already, Gasai," I say, "The others are going to show up soon, and if they see you, this whole thing goes up in smoke."

"But… I don't want to leave Hachi… we finally are together…" It's really weird that she can still have those thoughts after all she did, seriously.

"There'll be other times," I respond instantly.

Pursing her lips, Gasai stares at me for some seconds, "Hachi?"

"What is it?"

"Would you ever betray me?" She asks neutrally, "You could just be playing nice with me so I can go away, and so you can have the police arrest me later. Would you do that to me?"

I would without thinking, but the fucking game won't let me do so. Considering the conditions for the possible candidates, Gasai Yuno fulfills everyone one of them. I could have tried to do something against her myself, and it's taking my all not to do anything. I'm not emotionally stable enough to keep myself from doing something crazy if I were to just let loose.

And what if I managed to do it? Kill her?

Once done, and once the red was gone from my vision, I'd realize what I've done, I would only feel horror and regret at killing someone regardless of how justified I felt I was. I'm not mentally ready to be burdened with taking a life yet. And that's not even counting on the fact that Gasai is too dangerous for me to try and handle on my own.

And if I fail and she escapes instead of killing me… She'll make my life an even bigger hell.

That's why I have to take care and handle this correctly. I'm already noticing now, my thoughts are starting to devolve into acting on emotion. Soon, I won't be able to stop them.

Stay focused Hachiman.

"Why would I ever betray you?" I ask her numbly, "I'll just lose something that could become important."

She remains silent, her face unreadable.

"Hachi?"

"What?"

"What do you feel for me?" She asks bluntly.

"Didn't I already tell you?" I ask her rhetorically, "You're very interesting to me and it makes me want to learn more about you."

"That may not be enough…" Gasai responds curtly.

"It should be," I reply just as bluntly, "Not many people hold that kind of interest from me, they're just placeholders. And my interest in you is unique… doesn't that already mean I find you special?"

"As in a romantic way?" She steps up to me.

I feel anger at her even trying to bring that up, but I quell it once more.

"Not yet," I tell her, "But the more I get to know you, then it might just lead to that soon enough."

"I'll leave, but you need to prove it, Hachi," She steps even closer.

"Prove what?"

She rests her hands on my chest, "Prove that I'm special. Do something that you have never done to anybody else."

Something I've never done to anybody else? And what would that be? There are plenty of things I have yet to do with people. I haven't killed anybody, that's for sure.

No, stop that. Relax, just a little longer…

I'm not sure what she wants me to do. And yet there she was, asking -or demanding might be more accurate actually. Her throat's right there. Maybe I could…

Stop.

I can't let the rage cloud my mind. Focus Hachiman, stay focused.

I close my eyes, when it suddenly hits me. This relationship she wants between the two of us will be uncontrollable if she's the one calling the shots as I vainly try to please her to protect myself. It'll be complete misery for me and she'll be able to harass me into doing whatever she likes. Just because I convinced her otherwise tonight doesn't mean it'll work again in the future.

And I refuse to be stuck in such a disgusting, one-sided relationship if I can't have her incarcerated. I refuse to submit myself to her whims.

The only way to keep that from happening is to assert my dominance over her, to keep her under my control.

"Yuno," I begin with her given name, her eyes blinking, my tone as serious as I can make it. "I don't have to prove anything to you. Why should I in the first place?" She blinks, startled. "The fact that I offer you a chance to stand at my side should be enough. If you think it isn't, then maybe you aren't the companion I need after all."

"Hachi, that's not true…" She averts her gaze, "I just want to know that I'm more special to you than all those vixens surrounding you…"

"You don't trust me then. Did you lie to me, Gasai?"

"I…" She backs a bit, "I didn't…" She sighs, looking guilty of something, "Meanie Hachi… I just wanted an excuse for you to kiss me…"

A kiss? Was that it? I would expect that with her stalking me, she would know about my twisted relationship with Haruno. That implies that she doesn't, and may have only began to follow me recently. So she most likely perceives that my relationships with the females in my life are not that developed.

But either way. This might be my chance to strike.

"Was that all?" I ask casually, sounding as if it didn't really matter to me.

"T-then!?" Her eyes widen and looked hopeful. I wanted nothing more but to trot all over it and hand her the bleeding carcass.

She closes her eyes and puckers her lips with her facing upwards. Her neck was defenseless…

I internally growled to stave off my burning rage. No, I won't dirty my hands with her blood. I won't have that on my conscious, she doesn't even deserve to have that effect on me.

"Yuno," I utter her given name again curtly, her eyes open in response, "I'll only let that happen when you've shown me that you deserve it. Right now, you don't, and if someone sees you here, you never will."

She stares at me, "This isn't enough…"

"What you did tonight was not the right way to show me how much I mean to you," I narrow my gaze, "Kidnapping them and saying you tortured them for my sake… you only did this for yourself, because you thought I would like you more if you did. You should be glad that I'm so considerate as to still be willing to give you a chance."

"Hachi…"

"What happens between us depends on you, but for now, you have to leave and let me clean up your mess," My voice came out harsh, my inner rage accidentally leaking out, but it works either way. "You want me to like you? You want to further prove yourself to me? Then do so on my terms."

She drops her head, "A-Alright…"

"Don't try this kind of thing again," She nods her head as I level her with a powerful gaze, "No killing, no kidnapping. Not even to those that mean me harm. And not my acquaintances that you see as vixens. They are people I know, and whether you like it or not, they are people I will continue to see everyday should it be necessary. If I really mean a lot to you, you'll have to accept that."

"Yes…"

"You do something like this again…" I motion a hand at the wounded trio, my face becoming stern, "Then you'll be worth nothing to me, just a burden. And I have no use for burdens in my life."

"Y-yeah… Hachi," She looks at me timidly, "I won't make you mad again."

"Is that clear enough for you?"

She meekly nods her head, "Yes, Hachi."

"Good. We'll forget what happened today," I walk past her, "I'll contact you later once I solve this." I look at her over my shoulder as I stood in front of the trio, "Go."

"Y-Yes… "

She turns around, walks to the table, and stores everything she used for the torture inside a duffel bag, things such as the knife, the hammer, the things she used for the traps and even the crossbow and some remaining bolts. Honestly, just where did she get that from?

She leaves the tray, and looks at me once more, "T-then I'll be going, Hachi…"

"Careful on your way back," I say automatically despite knowing it was actually the other way around. Everyone else should be careful with her around.

"Okay, Hachi…" She gives me a timid smile that just churns my stomach, "Sleep well."

I grunt out an affirmative, and turn away. I felt livid that she dared to say that to me. After everything that happened, how dare she have the gall to tell me that! I forcefully relaxed the tension in my body but don't turn back.

"Right." I almost seethe out.

I hear her limping steps exit the room.

I remain affixed to my position, staring at nothing in particular, even after I can no longer hear her footsteps. However, I don't take any chances just in case she decides to return.

It's when I'm assured that I'm alone, that the dam finally ruptures.

Every feeling I was desperately trying to hold back bursts forward all at once. And soon enough, I'm overwhelmed by everything coursing through. My fear, my anger, my misery, my hopelessness. My… relief. They all flood my head and are strong enough to physically affect me.

I feel my body begin to violently tremble on its own.

My shaking knees damn near cause me to collapse. I grab onto the adjacent table to keep me from falling.

I take a shuddering breath and wait for my trembling to relax.

It doesn't.

I wait a minute.

I wait two.

Then I slump my head downwards into my free hand and hold my face in a vice grip. The tremors in my body are uncontrollable at this point. All I can do is pathetically whimper out…

"F-fuck…"

6-3

It was a cold night, but my body didn't seem to react to it at all. There were some street lights that illuminated across the street, but my immediate area was fairly in the dark. Only the moon and stars shone on it to provide some visibility.

I recognized the area we were in. It's a fifteen minute drive from the downtown area of Chiba, probably more than twice that if you decide to walk here without taking a train.

I found myself outside the rundown building waiting for the others. Sitting on the cold floor slumped downwards, my head between my knees with my arms resting on top of them. It's only been a minute since my emotionless shock-like state finally wore off inside that room.

The emotions that rampaged within my head left me like a husk. Not detached like before, but just plainly miserable. I was quick to decide to exit that horrible room, and ran outside so I wouldn't be constantly reminded of the trio's torture. But that wasn't enough.

As they always say, misery loves company. So of course my rampant emotions weren't the only things that were coursing through my head.

My recollection of what happened tormented me whenever I closed my eyes. I either recall the gruesome sights, or the screams echo in my mind. It was mostly both, and if I didn't have an actual visual, my overactive head would compensate and picture the scene for me. I felt like I was going insane.

"P-please! Please stop! I'm s-sorry!"

I clenched my eyes shut as I remembered one of their cries. There were so many of them that I couldn't even recall who it belonged to.

"NO! NOOOOO! GET AWAY! I SAID I'M SORRY! I'M SOOOOORRRY!"

Damn it… I can't stop hearing their voices. And the accompanying visuals kept invading my head. They didn't deserve that… None of them did.

"P-please… S-stop it… A-AAH! FUUCK! S-stop… M-my fiiingers…"

I grasp my head, and slam my palm against it in a desperate attempt to rid myself of the memories of tonight. S-shit… I don't want to keep reliving it…

"…Only I understand his feelings! Only I can make you pay for what you did to him! This is the only way to show him how much I love him!

I unconsciously bristle as I recall that woman's 'justifications'. Torturing others physically and mentally all for my sake… Having the nerve to think she understands anything… What a fucking joke.

I should have strangled that crazy bitch when I had the cha-

"Hachiman-san?" / "Hachiman?"

And like a proverbial ray of sunshine, the arrival of my two non human companions drove away my dark thoughts.

Or so I would have liked. But things aren't that easy. They were still there. It was simply no longer upfront in favor of my new focus. It was still in the back of my head. Biding its time until it can be unleashed against my psyche again.

"Oh, you're here?" I glance up but don't lift my head to greet them and mumble out, "That's good."

Belldandy frowns visibly, and Deviluke looked startled. I must look like crap right now.

"Hachiman-san… what happened?" She asked in concern, "Why are you here?"

"I took a walk to clear my head after our talk," I offer, still not looking up, "Before I realized it, I was here and some hours had passed. Stupid of me, right?"

I force out a chuckle, but even I knew it was completely absent of humor.

I couldn't tell them what happened to me. If they knew, the both of them would start doting on me, pitying me, and it would make me feel worse. Not to mention that it will take an emotional toll on them.

But it would be impossible for them not to know what happened. Keeping that from them is pointless, much to my chagrin. So the next best thing is to keep the worst away from them and pretend that I wasn't directly involved in it.

"Hachiman…" Deviluke walks to me, putting a hand on my head. I couldn't help flinching at her touch, which made her take a step back, "Hachiman?"

I don't respond to her call, I was too busy kicking myself for flinching. How stupid of me to spike her worry over me even more, now she'll be even more curious about what happened.

I hear the goddess step closer to me, "Hachiman-san… Why did you summon us here?"

I take a breath. No, I won't tell them what happened to me. I'll have to keep my word to Gasai and not tell them the truth, I couldn't stand it but I would prefer that to the alternative.

"When I was walking around the area, I heard…" I release a shuddering breath, it helped that I didn't really need to act. "I heard screams coming from this building."

"Is… is that why your heart seems so…" Belldandy rests a hand on her chest, "…So pained?"

Pained? Yes… I guess I can't deny that. I let my brief silence speak for me.

"I don't know what happened here," I then mutter out, " I guess it was gang-affiliated. Yakuza even. I'm not entirely sure."

I finally lift my head and look at the both of them. Deviluke was wearing her form-fitting suit and Belldandy was wearing her divine clothing.

I don't know what kind of face I was making, but it caused a reaction nonetheless. The two of them gasped and worry overtook their expressions. The pink haired alien had the look like she wanted to run up to me and engulf me in an embrace. I was so far along rock bottom that I found that I wouldn't mind if she did. Yet she stayed herself, completely stunned while looking at whatever appearance I had. The goddess was in the same boat, her eyes were wide in shock. It looked like she wanted to reach out to me as well.

"H-Hachiman-san?" / "Hachiman?"

"I found three people inside once I got here…" I start, "They're still alive, but… It's not good…"

An expression of dread painted Belldandy's features as soon as I said those words. Deviluke's crinkled in deeper worry.

"Hachiman-san…" The divine of the two started, yet her voice was so weak it faded.

"I called you both here to help them out," I expand, forcing myself to keep my body still. I can't let them see me trembling like a fucking child scared of the dark.

"Belldandy… Are you… able apply your sleep spell around the building?" I slowly ask the goddess, "To keep the ones inside from waking up?"

"Y-yes, Hachiman-san," Belldandy nods at me, "That's within my power."

"Can you do that first?"

"I can…" Her soft voice rings out.

The goddess nods at me and goes about to complete the task I asked of her. She stands before the entrance, closes her eyes, hands intertwined as if praying as a soft glow envelops her. As I watch her, someone calls my name.

"Hachiman?" I turn to the worried alien.

"Deviluke…" I nod at her, "Did you bring your memory device?"

She gives me a timid nod, "Yeah, I have Bye-Bye Memory-kun right here. But why do you need it, Hachiman?"

"After Belldandy heals them, we should get rid of their memories of this night."

"B-but… Shouldn't we let the police catch those bad people instead?" Her expression was troubled. I'm sure she can guess as much on what may have happened here, and while she can understand why I would offer to remove their memories, she would prefer that justice is served to the offenders of the heinous acts committed here.

Unfortunately that won't be the case.

"You don't know this Deviluke, but the Yakuza are a very notorious crime syndicate in Japan," I explain to her, "They have their hands in a lot of things and are capable of bribing the police into letting them get away with what happened here. Knowing that, it would be better to at least let the three inside forget, right?"

Deviluke bites her lip, "Did those mean people hurt them too much?"

"Yeah… They're hurt really bad," A vast understatement, "I'm sure they would appreciate not remembering the night."

Belldandy walks back up to us, looking troubled. I guess she heard what I told Deviluke and had equally mixed feelings, just like the alien did. Yet while unsettled, she didn't voice them which I appreciated.

"It's done, Hachiman-san."

"That's good," I reply as I slowly stood up, "We should focus on healing them first before removing their memories."

The goddess nods in agreement with me, "Then, I shall hastily provide them healing."

She starts walking towards the inside of the building, Or at least she tried to, before I managed to grab her arm, effectively stopping her.

"Wait, Belldandy." I call out gravely.

"H-Hachiman-san? What is it?" The divine girl blinks at me in confusion, she didn't expect my action at all. Ironically enough, I didn't either. It was completely instinctual.

"I…" I release my grip as I look at her, "I don't want you to see it."

I don't want either of them to face that scene, I want to spare them from the depravity that occurred here. They're innocent, naively so, but I don't want it to get ruined by seeing what happened. Call it my instincts as an older brother, but I want to keep their optimism from being defiled.

I wonder why I'm focused on such things. Given my circumstances, one would think that my worries would be trivial. It would be more advisable to forgo them entirely and set the two of them to do what I called them for. But, I couldn't do that to them. I've already witnessed enough cruelty tonight, I don't want them to do the same.

"I understand your intentions, Hachiman-san, but don't worry abo-"

"Please, Belldandy." My voice is heavy in desperation. I do not want to burden her with the memory of seeing three bloodied, half dead teenagers. It'll be mine to carry, and I'll be damned if anyone else gets stuck with it.

She blinks, evidently startled. Eyes wide continue to observe with uncertainty for some seconds when a certain pinkette grabs a hold of my hand and turns to the goddess.

"Hachiman said it was really bad…" Deviluke said with a frown, "I'm totally sure he has his reasons, right?

I grimace to myself as an image of the trio swam in my head. I unconsciously found myself nodding my head.

"I… see…" Belldandy presses a hand over her chest, as if feeling the same anguish I felt, which might actually be the case. She could sense feelings after all… damn… I wish she couldn't. For her sake.

I release a heavy sigh and rub the back of my head in a vain attempt to relax my tension.

"Then…Hachiman-san," I look back at Belldandy, "What shall we do?"

"I'll take you to the room," I answer her question, "How does your healing magic work?"

"My hands need to be close to the damaged areas," She elaborates, "Then, they will start healing as long as the wounds remain inside the area of my healing magic."

"Then… how potent is it?" I grimace as I expand my question, "To what extent can it mend wounds?"

The goddess pales at that, "As long as the person is alive, I can cure any wound…" Her expression hardens, "Even mortal ones, but…" She seems unwilling to finish, but I give her time, "I can't make people regain any blood they may have lost. Even if I heal their wounds, if they've lost too much blood, they may still die."

That's more than acceptable, fairly excellent actually. The blood loss might cause trouble, but hopefully their slow loss won't be enough to cause further issues. If it all works well, the fatigue they'll experience later will be the only problem they'll have to endure.

"Good," I nod at her, "Let's go inside, I'll take you to them."

Before I guide the goddess inside, I turn back to the alien, who had yet to let go of my hand. Deviluke gently squeezes it, her big green eyes showing concern. I… really appreciate the support she's given me tonight.

"Deviluke?"

"You look… unwell…" She started, "I know you want to help people, but forcing yourself to-"

"I'll focus on myself after we help the others," I tell her truthfully, "Besides, I'm not wounded. I can wait a little longer."

"But…" Her eyebrows crease as she looks at me sadly.

"It'll be okay," I don't know if I meant it more for her or for myself.

My gaze drops to the hand she held tightly. I raise my head and give her a nod, and while she still looked hesitant to let go, she did, slowly, but she did. I turn around, "Stay here, alright?" And finally walk inside the building, "Belldandy, let's go."

As we advance through the corridor, the goddess stays close to me. Her concern for me and the overall situation was almost palpable. As expected of Belldandy, I suppose.

As we neared that wretched room, I began to mentally fight off the returning memories and voices that tormented before the arrival of my acquaintances. I really don't want her to see it…

"Belldandy, you said you can't lie, right?" It was a question that had been asked several times since she arrived. I already knew what her answer would be, I was mostly asking for her affirmation.

"Yes… That is true, Hachiman-san," The celestial being's voice echoed through the empty silence.

I stop right before the door of our destination and turn to her with a serious look.

"Swear to me that you won't look at them until I say it's fine," I want to make sure that she doesn't fall victim to the trauma of tonight. She can already imagine how bad the situation was, but there is a clear difference between imagining and seeing it at face value.

"Hachiman-san… don't worry about me, these people are the ones that matter. I can handle it," She asserted, flashing me a smile. "I shall help them."

"They'll be fine once you heal them and they won't have to remember about tonight after we remove their memories," I rebut her attempt to reassure me, "But it won't be the same for you. You'll be haunted by what you see, and it won't go away for a long time. You weren't involved, and I don't want you to get suffer the same."

"'The… same…'?" She blinks, slightly puzzled.

I grimace and briefly look down, letting my silence answer her question. This night, it'll haunt me for the rest of my life. Everything about it will torment me, what I saw, what I heard, and what I learned. It would be ridiculous to think that I would be able to move on from this, if at all.

However, this will be my burden to carry. I won't let anyone else get dragged into it.

"I'll guide you to them and place you in the proper position to apply your healing magic," I offer her, "Just… don't look until I say so…"

The goddess looked trouble at my request, but she was equally intimidated by whatever expression I was making which followed my cryptic words. She kept glancing at the door, but I grabbed her by the arm before she could get the idea to head inside anyway. Her eyes widened in shock once more.

It was honestly pointless, she is easily capable of dislodging herself from my grip but I wasn't trying to physically prevent her from going inside, I wanted her to understand the meaning of me attempting to do so.

Actions speak louder than words is what they say. To begin with, my words were already figuratively loud. Belldandy and Deviluke are both familiar with me being a calm and composed person, so seeing me being 'uncharacteristically' different is enough to throw them off and be wary of this situation. The addition of me grabbing Belldandy now drives that stake even further through; along with being composed, they both know that I am not the type to engage in touching other people. I was uncomfortable at my own mother's touch, for goodness sake.

Belldandy gazes at me for a few moments, still at a loss until she finally nods and shuts her eyes.

"I promise, Hachiman-san."

I normally don't take promises seriously. I find them too dangerous and untrustworthy. People can promise many things in order to reassure others while having no intent on following through on them. So again, me allowing myself this leap of faith with the goddess's words is another action to indicate how serious the situation was.

I relax my grip on her arm, readjust it, and slowly open the door before pulling her through.

---

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 06 Section: Song 05

---

It was even darker now. The glow from the television was the only light source that allowed me to locate the three others. I grimace as another of their screams rattles in my head.

Focus, Hachiman. You need to guide Belldandy to them.

I was careful about it. I made sure that she wasn't on the path of crashing into one thing or tripping on another. She kept her eyes closed the entire time, fully trusting me to lead her. I wasn't sure how to feel about that.

No, that wasn't important right now.

It took a short while, but finally we were in front of them.

"We're here," I tell her, "What now?"

The goddess breathes deeply before speaking, "Are they lying on the ground?"

"No, they're sitting down," I respond, "I probably shouldn't move them."

Two of the three males still have bolts in them, one completely through one of their legs, so moving them is not an option.

"Is there anything that shouldn't be in their body? Like a bullet?" She asks uncertainty. "I can't cure a wound if that's the case."

"...It's something along those lines," I slowly admit, "I can remove it before you work on him."

"I-I see…" I can see her frown, "Please do. He will probably feel pain when you do so if it's deep inside, but I will cure him immediately afterwards."

"Alright," I let go of my grasp on her and kneel towards the guy in the middle. Well, I should start with the easiest, right?

Right… 'Easiest.'

There are lacerations on his right leg, and the knife that did that damage was still impaled in his shoulder. I need to remove it before she heals it. Belldandy remains behind me, hands on her chest and silent in standby as I purse my lips, tightly holding the handle of the sharp object with one hand, and the back of the chair with the other. I breathe deeply before I pull it, a sickening sound echoes. Blood starts to come out with it, before I finally take it out. I stare for few seconds as the boy grunts, but otherwise made no other reaction.

"Okay, I need you to heal him," I say grimly, "Quickly."

"Yes, Hachiman-san. Put my hands over the wound."

I direct her hands over the shoulder wound, and a soft green light originates from her palms before it extends over the damaged area. It takes few seconds for the wound to close, only leaving the secreted blood on his clothes. Seeing this, I move her hands to the cut on his leg, "Can you do that again?"

"Yes," And once more her palm emit that same glow, spreading on his leg. After a few seconds, "I think I'm done."

I remove the gauze to check on his leg, and as she said, there was no open wound anymore. That's… amazing. We might be able to pull this off after all. But his hand is still missing a finger. Can her magic fix that?

"Can you apply your healing power one more time?" I say, glancing at the lifeless finger on the table.

"With the same person?" She asks.

"Yeah… I want to make sure no internal damage was left behind," I lie, "Wait for my call."

Silently, I walk towards the table. I'll keep the fact that this was the one who had his finger severed to myself, Belldandy doesn't need to know about that. I suppress a shiver as I pick up his extremity. I walk back to the boy and and try to place it against the small stub on his hand, in the correct position. While this may be speculation on my part, maybe if I hold it against the hand, it will somehow reattach?

Might as well try before having to ask her. I would rather not have her learn about this.

"Belldandy, go ahead."

"Yes…" The same glow appears, covering the guy's extremity, also extending to the severed finger. I keep it in place until the light is gone, "It's done, Hachiman-san."

I look at her, and then at the hand. I let go of the finger, and it doesn't fall off. To my relief, the magic managed to reattach it back to his limb. Her magic is incredible, overly so.

"Okay, the next guy has foreign objects too," I state. This one had two bolts in him. One protruding from his shoulder and the other that went clear through his leg.

Alright, the shoulder bolt first…

Like the previous time with the knife, I firmly grip the bolt in my hand and pull it back. The boy grunted in pain, but again didn't wake up.

Shit… I didn't pull it out though, but it did seem to loosen a fair amount. Okay, one more tug. I take a breath and pull at the bolt once more.

There!

I release my breath as I look a the bolt. It was completely intact, nothing got left behind. Good.

"That's one," I whisper mostly to myself and toss the bolt.

"'O-one?'" I hear Belldandy stutter out. Shit, I didn't mean for her to hear.

I grab her hands, placing them over the bleeding wound, "Heal him, please."

She nods her head, doing just the same for few seconds before the wound closes up. It was just as amazing as before.

Then, silently, I lower my attention to the bolt in the boy's leg. This one's going to be trickier. A lot trickier. I can't pull it out or else the head will cause even more damage and that pain may just wake him up. And the same may occur if I try it from the opposite angle, except the wood may splinter and make things worse. Either way, it'll cause pain. And if it wakes him up, Belldandy will be exposed to everything. That can't happen.

So what if… What if I break the end with the fletch and pull it out from the arrowhead's side?

There's a risk that the rest of the wooden body can fracture and splinter, but its one that I'll have to take. Thank goodness that it's wooden, this would be impossible if it were any kind of metal.

I carefully grab a hold of the end of the bolt with my left hand and use my right one to steady his leg. I apply pressure until I snap off the fletch entirely. Okay, step one is done… Let me make sure that it won't break apart when I pull it out… It looks alright, I suppose.

Alright, time to pull it out… Now, I should be careful and pull it slowly. If I do it too fast, the bolt can break apart. Doing it slow will prolong this guy's pain, but, there's less of a chance of splintering.

I grasp the arrowhead, wincing as I make contact with the blades, and begin my slow and methodical pace to remove it. I take it slow, and keep his leg stable to avoid any problems. It takes a while, and I start to feel blood run down my hands as I continue pulling. The entry wound spillage was slow enough to not warrant my immediate worry, the exit wound on the other hand was starting to reach where I was grasping the bolt.

Just take it easy, Hachiman. Slow and steady… Slow and steady… Got it!

I release the breath that I didn't realize I was holding in and toss the bloody, broken bolt away. Hopefully everything went well.

"Done, we can heal this part now."

"Yes, I'll start right now," After placing her hands above his leg, she does the exact same thing as before, and I watch as the dome of light covers his leg completely.

"Alright the last one," I move her hands to the final victim. "Wait for my call."

She nods her head before I take a deep breath and firmly grasp the bolt that was sticking out of from the guy in the right's abdomen. I briefly close my eyes and steel my nerves before pulling the foreign object from his body.

I study the wound after I toss the bolt away. Blood started leaking from it faster than before. The boy groaned in pain, his destroyed hands trembling slightly, but thankfully, he didn't wake up.

"I think we can start healing."

"Yes… put my hands near it," Advised the goddess.

And so I did carefully, "Alright, go ahead." And as soon as I say it, a green glow once more covers her hands, spreading over the wound on the abdomen before covering his whole stomach. It takes few seconds for the bleeding to stop, however the clothes remained stained in dark red.

"I think I'm finished… The wound must be healed," She states.

"Good, now there's… two other wounds that still need to be treated." And by that I meant about all of his broken fingers. She just needs to apply her magic on each hand and the bones will mend themselves, right?

I wonder… If she heals his hands, will she hear all of his bones pop back into place? Hell, can that amount of pain wake him up? However, there's no other way. Even if he does wake up, he'll be healed by then so Belldandy won't actually see anything.

"Do it," I say, and she nods her head. Right before she begins to heal the first damaged hand, I walk behind her and cover her ears with my hands. I feel her jolt in surprise.

"You don't need to hear this," Is all I offer before effectively shielding her ears. She hesitates for a brief moment before I feel her nod slowly and begin her healing.

I stare in awe as the bones begin to move under the skin, connecting to one another as if they were alive. I can hear the popping sounds as they are realigned to where they correspond, the boy sat by trembling and releasing whimpers of pain while it happened. It was disturbing to hear them pop, but hearing them get broken in the first place was even more so. And before I knew it, his hand looked as good as new, even the discoloration was gone.

Seeing this, I relocate her hands to the next area.

"Again," I order, covering her ears again. And without saying anything, she begins, the same process occurring. Just looking at this… it was both incredible and dreadful.

I release the goddess once it was over.

I give a look at them, there was absolutely no wound whatsoever to be seen, their clothes were a mess, but that held no real relevance. I could even hear their breathing, which wasn't harsh and agitated anymore. Belldandy really did it, this was unbelievable…

"You… you can look now," I mutter, still in awe.

I turn back to her when I hear her sharp intake of breath. Yeah… She may have healed them, but the blood is still there, their clothes are still torn up from where their wounds once were.

The scene of the crime was removed, but the evidence that it occurred remained.

"H-Hachiman-san…" She looked at me with a horrified expression.

"You did well," I try offering her reassurance, "Nice job, Belldandy."

"Hachiman-san!" I blink as she suddenly runs towards me and hugs me tightly. I stagger back but manage to remain on foot.

I found myself frozen for a while as the goddess suddenly embraced me. I was so stunned that I couldn't even find it in myself to reflexively push her away, not that it would have worked mind you, she didn't seem willing to release me.

Actually, I had an instinct to return it. After everything that happened, I found myself desperate for comfort and reassurance. But I couldn't, we weren't finished yet. If I broke now, the time well-spent resolving everything would be lost. And time wasn't a resource that we could afford losing.

I hesitantly place my hands on her shoulders, "You alright?"

"Hachiman-san…" She starts, and I'm once again surprised as there were tears ready to fall across her cheeks, "Who could have done something so cruel?"

I avert my gaze away from the pain in her eyes. I made the right decision, if she's this pained just from seeing evidence that something had happened, I don't want to think how she would have reacted to seeing the others in that poor state.

"I don't know…" I answer her, "Callous monsters, I suppose."

It's a childish notion, but it applies perfectly in this situation.

"I know you were protecting me…" Belldandy grips my shirt, "But you didn't have to carry this burden all by yourself…" She starts to sob, "Hachiman-san…"

"It's necessary," I respond, averting my gaze. My eyes felt itchy. "Ignorance is bliss, so the less people that have to see something like this, the better. This is not something to share with anybody, Belldandy." I put a hand over her head on instinct, patting it gently, "What matters is that you saved their lives, and I'm not planning to let them go traumatized either. We should call Deviluke. I want to get this over with as fast as possible so we can head back."

I feel the goddess tighten her hold once more, and I can only stare at nothing in particular while she does so. I ignore the pang in my heart when she releases me, I ignore the desire to be comforted, and walk towards the door. Once I pull it open, I start to call out to the alien.

"Devilu-" I'm calling her name when I stop as I realize that she was standing directly in front of the door, "Deviluke."

"Y-you're… crying… Hachiman…?" I blink, touching my own cheek to realize that she indeed said the truth. Was I really crying…? How did I fail to notice it…?

"I…" I promptly wipe them off from my face, "Don't mind that…"

"Hachiman… you may start to hate me again for doing this, but…" She steps up to me and once more, I find myself enveloped in the arms of a girl that was supposed to be just an unknown to me. She glances at the trio still unconscious, her eyes widening briefly, "They are…"

"Alive, and will continue to live," I interrupt her before she reaches a wrong conclusion, "Belldandy managed to heal them in time."

"B-but all this b-blood…" The pinkette whimpers, "It's from them?" I let out a sigh, confirming her fears, "Hachiman… you're… so…" Her grip around me hardens, "Baka! Why are you hurting yourself like that!? Hachi-baka!"

I look down at her as she held me even tighter, and I couldn't suppress a twinge of sadness filling my heart. She's just a kid, I realize, the same age as Komachi. She was sheltered too, so she wouldn't even think, let alone know how depraved people could be. I deflate a bit, feeling a small guilt eat away at me.

Maybe it was because I was thinking of Komachi or because I did the same for Belldandy, but I placed a hand on Deviluke's head in an effort to calm her.

Belldandy's slow steps are heard until, from behind, I feel her leaning into me, her arms enveloping both me and Deviluke. Damn… The heaviness in my heart feels worse, each beat was accompanied by some pain. I close my eyes.

Hah…

I kept myself composed, fighting the urge to let all my frustration and anger out, as one of us had to be strong enough to not let the others into despair.

"We…" I start, "We should finish things up here."

"What do you mean?" Deviluke asks, stepping back, her eyes teary, "Oh, you still want to erase their memories?"

Belldandy gave quick steps around me, standing before me and gazing on sternly, "Hachiman-san, are you still thinking of doing that?"

"Yeah…" I nod at the divine being, "All we did was heal their physical wounds, their mental ones will forever stay with them if we don't get rid of them."

This was the only thing I could really think to help them, as in an indirect, and twisted way, I was the one responsible for their current states. I had no real fault whatsoever, yet, Gasai Yuno used me as the main justification for this dreadful development. And because I'm not able to report her, I would never forgive myself if I left the trio like this.

I put a hand on Deviluke's shoulder, looking resolute, "Erase their memories of this whole experience," I say monotonously, "I saw them the day before, so they must have been kidnapped during the evening yesterday. Start there."

Deviluke didn't look sure of what to do, so she shot the goddess a glance, as if asking her if this was the correct thing to do. As expected, Belldandy didn't look too fond of the idea, but she sighed and nodded her head, accepting my decision.

"T-then, I'll take care of it…" Deviluke pulled out her phone, and started manipulating it before the screen started emitting a bright light, the same object that resembled a canary materializing. She grabbed it and walked to them, glancing at me one more time. I nod my head for her to proceed, and so she does, raising the object towards them.

I can only hope it works in the same way it did for my parents.

6-4

It had been successful. Deviluke's device erased the trio's memories and I was able to weave a false story to fill in the holes of last night.

The story went that they found themselves together after whatever they had done prior -luckily for me, I had Belldandy read their memories to infer about what they did after classes, and only those memories- which was visiting their leader at the hospital and not having particular plans afterwards.

It was very convenient, but I wasn't going to complain.

Of course, what was luckiest for me was that in the memories Belldandy sifted through she didn't find out that they were from Sobu. And with them wearing casual clothing as well, there was no other indication that we were connected in any way.

Anyways, I manipulated their memories to make it seem that after they headed out together once they had finished their visit, then ran into some faceless delinquents that were bothering someone. A clichéd tale, I know, but it was one that was similar to their self-righteous quest against me. So they got into a brief scuffle, and managed to chase them off. And while literally running off the delinquents, they damaged their clothing and also ran themselves ragged. And the stained blood was attributed as belonging to the delinquents.

The next part had been the most tricky, how would they explain their brief disappearance to their families? But I had another stroke of luck, after checking their wallets and phones, I found out that one of their families' were out of town and was home alone. So I factored in that they had an unplanned sleepover when they finally got to his home. And because of their fatigue after their previous exertions, they immediately fell asleep without the other two notifying their parents.

Maybe after putting me through everything, Deus Ex finally decided to throw me a bone and help make this easier for me. Bastard god of time…

Belldandy managed to teleport them with her magic inside the house, leaving them in what seemed to be the bedroom in that one's house.

With those three in that guy's home and with their memories clean, I won't be connected to this incident… at least… however… their voices… their laments… their screams… they keep resounding inside my head, and I can't suppress them from invading my thoughts. I never did learn their names, and it was probably for the best if I never do. It would just make the memories worse…

---

Go to profile, SEE: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 06 Section: Picture 03

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"Damn it…"

I could only curse bitterly as I kept rewinding the dreadful night.

Half an hour had passed since we left the kidnapped trio in that house.

The three of us stood just before the door of the Hikigaya Residence in silence, and I only stared lifelessly at the door, my body refusing to move. The sky was still dark, but the signs of the coming morning were already showing. It's probably past four in the morning.

Shit…

My legs very nearly give out on me. It was only because I grabbed the door frame that I didn't fall. Still, I used my other hand to grab my head.

The screams in my head were getting loud again, I was vividly reliving the scenes once more. And with nothing to keep my mind focused on anything else, there was nothing I could do to stop them now. I lowered my face into my palm again and released a shuddering breath.

This was my limit then, huh?

I can't keep going like this… I won't last.

"Deviluke…" I mutter the alien's name through my hand.

I sense some steps getting closer, followed by a voice, "Hachiman… what's wrong?" I can't even care about the fact that she was rubbing my head, Deviluke I mean. "Hachiman? Why are you…?"

"Your memory device…" I state momentarily, "How effective is it?"

"Y-you have seen it twice," She responds, her voice nervous. "It works well… why do you ask Hachiman?"

"Can it erase anything else?" I ask, still failing to look at her, "...Besides memories?"

Her voice comes instantly, "Y-yeah… if I modify the configuration I think I can erase thoughts and even emotions." I suddenly feel her gloved hand rest on mine. "Why… Hachiman? Do you want to erase your own emotions?"

My head perked up immediately once she said that, for a brief moment I forget about the voices and images. Could… Could her device really do that?

There it was… That was it. A way out of this torment!

My mouth makes a sound before I realize it. I'm not sure what it was, a chuckle? Or a sob? Maybe a demented combination of the two? My body is trembling from my shot nerves but I felt desperate hope bloom in my chest. This time I do fall to my knees, but it's not in despair but that disgusting hope that began to overwhelm me.

I didn't care that it was the sort of hope I hated. I didn't care whatever repercussions would come from me removing my emotions of the night. I didn't fucking care! I just want something to make the trauma to go away! And I found it! I let out another pathetic laugh-not-laugh at the thought.

More steps echo, I can see through my fingers someone kneeling just at my other side, "Hachiman-san… did you really just find them?" She asks, her tone conveying worry, but I'm not really listening, so she grabs the hand covering my face and pulls it down. "H-Hachiman-san…"

She stares at me with a shocked expression, her eyes blinking, yet she says nothing. Deviluke soon peers at my face, a likewise expression covering hers.

"Hachiman…" She whispers, tears soon building up at the corner of her yes.

---

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 06 Section: Song 06

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I wonder, how bad does my face look to cause such a reaction on them. No, but this is a good thing, you two! With this, I can go back to being me! I won't suffer from the trauma anymore, and I won't become a broken shell of depression and fear! And I'll still be able to learn from tonight! It's perfect in every way!

I… I can be free of this night without getting rid of all of it!

Still, I compose myself as best I can -which wasn't much- and look back at Deviluke. I stand up and grasp her by her shoulders and look right into her eyes.

"Can you set that up?" I'm unable to hide the mixture of distraught enthusiasm in my voice, "And get rid of the emotional aspect of my memories from tonight?"

She backs away, looking scared for the first time, "I…"

"Hachiman-san!" I blink, my eyes directed at the goddess, who looked hurt, terribly so, "What happened? I don't think your current state can be caused by just finding those wounded boys. Something else must have happened."

"N-no…" I stutter out, I was far past the point of pretending to keep up appearances. I wanted my solution, "You didn't see it, Belldandy. What was done to them was… horrible. I… don't want to forget what I saw, but I need to detach myself from it. I… I can't move forward without doing that."

"But wouldn't it be better to just forget?" Deviluke asks in concern, "B-besides… I've never actually removed emotions… I don't know what kind of consequences it will bring if we try to do so…"

"It's fine, it's fine." I immediately assure her. I can't lose this chance for such an irrelevant reason. "I don't mind, if there are any repercussions, we can deal with them. Just… Please do this for me. From 10 o'clock until now…"

Deviluke and Belldandy exchange one more look before she uses her phone to bring back the desired item. With her Bye-Bye Memory-kun device on her hand, she points it at me, a sudden flood of dreadful memories invading my mind as I prepare for whatever that machine did.

Finally… With this things can go back to normal…

No more screams to haunt me, no more images to churn my stomach. Whenever I recall those memories after this, there will be an emotional detachment that can keep me from falling back into despair.

I won't run the risk of having sleepless nights. I won't start jumping at every shadow. I won't require years and years of psychological therapy just to move on from this. I'll be… fine…

Everything that happened tonight will be seen objectively by me, no subjective emotions will burden my mind and destroy my psyche.

Finally… Finally!

No more of this… no more…

"Then… here goes nothing…" Deviluke mutters.

I stare at the device pointed at me as it suddenly releases a flash of light. And I let myself hope for the first time in many years.

6-5

There was no figurative manifestation of my memories, or rather, my emotions being removed from my head. It just… happened. Whatever 'it' was in this case.

With all of the out-of-this-world attributes my new reality had, I'm sort of disappointed that this was so anticlimactic.

I open my eyes, I hadn't realized I closed them. Oh, we were in my room? And I'm sitting on my bed… Did they bring me here after zapping me with the device?

My eyes meet the ones of two women, both displaying expectation. As I look around the room, my gaze falls to my hands, and that's when I recall again what happened just some hours ago.

I blink, and frown, only to blink again.

"Hachiman?" I take note of Deviluke's anxious look, "Did… Did it work?"

Had it?

There was a torture… there were screams, and there was blood… Yes, I remember it all.

And yet…

I… I felt nothing towards my recollection of images or cries. Nothing at all. No despair, no fear, not impotence, no rage… no sadness… I felt nothing. It was off-putting to think that I couldn't feel a single about those memories, which is strange because I felt I was doing something wrong just because none of my emotions were stirred about Gasai's torture.

I couldn't really explain it, but it seems that all my feelings came to absolute zero when I mused about the torture I witnessed at face value. It… did work…

But… I didn't feel relieved about it. Actually, it's as if I couldn't feel relieved. It was… odd.

No, actually it makes complete sense. My emotions of the night were removed, meaning that with their loss there was nothing to instill any sort of relief. My despair was gone, the source of said despair was rendered impotent. To put it simply, the reason why I didn't feel relieved was because I had no reason to feel so.

If anything, I only felt fatigued because of my lack of sleep.

I finally nod my head, "It seems so." I raise my tired gaze at her, "Yeah… it worked…" Despite what I said, the alien girl doesn't seem at all relieved. I raise a thumbs up as if to calm her worries, "Good job, Deviluke."

She blinks and steps up to me, kneeling just before the bed. I frown as she extends a hand at my face, and I reflexively back away, yet, she doesn't relent until her hand grasps my cheek.

"Hachiman? Is… is everything okay then?" She asks hopefully as Belldandy sits at my side, I suppress my instinctual discomfort. While I may no longer hold any attachment towards everything that happened between my capture and now, they witnessed how significantly it affected me. So them being worried was to be expected.

When I think of my behavior, I only feel curious. I couldn't be disgusted at it, and I obviously couldn't empathize. But as I recall how I acted, I feel reassured that I made the best decision I could. Who would have thought? It seems that even in the worst of circumstances, I still manage to take the best option. Heh…

I found that the alien's concerned expression reminded me of those Komachi would have back when we were younger. So I find myself responding to Deviluke in a similar manner.

"Now, now… Quit making that face. It'll stick," I grab the pinkette's hand to remove it from my face. I was already feeling too uncomfortable with her touch, "It worked fine. I'm alright now."

Belldandy peeks at me, her face displaying skepticism, "Hachiman-san… do you remember what happened?"

I look back at the goddess and nod at her, "Yeah, I do."

"Then? What are you going to do?"

"Well, first, I'm going to see if I can catch a few hours of sleep," I shrug with a wry smile, "Then I have to leave early since I have an appointment of sorts to make."

"I'm glad Hachiman is okay but…" Deviluke presses my hand, "I'm not sure if I like that you will disregard what happened, I mean…" She lets out a short, nervous giggle, "I… hehe… I… don't know…"

This newfound detachment causes me underestimate just how worried I made these two. Either way, they've helped me immensely tonight, they at least deserve a proper reassurance and a show of gratitude.

"I won't disregard tonight. And I'm not going to forget the help you two provided me," I give her a small smile, "You two helped me a bunch. Thank you, Deviluke, Belldandy. I… mean it… yeah?" I avert my gaze, feeling slightly embarrassed as the times where I actually felt grateful towards somebody could probably be counted with one hand.

Deviluke smiles genuinely and jumps at me, enveloping me into a tight embrace. As expected, when I offer resistance she doesn't relent, "Of course, Hachiman! I'll do anything for you!"

Huh... another pinkette said the same some hours ago, but I'm completely sure Deviluke wouldn't go to such degrees.

"Oi, oi! You're too…" My voice fades as I feel someone gripping my hand, my eyes moving to my left as notice Belldandy gazing at me warmly. Once our eyes meet, she nods her head with a shy, yet knowing smile.

She doesn't need to say anything to convey her feelings, it's as if I can literally see them…

Geez… This is getting too cheesy… I must be more tired than I thought.

But was it really just that? No, I'd be lying to myself if I tried to tell myself it was. And it would be unfair to the two of them if I wrote them off in such a manner.

I look at the two non humans. In a span of three days they've proven themselves as valuable assets for me. And… they care… For some reason that I still don't understand, they care for me, far more than they need to.

Belldandy has obligations towards Komachi and once she completes them, she will leave and we probably won't see her again. And yet… She worries for me, she takes time out of her day and duties to interact with me. Me. Someone that was deemed as dangerous by her organization. Me, who constantly makes her act in the opposite manner of what her ideals want her to. But she listens, she understands or at least eventually does when she realizes my intent.

I may still have many questions about her, but she is no longer someone I completely distrust. I… can confide in her for a lot more things than I initially thought. I don't know if I can wholly trust her -you can't just expect someone like me to do that- but… it's at least better than what I felt back when we first met, I believe.

Deviluke has no actual reason to care. She has no real ties to me or anyone else in this house nor did she have the need to make them. She had the option to just pick up from where she arrived and leaving after hitting us with her memory device. She didn't need to stay, but she did. She dragged me into her problems, but I could not find it in myself to resent her for it.

She had her issues. She was isolated as a child, and is being forced into a position where she is expected to inherit her father's throne with a husband to legitimize it. Many people would already think that they would refuse to be caged like that throughout their lives, and would desire to escape. Deviluke doesn't have that desire, she accepts her situation and only seeks the freedom to choose her partner, the bare minimum. She latched onto me after I talked to Zastin, and even after I downright ridiculed her attachment, she doesn't hate me. In fact, with her apology it's like she wants to make herself into someone I would approve of. While I don't think she should do that, the fact that she's trying so hard, and with all the concern she's displayed for my well-being, it goes to show that she truly cares. I can question her 'love' for me all I want, but the same could not be said about her caring for me. I can't, in good conscious, ignore that.

It's all foreign, and it's honestly uncomfortable, but… it might just be…

Genuine.

Geez… despite that I always looked for that genuine thing, whatever it came to be, the fact that I didn't know for certain what it entailed exactly made me realize that I was treading in unknown territories. Leave it to me to be weird enough to garner it from an extraterrestrial being and a divine goddess. Not even humans…

Still, I can't help but feel a pang of regret. I pictured personally finding it first with the others…

Ah, well… I came this far, I mean… we came this far… might as well see where this take us.

They've proven that their parts are genuine.

Thing is… Am I allowed to try the same? Would it even be wise of me to even attempt it? This game is unforgiving, and I run the risk of having to… kill one of them. And that would only lead to pain in the future. Logic dictates that the risk is not worth it.

But then again… Didn't I say that I would risk everything just to find it for myself?

Even if I'm filled with regret and lose everything in the process, the regret that I'll feel from passing up finding that genuine thing will eclipse all of that.

I will lose it regardless, because I will either return home or inherit Deus Ex's position. Meaning this could either be my final opportunity to find that genuine thing, or at least it will prove to me that I have the determination to search for it when I return to my world. And if I manage to find it… I will know that even someone like me can find something genuine in his life.

I'm not sure where to go forward from here, or even how to go forward, but I know ignoring this opportunity is not an option I should take.

6-6

Normally less than four hours of sleep after what would be regarded as a 'rough night,' wouldn't be seen as enough rest for anyone. And that's partly true, while I don't feel at 100% I'm not exhausted as I should be. I'm operating on well enough levels and after I have a good morning coffee I'll be at a sufficient state to tackle the rest of the day.

But my bed is just so comfortable…

Hah… but the sound of my phone buzzing was trying to get between me and my beloved rest.

I pick it form the furniture at the side of my bed and look at the screen, it only showed a number, signalling that I didn't have this person's information stored in my contact list. I have a bad feeling about this…

"Hello?"

"Hachi?" I blink, immediately recognizing that voice.

I should feel a chill up my spine, or at the very least bristle in reaction to that woman's voice. But I don't. I feel nothing extreme towards her, not hatred or fear, only my usual wariness. It did wake me up however.

"Gasai," I identify the caller, "What is it?"

What could she want so soon? Maybe she wanted to check in to see if I pulled my plan off. Still, I would prefer not having to deal with her again so soon.

While I cannot resent her for what she had done, that doesn't mean I can't be cautious around the woman. I know she's dangerous, and I know what she's capable of doing. I can perfectly recall everything that happened, in fact, it's the clearest memory that I have. Nothing is ignored, no voice is misplaced, it's as if I have a video recording of everything that happened without anything altering my recollection of it. And no emotion can be stirred by it no matter how many times I think about it. It shouldn't be mistaken that my detachment prevents me from realizing how much of a danger she is, just that this isolated incident will not register on an emotional level.

"Just wanted to hear Hachi's voice in the morning, hehe…" She replied with a sheepish tone.

"It was morning earlier," I point out flatly. And after a brief moment I added, "Was that all?"

"Buu… Hachi is being Tsun Tsun…" I can hear her pout over the phone, "Anyway… so…" I look at the phone as her voice became dry, "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine now," I tell her, "No one but the two of us knows what happened in that building."

"As expected of Hachi! You're a genius!" She complimented while giggling before silence reigned for few seconds, "Hachi…?"

"What?" I ask her as I glance at my clock. 8:43, huh? No doubt everyone else is asleep, as one would expect on a free Sunday.

"Are… are you available today…?" She asks expectantly.

I narrow my eyes, "Why?"

"I… hehe… I would like to spend the day with you…" She responds, her tone shy, "Do you have spare time today?"

I do have plenty of spare time, but, I would rather not spend it with her. Besides, Suou will be expecting me soon enough.

"I doubt it," I admit, "There's something I need to do in an hour or so."

She doesn't respond immediately, "Does it involve one of those vixens?"

Her icy tone is noticeable, much so, her possessive nature was incredible. Though I recall how I was able to subdue this part of her, I need to take charge and make her submit to my will like I did a few hours ago. Really, it's something that doesn't come naturally to me. And without the anger from last night, it'll be even trickier.

"What did I tell you about doing that?" I ask her back, hopefully just as darkly, "Is how I decide to spend my free days really any of your business?"

"…For me it is…" She mutters, "I just don't want anyone to hurt you again, Hachi."

I pause for a second. It's moments such as these that almost convince me that the girl is normal. Almost… but I know better.

"Your concern is noted, but I'll be fine," I respond calmly.

"No cheating…" I raise an eyebrow at her monotonous voice, "Or…"

"Or what?" I ask sharply, "I already told you, Yuno. If you want this to work, then it will be by my rules. Deviating from them will not be tolerated. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes…" She stammers, and I can sense something odd in her voice that I can't describe, "I'll do what Hachi wants…"

"Good," I look at the window before adding, "Anything else?"

"No, nothing, Hachi…" Her voice fades, but I know she'll say something else. Call it intuition, "Can I keep calling you like this?"

I deadpan, "As long as it's not during inconvenient times."

"Okay, Hachi!" Her voice brightens once more, "T-then I'll call you later!"

"Sure," I respond, "Later."

After that I end the call as I'm sure she'll wait for me to do so.

Never have I thought I would have to behave like this, and it's actually really tiring now that I managed to pull it off. I suppose I never had the chance to even consider to act dominant since I barely interacted with people, and later on, Yukinoshita was too scary to even try on after my failed first attempt. Actually, almost every woman in my life from before could be downright terrifying…

However, I did recall my thought process yesterday. While Gasai was dangerous on another level, her clear affections towards me were something I could take advantage of. While she seemed cold and calculating for the most part, she had a weakness: Me.

Unfortunately, I will need to keep her around since I need her for the game. The fact that she could harm, and is even willing to kill someone, shows that if I'm not careful, I could end up causing the death of someone innocent because of her possessive tendencies. I can't, by any means, allow that to happen.

I'll need to take charge with her, use her obsession against her, and keep her at bay from any girl she could see as an obstacle to her plans. I will break her will to act under her own conclusions to keep everyone safe. Normally I hate the idea of people instilling their wills over others, but this is quite literally a life-or-death situation. I'll probably still complain about it though.

And once I uncover her whole backstory, I'll know if she's the fake human, and if that isn't the case, I'll have her turned in to the authorities.

I sit on the bed, arms resting over my knees when I hear someone knocking upon the door. I don't respond, so more knocks follow, a voice comes through, "Hachiman?"

Ack… So soon? I'm not ready for direct interactions yet… Hah…

I get up and head to the door. I open it to see Deviluke standing behind it. As expected of her, at least she's wearing something. It's another one of my shirts again, but it's something…

Good grief, what a dangerous sight to see so early in the morning.

"Deviluke? What's wrong?" I ask her.

She fidgets slightly, "I just wanted to see you… ehm… are you okay?"

I raise an eyebrow for a brief moment before I realize what she meant. I nod at her, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Yeah?" She smiles, "What a relief…" She scratches her cheek meekly, "Everyone is still sleeping, but Belldy-chan is almost done with the breakfast."

"Tell her not to prepare me anything," I say, "I'm expected somewhere in a short while. I'll get breakfast then."

The pinkette blinks, biting her lip, "You're going out today too?"

"Ah, someone invited me to their place a few days ago," I explain, giving a glance down the corridor. "I already accepted their invitation, so yeah."

"I see…" I stare at her, noting the disappointed expression she displayed, although momentarily, "Then I hope you have a great outing, Hachiman!" She giggles, "I'll take a bath then!"

"Wait, uh… can I use it first?" I ask, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly, "Might as well get ready before it gets late for me, right?"

She nods her head, her big green eyes staring expectantly for several seconds. I frown, before raising an eyebrow, waiting for her to say whatever was on her mid.

---

Go to profile, LISTEN: Link in Logic Is My Sword: Chapter 06 Section: Song 07

---

"Umm… Hachiman?"

I raise my eyebrows in curiosity, "Yeah?"

"This will make you mad, but I'm still gonna say it," She steps to me, and I can't help becoming tense, "What I said yesterday, I meant it. I love you, Hachiman."

I make a sound of discomfort as I immediately look away from her. She's really adamant about that, isn't she?

"A-ah…" I barely manage to stutter out.

"I felt so much pain in my chest when I saw you in that state earlier…" She drops her gaze, giving another step and leaning her head on my chest, "After you said that I couldn't feel love so fast yesterday, I began to believe that maybe you were right, that maybe I was exaggerating… but…" She pinches the hem of my right sleeve as she continues, "But I realized then how much you mean to me, and I don't want to see you like that ever again. It doesn't matter if you think otherwise, I'll say this as many times as I have to until you believe me," She raises her head, our gazes meeting. "And when you do, I'll say it as many times as I have to so you can fall for me too. I'll try my hardest to be the girl you deserve, Hachiman!"

…

…

I stare at her, completely speechless. I didn't know what to say.

That makes twice that a girl in this world has confessed to me. And that makes four girls that are in love with a person known as Hikigaya Hachiman. Miura Yumiko, Kasumigaoka Utaha, Gasai Yuno, and now Lala Satalin Deviluke.

And I had no idea how to handle it.

What even is love anyway? Geez…

The first three were manageable, at best. Miura, while bold in her advancements, liked the Hachiman that existed before me. He treated her like dirt, but at least it's easier to acknowledge that she likes him rather than me. Kasumigaoka, well she's kind of a wild card, I don't know who she is and I have to accept that she likes me as well. But same as with Miura, she likes the previous Hachiman so that takes a load off. And Gasai, well, my detachment of last night helps me regard it objectively. It won't last long, but as of now there are no problems.

But Deviluke… I've already mentioned before. Unlike the others, she's only known me me. So any impressions she holds of me will be mostly based off of myself. So her, well anyone actually, saying that they… 'loves me' is… foreign.

I really have no idea on how to take this…

"Hachiman?" I blink, noticing the blush on her face, "Heehee! You're making such a funny face."

Her teasing brings me back to myself, albeit slightly, "Oh, uh, sorry…"

She steps back playfully, "Don't worry Hachiman! You don't need to say anything!" She winks at me, "I won't force myself on you! I just wanted you to know what I felt, and that I will fight for you. Even if you act dry and jerkish with me, I will Hachiman!"

Not forcing herself on me, huh?

I watch her as she skips back to her and Belldandy's room. That makes twice now… Twice where the girl who confessed to me allowed me to not respond to their feelings immediately. It's temporary, they'll expect me to answer someday but I was still glad I was able to escape the situation for now.

I'm scum.

A coward.

Huh… It's funny, it's so early in the morning and I already feel like crap.

Way to go Hachiman.

6-7

[Huh… it seems you really got it. Lying and still winning the trust of people, huh? Even with those fowl eyes, you managed to do it.]

I found myself face-to-face with an unwanted guest. I was preparing to take my bath when my own voice echoed in the room, coming from the only mirror inside the bathroom.

You again, huh?

"I was wondering why I hadn't heard from you in a while," I say offhandedly, "I was hoping that meant you were gone for good."

[You don't have to worry, I'll be here as long as you. And I'm not planning on just letting you screw things up.] He smirks, folding his arms as he sported the Sobu school uniform. Wait, I'm not wearing the uniform… then why is he...? [So… it seems you already met Gasai Yuno. How was it?]

"No clue," I shrug casually as I continue readying myself for my bath. I'll need hit the shower first. "I can recall last night perfectly, but I don't feel anything towards it or her."

[Really?] My apparent other self narrows his gaze, [What have you done?]

"I would have expected you to already know," I huff in wry amusement, "You always seem to know what I do at the most inconvenient times."

[So you indeed used the alien again…] He mutters, folding his arms, [I underestimated you, I mean, me. I couldn't tell before, but you really did it, eh?] He lets out a dry chuckle, [So what did you do exactly? Remove your memories? Modify them?] I shoot him a defiant glare, [Or maybe you got rid of your sentience during the torture?]

So he does know about the torture… damn this bastard… playing like he doesn't know.

"I told you. I remember it all." I respond coolly, "What I removed were my emotional responses to last night's experiences. Getting rid of the memories entirely would have been foolish."

[Huh…? Clever move…] His expression becomes blank, [It was that bad, huh? Considering her past, I knew she was a time bomb.]

"Seeing three other teenage boys tortured in front of you would affect anyone, I suppose," I shrug before noticing what he had said, "You already knew about her?"

[…] He doesn't respond, in fact, he looks thoughtful. [Let's just say that Deus Ex had watched her for a long time.]

"And I assume he told you that," I say blankly, suspecting something fishy in all this. Why on earth did the Time God watch Gasai? "Maybe you know why we are connected then?"

[Not really… how should I know if you don't?] He smirked, [In any case, you need her for the game. I'm sure it will a ride getting closer to her. I wish you luck.]

With that, he disappears. It almost looked like he ran off even.

That idiot doesn't make any sense. How can he attempt to say he doesn't know what I don't when he literally admitted that he already knew about Gasai?

At least, I managed to get two facts worthy of consideration. One, he isn't just a reflection of myself since he wore the school uniform while I was half naked. Well, I actually knew that much already, so this is more of a confirmation. Second, it's clear now that he's connected to the God of Time, for whatever reason. Now all I have left is to discover is why this doppelganger keeps insisting that he is me.

In any case, I should hurry.

6-8

It was half past nine now. I had finished my bath and currently occupied myself in my room drying off my hair. Unfortunately I don't have Komachi here to pick out my clothes most suited for an outing. Bah, whatever. I think I have a good enough handle on what apparel would be most appropriate to wear.

I searched through my drawers and found some clothes.

I put on a V Neck black t-shirt, and under it, a brown one with a scoop neck style. Black pants and shoes complete my outfit.

After putting on the final piece, I take a casual glance at the mirror. Well, that's fine, isn't it?

*Bzzt* *Bzzt*

I turn back as I hear my phone vibrate on my desk. Ah, it's probably Suou finally giving me her address. It's still hard for me to believe that I was invited over a girl's house so soon after meeting her.

Tom girls are scary in their own way.

I walk towards it and grab it. It was her, ah, and there were two other messages I missed last night. I have a rough idea who they were.

- Higikaya! Wassup! Ya already awake, rite? Don't tell eme yu'r a lazy idiot! LOL!1! Here's the address of my sweet home!

I scroll down to see a direction. It's not particularly close… but it's neither too far away. Well, I still need to take the train. I hope it's not too hot outside, but considering the date, well, I'll probably be alright. Though, you misspelled my name again… you're doing that on purpose, aren't you?

I text her back.

* Well, I may be too lazy to go now that you reminded me. Who knows?

With that done, I check the other messages… Now that I think about it, someone told me to use some app, what was its name? Meh, I think it was Usui who told me. I'll ask him later.

The other message is from Miura. As expected.

- Hikio! I'm sooooo tired! (￣Д￣) There was soooo much work to do with Meguri! We're still not done, but I finished my part! ヽ(＾Д＾)ﾉ Anyways, goodnight Hikio~ Sleep well~ (`ε`)

I can't help but huff in amusement at the content.

This message was obviously from last night. Whoops… I bet she's mad because I didn't reply.

* My bad about not answering you last night. Busy night and I crashed immediately after I got home. I slept well enough.

Less than four hours isn't enough, but she doesn't need to know about that.

She'll probably still sulk about my late reply, but, I hope that mitigates it enough. Dealing with a pouting Miura doesn't seem like it will be healthy for my heart. Still, it's amusing and somewhat embarrassing…

The next one is from Shiromeguri. Also expected of her.

- Hachiman-kun. I'm sorry… We didn't get to see each other after classes because of my Student Council responsibilities… ( ′～‵) Yumi-chan was a lot of help, but, there are still issues I will have to deal with for the rest of the week… (ꐦ°д°) But even if we can't spend time after classes for a while, we can eat lunch together, right? Ah! Maybe we can share bentos together! And with Yumi-chan too! ʕ￫ᴥ￩ʔ I'll see you on Monday, Hachiman-kun! (＾ω＾)

I blink as I finish reading the message. That's odd.

I read it again.

And again.

And again.

Again.

This time I stare at my senpai's message for an abnormal amount of time.

…

…

…

…

…Huh?

I don't… feel anything…

---

Chapter 06 End

---

GTO The Host 06

A man with short blonde hair, wearing a blue shirt, and over it, a white suit, matching pants and brown shoes, was sat over a random desk. He blinked several times as he stared at the only apparent guest within the classroom.

"Hello, readers. This is Onizuka Eikichi, 22-years-old, still single," He states before focusing once more on the girl standing in the middle of the class. "So… mind introducing yourself?"

The girl whom he spoke to had pink long hair, two frontal pigtails hanging at the sides tied with red bows, also sporting a blue shirt with a ribbon on the middle, a matching skirt and high socks. She stared at nothing in particular and gave no sign of having registered his voice.

Onizuka scratched his head in annoyance and insisted, "Oi! You're just standing there for minutes… Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

She turns to him with a gelid dry, making the blonde teacher blink in surprise.

"Do I have to?" She asks dryly, "I don't see the point of doing it if my loved one isn't here…" Her cheeks become red all of a sudden, light returning to her eyes as holds her cheeks with a weird smile, "I wonder what he is doing right now… I should go and check on him."

"Damn… we have one creepy stalker here," Onizuka muttered. "Ehrm… I'm sure he would appreciate introducing yourself to help the readers know more about you, girl."

She blinks in realization, smiling cheerfully, "So this will earn me points with him?" Onizuka scratches his eyebrow in uncertainty and shrugs his shoulders, "Alright, I will do it!"

"Then… go ahead."

She turns to the readers with a bright smile, "Hello! I'm Gasai Yuno, heroine in the manga Mirai Nikki (Future Diary), which was also adapted into anime with 26 episodes and an OVA. The plot is about the adventures of my beloved one and I as we strive to survive a battle royal game in which each participant holds a diary with entries of the future."

Onizuka frowns, "What?"

"But no matter who came to stop us, our genuine love manage to overcome it," Her face changes dramatically, her creepy expression back, "So we killed anyone in our way to accomplish it. All I do is for him to be with me, so we can reach our happy ending!"

"Suuuurrre…" Onizuka stared at her blankly, before turning to the readers, "Alright, this segment will be shirt today so-"

"And I won't allow any vixen to come near him. I'll kill them all for his sake…"

Onizuka pales, noticing a knife he somehow had ignored until now of her left hand. Gasai starts approaching the females readers, causing them to ran out of the class.

"Hold it, girl? Why the hell are you carrying a knife?" Onizuka questioned, keeping his distance of course.

"I'm just doing what needs to be done!" She says with a smile that didn't correspond to the act she pulled, "It's all for him!" Her eyes become cold again, much to the teacher's surprise. "What? You don't want him and me to be happy?

"I never said that!" Shouted Onizuka, getting creeped out. "Oi, get away! Put that knife down, girl! I mean it!" However, no words seemed to stop her, "Oh shit!" He turns to the readers briefly. "This will be all, this is Onizuk- Whoa, chill out girl! Stop swinging the knife."

Onizuka ducks under another swipe of the pinkette before running away from the class, Gasai sprinting after him with the knife in hand.

"That girl is fucking nuuuuuts!"

---

"Show Your True Self!" by Kujikawa Rise

A girl with long copper-colored hair tied into two pigtails, brown eyes and pale skin was sat on a large stylish sofa located in the middle of the medium sized room. Many lights across the ceiling illuminated the room with utmost perfection.

The girl sported Yasogami High's school uniform.

She smiled gracefully as she addressed the public, "Hello! This is Kujikawa Rise, or if you prefer, you can call me Risette, too." She crossed her legs, snickering. "I welcome you all lovely people to my segment… "

Risette raises a hand, extending it to her upper left as shiny letters pop up, showing the words:

'Show Your True Self!'

Applause and whistles erupts from the crowd, stopping after several seconds.

"Alright! I was also in charge of the review response this chapter, so I hope you don't mind having me here again!" She winks playfully at the public, "In the previous chapter, I mentioned that anyone can leave the questions they want to be asked to the heroines I'll interview in the next chapters." She raises a finger, continuing, "So, you still have the chance to leave your questions in the reviews, but like I said last time, no perverted questions. Teehee~!"

She stands up, hands on her hip, "Well, I'm surprised that among the questions I received, there were some directed at me. Aww… I'll be sure to answer all of those too! However, the question list is intended for the main heroines of the story, so please focus on them, alright?"

Risette waves her hands at the public, "Very well then! I'm Kujikawa Rise! Don't forget to leave more questions! See you all lovely readers soon!"

With that, the lights of the stage are turned off.

---

(NirvFrk97): Welcome everybody, to the bottom of the chapter. I do hope you enjoyed it. 30k, less words than normal, you couldn't honestly expect us to keep that up, right?

Please have mercy on us…

Oh, and please ignore that time that Itherael became "Code Yuri", he was trying to troll me, and it failed until he started messing with the story. That pissed me off to no end.

Now, I predict that some of you may have had issues with Hikigaya emotionally shutting down after witnessing Gasai torturing the others, but what else could you expect? He saw something severely traumatic, he was going through shock. No civilian teenager would be able to handle that in any other way that wasn't losing themselves to fear. He took advantage of his shock by becoming near robotic with his logic, he was purely fueled by it. It lasted for a moment, but I hope I was able to portray it running out convincingly.

What do you guys think of Hachiman's Logic Mode?

Anyhow, I hope the "PTSD" he suffered afterwards was also able to convince you how affected he was. You can say that we saw Hikigaya at his near breaking point, only barely keeping himself together from having a complete breakdown. Which is why he was "happy" when Deviluke gave him an out.

Really sad moment, no?

Also, if you had issues with him seeming normal-ish during his experience it's because he had something to focus his mind on, once he ran out of things to think on, he began to remember everything again and started breaking down.

Now Itherael and I had a bit of an argument on how Hikigaya would use Deviluke's device, so I want to ask for your opinions. Itherael wanted Hikigaya to erase all of his memories of the night, I proposed and eventually convinced him that erasing his emotions was more like his character even if he was about to lose it. What do you guys think? Which was most suited for 8-man?

Of course we can't backtrack since we already published the chapter, but your opinions would be nice nonetheless.

Well, I think that's all there is to say. Don't think I missed anything…

And you heard our beloved Itherael, he'll answer reviews via PM from the next chapter on so you probably won't hear from me again other than these notes. At best, it'll be indirect responses from me, if he feels I hold better answers than him.

I guess that's it then. I'll let you all go so you can try and be productive corporate slaves for your respective societies.

As always, I've been NirvanaFrk97, and we'll see you soon.