CHAPTER 10

"I'd say that was surprisingly heartfelt," Hana said to Uchiro as they procured their drinks from the vending machine.

"Yeah, Headmaster Hiro is mainly there for the dubious prestige. And the Electronics Club."

"There's an Electronics Club? I didn't see that on the bulletin board..."

"It's a top-secret club, actually. But he's their advisor. Who knows why they want to stay secretive. They probably have a gigantic hentai manga stash."

Hana, sipping her milk tea, stifled a messy laugh as the two rejoined the others, with Ikuro leading the conversation.

"So, about our trade... Journalists here are tasked with not only keeping up with current events in this world, but gathering information about the living world from those willing to share with us."

"Oh wow, I never thought of that... and with mostly kids coming here, I imagine that's no easy task," said Yuka before a bite of meatball.

"Exactly!" Ikuro replied. "On average, the younger — and less mature — the person, the less integrity they'll have when it comes to relaying Earth's ongoing history. There is absolutely no connection to the living world from here, no window or portal you can look through or get news updates from. Here, the living world might as well be a fictional fantasy universe like Star Wars or Middle Earth, and all you can rely on are honest people with vivid memories of what happened.

"Take, for example, 9-11. The Welcome Center suddenly got a massive influx of grown-ups - almost a hundred - who perished either in those twin towers or on the crashed planes; they landed here because at the time of their deaths they agonized over never being able to have children of their own. A good number of them were willing to share their recollections of the events that took place within their past lives, and from that we were able to piece together crucial details of the tragedy that day, as well as adding on to various news stories before then. One of the arrivals was even on that flight 93 where she helped fight the terrorists and derailed their objective. If I'm not mistaken, she's still here, living a quiet life with her family in a small town, where they treat her like a celebrity.

"Anyway, once we acquired enough info from those people corroborating on the same incident, we could confirm that that was a major historical event. People coming in after that would then recall that day from the outsider's standpoint, further fleshing out the details of the tragedy. Then, boom, it's ready for the official history accounts."

"I guess we do need a big collaborative effort like that so that people aren't always going 'uh... never heard of it' when new arrivals talk about big news like that," Uchiro opined.

"Yep... definitely a strength-in-numbers thing. It also prevents people twisting the facts on living-world events, making them sound better or worse than they were, and then enough gullible people believe it, and it turns into a really messy situation."

"I hear people are more inclined to tell the truth when they're hypnotized," said Hana.

"That's generally true, but not completely effective," Ikuro pointed out. "I had a twin brother who started to take an interest in hypnotism just before my death. He tried to get me to tell secrets or say some embarrassing things, but I led him on for the most part. I don't know how much he's mastered hypnosis — if he even stuck with that — but if people are strong-willed enough, they can still bend the truth some against the most mesmerizing hypnotists."

"What we need is a mind-reading machine, right?" Uchiro laughed.

"You laugh now, but we're secretly working with the Electronics Club to try and make that a reality!"

"So was that the Electronics Club that made that robot at the ceremony?"

"Ah, I see you found Sensei-tron," Yuka replied. "And the answer is... no. Sensei-tron is the product of the Robotics Club. They're about as serious as the Electronics Club but less secretive."

"What is going on with this Electronics Club?"

"I could tell you... but then I'd have to... well, I can't really say 'kill you' here, can I, heh... well, I'd have to brain-wipe you." Yuka flashed an almost-evil grin. "That's another reason we're off the school grid. Not everyone is qualified to join the club. A huge amount of trust is involved. And anyone who's rejected by the Electronics Club is more than welcome at the Robotics Club."

The warning chime started to emanate from the speakers.

"So... we heading to our classes now?" Ikuro asked the others.

"I might as well." Hana got up from her chair. "You never know, there might be a cute guy in one of them." She winked at Uchiro.

I know you're trying to throw everybody off, but that's just brutal, Uchiro thought as he smirked at her.


As the English teacher droned on, Hana looked around the room from her desk. She could count ten, maybe eleven, students that were truly paying attention to the teacher and taking notes. Which was just less then half of the class roll. There were quite a few students on their cell phones, either talking, texting or playing games. Many were reading books or manga. One boy was sitting by the window with a sketchbook, making a watercolor rendition of an oak tree outside. A beach ball was bouncing between several of the students. Another boy and girl were making out in the corner. I guess Uchi-kun was right, she thought.

One of the students between her and the entangled couple turned around to observe them as well. "It's amazing how some people can just cut out all the background noise in the middle of romantic bliss," she softly remarked with a grin.

"Weird, isn't it... this is the last place I'd be in the mood," Hana retorted.

She then noticed the pink shorts and bare feet. "Oh, so you're Ayane, right?"

"That's right, I saw you on the front steps this morning!" Ayane smiled. "I do like English literature, so I still take this class."

"And no one calls you out for not wearing shoes inside?"

"Nope! Isn't that great? And in case you were wondering... Imagine spending most of your young girlish life being groomed to be an upper-class maiden for a potential rich suitor. And your parents, who were originally from China and still followed their customs, bound and constrained your feet to the point of torture. Every single day. They said your feet would eventually get used to it, but it always pained me to the point of tears."

"Oh my... that's horrible!"

"Indeed. I kept wishing for some kind of way out of that life, in a way that wouldn't dishonor my family. I could never bring myself to commit suicide, so I was secretly hoping for a kidnapping or something happening to my parents or trainers. Then one day at the age of twelve, I was looking up at the sky and saw a huge airplane fly over, and it dropped something out... then there was some kind of massive explosion... and next thing I knew, I found myself in this world along with thousands of other kids."

"A massive explosion?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention... I lived in Nagasaki. And I'm one of the elders in this world, so to say. For almost eighty years I've enjoyed my life... or should I say afterlife... here. And I've made it a point to stay young and keep my feet uncovered and unburdened all this time."

"I've only been here a week or two. I have a brother and sister here with me. Some bad guys broke into our house and shot us all. I have another sister but I guess she survived."

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. I guess it was terrifying. My demise was very sudden, so I didn't even get a moment to be shocked or panicked. And when you have thousands of kids and very few adults plucked from the land of the living and sent to some strange land, you can imagine there would be confusion and chaos. But the Mystics were able to calm everyone down and keep everything under control."

"Mystics?"

"Yes. This afterlife world has been here as long as humanity has been around, according to one of those Mystics. Before there was a computerized registry and body modification terminals, the Mystics were in control of the BLW's and kept track of everyone from their temples. If you wanted to change the way you looked, you went to a Mystic Temple and consulted with one of them. There is a Mystic Temple still in existence, it's in the Eternal Festival village if you want to do things the old-fashioned way."

"It's crazy to think you've been here for eighty years. And you've looked the same all that time?"

"Well, I still like to keep up with the fashionable trends... except for footwear, obviously. And I have spent a handful of years as an adult, because I wanted to experience adult life, dating, romantic relationships, all that good stuff. But for the past twenty years or so I just wanted to be a kid again. And I know I don't have much time left here, but I love this place a lot, I make new friends all the time, and I want to live it up as much as I can before I have to leave."

"Really? So far I've only seen you fly airplanes."

"It's just one of my hobbies, really. Funny how something you see in the sky for only a few seconds before you die becomes a mild obsession in the afterlife. I started with paper and wooden toy planes before someone introduced me to remote-controlled toys about thirty years ago. When I'm not at school I'm out in the country enjoying nature, swimming, canoeing, studying bugs and things like that."

"So city life isn't for you, huh?"

"Nope! There was a time for a few years when people called me a hippie," Ayane giggled. "I live by myself out of a small trailer and I do my bathing either in a river or at a nearby bathhouse."

"I gotta say that sounds pretty interesting. I should hang out at your place one of these days."

"Well, drop on by! Just follow me home sometime and we'll hang out. I'd give you an address but I move my trailer every so often."


"Kari! Sota! I'm home!... uh..."

Hana was the only person in the apartment. A note was on the table.

Sota wanted to visit the Christmas village, so if you're reading this, we're still out there, the note read. We may eat dinner while we're there, so go ahead and get yourself something.

Hmph, they couldn't invite me? Hana thought. Oh well, I'd rather go with Uchiro, he did say that was one of the places he wanted to show me. I wonder if there's any good pizza nearby...

A message alert popped up on Hana's phone. She looked at the message and a huge grin materialized on her face. She made some taps and raised the phone to her head.

"Hello, Erina? Can you meet me somewhere tonight?"