Chapter 71
Friday, February 17, 2023.
I'm standing alone in an arid terrain, strewn and filled with swords planted in the hard ground, a veritable sword graveyard. I touch my lips, my mouth invaded by the taste of blood, I look at my fingers, covered in blood, suddenly, my skin detaches and destroys itself, giving way to a layer of raw black and red energy, burning my flesh, it runs down my arm before completely covering my body. I scream to the sky, wanting only to kill.
I wake up suddenly, opening my eyes wide. My head hurts terribly, and the taste of blood is still there. The ceiling is immaculate white, and to my left comes the sunlight through a large horizontal window that bathes the entire room. I'm in a bed that seems quite comfortable. It's hard to say, since I don't feel anything. I try to get up, but my body doesn't respond. I turn my gaze to my right to see Kakashi, concentrating on cutting an apple into quarters. When he finishes, he looks at me and our eyes meet. He puts down the knife and plate and moves closer to my bed.
"Senji, you're finally awake, we were starting to worry." I hear Kakashi's faint voice.
"Kakashi-sensei... worrying?" I manage to say something.
"You've been asleep for three days now. We thought you were going into a coma. So take it easy, you're having trouble talking aren't you?" He asks.
"Yes... and I... hear badly..." I mumble.
"Hmm, that's normal, your body is recovering little by little, don't worry about it, with enough rest everything should go back to normal." He explains, leaning towards me to hear him better. "So, how are you feeling?"
"Headache... taste of blood... Feels like my body... not mine..." I can see Kakashi's eyebrows furrow at my last words.
"...Do you... know why?" He asks hesitantly.
"...Yes... fox demon..." My eyes tremble as I say this, feeling a huge shiver run through my body.
"...Indeed. I'll leave you alone for a few minutes, I've got someone to fetch. In the meantime, regain control of your body and, above all, eat." He said, placing the plate next to my head. "I know you just got up, but we need to ask you about what happened. You understand?"
I nod weakly, causing a smile to show through his fabric. He puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder before leaving the room, leaving me alone.
I close my eyes and try to feel each of my limbs. I start to move them slowly, as if they were heavy. I stop, sighing, and when I open my eyes, I'm no longer in bed but facing a giant red cage, two piercing eyes staring back at me.
"I just woke up, can we take a rain check?" I ask, frowning.
"I don't understand." His powerful voice echoes in my head, adding a debit to the pain.
"What is it you don't understand, go ahead I'm listening." I say, sitting down in the warm water.
"Why didn't you unleash your hatred. That abject being slaughtered someone you considered a friend and cut him to pieces. Why did you resist the urge for revenge?" It's the first time I've heard him so calm.
"...To be perfectly honest with you... This is what I wanted. When I saw what was left of Youta... I was caught up in despair and hatred, I caused all this and in the end you're right, these are consequences of my actions." I clench my fists. "I wanted to kill him and his whole gang. I wanted to avenge him, which I did, but I felt it wasn't enough... it was horrible."
"It's only natural..."
"I know... you added a layer after all. I was angry at myself, at One, at the world... The pain was so sharp and nothing could heal it... but my specialty is to endure. And what kept holding me back was the fact that my comrades were out there, also trying to save Youta."
"They deserved to die just as much, they let the situation get worse, not understanding the importance of the danger. They let Youta die of their own free will."
"No. It's all my fault, I should never have challenged One, let alone humiliated him. My friends' actions had nothing to do with it... To let you manipulate me and kill everyone for that reason... I just refused. Besides, doing it means accomplishing exactly what you hate about us, doesn't it? Don't you think it's tiring, by now?"
"Don't compare my hatred to that miserable insect!" He snaps, raising his voice.
"See? If you take it the wrong way, it means I'm touching something." I get to my feet. "Listen to me, Kyûbi, I'm going to show you that people deserve a second chance."
"...So naive, but very good, show me how good human beings can be, I wonder how long it will take you to get reality in your face..."
Suddenly I'm back in the room, looking left and right, but Kakashi still hasn't returned. I finally feel like I can use my body. I lift my upper body to sit up, take my left hand out of the sheet and look, to see that I no longer have any burn marks or scars, but above all I see a handcuff on my wrist, with the chain going all the way to the top left foot of the bed. I raise my right hand to see the same thing, lift the sheet to see handcuffs at my feet.
"...It was to be expected..." I sigh as I lay the sheet back down, feeling the cold wash over me.
I take a quarter of an apple and chew it limply, I can't even taste the apple because the taste of blood is so strong.
A few minutes later, having eaten almost all the apples. Someone knocks on my door and immediately enters. It's Kakashi, closely followed by the third Hokage.
"Sorry for the wait Senji, in any case, I see you're not losing your appetite." He said, taking the empty plate.
"Hmm." I nod, feeling I'm still hungry.
"Senji." The Hokage greets me as he sits down, looking more tired than usual.
"You have stains under your eyes, third Hokage-sama, is everything all right?" I ask.
"Hmm?" He sounds surprised. "Ahaha, you don't have to worry about me Senji, I'm only doing my role as Hokage, nothing more. But I do have a lot of paperwork to do after the destruction of the port."
"I see..." My face darkens as I hear this, moving my handcuffs which are beginning to bother me.
"Kakashi, please remove his handcuffs." Asked the Hokage.
As Kakashi undoes my handcuffs, the Hokage approaches to question me.
"Kakashi told me how you were feeling, is that still the case?" He asks me.
"I have control of my body again, but I still have a bit of a headache and the taste of blood is still there."
"I see... do you feel the influence of the fox demon or not?"
"No... we have... discussed, if you can put it that way, a while ago and I may have managed to put a truce on, until I don't know when."
"You can interact with the fox demon?" Kakashi asks, sitting down next to us.
"Not really, it's more him bringing me face to face to his prison."
"...Senji, I know it's a lot to ask, especially right after waking up, but I need you to tell me what happened. It'll confirm all our doubts." asked the Hokage.
"Well..." I massage my temples. "I remember entering the warehouse, only to be ambushed by the clan leader, who had already killed Youta and put remains of his corpse in a box, and from then on... everything is a blur..."
"That's what the Ryuji guy said, too." Kakashi remarked.
(Ryuji was with them?)
"So you're confirming Youta-san's death?" asks the Hokage.
"Yes..."
"Don't you remember anything else?" Kakashi asks.
"It's complicated, at that moment, I was filled with rage, I was only looking for one thing, to kill One and his gang, but after a while, I heard like calls, voices I recognize... and the figure of a man shining a sparkling white..." I frown, searching through my memory.
"This presence... it's probably an effect of Inaho-chan's last punch." Kakashi remarked.
"Those voices you heard belong to your friends, who did everything they could to get you out of this situation," explained the Hokage.
"Really?!" I lift my head suddenly. "I thought that..."
"You thought you'd hurt or even killed some of them, didn't you? So let me tell you, you didn't hurt a single one of them, you managed to hold back the fox demon every time." Said the Hokage with a smile.
I let out a long sigh and put my hands to my face, as if feeling a weight lifted from my shoulders.
"How are they?" I ask.
"For the most part all is well, some are still sick from the driving rain, but others are still traumatized by the events, and are being followed up." replied the Hokage.
I place my hands on my face, feeling a huge weight lift from my shoulders. Then I look straight at the Hokage and frown, afraid of the answer to my question.
"And so? What's going to happen to me?" I ask, clutching the sheet in my hands.
"Nothing at all." He answers simply.
"What?" I feel like I misheard.
"Nothing's going to happen to you Senji, you were a priority target, so we saved you, you were in a bad way because you also had to fight, but the mission was a success." Kakashi explains.
"But... I've been possessed by the fox demon! How can you hide this!" I exclaim, completely taken aback.
"Nobody knows what happened, except those who were there of course. The media couldn't get close enough thanks to the barrier made by the Filian sisters, so they couldn't see anything from the outside. As for the various explosions, we blamed them on the Eighth clan." Adds the Hokage.
"It's... serious?" I don't have any words.
"Don't worry Senji, everyone got the same little note if they were ever asked questions. Maybe someone will reveal the truth one day, but for now, you have your friends' word as a pledge of silence." Kakashi reassures me.
"I see... it's weird, I was expecting something else..." I scratch my head, digesting the information.
"It would be my greatest shame to see you treated like an enemy or worse... Your uncle wanted the people of Fuyuki to see you as a hero, not as the monster they think you are... I can't tolerate such an attitude towards you and I promise to protect you, whatever happens." Declared the Hokage.
"...Thank you." I bow my head. "You've already done so much for me, I promise I'll give it back, for sure."
"I don't doubt it, you are Minato's nephew after all." He nods, with his reassuring smile.
"Well... When do I get to leave?" I ask.
"In a few days, during this time, you'll undergo several psychological and physical tests, especially. I don't know if you've noticed, but you've lost a bit of muscle mass and weight. So you're going to recover a bit over the next few days. The rest is up to you afterwards." Kakashi explains.
"Okay, I don't have a choice anyway." I sigh.
"Well, now that that's out of the way..." The Hokage stands up.
"Wait, what about Youta? What are you going to do?" I ask.
"..." Kakashi and the Hokage looked at each other, guiltily. "Senji." Kakashi bends down to get to my level. "Youta's going to be buried tomorrow." Hearing this, I feel like I've been punched in the stomach.
"I see... you found the rest of his body?" I ask, soulless.
"Senji, the fox demon caused an explosion that reduced the warehouse to rubble, there are no more corpses, this funeral is just a wish from his parents." Kakashi explains.
My eyes widen, I clutch the pyjamas in my hand, feeling multiple, indescribable emotions run through me. I want to vomit, I want to punch my face, I want to scream with all my might but nothing happens... I bow my head, accepting what I've just heard.
"I see... I'm sorry..."
"Senji..." Hearing this, the Hokage frowned, then sighed, stepping towards the door. "In any case, this tragic event is behind us, now you must look to the future Senji. And that future begins with a hot meal and, above all... I think she's waited long enough."
Third Hokage opens the door to let in... Fuji-nee, who, on seeing me, drops the things in her arms and rushes towards me. She sits down and hugs me, crying and shaking all over.
"Oh Senji! My boy! You're all right! Thank you! Thank you!" She strokes the back of my head. "I'm so sorry! I couldn't do anything! I'm sorry!"
I wanted to wait for her to calm down and gently pushed her away, afraid to do anything to her. But seeing her crying her eyes out and shaking like that, I can't help but take her in my arms and gently stroke her back. That soft, reassuring warmth she radiates, I can feel it gradually invading me.
(I don't deserve this kind warmth... I just killed a friend... there's nothing left of him... I...)
"You're wrong about everything, partner."
(Ddraig...?)
"Accept this love with open arms partner, and promise yourself that nothing bad will ever happen to her. Your friend should never have died, but he did. And you have to live with this mistake for the rest of your life, so use it as a lesson, to look after your big sister and everyone you care about. Do you understand me?"
Ddraig's words echo in my head. I hold Fuji-nee tighter to me, without saying a word. Seeing this, Kakashi and the Hokage come out, greeting me discreetly. We stay like this for several minutes, until the meal arrives. After that, I spent the rest of the day reassuring and chatting with Fuji-nee.
The next day passes fairly quickly, I'm up early enough to do some physical exercise until 1pm, then I eat a rather hearty meal, with a note from the Hokage wishing me a speedy recovery. The afternoon followed with a multitude of tests and interrogations to find out if my mental health was in order. It seems that I'm doing pretty well, even if, as far as they're concerned, I still have some psychological problems. The day ends with a visit from Fuji-nee and my roommates. Inaho literally jumps on me, her eyes watering. We keep our discussions very simple, since Sakura doesn't know anything, and only knows the distorted version of events. Although apart from her, all the others have apologized, so I apologize in turn, for having caused them so much trouble...
The next day is a little longer, but more pleasant. Like yesterday, I get up very early to exercise until early afternoon, then have lunch. Then I get permission to go out for a while, so with fresh clothes on, I go for a walk in the little wood at the foot of the hospital with Fuji-nee. A change that does me a lot of good. On my way back to my room, I see Minori and Gen waiting for me, and a long chat ensues. I tell them what I remember in greater detail, having had fragments of memory come back to me in the meantime. I explain my relationship with the members of the Sunset Dragons and my objectives with Darwin's Game, before ending on a lighter note.
Monday, February 20, 2023.
It's almost 10am and I'm packing my things into a bag, waiting with some trepidation for Fuji-nee to arrive. Someone knocks on the door; it's the doctor in his immaculate white coat, entering with a serene face.
"Emiya, your janitor is here, taking care of the final formalities. How are you feeling?" He asks.
"..." I zip up my bag, stand up and put it on my back. "I feel fine, if a little anxious." I step closer to face him.
"It's normal, you've been through a difficult time, but don't be afraid of what comes next, okay? It's up to you what you do with it." He said with a smile, tapping my chest.
"You're right, thank you for everything." I bow.
"But with pleasure, but you know what would really please me?" He asks, accompanying me toward the entrance.
"What is it?"
"I know you'll inevitably come back here, for whatever reason, but make sure you come here as little as possible, it gives us a lot of grief to receive such young patients you know, so take care of yourself." He said with a touch of pain.
(...They must have seen a lot of children in a pitiful state or even on the verge of death here...) As I walk along, I watch the various nurses smile and go about their business. (I can't imagine the pressure they're under when this happens.)
"I'll do my best, but I can't promise you anything, I'm not the careful type." I reply, walking down the stairs.
"Oh I know that, but hearing you say you'll do your best reassures me well enough. On that note, have a nice day Emiya." He opens the door for me.
"Good day to you too, goodbye." I pass, closing behind me.
"Senji." I turn my head to see Fuji-nee beside me, hugging me.
"Hello Fuji-nee." I hug her too. "I didn't even see you come this close to me."
"Fufu! I know how to be discreet, you know! But I didn't want to bother you chatting with the doctor."
"I see." We let go of each other. "Well, I'm ready."
"Okay, let's get going!"
I greet the lady at the counter, who replies kindly. We go out, the sun dazzling me slightly, and I follow Fuji-nee to a car. I get in on the passenger side, putting my bag in the back, waiting for her to get behind the wheel.
"Go home! Oh you know, the girls can't wait to see you again, especially Chiyo, who's really worried about you." Fuji-nee explains as she gets into the car.
"I guess so, which versions did you tell her?" I ask.
"Well..." She starts the car, then turns to face me. "You know better than anyone, it's impossible to lie to Chiyo. She blames herself for listening to you."
"Then it's a good thing I asked her to stay home no matter what. If the others found out about her, we'd be in big trouble." I look out the window.
"That's what I told her, but well, you'll have to reassure her in your own words, you know better after all." She smiles at me. "Come on! Let's run home, a nice breakfast awaits us!"
"Wait Fuji-nee, can we take a turn?" I ask.
"Hm? Where?"
A light breeze sprang up, making the bare branches of the surrounding trees dance. I stand alone, facing his tombstone. Shinozuka Youta, 15 years old, born in 2007 and died in 2023. Numerous flowers and other decorations have been placed, the candles and incense have been out for a while because of the cold, but it seems that they are relit quite often, as they are almost all consumed.
I turn my gaze to the entrance, where I see Fuji-nee chatting with the cemetery janitor. My gaze slowly sweeps over the entire cemetery, taking in the ever-increasing number of tombstones. I stand there speechless for several minutes, not knowing what to do, seeing his grave was a shock, as if I hadn't believed in it before.
"Hello Senji." Says a man with a scar across the bridge of his nose.
"Hello, Iruka-sensei." I say, not taking my eyes off the grave.
"Glad to see you out of the hospital, Minori and Gen told me everything. It's still amazing to believe we pulled it off this way." He says with a smile, but stops when he sees me not react.
"It's like I'm in denial. I came here knowing full well that Youta is dead, I saw it. And yet, seeing his grave, I feel like I can't believe it, is that normal?" I ask, clenching my fist.
"Senji, that's a perfectly normal reaction, you've just lost a friend, maybe deep down you're hoping it's all just a nightmare, that's how many people deal with their grief." He replies.
"It's because of me that he died, I tried to take on something bigger than myself and I lost, in the end, One won..." I lower my head, no longer able to look at the tombstone.
"No, One's dead and you're not. Youta was the victim of a psycophate who wanted you dead. Youta had you and Usui as close friends, didn't he? Believe it or not, Usui is even more motivated than ever to become a hero, carrying on the legacy and motivation of his friend. Will you do the same?"
I widen my eyes, turning my gaze to Iruka, who smiles at me.
"I'm sure he'd want you to pick your head up and keep moving forward, for you and a little for him." He places a firm hand on my shoulder. "What would he want you to do?"
"...That I get my motorcycle license, that I find a girlfriend, that... I accomplish my goal..." Fragments of memory flash through my head. Youta, Usui and I talking about anything and everything, them fooling around with the other two, bickering and laughing loudly...
"Ah! That sounds just like him. Usui has done his mourning, at least that's what he says, it's up to you to do yours now, even if you feel responsible for his death, don't forget all the people who wanted to help him." He pats my shoulder before joining hands in front of the grave.
"I would, his death is a lesson I'll never forget." I do the same.
We don't say anything for several seconds, Iruka continuing to pray, and I just imitate him, unable to pray otherwise a huge headache might happen.
"Besides, it's Monday today, classes must have started again, right?" I ask, removing my hands.
"Minori has decided that classes will not be held today, for an obvious reason." Iruka explains, letting out a long sigh.
"I see... and may I ask what you were doing here?" I turn to him.
"My parents." He points to a large family grave. "I went to visit them. That's what I do when something's wrong. It relieves me."
"I see... that's a good idea, I'll do the same." I turn to a grave further into the cemetery.
"Kiritsugu is it? Tell me, have you ever been to your biological father's grave?" Iruka asks.
"...No, I don't even know where he's buried and frankly, I don't want to know." I reply curtly. "On that note, have a nice day, Iruka-sensei."
"...I see, good day to you too, see you later."
We part, leaving me to make my way to Kiritsugu's grave, which is as clean as ever, and I crouch down, removing what little gravel there is on the grave.
"Hi Kiritsugu, I've failed again, even worse, I've let the fox demon take possession of my body... It's awful, isn't it? After all you've taught me and shown me... but as you yourself so aptly put it, my best asset is that I always get back up, so I stand up again, and I'll carry on, even if it means dying, that's what makes us heroes, isn't it? Ah... I promised you I'd take your place, I will, no matter what, so watch me." I bow.
I head for the entrance and signal to Fuji-nee that I've finished. We say good-bye to the guard and get into the car to head for home. When we arrive, I'm greeted warmly by the girls, who lead me through the house to the dining room, where a veritable buffet awaits us. During the meal, I take the opportunity to send a message to the members of the Sunset Dragons, who reply immediately.
Late at night, on the roof of a building, I look out over the city, strengthening my eyes to see better. With me are Rain, Ryuji and Sui. Rain is with her sniper, scanning every block, Ryuji is on his phone and Sui is doing nothing, having insisted on accompanying us.
Suddenly, Rain fires, reloads and fires a second time, before removing her head from the sight.
"Two people, a guy and a girl, they tried to put up a clan flag." she reports.
"I see... you didn't kill them?" I ask.
"No, only scare them, and a hole in one hand to be sure."
"Okay, Shuka, where are you at?" I ask in the earpiece.
"A group of four who wanted to settle down, I left one of them alive to set an example, as promised!" She says.
"Ok... thanks..." I massage my temples.
"I didn't know that the Eighth's influence was so great that it prevented other players from setting up even in neighboring towns..." Sui remark.
"The closer you were to the Eighth, the easier a target you were for them. But now that they're gone, it's open-site hunting." Rain explains.
"Chief! I've got news from Danjo's club, everything's in place." Ryuji tells me.
"Perfect. We control all of Shibuya with the help of Danjo and all of Fuyuki. That should cool a lot of people off from wanting to mess things up." I nod in satisfaction.
"Ask your devil friends for help, and especially Minori-sensei and Gen-sensei's follow-up helps enormously. But it can very quickly become dangerous for them too, I hope they know." Rain remarks.
"I warned them and they agreed." I add.
"I must say that your request to the game master is interesting: if players decide to fight in our clan's zones, part of the points earned will be taken from the winner, but if you forbid fighting, it's useless, isn't it?" Ryuji asks, reading our clan's faculty.
"I'm not banning fighting, just preventing other players from setting up their clans on our territory to gain a monopoly. I know we'll need a lot of money to succeed in our goal, so we might as well do it this way, if it can also scare away players, so much the better." I explain.
"Hmm, you talk about money, but you still told Danjo to keep all the money he earns with this faculty... Luckily, he's a nice guy and he's going to give us part of what he earns every month. It's our initiative after all, we're entitled to our share." Ryuji remark.
"Yeah, sorry, I've still got a lot to learn." I scratch my head, embarrassed.
"I know Chef, when it comes to negotiations, leave it to Rain and me." Ryuji announced, with a sideways glance from Rain.
"No problem." I return my gaze to the city. "In any case, now that the Eighth are behind us, we can finally concentrate on our main objective."