Rumor Mill:
The campus of Kokoro exploded into makeshift mill circles following the swarm of medical staff entering Building 3. Conflicting viewpoints and speculations circulated through the crowds like poison in the veins.
"Ok it's official, what happened in building 3 was a Crimson Second Strike," a student from the school newspaper heralded to the largest group that formed in the courtyard. "Subclass 33: Smoldering, someone triggered the curse 12 hours before." A flurry of dissent and fear arose from this information.
"Goddamn it, even during the Festival the Colors need to make our lives hell," another student yelled out as the group huddled together. "Who was the unlucky bastard that got caught up in that?"
"It was limited to level 3 judging by the soot deposits, no official statement is being given on the victim that triggered the curse," the student reporting continued. "But according to security the Literature Club was the only club still running activities on that floor. It was in their room that the soot is the strongest." A flurry of frenzied speculations filled the group.
"Are they alright?" Shin asked. The herald stepped down and addressed him directly. He lowered his voice so that only the debate president could hear.
"It's hard to say. We're still collecting evidence. But based on observations one of their youngest members was nearly bled dry, and there have been reports of strange behavior the club's president was exhibiting," the reporter spoke in strict hush tones. "They said they may have to black box her. It doesn't look good Shin. The word Epiphany has been floating around the Rasputin Mill for a week."
"They think Naomi had Epiphany for that long?" Shin asked in shock.
"Go to Substation 3, the club members have been sent there. Mums the word," the reporter concluded as he turned again to the group. Shin left to call Eri.
"Shin what's going on?" Eri's voice crackled through the phone. "People are crowding building 3 like locusts."
"A crimson attacked the Literature Club," Shin tried to retain his composure. "They think- I think Naomi triggered the curse."
"Shin, baby I'm coming over, where are you?" Eri asked as panic entered her voice.
"Center courtyard, We need to get to Substation 3." Shin's mind started to throw horrible possibilities against the wall. Shin hung up and a few minutes passed. Eri showed up then hugged Shin with all her might.
"They're going to black box her," Shin just allowed the words speak for themselves. He was not going to be throwing around Epiphany in conversation if he could help it. Not in the middle of the feeding frenzy around him. He owed his old vice president some dignity in for all he knew could be her final hours.
"Let's go," Eri resolved with a kiss. "She needs us." They held hands as they left the courtyard to the blood hungry snakes. They will have to get their information through the grape vine like everyone else.
Black Box Society Day 4: Morning
"You are certainly adjusting to the jet lag really well," Abe-san spoke in abstraction to his new guest as the wooden shack around the three interested parties creaked in rusted defiance to the light wind. A rustling of papers and a pissed off dog broke the soft ocean sounds echoing from the outside.
"Why do you not sort any of this?" Ino barked grabbing folder after folder, and with a little look gave them a toss behind him.
"It's not helping when you toss them all over creation Doggie!" Abe cracked his knuckles. He dodged a folder and nearly toppled over. "Check the ones in the 3440's, near the back!"
"That doesn't mean jack if they're all in the back!" Ino returned to his pile with a grunt.
Sarah sipped her tea with a forlorn expression as she watched the two men dig at each other. She lightened up when a laugh came from Ino-hene. He rose with a different colored folder than the others. While the others were plain manila folders the new folder had deep pink pigments to it.
"Found it," Ino said placing the odd folder on the folding table between Abe and Sarah. Abe opened the folder and started to leaf through the contents. He came across something that made his glasses flicker.
"Does this face look familiar to you?" Abe asked handing the folder to the woman. It was turned to a page in the near back.
The page showed medical and psychological reports of a kid that was found by a student of Kokoro Academy. The report showed that the kid was found on the side of the river near a place nicknamed "Stormchaser". The kid had massive head damage and water in his lungs when he was found. He had emergency surgery and was able to pull through, however his "mental state" had deteriorated so badly the medical staff had no choice than to "Black Box" the child's memories until further notice. All this didn't bother Sarah as much as the photo of the kid's face before the Box Therapy.
"No, th-that's impossible," Sarah stammered. The kid matched Sarah's picture of Eddy to a T. This Eddy however had a glassy eyed stare, and a deeply pained expression on his face. Tears reflected some of the light creating a strange glowing effect where he cried. "What happened to him?"
"We're not really sure how he got here in the first place so we can't really answer that in good faith. The people that may know are no longer with us sadly, so we're working with only what you see before you," Abe-san answered as well as he could. "But you are very welcome to my notes if you want to help piece together a timeline with us. You can also talk with the student who found him. She is a scout for our organization, so she may be able to provide additional insight into the matter."
"Pl-please I just want to see him," Sarah lowered her head and wiped rouge tears from her eyes. "Even if he doesn't remember me, I just want to be by his side."
"We can't really say no, but if you go up to him and tell him what you told us best case scenario he would think you were crazy, and worst case, it may appear to the box that you are triggering Epiphany formation. The box is made to prevent this by any means necessary. Even so far as to cause bodily harm if there is even a reason to believe he is trying to know too much too fast," Ino shook his head. "The best we can do is to get you in contact with the scout, then we can hash it out from there."
"Please understand Miss Winters. We have every intention to reunite you with your beloved, but as it stands now there are too many problems in the way that need to be addressed first," Abe-san went over to Sarah's side of the table and started rubbing her back. "We can try to get you into his circle, then when the times comes that he begins to remember you, we can start there to coax the rest out."
"We can't change the fact he is half your age however, that is a power way above our pay grade," Ino added as he tried putting folders he discarded back into the cabinet he threw them from.
"A few days ago I thought I lost him forever, I'm not concerned about his age," Sarah muttered. A soft smile formed on her face. "Who do you want me to meet?"
"Her name is Natsuki Nejima, she works with me and Eddy in Auxiliary," Ino stated with deep respect. "Give me a few minutes and I can schedule a meet up tomorrow if her schedule allows."
"Do you have a place to stay Miss Winters? It's supposed to rain tomorrow." Abe-san asked as he placed a closed hand over his chest. It seemed he was trying to play with something that didn't exist. His breathing became shallow and his face darkened.
"Y-yes I have a place," Sarah stammered watching the physician. She and Ino started to feel unnerved watching the old man start to twitch. "Are you alright Dr. Abe?"
"We should take this outside Miss Winters," Ino butted in. "He needs to rest. It's- been a long day."
"D-damn, thought I had more time," Abe-san growled as the other two left the shack.
After being given an apology and the pink folder, Sarah gave her cell phone number to Ino. Sarah ended up looking between the folder and Ino with a look of mischief.
"Is there a problem?" Ino asked feeling a little over-exposed.
Sarah flipped to the front of the folder, the front page showed that week's biggest accomplishment. Under the heading was a small drawing of a simple puppy shape with a flower in its mouth with the word Doggie written underneath with a heart next to it. Sarah made a cutesy grin as the dog exploded.
"ABE!" Ino roared into the shack. His face was redder than hot iron. A giggle came as a response. "YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?"
"Come on, it's cute," Abe teased in response. There was something off about his voice, like there was a layering of two voices instead of one.
"I'll cute you," Ino growled. He tried to turn to Sarah to grab the folder but she was already on her motorcycle.
"Thanks for your help! I won't forget this, I promise!" Sarah waved as she sped off to wherever. Ino glared after the woman but couldn't say anything. He saw something in the sky. A bow and arrow made out of clouds.
Ino's expression softened to just a saddened expression as he watched the formation. Unbeknownst to him his eyes started glowing pink and his hands closed into tight fists. He wanted to do something to stop doing that, but the emotions he had forming already started to turn to volatile fuel for the ever burning furnace he was born with.
"Doggie," A woman's voice came from the shack. "Looks like you are reaching your limit too. Do you want to rest here? I have plenty of room."
A few drops trickled down Ino's face but he didn't dare acknowledge them. "Y-yeah, I kind of do now."
45 minutes passed and two beds were occupied on the floor of Abe-san's shack. In the middle table pink and indigo colored masks were placed face down. The ocean waves provided a good lullaby as twilight turned to night. The bottles of Color cores on the shelves surrounding them provided a beautiful kaleidoscope that filled the shack's interior like a lit Christmas tree.
…
Eddy didn't know how long he was out, he just knew his everything stung, it was dark, and he didn't know where he was. His eyes adjusted to the darkness with the help of the television being ran at low volume. He spotted figures in chairs in front of it as he tried to readjust himself. One of them was in a fitful sleep. The other was reading a purple book with an eye on the back. Reading was a loose term for what he was doing really. He looked like he was trying to read a cipher with the wrong key.
"S-sado?" Eddy spoke groggily. The boy turned away from his book learning to the bed.
"Eddy, how are you feeling?" Sado replied softly. He placed the book down and rose from his chair.
"Like diced ham," Eddy joked blinking his vision clearer. He rose slowly to try to prop himself up. All he achieved was pain from his back cuts. He lowered back down with a sharp exhale.
"That's understandable," Sado laughed softly only to become worried when he saw Eddy's movement. He went to the left side of the bed. "Y-you don't need to do that, here watch this." He pushed a button on the railing that housed that side of the bed and Eddy's back started to rise up with the rest of that side in a small whirling noise.
Upon closer inspection Eddy saw that he was in a medical bed with white sheets and a brown blanket. To his left was a counter with a sink and a few plastic boxes of supplies. On the opposite side was two wooden chairs a television on the wall, a teak wardrobe and a large movable nightstand. On the stand were water cups, soda cans, and a small cup with 2 white pills.
"Coming in clutch again, Good work," Eddy praised his "rival". Sado scratched the back of his head with a modest smile. It was then that Eddy notice Sado's eyes.
"Were you crying?" Eddy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No," The curtness of Sado's reply belied his message. Eddy's glare broke through his meager defenses better than any words. Sado looked down and sighed. "I- think I ruined the festival."
"I think whatever happened to Monika did that," Eddy grunted in reply.
"No, I mean- I think I caused what happened to her last night," Sado shook his head. "I made the crimson happy."
"Uh- how?"
Sado shrugged then answered. "I-i don't know, it called me Hideki and- I panicked I guess. I started to trance and I wanted to protect Sayori and-"
"You look like you're going to trance now, cool it will ya?" Eddy interrupted Sado's downward spiral. "You did the best you could. Everyone knows that-"
"Ow!" The second man woke from his sleep startling the rest of the room. His bones cricked as he tried to readjust in his chair. "Note to self: Don't sleep in hardwood chairs."
"You good Shin?" Eddy asked with a smile. "I can give you some of my pills."
"That's illegal though," Sado said flatly.
"It's a joke Sado, let it go," Shin rubbed his face with his palm. "This is just bad ergonomics McGee-san, Thanks for asking anyway."
"What does money have to do with your back?" Sado asked looking at his upperclassman.
"Er-go-nomics, not economics Sado," Shin right eye twitched. He got up from his polygon and tried to stretch. "I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose."
"I'm guessing this has been happening all night?" Eddy prodded ending his pills with a caffeinated sip. Banter helps the medicine go down.
"All night long. It's either this or him looking up every other word he reads in that book." He points to the eye book. "Just give it up man, The Portrait of Markov is too advanced for you."
"This is what stands between me and my quest Yamichika-san," Sado spoke like he was in an RPG. "I can't give up on it, I need to see what makes Yuri love it so much."
"Hey Sado, you think I can give it a shot?" Eddy smirked. His eyes gleamed in competition. "Maybe I can make notes."
"Here comes the rival, Sado-kun!" Shin grinned evilly. The president rises from his chair, and tosses the book at the bed-ridden Ed-boy. "Show him how it's done."
"OK!" Eddy beamed then winced when he tried to raise his arm. The book hits him in the chest. It had too much pepper behind it and the hit knocked the wind out of the first-year. "Gah! Is this book weighted?!"
"Sorry!" Shin reeled back in surprise. He bowed. "Old habits die hard."
"Oh yeah," Sado remembered as he pushed a button for the reading light. "You were on the baseball team."
"Very astute," Shin beamed.
"From Pitcher and Catcher, to Mass-Debater Shin is coming up in life," Eddy smirked as he started to leaf through the book. The abruptness of the quip followed by Shin's shocked expression sent Sado into laughter.
"Read your book!" Shin barked angrily. He then returned to his chair. "And I was Shortstop thank you very much."
"Still a catcher," Eddy's snarky comment was soft enough to be unheard by the president. He then noticed Sado hovering over his shoulder as he briefly skimmed over a few pages. "Hey Sado no offense, but unless I'm in a route I wasn't aware of I need you about three feet back." With a yelp the prying student did what he was told.
"Even if I was a route, we need to share poems first before we do anything like that. I'm not a hussy," The boy returned to his place in the book.
"R-right," Sado returned to his chair embarrassed and the three men sat in a strange silence.
"What's a route?" Shin blurted out a few minutes later.
"What?" Eddy and Sado asked back.
"You said if you were a route Eddy," Shin parroted. "I don't know what that is?"
" It's a video game term," Sado answered for the reader. "It basically means a path of decisions the player needs to make to get to a desired outcome in a visual novel. Like a girl's affections or a certain scene."
"Aren't visual novels usually pornography?" Shin asked mischievously grinning at his underclassman.
"W-well sometimes there are games that are- that, but most of them just follow a theme or a certain setting to tell a story using anime characters," Sado sweated a little. "W-why do you ask?"
"Just stirring a pot on the back burner. Eri has been scheming to try to get the anime and the gaming club together on a project to boost student solidarity," Shin mused. "We were thinking of making something that involves both mediums but for the life of us we couldn't figure out what to make. And you and Eddy may have given us something just now."
This is not the time for this shtick. Eddy glared at Shin while he talked but obscured the look by Markov. Monika's fighting for her life, and this guy is trying to play United Nations. A bunch of nerds don't know what a visual novel is? Go-to-guy my ass. He didn't even know where the Literature Club even was. I would of relapsed if Yuri wasn't in that stairwell.
A realization made Eddy lower his head in shame. Just like Yuri would of relapsed if she didn't start cutting herself on the way to the only room large enough to house a piano. All to try and help someone she cares about. A sequence of images splashed into Eddy's mind.
All to lose everything anyway because her efforts were rigged to fail from the start.
"Eddy?" Sado asked as he watched the kid start to shake. "are you ok?"
"I-i-it's a beautiful book," Eddy stammered after a few moments. He lowered the book then his head.
"Why is that buddy?" Sado spoke softly as he went to Eddy's side. Eddy scooted the book to Sado then tapped beneath the title. Almost blending into the dark color of the book, there were black letters spelling out the author.
Y. MATSUMOTO
"It has a beautiful author," Eddy spoke sadly. Tears streamed down his face. Sado was floored by Occam's Razor.
"Y-yuri wrote this?!" Sado yelled.
"Like a parent that loves their children," Shin spoke like a sage. "Well done rival. That is a good note."
Eddy didn't respond to this. He started to sob as the images in his head formed together into a memory.
"No, no this isn't right," Eddy sobbed rubbing his eyes. "This isn't real! This isn't real! Get outta my head!"
"H-hey are you alright little guy?" Shin asked a little concerned. Sado pulled himself out of his shock with a look of fear.
"No, no I'm not alright," Eddy cried. "I-I don't understand, how i-i-is Yuri still here?"
"What?" Sado asked a little scared. "She- left a few hours ago."
"NO!" Eddy shook. "She was dead a week ago! I saw it!"
"What?!' Sado asked. Eddy grabbed his head in pain.
"Second Week," Shin muttered in realization. He turned to Sado with a deep conviction in his eyes. "Get Watanabi-san. Now." He then slammed the emergency button.