Merry Christmas! (or Hanukkah, or Kwanza, or holiday) I finally got some time to think and work on this over the break. Once again, sorry for the long wait, and thank you to everyone who still reads this and has let me know that. :)
Otoya
Otoya and Tokaku stood in the middle of the sidewalk watching Nio run after Haru.
"Shit," Otoya laughed. "I guess even Harucchi can only take so much."
Beside her, Tokaku was not nearly so amused. "Why are you happy? Thanks to you, she just ran off with another assassin."
"Oh, come on," Otoya rolled her eyes. "You bring that up every time she leaves for two seconds. You really think the class arbitrator is gonna hand over her notice first?"
Her nemesis couldn't argue with that. "True," she grumbled. "She'll probably be last."
Since neither of them were sure what to do without Haru, they started for the dormitories silently.
About halfway there, Otoya had had enough silence. "Things aren't working like this," she said as the tall stone building grew closer.
"For once, you're right." Tokaku slid her hand into her sleeve, making Otoya instinctively reach for her waist.
Tokaku shrank back. "I'm not gonna attack you," she said, drawing the small steel blade from her uniform. "When I get stressed, I twirl my knives."
Nodding, Otoya relaxed. "You had me worried there," she grinned. "I thought it was gonna be a repeat of the orientation."
Ever since the orientation, things had been going downhill. The start of the game meant they were constantly on their guard, waiting for the first attempt. Some people were setting up elaborate attacks, while others were just crouching in the darkness. Most importantly, people were breaking off into smaller and smaller groups. No one trusted anyone else.
"About the orientation," Tokaku said. "I thought we could work toward the same goal without liking each other, but I really didn't realize how much I hate you."
"Right back atcha!" Otoya cackled. "You were totally wrong about that." Running forward a few paces, she reached the building and jumped off the wall. "So, are you saying we should go with my plan now?"
Tokaku grabbed her shirt collar and yanked her away from the wall. "I said I'd never team up with you, and I meant it. Also, quit being such a spaz."
The raven haired girl wiggled out of her grasp. "At least I don't look like the walking dead. The rest of you guys are holing up in your rooms and having secret meetings."
"Secret meetings? Who was doing that?"
Otoya pulled open the doors to the dormitories, making a point not to hold them open for her companion. "Our darling Shiena-chan," she snickered. "Her, Suzu, and Kouko-chan are planning something."
Frowning, Tokaku shuffled into the building. "Basically, all of the smartest people in the class. Whatever they do, it's gonna be big."
"Not just big," Otoya chimed in. "I think they'll be first. I've been trying to keep an eye on Shiena-chan, and she's been carrying a lot of stuff into the other two's dorm. It looks electronic."
"Not old fashioned assassination, then."
"Nope. I'm guessing electricity or fire. That, or they're setting up one hell of an entertainment center."
"Maybe detonators. See if you find any bomb equipment in your own dorm."
There came the complication. "Well," Otoya said, "Shiena-chan doesn't actually stay in my dorm anymore. She kinda left."
"Great." Tokaku leaned against the wall. "Not that I blame her. Well, as long as their doors aren't locked, we can sneak in and find out what they're up to."
Otoya clapped her hands. She loved sneaking into girls' rooms and messing with their stuff. "And here I thought you were old fashioned. Even Azuma Tokaku has a sneaky side, huh?"
"I'll do what I have to to protect what I care about," Tokaku replied smoothly. "Unlike you, I don't actually enjoy making other people miserable."
That was after the heart of a certain other blue-haired girl Otoya knew. "Unless it's me?"
"You're never miserable."
On the outside, Otoya had to admit she was pretty simplistic. She did whatever she wanted, she had no regard for manners, and she just loved to play with people. Beneath that there were other layers that she kept hidden, good ones and bad ones. Those, she only showed to the people she trusted. Haru was one of those people.
Who am I kidding? Otoya sighed. She's the only person. I haven't trusted anybody for years.
Her arm was poked. "What're you thinking about?" Tokaku asked, retracting her arm before it could be grabbed and twisted. "Shouldn't we be checking that room right about now?"
Already? Did Tokaku really not have anything else she wanted to do? Well, she was kind of a blank slate, but even so… Otoya would've at least wanted to read manga.
"All right," she groaned, dragging her heels down the hall. "Don't you have a life outside of this?"
The expression on her companion's face told her that no, she didn't.
The two of them got to Suzu and Kouko's dorm without much trouble. Because it was so soon after school, most of the other girls were out doing whatever they did after classes. The hall was eerily empty except for the low murmur coming from Chitaru and the pipsqueak's dorm. Otoya wondered how things were going between those two right now. There was no way Chitaru could not find out about Haru being the target, so Hitsugi's lie would be exposed, right?
Knowing the little girl, she wouldn't have expressly told Chitaru she was the target; she'd have acted in a way that made Chitaru believe it. That meant that even when confronted with evidence, Chitaru would still be confused as to the real target's identity.
She had to hand it to Hitsugi- that girl knew how to screw with the system. Not only that, the joy she took in it was just beautiful.
They now stood in front of the door to the room they were about to search. Adrenaline pumped through Otoya's body. She'd raided many a bedroom in her time, but never like this. Here there was a greater fear of getting caught and having a foe who was actually formidable.
Tokaku knocked on the door hesitantly. When no one answered, she nudged it open and slipped inside, motioning for Otoya to follow.
The room looked similar to all the others, except for the mattress and blanket that lay between the two beds. Otoya felt immediately sorry for all three of them. Who would let the situation of two beds and three people go to waste like this?
"Have you ever done this before?" Tokaku asked quietly, closing the door.
"Of course," Otoya replied, skipping over to the mattress and looking for one of Shiena's belongings to swipe in the meantime. "Don't tell me you've never had to sneak around in order to kill somebody."
The blue haired girl didn't answer that. "I'll start with the right half of the room, you do the left," she said, getting to her knees and peering under the dresser. "They'll have hidden their supplies, right?"
Otoya lifted one of the bed skirts. "Yeah. They might've stashed it in different places. There's probably a lot of it."
"They'd also have to keep it organized," Tokaku added. "Look for things with compartments."
The search went on for about ten minutes. Both girls worked anxiously, knowing that someone might walk in any second. What would happen if they got caught in someone else's dorm like this? Would there be any action at all?
Neither of them wanted to find out. Otoya loved doing dangerous things, not getting in trouble for them.
"Hey," she said after a while. "We should put something in front of the door. Y'know, so we'll have a chance to hide if anyone comes in."
Tokaku nodded. "It has to be something they might've left there themselves. Big enough to stop the door for a bit, but not so big it's unbelievable."
They spotted a duffel bag sitting not far from the door. Grinning, Otoya pulled it over so that the edge of the door would hit it when opened. "There. Open the closet, will ya? We need somewhere to go."
Once that was done, they resumed their search. Other than some discared clothes, a few pairs of glasses, and a phone, they found nothing noteworthy. Every minute it became more likely that one of the others would walk in on them.
"Jeez…" Otoya grumbled, resting her upper half on one of the beds. "Where the hell did they put all that crap? I know I saw Shiena-chan carrying a bunch of stuff."
"They might not have put it here," Tokaku suggested, kneeling in front of the entertainment center. "There are plenty of other spots in the academy."
Otoya hated it when she went to a lot of trouble and didn't get a payoff. Looking at Tokaku, she could tell the blue-haired girl wasn't a fan of it either.
Right now it'd be a good idea to leave the room. They didn't want to get caught for nothing.
"Wait!" Tokaku leapt to her feet and rushed over to the beds. "Check under the mattresses."
Gripping the edge of one mattress, Tokaku lifted it for Otoya to look under.
"Nothing but bed springs," the raven-haired girl replied. "Wait, actually…"
"What?" Tokaku demanded, trying to see under the queen-size mattress she was holding. "What is it?"
Otoya proudly held up her find. "500 yen!"
The mattress fell with a thump on top of her other hand. Pulling it out, Otoya shook it to get the feeling back. "Guess I deserved that," she laughed, flipping the coin and putting it in her pocket for safe keeping. If she got lucky, maybe she'd be able to treat Haru again.
"Be serious, okay?" Tokaku muttered. "I'm gonna lift the next one, and I don't want to hear any crap this time."
"Yes, mom." Otoya rolled her eyes and looked under the second mattress. "Yeah, there's something here, too."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"A laptop."
"Jesus Christ," Tokaku growled. "Pick it up already so I can put this thing down!"
Sliding the laptop off the bedsprings and into her hands, Otoya noticed that it was still warm. "This thing's been used pretty recently," she said, setting it on the mattress that Tokaku had just put back down.
Tokaku knelt down beside her to see the thing. "Looks old," she said. "Open it."
Well, duh. Otoya pressed sideways on the catch and lifted the screen to 90 degrees. It flashed to life, displaying a desktop with what looked like a bunch of medieval people as the background image.
"I guess one of them likes plays," Tokaku mumbled, moving the cursor around with the touchpad. "This is all Shakespeare stuff."
"How do you know?" Otoya asked, poking the touchpad as well to mess up the cursor's path.
"Because it says Shakespeare right there," Tokaku sighed, pointing to the bottom of the screen where the name was in fact written. "You think I care about theater? Quit poking the touchpad and let me actually click on something."
Otoya felt a lot better knowing that Tokaku wasn't into drama. She could hardly be expressive on purpose. Seeing her on stage would be hilarious.
She took a closer look at the icons on the desktop. There were the standard internet and office icons- she still used Internet Explorer, amazingly enough- and also a few folders. Just a few of the titles were "Opera", "Story Ideas", and "Fanfiction". So Shiena was just as nerdy as she looked.
The file that caught both of their eyes, however, was the one labeled "Myoujo".
"Hey," Otoya said, poking the screen and leaving behind a sweaty fingerprint. "Click on that one."
"I'm not stupid," Tokaku muttered, swatting her hand away from the faintly glowing screen and clicking the shortcut.
A window popped up asking them for a password. She should've known. Neither of them was that good with computers, so they had no clue how to get a password out of a system.
Tokaku nudged her companion. "You were her roommate. Any idea what the password might be?"
"I was her roommate for like, a week, and she avoided me all the time." Otoya put her finger to her chin. "Try 'Carmen'. I heard her telling Kaminaga about it at breakfast."
They got an error message, and the old window reappeared.
"This isn't good," Tokaku sighed, x-ing out of the window. "That wasn't your typical built-in password screen. She programed it herself. That means there's probably a limit on the number of guesses we get."
Shrugging, Otoya sat down on the floor mattress. "I dunno, type in 'Giant Nerd' or something. 'Fluffykins'. 'Megane'."
Looking up, she saw the cursor still moving around on the screen, clicking on all of the folders. Otoya secretly hoped the fanfiction folder wouldn't open. She would end up finding out more than she ever wanted to know about her old roommate's hobbies.
Unfortunately, it did open to reveal one very large file labeled "New Ideas". It was clicked on, and Otoya averted her eyes. It was probably some lovey-dovey thing about Captain Tsubasa or whatever.
"Get up here." Tokaku grabbed her sleeve. "You'll want to see this."
Doing as she was told, Otoya sat back up and read what was on the screen, which turned out to not be fanfiction at all. It was headed with some professional-looking information and a logo of a shining building.
"Myoujo stuff." She grinned. "Leave it to Shiena-chan to hide something in plain sight."
Tokaku began slowly scrolling through the document. "It might be a trick," she said, "but this stuff looks pretty official. I'll check to see if any of the information is duplicated later in the document."
"Before you do that…" Otoya took control of the touchpad. "Try clicking on it."
She clicked on the text, and an outline appeared around the whole page. Shiena hadn't typed the document at all- each page was a screenshotted image that she'd cropped. If she'd taken that route, she must not have been able to copy and paste the text. It was originally a PDF, then.
Her companion wasn't even upset with her for taking control of the computer. "Huh. I guess it's not a trick, then. Let's read it before somebody comes in here."
"Way ahead of you." Otoya scrolled through some technical jargon, scanning the document for any important headings or names. "Hey, who's Meichi Yuri?"
"No idea. What does it say about her?"
"Uh…" Otoya read down a little further. "It says she was a target."
In one of the previous games, this girl had been the target of the class, and if the text was to be believed, she had survived the whole thing. Not only that, the game had ended in six days. Either the twelve of them were incredibly slow, or this girl had taken out all of her assailants in six days.
If she could do that, Otoya kind of wanted to meet her. "This chick was tough," she smiled. "Kinda like Harucchi."
The blue-haired girl frowned. "The way things are going, we might not be able to protect her from the others."
This again. "I'll be just fine," Otoya replied, folding her arms. "You're the one who'll get all emotional and screw things up."
"You're really going to insult me for being emotional?" Tokaku scrolled up and down in the document to occupy herself. "You're the one who jumps on us every day and hugs us to death."
"But that's the way I am!" Otoya protested, slinging an arm around her companion's neck. "I do what I think is fun. Hugging people is fun." She ruffled Tokaku's short hair. "You're always so tense all the time, and you treat me like I'm below you or something."
Tokaku stiffened, but ignored her clinginess. "I treat you like that because I think you're disgusting. You look like you enjoy hurting people."
It was beginning to seem more and more like Tokaku had an aversion to killing, which was kind of strange, since she was an assassin. Even if she didn't like it, she should've been used to it. It shouldn't have been something that stopped her from making a worthwhile team-up.
A lot of the assassins still didn't like Otoya, though, so maybe it was about morals or something stupid like that. As far as she was concerned, if she enjoyed something, she did it. What was so wrong with that?
She pointed to another spot in the document. "Scroll up. I just saw rules."
"I did too," Tokaku answered, squinting at the screen. "I was scrolling down to see if I missed something. There are only three rules there, and we had four."
Recalling the week before, Otoya drummed on the keyboard. "Didn't Shiena-chan say something at the orientation about there only being three rules?"
Her companion nodded. "She must have been talking about this. It looks like there only used to be three rules, but they changed it at some point. Check for a date on one of the reports."
They returned to the top of the document and found the date in the heading. Only a few years ago. The class was only held every few years.
"Then…" Tokaku grimaced, "the new rule is specifically for this class."
A new rule, specifically for them. Why this class in particular? "Maybe Myojou was running out of money for prizes, so they had to make it harder for the assassins," Otoya suggested.
Another thought occurred to her then, one that made her a little uncomfortable. "Has anybody ever won this game?"
Tokaku looked a little startled. "Well… somebody must've won before. I don't know, though. There's no information about it."
Ideas began flowing like a fountain in Otoya's mind. "Also," she added, "how come none of the previous assassins leaked any info about the game? It's been going on for years, right?"
"Yeah," Tokaku agreed, color leaving her already pale face. "I didn't really think about it, but that is weird. Even if they're sworn to secrecy, someone would've squealed. There's obviously more to the game than meets the eye."
Unnverved, they reached the bottom of the document, which contained several small photographs with captions underneath. One of the photos showed a middle aged woman with brown hair and a suit.
Tokaku's eyes widened. "That's the woman we saw during the orientation."
Now that she mentioned it, it did look like her. Far less highlighted and green, not to mention younger, but definitely the same woman. The caption below the photo read "Meichi Yuri".
"She was the target," Tokaku murmured, "and now she's in charge."
This information was huge. "It's starting to look like this game isn't about us at all," Otoya muttered, pouting. "So if the target wins, she takes over the game. What does she get out of it? Money?"
"How should I know?" Closing out the window, Tokaku shut her eyes. "The one thing we do know is that the target gets something for surviving, just like we get something for winning. It's not just a test for us, it's a test for her, too."
They shared an uncomfortable look, because they'd both had the same thought.
What did Haru have that needed twelve assassins just to test?
A light tap in the hallway caught their attention. Tokaku immediately closed the laptop and shoved it back under the mattress. Wordlessly, they climbed over the bed and into the closet they had opened. Despite their obvious differences, Otoya couldn't help but notice that she and Tokaku moved in similar ways. Their quickness and stealth were second to none.
She pulled the doors shut so that they had a small crack to peek through. A moment after, they heard a creak and a small thud from the duffel bag they'd dragged in front of the room door.
The one who stepped in was Shutou, walking casually, showing no signs of knowing the other two were there.
The closet itself was cramped, putting the two of them closer together than they ever cared to be. Tokaku was squished behind Otoya, and she got her revenge by pushing her head under Otoya's armpit to see through the crack in the doors. It was hot, uncomfortable, and all-around sucky.
But… Otoya realized, I can deal with it.
"So they wanted to go on a walk without me, huh?" Shutou sighed, stretching her arms above her head. "I feel so unloved… jeez…"
She stepped into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.
A whisper came from under her arm. "As soon as a toilet flushes, we're out."
Otoya nodded stiffly and gripped the edges of the closet doors in preparation. "Gotcha."
The two of them waited with bated breath for a minute. Tokaku pulled her head out, and Otoya could feel the tension in every part of her body. They were like cats ready to spring.
When her cue came, Otoya was off like a shot. She bolted out of the closet and opened the hall door while Tokaku closed the closet. The blue-haired girl sprinted over and joined her companion in the hall, whirling around and easing the door shut behind her.
They had successfully completed their infiltration.
"Shit," Otoya breathed, walking away from the dorm. "That's the kind of excitement I've been missing."
Tokaku joined her, also a bit out of breath. "I didn't think you were that fast," she commented. "You surprised me."
Giggling, Otoya patted her shoulder. "I'm just full of surprises!" She put her hands on her hips. "Y'know, we aren't a bad team."
She expected to get a scowl or a rude remark from her rival, but instead she got a weak grin. "We aren't. We have the same basic instincts. I didn't have to tell you to let me close the closet door."
"You were behind me," Otoya replied. "It made sense."
More importantly than any of that, neither of them had tried to ditch the other. Otoya would've expected fair play from Tokaku, but not from herself. Strangely, the thought of abandoning her comrade had never entered her head.
Look's like Harucchi's affected me in more ways than one, she mused.
Tokaku stepped right in front of her, forcing her to stop. "Like I said before, I'll do what I have to to protect Ichinose."
Getting cut off was annoying. "Yeah, so?"
She recieved a gentle push. "So, if that involves me teaming up with you, I can put up with that."
That would probably be the nicest thing Tokaku would ever say to her for the rest of her life, so Otoya made sure to save it in her head. "Cool. I'm gonna hold you to that forever, y'know."
"I do know," Tokaku answered, moving out of her way and continuing down the hall to her own room. "Also, let's not argue anymore. I think we're already clear on what we think of each other."
Not just them, everyone in the black class knew what they thought of each other. Actually, the rest of the school might've picked up on it too. Maybe the whole planet. Otoya laughed. "Right. No point in making Harucchi more upset."
An image of Haru running away from them played back in front of her eyes, and she frowned. "We really did make her sad."
Her companion looked away uncomfortably. "Yeah. All that stuff Hashiri said about her being stressed made sense." Her cold blue eyes were clouded with confusion. "Why didn't I see that?"
Because Tokaku was incredibly antisocial and clueless when it came to human interactions? "Cuz you're stupid," Otoya replied, condensing her thoughts into a single insult. "Don't take it too hard. I didn't notice it either. She acts so happy all the time that it's hard to tell when she's hurt."
"That kind of happiness is fake." Tokaku placed her hand against her room door. "I want her to have real happiness, because she's one of the few people who could actually achieve it. I don't know how, but she has hope, even in a place like this."
She turned toward Otoya. "How do you stay so happy all the time? Do you just get off on violence and pain?"
Quite literally, yes, but the blue-haired buffoon didn't need to know that. "I don't need hope," Otoya said, smiling and revealing her fangs. "I take what makes me happy. That's all."
Tokaku glared right through her. "Is Ichinose one of those things?"
Her fingers twitched, remembering the softness of Haru's cheek as she'd slid a flower into her hair. She could still feel a lingering warmth on her lips.
"Yep," Otoya replied sweetly. "But she's an exception to that rule, so don't worry."
Her rival took a second to process her response. "All right," she said slowly. "Then we're clear on everything. No more arguing, and I'll team up with you if I have to."
None of this would've happened if they'd just gone with Otoya's plan in the first place, but since they weren't supposed to argue anymore, the raven-haired girl kept her mouth shut. No sense in aggravating their situation further.
Satisfied, Tokaku began retreating into her room. Otoya grabbed her shoulder. "One more thing."
"What is it?" Tokaku asked in a huff.
Lowering her voice to a whisper, Otoya bent over her. "What's your favorite thing about Harucchi?"
The blue-haired girl frowned. "What do you mean? I want to protect her because she doesn't deserve any of this."
Clueless. "No, I mean, what's your favorite thing? I like her eyes."
Tokaku raised her shoulder defensively. "Look, just because you think of her like that doesn't mean I do."
"Oh really?" Otoya rose to her full height, leering over her inferior. "Then how come you guys were dancing in a field together? You even pulled her down on top of you."
Eyes wide with mortification, Tokaku clenched her fist. "She tripped, you idiot. She was feeling down, so she wanted to be happy. That's all." She paused, anger rising in her throat. "And why the hell were you watching that, anyway?"
Otoya rolled her eyes. "I'm protecting her, of course I'm gonna watch her." Her grin widened. "Thanks for clearing that up, by the way. I was jealous."
She backed Tokaku into her own door. "Since you don't really think of her the way I do, there shouldn't be any problems," she said, taking her blue checkered tie into her hands. "Just know that wherever she is, I'll be there watching."
Gripping the knot, she tugged at it a little and let go. "Your tie was crooked," she said with a smile.
She left Tokaku shellshocked in the hallway and entered her own dorm. It was time to reflect on what they had both learned. The target was more important than expected. Rule four had some kind of special purpose. Lastly, Shiena knew about all of that and more. She and her team were still plotting something big, and the two of them still didn't know the details.
Falling into bed, she laid her arms by her sides and closed her eyes. If she let her subconscious work on the problem for long enough, it would come up with something. In the meantime, she could dream.
At first there was nothing. Blackness whirled around her, cutting into her flesh and drawing invisible blood. She screamed and opened her eyes.
A horizon stretched out in front of her, white as a sheet of fresh paper. She ran her hands along her arms, collecting her own blood in pools on her fingertips. Then, as she always did, she painted the world around her with crude buildings and people, all staring up at the featureless sky. Although she'd been drawing this world ever since her childhood, her drawings had never improved.
As her finishing touch, she punched a hole straight through the sky. Creatures poured out of it and smashed their way through the cities and people, leaving behind nothing but rubble and broken dreams. Towers that had stood for millenia crumbled on top of grieving human beings, spilling their blood, her blood, for miles.
Because she did this, she could be powerful. Out of so many things, she always chose to draw this scene, over and over again. It was all she knew. It felt better seeing this happen to other people instead of herself.
"Otoya."
She turned and saw a poorly drawn girl with pigtails waving at her from a crowd of cowering civilians.
"Stop it. I'm sad."
Her heart throbbed. "Why are you here? You shouldn't be here."
"Stop it. I'm sad."
Bending down, she scooped up the pigtailed girl in her hand. "This place is dangerous. You should be somewhere safe."
The girl sat obediently in her hand. "But you brought me here."
Had she brought the girl into her own delusions? No, this girl was separate. This wasn't her world. She belonged somewhere bright and sunny. Somewhere beautiful.
Small arms embraced her thumb. "I forgive you. Make something pretty next time."
Swallowing, she closed her hand around the girl, crushing her. "I'll try."
Otoya's eyes shot open. Scrambling across her bed, she grabbed her alarm clock. 6:05. Just in time for dinner, if only she were hungry.
With a sigh, she collapsed back into bed.
Would she ever be someone Haru could love?
Kouko
As it turned out, Shiena's idea to hack the security cameras had been a good one.
For the past few days, their brunette compainion had been tinkering with the remains of the security cameras she'd dismantled. Amazingly, she had figured out how they worked and managed to tap into their video feed. Her skill with electronics had turned out to be far greater and far more applicable than Kouko had realized.
She should remember to compliment the girl later. Shiena had been shaky lately, and it would probably make her smile. As the date of their attempt closed in on them, so did their separation. Kouko wasn't sure how she herself felt about it.
At the moment though, the two of them were squeezed inside a hallway janitor's closet along with several plastic and cardboard boxes of bombs, wires, and the like. Kouko's legs were starting to cramp up from crouching on the floor. How long did it take to search one room?
Looking up at Shiena, she saw the white glow of the girl's tablet illuminating her red rectangular glasses. Being herself, she did everything on her old laptop even when she had a tablet available. "Shouldn't Takechi and Azuma have finished by now? They already closed the laptop."
Kenmochi had been monitoring what they did with her laptop through a screen capture program. "I know. Suzu-san's probably listening and waiting for them."
They had sent Shutou out of the closet a minute ago to get Azuma and Takechi out of their dorm. Being stuck like this for five minutes was all right, but ten was bordering on unbearable. Kouko wondered if she'd ever smell anything besides bleach again.
Now it seemed that Shutou had deserted them too. Sighing, she shifted onto her right calf and leaned against the closet door.
"Guys! The coast is clear!"
The door opened suddenly, and Kouko toppled onto her side in the middle of the hallway. A box or two tumbled out beside her.
Shutou winced. "Sorry."
"Nevermind," Kouko mumbled, getting to her feet and smoothing out her long blue dress. "I'm just happy to be out of there."
The brunette stepped out casually behind her with a stack of boxes in her arms. Kouko suspected that she was very used to working in cramped, dark places.
"Well, that turned out about as well as it could've," she said, nudging the closet door closed with her foot. "Did you have to walk in on them?"
"Yeah," Shutou replied, folding her arms. "But they hid right when I came in, so I improvised and went right into the bathroom to give them an opening." She grinned. "As far as they know, we had no clue they were in there."
Kenmochi clapped her hands professionally. "Bravo."
It would be nice to stand there and congratulate themselves a little more, but they had business to attend to. "We should hurry back," Kouko said hastily, picking up a box of supplies that had landed near her feet. "In case anyone sees us."
Her friends nodded in agreement and began helping her. In less than a minute the boxes were neatly piled in their dorm and the three of them were sitting on their respective beds just as they had a week ago and most days after that. Now that Kenmochi had her own mattress, they made a rather official-looking triangle.
I wonder if any of the others have been planning like we are, Kouko thought as she slipped off her black flats. Somehow she doubted it. While the other assassins were certainly intelligent (though there were a few notable outliers…), they didn't have the capacity to organize like this.
She had come to admire and appreciate Shutou and Kenmochi quite a bit lately. It was nice, having someone reliable to depend on while not feeling helpless herself.
Within a few days, that would all be gone.
Seeing that everyone was situated, Shutou smiled and began their meeting. "First off, let's give ourselves a pat on the back for quick thinking. Especially Shiena-chan."
Kenmochi rubbed her head, embarrassed by the praise but grateful for it all the same. "I was just lucky Takechi and Azuma happened to be standing under one of five cameras I had access to."
"You still prevented them from discovering our entire plan," Kouko said, kindness seeping into her voice. "You should accept compliments as they are."
While Kenmochi beamed at that, Kouko thought of the woman who had imparted that very knowledge to her years ago. For whatever reason, she had begun quoting Irena-senpai lately. Maybe she was finally taking her mentor's teachings to heart.
A familiar pain swelled in her chest, and she quickly turned her attention back to their meeting.
"Now," Shutou continued. "If I remember correctly, we finished just about all of our equipment yesterday. The bombs, detonators, everything."
Kouko nodded. "Everything's done. Some of it might not work, but we have plenty."
"We can't exactly test them," Kenmochi laughed. "Kouko-san and I did the math. We've got enough to cover the whole area and for her to carry."
Shutou clapped her hands. "Perfect! Kouko-chan and I will set them up tonight. Should we go over the plan?"
The other two nodded. It was a bit complicated, after all. As much as Kouko and Kenmochi would have liked like to take credit for something other than assembling electronics, it had all been Shutou's idea. Only she could have come up with something so daring.
"All right." Suzu pointed to a box near the foot of Kouko's bed. "Could you get me the map, Kouko-chan?"
The blue haired girl had begun referring to her as –chan. It felt odd, since there was only one person who had ever addressed Kouko so affectionately. She frowned and pulled a folded map from between two grenades. "Here."
"Thanks." Unfolding the large sheet of paper, Shutou revealed a large diagram of a hallway and several rooms that Kenmochi had ripped from a stolen Myoujo file. If Kouko remembered correctly, it was a map of the basement.
"We'll make our attempt in the basement," she said, circling the area with her finger. "Where I've marked X's on the map, Kouko-chan and I will set up remote control bombs." She tapped one of the rooms in the short hallway. "The room closest to the stairway is the boiler room. That's your position, Kouko-chan."
The black-haired girl nodded. She would hide in the boiler room with her supply of explosives until the target showed up."
"Now, the boiler room is connected to the womens' bathhouse by an air duct in the ceiling." Shutou traced a line upward. "That's where I'll be. I'll be in charge of the detonators for the remote control bombs. It's possible that the lead pipes between there and the hallway might interfere with the detonators' electronic signal. If that happens, I'll be able to crawl down the air duct into the boiler room. They should definitely work from that close."
Kenmochi grinned. "Remind me why you'll be lounging in the bathhouse while Kouko-san and I are choking to death on smoke?"
She was clearly just teasing, but Shutou didn't laugh. "I'm not in the best physical condition," she said with a hint of sadness. "I exercise to stay fit, but I'd only get in your way down there."
Kouko gave her a sympathetic look, and she quickly recovered. "Anyway, that's what Kouko-chan and I will be doing. As for you, Shiena-chan…" She pointed to the stairwell. "You're in charge of leading Ichinose-san into the basement and pretending to be innocent."
"Right. And if both you and Kouko-san fail, I'll pull out my notice once she's worn down and shoot her."
"Exactly." Shutou poked each X in the hallway individually. "The goal with these bombs in the hallway is really to force Ichinose into this room here." She indicated the second room in the hallway, which had a big red circle drawn in it. "This room will be lined with bombs. Once she's in here, there's no escape. Anyone who goes in with her will also be eliminated. If we can't get her in there, there's always Shiena-chan." She made an explosion with her hands. "Any questions?"
Kenmochi raised her hand. "You sent me out to buy Walkie talkies?"
"Oh, right!" Shutou leaned over the mattress to pull them out of a box, forgoing Kouko's help. "These'll be-"
She leaned forward too far and fell flat on her face. Thankfully, Kouko caught the Walkie talkies.
"Are you all right?" she asked, amused.
Pulling her face out of the mattress, Shutou sighed and laughed. "Let's hope we're getting all this out of the way before we make our attempt…"
Kouko smiled. "All we need now is for Kenmochi-san to fall down." She held out an arm for the blue-haired girl… woman? She wasn't sure whether to think of Shutou as an adult or a teenager; she seemed too youthful and too wise to be either. Maybe after living so long in a misleading body, she had just learned to act. Kouko herself knew a lot about acting.
Taking her arm, Shutou got to her feet and sat down beside her. "I think I'll just sit here now," she said. "I don't want to see if I can fall over again getting back to my bed."
Kouko was… strangely okay with that. "That's fine. Explain the Walkie talkies?"
"Yes." Shutou took them from Kouko's hands and held them out. "I was hoping that Kouko-chan could use this to give me a general idea of where the target is so I can detonate my bombs in the right places. I can't exactly see them from the bathhouse."
Putting her hand to her chin, Kouko watched the shiny green and purple toys glow in the light from the ceiling. "If only you had x-ray vision."
Kenmochi held out her finger. "But then there'd be the lead pipes between the bathhouse and the basement."
"What does lead have to do with it?"
"Y'know," Kenmochi said, "Superman has x-ray vision, but he can't see through lead."
The other two looked at each other in utter incomprehension. Kouko frowned. "Why? That seems completely arbitrary."
Kenmochi shrugged. "Beats me. Maybe because lead is so dense."
"Then he shouldn't be able to see through osmium either. Or gold, for that matter."
"Guys." Shutou held up her hands, trying desperately not to laugh. "I know this happens every time we have a conversation, but let's try to get through the entire plan before we go off on some wild tangent."
Kouko and Kenmochi adjusted their glasses simultaneously. "Sorry."
"There's just one more thing. Bear with me." Shutou began leaning over to get the map, thought better of it, and sat back down. "One of our bombs will be underneath the stairs. When the target shows up, Kouko-chan will radio me and I'll blow up the bottom half of the stairs. That way, no one gets in or out."
"As for us," Kouko added. "We can just climb up that air duct into the bathhouse."
Shutou clasped her hands excitedly. "Right! As far as I know, we're the only ones aware of that passage, so no one should try to get the jump on us from that direction."
"From what I can see, it looks like we've made a pretty inescapable trap." Kenmochi leaned into Kouko's bed between where the other two were sitting. "As long as we don't mess up, it sure seems like we've got this in the bag."
The blue-haired girl closed her eyes. "Famous last words."
"Oh, come on."
They shared a chuckle, and all was silent for a few heartbeats.
"Y'know," Kenmochi sighed, "I've only known you guys for two weeks, and I'll miss you more than I'm missing home right now."
Opening her eyes slowly, Shutou looked down at the brunette and then across to Kouko, who averted her gaze. "I didn't think I would meet anyone here who would understand me," she admitted. "The people I care about have always left me behind."
Kenmochi blinked a few times. "Well… we won't." She reached up and squeezed Shutou's hand. "Right?"
She was looking to Kouko for assistance. The black-haired girl felt something ugly churning in the pit of her stomach. Despite their closeness, her new friends were now further away than ever before.
Placing her hand over Kenmochi's, she stared down at her feet. "Right."
The three of them sat together for awhile, each trying to convince themselves that they would still be friends after they left the class. Suzu and Shiena leaned against each other, thinking up possible ways to keep in touch. Kouko simply tried to focus as much as possible on the warmth of their hands.
All this will end tomorrow.
It was a thought that left her feeling as empty and helpless as she had kneeling in that rainy street, watching her only love go up in flames.
Suzu
The basement was no more than a shapeless void from where Suzu stood at the top of the stairs. Kouko stood beside her, carrying their box of bombs and staring down into the pit.
Maybe I'm peering into my own future, the older one mused.
When she had signed up for class black, Suzu had expected to either win and begin a new life as a normal person, or to lose and return to her own monotonous life and home. She didn't like to think about the last option.
Now she was starting to see that she had been blinded by her excitement. If she got her wish, would she go back to the same dusty house and keep working as a freelancer to put food on her 100-year-old table? Of course not. In order to have that life she'd always dreamed of, she would need to go to college in a few years, get a real job, start a family… all without help.
After living in the past for so long, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to live in the present.
She glanced at Kouko's blank face and ocean-blue eyes. There was definitely something going on underneath it all, and Suzu was sure it had something to do with the woman she had been crying for that first night. Kouko was doing this for her, she was sure of it.
Part of her wished that the black-haired girl would show some kind of sadness at leaving her and Shiena behind. Sure, they could try to keep in touch, but they were teenagers, and assassins at that. They might never see each other again.
She lowered her head a little, ashamed for wishing additional sadness on someone who was already grieving. If Kouko wasn't affected by their parting, at least she wouldn't feel any more pain.
Whoever this Irena-senpai was, Suzu was beginning to feel a bit jealous of her.
"Shutou-san? The lights."
The blue-haired girl jumped and remembered their task. She flipped a switch on the wall beside her, and the basement was bathed in frigid white light. She could now see the boiler room door toward the bottom of the stairwell, and the edge of the door into their "bomb room".
Starting down the stairs, she smiled up at Kouko. "Let's get started, then."
Her roommate followed her down into the basement. Dust rose up in plumes the further they got into the hallway. It hadn't been tended to in a while, meaning that it was highly unlikely anyone would disturb them. Suzu felt more comfortable in the dust anyway.
Kouko set down her box at the foot of the stairs and took from it several squarish bombs with wires poking out. "Here," she said, handing a few to her companion.
Suzu took them and unrolled her map. "Thanks. Let's line the hall with these, about three feet apart from each other. Start with A and go down the hallway, then loop around at the end and come back."
Nodding, Kouko began completing her task like a machine. Suzu followed suit, placing the bombs up against the walls. Shiena had already matched the frequency on each one to its respective detonator. They were labled with letters so that Suzu could pick out the right detonator for each bomb and so Kouko could remember which was which by the alphabetical order.
A plan this perfect has to go wrong. Suzu chuckled to herself. That thought should have made her nervous, but instead it just made her laugh. She knew all too well why.
She was happy now. Right now, the way things were, she was happier than she had been in a while. Both winning and losing would bring an end to that specific happiness, so she found herself not caring which occurred. It was as though she were walking through a haze, knowing what she wanted, but being forced to reach out to something else.
What was it that she really wanted?
She bent over to place another bomb, then realized that there were none left.
"Well," she said, straightening up and stretching her aching back. "We got that done a lot faster than I thought."
"It isn't a particularly complex task," Kouko mumbled. It was the first complete sentence she'd uttered since their meeting earlier. "Now there's just the room left."
"Right."
They stood in the hallway, each waiting for the other to go get the bombs, or move toward the room, or do anything. Instead, they stood in the same place as they had done for years.
Suzu's golden eyes softened. "Once we finish this room, that's it, I suppose."
Her roommate swallowed. "Yes."
If they were agreed on that, there was no reason to hold back. "Kouko-chan," she said, "since we may not see each other again after tomorrow, I'd appreciate it if you'd talk to me."
Biting her lip, Kouko turned away from her and stared into the lifeless gray ceiling. "What is there to say?"
"You could say that you'll miss us," the blue-haired girl suggested, walking up behind her. "Or that you'll do your best to keep in touch. Even if…" her words caught in her throat for a second, but she calmly pushed them out into the stale air.
"…even if you won't."
The black-haired girl didn't respond. She became a statue in the cold light, beautiful and silent.
Then she began to turn slowly, like an old, rusted wheel. As her face came into view, the light glinted off of her glassy eyes.
Suzu gasped. "Kouko-chan…"
Closing her eyes, Kouko allowed her tears to flow freely down her pale cheeks, creating rivers in the desert of her face.
"I will miss you," she said, opening her eyes. "And I will write. I'll try…"
A lump formed in Suzu's throat. "You're crying again."
Kouko's mouth twitched into something like a smile. "So are you."
"Oh." Touching her cheek, the older girl came away with tears. "I am, aren't I?"
She laughed, forcing them out of her eyes. "Can I ask you a question?"
Her roommate lifted her hand to wipe her own eyes, then let it fall. "You don't have anything to lose, do you?"
"No," Suzu admitted, taking a step closer. "But it might be a painful question for you."
"More pain isn't going to make much difference."
Taking a deep breath, Suzu prepared to assault her friend's already injured heart. "On the very first night I came here," she said evenly, "I heard you crying in your sleep."
Kouko's eyes widened.
Putting a hand on her shoulder, Suzu gazed at her her blurry face. "Who is Irena?"
In that instant, Kouko's ever-present mask finally broke.
"Irena-senpai…?" she stammered, fear and pain contorting her expression.
"Yes. You mentioned her when you were crying."
All the blood drained from Kouko's face, and she tried to speak. "S-she was someone very important to me… she raised me like a mother. But…"
She clenched her fist. "But I k… I ki…"
Her face crumbled and she threw her arms around Suzu, burying her face in her black polo. "I killed her!" she cried, digging her fingers into the girl's back. "I didn't mean to! It was just… it was… I…!"
Drawing in a shaky breath, Suzu slid her arms around the girl's back and held her tight. "Shh…"
Kouko sobbed into her until the wave of pain subsided, leaving her dashed on the rocks and struggling to get her bearings.
"It was my first job," she whispered, laying her cheek on the girl's shoulder. "Irena-senpai trained me, and she was there to see me through it. It was a just car bomb. It should have been easy, right?" Her voice grew ever quieter. "I misconnected a wire, and it blew up too early. I got away, and she didn't."
She laughed weakly, holding onto her only source of stability. "I was raised in a church, you know. They taught me to believe in God." Her eyes darkened. "To think I spent years believing in someone who would allow Irena-senpai to die over me. She was talented, kind, and faithful. I make bombs that I can barely use. I make plans that I can't ever execute. I organize everything, only to watch it all fall apart. I can't even say a real goodbye to my friends."
A long sigh escaped her chapped lips. "I'm not good for anything."
After waiting so long in silence, Suzu loosened her embrace to look into the girl's sad blue eyes.
"You're good for me."
Kouko looked back at her. In this ocean of tears, Suzu's eyes were her lighthouse.
"Thank you," she whispered, hugging her again. "Suzu."
Suzu felt her face grow warm, and she embraced her friend more strongly than she had anyone else. Images of her father, her mother, of Takao all flashed in her mind. Afternoons spent playing shogi, warm summer days sitting on a grassy hillside, conversations that still lingered in what seemed like endless memories.
She exhaled slowly, letting them all mingle and dissipate into the air. I will remember the joy, she thought, tears streaming down her face. But I have a new family now. I have you.
"Kouko."
As she said the girl's name, they slowly withdrew from each other. Cold air rushed in to fill the gap between them, but they smiled all the same. As long as they had each other, they could deal with the cold.
"Yes?"
"We should get back to Shiena-chan soon, or she'll worry about us."
Kouko nodded and started for the remaining bombs. Working side by side, they lined the room with explosives all set to go off at the press of a single detonator.
When it was all complete, they stepped back to look at their handiwork. Tomorrow would decide everything. Being as she was, Suzu had little experience in the hands of fate. It was both terrifying and exciting.
Her roommate's tears had begun to dry, and her usual coolness was slowly returning. "That's all, then," she said, trying to be matter-of-fact but unable to disguise the melancholy in her voice. "Let's do our best tomorrow."
Overcome by her own emotions, Suzu pecked her cheek. "Yes."
The black-haired girl blushed and spun around on her heel to hide it. "We should get back to the dorm now."
Smiling, Suzu wiped her eyes and followed her up the stairs, turning off the basement light and plunging the hallway into darkness once more.
Even if they never met again, she was sure that what had happened that night would remain with them forever.
I hope the writing is okay, I kind of rushed on it because I really wanted to get another chapter out. If anyone has any suggestions to improve the writing, please let me know!