Chapter 48
Friday, January 20, 2023.
"Senji-sama... Senji-sama... Hey ho Senji-sama!" While I was lost in thought, Inaho's voice called out to me.
"...Huh? Oh sorry, I was somewhere else, what's up?" I ask, looking around to see that we've arrived in front of the school.
"Are you all right? You had a blank stare the whole way. Do you feel sick somewhere?" She asks.
"I..." I glance to the side to see Asia, equally worried. "There's nothing wrong, I was just concentrating on something."
From the look on their faces, they don't really believe me, but let it go anyway, continuing on their way.
"Hey Senji, hi!" I'm about to follow them, when a voice calls behind me.
"Hmm? Oh." I turn to see Yugi and Jonouchi. "I see things are going well between you, so much the better."
"Obviously, we're very good friends now! I meant it when I said I regret what I did!" Jonouchi said proudly.
"Hey Senji, Jonouchi has a great video! By the way, did you watch it?" I see the puzzle dangling from his neck.
"Well, actually... You have to sharpen your eyes to look at it!" He said, squinting. "But that's too bad, you can't see the thing!" He clenches his fists in frustration. "Damn! Because of those damn mosaics!"
(Oh... He's talking about this kind of video...)
"What's he talking about?" Asia asks.
"Um... It's... it's a video intended for the young man, so unfortunately you wouldn't understand. Go ahead without me, I'll catch up." I'm sorry for lying to them.
"Oh, really? I'm curious now." Said Inaho, a finger to her lips.
"No Inaho-chan! It's none of our business, if it's for the boys!" Asia starts pushing Inaho.
"Okay, fine, see you in a bit Senji-sama!"
(...Sorry, but thanks to their innocence...)
"Yugi, you vicious boy! Do you want me to lend it to you?!" Jonouchi points at Yugi, grinning perversely.
"Yes! Nice!" Yugi jumps of joy.
"Are you interested too Senji?" Jonouchi turns to me, with the same smile.
"Um... no thanks." (If the girls see me with that, I'd rather not imagine the damage...)
While Yugi and Jonouchi continue talking about adult videos, I notice a van in the courtyard.
"Here, what's a TV truck doing in the school?" I wonder.
"Ah yes!" Yugi is surprised.
"What's he doing here?" Jonouchi asks, massaging his jaw.
"For all we know, there's a new celebrity or star among the students!?" Yugi hypothesized.
"Can you believe it? This is a scoop!" Jonouchi is hype.
"Yes! I'll take a look..." Yugi steps forward and sticks his face to the front window of the vehicle.
"Do you see a star?" Jonouchi asks.
"Bouh! You can't see anything, it's a one-way mirror... I can't see!"
I watch this scene, sighing at their stupidity and innocence, but the presence of a TV van hardly inspires confidence. Especially knowing Minori-sensei, who doesn't like the attention of journalists.
"What? Another idol!?" Usui couldn't believe it.
"Yeah! As proof, there's a TV truck in front of the school!" Jonouchi explains, sitting at a desk. "Right, Yugi?"
"Um... yes..."
"I've seen it too, so what?" Anzu steps towards them. "Apart from Shiria-san and others here and there in the school, there's no point in them coming here, and as far as I know, they haven't come to see them, right Shiria-san?"
"Huuu... Does that mean they've come for someone other than me...?" Shiria is on the verge of tears.
"This is so stupid..." Shiki pinches the top of her nose next to me.
"Pfff! You suck! The idol they're looking for must come here incognito! If you knew who it was, you'd be green!" Jonouchi laughs at them.
"Jonouchi-san but at last!?" Shiria is offended.
"Yes, we'll have to see..." Yugi tries to calm the situation.
"If we can get a picture of this idol, we'll be rich!" Motohama exclaims.
"It's illegal!" Anzu tried to walk away before coming back, fed up with hearing their antics. "And if it's true, you'll be punished!"
"It's stupid what you're telling us! You've got to be kidding!" Matsuda argues with Anzu.
"That TV truck, it intrigues me..." Yugi wonders, sitting back down in his seat.
"If it's journalists, it's usually for something negative, so don't get your hopes up." I warn Yugi.
"Obviously, the media are only looking for sensationalism, if they're here it's to find something bad to say about the school." Shiki agrees.
Yugi remains puzzled, but nods before sitting down, seeing Fuji-nee charging into the classroom as usual.
It's midday and all the students are leaving the classroom, hungry. I stay in the classroom a little longer, chatting with my classmates, waiting for the corridor to empty. Then, after a few minutes, it's our turn to leave. Turning my head towards the windows outside, I see Yugi accompanied by a guy I don't recognize, who's gone to a corner of the school, which makes me suspect something.
"Senji are you coming?" Shiki asks me. "Or are you planning to stand by the window all through the break?"
"...Coming."
Then arriving outside, taking the path to the canteen, I see Jonouchi running in the same direction from which Yugi was heading, looking panicked. Seeing this, my doubts are confirmed.
"Go ahead without me." I put on my armband, to the surprise of my classmates.
"Shall we save you a seat?" Asia asks me.
"Don't worry about it." I start running.
I pass through the courtyard, dodging the many students, who move aside when they see my armband. I reach the corner of the building, where I see an adult with a cap, moustache and long hair kneeing Jonouchi in the stomach as he defends Yugi on the ground, having been hit in the face.
"Jonouchi!" Yugi rises and grabs Jonouchi before he falls to the ground.
"I hope you've just figured out what camera power is? We can even make you a public enemy! Hehehe..." The adult laughs, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Enough is enough! Even if you're not a member of the school, I can still exercise the powers given to me to arrest you if necessary!" I interpose, which seems to annoy the journalist.
"Tss... It's okay, we're leaving! But don't worry, kid! We'll put a mosaic over your face to preserve your anonymity Hahahaa!" He turns and leaves with his team.
"What's his problem?" I wonder, then turn around. "Yugi, Jonouchi, are you all right? That was quite a kick in the ribs."
"Yeah... I felt it going by..." Jonouchi winces.
"Senji, are you all right?" Chacha comes rushing in.
"We saw you running with the armband, plus Inaho warned us that you left in a panic, so we came as backup!" Azuki joins her, approaching together.
"Chacha-san, Azuki-san, thank you but it's already over. However, Jonouchi and Yugi were bullied by the reporters, can you take them to see Aki-sensei?"
"Seriously, what's wrong with them always looking for trouble, those journalists!" Chacha is annoyed.
"Don't tell me you're planning to go after them on your own? Besides those bastards have special rights, they're untouchable, at least take a teacher with you!" Azuki says to me, helping Jonouchi to his feet.
"I'm going with him." Said Yugi, stepping up beside me.
"But you're..." I try to stop him but his gaze is no longer the same, surprising me.
"I'm fine, it's not just a punch in the face that's going to stop me and then, it's my image they've taken, without my consent, so I think I've got a say."
Chacha, Azuki and I are perpexle, but I signal to them that it's okay. Seeing this, they agree and leave with Jonouchi.
"I was thinking of going alone, but it's reassuring to have you with me, Senji." As I suspected, he's not the same Yugi, a golden eye appears on his forehead, his face becomes more severe.
"..." (There's that personality change again...) "Do you know what channel it was, I admit I didn't watch."
"Follow me, I know where it is."
"Huh... The ZTV channel then. Isn't that lowbrow journalism they're doing?" I ask.
We're standing in front of their main building, it's taken us a while to get there and my appetite is only growing.
(I hope we get it over with quickly, I haven't been able to eat...)
"He's in the parking lot." Beside me, Yugi seems to be scanning the building for the journalist.
(How does he know?)
I follow him, force a door with my magic circuits, enter the underground parking lot and hear the same laughter as before.
"The bosses liked the footage you got back, so we can make a show out of it." Says a guy with glasses.
"No wonder, the subject is quite racy!" Says the journalist, proud of himself.
"On that note, see you tomorrow!" The guy with the glasses grabs a briefcase, probably containing the footage the journalist filmed.
"Not so fast! Stop!" I show up with Yugi by my side.
"There you are." Yugi said grimly.
"Are you the brats from earlier? What do you want from me, you come to ask me for money?!" The journalist is surprised.
"You have violated the territory of my soul! Therefore, you will play with me!"
"A game?" The journalist is on his guard.
"We'll play with that. Dice! It seems that people have been playing dice with their destinies since ancient times! Back then they used animal bones to make them..." Yugi explains. "I need to explain the rules of the game of fate. The rules are very simple! I'm going to roll this die. If you come up with a number smaller than mine, you've won! If you roll the same number, you win too! Okay?" On the other hand, if I win, you get to play the penalty game!"
"Ridiculous! And why should I play dice with you!?" Impatiently exclaims the journalist.
"Let's get started!" Yugi doesn't listen. He raises his hand and drops the die.
"Tchh... This is grotesque." The reporter complains, but yet he follows the die.
The die finally stops after a few bounces, to land on 6. Stunned, I look at Yugi, who seems quite confident.
"Haah ha ah! It's the 6th! Either way, I won!" Scoffs the reporter. "I don't even have to roll the dice!"
"You're right, luck is on your side! But I insist, you must go on!" Yugi insists.
"But Yugi..." I stop when I see his confident smile and look.
"Damn, that kid's a pain in the ass!" The journalist takes the dice. "Since you want it so badly! Take it in the face!" Then throws it at Yugi's face.
But Yugi blocks the die with the tip of the puzzle, stopping close to his face before falling on the 1.
"Ahahaaah! See, it's 1! I won." The journalist turns around, ready to leave.
"Not quite, you'll get to play the penalty game..." A big, satisfied smile appears on Yugi's face.
"But..." The reporter turns to see the dice cut in half. "The dice, it's split in two?!" one face on 1 and the other on 6. "That's 7!?"
"The punishment game!" The eye on Yugi's forehead widens and darts towards the reporter, disappearing on contact. "The mosaic illusion!"
"Arhh... Aaah... But?!" He panicked, holding his face, his eyes darting in all directions. "Uwaah!"
"What did you do to him?" I ask.
"This gentleman likes to tamper with reality when he has a camera. In my opinion, it's better to hide reality from him by offering him a mosaic vision! Hi hi..." Yugi scoffs.
I said nothing, looking back at the journalist, trying as best he could to see ahead. Seeing that his colleague is still there, frozen in fear, I approach him. When he sees me, he kneels down.
"Please don't do anything to me, I would cooperate! I didn't know he'd gone after Kuoh! I promise!"
"This suitcase, is that where the videos he recorded are?" I ask.
"Yes! Here, take it, do with it what you will!" He hands me the briefcase.
"...Thank you." I take it, then turn to Yugi. "Let's go, it's not a good idea to stay here."
Yugi nods and we head out. On the way back to the school, I drop the case off at Principal Minori-sensei's while making my report. To say she's furious is an understatement.
It's late at night, and having finished my devil's business with my fellow members of the occult research club, I return to my classroom to collect my things. but what a surprise to see a letter on my desk. Somewhat taken aback, I pick it up and open it to see that the sender is none other than Shiki, who asks me to... go out with her?
("Ask me out, will you?"...). There's something vaguely threatening, like an ultimatum... Should I be worried?)
"So, do you accept?" Shiki's familiar voice startles me. I look in her direction to see her leaning against the door, looking at me insistently.
"Shiki? What are you doing here? It's getting late after all."
"Well, I had to wait for your devil's work to finish, and I wanted the answer quickly, so I waited for you." She explained as she approached.
"But what does it mean? Why now? What are you hiding from me?"
"You ask too many questions." She looks at me, deadpan. "Tell me, have you looked in a mirror lately? You look like a zombie. And I think a date with a pretty girl would do you a world of good."
Suddenly, images of Yuuma flash through my head. I look away, grabbing my things. Seeing my attitude change, Shiki sighs and points at me.
"I wouldn't take no for an answer anyway. We'll meet at Fuyuki station at 2pm tomorrow. And don't try to back out or you'll regret it." She doesn't even give me time to say anything, she's already gone, leaving me alone in the classroom.
Saturday, January 21, 2023.
I've been waiting for an hour in front of the station, watching the clouds form waves, bringing down a light snow. When I lower my nose to look for her arrival, I finally see her, walking slowly towards me. The first thing I notice is that today she's wearing a kimono in a different color, that of autumn leaves, which goes well with her bright red jacket. Although I see Shiki almost every day, I've never really noticed how short she is, looking at her from this distance, she's shorter than me; apart from Yugi, everyone in my class is taller than me. Her gait makes her features distant and cold, yet she carries herself with dignity and grace.
"Yo, Senji. Been waiting long? It's my fault, I didn't expect my family to be such a pain in the ass about going out with a boy."
The second thing I notice is the way she talks, which leaves me stunned for a second and I stare at her, as if to confirm whether it's really Shiki or not.
"What, being an hour late is a cardinal sin now?" said Shiki. She must have noticed my half-opened mouth. "Loosening your ass a bit would do you good, my friend." Shiki's dark eyes stare at me strangely. The same eyes that always seemed to stare at something far away, even when we first met that snowy day.
"...I just want to check," I stammer. "You're Shiki, aren't you?"
She raises an eyebrow. "Were you expecting to see the school principal?" Shiki laughs, leaving a smile hanging on her face. "Well, time flies. I'm not good at this, so I'll have to let you decide where we go."
She then grabs my arm with a firm grip and starts walking. Laughing at her last statement, she takes me by the arm to various specialty stores, never buying anything, but moving on to another store when she gets bored. I try to reason with her, to ask her if she'd like to go to a café for a breather, but she immediately responds with a resounding "no".
She talks. A lot. It's a contrast to the usual Shiki I knew. It's like she's stoned or something. Most of the stores we visit are clothing stores. Given the state she's in right now, I breathed a sigh of relief that she still frequented women's clothing stores.
"Well, we've been walking for nearly 4 hours now, and I'm starting to get a bit hungry myself. Do you know a nice place to eat?" She asks.
"I know a place, yes, that I frequent quite often, in fact it's been a while since I've been there..."
"Well it's decided, I'm following you."
"Oh, but what do I see here? You're bringing a pretty lady into my restaurant? I'm touched, Senji." Teuchi said to me as we entered.
"Hello Teuchi-san, this is Shiki, a friend from school."
"Pleased to meet you sir, smells good in here."
"Ah and she has good taste! But she's just a friend huh..." He teases, patting my shoulder.
"That's right."
"I see. Well, as usual I suppose." I nod. "And for you young lady, what would you like to have?"
"...Um, I'll have the same as Senji."
"Are you sure? It's pretty hearty."
"No problem, at worst Senji will finish my plate."
"All right, then it's on." Teuchi turns to begin preparing our dishes.
After several minutes of cooking, we chat with Shiki about everything and anything. Teuchi finally puts down our dishes, ramen with meat, egg and vegetables. Seeing this, Shiki turns to me and looks at my belly, as if wondering how I can swallow all this, but I ignore her, separating the chopsticks and starting to attack my plate. After a few seconds, she lets out a sigh and in turn attacks her plate. Teuchi leaves us alone, taking his break.
"So, is this how you normally talk outside of school, Shiki?"
"Only in my case," She says between furious mastications of pieces of meat, it looks like she loves it. "But really, the way you talk means absolutely nothing. I mean, you could change the way you talk right now and you'd still be the same, wouldn't you?" Shiki points at me with her chopsticks. "I'm sure I've got you completely confused right now."
"Um... I see the idea but..."
"I suppose I have some explaining to do. This is only the second time you've seen me, after all. I've been discreet until now because Shiki and I were on the same wavelength."
"The second time... Wait, are you talking about the game we played for the pool opening?" She nods.
"This is what we call a split personality. I'm SHIKI, and the one you usually see is Shiki. But don't get me wrong, we're not different people or anything. Shiki Ryōgi has always been one and the same. The only difference between us is our priorities."
After saying that, she eats one last vegetable, before putting down her chopsticks and sliding her bowl towards me, signifying that she's full.
"I suppose so." I reply uncomfortably.
I think back to our meeting at school. We'd met before, but when I approached her, she said she didn't know anything about it. I thought it was because she hated me or some similar reason, but now I understand better.
(And then there's something else that bothers me... First Yugi who changes personality since he completed his puzzle, and now Shiki who can also change personality at will... Could this be related?)
Spending half the day with her, I realized that there really wasn't much difference between the SHIKI of today and the Shiki I'm supposed to know. As she says, she talks differently, but the way she moves is the same. So much the same, in fact, that doubting the veracity of what she says now seems a foolish idea.
"But why are you telling me?"
"I figured it was only a matter of time before you found out." She takes a sip of her juice but puts it down immediately. She doesn't really like cold things. "I'm what you might call SHIKI the destructive impulse. I represent the things she most wants to do. But until now, there was no one to whom I could direct this impulse. Shiki had no real interest in anyone." She says this with disinterest and a hint of regret, as if dreading having to say it. She continues to look at me seriously, making me slightly uncomfortable. "You can relax, man. I'm still me, and I'm just a mouthpiece for what Shiki's thinking right now. " There's a moment's pause, his face growing stern, as if foreshadowing the statement of something important. "However... we're beginning to fall out of step, so I'd take myself with a grain of salt, if I were you."
"'Out of sync?' Does that mean you and Shiki got into a fight?"
"I love the way you think someone can fight with themselves. But no, not like that. You see, whatever I do, it has to be something we both want. Shiki's at the helm here, so meeting you was a mutual decision. She probably would have done it a whole other way. It's not really her habit to go out and take you on a date. You can thank me for that." I nod without really thinking, concentrating more on what she's saying, because it's interesting, and also on my meal. SHIKI laughs, "See, that's what I like about you. Shiki thinks the opposite. That's what I mean when I talk about being out of sync."
The way she phrased it, I don't know if Shiki doesn't like me not thinking about it too much, or if Shiki doesn't like SHIKI liking me. I'd like to think it's the latter, for the sake of my pride at least. SHIKI stands up abruptly and puts the food money she's eaten on the table.
"Well, I think that's about it. Let's call it a day." She slips on her jacket and heads outside with a cheerful step. "You're all right, man, I like you, so I'll see you real soon."
After separating from SHIKI, I finish our two bowls of ramen and head home. Once on the street, I'm surprised to see the city bathed in the warm glow of sunset. Although it's still relatively early.
I must be tired after talking with SHIKI all this time, not to mention window-shopping. So I go inside and signal my presence. And it's Sakura who greets me.
"Good evening Senpai, There's Daisuke-san here." She warns me.
Now that she's said it, I can hear his contagious laughter with Fuji-nee's, I just hope they haven't started drinking, but with the girls around, I doubt it.
I slide the door open to see him devouring the clementines on the table, accompanied by everyone else, it seems that Daisuke's stories are of interest.
"Good evening Senji!" Greetings Fuji-nee.
I greet everyone before pouring myself a glass of water. I can feel Daisuke's insistent gaze, which means he has something important to tell me.
"So Daisuke, what are you doing here?" I ask.
"Well, I thought I'd pop in and say hello, and above all meet the new flatmates. But, I wanted to take the opportunity to have a chat alone, if you've got a bit of time."
At these words, everyone apart from Fuji-nee has a questioning look on their face. I drink my glass in one gulp and slip out the door.
"No problem." I let Daisuke pass, then turn to the girls. "It's nothing too serious, don't worry, we'll be right back."
I close the door and head for the shed. Daisuke is already there, looking at the various tools and objects I'm trying to repair. Seeing me coming, he picks up two stools and places them opposite each other.
Daisuke was Kiritsugu's best friend and a frequent visitor.
"It's been a long time since you've been by, you must be very busy these days," I said.
"Yes, I imagine you've seen the local news, it's been non-stop lately, murders, disappearances, villains who've made a mess so we have to clean it up... Sorry to barge in on you like this. I thought Kiritsugu's place was closer to the station, and I've only got an hour off before I have to get back, so going home would have been a waste of time."
Daisuke is a city police inspector, which is ironic because he's "rather lazy". His words, not mine. Why the department has placed a man with so little aptitude for solving crimes is a mystery that even he can't solve. He's my go-to source for all the crime cases that happen, a convenience that seems to prove its worth with each passing day.
"And so, what are you on at the moment?" I ask.
"Do you remember the murder you found with your fellow devils? I'm on it. And we're making slow progress, We were running out of leads, but with this fifth victim, the suspect has finally thrown us a bone, even if it seems intentional." Daisuke straightens up and faces me, a grim look on his worn and sleep-deprived face. "What I'm about to tell you is confidential, Senji. You're no stranger to this story, so listen carefully. I told you about the second victim, didn't I?"
Daisuke then describes the situation of the second and third victims. Hoping that not every policeman in the country has such a sharp tongue, I listen to his story. The second victim had been cut in half vertically from crotch to head. The murder weapon is unknown. One of the halves was stuck to the wall.
The third victim had his limbs cut off and his arms sewn to his legs. The fourth was cut into pieces and anything resembling a symbol or other mark was left on the body. The fifth victim was arranged so that the arms and legs formed a manji symbol.
"Clearly someone is suffering from a mental disorder," I say, trying to hold back the unease growing in my stomach.
"It's too obvious. This guy's got something to say. What do you think?"
"I don't think there's any sense in them all being killed by an edged weapon. Other than that, I don't know. But..."
"But?"
"He's getting used to it. So far, all the victims have been outside. The next one could be a burglary."
Daisuke runs a hand over his temple. I really feel sorry for the stress this job, and even this case, are causing him. I know he hasn't had much time for himself.
"There's no pattern, no pattern," He observes. "And he might try to get inside houses if he can't find anyone to kill outside. I hope that the general staff will take the same view of this guy and come up with a plan of action. But that's probably not the case." He closes his eyes, his right hand still resting on his head, nursing an invisible wound. "As for why I've told you all this... we found this at the fifth crime scene. The suspect probably dropped it." He pulls a small plastic bag out of his pocket, the kind used to store evidence, and inside is our school emblem. We have to stick it somewhere in our clothes when we go to school. "As the area is heavily vegetated, the suspect may not have noticed that he'd dropped it. Or maybe it was intentional, some kind of message. I don't know. But it's the only lead I've got. I might be visiting your school in a few days' time," Says Daisuke, as if it were a bad omen.
"Okay, I understand, I'll let Minori-sensei know in advance." I hand the evidence back to him before casting an accusatory glance. "But that's not the only reason you're here is it?"
"...I did want to see how you were getting on, but I can see that this situation is a lot more difficult than you said. I can't imagine the stress you're under, but you can relax Senji, the Eighth still haven't shown their nose here in Fuyuki, so you're in the clear." He places a comforting hand on my shoulder. "So forget about them, at least for a few days, okay?"
"...I... I can't, the risks are too great, if they attack Fuji-nee, or the girls, the school? I have to stay on my guard."
"...Okay... I understand." He gets up, puts the stool away and prepares to leave. "You're looking more and more like Kiritsugu, but you should think about putting on the brakes. Because right now you're slowly destroying yourself. Have a good evening, buddy."
I don't answer, I just watch him go further and further away, leaving me alone in the darkness of the shed, my hands start to shake, I try to stop it by joining them together but it doesn't work.
"It doesn't matter... if I can save them, then it doesn't matter..."