Wednesday, 11/16
"Ren," said the lopsided llama in a voice that sounded strangely like a teenage male. "Ren, you have to wake up."
Wake up? How can I wake up when we haven't finished our fight yet?!
The llama shrugged. "Wake the Hell up, Ren. Your bread's on the auction block!"
In a flash of morning orange light, the llama vanished into the bottom of the desk Ren slept under. He rubbed the sleep behind his eyes and saved it for later—a nap would be an afternoon spent right. "Wha…" He yawned. "What'd ya say…?"
Tamotsu's hand dug into his shoulder and pressured him to get moving. "They're selling your bread!" His other hand pointed across the room at exactly what Ren expected, slow as his mind was in the morning. Ozaki and Akio split the loaf between their desks while their disciples split up in lines.
"A thousand yen!"
"Two-thousand!"
"Two-thousand-one!"
A Flu-Season Odyssey.
Ren yawned again and brushed Tamotsu's hand off. There were no more urgent calls to get up, but Ren sensed Tamotsu's confusion—there was the expectation to do something about it.
If they're willing to buy it, why should I stop them? Storming over there and cutting the line to tell Ozaki that he's wrong would be me doing the same as him—there's no principle I have that wants me to go over there, my only reason would be to oppose Ozaki.
"Ann," Ren said, turning to his left to see Ann in a similar situation to him but further out of her element. "Ann," he repeated as she got the same awakening he did. "Ozaki's selling our bread and I don't know what to do about it."
Ann's pillow absorbed a groan. She rolled away from Ren because what reasonable person wanted a conversation like that to start their day? "Ugh… Why do I need to know?"
"Because I'm lazy and indecisive, and I don't want this to be my problem. Make it yours, please?"
More groaning. "Ugh…"
"Look, just tell me what to do, I'll shut up, and you go back to sleep. Easy, right?"
"Sitting back and watching isn't very GRAVY-esque, is it?"
She knows me too well. How can I not take action if my throne is being challenged?
So, with Ann's inspiring words, Ren shook the sleep from his limbs and got up. Tamotsu patted him on the back to send him off rather than helping—the guy could not keep his hands to himself. Ren wondered how far Tamotsu would get in life if that stayed as a habit.
Seconds later, he was there: 2-D's last place of calm. The lines for bread were tight and orderly, no two people sharing a spot in line or edging forward to take another's place. Patiently, they waited for their first meal, or first bite of food, in what must've been a day for the underprepared.
Would I be in this line if my bag didn't happen to be stuffed with bread?
Before he could raise a finger, say a word, or recover his breath from getting up so quickly, Ren heard it.
A cough.
It came from somewhere ahead of him. Or maybe it was in the back corner. Maybe he imagined it. Its source didn't matter—its existence did.
Coughs have been rare since my trial. If you're not sick, you're probably able to hold back the urge to cough. If someone's white blood cells are at war, that cough is getting out.
Yet this only mattered to Ren. The cough did nothing to the stiff lines for bread, nor did it incite gasps or chatter. 2-D's students had lost their will to panic. Things weren't as they seemed on the formerly unsick side of the room, that was clear. Ren didn't need to find the cougher, he didn't care. He needed an audience. "Ozaki-san!" The lines parted to show disgusted faces for the person they knew to be sick, showing their hypocrisy.
No shits given about a cough or Ozaki's sneeze, but I'm the problem because I'm "sick." I love this school.
"Ren? We've already traded and—"
"You're taking advantage of everyone. You wanted that bread to make money while you keep the key to yourself to starve us."
"That's a baseless accusation that—"
"Oh shut the fuck up already!" Ren snatched the bread from across Ozaki's merchant desk and mindlessly tossed it, getting a thump from the wall to break the silence of the classroom. "Don't pretend like—"
To Ren's great surprise, the wall fought back. The same loaf he threw came back and hit him in the face. Unless the laws of physics had changed since he'd gone to bed the night before, the loaf needed an arm to launch it. He looked right to see Akio roll over beneath a desk, trying to get back to sleep after being hit by the stray loaf.
Next to him was a bag opened a few inches, just enough for Ren to see the contents. He wasn't the only one prepared for the lockdown—Akio had a pile of white boxes within his bag, and Ren recognized the logo on each box.
Blufor Pharmacy.
Whoever it was that coughed would need a thick wallet—and so did everyone else—when Akio and Ozaki inevitably started selling their medicine. They planned for the lockdown to continue long enough for them to pay their way into university two years in advance.
It was hard for Ren to find a reason to stay quiet. He woke up that morning to laziness, to apathy. What he saw lit a fire that made it agonizing to stand still—the classroom had to burn before that cold medicine got to the auction block.
"Cat got your tongue? Maybe you left your words in the dump you came from?"
"No, no… Just having an epiphany."
"Well, you're blocking the line. Step out the way, please."
"The key's in your pocket, isn't it?"
"Say what?"
"You're keeping us in here to get sick enough that we buy your medicine—we just happened to get hungry first."
"Hah!" Ozaki looked at the student standing next to Ren in line. "Hearing this conspiracy theory?" The student shrugged, their body too sore from the initial stages of the flu, though this was just an assumption on Ren's part. Perhaps they didn't care as he had when he woke up that morning.
"I'll prove it." Ren crossed his arms. "If you're so confident, let's have another trial."
"You're on, Amamiya, and your bullshit won't hold up in court."
"Now…" said the judge over the quieting class. "Order is ours and the trial is ready to begin. The defense may open when they wish to."
Ren stood up from the same desk he had when he was on trial, this time with a team of lawyers (outcast classmates) sitting behind him. "Your honor, I recall the prosecution beginning the last trial held in this classroom. Should we forgo judicial tradition so hastily?"
The judge sneered. "Sounds like you've done some reading since the last trial."
"And it seems that you're still deaf."
"Excuse me?"
"I said that a court never had a fairer ref."
"Uh-huh…" The judge gave the moment away and waved Ozaki's words forth. "Let's just get this over with. Defense, please begin."
"Ladies and gentlemen of 2-D, I stand before you with a target on my back." As if the class was too stupid to know their body parts, Ozaki turned around and pointed to his back. Ren wished Ozaki had gone through the embarrassingly laborious process of drawing an X on his back, but he had no such humorous luck. "Our fellow student seeks to destroy the trusting relationships we have and to make me an enemy. Have I not been friendly? Have my bread deals not benefited us all?"
"Objection—Ozaki's deals benefit only the privileged students of the class and—"
The judge, already annoyed, rested his chin in his hand. "Sit down, Amamiya. It's an opening statement."
Ozaki shot a smirk across the room. "I've been a better friend to this class than Amamiya has. Think of his lies, his disrespect for us and our sensei, and the sickness he brought into this room. How could he accuse me of having the key?" Ozaki didn't thank the class for listening; he just sat down and let Ren start.
I was gonna bitch and ramble for a bit and hope it would be good enough for an opening statement, but fuck that. The trial starts now.
"From my perspective, it's not an accusation. I guess it is for everyone else, so that's why we're having a trial." Ren wanted to slap himself for starting with an accidental 'No Shit' moment, but that would hurt his case. "I don't want to waste time—I want to win this, get the key, and get us all out of here. We have the same goal, don't we? What I need is for you all to be patient with me—don't jump to conclusions when Ozaki's shaking your hand. Let me—"
"Objection! The prosecution is doing a poor job of representing me. I don't shake hands, I do fist bumps."
"Granted." The judge turned to the miserable student tasked with recording the trial for the history books. "Strike that, would you?"
"Well, uh…" The interruption threw off his rhythm and his words were whittled into jagged things that he couldn't make it out. All he could do was remember what was next. "I'd like to call my first witness."
"Go ahead."
"Akio, take the stand." Ren surprised himself. Akio's entrance went without any hitches or hangups, with him sitting at the desk next to the judge rather quickly. No objections from Ozaki, either. "Tell us what you've been up to since this class went into lockdown."
"I've been initiating my venture into pocket accessory reselling and expanding my portfolio to—"
"How about one word that sums all that up?"
"Entrepreneurship."
"And what's your latest business interest, Akio the Entrepreneur?"
"Why, the phones!" he said with a massive grin on his face. Ren hoped Hell left Akio with an eternal punishment of permanent broccoli in his teeth so he never wanted to smile again.
"You're sure? No other products you're in the planning phase for?"
"None come to mind."
"And you're a solo entrepreneur? It's bad for your wallet if you're splitting the cash?"
"That's right, no partners in my business."
"Akio, could you tell us what's in your bag?"
"Pencils, papers, a right to privacy…"
"Given that we've all been pissing out a window for the past few days, I think we've waived that right, no?" There were a few too many genuine nods for what was a joke, but Ren didn't hesitate. He turned around and faced his counsel, waving his hand to load the first bullet. Tamotsu handed him the bag he so stealthily procured during the trial's arrangement. "Let's see those pencils and papers, hm?"
"Objection! This is a—"
"Denied. Sit down, Ozaki-san."
Ren rummaged and dug, but his hand could not find the medicine he had seen earlier. He knew it was the same black bag, it even had Akio's initials embroidered. Not even the side pockets hid what Ren had seen earlier that morning. Akio was smart enough to hide the evidence even when he didn't know his bag would be swiped.
Luckily, that wasn't what he was looking for.
His hand maneuvered a thin strip of paper out of the corner of the bag, flicking it out into the air proudly as if he expected gasps and applause. Sadly, the fine print could only be read from so far.
"Explain the paper, Amamiya," the judge said.
"This is a receipt!" Ren declared. "Is this your receipt, Akio? It's in your bag…"
"N-no, never seen it before…"
"You're right, it's not yours." Ren turned the receipt around and held it up to his own eye to make sure the record was correct. "It's a Blufor Pharmacy receipt with Ozaki's name on it." The gasps gave Ren new life and encouraged him to play his new part as the people's lawyer. His eyes shot across the room at his enemy. "You spent a lot of money on flu medicine, Ozaki-san. Prices will have to be high for you to get your money back…"
"Th-this is a-a… Forgery! Yes, it's a forgery! In your years of murder and crime, you learned that skill and—"
"Silence, Ozaki-san. The prosecution still has the floor."
Ozaki pouted and obeyed, giving Ren more reason to smile as the case swung in his favor. "Thank you, your honor." Ren set the receipt on the desk and gave his attention back to Akio, now tugging the neck hole of his shirt open for air to cool his reddening face. "A solo entrepreneur with Ozaki's receipts in his possession… Tsk, tsk. Is he an investor? A partner, maybe?"
"Ozaki and I aren't—"
"He's getting some of the money you earned selling phones, isn't he?"
"Wh-what?!"
"He hides the key, gives you an opportunity to earn some money in exchange for a cut of your profits, then he provides you with flu medicine for when everyone gets sick and desperate." Ren shrugged and looked at the bystander students. "It's making a frustrating amount of sense, isn't it?"
It may have been Akio's turn at the witness stand, but Ren had no plans to let him speak. He was useless beyond being a face for Ren to make statements at. "You're not say—"
"Thank you, Akio. No further questions."
Ann's days blended together. Three days in 2-D felt more like one continuous theater production where she couldn't leave her seat for the bathroom, food bar, or to escape the awful performance out the doors of the building. It wasn't a comfortable seat either.
So when a second class trial was initiated, she shrank from the absurdity and did the mental equivalent of twiddling her thumbs. She thought of everything but the trail occurring in front of her because it didn't matter—she knew what the result would be. Ren was not favored by the class no matter how much of a point he had, or how agreeable his interests were.
Also… Why do we have to sit through this shit? Ozaki obviously has the key—just charge him and get it over with, she thought. Sitting with Tamotsu and Setsuo behind Ren gave her a great view of the trial but she rejected it. The past three days were a waste of her time. I missed a meeting with an agent for this! Not to mention the serious apology Ryuji pledged to give her for being sick on her birthday, though she understood that it was no fault of his. She just wanted to see him again and to go home for a long nap in a real bed.
As for Ren, his dedication to Makoto was questionable for putting up with the bullshit for so long.
"The defense has the floor," said the judge when Ozaki stood up and Ren sat down. The energy was different from the last trial—no one shot daggers at Ren or lavished Ozaki with smiles. Instead, there were no reactions. The students watched and listened patiently like reasonable people.
"Thanks, your honor. I'll start my counter by reminding you all of something important." Ozaki put his hands up and widened them as if to say his point was so grand that nobody could disagree. "Ren… Amamiya!" Ren scoffed and drew a few eyes. "That is the man, the threat, that is challenging me today. Remember that when you listen to his lies, consider his intent before you believe him. What purpose is served by taking me down to his level?"
Ren didn't wait for the judge's permission. "The purpose of getting the fuck outta here." There were laughs and smiles—Ozaki wasn't helping himself.
"No, Amamiya-san. You've had it out for me since day one. You saw me as a rival, you hated me and the rest of the volleyball team… And you destroyed what made Shujin Academy a prestige school because of it." Ozaki left his desk and took a lawyer's walk around the room. After all, the most important part of winning the case was appealing to the people. "Before Amamiya, volleyball was the lifeblood of this school. Now, it's a mental institution—scraps of people left behind by Maruki's counseling. No scholarships were awarded for Shujin athletes this year and we've had nothing but horrible press coverage."
Rightfully so, Ann thought. The case held her attention not because she cared, but because she hated everything Ozaki said. Anyone who missed the old Shujin belonged with Kamoshida in prison, rotting until the end of their days.
"Think of how your relatives visited this year… 'What's that school you go to? Shujin? Isn't it chock full of rapists and abusers?' Think of the judgemental stares from your grandparents and how they look down on you for going here." Ozaki stopped at one student and looked her in the eye. "Who do we have to blame for that?"
Ann watched Ren from behind. There was no eye contact or facial expression, only the twitching of his shoulders and his hands wiping sweat on his pants beneath the desk. His head couldn't move as it stayed locked on Ozaki's path.
"Amamiya?"
"Yes, Amamiya! His hatred of the volleyball team and his reckless, violent nature changed this school into the dirty word said at family dinner. He's turned athletes into crazies, teachers into buffoons, and storied testing traditions into bullshit, easy-to-cheat nonsense! Does anyone really think he could top our exam scores?!" Ozaki left the student and continued moving, getting up close and personal with each new student along the way. He would've kissed babies and done photo ops if he could've—his campaign sought the will of the people.
Ren wiped more sweat and his legs crossed and uncrossed beneath the desk. Ann wondered what gears were turning in his head and what he wanted to do. She wished she could pull him aside and calm him down, stop him from doing anything reckless, but that would derail the trial and diminish Ren's chances of winning.
"I'm stuck as the defendant because Amamiya is threatened by me. As the last member of the volleyball team who isn't a shell of himself, he wants me gone." Ozaki stopped. He raised one finger in the air. "To that, I say 'Fuck off! Take your brainwashing elsewhere and don't blame others for taking the key when you are the real thief!'" That finger found Ren alongside cheers and applause for the rousing statement. Ozaki switched the momentum with just a few fighting words and took the power away from Ren. Unless he followed it up with something just as compelling, the trial was over.
Ren didn't explode out of his seat or showcase any eagerness to retort. He stayed in his chair, arms comfortably draped over the back to stretch his shoulder blades out. His head didn't point at Ozaki but at the judge.
"Can I just search him for the key? No more arguing, no more lies—let's just check him and be done with it. This 'Amamiya vs. Volleyball' thing is all bullshit to distract us from getting out of here, thus getting everyone sicker." When the judge stayed silent, staring back with the expectation of more effort from Ren, a cherry was added to the top. "Please."
"Amamiya-san…" the judge said. Ren cocked his head and Ann swore a bit of steam came out of his ears. "Do try a bit harder to win the case."
"There's not a lot going on in that head—usually, Niijima does all the thinking for him," Ozaki called across the room. "Too bad Yoshiro isn't around to remind them of their places at this school.
There were chuckles and grins, but the class's silence in between the remark and whatever was to come struck Ann. She looked around—everyone watched Ren, eager to see what violent reaction Ozaki's remark would generate. After all, that was all that Ren was capable of—violence.
Finally, Ren stood up.
"Anything I say will just be shot down by him saying I'm a liar, a criminal, and a killer. If there was evidence to present, it wouldn't matter. You all wouldn't believe me." He pointed at the judge. "You're up there pretending to be unbiased, everyone around the room is respectfully keeping their hatred to themselves, and Ozaki spouts off whatever he wants because you all love eating shit. Am I right?"
"Amamiya-san, there—!"
"I mean, that's what you've been doing the past few days? Your possessions were fucking stolen from you and you lined up to buy them! Don't forget what you did to the people you're standing next to—you bought their phones and made them your entertainment. Fucking disgusting, all of you." He reminded Ann of Ozaki as he strutted along the line of spectating students, taking their eyes and forcing them to turn away. "You would have bought the medicine if he started selling it. You wouldn't have done a thing. Your silence is why we're still here!"
The judge saw no point in interrupting—Ren's rant was more damaging than any yarn Ozaki could spin.
"And there never was a case to argue about; you decided that I was wrong before you came to class on Monday. All fucking year, I'm the cause of every problem this school has. Every fucking whisper has my name in it, every piece of gossip shits on me and anyone I hang out with, and every last one of you is a willfully ignorant piece of trash that refuses to think critically about anything or anyone!"
"Wow… Really helping your ca—"
"Don't say a fucking word," Ren said as he shoved desks out of the way to invade Ozaki's side of the room. Ozaki showed genuine concern—he hurriedly got out of his seat and put a few desks between himself and Ren. "They aren't worth shit and you're still less than them. You're lucky you're the last of the volleyball team—Maruki would've ruined your life. He would've made you a normal student that can't disagree with anything. You'd be like them." The group Ren referred to proved his point. They mustered around Ozaki, protecting him in the corner from Ren's advance.
"Better than being one of your lot!"
Ren pointed through the crowd that hid Ozaki. "You talk about Makoto or my friends again and I'm not waiting for anyone's permission to snatch the key from your pockets." The look on his face held days of pent-up rage, almost inhumane levels that transcended anything Ann had seen from Ren before. "And if you're gonna bring up Yoshiro, let me remind you all of the truth—he got what he deserved!" Per usual from Shujin's faceless shadows, there were gasps and cries about some line being crossed.
Ozaki, pinned in the corner and now surrounded by people preventing Ren from barreling through, smirked.
"What key?"
Ren stopped and waited, only feet away from a crowd more ready to defend Ozaki than have an opinion. "Fucking Hell… Just one of you, please… Could you think a little and realize that the only person who wants us in here is Ozaki?" They stared at him, their lips pursed and their fists balled. "There it is again. 'Let's do nothing because it's Amamiya! Let's just go along with whatever the anti-Ren sentiment is!' For fuck's sake, just—"
"Dude," said one guy at the front of the crowd. "We're not siding with Ozaki because we like him."
"Oh, shut the—"
"It's been half a year, man. You really think anyone can hold a grudge over some unserious rumors for that long?" The student shrugged and exchanged glances with those at his side, getting nods and pats on his back. "We're not siding with him because we think you're a criminal, we're siding with him because you're kinda a dick."
There was a perfect silence across the classroom, so quiet that Ann could forget about the trial and take a nap if she wanted to; so quiet that she thought Ren had to follow it with more fury. For too long, nobody said a word. Nobody could.
However, something piqued her eyes—a recognizable figure slipping into the crowd. Tamotsu went in, unnoticed by Ren or the crowd. Perhaps others around the room saw, but a sliver of a point hid in Ren's furious bile—nobody spoke up.
I'm a dick?
"Yeah, he's right!" a girl said from the front of the crowd around Ozaki. "You've been an asshole all year long and you're blaming us for not liking you."
…Have I?
"You treat disrespect Kawakami-sensei all the time, you belittle us every chance you get, and you blame everyone else when things don't go your way. You've got a lot of growing up to do, Amamiya-san…"
But they were the ones too passive to make change, too obsessed with fitting in to speak out, too hung up on their appearances to care about anything worthwhile. Ren couldn't be the wrong one, not with their problems weighed against his.
What about all the gossip? All the bitching I hear with my name at the end?
"B-but you guys are always whispering." There was no fire in the corner of the room and Ren could barely project his voice. "'Transfer student this, transfer student that…' I've heard it so many times…"
"Maybe you're just paranoid. Most of the time, you're the least of our worries."
Maybe they're right.
"Then, uh, I dunno." Ren shrugged—what could he do besides stand around and feel like a jackass? All that shit he spewed and all the threats he made would be remembered, forever marking him as an asshole. "I, um… I'm so—"
"Ren!" It was a break in the reflection, the memories of yelling 'Fuck you' to the class as he walked out, and the realization that he couldn't always be right. Ren turned to see Tamotsu walking at him, a thin black phone in his hand. "Catch." A toss, a bobble, then possession. The phone was warm in Ren's hand from already being on. He flipped it over and looked down at a fresh message on the screen.
K3K:
-Last night—s0 much fun! Same plan 4 2nt?
Ren looked up at Tamotsu. "Who's phone is this?" Before Tamotsu could answer, Ren's eyes swept the room. Everyone watched him, same as they always did, but there were no whispers. Ren's head was clear.
"I swiped it from Ozaki."
He had fun last night—couldn't have been in here, we would've heard. It must've been outside the classroom. That confirms he has the key, but there's another question—who's K3K?
Back at the crowded corner, Ozaki couldn't be seen behind the row of people. Ren knew he wasn't paying attention. Probably checking inventory to make sure the day's sale was prepared for.
"Thanks, Tamotsu. I owe you."
"Don't worry about it."
Tamotsu retreated to GRAVY's corner, sparking whispers with Ann and Setsuo over the newest turn of events. Ren thought he heard his name, but tuning his ears yielded nothing. They weren't loud enough to understand and if they were, what did it matter? It was their conversation, not his.
Ren tapped the text. He couldn't open the phone, but he knew how to type a quick reply.
Isamu Ozaki :
-Meet outside 2-D now. Important.
Seconds later…
K3K:
-1 sec 2 sneak out, B right there!
Ren turned the phone off and slipped it into his pocket. The crowd still eyed him, awaiting an apology or the surrender of the trial. He admired their patience—they never interrupted his espionage. "Look, uh…" What wouldn't an asshole say? "I'm sorry. I'm gonna go back to my seat."
There was waiting to be done. The rest of the class happened to agree—Ozaki's protectors disbanded and left him alone with his stockpile of desks. When Ren took a seat with his companions, everyone else in the class eased up. The confrontation was over with no casualties.
Not yet.
Ren knew the whispers were real when a knock on the door sent the class into a frenzy. The knock repeated when the first went unanswered.
"Hello?" said the visitor. "Isamu?"
The color drained from Ozaki's face and Ren would remember it for the rest of his days. What had been a day where a few of his beliefs crumbled became a day of triumph. Ozaki could no longer act cocky when his secrecy showed up at the door, knocking to let everyone know that reckoning arrived.
"Are you… Are coming out? There's—there's a door opening. I think they heard me!"
More words helped Ren's memory.
Ah, K3K—Kimi Kawano. Now, I feel stupid for not getting that from the jump. At least things are clicking together—Kimi wrote the article about the school locking down, Ozaki's kept us in this room, and they've met up outside this class. I wonder how things played out for the classes that don't harbor narcissists and journalists. If they got to go home two days ago, I'm jealous.
The knocking got faster, each repetition reminding the class how they had failed the morality test once before. "Isamu… They're coming! Open the door, please!"
I'm not excited about this they, nor am I sure how much I believe in them being something to be scared of, but it's Shujin. Nothing's too sinister for this school.
Ozaki stood next to the door, trapped between desks and decisions. He could give up the key and the truth of the conspiracy, or he could double down and risk harm upon his… friend, potentially giving up the profits he could make from the medicine.
"Isamu!"
Ren stood up. "Who knows what'll happen if we don't open this door… You gonna let her get dragged away, Ozaki-san?" Ozaki must've swallowed his tongue because there was no retort, no fable he could tell that could derail things in his favor. Kimi was in danger and he had to give up his plan to save her.
Some dilemmas are too heavy, even for someone so committed to doing wrong by others.
"Oh God, Isamu. They're—
Ozaki sighed and let life into his face. "Phone case… The key is in my phone case…"
That works out nicely. Good job, Tamotsu.
Ren popped the metal from the plastic frame and noticed the abnormal weight immediately. Slotted in the case was what he sought for too many hours. Ren grabbed the key, dropped the case and phone on the nearest desk, and went to the door. Blocked by all the desks Ozaki had for his barrier, Ren couldn't cross in time to open the door.
He feigned a toss to Ozaki. "Ready?" When he got the nod, he let the key fly into Ozaki's weighting hands. Quickly, the key clicked in the lock, the door opened, and Kimi Kawano rushed into the classroom.
"ThankYouThankYouThank—" Kimi put herself together, wiping panicked tears from her face and smoothing out her dirtied uniform. When her eyes were clear, she saw what she walked into. "Oh… Oh no."
"Your honor!" Ren turned around and picked the judge out of a silent group. "I call Kimi Kawano to the stand!"
"But the trial is—"
"Justice doesn't wait!"
"Kawano-chan, you have a lot of influence at this school."
"Is that a question? Am I supposed to respond?"
Ren ignored her. "You're an important figure and your opinions matter. This is demonstrated by your latest article, given that…" His hands waved around the room, still full of people despite the reclamation of the key, which had been surrendered by Ozaki when he was making sure Kimi was unharmed. Students were free to leave, but they chose to watch the finale of the trial. "We've been here for days—the start of that was your lockdown article. That article contained directions to lock down the school, correct?"
"Yes, it did."
"And you referred to these directions as official Shuijn protocol for this type of scenario, while also saying that it was an official administration announcement?"
"I'd need to read the wording to—"
Ren had a mission. The key was his and freedom was close, but justice? He needed to right his wrong of lumping the rest of the class in with Ozaki by proving Ozaki's difference in the trial. And with the weight of survival off his shoulders, he was free to focus on pulling out the truth. "Yes or no, Kawano-san?"
"...Yes."
Behind Ren was his team of lawyers, one of whom prepared their Shujin rule book for the special occasion. "Setsuo…" He snapped his fingers to cue her, unintentionally making himself less cool because of her slow reaction time.
"Oh, um…" There was the rustling of pages and a few deep breaths, but Setsuo got around to it. "'If an occasion arises in which multiple staff members, more than one-third, are unable to facilitate student learning, in-person class is to be canceled. Students are encouraged to practice at home through assignments and reviewing class materials.' That's it."
"Thanks, Matsuzaki-san." Ren looked back at the witness stand. The ghost that haunted Kimi made her pale and queasy, ready to puke at any second. "Kawano-chan, did that policy align with the one described in your article?"
"No."
"Then why did you claim your version as the correct one, and advise our students to follow it?"
"B-because…" Kimi's hands found her face, then splayed out on the desk with a slap. "Oh, I don't know."
"You don't know why you lied and deliberately misled your peers? Should I call other members of your club to the stand? You are the editor-in-chief, aren't you? Every article, every word, goes through you before it reaches Shujinstagram."
"No, I—well yeah, I'm the editor, but I didn't mislead—"
"Then why were your instructions different from Shujin policy, and why did you—"
"Objection!" The defense had volume for the first time in a while. Ren almost missed the sweet ringing that Ozaki's nasal voice created in his temple. "The prosecution is unfairly targeting a witness!"
The judge, entirely checked out by this point, got his head off of the palm it sat on. "Enlighten me on what the prosecution should be doing."
"They should… They should…" Ozaki kicked his feet around a bit, stumbling around his desk while doing anything besides looking at Kimi and the judge. Kimi swallowed her nerves and the judge's eyes closed—someone didn't sleep well. Ozaki's gaze turned across the room and connected with Ren's. "They should cut a deal."
"You don't have the key, everyone has their phones, and you want a deal?" Ren crossed his arms. "What're you offering?"
"The truth. In return, take Kimi off the stand."
"Isamu!"
"She shouldn't have to answer for my plan."
Ren shrugged. "Okay, deal." It was a no-brainer for anyone who wasn't an asshole. "But one quick question, Kawano-chan—what went on in the hallway that made you so scared?"
She didn't answer, instead looking to Ozaki for a nod. When she got it, she gulped. "There's a class that went mad. No one knows how bad it is because no one's been inside… But we sent a few to check on them and they never came back."
"We had a visitor," Ren said. "Ozaki held the key while she got dragged away, presumably by that class. Which room is it?"
"2-B, I think."
The desks behind Ren shifted around but he paid no attention. "Thank you, Kawano-chan. That's all I—"
"Ren." Nails must've pierced his shirt from the force on his shoulder. Soon, Ren would bleed out on the courtroom floor, alone with his contemplations on justice and— "Key. Now." His shoulder was free of the vice and he could turn to see Ann, her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed.
"What do you—" As soon as he thought of Ann's connection to 2-B, a light went off. "Oh…" He asked no more questions, fishing the key out of his pocket and dropping it in her hand. With the handoff complete, he disregarded the pain in his shoulder and faced the final witness in the trial. "Ozaki-san… There's a lot for me to—"
"Ren!"
It hurt his ears as much as the nails did his shoulder. He spun around.
"Ann?"
"You're gonna let me go alone?! They're killing people in there!"
"Well, uh…" Ren learned there weren't many reasons to let a friend walk into danger when he had no words. "I have justice… And stuff."
"Oh, just give it up already. We have the key, we know that he was working with Kimi to keep us in here and Akio to profit off of it—does anything else matter?"
"...Why they did it?"
"Come on, really?" Ann flailed a pointing finger at Ozaki and Kimi, the latter sitting beside the former at the witness stand. "There's no why. They're simply the worst. They're the type of people that want to make others worse for their gain—it's unforgivable, unexplainable evil."
Ren looked at the couple. With their wide eyes and knotted hands beneath the desk, anyone could've thought them to be a wrongfully accused duo that spent most of their time on scenic walks through the park. They looked… Normal.
Evil… It's a strong word. I can't look them in the eye and accuse them of being evil, but what other word is there for it? Ann's right—these two, plus Akio, are the worst kind of people. They take normal people, those too entrenched in routine to get it back on the tracks when things don't go right, and corrupt them. That's where you define evil; not social bullshit like gossip, fashion trends, and everything else my classmates love to chat about. They did nothing wrong—they just followed whatever their friends were doing.
So vivid was the memory of being called an asshole that Ren could relive it on mute and still read lips.
They were never the problem. I projected my anxiety onto them. Maybe they whispered about me, maybe they didn't. If they did, I'm sure they had good reason. I've resented being a talking point, yet I've continued to make headlines, be an ungrateful cunt, and demean these people as if they're less than me, as if they aren't kids like me. Expecting them to not talk about me was unrealistic, assuming they talked about me was paranoid.
"You know, Ozaki-san… I actually feel like forgiving you." Widening eyes, tightening hands, and breath of hope—Ozaki's interest was piqued. "But I've got bigger things to worry about." Ren stepped away from the lawyer's desk and looked at his gathered classmates. "There's nothing left in this room for me to care about. It's on you guys to finish the trial." To his left, two students rose above the others and demanded goodbyes. "Tamotsu, I'm sorry for thinking that your grabby hands would get GRAVY in hot water. You were a big help."
"What hot water are—"
"Setsuo, I'm sorry you were the first domino. You didn't deserve that for checking on your boyfriend."
And she just happened to be the one to take the key Ozaki left out, probably when he visited Kimi or something. Or maybe he really did put it there for a victim to take it. Either way, it's more proof that he sought to bring everyone else down with him.
Setsuo gave a meek smile. "Thank you."
Ren needed to keep talking, to keep apologizing, but the whole reason he was doing so was to get out of the trial. There were places to be and friends to check on.
One second longer and Ann will slit my throat with those nails.
"Ready?"
Ren was following Ann out the door immediately, with the blonde setting the key on the counter just as they crossed through the door. Shujin's halls were a breath of musty, diseased air and Ren's vision was noticeably worse, but any change was welcome.
And there's no blood, feces, or semen on the walls. That's a win in anyone's book, right?
They knew where to go. 2-B was on the other side of the stairwell, not more than twenty or thirty paces down the hall. In seconds, they were outside 2-B's door. It was the same as 2-D's but with one major difference: the slit window was blocked by a piece of brown paper on the other side.
"You knock," Ann said.
"What? Why me?"
"Because I'm too scared."
She's failing to consider the fact that I too am scared shitless.
"Fine." Ren raised his closed fist to the door and cocked it, loading his weapon to announce the presence of a visitor. Just as the movement began, it stopped. "Uh…"
There were voices from the other side of the door.
"Take thy flesh, take they blood…" they chanted in unison. "Born again is the One, revived forever from mud…"
Ren's hand dropped from the door and he turned to Ann. "Ya know, maybe we should leave them be and just go home."
Ann crossed her arms. No cult, sacrificial or friendly, would stop her from checking on Ryuji, nor would Ren's fears no matter how great they were. "Fine…" His fist raised again, shaking alongside the slow pulsing beat of the hymn, and tapped on the door three times.
The song ended, replaced by hurried whispers and scurried steps to the door. It opened. "Yes?" said the head of a polite, innocent girl that poked out the cracked door. Ren and Ann were not meant to see inside. "Can I help you?"
"We're loo— oh, uh…" Ren gulped and pointed his finger at the girl's face where there was a speck of blood on the side of her chin. "You got a little something…" A second later, the smell vented through the doorway and hit Ren like a truck.
"Oh, this?" A finger crept through the crack, swiped the blood off her cheek, and pressed it to her tongue. "Ketchup!"
Ren's gulp came back up and threatened projectile vomit all over the door, but he kept it in. "Ryuji… We're looking for Ryuji."
"Ryuji left yesterday. Haven't seen him since."
"Left?"
"Yeah, somehow. We've had the door locked but he wasn't here this morning. You think we teleported him by accident? Shit… Someone must've gotten an incantation wrong."
"Uh…"
"But we've got his journal, if you want that."
A journal written by Ryuji? He can't read, let alone write.
"Here." The girl's blood-wiping hand emerged with a leather-bound book, its cover stinking of dark moisture. Ren prayed for mold. "We've got no use for it." Rather than let the journal sit in those bloody hands for any longer, Ann snatched the book so quickly that the girl's hands grasped at air. She wasn't offended, though—her pearly smile was wider than ever.
"Thanks for the help," Ren said, turning away because he couldn't stomach more. Ann was already deep into the journal, her eyes racing over the page. The door closed behind them and they were left alone in the hall. Ren tried to look over Ann's shoulder but her nose was too close to the page for him to be able to read Ryuij's scrawl. "What's it say?"
"Well…"
Day 1
So Shujin's on lockdown or something. I don't know. Haven't paid enough attention to what they're telling me. Either way, I've got a few hours in here with no Ushimaru. I already got the gang on a video call so my battery's low, but that shouldn't matter.
Who'd lock anyone in a school for more than a few hours?
Day 1.5
My classmates have turned on each other. They hunger. They thirst. I don't know what for because I'm staying away from them. I'm camping out in the supplies closet. It's warm and cozy, and I can stretch my legs if I place them right. The sounds I'm hearing, though… They're not human. Like they're turning into bears or some shit.
My bag's full of chocolate bars and chips so I can hold out for a while. At least until the bear-noises stop and I know that it's safe for me to come out. Now, I hear some of the students begging. It's the most human they've sounded since
Day 2
It has to be a sex cult. Or a blood cult. Or a bear cult. I don't know. Cult cult cult. That's the only word that makes sense. I hear metal noises. Screams. They sing sometimes. Sometimes they hum. I don't know. There's nothing to know when stuck in a supplies closet. I hope they've forgotten me.
If anyone ever reads this, know
Day 3
I'm really not sure when if the sleeping how I know reactions. There's a lot to consideration why all the popping, running, think about the shift. How one does? How one knows?
Sparklefly?
Day 4
There's a tremendous Day 5 in my belly. It grows, it weeps, Day 6 it seeks. Many many moons, think of all the runes! 7, 8, 9! They've sent me a fine! By Day 10 I'll be divine! Ranaldo, Gordon, Moore—Day 11, he was a whore!
Day 12 at Sea
Dearest Mother,
The waves grow stronger. I fear for my crew and beloved Ana Havalina, our steadfast ship. The islands we sought have eluded us. Our aimless sailing punishes the mind; it's quite calming to go mad. First, it took the captain. Then the first mate. By dawn, our parrot spoke nonsense and I found my forever-holstered sidearm trapped by a gull. Do not be alarmed though, mother. I have taken precautions that my salary shall reach you with this letter. Do not fret over me, mother. I'll manage.
—William
Day 27
All ritual and no play makes Ryuji a dull boy. All ritual and no play makes Ryuji a dullL boy. All rituals and no play makes Ryuji a dull boy. All the hurt and no play makes Ryuji a dull boy. All ritual and no play makes Ryuji a dull boy. All ritual and no play makes Ryuji the dullest of boys. All ritual and no playmakesRyuji a dull boy. All work and no play makes Ryuji a dumb, stupid idiot. All ritual and no play wears on Ryuji. All theatre and no play makes Ryuji a thespian boy. All ritual and no play maked Ryuji a dull boy. All work and no playing cards rake Ryuji a dull boy. All the blood in the world makes Ryuji a boy. All ritual and no hay makes Ryuji a downcast farm animal. All ritual and no play unsharpens the pencil. All work and no play makes Ryuji a dull boy.
Day 33
Yusuke Kitagawa.
"So he left yesterday but wrote thirty days of journals?" Ann said, closing the book with no satisfaction on her face. Compared to how she could've taken it, it seemed like a positive reaction. Ryuji very well could have gone insane from being trapped with the blood cult, or he could have been sacrificed on day one. "Did he go crazy?"
"Maybe one of them wrote it."
"I'd like to believe that… And I don't want to go in there."
"I trust her—I doubt Ryuji's still in there. Probably hopped out the window when nobody was looking."
"Yeah…" Ann looked at the ground. "Come on, let's find the others."
Haru and Makoto's floor was about the same as the second floor, bar the cleanliness. It looked like the school's custodian kept up with his duties during the lockdown because Ren couldn't find a speck of dust on any of the lockers, tiles, or windows. It even smelled good, a sensation unknown to Ren since he left his apartment that Monday.
"This is it," Ann said as they stopped at a classroom door. There were no cult noises to prompt hesitation, so her knock was instant. No response was as powerful as any verbalization—the classroom had to be empty. Just to check, Ann pushed the door open. "Shoot."
The lights were off, the desks were bare, and the only sound was the breeze from a single cracked window. Makoto and Haru's class abandoned the room long before Ren and Ann arrived, a fact which pleased Ren greatly while worrying him even more.
Good for them that they had no bullshit to deal with… Except for the fact that the rest of us have been stuck for a few days. Makoto probably thinks I'm dumb for not getting out sooner. Hell, maybe an imposter has disguised himself as me within the past few days and assumed boyfriend duties. It could be a whole different Tokyo from the one I knew.
"Ann, is it alright if we check one more thing before we leave?"
"What else is there to see?"
"The faculty lounge."
She scoffed. "What, you've always wanted to see where the teachers hang out?"
"Nope. We've got something to retrieve."
It wasn't far. Down half a hall, one left turn, and one door before the student council room, they found it. Ren tried the doorknob, expecting it to be locked, but the door swung open. Like the classroom, the lights were off, the chairs were on the desk, and not a soul touched the room in days, though that didn't matter to Ren.
What did matter was what balanced in the corner of the room: a long stick-like object wrapped in pink.
Ann couldn't believe it. "How'd you know?!"
Ren shrugged, walking to the corner and grabbing the present Ryuji brought on the last normal day of school. He weighed it on his shoulder and led Ann out of the room. "Kawakami said she'd take it here, I just assumed no one got a chance to get rid of it because everyone's sick." Outside the faculty lounge, they stopped. Ann's hand twitched, a reaction to seeing a present with her name on it, so Ren took a step back. "Ryuji will want to be with you when you open it."
"Mhm… Good call."
"But it's yours to hold onto," he said, using both hands to offer it to her as if he held a samurai sword. "Protect the tape of the wrapping paper with your life."
She smiled. "Yes, of course."
"Now… Ready to get the fuck outta here?"
Ren fell into his apartment, only stopped from passing out on the spot by a distinct smell.
Citrus. Someone's cleaned the place since I left it. Junpei? Maybe he got drunk and spent an hour or two reorganizing. It doesn't look all that different… The floors are less dusty and the couch's blankets are folded, that's it besides the smell.
Morgana trotted out of Ren's room and eagerly approached, rubbing against Ren's leg as soon as he was close enough.
"Sorry, bud. Seems like you managed alright."
After a few pets, Ren took his bag and phone to the kitchen, setting the former on a stool and the latter at the charger on the counter. His phone didn't respond, still too dead to give any notifications, but he'd have his connection to the larger world soon enough.
As soon as he was done plugging his phone in, he noticed something new on the counter—the cleaner must've left it. Ren swiped the thin piece of paper and read the half-legible ink across it. "Took care of Davè in your absence. He received proper proportions of food, cuddles, and art appreciation therapy. Thank me with lunch sometime soon," Ren read, his voice getting higher until the final line. "Cheers, Yusuke."
Morgana leaped onto the counter and meowed.
"You spent a few days with Yusuke? Sorry…"
Another meow.
"Looks like he got you some exercise, though. Are you trying to lose weight, Morgana?"
As any other cat would've, Morgana meowed, but Ren knew there was more to it. Morgana could no longer talk, but there were layers to the cat. He was above usual feline instincts and his staring eyes always had judgment behind them.
It'd be creepy if he could talk. Still, it'd be nice to know what's on his mind. "Buy me a treadmill, you sick fuck."
Ren's phone dinged back to life. He showed Morgana some affection for braving the terrors of Yusuke's care, then tapped his phone screen to reveal what he'd missed. There were texts from the expected people. Sojiro reminded Ren that skipping work was detrimental to his growth as a coffee connoisseur, Junpei sent him sake trivia, and Yusuke had a few photos of Morgana in costume. One text in particular demanded more attention, though.
Makoto Niijima:
-Ren, what's going on in your class?
Makoto Niijima:
-Please respond. I'm worried sick…
Makoto Niijima:
-I hope everyone's okay. The school's been shut down for the week and I've still heard nothing about 2-D. Text me ASAP!
There were more, but the sentiment was the same. Rather than think through the best choice of words, Ren got right to alleviating Makoto's fears.
Ren Amamiya:
-Sorry! Classmate stole the door key and hid it from us while another classmate took phones and chargers. My phone's been dead since Monday afternoon. Other than that, no damage to me, Ann, or the rest of the class.
That wasn't entirely true. When he and Ann took their final walk to Shujin's doors, they saw a few 2-D stragglers escaping the ruined school, coughing and sniveling on their way out. After all the anti-illness tribalism, their side of the class got sick first. Ren had silently sent them his thoughts and prayers as he passed them on the way out.
As for Ozaki, who knew what the class did to him after the trial. At the very least, he'd become the school's newest outcast and Kimi would lose credibility as the truth of her lies spread through the student body. Those assumable outcomes pleased Ren—he didn't need to know more than that.
Makoto Niijima:
-Wow
That's not a very Niijima response. No punctuation; just a stunned, one-word reaction.
Makoto Niijima:
-Thank you for being alright.
Ren Amamiya:
-Thank you for worrying. I just back to my apartment. Turns out that Yusuke took care of Morgana the whole time.
Makoto Niijima:
-And he's demanding food as compensation?
Ren Amamiya:
-Yep.
Ren Amamiya:
-What about your class? Any crazy stuff?
Makoto Niijima:
-We left after two hours. I saw the article on Shujinstagram, knew it was fake, and told everyone to leave. I've been getting ahead on schoolwork for the past two days.
Ren Amamiya:
-How come Shujinstagram never got updated?
Makoto Niijima:
-No one was at school to conduct server maintenance, so nothing could be uploaded after that article.
Ren Amamiya:
-You should probably get that changed.
Makoto Niijima:
-Working on it. I'm drafting a set of recommendations for Kobayakawa and administration that'll ensure something like this never happens again. It was the perfect storm of under-preparation, a lack of communication, and the usual flu season stuff. But now we know.
Ren Amamiya:
-Probably should've mentioned this earlier, but a cult started in Ryuji's class and he's missing. Found his journal. No clues about where he is.
This text reminded Ren that he had another text to send out. He clicked out of his chat with Makoto while she typed, then shot a text to Ryuji asking how he was doing. As expected, no response.
Makoto Niijima:
-That's concerning. I'll look into it.
Makoto Niijima:
-I'm glad you're safe. Can I stop by in twenty to check on you?
Ren Amamiya:
-Sure, if I'm still awake. I haven't slept in a bed since the weekend.
Makoto Niijima:
-You poor thing! I'll be there soon.
Ren acknowledged the message with a reaction notification, then flipped his phone over. A little peace and quiet would do him some good before Makoto arrived. Leaving his phone at the counter, he picked Morgana up, rubbed the top of his head, and took him to the couch to sit down.
Oh, how I missed the sinking sensation of an old, under-appreciated couch.
Morgana purred against Ren's chest. The warmth was nice, but Ren felt sorry for the cat. He'd been gone for days—what if Yusuke never stopped by to help? What if Morgana wasn't there when he got back? The cat was already too smart for his own good, was he smart enough to worry about Ren?
I'm not just an asshole to everyone around me, but to this little guy, too. He's there for me all the time and I barely think about him… I've got to be better.
He closed his eyes and gently petted Morgana, enjoying the first calm moment he'd had in too long.