You know what's irritating? when Fanfiction is suddenly blocked just as you finish another chapter of a saga. :/ anyway, here's another chapter. It's a little wordy, but some things are explained and whatnot...
Today, Hotarou knew, was going to be difficult. He had left many things, including the Hyouka Volume 1 at Isa's home. And it was too late to return now. Not only this, but there was some business he needed to handle on the ship, some cleaning, if you will.
As he had swept up into the ship the first person he sought out was Satoshi. When he had called out to Satoshi, the lanky boy had turned as white as a sheet as if he had seen a ghost, then suddenly broke into a wide grin as Hotaoru moved closer.
"Hotarou, honey, you're back!"
"Shut up! Have you no shame?" Hotarou stopped in his tracks as Satoshi bounded up to him and tried to wrap his arms around his neck. He dodged the reach with ease and pushed him away with one hand. "Where's Shun?"
Satoshi shrugged. "Somewhere around the ship."
Hotarou's glanced dashed around as if he expected him to be listening into their conversation right now. "Satoshi hear me out…privately." At this point, the girls had filed in after Hotarou and were listening expectantly. He led Satoshi to a further part in the ship and the girl remained where they were.
Now Mayaka was seething and inwardly yelling, After this long he comes back and doesn't even greet us?! What does he think we are? Spare luggage? Our lives are in danger because of him and he doesn't even say a reassuring word to us when he gets back! Ugh…! Irisu and Eru were simply glad to have him back, it felt to them as if the father had returned to the house, and now that he had resumed his place, everything was going to be alright.
Satoshi and Hotarou were gone for a long time during which the girls informed Loki that he had returned with additional comments which he quietly, and with his usual smile, heard out. "I'm glad he is back safe," he said after the deluge. "We should have a special meal to commemorate this!" The girls heartily agreed, and Eru and Mayaka headed back to the kitchen immediately, leaving Irisu and Loki alone in the living room.
"He is back," Irisu said formally, with a sly glance over at the other as if implying something.
If Loki took notice of her implication, he didn't show it, but, still smiling, replied, "Yes. Now he can resume his natural leadership duties." Irisu caught her breath shortly, surprised that he seemed so willing to give up his headship. "I thought," he continued, "That he wasn't coming back. I don't know what we would have done…perhaps the best option would have been returning to Dione…"
Irisu's eye's narrowed. "Why would you suggest going back? Isn't that what we're running from, being trapped there in mediocrity?"
He stroked his chin, which had a few sparse hairs, thoughtfully. "Well without him leading this…rebellion, shall we say? There wouldn't be a reason to keep going, or even to stay on Earth anymore. I've never been outside of Earth, but I'm sure it's more comfortable on other moons rather than here. But I would really miss Chitanda."
"You wouldn't come with us?"
"Why should I? There are plenty of other men that she could find that would be better than me. No, I would just stay here on Earth and miss her."
He seemed genuinely upset at the prospect of leaving Eru, and, in a way, she wanted Eru to have him. That could leave Hotarou to her.
"Even now," he continued, "There's no point for me to go with you all. I was most likely just a nice toy for Eru to play with while on Earth. I'm afraid I haven't been much help."
Irisu suddenly found herself wrapped up in his words, spoken in a soothing, mournful tone. "You have been a help," she said discreetly. "With those headaches Eru and I have been worried with and those pills you got that really cure it quickly." Her brain snapped back to the thought of him controlling and running the ship when, by all means, the original members of the ship should have been in control. She kept her gaze guarded and, as if by natural response, took up a fan that had been laying on the table from where she had placed it earlier, drew it through her hand then snapped it open. The design was certainly one from the rich folks, elaborate with gold veins and rich violet and crimson dyes.
An unrecognizable look passed over Loki's face so quickly that it could have been missed save for Isiru's quick eye. The tension thickened, so Loki let his guard down. "I know of your…distaste for me," he cooed glancing at her fan and propping one hand on his hip. "I shouldn't have stepped up like I did when Oreki-sa…Oreki was gone. I should have left it to an intelligent woman, such as yourself. I am but a temporary guest on this ship." His polite manner of speaking, like that of the upper-class, caught Irisu off-guard but did little to unnerve her. "I am sorry that I couldn't have done more. I will leave before you all move on to your next destination."
Irisu thought about this but recalled that he was the only one who knew where to get the small pills for what caused her and Eru's frequent headaches. She wondered what was causing them, the two of them never had any problems with headaches before they came to Earth and Satoshi and Mayaka never had problems with them at any time. "No. It would be good, perhaps, if you stayed. Eru enjoys your company and you know things that the rest of us don't know." He can't be that bad if he's trying to help and stay out of our way like he's saying.
Loki shook his head. "I shouldn't intrude any longer. I should begin packing, Oreki will want me off of this ship sooner rather than later. There is still some unrest from the attack from the Organization. And I'm sure you don't feel very trusting of me after such an event happening so quickly after I joined." He turned and began to walk back to his temporary living quarters. While what he said was true, she hated to admit it so she called him back. He turned on his heel and looked at her expectantly.
"Stay…please." Was all she could think to say—she still didn't fully trust him, but with everything he had done there wasn't a single reason not to trust him. With her fan fully opened she clasped her hands together and gave him a small look of apology. He returned the look with a faint smile.
"I'm glad that I have your wish to stay, but let's see what our fair Capitan would say." And he turned the corner and vanished down the hall.
Hotarou soon reappeared, followed by Satoshi and was greeted by the warm smells of a good meal. He walked into the dinning hall and kitchen area and scanned the bedecked tabletop.
"We found things to decorate the table!" Eru said as she sat a saucer of gravy on the table. "We decided it would make the ship feel homier."
"It just takes away from the space…" he muttered to himself but turned to investigate a large basket containing freshly-baked bread.
Having taken the bread, he was reaching to grab some meat off of a plate he felt a sudden sharp pressure in the back of his head. It was such a sudden and overwhelming pain that he dropped what he had in his hand and recoiled quickly, moving his hands to the back of his head. Eru was up and by his side in an instant. "Oreki! What is it? Is it one of those headaches?"
"Those headaches?" He squeezed his eyes closed to try and relieve some of the pounding from the back of his head. From that one sensation, he had lost his appetite even having not eaten since an early breakfast.
"Yes! Irisu and I have had horrible headaches recently. We tried everything to fix them then Loki went out and bought us some medicine that stops them right away!" She turned to Loki who had a worried expression on his face. "Loki! The medicine—"
"No!" Hotarou said gruffly. "I'm fine." He stood in a wobbly way, bracing himself against the wall of the ship, and made his way with slow, small steps back toward his room, Eru following closely. The whole room fell silent as they left and even as Eru returned. After the quiet meal Mayaka and Eru cleared the dishes. Eru made up a small plate to take to Hotarou and asked Loki for one of his "magic pills."
Hotarou lay in his bed, unable to find a comfortable position or even fall asleep because of his headache. He could hardly concentrate to think of what even happened. Eru softly entered the room and set his food on the table he also noticed her place a small, grey-blue pill next to it. He watched her, every movement seemed a blur. Suddenly he felt a hand on his cheek. He turned bright red and looked up to see Eru with a very worried expression.
"Hotarou, please eat. I'm so sorry about your headache, but truly, taking this pill will make you feel better, I promise." She pushed the hair back from his forehead. "You seem to be getting a fever too! You need your rest if you're getting sick. And if you need anything, please ask, okay?" He grunted with embarrassment then moved his arm to cover his eyes. He heard her light step recede and the door close behind her. He relaxed a little and took a deep breath. The thought of food made him sick and he was tempted to take the medicine—but the thought that it was Loki who provided it made him worry about it. Something is causing these headaches…it's not natural to have as many as it sounds like they're having and I bet Loki's behind it. I need to get him away from the others, but if I send him away for no reason I'll be at fault especially if the headaches are something that he isn't causing. He was tired of this day and just wanted it to end. Losing everything that he had gathered in his jet and the Hyouka volume, now this whole headache business and dealing with Loki who was obviously up to something, he wanted to be rid of it! This was the kind of thing he was running away from, so why does it keep coming back?!
He balled his fist and hit the wall in frustration. He was going to deal with everything tomorrow and have an end to it.
Deep into the night however, he still couldn't sleep. His headache had faded for the most part so he decided that he would try to read a bit, the book he had gotten from the library on Dione was something he had purposely packed so he still had it with him, it was just on the jet which he had pulled into the hanger at the back of the ship. He stood and let his brain get its bearings then moved quietly out of his room and down the dark hallways. The glow from the watch was all he had to go on. I really should have installed a flashlight on this…he thought as he stubbed his toe for the second time on the wall.
He stepped around the corner to see that there was a light coming from a crack underneath the entrance to the hanger. He paced over to the door. This door, he knew, made a loud sucking sound when it opened so anyone inside would immediately know if someone was coming in. He didn't know if the person on the inside was someone he wouldn't mind seeing or someone, specifically Loki, which he wanted to avoid. In addition, what were they doing up this late at night? He took a deep breath but just as he was about to enter he saw a strange flicker of light. He wondered about this so he took hold of the handle and pulled back without hesitation.
He looked to see Eru staring at a hologram that was glowing purple. She was startled at his entrance, but her surprise was replaced by relief as she saw Hotarou.
"What are you doing up this late?" he asked walking down the steps, acutely aware of the echo that came from his voice and step.
"Are you feeling better?" Eru countered.
"Fine," he answered begrudgingly. "What's that?"
"I found it in your jet. I was up because you forgot to unload your jet so I decided that I should do it because you weren't feeling well." He walked over and crouched down beside where she sat, legs folded neatly under her on a mat just like her wealthy upbringing had taught her. "I found this as I was unloading. I didn't really mean for it to open like this, I guess I was being nosey…"
Hotarou shrugged off any irritation he had. "How did you open it?"
"I don't know. I ran my hand along inside then it shocked me and recognized me by name. Then it opened."
Hotarou wondered how many other people could also open this box. The screen was just the same as his, only purple instead of greenish-blue. Eru look at Hotarou as if to make sure she could look through it. Though he said nothing and did nothing, she took this as confirmation and so she selected the screen. The title she selected was called "Egg Custard Tart." A voice and a picture of the food, a dessert with a thin crust and yellow filling, appeared on the screen.
A voice spoke in a language they had never heard before so Eru reached up to the screen to see if she could adjust the language. It said the current language was Cantonese so she selected Japanese instead. "This sweet is served fresh out of the oven…" it began in Japanese subtitles but still in the same language. Hotarou sighed, this is just a cooking-hologram nothing important…I should have known.
"I am glad to have you all for this learning lesson!" the voice carried on pleasantly. "First, ya must rid yourself of any identification in connection with them." Hotarou began to pay attention. "This is what I did: I took ev'ry piece o' technology and got rid of it. Watches, letter-grams, clocks, phones, whatever. Now if ya were like me back then, you'd hate leavin' everyth'n, but it's real worth it if only to be home free. Ya see…in most ev'ry piece of tech ya have there's a some type of tracker. Whas worse is when yer born rich like some unfortunate folk then ya don't have a choice as ta if ya have tech 'r not."
"I wonder what he means?" Eru thought aloud; Hotarou ignored her comment and continued to watch.
"What I mean ta say 's that they have this piece of hardware put in the back of th'r heads. Real useful to folks in the Org who tend ta come 'round. I can't tell all the details, thas why ya should check out Pavlova. She's a doc who werked fer the rich'ins so she know all about 'em. She's fr'm a Ne' Zeal'nd heritage—real smart too. 'Nd case ya were wonderin', I'm from a Hong Kong heritage. B'th my parents were fr'm the Hong Kong region and I was born in th' Hong Kong region on Jupiter. We didn't have money fer much of anything and we didn' really think past the current day but th'n sumthin' struck me as wrong. I couldn' put a finger on it and thas when Sekitani comes along. I met him working at my job and he asked if I ever wanted anythin' more out o' life. It's like he could see sumthin' in me that wanted more. So I said yes and he began to explain things to me.
"My eyes were opened ta what I had been trained ne'r ta know. We were slaves and as such we ought ta want freedom. He tol' me that he was gatherin' a group ta leave and that I should join with my parents. My parent's didn' list'n so I went with 'im. There was so many p'ple in that place I couldn' un'erstan'. They all though' the same thing as I did ev'n some were rich and others poor and some real poor like me. Sekitani tol' all us that we'd be leaving un'er his sup'rvision, but only lil' by lil'. If we'd all left at once we'd be spotted plus it give us some time to really think our choice through. After that, I heard of many p'ple diss'pearin'. Wheth'r t'was Sekitani's doin' or the Org's I'll nev'r know. From there…"
Suddenly Hotarou's hand reached up and pressed back on the menu. Eru looked at him with surprise. "I couldn't take much more."
"But Oreki, wasn't it interesting?"
"Somewhat, but not enough to keep me listening," he replied sitting and crossing his legs underneath him. "But he mentioned something about a chip being inserted into the rich folk's heads. I think…that might be why we're having the headaches."
"Why do you say that?" Eru asked.
"Let's watch the Pavlova one and see what she says," Hotarou directed pointing to it on the screen.
"Good afternoon," said a modulated English voice with a slight accent. The subtitles started just as she spoke as well. "Today we'll be making Pavlova. Some interesting history on Pavlova is that it originated in the quaint country of New Zealand in the 1920s. It is said to have been named after the Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova who was on tour in Australia and New Zealand. Similar to this is the fact that New Zealand and Australia were some of the last countries to be evacuated in the Space Exodus and even now there still may be people living in those countries.
"Speaking of the Exodus, you may have noticed the oppression of our governmental entity. This has caused many to try to escape, but more often than not, they are caught and disappear without explanation. One way they may find you is through the process of 'Chip Tracking.' This only happens to the rich; the poor have another system of tracking called 'The Lemming Effect.' See 'Pudding' to learn more about this.
"Now 'Chip Tracking' is exactly as it sounds. A microchip, inserted at the nape of the neck, is used to track the rich. The rich folk, as many may realize, are much more free-thinking than the poor which is why there is a necessity of the chip. I know that every rich child born has one, at least, any that was born at the hands of a doctor—which most, if not all are. It is a painless process, similar to chipping you canine or feline companion. This chip, not only tracks, but also performs other tasks. If a person of high society decides to go out on a limb and try to escape to another planet, say, and a field agent is sent out to apprehend said person, they can hold a remote that can shock, fully electrocute, and potentially control said person. Controlling is only for those chips in those who come from potentially daring parents who might teach their children to look for something better in life, they are expensive and tedious to make, so very few are made. If Jun's student is watching this, you have one of these chips."
Hotarou felt an icy chill run up his spine and prick the back of his neck. Eru looked at him with a sympathetic expression which Hotarou disliked.
"Taking control of another person's movement is very difficult, though. Agents only use it as a last resort. I, myself, have never seen it used on anyone, but I am sure it is a particularly gruesome sight.
"To continue, receiving a shock is strong enough to give headaches because the electrical impulses in the brain are thrown into confusion. There are two resolutions for these headaches—1. Acupuncture and muscle stimulation. 2. Pills, frequently known as 'Libére le Cerveau de' or 'to Free the Brain of' but rather than freeing the brain, it begins to make the person more obedient to the distributor. How is this? You may ask. The chemical mixture inside of each set of pills varies from another, and while the basic ingredients are the same, inside the capsule is a certain addition of the agent's DNA resides. It becomes a subtle message to the brain that indicates that a person is trustworthy or even loveable. This can even be further enforced if media is involved. If a subject is given this capsule repeatedly and also shown television, specially manipulated by the Organization, the pill's effect is stronger and longer lasting. Free-will, however, is something that, no matter how much exposure to television and these pills there may be, cannot be blot out. The effect is not strong enough to make a person whole-heartedly committed to someone, the rest is up to the mind of the person and whatever image they have of them, whether respect, loyalty, or even love.
"I hope you have found this tutorial on Pavlova helpful and very tasty!" The screen flashed back to the main menu and the two sat, digesting everything that had been said.
In a swift movement Eru took Hotarou's hand in hers and started meaningfully into his eyes, a motion which made him feel very uncomfortable. "Oreki. I understand now. We must get rid of Loki. He is a trickster who has been trying to win us over. Irisu has been warning me of him for a long time and now I see that he must leave."
I wish you had realized this before! Hotarou grumbled inwardly. "But I thought you liked him because he saved you," he retorted lowering his brows and averting his eyes from her's.
"I did then, but I trust my uncle with this and that doctor who explained the cause of my headache," she gripped his hand a little tighter and moved even closer to his face. "Oreki I am too worried about you and Irisu and everyone else to let this go on anymore. He must leave."
Hotarou was about to reply when he recalled what she said, "Your uncle?"
"Yes, Sekitani Jun." Eru sat back.
"So that explains it…" Hotarou said turning away and resting his shin on his hand.
"Explains what?" Eru looked at him with the curious glint in her eye beginning to shine.
"The video my sister gave to me. There was a baby who looked exactly like you and then there was me and my sister and my teacher…but my teacher is the same as your uncle."
"My uncle always mentioned having a smart apprentice that he wanted me to meet in the recordings he left," Eru added. "I suppose…that is you, Oreki." Hotarou and Eru's eyes met and a blush dashed across their faces. "So that means that we grew up together. But how did we get separated? When I saw you for the first, or rather, when we met at the tavern, you looked familiar but I didn't actually know who you were."
"When my parents disappeared, I was put in an orphanage," he explained logically. "You were very young and I doubt that my parents disappearing happened too long after the video I saw was recorded. We hardly knew each other so we can expect that we wouldn't remember each other when we met at Akachōchin."
"Why did your parents disappear?" Eru asked softly.
"They were always pushing their limits with things they could and couldn't do. My father loved to collect old forms of money and my mother loved collecting jewelry and big gems. They always taught me that the Organization couldn't be trusted and when my sis was kidnapped, they even said that it was for the better and were glad about it. They made a lot of preparations to try and escape the system but they vanished one morning and in their place at the kitchen table sat that woman."
"Oreki I—"
The door made a sucking sound behind them and they both turned to see Irisu, looking like she had just woken up and thrown on a robe as quickly as possible to find them.
"Irisu what's wrong?" Eru asked with a startled, but concerned look.
"I remember where I've seen Shun from!" she whispered with force behind her voice.
Hotarou and Eru looked at each other then signaled for her to continue. She walked down the stairs and tried to make herself look slightly more presentable even as she talked. "Years ago, my father had horrible headaches that made him physically ill. He said that every time he went on an outing with his friends he would come home with a migraine headache, and often times he didn't even greet us he just went up to his room and never came out. Then one day he came home with a young man with very light hair. He frankly looked lower-class with because he had dark skin as well, but he said that he came from a European-dominant moon (and that being tan was in-style) and he called himself Eiven at the time but he always liked to play tricks on my father so we called him 'Loki.' Father said that he could cure his headaches with a single pill and that, because of this huge find, he would be part of our family. We watched television, especially sports games, with him over and ate with him and anytime father had one of his migraines, Shun would give him a pill and it would be gone instantly. Then one day Father told us that Shun had to leave because his time on Dione was over. Shun assured him that he if he kept taking the pills as necessary then he would never have a migraine again. Even as he left, Father rarely had such intense headaches after that."
"This confirms it…" Hotarou said, tugging on a piece of hair. He stood and looked at the girls who returned his look with bewilderment. "Let's go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a busy day." Without another word he turned and paced toward the door, followed by the two girls. Irisu looked at Eru with a puzzled expression to which Eru responded that she would explain later.
The next morning, life felt somewhat unstable to the crew, they sensed that something was very different from normal. Hotarou hated to make announcements so after breakfast he pulled Loki aside to the hanger on the ship. Irisu, having had everything explained to her in a rushed manner, and Eru understood what Hotarou was going to do. Mayaka and Satoshi were left to 'sensing the mood' to realize the situation.
"Oreki…I knew this was coming," Loki said with a sigh. "I know that I'm going to be booted from the ship. You and the girls decided that last night, right?"
"Quit putting on an act," Hotaoru grumbled. "I know what you are."
"Do you?" Loki's innocent appearance suddenly changed into a powerful energy that oozed authority. "Do you really know who I am?"
Hotarou suddenly felt a little unsure, but continued, "You're an Organization agent. I have plenty of evidence to prove that."
"So you know what authority I have over you? I can control you with the snap of my fingers." He snapped his fingers for emphasis. His complete demeanor change in an instant indicated to Hotarou that he may have underestimated his opponent and that asking him to 'quit his act' may have been a dangerous suggestion. "You know that I can control what you are doing because of that chip in your head. I have been specially trained for people like you—specifically for you. Don't you feel special? I know everything about you and I know your every move; every trick you think you have."
"There's no possible way you know everything about someone," Hotaoru replied firmly. "Everyone finds out new things about themselves all the time. So you can't possibly know everything."
"Right, right! But I know what you're going to do." He hissed with a drip of venom. "I know what plans you have already made. For example I know that as soon as you are done with me here, you will take the ship to a certain asteroid 2017 KP18 to find a third object your parents left for you to find. You found your second object in the mountains of late Chile-Argentina. It is a hologram disguised to look like a cooking-gram called 'Hyouka' or 'Ice Cream'. Your first package was found on Mars outside of the domes and contained maps, instructions, and some old money and jewelry left behind by your parents…"
Loki continued but at his mention of Hyouka, Hotarou began to realize what it meant. Ice…cream…Ice cream... I see! But it doesn't matter now, I need to get him away.
"Oreki!" Loki's sharp tone suddenly called him back. "If you're thinking about something, do share it with me! As the person who knows you very personally I do think it's my duty to even know your inmost thoughts." He gestured grandly and Hotarou had the immediate mental image of one of those grandiose mastermind villains. He stepped over to Hotarou and placed a hand on his shoulder. "After all, I will know it shortly anyway." Hotaoru shrugged his shoulder to remove the hand and began to search his mind for a plan. If I act wrong then he can use the chip against me, but if I don't get a move on I'll…
"Well, goodbye for now Oreki," the door to the hanger suddenly opened with a loud noise and surprised Hotarou. Loki took a short step back and held up two fingers with a partial salute. "I'll be seeing you again soon!"
It looked as if he were going to turn away, but with a single swift motion he had Hotarou by the collar. With a shrewd smile on his face, but his force of will over-powering Hotarou, he cooed, "Hotarou, don't underestimate me." He released his collar and disappeared. Hotarou, stunned in many ways, moved slowly over to look outside. His mouth gaped a little as he saw a large jet hovering over his own ship. It was silent except for a low hum that it emitted. There was a ladder dangling down from it and on that ladder was Loki. He waved as if Hotarou were his good friend that he was leaving behind to go on a journey. "Good luck, Oreki Hotarou! Say 'hi' to your sister for me and say goodbye to Eru and Irisu!"