Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Part 1: Police Booth

[][][][][]

An hour had passed since Hajime Hinata’s plane to Shinjuku was supposed to be in the air, en route, but instead it was still parked firmly at the gates, waiting. The people around him were on their phones, grumbling about the long delay.

“I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience,” A formally-dressed woman bowed from the front. “The flight will depart as expected in just a few minutes, but we received word a government official would like to board. We will give you a large amount of money if you graciously give up your seat,”

Everyone glanced around in response, looking for the one who’d indeed give their seat up.

“I will also personally refund your entire ticket,” The woman continued, and Hajime surprised himself by standing up.

“My seat! Here, you can have my seat,” He announced, motioning to it. He had a sudden image of taking that money and taking a bus ride across the country, purely alone and checking out the sights, punk rock blasting from his iPod. “Just add a thousand to that sum and it’s yours,”

The woman smiled kindly. “Thank you, sir,”

[][][][][][][]

And thus, a few weeks later, Hajime found himself in a small neighborhood near the city limits of Akibahara; duffel bag still firmly slung over his arm, staring at the sheriff in town, a largely-muscular man named Nekomaru Nidai. He was the exact sort of guy you would picture physically as being the perfect fit for the job, though his office was filled with pictures of little animals like kittens and hamsters. When he talked, he had the boisterous energy but the kind words you weren’t expecting.

“Looking for the officer job, huh? Good on you! We’re a small town, but we’re a proud one!” Nekomaru clapped him on the back. “I gotta ask though, what happened at your last security job? Nothing super bad or anything, right?”

Hajime has no idea what ‘super bad’ would even mean to a man like Nekomaru, so Hajime shrugged his bag slightly and started from the beginning.

“I was a police officer often charged with taking care of...uh, ‘underserved neighborhoods’. Believe it or not, nothing ever really happened on my watch. Maybe a few kids accidentally breaking windows but that’s it. Good for someone like me. One day though, I was called to the scene by a distressed voice. I hurried right over and found two people; teenagers, really, standing on top of a roof, holding hands and looking down nervously.

I knew exactly what they were going to do, and they had attracted a few other teenagers to watch as well. I strongly told them to climb down and they’d be put into holding for the night so they could calm down. I had no clue if they were suicidal or not, but they probably weren’t if they were eating up all that attention, right?”

Nekomaru nodded to show he was listening.

“The girl looked distraught and suddenly started crying about how she didn’t want to die that way and didn’t think it was right anymore. She let go of her presumed boyfriend’s hand and rushed away, trying to climb down the roof. I rushed over as well, trying to give her a hand. I guess I spooked her too badly or something, since she jumped down the ladder on accident and fell on the pavement. Knocked unconscious and one of the people present was a close friend of hers who demanded I go to court for manslaughter,” Hajime sighed. “I explained my case and turned my badge in myself. I decided to go to someplace a bit...quieter. I don’t think I’m much of a lawman anyway,”

Nekomaru nodded again. “If you ask me, it just sounds like a group of kids trying to show off. I have no clue why one of them would even think of reporting you for accidentally knocking someone out, but what’s done is done.” He turned to his papers. “But saying that, it sounds like you’d be done with anything related to security or the police,”

Hajime shrugged. “As long as I don’t have to help any girls climb down ladders I think I’ll be fine,” He tried to tease. “Plus, you said it yourself. This is a small town. I’ll sit in my little booth on the corner and help out any lost students or tourists. I can do that,”

“Well, all I can do now is refer you to Officer Koizumi. You could consider her a boss in a way. Your boss. Also, you will not carry a weapon, but you knew that, right?” Nekomaru caught Hajime’s nod of understanding.

“A female head officer, huh? Wouldn’t want to get on her bad side,”

“You do not.”

[][][][][][][][]

Officer Mahiru Koizumi was a slim woman of average height and a head of short flaming red heir and the cutest of freckles sprinkled on her nose and cheeks. She wore the white blouse and navy pencil skirt with matching vest as if she were born in it.

Hajime made no attempt to flirt with her, already predicting her charm shields were up. He wondered if she already had a boyfriend she had originally considered for the job.

Mahiru handed him a map and a stopwatch, telling him he’d have to walk the distance of the entire town several times at night, circling around constantly.

“Sounds like a good way to bulk up,” Hajime slipped the folded-up map and stopwatch into his pocket, catching Mahiru’s firm stare.

“You’ll likely have Mondays and Thursdays off, but every once in a while we may call you in especially on a holiday. I assume you know how much you’re being paid,”

“Only about a thousand a week,” He continued staring at her. “Do you have an issue with me? I know you’re my boss, technically, but still best to be out with it. I don’t want to constantly watch my words around you,”

Mahiru seemed to lightly blush at that before looking away in annoyance. “Most people don’t take this job seriously in a town as small as ours. Some others doubted my expertise and refused to work under me. I lived and worked here for many years and I just don’t like the thought of such a job going to a random outsider,” She said bluntly. “It’s not important work, but it’s stuff we’re proud of as a community,”

Hajime nodded. “I get it...I promise I won’t be lazy or sloppy about the work,”

“You better not be!”

“Did I mention my grandfather had a similar job? Decorated his booth with the nicest shade of blue I had ever seen. You could see his kiosk from everywhere in town,” He continued, noticing the faintest trace of a smile on Mahiru’s face. “I was quite proud of him,”

“Well...here’s to hoping you’ll make us proud,”

[][][][][][]

Toya; the tiny town near Akibahara Hajime was currently residing in, was indeed small, but cozy. Hajime could genuinely see himself wishing to stay until Christmas or even until the next summer. Nekomaru and Mahiru were the people closest to him, but the remainder of the town’s citizens weren’t too shabby themselves and some had taken to greeting Hajime every day as he headed off for work.

And indeed, it was mainly nothing. He had to still keep an eye out, of course, but even the lost people he had expected to show up at least occasionally never had. He supposed that was what happened when the shops in town were all in a line with the all-ages school just across the street, houses further down the road.

One night, however, he was getting ready to head on home when he heard quiet footsteps trying to shuffle past him on the sidewalk. Confused, he turned the flashlight on and shined it on the noisemaker, revealing two kids who promptly shielded their eyes.

“What the hell,” He groaned and lowered it. There was a girl and a boy, both looking about twelve, with backpacks on and carrying lunchboxes. Both were dressed in shapeless black coats and jeans, but the girl with pink hair had attempted to brighten hers up with poorly-sewn appliqués in the shapes of hearts and rainbows.

“We’re running away,” The boy said in a matter-of-fact tone. “The two of us don’t like our families so we thought...”

“Please don’t arrest us, Policeman-san!” The girl suddenly cried, clasping her hands together. “I’m too young to be in jail!”

“I’m not going to arrest anyone.” Hajime sighed. “Look, your parents are crappy. I get that. Mine were too for the longest time. Running away isn’t going to solve that though. My advice is take up going to cram school or join a club come junior high. Then you’ll rarely see them,”

He had meant it as a joke, but the pink-haired girl seemed to have taken it seriously, judging by how her eyes lit up. “Oh thank you, Policeman-san! I will!”

“Are you two siblings?”

“No. Just neighbors,” The blue-haired boy answered. “We had the idea at the same time and acted on it,”

“Door or window?”

“Back window,” Both answered at once.

Hajime nodded and finished gathering up his things. “Alright. I’m going to take you two back home now, but I won’t tell your parents about this. Unless you do it again,”

“Oh, no, we won’t at all! I promise!” The girl nodded, and Hajime watched the boy shyly help her crawl up into her bedroom window then jump up into his own. Hajime gave a solemn wave to both of them and started to head back home on his own.

He’d want to take Mahiru out to dinner tomorrow, someplace fancy. Fancy was hard to come by in a town like that, but there was still a place down the road that was classy enough she’d have to wear a nice white dress. And Hajime would wear khakis.

Everything in Toya was as normal as it could possibly be. Normal, quiet, peaceful.

Until a certain event happened later that summer that completely changed Hajime’s life, as well as the town in general, forever.

Chapter Text

Part 2: The Precocious Boy

[][][][][][]

“You are likely wondering why I called you in here,” The principal of Shuichi Saihara’s middle-school, an average-looking man with glasses, addressed Shuichi’s uncle, a man with dark colourings for hair and eyes who arrived in a formal jacket.

“Is Shuichi-chan in trouble?” Mr. Saihara instantly asked, sighing once the principal shook his head.

“I won’t take up too much of your time today. I just want to talk about some specific things concerning Saihara-san that...concern me,” The principal adjusted his glasses. “As you know, the system here at Project Junior High is similar to a Western school in the sense we emphasize not only academic excellence but also social excellence. We encourage students to make friends with their classmates and try to form a potential lasting bond,”

Mr. Saihara just nodded, still confused as to where this was going.

“Your nephew is an intelligent young man, anyone could see that. However, I worry he’s not socially enriching himself enough. He always eats lunch alone and shirks away at any hint of a group project,”

“Well, some kids are just shy at that age. I’m sure it’s something he’ll grow out of,” Mr. Saihara offered.

“Maybe, maybe not. I’ve had him in my office a few times and when he does manage to speak to me he just sounds so.....unsure. Confused. As if he has no idea what he’s even supposed to be doing,” The principal stood up. “I say this as both a father and uncle myself. Summer is coming up. Take that time to get closer with your nephew and try to figure out what’s going on in his head. Maybe he truly is just shy, or maybe it’s the sign of something more severe,”

Mr. Saihara just nodded again, and a few days later, when he picked Shuichi up from school, he noticed his nephew in question sitting on the steps leading to the school’s gymnasium, his black cap pulled tightly over his eyes, in the middle of a thick book. His classmates chatted and played around him. Mr. Saihara honked the horn and made Shuichi glance up, blushing at the noise and walking down the steps, getting into the car.

“Hey. What do you say we go out for some pizza today? Celebrate the start of summer?” Mr. Saihara suggested, teasing.

“It hasn’t started yet though. Um, we haven’t even taken our final exams yet..” Shuichi answered nervously.

“We’re celebrating the last day of freedom then!” He drove off and noticed Shuichi running his fingers along the page edges of the book. “That a good book?”

“Yes! It’s very interesting,”

Mr. Saihara got a glance at the cover and realized it was a book about famous dictators. He suppressed a shiver.

At the pizza place, Shuichi managed to drink down three cups of soda as well as eat an entire pizza himself, wiping his fingers carefully before he spread his book out on the table and started reading again.

“Your principal called me down a few days ago,” Mr. Saihara began. “He suggested that maybe...you should try to open up more,”

Shuichi blushed at that. “...It’s hard. I do try, believe me, but...” He stared idly at the table, and the empty plate of pizza in front of him hovered a few feet in the air before spinning and landing softly back down on the table.

Mr. Saihara said nothing; he was used to such displays, after all. They weren’t too terribly common, but every once in a while he caught Shuichi deeply focusing on his book or homework or whatever and something close to him would start floating in the air. It was a fact of life they had both accepted and never really questioned.

”Tell you what. The day after finals, you start packing your things up, Shuichi-chan. We’re going to take a long trip to Germany,” Mr. Saihara teased, making Shuichi look over in disbelief.

“Germany? Why Germany of all places?!”

”I just heard it’s lovely in the summer,”

Shuichi wouldn’t mind finally getting out of his native country and visiting Germany. Or any country really. He had spent twelve years in Japan and it was enough for him.

And Germany would be lovely; new flowers to see and maybe the heat would finally compel him to take his hat off...

”I can’t finish this last piece. Want it?” Mr. Saihara offered, and Shuichi surprised both of them by eagerly agreeing.

[][][][][][]

After finals, Shuichi stood outside in the hot mid-July sun and waited for his uncle’s car, tugging on his backpack straps. Just as promised, he had been packing since that last night.

“Did you ace your final?” A voice surprised him, making him jump slightly. Beside him was a girl with wavy pink hair tied up into twin dumplings. Even though it was likely against the dress code, he could see faint hints of her sheer petticoat underneath her uniform skirt and the black thigh-highs that vanished underneath, making him blush.

“Ummm...I’m not sure. We just took them today, isn’t it a bit too early to ask?”

She giggled. “I guess you’re right. I guess...I feel like I failed it badly. I tried asking one of my friends but she laughed me off,” She played with her fingers shyly. Shuichi suddenly felt compelled to take her hands.

“I’m sure you did fine. I nearly missed half the questions on the backside,” He smiled a bit when she laughed again.

“Kiriko-chan! Your dad is here!” A guy walked over and the girl-named Kiriko evidently-nodded in understanding and raced off. Shuichi caught the guy giving her hand a brief squeeze as she ran by him and felt a small twinge of jealousy. A trashcan outside suddenly shoved back a few paces.

Shuichi spotted his own uncle and waved to him, getting in the car.

[][][][][][][]

At approximently two that morning, a man and a woman dressed in all black managed to infiltrate the Saihara residence. The woman killed the alarm system and the man snuck inside the adult’s room, planning on slitting his throat silently.

The woman, on the other hand, snuck into the boy’s room, finding him asleep soundly on his back, facing the ceiling. The woman grabbed a cloth and doused it with chemicals, taking a few steps and accidentally bumping her hip against the boy’s dresser. A trophy fell off and clattered to the floor, waking the boy up. He opened his eyes slowly, squinting at the shadowy figure.

“Mother?” He asked sleepily.

“If you want.” The woman shoved the cloth into his face, easily catching him when he had fainted and was successfully rendered unconscious. She gingerly scooped him up and carried him outside to the van, meeting up with the man again.

“Is he dead?” She questioned, and the man nodded. “Good. Did she say which one this one is? TP?”

”He’s just a regular TK. A bit stronger than thought but that’s good for us! It’ll make her proud!” The man shut the doors and silently drove off. The woman remained in the back and kept an eye on the unconscious boy.

Inside, his uncle laid slain in his own bed, and the authorities and media would both start to question it. Did Shuichi do this and run away? He was always a strange little boy, always muttering about blood and death. Best that he ran then.

[][][][][][]

In her office, Junko Enoshima boredly flicked through her various screens on her monitoring system. She wore a denim jacket over a blouse and matching jeans, looking more like a mom than anyone in a position of power.

“Our newest arrival...right on time,” She smiled to herself. “Saihara Shuichi-kun.”

”Mistress Enoshima!” Ruruka Andoh popped her head in, wearing an all-pink Victorian maid gown with a heart sticker on her nametag. “Sorry if you’re busy, but I finished the paperwork you wanted! I think you’ll be so happy with the news!”

Junko turned the monitoring system off and smiled more, leaning in. “Oh? Then totes tell me already. It’s boring in here,”

“Five more coming in, ahead of schedule! Our people do such great work, huh?” Ruruka set the papers down neatly on her desk and pulled a sucker out of her apron pocket, licking it. It was purple. “Two tonight and three tomorrow. Four are just standard TKs, but one is TP, and I heard from a little bird that they’re an extremely strong TP!” Ruruka licked her lollipop some more.

Junko instantly went through the files, nodding. “They scored the highest on the physic tests that we’ve seen so far. Oh, I’m totes excited to meet them!”

”Fujisaki Chihiro,” Ruruka commented. “That’s the name,”

“From Akibahara. I totes remember now. The parents are a pair of computer programmers who live in the very heart of the city. They’re also super uber mega ultra Catholic, so there’s that,” Junko closed the file. “Still, this place hasn’t had someone as strong as that in ages. Even now the most we get are just a few lame-o TKs. So boring. Also, this one is super special. Minimum shots and don’t do anything to induce seizures or drowning. Don’t wanna harm the goods, ya know?” Junko laughed and returned to her computer. Ruruka nodded, bowed, and left.

[][][][][]

Shuichi recalled a strange dream he had that night of a woman with black hair and nebulous eyes that seemed to glow in the dark leaning over his bed and saying calmly: If you want.

Was it a dream? It had seemed so clear to Shuichi when it was happening despite him blacking out moments after.

Clothes were neatly laid out on the foot of his bed, where Shuichi often kept them the night before, and gingerly stepped out of bed and looked them over.

A black T-shirt, grey striped overshirt, black jeans, white sneakers. His black cap to top it off. Some white boxers as well. Everything looked right, but Shuichi had the suspicion it wasn’t all right.

There was no window in his room like there was at home, just an unmarked wall of blue paint. He had a poster of Princess Aiko near the door that had a small rip near the bottom; he ran his hand along the edge. All smooth.

The bookshelf was still filled with the books it was normally, but the miniature figure he placed on top; of Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4, was missing.

Not his poster, not his bookshelf, clearly not his room.

He strode over to the door after getting dressed fully, his heart beating loudly as he turned the knob and pulled the door open, blinking a few times to process that indeed, he was not locked in.

The hallway was made of cinderblocks painted a garish shade of green and multicolored lights shone down, illuminating the floor in dizzying contrasts of green, blue, purple, yellow, red, and pink. Doors made from stainless steel lined the hall, with a poster featuring a nurse dressed conservatively and giving a wide smile that said: ‘Embrace your true talent!’ Shuichi thought the nurse looked more uncomfortable and awkward than genuinely happy.

He stepped out more and looked over to his left, finding a girl sitting in front of another set of industrial doors. She had dark skin and despite seeming to be the same age as Shuichi, perhaps a year older, she was smoking a cigarette.

Shuichi stepped closer in confusion and fascination. She had her brown hair up in a ponytail tied with an orange bow as well as a silver hair clip. She wore an orange tank top and blue gym shorts with matching sneakers that had a wavy pattern on them. On her left wrist were a bunch of colourful bracelets and around her waist a red track jacket was tied.

Overall, she looked to be a loud, colourful mess.

“Hey there,” She greeted, sucking on the cigarette. It was just a candy one.

Shuichi gave a brief nod and glanced up at the poster she was sitting underneath. It featured a woman in an elegant ensemble hiding her mouth with a deck of cards. The poster read: ‘Never shy away from telling the truth!’

“Like that poster? I find it ironic. It’s like one of those propaganda pieces from the war,”

“Where am I?” Shuichi asked instead, biting his lip. He suddenly felt like crying.

“According to Miss Kirigiri, somewhere in Hokkaido. Really far up north,” She took a bite out of the ‘cigarette’.

“M-My room. I was asleep, but then I woke up in a room that looked like my room but wasn’t,”

”Yeah,” The girl just shrugged and Shuichi had no idea what emotion she meant to relay from that. She slipped a red box out of her jacket pocket and held it out. “Want one? They’re pretty good,”

Shuichi took a candy cigarette out from the box and bit into it, feeling the sugar swarm around in his mouth.

“It was one of the last boxes in the Kuma-Kuma Box. They also have the real stuff if you can believe it, not like I’d go near it,” She stuck out her tongue.

“For kids?!”

”Yeah. Oh, I never introduced myself! I’m Asahina Aoi, and you are?”

“Saihara Shuichi,”

“Nice! Oh, my friends usually just call me Hina, or Aoi-chan. You can call me whatever, but don’t call me ‘sweetie’.”

“Why?” Shuichi polished off the last of the candy cigarette.

“It’s what they say when they give us tests. ‘Be a good girl and it won’t hurt, okay sweetie?’ ‘It’s just some water, don’t be scared sweetie,’” Aoi sighed. “But you’ll be fine. You’re a good person, I can tell. Just follow the rules and everything will work out,”

Shuichi looked up and down the hall and noticed all of the steel doors again. Likely a room behind every one. More posters he was too far away to read. “How many more kids?”

”Ummm..just five I think. Never that many here, but Miss Kirigiri says we’re going to get some more by the end of this week.” Aoi stood up and slipped the box back into her pocket. “So, whaddya do for fun?”

Shuichi blushed at the sudden question. “Read, mostly. Play video games..? I don’t think I’m an interesting person,”

Aoi laughed. “I like sports, especially swimming. I wanna be a famous Olympic swimmer when I grow up! I want to win the gold medal!”

“Doesn’t look like there’s a pool here,”

”You’d be right about that...”

A door at the end of the hallway suddenly opened, revealing a woman trying to drag something out of the room while propping the door open. Aoi gasped and hurried over, Shuichi following. As he got closer he saw the woman was wearing a conservative brown dress with ruffles on the hem and sleeves, black slip-on shoes on her feet. She was trying to drag a huge bin of clothes out of a lounge-looking room with couches and a large TV on the wall.

Shuichi opened the door for her all the way and she pulled the bin out, offering him a small smile.

“Thank you,” She had short violet hair that reached her chin with two black bows on either side and icy skin that matched her demeanor. Shuichi couldn’t even guess how old she was, for she seemed to be one of those people who looked old yet young at the same time. She had a nametag with a violet bar of soap as a sticker. “Saihara Shuichi-chan, right?”

”Yes,” He blushed in surprise and offered her a bow as he was taught. “How’d you know?”

”Read about you,” She glanced away. “Nice to meet you,”

Shuichi decided it was nice to meet her specifically, but it wasn’t nice to meet her in a place like this, with no clue as to where he was or how he got there. What about his uncle? He’d tear the whole house up in a flurry to find him. He’d call the police and get the whole town searching. And as for his parents...

“Kirigiri Kyoko. I’m a..maid, I guess is a good way to put it. I keep the rooms neat and orderly around here. I’ll keep yours nice too,” She continued, a firm grip on the bin.

“You’re not a messy person, are you?” Aoi asked. “Because Miss Kirigiri has enough on her plate already!”

“He doesn’t look like a troublemaker. Unlike Oowada-chan, who is the sort of person to wreck havoc on a room by simply being in one,” She sighed. “Where is he? I didn’t see him playing outside with Ouma-chan or Maizono-chan,”

“You know him, he never wakes up before one in the afternoon. And then he uses up all the hot water when he showers,” Aoi huffed.

“It was nice to meet you,” Kyoko addressed Shuichi again before she walked off, taking the bin full of clothes with her. Aoi nudged him off in the other direction, taking him into the lounge. She shut the door and her expression suddenly turned more serious. “Almost all of the people who work here are terrible people. They’re bad towards us..but Miss Kirigiri is different. She barely talks but she’s a good person, I can tell. Plus she has a lot of stuff going on in her life,”

”Really?” Shuichi asked curiously, glancing out the window. It was late afternoon and he spotted two kids hanging out on the playground. He assumed these were the Ouma and Maizono Miss Kirigiri mentioned earlier.

“Yeah. She’s really sick. She’s been trying to live as private as a life as possible because her grandfather keeps threatening to run her out. But she has something she has to do before she’s finally ready to cut him out of her life for good,” Aoi said.

“She really told you all that?” Shuichi asked in surprise. True, Aoi was a very friendly and cheerful person, he could tell that about her already, but that didn’t seem like the sort of information you’d even tell an adult not involved, let alone a kid.

It wasn’t any of his business though.

“Are you a TK or a TP?”

He might’ve spat out his drink if he had been drinking anything.

“You know what I’m asking!” Aoi pouted.

He thought of how things sometimes floated around him randomly if he focused intently on something. The plate at the pizza place. The trashcan the last day of school.

“TP is telepathy while TK is telekinesis,” Aoi continued. “I’m a TP, and quite proud of it too!”

“You read minds...” Shuichi covered his mouth. “I’m just...TK I guess.”

“Sure do! That’s why I know all of that stuff about Miss Kirigiri. She’s never told anyone else,” She pouted. “I...I feel bad about prying into her private life like that, but...it’s not really something that I can help, you know? The least I can do is try to help her out,”

He nodded. “I can make things float, but only if I concentrate really hard on something else.” He looked out the window again at the kids and saw the girl jumping up and down on the trampoline and the boy dribbling a basketball. Neither looked super invested in what they were doing. “Ouma-san and Maizono-san?”

“Yeah!” Aoi joined him at the window. “Ouma Kokichi-san and Maizono Sayaka-chan. They’re both TKs. TP is super rare. I actually don’t think I’ve met any here aside from myself,”

Shuichi pointed out the window at the playground in general, hoping she’d get his question.

“Huh? We can go outside. In fact, the playground is never locked even at night. We’re made to have at least an hour of outside physical activity a day, but most of us just continue to stay outside anyway,” She gasped. “Oh, and slather yourself with bug spray when you go outside. The bugs here this time of year are brutal,”

“Are they nice?”

“Those two? Sayaka-chan is really nice to everyone, and Ouma-san is...Ouma-san. He mainly teases people, but I guess he has the potential to be nice. They haven’t been here super long. Sayaka-chan has been here for ten days, while Ouma-san has been here a week. And then Oowada-san has been here longer than them, and I’ve been here a month,” She suddenly looked sad. “...As much as I hate to say it, I don’t think close friendships are things you should have here, Saihara-san. Everyone leaves here eventually,”

Shuichi nodded again.

“And don’t be too scared of Oowada-san if you run into him. He likes to talk tough but he’s nothing but a puppy on the inside,” Aoi stated. “His speeches can get annoying though,”

They started to head for the door, Shuichi getting there first, but Aoi suddenly pulled him back and planted a large kiss on his lips. His whole face blushed a hot red and when she pulled away, looking proud, he found he couldn’t speak at all. His heart hammered.

“I was in quarantine when I first came here, so no shots for dots. Consider it a favour,” She explained. “I don’t even know how I got sick, guess it was some kind of fluke. Bad case of strep throat, I nearly got scarlet fever it was that bad. Maybe I’m still a bit sick and you’ll get sick too, and then you’ll have a week of nothing but juice and watching TV!”

Shuichi nodded and noticed the girl waving at them.

“Come on! Let’s go meet the others!” She happily took his hand and led him outside.

Chapter Text

Part 3: Shots for Dots

[][][][][][][][]

Aoi pulled Shuichi close to her and wrapped an arm around him and for a brief moment, he thought she’d kiss him again and surprised himself by realizing he actually sorta wanted that. She whispered to him: “Talk about whatever except for Miss Kirigiri. They’re always listening,”

Shuichi nodded and pulled down the brim of his cap as they headed outside to the playground. Most of the area was covered in concrete, but the trampoline and jungle gym were above spongy material. There was not only a basketball court and a trampoline but also a faded jungle gym, a slide, an obstacle course, swings, a jump-roping area, a badminton court, and a few picnic tables spread out in front of a green shed. The shed read in huge hiragana characters: ‘Games and Equipment. Please return what you take out!’

Actually, the posters inside were written in hiragana too, without any kanji. In the manga Shuichi read sometimes they’d always write in kanji with the hiragana written on the side for younger readers who may not have learned as much kanji yet. Here, though, it was all written in hiragana like a kindergarten class would have. Did that mean kindergarteners were taken here too?

He shivered.

The whole playground had an insect theme, so the beaten equipment showed the bodies of grasshoppers, beetles, butterflies, caterpillars, ladybugs, and grass and flowers. A tall chain-link fence surrounded the playground with two dusty cameras perched on top. The fence had a heavy brown tarp thrown over it with a forest painted on it, so Shuichi couldn’t tell what lay just outside the building.

As for the playground, it was clear it was one of those ‘experimental risk’ playgrounds built in the seventies to encourage urban children to seek thrills, judging by the intensity of some of the ladders and swings. Yet the paint was chipped and the bugs had dead looks in their eyes that made the playground resemble more an abandoned carnival at night than anything for children to play on.

The girl bouncing on the trampoline spotted them and waved, her blue hair flying around her. “Aoi-chan! Who’s that?” She jumped off the trampoline and landed daintily on the ground.

“Saihara Shuichi-san. New this morning,” Aoi pushed him over to the girl, making him blush and bow gently.

“Hi! I’m Maizono Sayaka. Pleased to meet you!” She bowed back. She had spring-coloured eyes and a violet polo shirt with a sparkly brown plaid pleated skort on with violet sneakers and white thigh-highs. Her hair clips matched her colour scheme and her forehead gleamed with sweat and bug spray.

“Not pleased to be here, but pleased to meet you,” Shuichi answered quickly, his own palms sweating. He felt the bugs starting to swarm around him.

“I’m from Nagoya on the coast. What about you?”

”Yamaguchi. It’s pretty small, but we’re-“

”You’re famous for your noodle dish, right? Where you sprinkle lemon on top?”

He nodded.

“Ouma-san! Introduce yourself to the newcomer!” Aoi scolded, staring at the boy trying to shoot a basket.

“Kokichi is about to make or break his entire career with this one basket. If he makes it, he’ll win the entire season. The teams are tied at four,”

“Ouma-kun has an active fantasy life!” Sayaka said happily. “In addition to talking a lot. You just learn to get used to it,”

“He shoots...” Kokichi threw the ball at the hoop and watched it slam on the back and fall back down. “Damn it...”

“Ouma-san!” Aoi tried again. Kokichi picked the ball up, tossed it a few times in his hands, then threw it again, watching the ball circle around the rim before falling back down.

“Awww, you lost,” Sayaka teased as Kokichi finally came over.

He was short, shorter than anyone currently present, with messy purple hair and eyes. He wore black shorts and a black T-shirt with galaxy Converse he quite obviously painted himself. Suspenders fell from his shorts since he wasn’t currently wearing them. “What’s your name?”

”Saihara Shuichi,”

“And I’m Ouma Kokichi. You probably knew that from these girls though. They just can’t keep their hands off me. Too bad for them, I say,” He teased.

Aoi and Sayaka just stared at him blankly.

“If only they knew I’m not into that,”

“Where am I? Asahina-san said it was The Institute but I’m not sure what that even means,” Shuichi asked shyly. Kokichi radiated confidence he decided he wasn’t a fan of.

“They should call it Hope’s Peak Academy because they always talk about how we’re the hope for humanity,” Sayaka said in an overly-preppy voice. She clasped her hands together. “Thanks to our beloved Headmistress, Mistress Enoshima,”

”Who is she?”

”A bitch,” Kokichi answered easily. “You’re going to meet her soon and do not give her sass. Nothing she hates more than being sassed. I learned that the hard way,”

”TP or TK?” Sayaka addressed Shuichi.

“TK...things move around me sometimes, but I have to be focusing on something else. It’s not very strong though...” He trailed off.

“TK-positive? That’s what they call kids like Ouma-san and I. We’re not supposed to know that but we do,” Aoi pouted.

“It basically means you can do it whenever you want to,” Sayaka hurried over and picked the abandoned basketball up. “I can only do it if I’m super excited or startled or upset. I’m average. They call the average ones ‘Shiro’. Since I’m a shiro, that means more tests. The other day I got the tank,”

“No shiro for this kid! I’m about as positive about my TK as you can get!” Kokichi cut in, grinning. “Just watch this!” All of the bugs swarming around him suddenly blew away as he stood there, like a huge wind had blown. A few seconds later, however, they all just flew back. “Only lasts for a few seconds though,”

“Could you have made that second shot go in?” Shuichi asked. Kokichi grinned at him.

“Maybe, if I concentrated reallllllly hard on it,”

Sayaka took to rubbing her arms suddenly, sitting down on a picnic table. “I wish a new kid would be a super powerful TK-positive and teleport us out or something,”

Aoi pulled Sayaka close.

“I wanna be an idol! I was on X-Factor Japan and placed second! I have the talent...no idol should look like this!” She revealed her arms in distress, showing off the multitude of coloured bandages on both. At that moment, she looked a lot older than her fifteen years. “Can you move stuff around on purpose?” She rubbed her eyes.

“...Not really,” Shuichi answered lamely. He knew he did it and he was aware of it, but he had never really tried to do it purposefully. “My uncle knew I could do it but we kept it a secret. More for the public than us...he said people might freak,”

“When you really think about it, our powers are no big deal. Yet we’re all here,” Aoi trailed off.

“Can you start from the beginning? I’m still lost,” Shuichi asked her, not hearing the footsteps stopping just behind him.

”This is the beginning, dude, but also probably the end,”

Shuichi spun around and shyly pulled his cap down, feeling intimidated by the new guy’s presence. He was only fourteen but looked far older, with big muscles and a tall frame with striking violet eyes and a large brown hairstyle that seemed to be the only kept-up part of his appearance. He was wearing a black trenchcoat buttoned up over everything, grey shorts, black boots that were heavy, and fingerless leather gloves.

He kinda looks like a serial killer, Shuichi couldn’t help thinking to himself. Maybe like Ted Bundy, or Charles Starkweather.

He also thought that the other three were trying to be lighthearted and make the most of their situation. This guy, Mondo Oowada, was not. He had a healing black eye and cuts on his cheeks and lips. Shuichi felt if any teacher inflicted those, they were likely to get fired.

“Saihara Shuichi,” He bowed anyway to be polite, but Mondo had shuffled over to the equipment shed.

“You good at Monopoly, Saihara?”

“Oooh, may I play?” Sayaka asked eagerly, perking back up.

“Monopoly?” Shuichi asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. I think it’s an intense game. Got a problem with that?” Mondo threatened, setting the game out on an empty picnic table. “I swear, nobody around here knows how to play a good game of this anymore. The last person who gave me a run for my money...no pun intended, was Harukawa. But she’s gone to Back Half now,”

”Where we shall see her no longer,” Kokichi added.

“I’ll play, but...where am I? Where is this place? What’s going on?” Shuichi asked, sliding in the bench across from Mondo. Sayaka sat next to Mondo and watched with fascination as he started dolling out the money.

“The Institute. Somewhere near the mountains of Hokkaido. Not even a town, really. Hina managed to pick that up with the help of Kuzuryuu. He was a TP they took to Back Half. And they don’t even bother with keepin’ certain shit a secret because none of us are able to know. Only her and she can’t go in super deep,”

Aoi shrugged. “I ace the Rhine cards on my best days. And I know the name of your grandmother if it’s at the front of your mind, but that’s it,”

Momoko.

”Momoko,”

Shuichi jumped.

“Oowada-kun is our honorary bad boy!” Kokichi teased. “He’s got the scars to prove he’s really more brawn than brains. He makes such a hard time for the other staff members,”

The three children picked their pieces and set out their money, then started playing.

“You’re kinda the elder here, Mondo-kun! Why don’t you fill Shuichi-san in on everything?” Sayaka suggested nicely. “It’s creepy to wake up in a room that looks just like your own room,”

Mondo sighed and leaned back in his seat. Shuichi briefly caught a glimpse of Aoi staring at him and thought if she ever kissed him, it wouldn’t be just to pass on a case of strep throat.

“I’ll tell ya what I know. It ain’t a lot, but it’ll do. The chicks can chime in where they see fit, and Ouma can keep his mouth shut if he feels a bullshit attack coming on,” He glared at Kokichi, who gasped dramatically.

“I was going to let you drive my foreign Porsche!”

“Hina has been here the longest because of her strep throat. She says she’s seen about twenty-five kids come through here. We all come from somewhere. She’s from Fukushima, Sayaka-san is from Nagoya, Ouma is from Aomori,”

”A perfectly respectable place!” Kokichi felt the need to chime in.

“They tag us like we're fucking cattle,” Mondo turned his head to reveal a medium-sized black piercing in his earlobe. “We’re examined, tested, given shots for dots, then more exams and tests. Shiros get more tests and more shots. And if you’re TK-positive like myself or the annoying shit over there, they make you do stupid pet tricks.”

”They give you shots,” Sayaka stared blankly at the Chance card she had. “Sometimes they hurt and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they do stuff to you and sometimes they don’t. Once I spiked a terrible fever after one and for a second thought I had caught Aoi-chan’s strep throat except it only lasted for a day. They keep giving you shots until you see the dots and hear the hum,” She moved her piece and gave some money to Mondo after landing on his house.

“Yeah, we're kidnapped. Just because we have an inkling of physic power, and why? Who knows. And who even knows how they find us. This place is like a military base,” He grumbled."With security and doctors and technicians and who knows what else. The next time you go to lunch, look out the window. You'll see mostly fields and mountains in the distance, but squint hard and you'll see a green-painted building like this one. That's Back Half, where we go once all the tests and shots are done,"

"What happens there?" Shuichi found himself asking, but Aoi shrugged.

"Nobody really knows..."

"They always tell us that everything will be alright," Sayaka pouted. "That's what they always say."

"And I'll say this back to them a million more times that I refuse to be kept down! Test me all they want, I don't give a shit! Beat me up, drag me to Back Half, and I'll fight you every single step of the way! Oowada Mondo doesn't take this shit!" He then looked over at Shuichi for probably the first time that day, really looked at him, and smiled. Shuichi wasn't sure if he was attracted to guys or not, it wasn't something he thought on often, but seeing that smile suddenly made him reconsider slightly. It was no wonder Sayaka and Aoi stared at Mondo like he was a member of a boy band. "And I'll say this to you, kid. They bring us here in the dead of night, they test us, shoot us full of God knows what, then more tests. Some kids get the tank. All kids get the weird eye test that makes you feel like passin' out. Our rooms look like our rooms at home so as not to upset our fragility or some crap like that,"

Shuichi nodded in understanding again.

"Good grub in the cafeteria if ya can believe it. Got a fancy menu and everything. Doors are never locked at night so you can go down and get a midnight snack if you want. They leave out stuff like fruit and cookies. Then there's the Kuma-Kuma Box with your tokens which you only get if you're good. That has snacks and sodas in it and some other stuff too like toys,"

"I got a really cool sticky hand the other day," Kokichi added with a grin. "I got it stuck right on the wall! I'm working on their paperwork next,"

"They also got alcohol and cigarettes in there if that's more your thing,"

"It's a joke how the signs plastered everywhere warn us to drink responsibly," That was Sayaka, pouting a bit. "Kids as young as ten can get buzzed,"

"Some kids here try to stay as buzzed as possible. Though most of them just try to veg out in front of the television. Those creep me out the most because their eyes just look dead..." Aoi trailed off. "I think I'd much rather be a maintenance drinker,"

"Ten-year-olds?!" Shuichi asked in disbelief.

"Some kids here are heavy smokers," Sayaka nodded again. "But Aoi-chan is correct, most kids just hang around the television after a while. They go to their tests, then afterwards it's right back to the TV,"

Shuichi could understand the over-reliance on the television; the alcohol and cigarettes, less so. It was true a lot of highschoolers were getting hooked on that stuff earlier and earlier to deal with school stress as well as just unwind and have a good time with their friends, but those were third-years and second-years. No way a kid as young as ten should be drinking. He supposed he could forgive the TV; after all, it was likely a comfort to have unlimited access to one when everything else was overwhelming and confusing and scary. Not to mention being locked-up. Heck, maybe after a few weeks Shuichi himself would be planted in front of the television and never move, completing his third playthrough of Persona 5.

"Doesn't that stuff interfere with their tests though?" He couldn't help asking. Even too much TV was linked to slower memory processing.

Kokichi shrugged. "We don't know what the tests are. All they really want from us is to hear the hum and see the dots,"

"What dots? What hum?"

"Oh, you'll find out," He smiled mischievously. "That part ain't bad at all. I just hate the shots,"

"Three weeks is how long they keep kids in Front Half, or so says Hina," Mondo continued. "Then we go to Back Half, then supposedly our memories are erased and we go back home like nothin' ever happened. Ain't that some shit,"

"Back to normal life except for a drinking habit! Or half your brain falling outta your ears because you played too many video games!" Kokichi laughed.

"Supposedly we'll get to see our parents again," Sayaka said quietly, staring down at her feet.

"Does that sound possible to you, kid?" Mondo addressed Shuichi, who shook his head.

"But they are alive, right? Our parents? Our families? They're not dead, right?"

The others just looked at him, and Shuichi realized that was all the answer he needed.

[][][][][][][]

Junko was up in her office again, eagerly watching the kids converse with each other on the playground. Ruruka had bounced into the room, all frills and candy. An orange Popsicle was her sweet of the day.

"Am I intruding? I could come back later," She asked curiously, curtsying. Junko shook her head.

"No, I'll give you some files later. But come over here and check this out! The kids are giving the new kid the story on this place. It's totes interesting," She turned her computer's volume up slightly and leaned in so she could hear their voices better.

Ruruka came over on the other side and leaned in too, recognizing the troublemaker Oowada who reminded her of an outdated biker guy, with Sayaka and Aoi, 'red-throat baby’; ‘aka-aka nodo-chan’, practically gushing over him.

"How many people work here?" The new boy was asking.

"Uh, fifty maybe? We've never really counted," Sayaka shrugged. "Doctors and caretakers and tech people and the people who cook for us..."

"Janitors and maids too. Usually we just need one of those chicks unless a ton of kids come in. Where the extras come from, I got no clue," Mondo said.

"Surely with that many people working, it'd be hard to keep such a place a secret, right? How do these people travel? Some of them might have cars, how do they park them?" Shuichi asked.

Junko chuckled. "Ooooh, this one's a smart boy! Nobody's ever asked that question before in the history of anything ever!" She turned the video feed off and revealed her computer's screensaver, a picture of herself and her twin sister in double-strollers when they were toddlers. That was back before Junko developed her boobs, ditzy speech, and interest in science. Back before Mukuro developed her smart mouth, freckles, and interest in weapons. Back when the two actually had a lot more in common. "Now, how'd the operation go? I know Big Sister was there so she totes fucked something up along the way, I just know it, but still tell me,"

Ruruka was silent for a second as she sucked on her Popsicle. "According to Ishimaru-kun, the operation was a success. Everyone back home thinks he flew the coop and murdered his uncle. His parents are in a frenzy trying to locate him," She pouted. "They'll never find out who did it though,"

"Of course not! I totes made sure this place was super secure and shit. Otherwise there'd be no point, you know?"

"Kirigiri-chan...anything from her?"

"What, are you tryna figure out if Oowada and Asahina are fucking yet or something? 'Cuz I'm actually super invested in that love story,"

Ruruka shook her head. She knew Junko knew what she really meant.

Kyoko Kirigiri was a maid and despite her apparent concern and love for the children, was a spy in the nicest way possible. Basically, Junko gave her some extra money on the side if Kyoko relayed to her the secrets of the children. No TPs had been able to figure out she was doing this because Kyoko was smart. Almost too smart in a way. She kept that hidden far below the surface of her mind. She knew certain places in The Institute had no audio-recording devices and thus took children there and tricked them into revealing their secrets. Most of the time, it was generic and useless stuff, but every so often something useful and interesting came out of it, like a boy one year who confessed he was thinking of suicide.

"So, nothing?" Junko asked in confirmation, and Ruruka shook her head again. "Thank you! You can go!" Ruruka curtsied and left the room, and Junko returned to her work.

[][][][][]

"Come on you two, let's finish this game up quick. I have a stupid eye test after lunch," Mondo grumbled as Sayaka finished going around the board with her piece for the fourth time. Shuichi felt he could hardly focus on the game, he had so many more questions for them, but knew he had to wait. He didn't want to overwhelm them nor seem suspicious. Aoi's words echoed in his mind; they were always watching and listening.

"But it's Monopoly! The famous game that never ends!" Sayaka laughed.

"The longest game of Monopoly went on for seventy straight days," Shuichi offered.

"Seriously? No shit?" Mondo asked in disbelief. "No way I could ever play anything for that long. Hell, even riding my motorcycle for that long would get boring,"

"You have a license?"

"Nah, not yet, but I'll get one. It's my big bro's dream for both of us to be in the same group together. The idea is outdated, sure, but...true friendship never ages!"

Sayaka forked over some money to Shuichi and smiled as she set down yet another hotel on a square that had two others already.

"Where'd you read about that anyway, kid?" Mondo asked.

Shuichi shrugged. "Just some world-record book I guess. I also read about a guy who has the biggest collection of airline sickness bags,"

"Ew ew ew! I don't wanna hear about that!" Sayaka covered her ears teasingly, laughing.

"They weren't used,"

"Well I should hope not! That'd be disgusting!"

"So you're probably a super smart guy, huh?" Mondo addressed Shuichi again, who just shrugged.

"I don't think I am...I've just read a lot. I'm just a hopelessly average person in most everything,"

"You're smarter than me. But ya don't seem to have a stick up your ass about it. That's good. Most smart guys have sticks up their asses,"

Just then, a cheerful-sounding bell dinged out over the playground, making Aoi perk up.

"That means it's time for lunch! About time too, I'm starving!" She smiled. "Loser puts the game away!"

"But none of us even lost!" Sayaka gasped, bouncing out of her seat and hurrying over to Aoi.

Mondo rolled his eyes and put the game away, while Shuichi followed after the two girls. Once he caught up, Kokichi suddenly grabbed his arm, pulling him close. Shuichi blushed in surprise. Kokichi was clearly trying to be the troublemaking comic of the group, much like Mondo was the rebel. Even now, Kokichi was smiling, just further proving Shuichi's point.

"Takin' a liking to Oowada-kun, huh? I see! The girls love him and I like him too. Except he's kinda a bad guy. Worse than I am! Don't look up to him, 'kay? He won't see reality, which is that we're all stuck in here. You gotta decide which side you want to be on. Like when they ask you if you see the dots, say yes or no. Don't lie. They'll know," Kokichi was smiling as he relayed all that, and Shuichi wrestled his arm out of his grip.

"How can I believe that?" He demanded. Kokichi shrugged.

"You'll learn real quick in a place like this,"

"What are you guys talking about?" Mondo walked over to them.

"Saihara-chan asked me where babies came from and I was happily enlightening him on the subject!" Kokichi giggled, making Shuichi glare at him. "And then I told him you'd probably know way more than me!"

"Yeah, that's what he said," Shuichi agreed quickly, making Mondo roll his eyes.

"Great, another funny-man here. Just what we need," He punched Shuichi in the arm, making him wince and rub it. "Come on, let's go eat."

[][][][][][]

The cafeteria was a small room with colourful tiles painted with primary circles and vending machines tucked into one corner. Shuichi wanted to take a closer look, but the four children walked too fast for him to keep up with, so he was forced to move along. He did see a poster saying to drink responsibly, though, so maybe they really weren't lying.

Several large white tables with long benches were set out, and a smaller table with red chairs encircling it was all set up for a meal. Shuichi shyly sat down, noticing they were the only five kids in the whole cafeteria. A woman dressed in a soft pink dress with her black hair up in pigtails silently filled up their water glasses. Her nametag proclaimed her name was Mikan.

"H-Hello there..." She greeted kindly, giving a nervous smile.

"Afternoon yourself, Miss Tsumiki! You feelin' fine today?" Kokichi answered right back with a large smile.

"As good as I can feel..."

"Don't have a key on you anywhere, do ya? To unlock us out of here?"

Mikan's features darkened and she quickly rushed out, going into the kitchen. Kokichi sighed dramatically.

"My best lines are wasted in a place like this, I'm telling you. Wasted!" He then picked up the five menus and handed them to everyone. Shuichi eyed his and noticed the current date written on the top.

There were two appetizers available; takoyaki and hiyashi ramen, two main courses; jingisukan barbecue and nikujaga, and two desserts; anpan and castella cake. There were also several soft drinks, teas, and juices listed.

"If you want it, you can also have milk," Aoi said. "They just don't put it on the menu because most kids just like it in cereal, or they're lactose-intolerant. Or both," She shrugged.

"Is the food here good?" Shuichi chose to ask instead. Clearly, a majority of what they served would be Hokkaido's own flair.

"Yes! I've actually gained some weight while here," Sayaka responded in slight embarrassment.

"They're just fattening us up for the kill. That's why the food is so fattening," Mondo grumbled.

”I was actually surprised when I learned they served food here. I was afraid at first because there’s no way to make bento, and I couldn’t see any stores to get food at. I felt better once I learned...” Sayaka added, and Shuichi stared at her for a while before remembering she was the oldest one there. She’d be a first-year in high-school already, right? They stopped serving you lunch at that point and you had to bring your own.

He suddenly wondered what could possibly be the point of grouping kids from so many different ages together like this. They had too many different experiences just going to school.

"Oh, and on the weekends, they have dessert buffets. Western and Japanese. With strawberry soda or milk. It's a lot of fun!" Aoi chimed in.

"Fattening us up," Mondo repeated, then looked up at the camera in a corner. "We're ready now, Miss Tsumiki,"

Mikan came in in an instant, making Shuichi flinch and feel even more disconnected from everything. But despite that, he still ate his food heartily; takoyaki and nikujaga. He was still worried about the fate of his uncle, terrified over what would happen to him as a result, and locked in a strange place, but he was still a twelve-year-old. A twelve-year-old growing boy.

[][][][][][][]

No sooner had Shuichi finished his final bite of his castella cake had a woman walked into the room, her hands folded politely in front of her, wearing a soft pink uniform with a giant hoopskirt trimmed with lace and matching lace going down the front of her uniform. Her curly black hair was pulled into a long sweeping ponytail and she wore a small silver tiara on her head. Her nametag said Celestia. "Saihara-chan? Could you please come with me?" She spoke in a heavy French accent.

Shuichi looked over at the other four children, but Aoi and Sayaka both refused to meet his eyes. Mondo was staring down at his plate, and Kokichi was the only one actually staring at him.

"Saihara-chan? Please?” She asked again, still polite. The look in Kokichi's eyes became more intense, and Shuichi was reminded of what he said to him on the playground.

"I'm coming. See you guys later," He offered a weak wave as he walked off with Celestia. Aoi mouthed 'shots for dots' at him, and that was the last thing he saw before the cafeteria doors shut.

Celestia was very petite and pale, done up prettily like a Victorian porcelain doll. Still, Shuichi felt uneasy around her, like she could easily knock him out with a simple pinch behind the neck or something. And even if she couldn't, she could call for reinforcements and they'd be there within a second. Still, Shuichi wasn't going to question any of her orders. He had been raised to respect his elders and be polite and never question any of their rules or orders. Even in a place like this, he wanted to remain respectful.

The two walked in silence down the corridors, soon coming to a silver pair of elevator doors.

"Isn't it a lovely day out today?" Celestia asked sweetly. "I do so love sunny days like this. Perhaps I shall go out later with my parasol and soak up the rays,"

Shuichi said nothing and just let her talk, genuinely confused if she even wanted an answer or not.

"Oh, but I do so hate the pesky bugs. They are gross and unseemly. Getting bug bites is very improper for a lady. I shall have to wear bug-spray until at least August," She sighed dramatically.

"When the dragonflies hatch," Shuichi finally commented, and Celestia gave him a sweet smile.

"Indeed!"

"Where are we going?"

"Oh, but if I told you, it would ruin the surprise," She scolded softly, and the elevator doors opened with a ding. A woman stepped out in an outfit similar to Celestia's, except it had a clean white apron pulled over the hoopskirt and she wore a black headband in her hair. She had a nametag that read Kirumi. "Afternoon," Celestia greeted softly.

"Good day yourself. And good day to you too, Saihara-chan. Are you adjusting alright?" Kirumi asked nicely. Shuichi didn't look over at her, making her adjust her skirt. "Silent treatment...well, Saihara-chan, all I can tell you about a place like this is that as long as you work with us, we will give you whatever you want. That is our job,"

Shuichi remained silent.

"See you, Celestia-san," Kirumi walked off, and Celestia curtsied.

"You as well, Kirumi-san," She then led Shuichi into the elevator and pulled a silver card out of her skirt pocket, swiping it in front of the silver panel. It had no numbers or buttons. The elevator slowly descended for a few seconds before it stopped and revealed a lounge area with soft pop music playing, and people walking around with carts or baskets. All the doors were labeled with the kanji for 'two'.

If there was a second floor, then surely there was a third, fourth, fifth, sixth? And a first floor? A ground floor? How could they hide something as big as this from everyone especially when it seemed to rely purely on kidnapping children?

Celestia continued to lead him, and they passed a small break room with black vending machines and a few tables. A woman and man sat at one of the tables close to the door, dressed casually. The man was drinking something out of a mug, and Shuichi squinted a bit as he realized the black-haired woman looked familiar. At first he couldn't place it until he remembered what was said to him that night.

If you want.

The last thing he remembered before waking up at The Institute.

"It was you. You were the one who brought me here," He realized, staring straight at her. The woman made no indication that she had even heard him and stared blankly at something on the wall. Celestia came over and gently nudged him along.

"Just a few more steps, then you may go back to your room and relax. I understand that first days are always quite difficult. You are likely very exhausted," She smiled.

"That woman was the one who kidnapped me! She shoved a cloth into my face," Shuichi said, but Celestia just gave him a sweet smile. He glanced away, shivering. Something about her smile unnerved him.

They reached a door marked 2-3 and Celestia knocked politely on it and took a step back. "If you listen to us and be a good boy, you will get five tokens for the Kuma-Kuma Box. See? I have them," She slipped her hand into her skirt pocket and pulled out a few coins that were silver and resembled regular yen coins, except these were stamped with a triangle.

The person who answered the door was named Nagito and dressed in a simple blue suit with wild white hair. If it wasn't for the messy hair and sickly eyes, Shuichi would've assumed he was quite handsome. Maybe he could be a secret villain in a mystery game.

"Ah, what a delightful surprise, Lady Ludenberg," Nagito laughed and gently kissed Celestia's gloved hand. "And hello there to you too, Shuichi-chan." He bowed, but Shuichi didn't bow back. Nagito just chuckled. "Come on in,"

Celestia gave Shuichi a gentle wave before the door was shut and he instantly paused upon walking into the room, finding a giant white chair in the middle that resembled one found at a dentist's office except it had thick black straps on it.

"Take a seat, young man,"

At least he isn't calling me 'sweetie'. He had no idea which he preferred.

Nagito walked over to the counter and skillfully tied his hair up, slipping on a pair of gloves before pulling out a black piercing gun.

"Are you going to tattoo me?" Shuichi instantly asked. It wasn't too out-of-the-question, tattooing was heavily frowned-upon but this place in general was breaking the law constantly. Maybe the tattoos were meant to make it harder to get employed or finish school....

"What? Of course not! I'm just going to put a small tag in your ear. Ever get your ear pierced? It's just like that," Nagito finally spun around and noticed Shuichi was still nowhere near the seat. "It's customary for all our guests,"

"I'm not a guest, and I'm not sitting down," Shuichi said in a rare moment of bravery.

"But don't you want your tokens? They can be used for whatever you want. Lady Ludenberg will give you a lot if you're good. But if you're bad...you get the piercing but no tokens,"

"No."

Nagito just sighed. "How sad...I was hoping you'd be a good person," He stepped over to where Shuichi was. "Are you sure you're not going to cooperate?"

"Yes."

Shuichi's ears started to ring from the open-handed slap he received, making him reel. He wasn't sure he had ever been slapped before, not even by his parents despite all the other rough treatments they gave him. He blinked in surprise, clutching his cheek.

"Will you be good now?"

Shuichi nodded quickly and sat down in the chair. "I-I don't need the straps!" He quickly answered as Nagito walked over, terrified of the idea. The piercing was over and done with quickly, and it felt more like a pinch than anything else.

Afterwards, Nagito walked over to a counter and pulled out a small needle, walking back over.

"What's in that?" Shuichi tensed up suddenly.

"Awww, are you going to be bad again?"

"...No." Kokichi's words rang through his head and he forced himself to relax.

Nagito smiled and rolled Shuichi's sleeve up, pushing the needle inside. It stung greatly and made his arm feel limp and hot for a few seconds before returning to normal. Nagito slipped a blue bandage on the prick wound, then swiveled the chair around so Shuichi was facing the blank white wall.

"Now listen. Listen real close. You can hear it, can't you? You can hear it...close your eyes,"

Shuichi closed his eyes. He didn't hear anything.

"Now open them. See anything?"

Shuichi focused hard on the wall for several seconds, nearly squinting, but that was all he could see.

"I just see the wall,"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Nagito grinned widely and helped Shuichi off the chair. "Have a good rest of your day, and don't worry. I'll get you some ice for your ear,"

[][][][][]

Shuichi met back up with Celestia, who smiled sweetly at Nagito. "How was he?"

"A wonderfully good boy,"

"That is wonderful!" She nearly sung. "I am so happy to hear that!"

Shuichi awkwardly held the blue pack of ice up to his ear, which throbbed. His arm felt limp and stung, yet the cooling slap on his cheek hurt worse than both of them.

She led him back to his room and folded her hands up in front of her demurely. "It is time for you to relax now!" She smiled. "Did you get a shot?"

Shuichi nodded.

"Ah. If you feel faint or your arm hurts, tell one of the other caretakers, alright?"

Another nod, then he turned to head back to his room before Celestia suddenly grabbed onto his arm and leaned forward close to his face. Her red eyes glittered dangerously.

"That mark on your face tells me everything I need to know," Her smile was gone. "Let me give you some advice, Saihara-chan. You are here because you have an important purpose to serve. You are necessary. However, things will still happen to you regardless of how you personally feel. That is why I am suggesting you adapt to your circumstance and grow accustomed to everything. You can either adapt, and thus be good and get tokens, or continue to fight everything and get no tokens. Things will happen to you anyway, so I highly recommend you get used to this place and cooperate,"

And just like that, her smile was back and she folded her hands up under her chin. "It is just for the summer anyway. You will likely remember none of this, or assume it was all just a dream. A fairytale," She motioned him into his room. "I think you should rest for the remainder of the night. You have been through a lot. Have you seen the dots?"

"No." Shuichi said.

"You will," Then Celestia shut his door, and Shuichi was stuck in the room that looked like his room but wasn't really his room. He crawled into the bed that wasn't his bed and stared up at the ceiling. No window, and no dots either, whatever they were. He had a sudden memory of his uncle and felt tears starting to flow.

I miss him so much...oh God do I miss him...

The ice pack fell from his hands and he covered up his eyes, burying his face in his pillow. He finally began to cry, sobbing hard into his pillow. He briefly remembered they were likely still watching him, listening, but found he couldn't care. Let them.

He cried himself to sleep that first night.

Chapter Text

When Shuichi woke up the next morning, he realized he felt a lot better, almost as if he had been cleansed in a way. Maybe all that crying really did do him good in the long run after all.

Looking around his room made him realize two new things had been added in the night. A small TV on a stand was one, propped up in the corner, and a silver Toshiba laptop was the other, sitting on his desk. It was an older model.

Shuichi tried the computer out first, finding it booted up normally but then blinked a flashing display that read: 'You need one token to use. Please show the camera your token,' He pressed the backspace button a few times in annoyance before sighing, realizing it wouldn't do anything.

He closed the laptop and tried the TV next, assuming it was the same. Much to his surprise, it turned on just fine and was showing a rerun of Seven Samurai on a classic movie channel. Using the remote showed all of the available channels were like that; sports, movies, and childrens', news and all network broadcasting weren't available. Shuichi turned the TV off and looked around his room again.

Two doors were on either side of the room; the first one opened up a closet. Inside were jeans, T-shirts, a few button-ups, a pair of sneakers, and a pair of house slippers. There were also a few baseball caps identical to his current one, and everything was doused grey and black. He even spotted a spring-green yukata tucked near the back. There were no school uniforms or any sort of 'hard' shoe.

The other door led to a small and clean personal bathroom with a large black shower and small white sink. A tiny toilet was across from the sink, which Shuichi was a bit squicked over.

Inside the medicine cabinet were bandages, mouthwash, bugspray, deodorant, four unopened toothbrushes, and a fresh tube of toothpaste. There were also some nail clippers, which seemed to be the most dangerous object in there. He closed the cabinet and stared at himself in the mirror, noticing he somehow looked paler and sicker than ever before. His dark hair was mussed up. He ran a gentle hand along his right earlobe and felt the black stud placed there, put there simply to track him. Shuichi Saihara, who was intended to take over his uncle's detective business when he grew up who passed the days reading about gruesome historical events, was now nothing more than a dot on some screen somewhere.

He went back inside the room and got dressed, staring at his bookshelf. He had books at least, even if they were mainly soppy light novels he didn't care much for. It was far better than just idly scrolling through channels all day long. Did kids here really do that?

Shuichi left his room then, not in a mood to read, hoping he'd run into one of the kids. Instead, he ran into Kyoko Kirigiri, who was carrying a giant basket full of white sheets and towels. Her face was flushed from the effort and Shuichi hurried over. "Hello, Miss Kirigiri. Can I help you with that?" He asked nicely.

"If you want," She handed several of the folded-up sheets to him. "We have five more newbies coming in, two tonight and three tomorrow. I have been on my feet all day as a result, getting their rooms ready," She pointed in the direction of the playground.

Shuichi shyly adjusted his cap. "...Do you happen to know where I could find a token? I need one for the computer in my room,"

Kyoko glanced over at him. "Do you know how to make up a bed?"

"I make my own bed at home,"

"With folded corners?"

"....No."

She chuckled a bit. "Three tokens for five beds. It's all I have, they don't give me a lot,"

"That's fine,"

"Also, do not call me Miss Kirigiri. It makes me feel too pompous and I don't like that feeling," She sighed wearily. "Kyoko-san would do,"

"Kyoko-san," Shuichi repeated awkwardly. She was far older than him so it seemed strange to use her first name so casually.

The two walked for a while, going down another hallway with more motivational posters on the walls and a blue ice machine like one in a hotel. Kyoko stopped walking and moved close to Shuichi, staring.

"You got chipped, but no tokens." She said nothing else as she stepped back. "You may talk here, if you'd like. This area is one of those where the audio devices don't work. There are more, but this is the closest to your room."

Shuichi nodded, still unsure.

"Who chipped you? And who marked your face like that? Nagito-san?"

He nodded again.

"He's one of the mean ones. He doesn't look it, but he is. You know he is, because I don't like to call people by such simple terms. But there's no denying it. Miu-san is too, and so is Celestia-san, despite her smiles. Celestia isn't even her real name, but that's none of my business," She looked away. "A lot of people here like to push children around and treat them like junk, but those three are the worst at it,"

"He slapped me hard," Shuichi whispered. Kyoko looked back at him in shock before she placed a warm gloved hand on his cheek. The simple gesture made him feel comforted and loved, a feeling he hadn't felt ever since arriving at The Institute.

"Do not argue with him. Some people you can argue with, you can even argue with Junko-san if you want, but never him. Nor Miu-san, nor Celestia-san. They will pay you back," She stared at him with a frown.

"I think Oowada-kun hit Mr. Komaeda once." He relayed, and a small smile formed on Kyoko's face.

"Good for him. Now come help me with these sheets, " She picked the basket up slowly and walked off, the flushed expression returning to her face.

Shuichi followed after her and walked into the first room, which was filled with posters of characters from series like Digimon and Pokemon. A Beyblade set laid out on the windowsill, and a few stuffed animals were arranged neatly at the foot of the bed. The wallpaper was blue with clouds. Shuichi gasped before he could stop himself.

"This is a little kid's room!"

Kyoko glanced back at him, almost looking amused. "Indeed it is. The name is Fujisaki Chihiro,"

"Another girl?"

She shook her head. "A boy, so I heard,"

Shuichi suddenly felt sorry for the boy despite never having met him. He had the girliest name Shuichi had ever heard.

"Fujisaki Chihiro, and also according to my sources, he's only ten years old. Let's get to work. You seem like someone who is a fast learner," Kyoko started to pull a sheet out of the basket.

[][][][][][][][][][]

Back in his room, Shuichi slipped a token out of his pocket and held it up to the camera, feeling a bit silly. The screen flashed white briefly before displaying a message in hiragana that said: 'Welcome Back, Maki-chan!'

This computer used to belong to Maki, and the welcome screen hadn't been changed yet. Shuichi couldn't help smiling just a bit at that. Maybe that meant there were other minor slips somewhere else.

Once the computer loaded up, it revealed a home screen of a simple geometric pattern with the same menu bar at the bottom of the screen. There was an Internet browser and Shuichi quickly clicked on it and typed in FaceBook.

A blue screen with a black jellyfish swimming around appeared instead, with several pieces of writing that all said 'memekagi' over and over again.

Nonsense words. Perfect.

Shuichi then typed in Saihara Kenshin and got the nonsense jellyfish again. He thought for a moment before typing in Toho Cinema Shibuya, not because he planned on seeing a movie there, but because he needed to know what sorts of information he could access.

He could access that site without a problem, as well as the website for his old school. Typing in the name of his old principal gave him the swimming nonsense jellyfish. He huffed a bit. He then had a brief thought of trying to look up the police's website but quickly scratched the idea off. Who knew what they could do to him if he looked something like that up.

Shuichi instead started to think of Kyoko and her good-humored nature and the warm hand she put on his cheek earlier. It wasn't much, but that gesture alongside the tokens really took the edge off Nagito's slap. Aoi said Kyoko was extremely sick and yet didn't really desire help.

Partly from boredom and partly from Kyoko's genuine kindness, Shuichi typed into the search engine: 'i'm really sick what should i do' and brought up what to do in case of a bad flu or cold. He didn't think Kyoko had those sicknesses, she was fine on her feet and never coughed or sneezed. Really the only hint she could be sick was her difficulty carrying things around, but that could also be due to poor physical activity. She always seemed winded whenever he saw her and her face was flushed.

A word suddenly appeared in his head and he erased what he originally wrote and instead typed in 'leukemia'. That brought up a bunch of articles about the symptoms and treatment of leukemia as well as all the different types there were. Shuichi read as much as he could, fascinated. What sort of leukemia did Kyoko have? Was that why she wore her hair so short despite it no longer being fashionable? Was that why she was always tired and flushed? Her face wasn't flushed from the exertion, but from a possible fever. Did those gloves she wore constantly have something to do with it too?

He kept reading for hours, digesting every new piece of information he came across. It was a good feeling to be learning things once again.

It was around five in the evening when his IM service suddenly chimed, making him blink a few times to get out of his daze. There was only one message there, and it simply said:

Hello Shuichi-chan. I am Headmistress Enoshima and I would like to meet you.

Shuichi thought for a second before typing back:

Do I have a choice?

Only a second later:

No. 😄

There was a knock at his door, and he opened it to find Kirumi, the woman from the elevator. She gave him a polite curtsy.

"Ready to go?"

"Let me put on my house slippers," He said, hurriedly slipping them on. Afterwards, Kirumi led him to the administrator's building, using her keycard to get them in.

Headmistress Enoshima was sitting at her desk waiting for them, and Shuichi's first thought was she reminded him of his mother. Fakely blonde, perky when she needed to be, huge breasts, and impractical fashion. That day she was wearing a sexy nurse outfit with black thigh-highs and a cap on her head. In her icy blue eyes, Shuichi only saw despair and selfishness. This was a woman who was only out for her own gain.

"You may leave now, Kirumi-chan!" She waved, and Kirumi curtsied once more and walked off. Afterwards, Junko stared Shuichi down with a smirk, putting her hands on her hips. "I have dealt with a ton of kids. A lot. I like to spend at least ten minutes with every new kid we get. A lot of them are in emotional states and try to attack me. Children have poor impulse control, you see," Her tone sounded formal and stiff, and Shuichi felt as though if she wore glasses, she'd be tapping them anxiously. "I see it as a teaching moment. Will I have to teach you, Shuichi-chan?"

"No," He shook his head.

"Excellent. Have a seat." She sat across from him, still looking professional despite the get-up. He suddenly wondered if Mondo was one of the ones who attacked her upon arrival. Maybe he could ask later. "I see you have made friends. That is excellent. You will meet more in your time here in Front Half. Two of them have just arrived, in fact. A girl named Mioda Ibuki-chan and a boy named Fujisaki Chihiro-kun. They're both sleeping right now, but you shall meet them soon. Ibuki-chan you may meet shortly before lights-out at ten, but Chihiro-kun might sleep through the night. He's still very young, and will likely be in a very emotionally upset state when he does wake up. I hope you will take him under your wing, as I know Sayaka-chan, Aoi-chan, and Kokichi-kun will. Perhaps Mondo-kun will too, but who knows. Not even he knows how he'll react at times.

Helping Chihiro-kun adapt to his new environment will earn you tokens, which you already know are the primary currency around here. It is up to you, of course, but we'll be watching,"

Of course you will be. Watching and listening. Except in the places you can't, if Kyoko-san wasn't lying about that, Shuichi thought to himself.

"I understand your friends have told you a lot about The Institute already. Some of it is true, some of it isn't. What I am about to tell you is the truest truth, so please pay attention. I do not like to repeat myself,"

"Yes ma'am," Shuichi said quickly, staring straight at her.

"You'll spend a certain amount of time here in Front Half. Might be ten days, two weeks, maybe even a month, though none of our volunteers have stayed that long in recent history," Junko began.

Shuichi covered his mouth. "Volunteers? You're making it sound like we were all drafted for a war or something.."

"Indeed, you are correct. You are fighting a war and have been drafted for that very purpose,"

"Why? Just because things move sometimes when I'm not paying attention? That's stu-"

"Shut up!" She cried suddenly, making Shuichi reel. He quickly shut himself up. "You don't get to fucking interrupt me! When I'm talking, you listen!"

Shuichi quickly nodded. Junko brightened and smiled briefly before her voice turned analytical again.

"It is like an arms race, but instead of building arms, we are raising minds. Are any volunteers for a war pleased? No, but it is what must be done. And as I'm sure you know already, there will be consequences for people who do not listen. This is not your home, nor your school. Bad children do not get off with detention or an extra chore or a swat on the butt, they will get punished. That includes you. Understand?"

He nodded, not wanting to know what could possibly be considered worse than a harsh slap to the face.

"You will be given a number of injections and tests, while your physical and mental condition are monitored closely. You will eventually graduate to Back Half, where you will have specific services to perform. You will spend at least six weeks there, then we shall wipe your memories and you will get to return home. To your family," She finished.

His eyes widened. "They're alive? My uncle is alive?"

She laughed. "Totally! We ain't murderers!"

"Then let me talk to him!" He leaned forward in his seat, and in a flash, Junko had appeared behind him and gently set his chair back on the floor.

"No. I do not think you completely understand. You will do whatever we say, regardless. You will have no outside contact during your time here. You will obey all orders and comply with what we say to do. Your time will pass quickly, and then you shall wake up in your bed one morning with no memories of this whatsoever. It is almost a pity, you won't remember how greatly privileged you are to serve your nation,"

The personality whiplash was starting to make him feel dizzy. What kind of a person even was this woman?

"But...my classmates. My uncle's coworkers. So many people know about me...you can't erase everyone's memories!" He protested.

"You will be very surprised at what we can do, I think. Anyway, I do believe we are finished here." She bowed nicely to him, waiting. "Bow to me, Shuichi-chan,"

Shuichi very slowly rose from his seat and bowed to her as stiffly as he dared, arms at his sides, not looking her in the eyes. She gave him a pleased smile.

"We may see each other around in the halls, but know that if you are called into my office again, we will be having a far less pleasant conversation," Junko warned.

"I understand."

"Good. And just remember, every day is darkest just before the dawn,"

Shuichi left then, feeling like he was one of the followers of Stalin who would eventually become 'un-personed'. Erased from every single document and photograph in history. He shivered.

"I will take you back to your room, Saihara-chan," Kirumi curtsied to him politely again before she led him away. Shuichi was silent as he walked beside her, suddenly pausing as a huge wave of dizziness came over him.

"W-Wait..." He trembled and felt his knees buckle, forcing him to collapse. Bright coloured lights swam in front of his vision.

"Are you alright?" Kirumi asked. "Did you get a shot?"

"Yes," He finally managed to stand up and wobbled more, taking a deep breath.

"Some children have a delayed reaction to it. I saw one once who didn't see anything for ten whole days," She started walking again. "Come along, darling,"

"I'm not your 'darling'," Shuichi glared at her in a moment of bravery.

"You are in The Institute, which means you are everyone's darling. The sooner you adapt, the sooner you'll get used to it," Her eyes glittered strangely, and when she left him at the elevator, she did not curtsy.

Shuichi decided to try and wander the halls, noticing Sayaka's door was left open. Curious, he walked inside and saw a bunch of pink frou-frou-ness, posters of idols everywhere.

"Hi?" He asked shyly. She looked over at him and smiled.

"Hi yourself, Shuichi-san," She was sitting on colourful beanbags and motioned to the empty purple one beside her. He sat and saw she was watching a program featuring pink idols spinning around on the stage.

He watched for a bit when he remembered what she said the other day and looked over at her. "You were on X-Factor Japan, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah! I placed second! Good enough for a record deal if I worked at it, they said!"

"Why do you want to be an idol?"

"Watching them always cheered me up. Seeing their bright, happy, smiling faces..I wanted that life for myself. To make someone else happy too," She drew her knees up to her chest. "My mother died when I was young and my father was a workaholic...those shows were the only things that kept me going, in a way,"

Shuichi nodded. "My parents probably don't even know I exist...they're always traveling the world and dumped me on my uncle,"

Sayaka looked over at him. "I want to get out of here." She said suddenly. "There's never anything to do and the tests are invasive...I need to go back home and continue trying to fulfill my dream!" Much to Shuichi's surprise, she leaned in forward and pressed her face up against his chest, trembling. He sat there, numb, unsure of what to do.

"Hey, you're turnin' into bit of a ladies' man, huh?" Mondo's voice reached him from the door, holding an orange wrapper. "Wasn't expectin' that,"

Shuichi blushed heavily and Sayaka sat up, rubbing at her eyes.

"You want this?" He held out the wrapper and Shuichi saw there was still a peanut-butter cup left inside. He quickly took it and ate it in three bites, making the two giggle. "Had your first shot, I bet. Those things make ya crave sugar like crazy. You're gonna attack the dessert options tonight,"

"Did you see the dots?" Sayaka asked curiously, and Shuichi nodded.

"Yeah...a little bit. What are they?"

"They're called Stasi Lights, according to the tech people. Guess they're a part of prep. I barely get shots and no weird tests because I'm TK-pos, and so's Ouma-san. And Asahina-san is TP-pos. You get more if you're just a regular kid," Mondo paused for a second. "Well, I guess none of us are really regular, are we?"

"Are they upping our abilities?" Shuichi asked.

"Nobody really knows," Sayaka shrugged. "We just know it's prep for going to Back Half,"

"How'd it go with that crazy chick? She thank ya for bein' a good soldier?" Mondo rolled his eyes.

"I felt more like I was 'un-personed'. You know, in Soviet and communist nations, if someone did something the leader in charge didn't like, they were erased from all forms of media," Shuichi explained.

"I know that crap, I did go to school ya know," He sighed. "Wanna head outside again? The three of us could start up our game of Monopoly again,"

"I just feel tired," Shuichi declined. "The candy helped my dizziness a bit, but..."

Sayaka pulled him closer, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. He blushed.

"How'd you get a token?" She asked curiously. "You finally being a good person?"

"Nah, Miss Kirigiri gave me one before she went off-shift. Asahina-san is right, she's the one good thing about this place," He turned to leave. "See ya both at dinner, I guess,"

Sayaka and Shuichi nodded and returned to the idol show, Sayaka starting to nod off a bit. It was strangely pleasant, and almost made Shuichi forget about the horror of his experiences thus far.

Chapter Text

Part 4: Kyoko and Chihiro

[][][][][][][][]

Shuichi managed to doze off as well next to Sayaka, only being roused when he heard the bell for dinner being chimed. Sayaka perked up and turned her TV off. "Meet you there?"

He nodded and headed into the lounge instead, wanting to make sure the others weren't teasing about the cigarettes.

They weren't; a small black vending machine was next to the white one for snacks that had a stylized cigarette on it. You could get a pack for eight tokens. A blue vending machine next to it had all sorts of alcoholic beverages available for five tokens. He walked over to the red drink vending machine and lifted the flap. "It looks like these are free,"

"Yup, you're right," Aoi said, making him jump. "Just cigarettes, snacks, and alcohol cost tokens,"

Shuichi pointed over to the snack machine, specifically at a pack of brownies that cost six tokens in comparison to the rest which only cost one. "Are those...?"

"Pot brownies? They sure are!" Kokichi popped in, laughing. "I actually had those once a few days ago. They really do work as intended,"

"I've never had them myself..." Sayaka blushed suddenly.

Shuichi bit back his tongue, almost yelling out that that was illegal, but what did these people care? This whole operation was illegal, illicit substances were just par for the course.

He followed the three to the cafeteria, finding Mondo already there. They took their seats and Mikan served them all again. Shuichi ordered gyoza, motsunabe, and taiyaki for dessert. Who even made the menu for a place like this, anyway? None of it really seemed like something a child would want to eat, though maybe Shuichi had just been so spoiled at home by his worldly uncle that he knew no different.

The five talked as they ate, speaking of the schools they all attended before and their favourite shows. Sayaka loved cold plum juice. Aoi still had problems tying her shoes. Kokichi's favourite holiday was Halloween. Mondo's hobby was woodworking. Everything was fine until Shuichi caught Sayaka shyly wiping away some tears with her hand.

"I didn't get any shots today, but I got the butt-thermometer," She hiccuped, catching his confused expression. "They take our temperature rectally,"

"It's pretty humiliating," Kokichi sighed. "I guess they assume all kids love it up there or something!"

"It's so old-fashioned," Aoi pouted. "Maybe there's a good reason for it, but.."

"Anybody want a refill on their drinks? I could get it-" Mondo started to ask, but was cut off by someone new arriving in the cafeteria.

"Oh, look, new people!" She commented, shading her eyes. She had black hair dyed in two colours; blue and pink. She wore black fishnets, black combat boots, jean cutoffs, and a neon green camisole with jelly bracelets on both wrists. Despite her appearance and attempted cheerfulness, Shuichi thought she looked very lost. He also guessed her to be around his age. "Do you guys know where this is?"

"Come on over here, chick." Mondo smiled at her. "Get some grub,"

"Not hungry," The girl mumbled, walking over. "Seriously though, answer Ibuki this. Who does she have to slap to get out of here?!"

And that was how they met Ibuki Mioda.

[][][][]

They all headed out to the playground after dinner and filled Ibuki in on the situation. She was TK and was also a pos, just like Kokichi and Mondo were. She proved this by making a hula hoop levitate and spin around on its own before tossing it back onto the ground.

"Whoa, girl's got a lot of power!" Kokichi whistled. "Let me try!" He stared at the hula hoop and managed to make it levitate, but it didn't spin and just harmlessly fell back to the ground. He sighed dramatically. "Awww man! I guess Mioda-chan is cooler than me!"

"Ibuki is flattered," She said.

"Do you miss your family?"

"Ibuki's not sure. They never paid much attention to her. She does have a niece though that she misses greatly. Her aunt is rad too. Do you guys think Ibuki will get to see them again?"

"Yeah," Sayaka smiled weakly and started jumping on the trampoline again.

"So, like...nobody knows why we're here except for these lame abilities, we get tested until we see dots but nobody knows why, and we also get to go to Back Half, but nobody knows why? And when it's over, Ibuki's mind is going to be erased like none of this ever happened?"

"Yup," Aoi nodded.

"This place sounds terrible," Ibuki pouted, looking away. "She always wants to make the most of everything, Ibuki does, that's her motto! But..." She trailed off, and Shuichi could understand why.

"Guess that's why we got illegal drugs and crap like that," Mondo finished for her.

Shuichi suddenly felt a large lump form in his throat and his breathing grow shallow. He bit his lip and pulled his hat down to shield his face from view. He could feel his tears coming on again like a thunderstorm and he didn't want to start crying again, least of all in front of all these people. Least of all in front of Sayaka, who had basically spent her whole evening crying. Instead, he went back to his room, closed the door, and laid down on his bed, sighing. He closed his eyes, and soon the tears came.

He felt confused and angry and afraid, but most of all he felt homesick. This wasn't summer cram school or a school trip, this was a literal nightmare, and all he wished was for it to be over.

[][][][][]

After a few hours of fitful sleep and nightmares, Shuichi woke up and briefly wondered if it was all over, only to see the missing window and sigh to himself. He got out of bed and used the bathroom, then powered up his laptop. He wondered if the sessions were timed by the hour and if he'd need another token if that was the case, but saw it booted up just fine. Maybe it ran on a twenty-four hour span, or maybe even forty-eight hours if he was lucky.

It was three in the morning, and he assumed that was what he got for taking a nap in the day and then falling asleep so early in the evening.

He thought of going onto YouTube and watching some historical documentaries that always seemed to get recommended to you in the early hours of the morning, or maybe some random scenes from anime he saw every so often on TV, but he assumed those would just bring back his homesickness so he decided against it. But what else could he do? Wander the empty halls? Laying in his bed awake until daylight? Going to the playground? Aoi said the playground was never locked, but it was far too spooky in the nighttime.

"Then why don't you think?" Shuichi snapped at himself, making him jump. He got off the chair and started to pace around his room barefooted. Why couldn't he think? He was Shuichi Saihara; son to famous starlets, nephew to an up-and-coming detective, who loved reading about gruesome historical events simply because they were in the past and couldn't happen again. He loved all of the Persona games and played the fourth one in particular about five times. He had a small knowledge of Portuguese because he found it interesting how much of his own language had Portuguese sprinkled in and wanted to learn more. He was considered a precocious boy, who would inherit his uncle's detective business when he came of age. He watched his uncle bust difficult drug and kidnapping cases, looking right over his shoulder.

So why was he just feeling sorry for himself?

He sat back down on the computer chair and stared at the laptop screen. If there was nothing else for him to do, he still wouldn't wallow in despair. Escape was impossible, but they couldn't stop him from trying to learn.

His uncle had told him once about a secretive Internet site that was basically the next-door-neighbor of the deep web. Nothing was forbidden there and it was how they managed to catch a lot of drug-dealers. Shuichi quickly typed the name into the search engine, hoping it would work.

He hit the 'enter' key and after a few minutes of agonizing waiting, a black and green webpage came up, blinking, a drop-down menu available.

What language do you want translated?

Practically every single language known to man was listed, but which one you picked mattered little. What really mattered was what got recorded in the search history. Shuichi randomly chose Ukrainian and typed in a random password he recalled from one of his uncle's sessions, marveling that it actually worked.

Shuichi next typed in the site for the Japan Times, finding it came up easily. The current events were for that date, and in Japanese, but the computer's search history would show nothing but a random string of Ukrainian words with Japanese translations.

Was it a victory? Disguising the search history would mean nothing if they could actively monitor him. If they saw him looking up news sites, he'd be dead.

Well, nothing for it at the moment. Shuichi decided he should try out other news sites too and learn as much as he could about their situation as well as what happened to his uncle. Maybe gossip sites for how his parents were dealing with his sudden disappearance. Before he could start typing again, however, he froze at the sound of screaming in the hallway.

"Somebody p-please help me! I-I don't know w-where I am! P-Please help! Help me! I-I'm lost!"

Shuichi quickly turned the computer off and peeked outside, finding out the person crying was a little boy in checkered pajamas, sobbing and knocking on every door he came across with his small fists.

Ten? Chihiro Fujisaki looked like he was five or six, seven at the most. The crotch and legs of his pajama pants were wet and sticking to him.

"I-I want to go home! Please let me go home!" He continued to cry. Shuichi glanced around a few times to see if anyone would notice and come help him, not knowing at the time that a kid crying and screaming to go home was quite normal for The Institute. Still, the boy was starting to give Shuichi a headache, and if nobody else was going to calm him down, it might as well be him.

He hurried over to the boy and gently placed his hands on his shoulders, kneeling in front of him. He tried to offer him a smile. "Hey...take it easy. You're alright,"

The boy stared at him with red-lined eyes, tears still falling freely down his cheeks. His hair was sweaty and clung to his cheek. He sniffled.

"Where's Mommy? Where's Daddy?" He started crying harder and Shuichi let go of him in surprise, making the boy fall to the ground and continue crying.

A door suddenly opened, revealing Aoi in a tye-dyed shirt and gigantic orange basketball shorts. She walked over to the boy and put her hands on her big hips. She then looked at Shuichi, looking concerned. "I don't think I've ever seen someone cry so much,"

Another door opened and Ibuki Mioda emerged, wearing a very lacy and sheer white babydoll dress. She had small breasts but large hips. Shuichi blushed at the sight.

Aoi pouted. "Not the time, Saihara-san. Can you please help me? This kid is yelling in my head and it's giving me a headache," She tried to reach for him, but the boy scooted away, trembling in fright. She sighed. "Help me out here,"

Shuichi knelt down and considered, trying not to look like a wuss in front of the newly-arrived vision in white. He grabbed the little boy's elbows and pushed them down, pressing his arms to the side of his chest. He could feel the kid's heart racing rapidly.

Aoi bent over and gently cupped his cheeks in her hands, staring into his eyes. The boy stopped crying as hard and instead tilted his head, staring at Aoi in fascination. Shuichi's own eyes widened, realizing what she meant earlier.

"He's a TP, isn't he? Just like you," He breathed.

Aoi nodded. "He's way stronger than me though, or anyone I've seen before. Come on, let's take him to my room,"

"Can Ibuki come too?" She asked quickly, stepping over.

"Yeah, I bet Saihara-san would enjoy the view," Aoi teased, making Ibuki blush a bit.

"Ibuki thinks she should better change first,"

"Do what you want," She then looked down at the boy. "What's your name?"

"C-Chihiro..." His voice was hoarse from crying so much. "Fujisaki Chihiro,"

"I'm Asahina Aoi. You may call me Hina or Aoi-chan, if you want,"

"Just don't call her 'sweetie,'" Shuichi added.

[][][][][][][]

Aoi's room was frilly and pink much like Sayaka's was, which surprised Shuichi. Sports things were scattered around, and she had a few medals hanging up on a rack above her bed. Also above her bed was a poster of Serena Williams.

"She's my idol!" She said happily.

Still sniffling, Chihiro started to climb up on Aoi's bed, but she quickly pulled him off, gently taking his arm.

"Not in those wet pants," She moved closer to him and he stepped back, hands crossed protectively over his crotch. She looked at Shuichi, who shrugged and knelt in front of Chihiro.

"Which room is yours?"

He shook his head.

"Did you leave your door open?"

A nod.

"I'll get dry clothes for you, alright? You stay here with Asahina-san," He stood up and looked at Aoi. The boy just sat there, sniffling still.

"I think I can calm him down," Aoi reassured Shuichi just as Ibuki reappeared, wearing a long black dress shirt over matching jeans.

"Is he feeling any better?"

Shuichi nodded. "Just a bit," He saw a trail of drops leading in the direction where him and Kyoko had gone to change the sheets.

"Ibuki didn't see those two boys around anywhere. She bets they sleep like the dead!"

"Oh, they do," Aoi nodded. "You two go on ahead. Fujisaki-chan and I are having a meeting of the minds here,"

The two nodded and left, and Aoi knelt in front of Chihiro and gave him a reassuring smile. He had vibrant hazel eyes and matching hair cut into a bob. His lip was quivering and he looked ready to begin crying all over again.

"What happened?" She started to ask before reconsidering. Instead, she thought to him: What happened?

I dunno, He hiccuped. I was asleep like always when I peed in my bed. It woke me up and I called for Daddy to come help me. But Daddy never came so I left my bed. But everything wasn't my house, so I got upset and cried.

Aoi nodded in understanding. Saihara-san and Mioda-chan have gone to get you some new clothes. They'll be back soon.

I know...I'm such a burden...

No, you're not! I can already tell you're going to make lots of friends here!

Chihiro didn't respond, just clasped his hands at his chest. Aoi softly placed a hand on his head.

Meanwhile, Ibuki and Shuichi had arrived at Chihiro's room, the ice machine next to it cheerfully still making ice. "Fujisaki Chihiro-chan. He's ten, can you believe that?"

"Oh? Are you a secret TP and you never told Ibuki?" She asked in surprise.

"No. I helped Kyoko-san change the sheets on his bed. She told me. The room was all ready for him,"

"You're a teacher's pet!" She laughed. Shuichi thought of Nagito slapping him across the face and wondered if the same would happen to Ibuki.

"Kyoko-san's not like the others. If you're good to her, she'll be good to you," He shook his head.

"How long have you been here?"

"I got here just before you did,"

"No!"

"Yup,"

"Then how do you know who's good and who isn't?"

"I just get a feeling about Kyoko-san, she's a good person. Trust me on that," He finally walked inside the bedroom and Ibuki followed after him, snooping through all of the drawers before she finally pulled out a pair of fresh pants and underwear, then they started walking back. On the way, she asked him if he had any of the tests Kokichi had told her about.

"Not yet, but they did chip me." He showed her it. "Don't fight it. I did and got slapped,"

Ibuki gasped. "You're joking!"

He then showed her his cheek where a faint bruise was.

"Nobody is slapping Ibuki!"

"I don't suggest testing that,"

She flipped her two-toned hair. "Ibuki's gotten her ears pierced several times already, so she's not worried."

When they returned, Aoi was sitting on her bed with Chihiro next to her, sitting on a towel. She was stroking his hair while he stared up at her dreamily, as if she were a fairy-tale princess. Ibuki suddenly tossed Shuichi the clothes, surprising him enough that he dropped the green boxers.

"Ibuki doesn't want to see him naked. Or any dude naked, for that matter! She's going right back to bed and hoping all of this is just some awful dream,"

Aoi waved to her and Shuichi bent over in time to see Ibuki's hips sway underneath her jeans. He blushed heavily and picked the boxers back up.

"She's a catch, isn't she?" Aoi teased, seeing his face.

"She's...a lot to take in," Shuichi said, expecting her to laugh. He liked her laugh, but when Aoi spoke again, she just sounded sad.

"This place will drain the personality right out of her. Soon she'll be just like us and flinch whenever she sees a guy dressed in blue. Fujisaki-chan, you need to get dressed in these. Saihara-san and I will turn our backs,"

They did so, and after a minute or two of hearing the rustle of clothing and sniffling, Chihiro took a deep breath. "Y-You can both turn around now,"

"Now take your wet pajama pants and hang them over your sink," Aoi said, and Chihiro nodded and shuffled away, coming back in.

"Okay, I did it..." He had no fury or despair in his voice anymore, just timidness and exhaustion.

"Good for you! Lay down in bed now. It's alright," She sat down on her bed and propped Chihiro's feet into her lap, while Shuichi sat next to her.

"Are you feeling better?"

Chihiro nodded. "I guess so..."

"You know so," Aoi gently tapped his nose, making him flinch a bit. She then started to stroke his hair again, and Shuichi suddenly thought that there was a ton more going on with them than he could see. Inner-traffic. As if to prove his point, Aoi gently nudged Chihiro. "Go on, tell him your joke before you go to bed,"

"Okay. The frog's child will always be a frog, but a demon's child will never be a demon," He recited, blinking. Shuichi realized it was a mashup of two proverbs and tried to puzzle it out. It was almost like a riddle.

Aoi continued to stroke Chihiro's hair, making his eyes flutter. Eventually, they closed entirely and he fell forward. Aoi gently laid him down in bed. Shuichi stared at her. "I was singing a lullaby for him my mom used to sing for me," She whispered. "I can't sing at all, but I guess when you're doing it mentally, the melody doesn't matter as much,"

"He's probably not the sharpest tool in the shed,"

She gave him a look that made his face turn red.

"It's not brains he's lacking. TP as strong as his isn't a good thing, not really. When you don't know what people are thinking, you gotta be good at picking up on...er...social cues. Most people just look at faces and judge the tone of voice they adopt to speak. It's kinda like growing teeth. This poor boy has teeth that are only good for chewing grass,"

He nodded in understanding.

"A place like this is a terrible place for a rabbit like him...but I guess it doesn't matter. We all go to Back Half eventually," She smiled. "Well, whatever. He's extremely powerful and I actually managed to talk to him! In his mind! It was real telepathy!"

"But surely you must've met others in your time here?"

She shook her head. "It's way harder than it looks. It's like trying to listen to the radio when it's turned all the way down. Sometimes you get stuff, but most of the time you can't. But this was just like in a movie. You gotta take care of him once I'm gone, Saihara-san. He's a bunny rabbit, and it's no wonder he doesn't act his age. He was probably coddled,"

Shuichi glanced up in surprise, looking at her. "H-Has...anyone said anything about you leaving? Kyoko-san?"

"They don't need to. I didn't get any tests yesterday and that's a sure sign. No shots either. Oowada-san is going too. Sayaka-chan and Ouma-san will likely be here a while longer if they're still getting tested," She lowered her voice even more and pulled Shuichi close to her, touching his neck. He found himself shivering suddenly. "If the only thing you like about Mioda-chan is her sense of fashion, keep it that way. Everyone leaves here eventually and it messes you up. But this one here...you need to take care of him for as long as possible. When I think of Miss Ludenberg or Mr. Komaeda or that terrible witch Miss Iruma hitting Fujisaki-chan, it makes me want to cry,"

"I'll do what I can, but...I'll miss you," He allowed himself to admit, blushing.

She gave him a sad smile. They sat in silence for a while, not saying or doing anything. Shuichi knew he'd have to go soon, but he wasn't ready yet. He didn't want to be alone.

"I think I can help out Kyoko-san. With her cancer. But I'd have to talk to her," He finally said, whispering even quieter than they had before.

Aoi's eyes sparkled and she smiled at him. "Really?! That'd be great!" She tilted her head. "But...how did you know it was cancer?"

He shrugged. "She's always tired and probably feverish. She's young enough that she shouldn't be having problems like that. I just used simple deducing and reasoning,"

"Oh, a junior detective, huh?" She teased, making him blush heavily.

She then whispered in his ear, making him shiver. "Make it soon. She has her week off coming in a day or two," She placed her hand on his thigh, making him bite his lip. "When she comes back, she'll be somewhere else for three weeks. You might see her around in places like the halls or the break room, but she won't talk to you, even when it's safe to talk." She moved away from him. "Now you should head back to bed,"

[][][][][][][][]

Shuichi was roused from a dreamless sleep to rhythmic knocking on his door and suddenly wondered if he had overslept on a school day. The door eventually opened, revealing Celestia standing there who gave him her usual sweet smile. She was the woman who took him to get chipped, the same woman who told him he had to adapt and serve them.

"Bonjour!" She smiled. "You missed breakfast, but I did not forget about you. I brought you some orange juice! It is freshly-squeezed! You may drink it while we walk,"

Shuichi glanced over at his laptop, seeing the power button blink slowly on and off. It was in sleep mode, but if Celestia came in and pushed a button to see what he had been doing on it; and Shuichi wouldn't put such a thing past her, she'd see the darkly-coloured website and blab about it to someone, even if she herself had no clue what it was. Someone above her might know. He looked back at her.

"May I please get dressed? I want to look respectable," He said, hoping that would entice her. She gave him another smile.

"Alright, but do not dally. You do not want your juice to get warm," She shut the door.

Shuichi jumped from his bed, pulled on some jeans and a T-shirt, checking the time on the clock and seeing it was eleven in the morning. He never slept for that long, not even on weekends. Did they slip something in his food? But if they had, he wouldn't have woken up in the middle of the night. Shock, then. Shock at the current situation and still trying to process it.

He shut the computer off, knowing any attempts to hide what he had been doing would've been futile if they were monitoring him constantly.

Celestia had opened the door when he finished tying his sneakers on, and she gasped. "Magnifique!" She praised, as if he were a monkey who just learned a simple trick. Shuichi found he was liking her less and less, yet when she handed him his juice, he drank it all down.

They walked to the elevator together, this time going to the third floor. "Isn't it a lovely day today?" She chirped as the elevator began descending. Shuichi figured that was how she started every conversation. He glanced at her finger and saw an engagement ring there.

"You're engaged? Who's the husband? Do you have any kids already?" He asked, and Celestia frowned a bit at him.

"That is my business and only mine."

"How do you think they'd feel if they were locked up in a place like this?" He continued, staring up at her from under his cap. She ushered him out of the elevator, holding his arm tightly. "Can you live with yourself, knowing you've done such terrible things?"

She gripped his arm tighter, making him bite his lip. "My, you are feeling spirited today, aren't you? Even though I was so nice and brought you juice,"

"What would you say to your husband and kids if they found out what you were doing here? You might end up on the news,"

Celestia gripped his arm even tighter and walked faster, making Shuichi glanced up at her face. He had hoped she showed some sort of discomfort or distress to prove to him he had bothered her, but there was only blankness on her face.

A true porcelain doll.

They stopped at 3-15, in a room filled with medical and computer equipment both. There was also a black chair pointed at the wall with a projector behind it.

A tech was waiting for them, wearing a modified pink dress that had a super low-cut blouse and a skirt so tight and short Shuichi was sure he could see the outlines of her panties underneath. He blushed, unsure of where to look. Her nametag proclaimed she was Miu. Shuichi recognized that name; Kyoko said she was one of the mean ones.

"Hey there cutepie! How are you feeling today?" She asked nicely, her stringly blonde hair pulled into a tight bun. "You going to be naughty?"

He quickly shook his head. "No trouble today,"

"Fantastic! That's what I wanna hear!" She slipped on a pair of gloves and opened a blue bottle that smelled strongly of rubbing alcohol, then she pulled a large thermometer out from a nearby drawer. Shuichi blinked as he stared at it. It couldn't be...

"Alright! Just bend your cute self over that chair and pull your pants down,"

"Not with..." Shuichi trailed off, about to say 'not with Miss Ludenberg here', but when he glanced around he saw that she was gone. He liked to think it was to give him some modesty, but in reality she was probably sick of his attitude.

"Huh? Not with what? With this?" She twirled around with the thermometer like she was a cheerleader holding a baton. "Orders from the higher-ups, ya know. So it's gotta be this way. Don't worry, I swear I won't enjoy it too much,"

"I think a smaller one would be easier, like the one you stick in your ear? Or even just one that goes under your-"

"Are you really going to give me fuckin' lip after you said you wouldn't? Take your goddamn pants off before I do it for you. And if I do it, you won't like it," She stepped towards him.

Shuichi held his hands up and backed himself up into the chair, seeing no way out. He unzipped and unbuttoned his pants, slid them down, then turned around and bent over.

"There we go! Exactly how I pictured it!" Miu gently dipped the end of the thermometer into a jar of lube, coating it up thoroughly before showing it to him. "See? All slimed-up and protected. You won't even feel this baby penetrating you! Just remember, if you don't feel both hands on you, your black cherry is safe,"

Shuichi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He was sweating and he tried to remind himself that he wasn't the first kid in The Institute to receive this sort of treatment. It helped a little, but only a little. He assumed they only did this as a sort of humilation tactic, to keep children in their place and remind them who was in charge. To show they can do literally anything they wanted to do.

He heard laughter from behind him and winced. "The suspense is killin' ya, ain't it, cherryboy?" She laughed again.

Once the indignity of having his temperature taken was over, Miu also took his blood pressure, checked the iron in his blood, and also measured his height and weight. She also checked his nose and throat, singing to herself as she did so. Celestia had come back into the room by that point, sipping tea from a cup printed with violets.

"Okay, time for a shot. No trouble, right cutiepie?" Miu asked him cheerfully, and Shuichi shook his head. The only thing he wanted to do was take a long shower and wipe the cold, slimy lube out of his rear end. He had nothing to be ashamed of and yet he was anyway.

Miu gave him a small shot, and there was a tiny bit of pain that lasted for a few seconds before vanishing.

"You feel pukey?"

"No."

"Taste copper?"

The only thing he could taste was the orange juice residue.

"See any dots?"

"No."

"Ya sure? Telling the truth cutiepie?"

"I'm telling the truth,"

She stared at him for a long time, and he itched to move a few inches back. Being so close to her cleavage made him feel extremely uncomfortable. Finally, she stood up and threw her gloves away, nodding at Celestia. "Come on, get the fucker outta here. Doctor Kimura will want to see him later for his eye thingy,"

Shuichi felt hungry and exhausted. At least he could still feel hunger no matter what they did to him here.

"See? You were upset over nothing. It was not bad at all," Celestia tittered as they rode up in the elevator together. Shuichi briefly thought of asking her how she'd feel if it were up her butt instead, but didn't. Kokichi would've, maybe even Mondo would've, but not him. "I am so happy you are finally taking my advice to heed and learning to adapt! I shall give you two tokens today," She slipped them into his hand.

Later on, when he stood in the shower and let the hot water pour over him, he started to cry. He felt like Ibuki in a way, wishing it all could be a dream somehow. Even moreso than that, he longed to get back at them in some way, to expose them all for the kidnapping and torturing and other illegal stuff that was no doubt going on, from Mistress Enoshima right down to Celestia and her Barbie-doll smile and Miu with her slimy rectal thermometer. Expose them all and watch it all be destroyed.

But what could he even do? He was just a kid, an especially unremarkable one at that. Still, it felt good to have a goal, to want something as badly as he did that.

A goal would get him through hard times, or so said his uncle.

Chapter Text

After he showered, he headed to the cafeteria and found it empty, too early for lunch it seemed. A bowl was left out full of fresh fruit, which Shuichi stared at curiously. He supposed it wasn't that strange for a place like this to have fresh fruit always available for a snack, the funding was probably high, he just found it weird that the regular menu favoured traditional Japanese food, especially Hokkaido's flair, yet they openly offered fruit.

Not questioning it further, he grabbed an apple and also used one of his tokens to get a popcorn ball from the vending machine, heading outside to sit at one of the benches and eat it. His parents probably would've freaked if they saw him eating such an unhealthy thing. He looked around and saw Sayaka and Kokichi playing chess with each other while Chihiro cautiously climbed up one of the ladders on the playground. There was no sign of Ibuki or Mondo.

"Apples and popcorn? Now you're speaking my language!" Aoi popped up from nowhere, making Shuichi jump and spill some lose kernels on the ground.

"Don't scare me like that..."

"Sorry," She pouted and picked up a few kernels, popping them into her mouth. "They're totally still good! Why waste food like that?"

"That's...pretty gross," Shuichi said.

"You alright?" Her tone became softer.

"I'm fine,"

"Did you get the rectal?"

"I'd rather not," The image was still too fresh in his mind.

"Got it. Hey, wanna play basketball with me until lunch? Or we could gather up everyone else and play some kickball," Aoi offered, smiling.

Shuichi just shook his head. "I just want to lay down for the rest of the day."

"Think about stuff?"

"Yes. I'll see you at lunch,"

"It's a date then!" She suddenly took his hand and gave him a high-five, making him blush. He looked closer and realized a tiny scrap of paper was pinched between her fingers. He slipped it into his own and she stepped back, waving. "See you,"

Back in his room, he carefully unfolded the paper and read Aoi's note, finding her writing to be slanted and small.

Meet Miss Kirigiri by the ice machine next to Fujisaki-chan's room as soon as you can. Flush this note!

Shuichi just as quickly folded it back up, went into his bathroom, and dropped the note into the toilet as he lowered his pants. He felt a bit silly, but also not silly, because as much as he'd like to hope there were no cameras in his bathroom, one could never know for sure.

The ice machine was interesting, it was where she chose to speak to him yesterday. Aoi said there were several places in Front Half that had no audio surveillance, but Kyoko seemed to prefer that one. Maybe it was because there was also no video surveillance there, or maybe it was because she felt the safest there because the ice machine was so noisy, or maybe he was just overanalyzing things.

He left his room and walked down the hall, not seeing Kyoko near the ice machine but instead seeing her laundry cart parked halfway down what Shuichi considered to be Chihiro's hallway. He heard her humming to herself and followed the voice, finding her putting fresh sheets on a bed in a room that had posters of punk rockers littering the walls, with one solitary baseball player above the bed.

"How are you, Kyoko-san?" He asked curiously, bowing to her.

"I'm fine. My side hurts a little, but I'm used to it,"

"Need some help?"

She shook her head. "This is the last room for today. Three are coming in today, two girls and a boy. This is the boy's room, obviously," Kyoko smiled a bit.

"Well, I just came out here to get some ice. My room is all out of it," He said. "And my room doesn't even have another bucket,"

"The machine has a stack of them. I can show you if you'll push my cart," She said, and Shuichi nodded and followed behind her, indeed pushing the cart.

As they walked, Shuichi thought of all the research he had done on leukemia and the fact that there were actually several different types of it, all affecting different blood types, but mainly white ones. A majority of them only affected children, the elderly, or men, but there were still a few other possible candidates. Especially since anyone could get a disease, that statistic just meant it was more likely in that gender or age, but that didn't mean everyone else was exempt.

Once they arrived at the machine, Shuichi picked one of the buckets up and started talking in a low voice. "Asahina-san told me about your problem. That you're really sick and don't know how to get treatment. It depends on what kind of cancer you have,"

"What?" Kyoko asked, genuinely looking surprised with her hand on her chest. "My cancer has been gone for months. I'm in remission," She crossed her arms in front of her chest then, staring at him.

"But it could come back, you know. Especially since you work so hard here..." He trailed off. "What kind of cancer did you have? I thought it was leukemia because you're young,"

"I'm thirty-two," She continued to stare at him. "I had acute myeloid leukemia. A really rare form, the doctors told me. It means my cells overgrew into my bone marrow and blocked off healthy blood cells. I already had chemotherapy and took a lot of medicine for it, and the doctors released me after a time when they checked my blood again and found no abnormal cells in my blood,"

He nodded, pretending to break up chunks of ice.

"I remember the feeling of being in the hospital, you know. An old friend of mine visited a lot but after a while she stopped, saying my image was too much for her. I remember her crying over my bed once, begging to know what I had done with my lovely locks of lavender," She ran a hand through her short hair. "My grandfather was adamant over me not having any visitors though. He said they prevented me from recovering properly and banned anyone else from seeing me that wasn't him or the doctors,"

He started to fill up his ice bucket extremely slowly.

"Nobody else. I....was quite lonely. I have trouble admitting that to even myself nowadays, but I was. I loved that man for all its worth, but this is one area I strongly disagreed with him on. What sort of a man does not let anyone see their close friend or relative when they are gravely ill?” She frowned.

“That’s all the more reason for you to think about getting yourself checked out again. If your cancer comes back, you’ll have to get surgery done and replace your bone marrow. There’s a good chance you could die,”

“I’ll get checked out during my vacation then,” Kyoko glanced away. “They’d let me since the hospitals all have a patient confidentiality. Nobody would even need to know who I was or where I came from,”

“Then that’s great. Get yourself checked out so you don’t have to worry about the cancer coming back,” Shuichi looked at the ice in the bucket, shaking it around.

“My grandfather would surely scold me for my poor health...”

“But that’s none of his business. You can’t help getting-“

”Hi, Shuichi-oniichan,”

Shuichi jumped and turned around, finding Chihiro standing there in a white T-shirt and plain denim overalls and purple house slippers. “Hey. Did you enjoy the playground?”

“It was fun at first, but then it got boring. I fell down a lot because I’m not strong enough to pull myself up,” He beamed. “Guess what? I got a shot earlier and I didn’t cry,”

“Good for you,” Shuichi smiled.

“Want to watch TV with me before lunch in the lounge? Sayaka-oneechan says they have Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. They also have stuff like Netflix. We could watch Gundham or Digimon, or watch a Disney movie like Anna and the Snow Queen,”

Shuichi shook his head. “Not right now, but I’ll join you in a minute, okay?” He smiled. Chihiro stared at the two for a while before running off.

He then turned back to Kyoko, opening his mouth only to realize he had nothing more to say. “Ummm...just don’t work yourself too hard,”

Kyoko nodded. “I won’t. I don’t think you have to worry about that. And you’re right,” She suddenly took his hands and squeezed them. “It’s none of my grandfather’s business who comes to see me when I’m sick,”

The doors suddenly banged open at the far end of the hall, making him jump as he expected Miu to come for him again and scold him for getting too friendly with a staff member. Kyoko caught his expression and sighed.

“Just the new residents,”

Three employees clad in pink were wheeling gurneys around. Two housed two sleeping girls with blonde hair, while the third was a redheaded boy with a nose piercing, presumably the punk fan. All three were asleep. Shuichi leaked in a bit further and gasped.

“Those two girls...I think they’re twins! Identical!”

Kyoko looked amused. “Yes, you’re right. Their names are Kaede and Kiyomi. Now hurry along. I need to help these three get comfortable,” Kyoko gently nudged Shuichi along, and he walked up to the lounge, not having anything else to do. He found Chihiro in there, swinging his legs in his chair and eating a package of cheese crackers. He glanced up when Shuichi came in.

“I got two tokens for not crying when I got my shot!” He explained. “Because I’m a strong boy!”

“Indeed,”

“Oh, do you want this? I can’t eat it by myself, I’m too full,” Chihiro held out an unopened package of cheese crackers to him.

Shuichi shook his head. “You can save it for later,”

He nodded and turned his attention back to the TV where Anna was singing about hoping to find true love. “The movie is good, but I wish I could go home,” Tears began to leak from his eyes again and Shuichi was reminded of Sayaka.

“Same here,” He scooted over close to Chihiro. It was a tight fit, but he found he didn’t mind. He placed an arm around Chihiro’s shoulder and pulled him close, and Chihiro responded by resting his head on him. It touched him in a way he wasn’t sure he quite understood and made him feel like crying.

The two watched the movie for a while, Chihiro polishing off the rest of his crackers. Still staring at the TV, he randomly said: “Miss Kirigiri has a daddy,”

Shuichi stared at him. “Everyone has a father,”

He shook his head. “Her daddy is special. She really misses him and wishes she could see him again. But she’s not allowed to,”

”Sure,”

”That’s a secret though. Nobody else is supposed to know. She wants him to see her,”

”And how do you know something like that?”

Chihiro shrugged. “I just do. Like I know that you make everyone think Persona is your favourite game series when you really like Zero Escape more, or how you don’t want people to see your eyes,” He looked at him, making Shuichi gape.

“Sheesh,” Was all he could say.

Chihiro giggled. “Aren’t I good?” And even though there were tears still on his cheeks, he smiled.

The two managed to finish the movie just before the bell for lunch rang, and Shuichi helped Chihiro push the chairs back where they were before and the two walked to the cafeteria together. The others were already there, and Shuichi saw there were two new spots set up for Ibuki and Chihiro. He took his usual seat and Mikan served them.

Lunch was quieter that day than it was most days, though Sayaka and Aoi were still trying to coax conversation out of Ibuki and Chihiro.

"Most of this food is Japanese!" Ibuki finally commented in surprise. "Ibuki's not used to such fare. She always ate a ton of Western stuff!"

"We had omurice for breakfast and Mioda-chan asked eagerly if it was the same thing as an omelette," Aoi chuckled.

"I just had cereal," Chihiro said happily. "Lucky Charms,"

"I guess omurice is similar to an omelette," Shuichi finally said, eating his own food slowly.

"It's literally just an omelette!" Mondo said.

"With ketchup on it! All squirted on it. In the shape of a little heart that says 'My dear I absolutely love you'!" Kokichi laughed.

"'My dear, you are my greatest love! You are the love of my life!'" Sayaka chimed in.

"'My dear, you are so delightful in everything that you do!'" Ibuki teased.

"'My dear, get us the fuck out of here,'" Mondo grumbled.

Chihiro stared at him in awe. "You said a bad word!" He gasped, pointing at him.

"Yeah? So what if I did? You can't tell anyone on me,"

Chihiro returned to his food, looking away awkwardly. Ibuki and Kokichi decided to amuse everyone by making their forks all float around and attack each other, until Kirumi arrived and took Ibuki with her, and then the table was silent once more.

[][][][][][]

After lunch, everyone went outside again for their hourly play sessions and Kokichi suggested they all play a game of badminton together; three-on-three. Mondo, Ibuki, and himself would be against Shuichi, Aoi, and Sayaka with Chihiro on Kokichi's team as a bonus.

"More of a liability," Mondo commented.

"What's that?" Chihiro instantly asked.

"Read my mind if ya wanna know,"

"Ibuki thinks badminton is boring. She wants to play tennis instead. Badminton is for people who are too pussy to play tennis," Ibuki chimed in.

"Aren't you lovely," Aoi sighed.

"You don't have to play if you don't want to," Shuichi said, trying to defuse a possible argument. Ibuki tossed her racket on the ground and started to head for the actual playground.

"What a shame, our group needed more feisty girls," Kokichi laughed. "Just don't accidentally fall off the ladder!"

"So the new teams should be Ouma-kun, Mondo-kun, and then Aoi-chan and Shuichi-kun," Sayaka smiled. "I can be on the sidelines,"

"I'll help!" Chihiro added. Everyone nodded in agreement and started to play for a while, Ibuki watching from one of the swings she was swinging on. The score was evenly-tied when the door to the lounge flew open loudly and the new boy walked out, looking dazed as he ran a hand through his hair. Not only did he look dazed, but he also looked annoyed. His hair was a vibrant red Shuichi presumed wasn't real, and also pegged his age at around sixteen. He wasn't too shabby in the muscle department and wore enough piercings in his ears to put Ibuki to shame. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at him.

"He looks like a rocker," Aoi whispered from next to him.

The new boy stopped near the trampoline and looked around again, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "The fuck is all of this? The fuck is going on here?" He demanded in a distinct accent that placed him as being from Shinjuku.

Chihiro instantly walked over. "You're at The Institute. Hi, I'm Chihiro, what's your n-"

The new boy instantly shoved Chihiro away, sending his back into the trampoline and making him hit it hard. He stared up at him with an expression of shocked surprise and mute betrayal. It didn't even seem like he realized he had done it, as the new boy didn't acknowledge him, or the players, or Sayaka, or even Ibuki, who had stood on top of her swing and was holding onto the chains, slowing in her movements.

"I asked what the fuck is going on? So what's going on?" He demanded again.

"Man, you knocked poor Fuji-chan out. You shouldn't have done that," Mondo sighed, shaking his head. "He was just trying to be nice to you,"

New Boy glanced over at Mondo and tilted his head. "And who the fuck are you?"

"Oowada Mondo. Now go help Fujisaki-chan up,"

"Why?"

"Because you knocked him over, so you help him back up,"

"I'll do it," Aoi dropped her racket and hurried over to where Chihiro was, bending over to take his arm, when New Boy suddenly shoved her down. She fell down hard on the gravel, wincing.

Mondo threw his racket down. "Now you gotta help them both up. You can't just push a chick down like that, man,"

"What if I don't?" New Boy challenged, making Mondo crack his knuckles.

"Then I'll fuck you up, rock-star-wannabe,"

Ibuki was still standing on her swing, shading her eyes with her hand as she looked over in interest. Kokichi had bailed, running back over to the lounge door.

"If he's going to keep being a jerk, then don't even bother with him," Aoi snapped, slowly getting back up and walking over to where Chihiro was. She held out her hand. "We're both okay, right Fujisaki-chan?"

"Uh-huh," He nodded, tears spilling down his cheeks.

"Who are you calling a jerk?" The new boy demanded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Mondo mirrored the action. "I'm not going to apologize to anyone! I'm leavin' this place and nobody can stop me,"

"We're all stuck here, dude. Better get used to it," Mondo shot back.

"Stop it," Aoi cut in. "Both of you. I don't want to see a fight," She pulled Chihiro close to her.

"Last fuckin' warning before I punch you square in the face,"

Kokichi seemed to have changed his mind about heading inside, as instead he climbed up on the monkey bars, sitting on the railing, while Ibuki leapt off her swing and landed on her feet, slowly walking over to the boy's other side, making her hips sway in that way Shuichi liked. She looked intense.

Kokichi looked intense too, like he was focusing on something. Some of the bugs that were swarming around him suddenly started to swarm around the new boy harder, gusting right at his face. Ibuki got behind him and shoved him, making him fall to the ground. She laughed and jumped away. "You've got bugs on you! You've got bugs on you!"

Before the new boy could start getting up, Mondo had advanced on him, kicking his shin hard and making him groan. Sayaka frowned.

"Stop it! Don't we have enough trouble already?" She shot a pointed glare in Kokichi's and Ibuki's directions as well.

"He started it," Shuichi responded softly.

"I'll get you for that! You can't just kick me like that," The new boy huffed, finally managing to stand up. His face was now as red as his hair.

"You can't do shit now. Not with them around," Mondo dropped to his knees and motioned to the door, where Celestia and Kirumi were standing in the doorway to the lounge, holding small black gadgets in their hands. Celestia's smile was gone, and Kirumi looked less formal and more like a warrior. Shuichi could tell they were ready to move in at any second if need be.

Mondo helped the boy up, taking his arms.

"Is everything alright, Saihara-chan?" Kirumi called out.

"I think so," Shuichi nodded.

"I hope so. This heat is not good for my skin," Celestia sighed, and the two women headed back inside.

"We're fine. It was just a small disagreement," Aoi reassured everyone, and Ibuki nodded in agreement.

"Totally!"

"I think he was just scared and upset. He didn't mean anything bad by it," Sayaka pouted sadly, though there was the shine of genuine kindness in her eyes.

"I'm going to vomit," The new boy warned, covering his mouth. Mondo steered him over quickly to the one side of the fence that didn't have a tarp over it.

"Not on that trampoline, we use that shit. Do it here,"

Shuichi followed and widened his eyes as he watched the boy lean over and vomit violently, spraying the chunks through the fence. The last proof that he had ever been someone else before coming here, that he had been free once.

"Ooooh, is that lettuce in there that I see? And a yolk?" Ibuki chimed in, leaning closer.

"You feel better now?" Mondo asked, and even though the boy nodded, his cheeks bulged and he started vomiting yet again. "Now?"

Still more vomit.

"Geezh, you give towels away with your showers too, kid?"

He finally finished, taking a deep breath. "God, I hate pukin' so much. I think I'm going to pass out,"

"You won't, you're fine," Shuichi tried to reassure him, not knowing if he would faint or not. "Come over here in the shade,"

Mondo led him over to the picnic tables and he sat, taking another deep breath.

"Got a name, kid?"

"Kuwata Leon. I'm from Shinjuku, and I don't know anything about this place. Nothing at all," He sounded exhausted. "I don't even know how I got here,"

"We can tell you what we know, but you need to apologize. We can't have people fighting with each other in a place like this," Shuichi scolded softly.

"And your first apology can be to Fujisaki-chan. That's how you start getting on our good side," Kokichi put in, for once sounding nothing like his usual joker self.

"T-That's alright, he d-doesn't have to," Chihiro sniffled. "H-He didn't hurt me,"

"I'm sorry I knocked ya over," Leon apologized to Chihiro, looking over at the others. "How's that?"

"Apologize to her too," Shuichi pointed over at Aoi.

"Sorry...chick. I don't know your name,"

"Asahina. If we start getting along, you can call me Aoi-chan or Hina," She looked away from him in annoyance.

"As long as you don't call her 'sweetie'." Shuichi added, earning himself a clap on the back and a laugh of approval from Kokichi.

"Sure, whatever," Leon wiped his mouth off.

"Now, can we finish our goddamn gam-" Mondo began before getting cut off by Sayaka waving at someone over by the door.

"Hello girls. Want to come over here?" She asked softly, walking over. Shuichi glanced in that direction and saw two little blonde girls holding each other's hands. Their hairstyles were identical and worn long, except one had music notes in her hair and the other had little arrows that resembled the ones from Dance Dance Revolution. They were both wearing matching pink sailor dresses with black tights and turtlenecks underneath, black boots on their feet. Even their expressions of dazed terror matched each other.

"It's safe to come over, the trouble is over," Aoi added kindly.

I wish that were true, Shuichi thought to himself as the two girls walked over, still looking bewildered.

"They're cute!" Ibuki gasped.

"They look awfully young," Shuichi said, glancing at Chihiro, who had taken to hiding behind Ibuki with a slight blush on his face. They couldn't have been older than Chihiro.

"What are your names?" Sayaka asked breezily.

"Mama says we're not supposed to give our names out to strangers," The one with DDR arrows in her hair commented.

"We're not strangers around here,"

"Yeah, we're one big happy fuckin' family," Mondo grumbled.

"Sure are! Oowada-kun and Asahina-chan are the mommy and daddy, Maizono-chan and I are the crazy aunt and uncle, and Fujisaki-chan is our little baby! You can be our babies too!" Kokichi teased, his eyes lighting up.

"Hey, what about Ibuki? She needs a role!" She chimed in.

"You can be the red-headed stepchild we adopted one day while we were drunk,"

Sayaka ignored him and continued to smile at the girls.

"I'm Akamatsu Kaede, and she's my twin sister, Kiyomi," Kaede answered easily, the one with the musical notes in her hair.

"Your names are adorable," Sayaka nodded.

"Yeah, and they match! They're nature-themed," Aoi chimed in.

"We were playing a game of badminton, would you like to watch? Or you could even join us in the next one," Sayaka offered.

"Alright," Kiyomi answered uneasily, but Kaede was still smiling.

"That sounds like fun!"

And thus, the game continued on. Aoi's team ended up winning, which surprised nobody as she was super athletic and sporty. Kokichi sighed.

"Oh well, better luck next time!" He grinned.

Ibuki was still swinging on the swings. Kaede and Kiyomi had grown bored of watching the badminton game and were instead playing on the playground with Chihiro, sliding down the slides and giggling. Leon was resting on the picnic table with his head down and buried in his arms.

"Want to play another match?" Aoi asked the others curiously.

"No way, chick. You obviously have us beat," Mondo declined, shaking his head.

And with that, everyone decided to disperse and go do their own things.

[][][][][][]

At four that afternoon, Shuichi was back in his room, trying to read about the Kirigiri family. He wondered if what he was doing would tip off some sort of alarm, suddenly being so curious in the intimate family details of another staff member's life, but nobody had mentioned anything about it to him. Nobody mentioned anything about his black website, and he briefly thought of testing their monitoring by Googling ways to commit suicide or something similar, then discarded the idea. Why challenge something like that?

There was a sudden knock on his door, and before he could ask who it was, the person walked in, revealing they were a caretaker. She wore a pink dress devoid of any extra accessory or ornament, with long blue hair pulled into a side braid and black glasses. Her nametag read she was named Tsumugi.

"Right, my eye appointment," He said to himself as he turned the laptop off.

"Yes!" Tsumugi responded in a crisp but formal tone. He was glad for it; sick of Celestia and her fake smiles and faked perkiness.

They went down to the third floor on the elevator again, Tsumugi playing with her braid.

"How far down does this elevator go?" Shuichi asked randomly. Tsumugi froze in her motions and sideyed him.

"I don't think you should worry about something like that,"

"Just making con-"

"Don't. You don't need to,"

Shuichi took the hint and shut himself up.

Back in 3-15, Miu had been replaced by a tall man in a crisp blue suit and matching white hair, who stiffly bowed to him.

"Doctor Munakata. I am the main Chief of Medical Operations around here," He waited for Shuichi to bow, and Shuichi stepped back and very quickly did so before looking away. "And this is my assistant, Doctor Kimura,"

"I heard...you're new here, right? Take a seat," Kimura said, speaking in a strange and stilted accent. She wore a pink suit with a pencil skirt and black tights, a matching mask around her mouth. She motioned to the chair with the projector, and Shuichi sat, finding himself glad he was just receiving a simple eye exam after everything else that had transpired.

Munakata gave him another shot, and as Tsumugi started to strap him into the chair, Shuichi's eyes widened as he felt his throat start to close up, his breathing becoming heavy. "I-I can't..." He gasped.

"It'll pass." Munakata said in a bored tone. Kimura was searching through her drawers. Shuichi just stared at them in desperation, his throat burning and his lungs growing hot. Spit dribbled down his chin. His throat closed tighter, tighter, tighter, until...

It suddenly opened back up, allowing Shuichi to take a great gulping gasp of air.

"I told you you would be fine. Seiko-san didn't need to intervene,"

"W-What...what was that?" Shuichi asked, panting heavily.

"Nothing."

Kimura walked over then, shining a flashlight into Shuichi's eyes. "Glasses? Lenses?"

"What did you do to me?! I couldn't swallow. I couldn't even breathe!" Shuichi demanded instead, moving his head away from the light.

"You can swallow now..." Kimura flicked her flashlight again. "Lenses or glasses?"

He shook his head to both.

"Look straight ahead."

A white screen was pulled down in front of him and Tsumugi dimmed the lights.

"Keep looking. If you....look away once, Kyosuke-san will...slap you. Any more...a light shock. Painful. Understand?"

Shuichi nodded again, swallowing. His heart was still hammering like mad. "Does the Prime Minister know about this?" He still couldn't help asking.

"Please shut up," Tsumugi sighed wearily.

Classical music started up; it sounded like a violin and a piano mixed together. Tsumugi hurried over to the projector and switched it on, making a blue dot appear in the middle of the screen, blinking. Then a red dot appeared beneath it, then finally a green dot. The dots then started to swirl around each other, flashing in sync. Others began to appear until soon the whole screen was filled with glowing dots.

They swirled, they flashed, they twirled around, the music speeding up to match the visuals. Shuichi felt as though he was about to pass out or have some sort of mental breakdown. He thought of Leon Kuwata puking through the fence and felt his own stomach twist, realizing he might puke too but he didn't want to, not because he hated it like Leon did but because it would all fall into his lap and it'd be warm and gross-

Munakata slapped him good and hard, no expression on his face. "The screen, sport,"

Shuichi felt something warm dripping down his lips and realized Munakata must've broken his nose when he slapped him. The lights continued to swirl around wildly, invading even his inner thoughts in his brain.

"Turn it off, Tsumugi-san," Munakata said, but Tsumugi never did; if anything, the dots just increased in frequency, getting bigger and surrounding him in bright colours. He tried closing his eyes but the dots were still there, burning the inside of his eyes with their brightness.

"You are alright," Kimura said from somewhere far away, maybe even underwater. He heard Munakata yelling for Tsumugi to shut it off already, or maybe that was just in his head too. More coloured dots, everywhere, on the ceiling, on the walls, on the floor, on his body, in his mind. They were all swirling around him endlessly, flashing. He suddenly became aware of his body shaking from side-to-side, his hand thrashing in front of him. He tried to say that they were killing him, that he was having a seizure, that they should've known better, but all that could come out of his mouth was a gargling sound.

Then the dots were gone, he was falling out of his chair, and falling into the blessed darkness, the cool, cold, black darkness, and when he finally fell into it, he felt relief. It was such a relief.

[][][][][][]

Someone slapped him hard to wake him up. It wasn't a slap of punishment, but it wasn't a slap of kindness or concern either. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself on the floor with Tsumugi leaning over him, on her knees with her braid swinging close to his face. She was the one who slapped him. Kimura and Munakata stood in the back, watching.

"He's awake. Can you stand up?" She asked shyly, stepping away.

Shuichi wasn't sure if he could or not. His arms felt like limp noodles again and his new injection site burned and itched. His mouth tasted foul. His throat felt tight. It reminded him of when he came down with a bad case of a stomach bug. He ran a high fever and couldn't move for days. He felt like that now, like his body had slipped away from his mind and vanished off somewhere in the atmosphere.

Munaka easily pulled Shuichi up, making him sway violently. "Your name?"

"S-Saihara...Shuichi..." The name didn't sound like it came from his mouth, instead it sounded as if it came from the part of his mind still out floating in space. His nose hurt and he gingerly wiped it with his hand, finding dried flecks of red on his finger. His face throbbed from repeated slaps and he felt numb all over.

Tsumugi and Kimura were on either side of him, gently sitting him down in a regular kitchen chair in front of a table. Large blue-backed cards were stacked up neatly in front of him.

"Can't I go to bed? I feel sick," He asked slowly, still trying to find his voice.

"The disorientation will pass. Doctor Kimura has a new test for you. Afterwards, you can go back to your room and rest. Might also be wise to skip supper," Munakata responded.

Kimura sat in front of him and held out a card, the blue side facing him. "This?"

"A card," Shuichi blinked in confusion.

Tsumugi slapped him hard, putting her hands on her hips. "Stop trying to be funny...it's not working," Shuichi glanced at her and saw no remorse nor hesitation in her eyes. Not even a shred of regret. He realized then that she saw him as purely nothing but a test subject, not a real child. With a test subject, you ask them to do what you want and punish them when they don't comply. And when the tests were over, you headed to the breakroom and had coffee and sandwiches and talked about your own kids, who were real kids, or complained about the weather, politics, current events, whatever.

Shuichi felt like there would be a time soon in his life where he would flinch at the sight of an open palm, even if it were someone just trying to give him a high-five or a beckon.

"This?" Kimura asked calmly, holding up a new card.

"I don't know. How am I supposed to know? I don-"

Tsumugi slapped him again, even harder. His ears began ringing and beside himself, Shuichi started to cry. He couldn't help it. He thought The Institute was a nightmare, but this was the real nightmare, being only half-alert and being told to decipher cards he couldn't even see and being slapped when he said he couldn't.

"Try." Munakata said.

"I just want to go back to my room and rest," Shuichi sobbed. "I feel like I'm going to be sick,"

"This?" Kimura held out a third card.

"I don't know. I'm not TP, I'm TK. Asahina-san could tell you what's on those cards, and Fujisaki-chan definitely could, but I can't because I'm not TP!"

Kimura held up a fourth. Her expression was maddening because Shuichi couldn't make out what she was thinking at all due to her mask. He wondered if she did that on purpose. "No more slaps...a shock. You might...another seizure,"

"I don't know what's on it!" Shuichi insisted. "A bridge? The Eiffel Tower? Mt. Fuji? Jupiter? Some guy in his underwear? I don't know! I can't tell you!" He closed his eyes and awaited the shock, only slowly opening them when none came and Munakata was instead backing away. Kimura was stacking the cards up neatly.

I wish I was dead.

"Tsumugi-san, take Saihara-chan back to his room," Munakata ordered, and Tsumugi nodded. Shuichi walked steadily alongside her and blinked a few times, still seeing the dots despite everything.

"I'm not a TP, you know that, right?" He tried once more.

"Whatever," Tsumugi rolled her eyes but perked up upon seeing Miu. Her smile became a real one, shy and flirty. "See you tonight?"

"Totally!" Miu laughed and stared at Shuichi. She suddenly made a fist and drove it into his face, making him flinch and hold out his hands, crying out. He slowly lowered them when seeing Miu had lowered her own fist, laughing hard."I love doin' that kind of shit! Some of these kids have the funniest reactions!"

"I agree," Tsumugi smiled softly and continued to walk Shuichi back to his room. In the main corridor, Kaede and Kiyomi were peeking out at him shyly from behind a wall, both holding dolls as identical as they were. He thought they looked like creepy twins from an old horror movie. Tsumugi stopped at his door and left without another word.

Shuichi saw still nobody had come to take his computer away, yanked off his shoes, and fell asleep for the remainder of the night after collapsing in his bed.

[][][][][][][]

When Shuichi woke up that next morning, as usual, all of the pain and despair he had felt the previous day had seemingly melted away into nothing, as if it hadn't ever been there in the first place. Maybe they really were drugging his food.

After breakfast with everyone else, the majority of them headed outside for their hour of play, pausing in surprise when they found an inflatable pool filled up with water and pool toys, a sprinkler spraying down the yard and a blue cooler set beside the hose, currently closed.

"Is this a pool party?" Ibuki asked curiously.

"Who set this up for us?" Mondo asked, not making any further moves forward.

Shuichi couldn't blame Mondo's hesitance. After the hell he experienced the other day, no way was he just going to give in and have some fun in a place like this. It was almost like some half-assed apology in a way.

Sorry we put you through all those invasive horrible tests, but here's a pool party!

Then again, the sun was particularly hot that day even for the morning, and the pool did look inviting....

The twins and Chihiro instantly started to run over to the pool, stopping when Sayaka snapped her fingers at them. "It does look like fun, but we can't possibly swim in our clothes, right?"

"Yeah, my underwear will turn see-through if that happens," Aoi chimed in.

"None of us needed to know that, chick," Mondo sighed.

The group headed back inside and Shuichi searched through his closet, knowing he didn't see a swimsuit anywhere when he first examined the room a few days ago. Yet when he pulled back a few layers of clothing, there was indeed a pair of grey swim-trunks, long enough to go past his knees.

Different from the blue pair he had at home, but it'd do. Maybe Kyoko somehow got her hands on bathing suits for everyone.

He slipped his on and also put on a white shirt, keeping his cap on as he headed back outside to where everyone else was. Sayaka and Kokichi had already come back; Sayaka using the hose to fill the pool up some more. Shuichi blushed when he saw her swimsuit; dark pink with magenta bows tied around her waist and neck to keep the swimsuit in place, though it was very low-cut and exposed her large breasts and hips.

"Like what ya see, huh Shuichi-chan?" Kokichi randomly pulled Shuichi into a death-hug, making him gasp in surprise. His own swim-trunks were a bright orange patterned with yellow polka-dots and were the same length as Shuichi's. "And come on, did you have to wear that stupid hat out here too? It'll get soaked in the pool,"

"That pool is too small for me to properly swim in," Shuichi declined, wrestling out of Kokichi's grip. Sayaka finished filling the pool up and dropped the hose, taking a moment to pull her hair into a high and tight ponytail.

Aoi came out next, dressed in a blue one-piece patterned with yellow stars that hugged her curves nicely. Her normally-ponytailed hair was instead up in a bun. Shuichi blushed even more.

"I think the younger ones are mostly going to use the pool, which is fine. It looks more like a wading pool to me," She said, and he nodded in agreement. "That's alright. We could just run in the sprinkler, or see what's in that cooler,"

"Water balloons, most likely," Mondo and Leon came out at the same time; Leon wearing blue trunks similar to Shuichi's, but Mondo's was a tight black Speedo that made both Sayaka and Aoi blush at the sight.

"I'm not going to do any of that kiddy crap. Just some water on my face and a run in the sprinkler and then I'll be done," Leon huffed.

Ibuki was the last one to arrive with the three youngest in tow, gasping. "So many cute girls here in bathing suits! Ibuki is so jealous! Girls these days have such large breasts!" Her own swimsuit was a white skimpy bikini that showed off her small breasts and large hips. Her own hair was up in pigtails. "Come on! Let's get this party started! Ibuki wonders if there's a radio hidden around here,"

"Maybe you could sing something for us?" Sayaka offered instead.

Kaede and Kiyomi had their hair tied in pigtails and wore identical lavender bathing suits with a shadow of Mimi the fashion doll on them. The two hurried over to the pool and jumped in, starting to splash each other. Chihiro wore swimtrunks patterned with dinosaurs and kept his hair tied back in a white swimcap, which ironically made him look girlier in Shuichi's opinion. He slowly climbed into the pool too and swam in circles around the twins.

"Got you!" Aoi's voice reached Shuichi's ears, and before he could properly react, he felt the clap of cold water on the back of his shirt, making him shiver violently.

"Water-balloon fight!" Kokichi yelled, grabbing an armful of the colorful balloons and chucking them at random.

"Don't get me!" Sayaka squealed happily, running away.

"Ibuki wants in on this too!" She grabbed some balloons and started running, throwing some more at Shuichi.

"H-Hey! Don't just throw them at me!" Shuichi couldn't help a small smile that formed on his face. "Get Ouma-san,"

Kokichi had climbed to the top of the monkey-bars and had his arsenal neatly placed in his lap, carefully swinging his legs back and forth.

"Darn it! We can't get him," Sayaka pouted at Aoi.

"There's still other boys though," She grabbed a blue balloon and threw it at Mondo's back, laughing. "Got you!"

"Come on, I'm not playin'," Mondo grumbled, which made the girls giggle more.

"Sure you are! You're not thinking of getting into that itty-bitty kiddy pool, are you?" Sayaka put her hands on her hips.

"Not in that outfit," Ibuki huffed, dancing around in the sprinkler. Leon was beside her, obviously eyeing the way her swimsuit protected her bits.

"Says you!" Kokichi teased. "You gotta be wearing the skimpiest outfit out of us all!"

Shuichi blushed at that and stole a glance at Sayaka, who seemed to have given up on their water-balloon fight and was instead swinging on one of the swings. He was suddenly curious about seeing her trying to do a dive off a diving board.

"Now I have the ultimate weapon!" Aoi laughed, shaking the sprinkler around. Ibuki and Leon gasped and darted away, while the twins hurried over, curious.

"Could you spray us?" Kaede asked nicely, clasping her hands together.

"Of course!" Aoi waved the sprinkler around slightly, making some drops fall on the twins, who giggled.

"I wish there was a water-slide here. Or a Slip-and-Slide," Kiyomi pouted a bit at some memory. Kaede gently took her sister's hand again and the two walked over to the trampoline, starting to jump on it.

"Shuichi-oniichan," Chihiro gently tugged on his swim trunks. Shuichi looked down in surprise.

"What's wrong?" He asked, not seeing any obvious injuries. Chihiro puckered his lips a bit.

"I have to pee. Can you please take me to the bathroom?"

The bathroom where? This wasn't a school; the only ones Shuichi had seen were the ones in their bedrooms. Could Chihiro even make it to his own?

"Shuichi-oniichan?"

"Yeah, sure. Let's go," He walked ahead, briefly wondering if he should've taken Chihiro's hand before deciding against it. Chihiro might've found that to be too weird.

They walked along in silence, and thankfully they did manage to make it all ther way to Chihiro's room. The little boy gasped happily and raced inside his bathroom, shutting the door. Shuichi stood outside for a few seconds before Chihiro came back, looking happy.

"I even washed my hands," He promised, holding them out. "See? Smell them,"

"I believe you," Shuichi led him back outside and watched him play in the sprinkler, cheering Ibuki and Leon on as they raced in and out of the water shower.

Kokichi remained perched on the monkey-bars, happily dropping balloons on anyone who dared to walk underneath him. Sayaka continued to swing on the swings before growing bored and sitting in the wading pool, drawing her knees up to her chest. Aoi and Mondo sat on a picnic bench together, whispering about something. Kaede and Kiyomi were still jumping on the trampoline together. Shuichi sat down in the wading pool across from Sayaka, pulling his own knees up to his chest. She gave him a smile, and he found himself smiling back.

Shuichi would always look back on that particular day as being a shining light in what was regularly Hell on Earth.

[][][][][][][]

After lunch, everyone retired to their rooms, too worn-out to do much of anything else physical. Shuichi hung out with Mondo a bit before it was evening and started to head back to his own room, hearing a TV somewhere and curiously following that instead, finding Aoi's door wide open. She was resting on a giant beanbag similar to what Sayaka had in her room, and she was blankly watching something on the TV that was currently featuring a guy pulling out the spine and skull of another guy. Shuichi wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"You like shows like this?" He asked in surprise. Aoi just shrugged and unwrapped an ice-cream sandwich, and only then did Shuichi notice a grouping of empty wrappers surrounding her.

"Want one?" She offered one to him. "Used all of my tokens up to get these,"

Shuichi sat beside her and took the dessert just to be nice. "Why didn't you tell me the light test was so bad, Asahina-san?" He finally asked after a time, focusing on her instead of the TV, where someone had just puked chunks onto the screen.

"'Call me Aoi-san. I like that better." She burped softly.

"Aoi-san...why didn't you say anything?"

"They make you look at coloured lights that make you feel woozy. Nothing bad about that," She shrugged, taking a bite out of her ice-cream sandwich. Her face looked green.

"That's all that happened with you?"

"What happened with you?"

"I got a shot and had a bad allergic reaction. My throat closed up and I couldn't swallow or breath,"

"Geezh, I'm sorry. They did give me a shot too, but nothing happened," Aoi sighed.

"I passed out while looking at the lights. I think I might've had a seizure, and when I woke up..." He swallowed slowly, feeling a lump starting to grow in his throat. He clenched his fists and tried to get himself under control, he did not want to lose control and start crying in front of this pretty girl with her pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair. "They slapped me,"

"What?!" Aoi looked over at him suddenly.

"Then one of the doctors...Kimura, do you know her?"

Aoi nodded. "The one with the mask on her face," She took another bite of her sandwich.

"Yeah, her. She tried to show me a bunch of cards and have me say what was on them. They were those telepathic cards, I'm sure," Shuichi continued to explain.

"Yeah, I know those. I've gotten them done like two thousand times," Another bite. "Until I saw the lights, then they just took me to my room. Maybe they got the paperwork mixed-up and thought you were TP instead of TK,"

"But when I tried to tell them, they kept slapping me like they thought I was lying," Shuichi had started whispering suddenly.

Aoi shrugged again and burped loudly.

"You think this happened to some of the other kids?"

"I never asked," She glanced down at his unopened sandwich. "You sure you don't want that?"

Shuichi gingerly unwrapped a corner of it and took a small bite, chewing and swallowing. It tasted fine, if a bit melted. The thought of Aoi having eaten what was clearly around ten or eleven freaked him out though.

"I'm celebrating, you know. Don't you want to know what?" She looked back at the TV, where a girl was getting raped by a dog. Shuichi refused to look at the screen. "I'm throwing a party for myself,"

"What are you celebrating?" Shuichi asked.

"Sayaka-chan and her memory. She's just like you, nothing special, just a small bit of TK, yet they came and took her. They came and took her an hour ago, and as Ouma-san would say, we will see her no more," Aoi suddenly clutched at her stomach with a moan. "Oh God, my stomach..." She then started to cry, whether from her stomach pain or Sayaka being gone Shuichi had no clue, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She rested her head on his shoulder.

[][][][][][][]

Shuichi spent his night researching more about the Kirigiri family after he deemed himself too much of a coward to genuinely look up and see if his uncle was truly dead or not. He had already found all of the information he needed, but it was always good to double-check the work.

After twenty minutes, he turned the computer off and debated who to talk to; maybe Aoi if she wasn't sleeping her sugar off, when suddenly the lights came back. They swirled in front of his eyes and started to pull at him, like a train leaving the station.

He quickly put his head down on his desk and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths in the hopes the lights would leave him. At least he could still swallow. Eventually the feeling of being pulled along was gone too; it had only been a minute or two but it felt much longer.

Shuichi stood up and started to brush his teeth in the mirror, eyeing himself. They likely knew about the dots already, but they didn't know about the other thing. The fact that while he had no idea what was on the first or third cards, the second had been a picture of a boy riding a bicycle and the fourth had been a picture of a tan dog with a red ball in its mouth.

It seemed he had some TP in him after all.

He rinsed his mouth out, turned off the lights, undressed, and crawled into bed.

What purpose did the lights even serve anyway? It couldn't just be for strengthening the talents of shiros like him, since positive people like Kokichi and Aoi received them too. There had to be some other reasoning behind it.

All he knew was that the dots were gone, just like Sayaka was gone, and the dots may come back again but Sayaka never would. Sayaka had gone to Back Half and they would see her no more.

Chapter Text

Breakfast was a silent and miserable affair. Kokichi Ouma didn't crack any jokes. Ibuki Mioda idly stirred her tamago gohan, slowly lifting the spoon up and watching the food fall back down into her bowl before repeating the process. Leon Kuwata got eggs and bacon and ate silently, staring down at his plate. Chihiro played with his chopsticks, pretending to break them apart while his cereal grew soggy. Aoi anxiously pulled her hair up again and again. The two little girls, Kaede and Kiyomi Akamatsu sat there in silence and didn't eat their pancakes until Celestia walked over, all smiles and sweetness, and coaxed them to take a few bites. Kaede especially seemed to cheer up at her attention and even laughed a small bit, and soon the two started to eat like normal. Shuichi briefly thought of taking them aside later and warning them to never trust that smile, but that'd just scare them and what good would that do?

What good would do that was a dangerous way of thinking, it meant Shuichi was starting to accept the place for what it was, and no way could he do something like that. If the little nature-girls were comforted by the attention of the big nature-girl, then maybe that was for the best, but then he thought of those two little girls possibly getting the rectal thermometer or the lights...

"Dude, what's wrong? You look like you ate something spicy," Mondo spoke up from the other side of him.

"I'm thinking about Maizono-san,"

"She's gone for good,"

Shuichi just stared at him.

"It's the truth. You wanna go outside later and play basketball?"

"No."

"Why? You scared I'll beat you?"

"I used to play it with my uncle," Shuichi adjusted his cap and caught Mondo staring at him with an expression that somehow made him feel even worse.

"Shit, man, I'm sorry. I get it. But uh, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me,"

Shuichi wandered around after breakfast and soon caught sight of Kyoko's laundry basket placed outside Chihiro's room and perked up a bit, walking over. He poked his head in and she gave him a small smile as she smoothed down the blankets on Fuji-chan's bed. "You feeling alright?"

Shuichi knew she meant well by asking it; though how he knew that he wasn't sure. He thought Kyoko's face looked even more flushed than it was normally, her eyes darker and her hair messier despite the bows.

This woman is not okay,

"I'm fine. You?"

"Perfectly fine." She was lying, Shuichi somehow knew that for a fact. "Except this one, Fujisaki-chan, wet the bed last night. He is not the first and he won't be the last. Thankfully it didn't go through the mattress. You have a good day now," She continued to make the bed up, a hopeful expression in her eyes. Except it was what was behind them that was hopeful.

They really did change me, Shuichi thought to himself in awe. I don't know how they did it, but they did. Something new has been added. He was suddenly very glad that he lied about the cards, as well as the fact they believed him.

"I got slapped pretty badly the other day and my face is still sore. Think I'll get some ice for it," He commented, and Kyoko nodded as he turned on his heel and left. He grabbed the bucket from his room and dumped the water down the sink, heading to the machine and finding her already there. She had a hand on her chest and was breathing somewhat heavily, though she waved Shuichi away when he started to hurry over to her.

"I just need some rest,"

He nodded and started filling the bucket up. As he did so, he also started to talk. "I read a bit about your grandfather. How he's really strict about his business and how he treats his family," He began, knowing Kyoko was listening. "It's a little bit like my family in a way, except my uncle was genuinely kind to me. He too wished for me to inherit his business once I came of age. My parents were the ones who dumped me on him without a care,"

Kyoko stepped closer.

"But I'm sure if I was in the hospital, they'd want to visit me. And even if they didn't, they wouldn't prevent other people from seeing me. Not even my uncle," He could've just left it at that, but he had an actual purpose this time around. He took the scoop and started pounding at the ice, enjoying the fact it made a loud sound. "Fujisaki-chan said you have a father and that you want him to visit you. It's none of my business, but-"

"That little boy is a mind-reader, isn't he?" Kyoko cut him off, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "He must be extremely powerful, even if he is a bedwetter. No white sticker on his sheet,"

"Yeah, he is," Shuichi started stirring his ice.

"He's right. My father, Kirigiri Jin, had a huge disagreement with my grandfather, his father, years ago. He got kicked out of the family and my grandfather has hated him ever since. He never let me see him, or him see me," She stared at Shuichi. "Do you really care about this?"

"Of course," Shuichi reassured her, though he knew they needed to hurry. They might not be able to hear them, but they could always see them.

"When I was diagnosed, I knew I likely wasn't going to last long. My mother died from a disease, but my grandfather kept me from seeing her, so my only memory of her was a sickly face floating over a hospital bed. And even that memory is fleeting," She explained. "I didn't want to live a life like that, so I got everything I needed in order and prepared to cut myself out of my family's influence. I could make it on my own, but I needed to see my father one last time. I didn't want to be for him what Mother was for me. I wanted him to see me one last time, and I'm determined to find out where he is before I cut them both out of my life forever," Kyoko ran a hand through her hair. "I don't care about my disease or anything like that. All I've ever cared about was my father and reconnecting with him,"

"Take care of yourself," Shuichi finally said, taking the filled bucket in his hands.

"I will," She then suddenly pulled him close to her, and he smelled the sickness on her breath. "My grandfather..I don't care what he says anymore. If I want to see my father, so be it. I can't wait any longer in that area. And Shuichi-chan? Do everything they tell you to do. Do not disobey them, or question their orders. And if you must talk to someone about something, do it here,"

"But aren't there other places where-"

"Do it here," Kyoko repeated, letting go of his arm and rolling her cart away.

[][][][][][]

When Shuichi went back to the playground, he saw Mondo and Leon playing basketball with each other, laughing and clapping each other on the backs like they had been friends for years. Ibuki was sitting at a picnic table with Chihiro beside her, earbuds in one ear each, her laptop in front of her. Shuichi walked over curiously and saw a girl twirling around in a pink Victorian dress. He asked what they were doing.

"We're watching TikToks," Ibuki said happily. "She managed to drag her laptop out here and we started watching some. Ibuki loves a lot of the costume and cosplay ones!"

"She just doesn't want to play with the others, she finds it boring," Chihiro said. "I like the superhero costumes though,"

Shuichi looked around the playground and felt concern bloom in him, taking the form of faint dots in front of his eyes for a few seconds. "Where's Aoi-san? They didn't-"

"She's taking a shower," Ibuki rested her chin in her hand.

"Shuichi-oniichan likes her a lot," Chihiro suddenly spoke up, looking at him. "He likes her a lot a lot,"

"Fujisaki-chan? Ibuki thinks that maybe you should quiet down for a bit. Some things should be kept secret,"

"Why?"

"Because some things are just better left being secrets," She ran a hand through her dyed hair, trying to hide her frown.

"What's wrong?" Shuichi asked.

"Ask Fujisaki-chan, he's the one that knows everything,"

"She got a thermometer jammed up her..." Chihiro blushed shyly.

"Oh." Was all Shuichi said in response.

"Ibuki thought it was so degrading! Who'd want to do such a thing?!" She carried on.

"It's pretty bad, yeah,"

"But also delightful and delicious,"

Chihiro looked at the two of them. "That doesn't sound delightful and delicious to me,"

"It is if you lick what comes out," Ibuki teased, and soon all three of them were laughing hard, Ibuki hitting the table with her fist before she yanked her earbud out. "Oh God, Ibuki's peeing on herself! Don't watch!" She jumped from the table and ran back inside, nearly barreling into Kokichi who had just come outside, a Hi-Chew in his mouth. He glanced back at her before looking over at Shuichi.

"What's her deal? She knocked me over almost!"

"She peed on herself," Chihiro said in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's okay though. I peed my bed last night so I can relate,"

"Thank you for sharing," Shuichi sighed. "Why don't you go play basketball with Oowada-san and New Kid?"

Chihiro watched them for a few seconds before finally shaking his head. "I-I'd like to, but they're way bigger and tougher than I am. Leon-oniichan already knocked me down once," He pouted.

"Then go jump on the trampoline,"

"That's boring,"

"Play on the jungle-gym,"

"Bored of that too. I always fall down,"

"Do it anyway, I want to talk to Ouma-san," Shuichi gently nudged Chihiro off the bench.

"About the lights you see? What lights are those?"

Shuichi stared at him. He was really super creepy. "Go climb up the monkey-bars and show me how high you can get this time, Fuji-chan,"

"And don't break your neck! Otherwise I'll sing God Save the Queen at your funeral!" Kokichi added, walking over.

Chihiro stared at Kokichi for a few seconds. "You think that song is annoying,"

"Yeah, I was being ironic. Or was that satire? I can't tell the difference. Whatever. Go off," They watched Chihiro run off to go play before Kokichi turned to look at Shuichi. "He's ten yet he acts like he's six. Fucking eerie,"

"How old are you?" Shuichi asked curiously.

"Thirteen," He was quiet for a time. "Hey, do you think our parents are alright? They keep telling us that, but I think they're lying. Takes one to know one, you know?"

"I'm....not sure. And I'm not sure if I could even handle finding out,"

"I'll never find out! That's not something I wanna know," Kokichi responded happily.

"About that eye thing...did you get it?" Shuichi asked instead, changing the subject. Kokichi nodded.

"Everybody gets it,"

"Did you have a seizure afterwards? I did,"

"Nah. They just sat me down in front of a table and that creepy chick with the weird mask asked me what was on these cards," Kokichi continued. "I'm pretty sure they were Rhine cards. I've been tested on those before, you know. When I told my parents about my ability and showed them, they took me to the Tokyo Institute of Technology to get tested. Turns out there was some professor there who believed in that and did the examination for us. They probably thought I was faking though, since I couldn't even move much stuff that day. But whatever. Even on my best days I can only knock down a block tower. Won't be winning any sweethearts with that!"

"Did they slap you?" Shuichi pressed.

"I got one, courtesy of that bitch Miss Shirogane,"

"She's...pretty mean. I guess you didn't know what was on the cards,"

Kokichi looked at him carefully. "Why would I be able to? I'm TK like you, not TP,"

"Right."

"Anyway, I had already gotten the Rhine cards, so I just decided to lie about what I saw. I said wavy lines, star, and cross. Miss Shirogane got annoyed and told me to stop lying. So I smirked and said the next card was a picture of her tits, and then she slapped me. Then she sent me back up to my room. To me, they didn't seem very interested," Kokichi shrugged.

"Maybe they were just trying to cover all their bases," Shuichi suggested. "Did the lights ever come back for you?"

"No, not once," He looked extremely curious."Did they with you?"

"No." Shuichi answered quickly, suddenly glad Chihiro wasn't around near him. He had no idea how far his 'radio' could broadcast though. "Because of my seizure though...I thought that maybe they could come back,"

"I just don't understand the point of this place," Kokichi sighed. "My mom got a book before we went out to test me, it was about physic powers and other paranormal anomalies like that. I read it after she was done. It talked about tests performed on this very thing, in America and Russia. There was a smaller section about Japan too, talking about 'ki' and how it all flows through us and lets people in control of it heal others or make everyone in a room feel a certain emotion. How they tell people who are telepathic to talk to aliens. There were other tests in other countries too, focusing on stuff like levitation and predicting the future...but a lot of the tests didn't reveal very much. And that's basically us. What could they possibly use us for? World domination?"

"I don't know, I think I'd enjoy seeing Fujisaki-chan try to talk to aliens. Or Mioda-san growing plants with her mind," Shuichi teased, making Kokichi grin.

Before they could say anything else, however, Aoi had run outside and asked if anyone wanted to play a game of kickball.

It turned out that they all did.

[][][][][][]

Shuichi didn't have any tests that day, though the next day he had his blood tested, gave him a shot-luckily it didn't have any reaction-then told him to pee in a cup. Afterwards, he was taken to a pouty woman named Hiyoko whom Shuichi remembered as being one of the mean ones, so he didn't even bother with making conversation with her. She escorted him down to the fourth level and took him to a large MRI-scanner that looked as though it cost a pretty penny.

Shuichi found himself wondering what the average citizen would think about their money being spent like that, only to figure they wouldn't care. The majority of people nowadays still believed in the paranormal and that included telekinetic and telepathic abilities. If it was being used wisely to help study people with those abilities, then why did it matter? They'd likely never even know.

Before Shuichi could get strapped into the machine, Dr. Kimura showed up again and asked him if he had been seeing any more of the coloured lights. He answered that he hadn't, and realized that she had seemed disappointed by that. He surprised himself by realizing he was glad for that.

"You want some pills before we strap you in there? They taste great and make you fall asleep super quick!" Hiyoko giggled.

He eventually nodded and she gave him some, and Shuichi had fallen asleep for the majority of the MRI-scanner tests. He didn't ask them what they were testing for or trying to find. Maybe they didn't even know themselves. Maybe they were trying to read his brain waves to figure out why some people were born naturally with physic abilities and others weren't.

After several hours of scans, Hiyoko reappeared and helped him up, giving him a handful of tokens. One fell out of her pocket and rolled on the floor. She just snickered. "Pick that one up for yourself, butterfingers!"

Shuichi did so and slipped them all into his own pockets.

"You're a big brave stud, you know. You deserve a break," Hiyoko smiled at him. "How about you get yourself something to drink? I'm a fan of sake myself, but wine isn't that bad. I like the ones made with white grapes the best!" She was wearing a pink outfit styled to resemble a kimono with long sleeves that nearly covered her hands and her blonde hair was pulled into a single ponytail, her large breasts pressed against the fabric. Despite her childish attitude, she was clearly reaching middle-age and was old enough to have one or two kids Shuichi's age. Would she say the same thing to them; suggesting they kick back after a hard day at school with some wine?

"What good would it do?" He finally asked, not looking at her.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Anything. Anything at all, Miss Saionji," He didn't want wine or sake or any other kind of alcohol at all. Hiyoko frowned at him.

"Don't run your stupid smart mouth at me!"

He nodded and recalled he was given nine tokens. He'd give three of them to Chihiro and three each to the Akamatsu twins. Enough for snacks but not enough for that other stuff. He found himself to be extremely hungry and for once didn't care what dinner was as long as there was a bunch of it.

[][][][][]

The next morning Shuichi was brought back to the third floor with Kirumi and Miu who told him to drink a solution made from barium. He eyed them carefully from the top of the cup, soon drinking it all down without much protest. He was then taken to a tiny cubical and given an X-Ray, and that was fine. What wasn't fine was when he felt his stomach painfully flip afterwards, making him double-over and gag.

"You better not fucking hurl on this floor," Miu scolded, but it was too late. Shuichi fell to his knees and threw up his half-digested breakfast with a barium puree, chunks everywhere. She just sighed. "Great, now you gotta clean this shit up. I want this floor to be so clean you can see my panties on it,"

"I'll clean it," Kirumi started to head for the cleaning supplies, but Miu grabbed her wrist.

"Fuck ya will, make him do it. He made the mess,"

She nodded and handed Shuichi the bucket and mop anyway, whispering a 'you're alright' into his ear as she did so. Shuichi filled the bucket up from the sink and tried his hardest to focus and mop despite the clawing pain in his stomach. Every few minutes he had to double-over and grasp at it in pain. As he cleaned, Kirumi and Miu sat on the side and talked about which team in baseball they felt were going to make the finals.

He finished cleaning and handed the supplies back to Kirumi while Miu grinned at him.

"You did a damn fine job, cutiepie! You got any tokens for him, Kirumi-chan? I'm fresh out," She said, and Kirumi nodded and handed him four.

"What are all these tests for?" Shuichi asked as they led him back to the elevator.

"Tons of stuff. Scientific shit ya wouldn't get,"

"Am I ever getting out of here?"

"Of course! You just won't remember being here,"

And somehow, Shuichi knew that she was lying. It wasn't mind-reading in the sense he had always imagined it would be, seeing words inside your head, it was more a general sense of knowing.

He headed back to his room and found a new maid in there vacuuming; she had a row of giant pink bows in her hair and modified her uniform to have a frilly brown miniskirt. Her nametag read Tenko.

"Where's Kyoko-san?" He asked curiously, though he already knew. It was her week off and when she came back, it was possible she'd be working in Back Half for a while. He hoped she was back at home, reconnecting with her father. He'd miss her.

"She's making a movie. A live-action fairy-tale movie those kids all love. And she's playing the princess!" Tenko answered, looking over at him. "Get outta here, I still have a lot of work to do,"

"But my stomach hurts and I need to lie down," He bit his lip.

"Ugh, you boys are so spoiled rotten nowadays. Think that just because you were raised by a woman means you can push her around constantly. You think us girls have that luxury? We still have to work, work, work!" She scolded him.

"Well here, we all swallow barium and then puke it up. You could try it," He realized he was starting to sound more and more like Kokichi or Mondo with every passing day but found he was fine with that. It couldn't hurt to have positive role models.

"You want me to hit you?" She challenged, taking a fighting stance. Shuichi took the hint and left, scaling the walls and clutching his stomach every so often. He found a random empty room and collapsed on the mattress, sleeping heavily. For the first time since his arrival he woke up fully expecting he wouldn't see the houses of his neighbors out the window, and decided that was the step in the exact wrong direction.

[][][][][][]

After a simple blood test Shuichi was drinking his orange juice when a tall man dressed in a long coat and distinctive green hair came out of a nearby door and crossed his arms in front of his chest, staring Shuichi down. He said in simple terms that Shuichi should think about not emulating peers of his who give hardworking men and women a hard time when they're just trying to do their jobs. He then added that Shuichi should stay out of empty rooms on the west side of the building and just stick to his own. Before he left, he then introduced himself as Juuzou Sakakura and told Shuichi to never get on his bad side. Shuichi promised that he wouldn't.

[][][][][][]

The Akamatsu twins had finally started to adjust, especially after Leon Kuwata befriended the two of them. He was a TK and boasted that he could move tons of stuff, but according to Chihiro, that was a whole pack of lies.

"He has even less than you do, Shuichi-oniichan,"

"Don't be so diplomatic, Fujisaki-chan," Shuichi teased him.

"What's that word mean?"

"Spend a token on your computer and look it up yourself,"

"Memekagi, memekagi," Chihiro recited, blowing a spit bubble, giggling. At least Shuichi's own computer had finally replaced the greeting from Maki's name to his own.

Leon was good to Kaede and Kiyomi, that much was obvious. Everytime he saw them, he'd grin hugely and stop what he was doing, running over to them with his arms spread out wide. The girls would giggle and allow themselves to be hugged tightly by him.

One evening after dinner, the children were told to get dressed in the yukata provided in their closet and head outside once it was dark. The children did so and found a brown box filled with blue fireworks.

"They look like rockets!" Ibuki gasped.

"Fireworks...but is it a good idea to set them off by ourselves?" Shuichi questioned, wearing his spring-green yukata trimmed with white.

"I can do it," Mondo said, wearing a blue yukata trimmed with red. He walked over to the box and started pulling out the fireworks, also taking out the box of matches. "But you guys should probably get closer to the shade,"

"I wonder who set this up for us," Aoi blinked, wearing a red yukata patterned with sun-rays trimmed with orange. Her hair had an orange ribbon in it, similar to how she looked when Shuichi first met her.

"My first thought was Kyoko-san, but she's not here at the moment," Shuichi said.

"Well maybe she managed to do this for us before she left!"

"Ibuki wants to help! I could do a great job with fireworks, I reckon!" Ibuki said, wearing a blue yukata patterned with white and pink flowers. Hers had a long slit cut up one side that Shuichi assumed was self-made.

"Get into the shade," He scolded, and everyone complied.

"Man, you're still gonna wear your emo hat even now? It clashes with literally everything," Kokichi teased, wearing a tan yukata trimmed with yellow.

"It keeps the sun off my face," Shuichi blushed, pulling the brim down to hide his eyes.

Kaede and Kiyomi remained next to Leon, both wearing soft carnation pink kimono with a sprig of cherry blossoms tucked into their ponytails. Leon wore an unassuming brown yukata trimmed with tan and Shuichi thought the trio looked like a cherry-blossom tree themselves.

"Here we go!" Mondo lit the first one up and ducked away from it, watching as it soared into the dark sky and exploded into a violet shower. The little kids and Ibuki stared in fascination, their eyes wide. Mondo lit up the second, then the third, then the fourth.

"Can Ibuki help?" She asked again, walking over to Mondo and watched curiously.

"No, you should go back with the others, chick. You don't know how to set these off properly,"

She pouted in annoyance but still hurried back over to the others. "Ibuki thinks she should make note of these for later..."

Mondo set off the final five at the same time, releasing an explosion of greens, reds, purples, yellows, and whites; some even in the shape of flowers. The children applauded for him.

"Can you do something like that again?" Chihiro asked nicely, his eyes sparkling. He wore green hair clips to match his green yukata patterned with fish trimmed with blue.

"Maybe, if they give me more fireworks," He shrugged. "Don't even know why they let us have these. Maybe they expected us to kill ourselves trying to light them,"

"No, they wouldn't. We're more valuable alive," Shuichi shook his head, but nobody seemed to hear him.

"Regardless, it was sweet of you to light them like that. The twins and Fujisaki-chan especially loved them," Aoi gave him a smile, and Mondo cleared his throat to hide a blush.

"Nobody else could light 'em so I did so. I wasn't about to let a little kid hurt themselves," He shrugged.

It wasn't until dinner the next night that Mondo brought up the possibility that Leon was only so close to the Akamatsu twins because he was having sex with them.

"Ya know, he just gives off that vibe of being a womanizer. And nobody's gonna tell him 'no' here. And they're cute and naive enough," He pointed over to where Leon sat at his own table along with the nature-girls, who had insisted on joining him that night.

"You've been watching too many dramas," Ibuki rolled her eyes.

"He's not," Chihiro said, eating a Popsicle and getting red syrup all over his mouth. "He doesn't want to..." Instead of continuing, Chihiro grabbed his crotch and thrust his hips a few times. Shuichi realized that was why telepathy was all wrong; you knew way too much and way too soon.

"Eww! Don't make Ibuki wish she were blind, Fuji-chan!" Ibuki scolded, covering them. Chihiro just shrugged.

"He had two Shibas at home...those girls are like his dogs kinda,"

"Well, I don't know how that dude was with his dogs, but those chicks basically own him. It's like he's a new doll to them, see?" Mondo pointed over again to their table, where Kaede and Kiyomi sat on either side of Leon, feeding him long slurps of noodles from their chopsticks.

"I don't know, I think it's kinda cute," Aoi shrugged. Mondo looked over at her and smiled, giving her that smile that lit up his whole face including his black eye.

"You would, Hina,"

She smiled back at him, and beside himself, Shuichi felt the smallest twinge of jealousy.

[][][][][][][]

The next afternoon, Shuichi was led down to the previously-unexplored fifth floor by Tsumugi and hooked up to an IV she said would make him feel a bit drowsy. What it actually did was knock him out, making him wake up some hours later shivering and completely naked on an examination table, his right leg, right side, and abdomen bandaged up. Tsumugi was staring at him, backing off a bit once seeing he was awake.

"What did you do to me?" He demanded weakly, coughing. He figured something had been shoved down his throat as well. He put his hands over his crotch.

"Nothing much, just samples. We didn't sell your organs on the black market," Tsumugi giggled strangely. "Here, take these," She handed him a small brown bottle with a few pills inside, leaving and being replaced by Miu, who was holding his clothing.

"Dress when ya can walk," She threw his clothes down on the floor, always the considerate one.

Shuichi very slowly sat up on the table and shivered again, gingerly slipping on his clothes. Once he had done so, Tsumugi and Celestia arrived to escort him back down to his room. It had been daylight when he went upstairs, and now it was dark out.

"Are you able to walk the rest of the way to your room by yourself?" Celestia asked curiously, not smiling.

"Yes," He nodded.

"Perfect. Then do so. And take those pills Tsumugi-san gave you. They not only help with pain but make you feel wonderful. Is that not nice?"

Shuichi wandered down the hall, heading to his own room and turning the knob when he heard crying. He glanced around and figured it was likely coming from Aoi's room. He silently debated with himself, not feeling up for comforting anyone, but it was still her, so he closed his own door and went to hers, knocking and then poking his head in. "Aoi-san?"

She was lying on her bed, a hand over her eyes. "Go away...I don't want you to see me like this,"

He instead sat at the foot of her bed, knowing that she didn't really want him to leave. He also knew what was wrong with her, though not the details. She then began to talk.

Everyone was out on the playground, except for Shuichi, because he was getting his tests done by Tsumugi. Two men dressed in red scrubs with no nametags emerged from the lounge, and her, Kokichi, and Mondo, the old-timers, knew exactly what that meant.

"I thought they were coming for me. I haven't had any tests done in over ten days, not counting my strep throat. I've been here the longest, and they haven't even taken my blood, and you know how much they like testing our blood, but it was Oowada-san they came for! Oowada-san!" She sobbed, her voice breaking. Shuichi knew he was pretty crazy about Aoi, but that didn't surprise him. Ibuki always stared at him as if he were a compass and she was lost in the forest; Sayaka did the very same thing too, even Kaede and Kiyomi stared at him in admiration whenever he passed. But Aoi was the one who had been with him the longest, and they were roughly about the same age. They were possible as a couple. "He fought them, you know. He fought them hard," She sat up suddenly, her fist clenched above her expansive bosom. "I should've fought them too! We all should've!"

"But it happened too fast, didn't it?"

"He punched one of them in the throat, and the other one zapped him on his hip. He managed to grab onto the monkey bars to prevent himself from falling over, then he kicked at that one with his good leg,"

"He knocked it right out of his hand," Shuichi said, being able to clearly see it. Saying so was a mistake, as it suggested something about himself he didn't want Aoi to know, but she hadn't seemed to notice.

"Yeah. But then the other one, the one he punched, zapped him in the side, and it was turned all the way up because I could hear it, and Oowada-san fell down and they just kept on zapping him, and he jumped despite being knocked out. And Mioda-chan ran over and started crying that they were killing him, and one of them kicked her down to the ground and started laughing about it, and then they took him away," She said, and Shuichi waited. He already knew what she was going to say, but he wanted her to say it, because none of them could ever know what he had become, least of all her.

"He came around a bit," Tears formed in her eyes. "Enough to see us. He looked back at us, gave us a huge grin, and then gave us a thumbs-up. He gave us a thumbs-up! That's how brave he was," They were rolling down her cheeks now.

"Yeah," Shuichi nodded, thinking: And we'll see him no more.

"Don't you dare say that!" Aoi scolded suddenly, staring at him.

"I'm sorry," He bowed his head, wondering what else she had seen in there. He hoped she was still too upset over what happened to consider searching around in his mind for more.

"They took samples from you, didn't they?" She asked instead.

"Yes,"

"It was that chick with the blue hair Miss Shirogane, huh? How much?"

"Just three. One from my leg, one from my stomach, and one from my ribs I think,"

"They took one from my breast once. That hurt pretty bad. But what if they're not taking stuff out but putting stuff in us? They always lie to us,"

"Like trackers? Why would they even need to?" He motioned to the one in his ear.

"I don't know," Aoi sighed. Shuichi reached into his pocket and held out the bottle of pills.

"They gave me these, but I don't mind sharing if you need them to sleep,"

Aoi reached for the bottle, stopped, and pulled her hand away. "I don't just want one or two though, I want them all. But at the same time, I know that I should be feeling what I'm feeling, that that's the right thing. You know?"

"I don't know," Shuichi said, and that was the truth.

"Please go away...I want to be alone now,"

He nodded.

"If they come for me tomorrow..."

"They won't," Shuichi tried to reassure her, knowing that was a lie. She was practically overdue at that point.

"If they do, then please be a friend to Fujisaki-chan. He's the one here who needs it the most,"

He nodded. "Alright,"

She smiled at him. "You're a great friend," She moved closer to him and kissed him once on the cheek, then once on his lips. Hers tasted salty but he found he didn't mind.

As Shuichi opened the door to leave, Aoi said: "It should've been me, you know. Or Ouma-san. Not Oowada-san. He was the only one of us who was always fighting and never gave into them. He never gave up," She started crying again and yelled: "I hope you're listening to me, because I hate you! I want you to know how much I hate you! I hate you!" She fell back onto her bed and continued crying.

Shuichi went to his own room and sat on his bed, considering the pills but ultimately not taking any. Instead he thought of Mondo Oowada. Mondo, the heartthrob of all the girls. Mondo, who first put Leon Kuwata into his place and then made friends with him, which was far bolder than just beating him up. Mondo, who thought Monopoly was an intense game and set off fireworks for the little kids. Mondo, who had fought their tests, and fought the men from Back Half who had come to get him. Mondo, the one who never gave up.

Chapter Text

That next morning, Kirumi escorted both Shuichi and Kokichi Ouma to 3-17, where she was replaced with Miu who helped strap the two boys into a driving simulator. She called out numbers that may or may not have had to do with reaction time, and despite causing a lot of carnage and driving through a few traffic signals, Shuichi soon got the hang of it and actually found himself to be having fun, a first for an Institute test.

"So who won?" Kokichi asked after they were done, making Dr. Kimura stare at him.

"Not that...kind of test," She shook her head.

"Well yeah, but still someone's gotta win, you know?"

"Both of you...very fast...once you got used to it. What we expect from TKs. No more tests today," She bowed and left the room, leaving Kirumi to escort them both back upstairs.

"I think I ran over about six people before I got the hang of it, how about you?" Kokichi asked Shuichi, who shrugged.

"Only three, but I also hit a schoolbus and there might've been causalities there,"

"I totally missed the bus," Kokichi chuckled. "Actually, I hit seven people, but the last one was on purpose. I was pretending she was Miss Iruma,"

Kirumi stifled a soft giggle at that, and Shuichi hated that he liked her for that.

"After the dots, they gave you those cards," Shuichi continued. Kokichi nodded. "Do they ever test you for TK? Like asking you to turn on a light or knock over dominoes?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Probably because they know I can do that stuff on my good days. How about you?"

"Nope. I just think it's weird how they keep testing us for stuff they already know we got,"

Kokichi shrugged. "This whole place is strange, Saihara-chan, darling," He stepped off the elevator. "Now come on, we got the dessert buffet today and I want to get something good before the twins and Fuji-chan completely attack it,"

Shuichi just sighed and followed after him, walking into the cafeteria and seeing a majority of the tables put away to make room for covered tables filled with any kind of dessert and sweet known to a child. A separate table sported clear glasses filled with either strawberry milk, strawberry soda, or strawberry smoothies. It was only his second dessert buffet but he was well aware of the routine by then.

"A buffet full of desserts? No shit? We can eat as much as we want?" Leon asked in surprise. Aoi nodded at him.

"Yeah, as much as you can eat. That's the point of a buffet," She herself got two doughnuts and a glass of strawberry milk and sat by herself, nibbling slowly.

"Whoohoo! Now we're talking!" Ibuki gasped, running ahead and getting a slice of cherry pie, two brownies, and a slice of pumpkin pie, all with a heaping spoonful of vanilla ice-cream on top. "Ibuki has been dying for something sweet ever since she got here!"

Shuichi winced a bit as he thought of Mondo giving him his last peanut-butter cup, Sayaka resting her head on his shoulder. Two friends of his, now gone. Taken from him. He had little appetite, but still wanted to be included, so he got a simple slice of blueberry pie and sat at the main table, staring at Aoi. He thought the twins or Chihiro would go sit with her, but the twins sat with Leon and Chihiro sat with Ibuki at the main table.

"This stuff is pretty good, huh?" Kokichi teased, sitting over by Leon and the twins. Kokichi himself had a strawberry smoothie and a few pieces of sakura-mochi; an all-pink flare. Leon had a slice of angel-food cake with frosting on it, and Kaede and Kiyomi were eating from slices of frosted chocolate cake as identical as they were.

"There's so much to eat!" Chihiro's eyes were wide upon entering and they hadn't died down since. In front of him was a big bowl of ice-cream covered in caramel, chocolate, strawberry, gummy bears, nuts, cherries, and gummy worms, which he was currently attacking with a spoon.

"Hey, that's a lot of sugar there," Shuichi tried to coax him away from it, but Chihiro held the bowl closer to his body protectively, making him sigh.

"Just let him have it. It's just some sugar!" Ibuki laughed.

"I don't think you should be the voice of reason on this," Shuichi sighed again and finished his own pie, not going up to get some more. He buried his head in his arms and rested it on the table. The cafeteria continued to roar around him; he heard Kaede and Kiyomi start to bounce up and down on their seats, trying to make their skirts twirl around them. Ibuki and Kokichi had moved closer to each other, trying to make the other snort soda out of their nose. He knew Aoi was still there, watching everyone, and wondered why she didn't just leave. It was clear she still had painful memories seeing everyone together like this, so why keep torturing herself?

"Ibuki-oneechan? Aoi-oneechan? I don't feel so good," Chihiro warned before he suddenly choked and started to throw up on what was presumably the floor judging by the sound of it. Kaede started to ask him if he was okay while Kiyomi screamed and hid behind Leon. Shuichi peeked up through his fingers and saw Kokichi and Ibuki seated just across from him, their eyes wide and mouths open in shock.

"You're alright, you're alright," That was Aoi's voice, sounding like her usual motherly self. A trashcan was dragged out of place and was given to him, which he threw up in again. "It's alright, it's alright,"

"Goddamn, they're not seriously going to make us clean up after him, are they?" Leon asked, trying to make a joke, but Shuichi could tell he was worried about him.

"It's alright, he just ate way too much sugar. Get it all out, it's alright," Aoi rubbed his back. Shuichi finally lifted his head up and looked at them, noticing she was smiling yet staring intently at Chihiro. He matched her expression, and he realized whatever they were talking about was far beyond him. He tried to approach her, try to tell her he'd deal with Chihiro himself, but Aoi shook her head at him. "I'll talk to you later," She promised. "At dinner,"

Shuichi nodded, not moving.

"I mean it. Take care of this one when I'm gone," She whispered, staring at him. Shuichi nodded and moved along then, knowing that was what she wanted.

He didn't see her at dinner though, because she skipped it. When he walked back to his room after that fact, he peeked into her room and saw all of the pink frou-frou-ness was gone, as was the portrait of Serena Williams. He blinked a few times, the fact not quite sinking in yet.

If she fought, he wouldn't have known, he'd have no real way of knowing. Still, she wasn't the sort of person who'd go with him willingly, yet there didn't seem to be any other option. The true fact, the one he was currently staring at, was that the girl who had kissed him twice was gone.

He went back to his room and put his face in his pillow.

[][][][][][][][]

That night, he showed the laptop his token and went to the black website again, sighing in relief that he could still do that, at least. It seemed they were lax about some things, but then again, why wouldn't they be? They weren't dealing with military prisoners or prisoners of war, no matter what Junko tried to tell him. They were all just a bunch of scared, disorientated little kids.

He randomly thought of Hiyoko dropping his token on purpose and telling him to pick it up himself, snidely calling him a 'butterfingers'. Mondo likely wouldn't have done that. He'd have told her to pick it up herself, and earned a slap. But Shuichi Saihara wasn't that kind of kid, was never that kind of kid. He was the average do-gooder who never drew attention to himself in any way. He did what he was told and did his homework and the chores at home. He was teaching himself Portuguese from a textbook which the Internet says is a terrible way to learn a foreign language but he had no other choice since his school only has both Modern and Classical Japanese, English; all required, Latin, French, German, and Italian. He hated learning saxophone because he thought it was an annoying and useless instrument, but his band teacher told him it was required for all first-years to study band, and most of the instruments were too clunky to comfortably carry around, so Shuichi was stuck on saxophone. He much preferred his books; only socializing with people when he really had to, hence why his principal kept calling him into his office to tell him to interact with his peers more so they'd stop thinking he was weird. Was it any wonder he preferred the actions of those who had lived so long ago? Most serial killers were the outgoing variety, the ones nobody ever suspected, so Shuichi figured he had that going for him.

Nobody would suspect him of being a potential murderer.

But what did any of that matter? Here at The Institute, the only possible future for any of them was that of Back Half.

"Screw that,"

He finally went to the Japan Times website and scrolled through their archives, going back several weeks until he found what he was looking for. There wasn't any need to read the headline; the second he saw his old elementary-school photo, he knew exactly what he'd see:

SEARCH IS STILL ONGOING FOR MISSING SON OF STARLET COUPLE; RELATIVE OF THE FAMILY FOUND SLAIN

The coloured lights came back then, making him wince and nearly double-over. He turned the computer off and collapsed into his bed, rolling onto his back.

He knew he had been lied to, but some small part of him had been hoping that there was the possibility that he hadn't been. What he had read had been like a trapdoor finally opening up underneath him. And who would the prime culprit be of the killing? The precocious missing son, of course. He was a quiet antisocial kid who loved reading about brutal killings and murders. It'd surprise nobody that he snapped one day and tried to imitate some crime he read about, like that teenage girl who dismembered a little girl she was babysitting after playing a video game about a group of students forced to kill each other. It was in South Korea or someplace like that. Yes, someone like him snapping wouldn't come as a shock to anyone at all.

Aoi had screamed her defiance, but Shuichi wouldn't, not openly. He'd scream at them all he wanted in his heart, but never openly. He had his own secrets, and wondered then if his secrets could be used to break the whole entire place down. Bring it all down on them in a collapse of fiery glory.

He had fallen asleep at one point, and dreamed he was home again, and his uncle told him to make up his bed and take the trash out, and there was also breakfast waiting for him; a Japanese one that went heavy on the pickled vegetables because Shuichi liked those the best, and his uncle was watching the morning broadcasts as he ate, then before Shuichi headed off to school he handed him some money for the convenience store across the street to get his lunch at, only the money wasn't normal yen but the tokens, and that was when Shuichi woke up and realized someone was in his room.

He couldn't tell who it was, since he had turned his lamp off, but he heard the soft shuffle of feet near his desk and felt rage fill him as he realized they were coming to take away his computer. Of course they were, they were monitoring him, and he had been stupid to think otherwise. Well, let them try and take it. He'd get a few good hits in at them, and even if they didn't know why he was hitting, Shuichi would know. That was good enough.

He jumped from his bed and threw himself at the shadow, realizing too late when he collided that it wasn't an adult in his room at all, but another kid. He accidentally knocked them sprawling on the floor.

"O-Owwww! Don't h-hurt me like that, Shuichi-oniichan!"

Chihiro Fujisaki. Fuji-chan.

Shuichi felt around and grabbed his arm, gently picking him up and leading him over to the bed, turning the light on. Chihiro looked terrified, trembling.

"Jeezh, what are you doing here?" Shuichi scolded.

"I woke up a-and I got scared...I w-wanted to be with Aoi-oneechan, but they've taken her away, s-so I came to you instead. P-Please can I stay here?"

All of that was true, but it wasn't the whole truth. Shuichi understood this better than he had all the other stuff he had a hunch about, likely because Chihiro was a strong TP, way stronger than Aoi was, and at the moment, he was 'broadcasting'.

"You can stay," Shuichi finally said, nodding. Chihiro started to crawl into bed with him, but he gently nudged him out, shaking his head. "No way, not until you go to the bathroom first. I don't want you peeing in my bed,"

Chihiro just nodded without protest and hurried into the bathroom, and soon Shuichi heard the sound of urine splattering into the bowl. Quite a lot of it. Chihiro then came back and snuggled up close to him once he turned the light off. Shuichi stared down at him, feeling how warm he was. It felt nice to not be alone for once, it felt downright wonderful, in fact.

Shuichi laid down next to him and pulled him close, and after a while Chihiro whispered to him: "I'm really sorry about your uncle, Shuichi-oniichan,"

Shuichi was quiet for a while before eventually whispering back: "You two were talking about me at the buffet earlier, weren't you? You and Aoi-san,"

"Y-Yeah! She told me to come. She wants to send you letters through me. She also said you can tell Kokichi-oniichan and Ibuki-oneechan if you think it's safe,"

He knew it wouldn't ever be safe though, since nothing there was ever safe, not even thinking it was safe. He recalled what Aoi said to him when she was recounting Mondo fighting off the caretakers; 'knocked it out of his hand'. Meaning one of the zap-sticks. She hadn't asked Shuichi how he knew that, because she likely knew already. Had he really thought he could keep his newfound TP ability a secret from her? Maybe a secret from the others, but not from her, and definitely not from Chihiro.

"Look," Chihiro whispered suddenly, and despite everything in the room being completely dark, he looked ahead and thought he saw Aoi.

"Is she all right?" He whispered back, and Chihiro nodded.

"What about Oowada-san? Is he alright?"

"Uh-huh," Chihiro nodded again. "Sayaka-oneechan is there too, and she's okay, but sometimes she gets headaches. Some of the others do too, and Aoi-oneechan thinks it's from the movies they watch,"

"What movies?"

"I dunno. Aoi-oneechan hasn't seen any yet, but she says Mondo-oniichan has. So has Sayaka-oneechan. They say that there's only a few kids where they are right now, like Maki-oneechan,"

Maki was the girl whose laptop he had inherited.

"Fuyuhiko-oniichan was there at first too, but he's gone now. Sayaka-oneechan told Aoi-oneechan all about it,"

"I don't know those kids,"

"Aoi-oneechan says Maki-oneechan went to Back Half just a few days before you got here. That's why they gave you her laptop,"

"You know, you're really creepy," Shuichi jabbed, but Chihiro ignored him, likely already knowing he was creepy.

"They get the hurty shots there a lot. Shots for dots, dots and shots. Aoi-oneechan says she thinks something really bad is going to happen, that Back Half is something really bad. But she thinks you can do something. She thinks..." Chihiro trailed off and didn't finish, but Shuichi didn't need him to. He had a brief but blindingly clear image, surely sent his way by Aoi Asahina by way of Chihiro Fujisaki, of a crane kept in a cage. The door swung open and the crane flew out. "She says you're the only one smart enough,"

"I will if I can. What else did she tell you?" Shuichi asked, but he received no answer. Chihiro had fallen asleep.

Chapter Text

Part 5: Escape

[][][][][][][]

The next week passed by in a blur for Shuichi. He ate and slept and ate and slept. He felt like his intellect was steadily dropping like a faucet dripping drops of water. He had the menu memorized. Sometimes the tests made him feel sick, but most of the time they made him feel nothing. Sometimes he watched things on YouTube; he found himself partial to those TikToks he caught Ibuki and Chihiro watching in what felt like a century ago. They were perfect for numbing your brain and just watching attractive teenagers dress up in vintage costumes from yesteryear. Sometimes he watched them with other kids and sometimes he watched them alone. Lately he had been getting closer and closer to Leon and the twins, who didn't like the TikToks and instead wanted to watch cartoons in his room.

"Can we watch Evangalion?" Kiyomi asked shyly one day.

"I want to watch Pretty Cure," Kaede crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted that signature pout of hers.

Shuichi would always turn it onto Pretty Cure because Kaede was easier to please and console; Kiyomi ultimately just did whatever Kaede told her to do. Sometimes Leon would come and just watch the twins watching their cartoons; he never came alone.

When Shuichi visited Leon, the twins were always in his room. Leon wasn't the biggest fan of cartoons and instead enjoyed watching loud music videos of punk bands. His usual greeting to Shuichi was 'watch this one, it's cool'.

One day Shuichi was visiting him and saw Leon watching another video while Kaede was in front of the TV, jumping up and down in excitement and twirling around randomly. Kiyomi was sitting by herself, giggling at nothing and colouring random lines on her paper. Shuichi couldn't figure out what was wrong with them and just tried to ignore them, even as Kaede spun herself into a super-fast frenzy and fell down, nearly hitting her head on the TV and giggling up a storm over it. "What's wrong with them?" He eventually asked Leon, who shrugged and bit into a chocolate bar.

Kaede continued to bounce up and down in front of the TV, laughing until she stopped suddenly and threw up. Kiyomi hurled in tandem with her like they did everything, and Leon quickly got up and jumped away from it.

"Shit!"

"Doughnuts...chocolate bars...cookies..." Shuichi covered his mouth and glared at Leon. "Seriously? You're feeding them nothing but junk?"

"They wanted to try some," Leon had the good grace to look ashamed and even cleaned the mess up.

Another day, Ibuki was jumping on the trampoline and did a few flips before sitting herself down on the springy material and bursting into tears. When Shuichi hurried over and tried to console her, she rolled over and started hitting him with her fists, over and over again.

Other than watching YouTube, Shuichi used his laptop purely for chatting with Kokichi and Ibuki over the messaging system. Their conversations were brief and he never initiated them.

What's wrong with you? Ibuki asked once.

Nothing, He said back.

Why do you think we're still here in Front Half? Kokichi wondered. I mean, I'm not complaining. I'm just wondering.

Beats me, Shuichi shrugged and then signed off.

The caretakers were used to dealing with depressed children, or maybe they were just glad he wasn't fighting as much as he used to. He thought often of that image Chihiro projected to him; the crane flying out of its cage. Sometimes he had other images, purely his own, of his uncle taking him to the zoo and letting him pet a goat while his uncle took a picture and told him they didn't really chew tin cans, a plate full of small petite-fours all frosted in blue with a candle on each one, his uncle tackling him randomly after his elementary graduation into the grass and making his hat fall off; they both were laughing. Those memories stung beautifully.

He listened and remembered everything he came across, even if it was useless. The littlest thing could be useful in the long run, he figured. He got a lot of gossip, like how Miss Andoh, an acquaintance of Dr. Kimura, was one of the few workers who had a boyfriend on the 'outside' who made her a real sword because he took blacksmithing as a hobby. How Tsumugi and Miu would use the leftover tokens they had and secretly got fancy sake from the vending machine and split it between the two of them. Some of them talked about their families, or how after work they all liked to hang out a nearby karaoke bar.

He also remembered names whenever he heard them. Dr. Kimura and Dr. Munakata were Seiko Kimura and Kyosuke Munakata. Nagito Komaeda, Celestia Ludenberg, Miu Iruma, Kirumi Tojo, Hiyoko Saionji, the list went on. If he ever managed to go to court, he wanted all of them to testify and pay for what they did.

Due to how good and silent he had been, he was left alone a lot and often wandered the halls, and the worst he had ever gotten when found was a smack to the back of the neck. One time, he randomly came across the best discovery-an abandoned keycard, left in a random corner. He picked it up and looked it over, at first wondering if it even worked. After all, why would a working one randomly be lost somewhere where a kid might find it? But when Shuichi tried it in the elevator, there was a beep and soon he was staring into the fourth floor. Hiyoko caught sight of him and hurried over, and he winced as he expected a harsh slap, blinking in confusion as he felt a token being pressed into his hand.

"H-Huh?"

Hiyoko winked and he thanked her, taking another look around.

"I haven't had that test yet. Is it awful?" He finally asked, pointing to a giant tank full of water.

"No way, it's totally fun! It's like swimming, or one of those dunk tanks at carnivals," She snickered. "What are you doing here?"

"One of the caretakers was giving me a ride, but then she forgot her nametag,"

"Oh, pity you don't know her name. 'Cuz then I could report that forgetful mouse and get her in trouble!"

He could also get to the fifth level, but the sixth and seventh levels were denied to him; he knew they existed because he heard people talk about them. Oh well, at least he was learning.

After a day with no tests, Shuichi was told to report to the lounge, where a majority of the beanbags had been replaced with large tables and colourful chairs. Soft paper was spread out and thin watercolours were placed in the center.

"Are we painting?" Ibuki asked curiously.

Shuichi just shrugged. He took his seat and pulled out a brush, dipping it in the black before he idly started painting the kanji for 'fun'.

Kiyomi perked up and sat beside her sister, happily starting to paint some clouds. Kaede was painting a picture of the sun.

"This paper's super delicate," Leon commented. "Super easy to rip,"

"But you wouldn't do that, would you?" Kaede instantly asked, pouting. "That would be mean,"

Chihiro was sitting inbetween Shuichi and Ibuki, painting random squiggles. Ibuki was drawing music notes. Kokichi was there, drawing some black mass Shuichi couldn't decipher.

He knew he should've been having fun and enjoying himself, but he just couldn't. It seemed so mean and unfair to Sayaka and Mondo and Aoi that he gets to be freer than them, to take care of the younger kids, to do actual enrichment and recreational activities. Whatever they did in Back Half, Shuichi knew it was very unlikely to be water-colours and pool parties. He somehow had a feeling it was far more sinister and damaging than that.

"Look, I drew the forest!" Kaede smiled happily, showing off her drawing.

"It's very good," Shuichi praised her anyway.

"Thank you!"

"Well I drew a monster!" Kokichi placed his picture in front of his face and pretended to roar, clawing the air with his fist. "Roar, roar, I'm going to eat you!"

"I don't wanna be eaten!" Chihiro cried, trembling.

"I'm going to eat you first! I particularly love the flesh of little boys! They're soft and tender, unlike the dry and bony flesh of girls!"

"Hey! I'm not dry and bony!" Kaede pouted in offense.

"Ibuki doesn't care if you think she's dry and bony. She doesn't wanna be eaten by you anyway!" Ibuki chimed in.

"Stop making it sound like some creepy sexual thing," Leon scolded.

"There's nothing sexual about preferring boys for my next meal! I think I'll eat you, you're young and juicy!" Kokichi reached a hand out for Chihiro, who cried and leaned back in his seat, leaning back way too far. The chair tipped and spilled Chihiro into a heap on the floor. The table rattled and several cups of paint spilled over.

"My painting!" Kaede cried.

"He ruined everything!" Kiyomi pointed an angry finger at Kokichi, looking ready to cry.

"We can redo your paintings," Leon tried to console the twins when they both hugged him tightly on either side.

Chihiro had sat up, first looking bewildered before he burst into loud tears himself. "I fell out of my chair!"

Shuichi hurried over and pulled him close, letting Chihiro sob into his chest. Ibuki huffed.

"Just a bump, you'll be alright,"

He continued to cry hard, obviously wanting more comfort. Shuichi assumed he was just as upset over their friends leaving as the others were and thus let him cry into his chest.

"Geezh, I was just trying to have some fun," Kokichi huffed, and for once, Shuichi could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"It's mean to ruin people's paintings though! And make them hit their head!" Kaede scolded.

"I know, I know, fine, I'll never do it again for the whole rest of my life,"

"Let's put the paints away," Shuichi tried to suggest, but Kiyomi shook her head.

"I wanna keep painting..."

"Yeah, I want to redo mine!" Kaede nodded in agreement.

"Same here. Ibuki wants to keep painting with Fujisaki-chan!" She chimed in.

Shuichi gently helped Chihiro stand up and set his chair back up, helping him to sit down in it. His tears were mainly all gone, but he was still sniffling.

"Come on, let's keep working with Mioda-san," He tried to nudge Chihiro, who just nodded slowly.

"Okay, if you say so,"

Much to Shuichi's own surprise, Kokichi spent the remainder of the session helping the twins paint their own pictures, making them look more detailed. He also added some abstract shapes to Ibuki's and Chihiro's pictures, and even hung them all up on the wall in his bedroom.

"I like having weird things like that around," He explained. "And I promise I'll keep these things around for a long time,"

"You're lying," Shuichi rolled his eyes.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Kokichi put a finger to his lips.

[][][][][][][]

There was one particular afternoon where Dr. Kimura was giving him some more examinations when she suddenly set her materials down and promised she'd be right back, citing a need to talk to someone. Shuichi wondered if she was going to the bathroom, or truly was going to talk to someone. After she left, Shuichi walked over to the computers and briefly considered messing with them a little before finally deciding that'd be a bad idea. He then poked his head out of the doorway and saw the elevator open and Juuzou walk out, dressed in his usual heavy green coat. Shuichi wondered if he had just the one or a whole closet full of them.

Whether it was due to his new-found TP ability or just sheer gut reflex, he ducked behind the computer desk when he saw Juuzou looking around briefly, a stack of papers in his hands. He then continued walking down the hallway and after Shuichi was sure he wasn't going to come back, he sat back down in the testing chair.

Dr. Kimura came in a few minutes later, looking flustered. "I saw...Sakakura-san in the hallway. You were alone...did he say anything?"

Shuichi shook his head. "No. He didn't see me because I quickly hid,"

She nodded. "Good..." Once the tests were finished, she gave him a dozen tokens and a genuine smile in her eyes. "Our little secret."

Wait until I tell Ouma-san about this, He thought to himself as he was escorted back. I bet he'd just get a kick out of it,

Except he never got a chance to, because Kokichi had been taken away.

"Kokichi-oniichan is with the others," Chihiro whispered to Shuichi that night as they lay in bed. "Aoi-oneechan says he's crying because he's scared. That for once he's not lying. And she says that's alright because she's scared too. They're all scared,"

[][][][][][][][]

Shuichi continued to learn all that he could, hanging out around the lounge on the second floor for staff, listening and learning. He pretended to be getting a drink or reading one of the posters hanging up and they'd look right through him as if he were part of the room itself. He learned there were several different tech teams who came and went, bringing back children and once August rolled around, there were definitely way more than there had been just a few weeks ago. The one used the most consisted of a man and a woman, tough like soldiers. He knew they were the ones who killed his uncle and kidnapped him that July night and tried to fish for their names, but only got one.

The tall and muscular Mukuro.

She saw him once, pretending to drink some water from the fountain, stared at him for a few moments, then continued to walk away.

Mukuro.

Yet another name to remember.

He heard a larger group talk about how they had to make a quick trip to Kyoto to pick up a new arrival, and just the next day, a bewildered fourteen-year-old girl named Angie Yonaga joined the ever-growing group in Front Half.

"This is very bad. I don't think I'm supposed to be here, I cannot hear the words of my god," She confided in Shuichi.

"None of us are meant to be here," He replied and told her how to get tokens. He wasn't sure she was really listening at first, but that didn't matter. She'd eventually catch on, just as everyone did.

[][][][][][][][][]

Nobody seemed to mind or even question the fact that Chihiro slept in Shuichi's bed almost every single night. He was a mailman who sent messages Shuichi's way from Aoi via telepathy. The truth of his uncle's murder was still too fresh in his mind to properly wake him up from his half-dreaming state, but he still received disturbing news all the same. In Front Half, they were punished and tested, while in Back Half, they were being put to work and used, and very slowly destroyed.

The movies they watched gave them headaches, and each time they lasted longer and grew worse. Kokichi was fine physically when he arrived, just scared, but after days and days of shots and movies and exposure to the dots, he started having bad headaches.

The movies were shown in a small room with large comfortable chairs and they started by showing all different sorts of cartoons; Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, Pokemon, Mermaid Melody. Sometimes they were shown Western stuff like Adventure Time or Steven Universe. After that came the real show. Aoi thought the movies lasted only about half an hour at the most, but it was hard to tell for certain because she always felt dizzy and had a bad headache afterwards. They all did.

Her first two times in Back Half they got a double-feature. The first one was of a redheaded man who drove a long black car. Chihiro tried to show what the car looked like to Shuichi, but he could only vaguely see the image. He thought it might've been a limousine because Chihiro said the driver's passengers always rode in the back and he opened and closed the doors for them, helping them in and out.

"He has regulars. Aoi-oneechan says it's somewhere in America because sometimes he drives past that big stone needle and the house their President lives in," Chihiro whispered as they lay in bed together.

"The White House?" Shuichi asked, and Chihiro nodded.

At the end of the movie, they watched the redheaded man change into something casual, ride a horse, and eat ice-cream with a little girl. Then Dr. Munakata came on-screen, holding a binzasara and quietly playing it.

Then the second feature was of a man Aoi assumed was likely from the Middle East somewhere judging by his clothing. He was shown on television, making speeches, playing with a younger boy, drinking tea from a cafe. Then it ended with Dr. Munakata holding up the binzasara again.

The next morning, Aoi and the others got to watch Transformers for an hour before watching the redheaded man again. Then it was time for lunch in the Back Half cafeteria, which had free drugs and cigarettes as well as tons of junk food and sweets. Afterwards, they watched Adventure Time for fifteen minutes followed by the Middle-Eastern man. Each film ended with Dr. Munakata holding the binzasara and playing it. Then they were given lots of shots, exposed to the dots, then they watched twenty minutes of footage of car crashes, each one punctuated by the binzasara being played.

Shuichi, despite being grief-stricken, wasn't stupid and started to quickly put the pieces together.

"Aoi-oneechan says she thinks she blacked-out and had a dream while watching the car crashes. But she's not sure if it even was a dream. She says her and some of the other kids, Sayaka-oneechan, Kokichi-oniichan, Mondo-oniichan, Maki-oneechan, and a few others, were all standing in those dots in a circle, holding each other's hands and their heads together. Dr. Munakata was there too, and he loudly clapped the binzasara, which was scary, but they didn't have any headaches afterwards, especially after they kept their heads pressed together. She thinks it was a dream because she woke up in her room. The rooms in Back Half get locked at night, unlike here," Chihiro trembled a bit in the dark. "I don't want to talk about this anymore, Shuichi-oniichan,"

"Alright, go to sleep," Shuichi comforted him, staying awake for a long time.

The next day, he checked his laptop for something else other than watching Netflix or chatting with Ibuki or checking the date and time. He used the black website again and checked the New York Times website, knowing his knowledge of English wasn't the strongest yet since he had only been taking it for a year and a half, but knew he had to try. He needed to know, and knew exactly what he was looking for once he came across it. He ran his finger along the text, reading it under his breath to himself.

"Pre-preza-dential cana-diate killed in myz-terious car crash late last night of August 14th," He read to himself, slowly sounding out the longer words. "Both him and driver killed instantly," He knew the driver had red hair without even reading the remainder of the article. He also knew that Middle-Eastern guy was next to die, or maybe he was going to kill someone important.

It suddenly all made sense to him, and he started to get roused from his half-awake state. They were all being used for psychic-powered drones, yes, even little inoffensive Chihiro Fujisaki, who had to put ants outside on the playground whenever found inside and cried if he got to one too late. However, Shuichi didn't fully awaken from his sleep of grief until the horrorshow that happened with Leon Kuwata.

[][][][][][][]

That evening, about fourteen or fifteen children were hanging out around in the dining hall, eating dinner. Some were talking or laughing, while the newer ones were either silent or just cried. It was almost like being in a mental asylum in a way, where you were kept forever and just never cured.

He still sat with Ibuki and Chihiro at the small table they had always sat at, though Angie had taken to joining them at times. Shuichi didn't mind; she was silent and often brought a pen with her so she could aimlessly doodle on her napkin. They were all sitting there that night; Ibuki and Chihiro whispering with each other while Angie sat next to him, drawing. Leon hadn't shown up for dinner yet; he also wasn't at lunch. The athletic rock-star wannabe usually wasn't much interest to Shuichi, but he was hard to miss at meals because Kaede and Kiyomi always sat with him, one on either side of him in their identical outfits, watching him with shining, sparkling eyes as he talked on and on about his favourite bands and shows, his past girlfriends, his secret love of baseball, and his life in Shinjuku. If someone told him to be quiet, the twins would glare at them in response until they turned back around.

Kaede and Kiyomi were sitting by themselves that evening, wearing jean jackets and miniskirts with matching red T-shirts and flowery headbands in their loose hair. A seat was kept empty inbetween them for when Leon finally arrived, and they looked distraught over having to eat alone for once. He finally walked in, swaying a bit in his steps, trembling slightly. The girls gasped happily and jumped up, running right over to him with shouts of greeting, but for once he barely seemed to register or even notice them.

His eyes had trouble focusing on one specific thing and had a glassy look to them. Drool was running down his chin and his pants were wet. The cafeteria went silent; the newer arrivals looked confused and horrified while the older residents looked concerned and worried.

Shuichi and Ibuki looked at each other.

"He'll be okay, he'll be alright. Some kids are just weaker-" She started to say before Chihiro gently took both of her hands in his.

"No. I don't think he'll ever be okay again," He stared her down with sudden intensity.

Leon suddenly cried out and grabbed at his head with both of his hands, collapsed to his knees, then fell entirely to the floor, smashing his face on the hard tile and causing blood to pour from his lips and nose. His whole body started to spasm violently, and more drool poured from his mouth. He flopped uncontrollably back onto his back.

Kiyomi stood there in silent horror while Kaede screamed loudly. Celestia and Nagito ran in, standing in the doorway. Kiyomi slowly approached Leon, ignoring the protests of her twin, and tried to crouch down beside him and hug him. His large hand reached out and struck her on the side of the face, loudly cracking it and sending her flying. The back of her head hit a nearby wall with a thud and she slid down it listlessly. Kaede screamed loudly in horror again and raced over to her sister.

The whole room descended into madness. Shuichi and Ibuki were still sitting, silent, Ibuki wrapping her arms around Chihiro and pulling him close, though it seemed to be more for her own comfort than his, as Chihiro was sitting there in silence. Angie had covered her mouth, her skin looking flushed. A bunch of other kids tried to run over to Leon, while Celestia pushed them all away, snarling: "Get the fuck back away from here, you little insects!" No smile or faked politeness for her tonight.

Kirumi and Miu appeared next, as did Hiyoko, and several other adults Shuichi couldn't recognize. Hiyoko managed to grab him and hold him up by the arms, keeping him still while another adult zapped him in the stomach. Leon still shook and seized, so Kirumi hit him in the back of the neck with a loud electrifying crack. Leon finally went limp at that, his eyes partially closed.

"Go back to your seats, he's okay now!" Miu scolded. "All of you!"

The children responded by drawing back, indeed returning to their tables.

"I don't think he's breathing," Shuichi whispered to Ibuki, who just shrugged.

"Maybe he is," She pointed over in the direction of the twins. "Look,"

Kiyomi's eyes were glazed-over and her head hung at a broken angle, leaning limply on her shoulder. Blood was running down her cheek and dripped down her jacket and blended in with her shirt.

"Wake up! Wake up! You can't be dead, you can't be! Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Kaede screamed, shaking her. "You can't leave me alone like this, you can't, you just can't! Kuwata-kun didn't mean to hurt you, he didn't mean it!" Silverware suddenly rose from the tables and started flying crazily around the room, making everyone duck.

"How can you tell the difference?" Angie spoke up shakily, asking Ibuki.

"Kiyomi-chan is the one who's dead. Kaede-chan is the one screaming and throwing silverware," Chihiro answered instead in his eerie voice.

"She's not dead, she can't be..." Ibuki whispered, her eyes wide and staring down at the floor.

Knives, forks, and spoons all rose to the ceiling at once, then fell down with a loud clatter.

I could never do that, Shuichi suddenly thought to himself.

"But she is dead," Chihiro said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Leon-oniichan is too. I liked him even if he did push me down the first time we met. I'm not hungry anymore," He stood up and took both Shuichi's and Ibuki's hands. "You two aren't either,"

"Angie would like to remain here," She said, trembling. Shuichi nodded at her, though why anyone would want to willingly stay was beyond him, and the other two followed after Chihiro, avoiding Kaede who was still kneeling on the floor and screaming. Dr. Kimura and Miss Andoh emerged from the elevator and ran off in different directions, looking worried. He assumed they were eating dinner too prior.

"Everything is perfectly alright. Please resume either eating dinner or return to your rooms," Kirumi was announcing from the cafeteria in her usual calm and collected way.

"The dots killed him. Dr. Munakata never should've given him such tests if he's a shiro. Maybe he had an allergy, or his BDNF was too high," Chihiro continued.

"What's that?" Ibuki asked, but they both shrugged. Shuichi had thought of looking it up once but was still extremely wary about setting off an alarm.

"You've never had those big tests? The special ones?" Shuichi asked Chihiro, but he shook his head.

"I will in Back Half though. Dr. Kimura could get in trouble for what she did to Leon-oniichan. I hope she does. I'm r-really scared of the b-big shots and the lights,"

"Me too. The tests Ibuki's had are more than enough," She concurred.

Shuichi thought of telling Chihiro and Ibuki about the shots he received that made his throat close up or the ones that made him vomit, but they seemed minor compared to what happened to Leon.

"Excuse me," Kirumi gently scooted past them, holding Leon in her arms with amazing strength. Nagito was behind her, carrying Kiyomi's body. Her head lolled back and forth in his arms, her hair hanging down and her headband on the verge of falling out. The trio watched them until they disappeared in the elevator, and Shuichi wondered if the morgue was kept on one of the forbidden floors.

"She looked like a doll," He said to himself in shock. "Like her own little doll,"

Chihiro started to cry heavily, his silence actually having been shock.

"Ibuki's going to bed," She twirled around and patted Shuichi on his shoulder and kissed Chihiro's cheek and forehead. "See you tomorrow!" She flashed a peace-sign and walked away.

Except they didn't; they came for her in the middle of the night and they saw her no more.

[][][][][][][]

Chihiro urinated, brushed his teeth, and put on a pair of pajamas he always kept in Shuichi's room at that point before crawling into Shuichi's bed. Shuichi did his own routine and got in bed with Fuji-chan, turning the light out. He put his forehead against Chihiro's and whispered: "I have to get out of here,"

How?

It wasn't a spoken word but instead one that lit up in his mind then faded away. He was getting better at catching thoughts like these, but he could only really do it when Chihiro was close, and sometimes even then he couldn't. His TP was similar to his TK in the fact he didn't have very much at all.

"I don't know," He responded. All he knew was that he had been there for a long time, even longer than Ibuki, and she was gone. They would be coming for him soon.

In the middle of the night, Chihiro had shaken him awake after a bad dream about Kiyomi's lifeless, doll-like eyes that made him shiver. Fuji-chan was huddled up next to him, shivering and trembling in a ball, tears in his eyes. Shuichi quickly turned the lamp on.

"Bad dream?"

"They woke me up," He trembled more. "Aoi-oneechan and Sayaka-oneechan,"

"You can hear Maizono-san?" He asked in surprise, and Chihiro nodded.

"I couldn't at first, but after a lot of movies and shots and dots...her headache briefly went away but then it just came back shortly afterwards. It was so bad she started screaming and couldn't stop," He grabbed his own head and started crying in a high voice that sounded extremely similar to Sayaka's own. "'Oh God, make it stop, my poor head, I can't take this anymore, I just can't, make it stop, it's splitting open, I'm going to die!'"

"Be quiet! They might hear you," Shuichi scolded, shaking him.

"I wish you could see inside my head like Aoi-oneechan can. It's easier. It's hard for me to say all of this out-loud," Chihiro took a few deep breaths.

"Try,"

"Aoi-oneechan and Mondo-oniichan tried to comfort her, but she screamed again and lashed out, scratching Aoi-oneechan on the arm and nearly punching Mondo-oniichan in the face. Then Dr. Munakata came in his pajamas and ordered for more red guys to come, they were going to take her to the back half of Back Half, but then she suddenly got better. I think Aoi-oneechan helped her," He got a thoughtful expression on his features. "I think there's some way to help. Some way to..." He trailed off suddenly. "There's something really bad there,"

"Everything's bad over there. The movies, the shots, the dots..." Shuichi said.

"Yes, but there's...s-something worse. Like...I dunno..." He paused and Shuichi put his head up against Chihiro's and listened as hard as he could, soon picking up a faint buzzing sound.

"It sounds like buzzing. Or a drone," He pulled away.

"Yeah! Like a beehive. It's a hum. It comes from the back half of Back Half," Chihiro shifted around. "The headaches just get worse and worse because they're made to always look at the dots and watch the movies and get the shots.."

"And the binzasara is the trigger, so they have to look at that," Shuichi finished.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, just go to sleep."

Chihiro just shook his head. "I c-can't..."

"Try," He then wrapped his arms around Chihiro and pulled him close, looking up at the ceiling.

Shuichi was quite sure that was exactly what they were brought to the Institute to do. They were used and weaponized until they were all used up and then they went to the back half of Back Half and joined whatever the drone was. Things like that couldn't just happen, but people would also say a place like The Institute couldn't happen either, not in a place like Japan, where everyone was always up in everyone's business and trying to check on their neighbors, but there they were anyway. He thought of Leon Kuwata seizing up and drooling everywhere, of Kiyomi hitting the wall with her crooked head and eyes staring at nothing, but they were nothing compared to the thought of a mind being constantly assaulted until it was finally made part of a hive drone. According to Fuji-chan that almost happened to Sayaka that night, and it would soon happen to Mondo, heartthrob of all the girls, and wisecracking Kokichi, and Aoi.

When Shuichi finally woke up, breakfast was long over and Chihiro was nowhere to be found. In a panic, he jumped out of bed and dashed down the hallway, bursting into Chihiro's bedroom, terrified of finding everything gone, but all of the posters were still there and the Beyblade set was still on the windowsill, having moved slightly indicating he was using it earlier.

He breathed a sigh of relief and cringed when he got smacked on the back of his head, turning around to find Hiyoko Saionji glaring down at him with her hands on her hips. "Geezh, put some clothes on! I don't wanna see the penis of any guy younger than twenty-five! Not like I'd want to anyway! And nobody else wants to see yours either," She snickered.

Shuichi subtly rolled his eyes at her and headed back to his room, getting dressed. Once he was, he wandered down the hall and found an empty laundry bin painted red set out on a cart. He knew it could've belonged to Tenko or any other housekeeper wishing to help out with the large amount of residents, but he knew it was Kyoko's. He could feel her. She had come back.

He hurried over to the twins' room and stopped in his tracks, biting his lip. His first thought upon seeing Kyoko again was that she was sicker than ever. She was in the middle of cleaning out the twins' room, taking down the posters of Mimi and Licca and carefully placing them in a box. Their beds had already been stripped with the lavender sheets placed in the pile of dirty laundry.

"Where's Kiyomi-chan?" He asked instantly. He also wondered about Kaede and Leon and anyone else who died as a result of their stupid experiments. Surely they must've had a cremation area somewhere, they couldn't bury bodies anywhere.

"Go away." Kyoko responded sharply, not even looking at him. Her tone indicated she didn't want anything to do with him, but he knew that was a facade even with his low-level telepathy. Still, he left and got another apple and some candy cigarettes from the vending machine, realizing they made him feel both distant and close to Aoi. He took a peek at the playground, where eight or ten kids were outside playing, far more than when Shuichi had originally arrived. Chihiro had curled up inside one of the tunnel-slides into a ball and was fast asleep, his eyes closed. Shuichi wasn't surprised; he had a rough night.

Someone tapped his shoulder hard and made him turn around, beholding the figure of Kaito Momota, one of the newer kids. "Man, that was crazy last night, you know? That redhead and the little girl,"

"Tell me about it,"

"Then those red guys from Back Half came and took the punk-rock girl away,"

"What? Mioda-san?"

"Yeah, I think so. Man, this place sucks though. I wish I could have rocket-boots. Then I'd fly myself all the way up to the stars and never look back,"

"Rocket-boots and a bomb," Shuichi said quietly.

"Huh?" Kaito looked at him.

"A bomb to blow this place up, and the boots to escape,"

"Hey, that's pretty good!" He slapped Shuichi on the back. "Say, you got any extra tokens? I'm craving some Pocky right now,"

Shuichi already had tons of tokens from his good-boy image, so he handed Kaito Momota three and told him to knock himself out.

He remembered the first time he met Aoi and in some sort of honor to her memory, he sat down next to the ice-machine and placed one of the candy cigarettes inside his mouth, already on his second one when Kyoko arrived, trembling and clenching her fists.

"How's...everything?" He asked a bit awkwardly, not sure of what was even hurting on her.

"My sides hurt badly, and I had a slight fever this morning," Kyoko ran a hand through her hair.

"Yikes,"

"I have medicine for it," She leaned over slightly, close to Shuichi.

"They took my friend, Asahina-san. Oowada-san and Ouma-san. Mioda-san too," Almost all of his friends were gone by that point, and ironically he had become the old-timer of the Institute in their stead.

"I know. I was working in Back Half when I came back," She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "We can't keep meeting like this, it'll rouse their suspicion,"

Maybe that was true, but Kirumi seemed to talk to the children a lot and was just fine.

Kyoko stood up and looked away. "Are you going to sit there all day?" She asked, no longer whispering. Shuichi finished up the candy cigarette and stood up, turning to leave before she held her hand out. "Wait. Use this for something sweet," She handed him a token from her dress pocket and he nodded, heading back to his room.

Once he reached his bed, he laid down and carefully unfolded the small paper she had slipped him alongside the token, which he squinted at. Kyoko's writing was small and neat and looped, the calligraphy of her kanji masterful. She had managed to pack the entire paper in those characters, even going side-to-side and up-and-down. Shuichi hoped that wouldn't change the meanings of any, but as he started to read, he realized Kyoko had figured that out and wrote her note out smartly. He had admiration for her even as he realized what she was and what she had been doing.

Saihara, get rid of this note once you finish reading it. You were sent to me as a final chance perhaps to atone for all of the sins I have committed in the past. I never thought I'd admit such a thing to myself ever in my life but...I managed to get into contact with my father. I set up a secret one-way video-call between us and I finally cut him out of my life. He was so happy to see how much I had grown and how much of a woman I had become. Everything is right in the family, but not with me, as I am fully convinced my cancer is starting to return. But now he will see me for myself and not a sick figure. But you, you need to leave. You're a 'shiro' and once they stop tests you will only have three days before they send you to Back Half. I have so much more to say to you and give to you, but we've used the ice-machine too much and I cannot rouse suspicion. I don't care what happens to me, but I can't let you get hurt. I wish I didn't have the sins on my mind that I do, but there's nothing for it now. We'll just have to risk it. Get rid of this note and please, please be careful. I beg you this earnestly. I do not care for my life, because I know it'll end soon, but you still have a chance. Thank you so much for giving me the courage I needed to stand up to my family and helping me out. Kirigiri Kyoko~

Kyoko was a snitch, listening to kids in supposedly safe places, getting them to spill their secrets, and then running to Enoshima or Sakakura with the information given to her. Maybe Kirumi was a snitch too; she was one of the nicer caregivers. In July, Shuichi would've been upset and betrayed, but it was August and he felt older. He went to the bathroom and dropped her note in the toilet after pulling his pants down just as he had with Aoi's note.

That felt like an eternity ago.

[][][][][]

That afternoon, Kaito Momota had rounded up a huge group of kids to play baseball, but Shuichi had declined and instead sat at a picnic table by himself, counting out Monopoly money in memory of Mondo. As he counted, his mind was working and focusing on something else entirely; Kyoko.

He hated the idea that she was a snitch, yet understood her reasons. Even if one were a decent person prior, working in a place like this destroyed one's moral compass. The only thing that mattered to him was if Kyoko truly knew a way for him to make it out or not, and to do that she'd have to give him information without arousing the suspicion of Enoshima or Sakakura; first name Juuzou. He also felt she could be trusted, not just because he helped her out in her time of need but also because her note had a sense of urgency and desperation he never expected to see from her. She was at the end of her rope and she knew it, and it's not like Shuichi had any other real choice.

Chihiro was one of the base-guarders; guarding third base, when the person up at bat accidentally swung too hard and hit him right in the face with the ball. He fell down and started to cry while Kaito Momota ran over and helped him back up. "You're not bleeding, you're alright! Why don't you go hang out with Saihara-kun?"

Chihiro sniffed."Y-You just want me out of the game b-because I'm not good at playing...I-I can still play! I-I can-"

"Fujisaki-chan!" Shuichi called out, holding up some tokens. "Want to get strawberry milk and more cheese-crackers?"

He instantly toddled over, forgetting all about the hit to his face. "Yes please!"

They went inside to the vending machines and Chihiro dropped his tokens in, leaning down to get the crackers out. As he did so, Shuichi whispered into his ear: "Want to help me get out of here?"

"Want one?" Chihiro asked instead, holding out his package of cheese-crackers. A single word lit up in Shuichi's mind: How?

"I'll just have one, I'm not very hungry," He pulled the brim of his cap down slightly, then sent back three simple words: Tell you tonight.

Two conversations going on, one out-loud and the other in their minds, and Shuichi could only hope it'd work that way with Kyoko.

Chapter Text

After breakfast the next day, Kirumi and Celestia took Shuichi down to the immersion tank, leaving him alone with Nagito and Miu.

Nagito Komaeda said: "This tank is used for dunking bad boys and girls who don't tell the truth. Do you tell the truth?"

"Yes," Shuichi said simply.

"You got telepathy?"

"No, I'm TK, remember? I'm the one who can bend spoons like they show on TV on those physic test programs. Though I can't move spoons myself," He probably could if he tried hard enough.

Nagito shook his head. "If you're TK and see dots, then you become TP too. And vice versa. That's how things work around here,"

"I can't read minds," Shuichi shrugged.

"Dr. Munakata and Dr. Kimura both think you can,"

"I really can't," He tugged on his cap awkwardly.

"Let's find out if that's true or not. Take your clothes off, sweetie!" Miu laughed, and Shuichi slowly obliged, carefully climbing into the tank afterwards. It was about the size and depth of a regular dunk-tank one would see at a fair, and the water was pleasantly cool.

"What animal am I thinking of?" Nagito asked calmly, and Shuichi got the word in his mind of a cat; two hiragana characters lighting up in his mind.

"I don't know,"

"Okay, so dunk yourself in that tank for fifteen seconds," Nagito said, and Shuichi took a deep breath and did so, closing his eyes and counting out the seconds. When he emerged, Miu cockily asked what animal she was thinking of; a bird.

"I don't know, I'm TK and not even a TK-pos at that,"

"Thirty seconds,"

The third dip was forty-five seconds, then a full minute. They switched from animals to caretaker names; Ruruka, Hiyoko, Celestia, Tsumugi.

"I don't know! Don't you get it?" Shuichi rubbed the water from his eyes.

"You need to start thinking about how long you wanna keep fuckin' around with us. It's your time and life, not ours," Miu shoved him down, and shoved him back down again roughly when he tried to come up for air after seventy-five seconds. His heart was pounding and he gasped desperately for air. "Now, what food am I think of?"

Noodles with lemon in it.

"I don't know!"

"That's fuckin' bullshit!" Miu shook him. "A minute-thirty,"

"I can't..."

"Ugh, can't you grow a fuckin' pair? I've seen Inuit children dive into icy waters to collect the daily catch and they're younger than you! They can stay submerged for four minutes at a time! I just need ninety fucking seconds from ya, unless you can tell your favourite Big Sister Miu what food she's thinking of,"

"You're not my big sister and I can't do that," Shuichi gasped. "Please,"

Miu just sighed and motioned to her zap-stick. "I'll shock you like a jellyfish,"

"What's she thinking of? What food?" Nagito coaxed.

Noodles with lemon in it, the dish my hometown is famous for.

"I don't know," Shuichi answered, and Miu pouted.

"Down ya go,"

"Wait," Nagito held a hand out, and for the first time since Shuichi had met him, he seemed genuinely concerned, or maybe it was all an act. He couldn't really tell at that point. "Give him a few seconds to get ready. Saihara-chan, flood your lungs with air and remain calm. You know, the more you panic, the more oxygen your body uses,"

Shuichi listened and breathed in-and-out rapidly, sucking in huge gasps of air. Miu ducked him underneath after a few seconds, keeping a firm grip on his head so he couldn't swim back up. He kept his calm, but couldn't help thinking to himself that Miu was a terrible, sadistic bitch.

He made it to ninety seconds and was pulled back up, where Nagito offered him a towel. "Stop. I don't want to see someone like you go through with this. Just say what celebrity I'm thinking of and you can leave," He whispered.

Megumi Ogata.

"I don't know," Shuichi started to cry, the tears wetting his face even more.

Miu sighed again. "Fine, a minute forty-five. We'll make an Inuit kid outta ya yet,"

Shuichi gasped down air, holding his breath underwater, knowing they'd just keep going until they either got what they wanted from him or drowned him.

"Enough with this shit, just admit you're a TP and it stops," Miu rolled her eyes the next time he resurfaced.

"Okay, I'm a TP!"

"Finally gettin' somewhere! What number am I thinking of?"

Seventeen.

"Nine,"

"Wrong! It was seventeen! Two minutes!" Miu laughed.

"Last one," Nagito whispered before Miu rolled her eyes and shoved him away.

"Don't be spreadin' lies like that!" She then turned her attention to Shuichi. "Thirty seconds to prep, then you're goin' in and gettin' soaked to the bone!"

Shuichi gasped and gulped, in the middle of breathing when she grabbed his head roughly and dunked him under the water again. He opened his eyes and stared at the white paint of the tank, scratched in some places, probably from the fingernails of children trying to escape. Escape a torture made purely for the shiros. And why? Because Munakata and Kimura thought psychic abilities could be expanded and shiros were expendable.

He tried his hardest to hold his breath and enter a state of meditation, closing his eyes again, but all he could focus on was the burning of his lungs and the tightness of his throat, and then he started to thrash, making Miu tighten her grip on him and then the dots came back, swirling and swishing around him madly. Shuichi closed his eyes tighter, realizing he was likely starting to drown-

Miu yanked him back up, making him cough and sputter, vomiting up water. Her top had turned see-through from the water. "We can do this all fuckin' day, cutiepie. We'll just keep drowning ya and drowning ya and drowning ya..." She grinned. "What number am I thinking of?"

"I don't..." Shuichi paused to hurl up more water. "...know!"

Miu stared at him for several seconds before she scoffed and let go of him, stepping away. "Fuck this bullshit. Dry him off and send him back, Komaeda-san. I'm sick of looking at his tiny dick and his punchable face," She stormed out of the room in rage, while Nagito hurried over with a towel. Shuichi slowly climbed out of the pool, nearly falling before Nagito steadied him. He dried himself off and put his clothes back on, looking over at Nagito.

He received a slap from him before, a harsh one, yet he was still curious about many things. So with little hesitance, Shuichi asked: "Why is this so important? This isn't even related to physic abilities, so why are we here and what's it for?"

"How would you know why you're here?" Nagito asked cryptically.

"Because I'm not stupid,"

"Oh, you should watch your smart mouth. I like you, believe it or not. You have a lot of natural talent and spark. But I don't like listening to people running their mouths,"

"What are you guys doing? Do you even know what you're doi-"

Nagito slapped him hard, knocking Shuichi off his feet. Water soaked into the back of his clothes. Nagito laughed a bit.

"We know exactly what we're doing. It's just not for people like you to know," He then pulled Shuichi back up. "And you're worthless anyway. We had a kid in here once last year who lasted three minutes. What luck he had! You're nothing compared to that!"

He laughed and Shuichi just went along his way, burying his face inside his pillow once he arrived in his room. Chihiro arrived a few minutes later, asking about him in concern even though Shuichi told him to go away.

"It was really bad, wasn't it? The tank," Chihiro pouted. "I'm really sorry, Shuichi-oniichan,"

"Thank you. Go away. I want to be alone,"

"Okay," Chihiro left and closed the door behind him and Shuichi rolled over onto his back. He tried to think of anything else but the cold water, seizing up his lungs and throat and making his nose run and his head burn, but that was all on his mind. He kept waiting for the dots to come back as a result and considered it to be a small victory when they didn't.

He sat up slowly.

I have to get out of here. Get out of here, or else I'll kill myself before they can take me to Back Half and destroy what's left of me.

[][][[][][][][][][]

Kyosuke Munakata met with Miu Iruma outside the building, sitting under a large tree on a bench. The Japanese flag; bright red of a setting sun, flapped in the gentle breeze nearby. Munakata held Shuichi's folder in his lap. "You're sure." He said to Miu, who had the decency to wear a lacy apron over her skimpy uniform before meeting with him.

"As sure as I'll ever be. I dunked that sorry bastard five or six times and lemme tell ya, not even a military personnel could stand up to that shit. If he coulda read our minds, he woulda," She sighed.

"I can live with that, I suppose. We have plenty of shiros here already and even more coming in daily. It's a shame though, as I secretly had high hopes for him," He drew a line over Shuichi's profile. "At least he's healthy. Seiko-san gave him a pass. That moronic girl, Asahina, didn't give him strep throat,"

"She didn't pass it on?"

"No. She swapped spit with him which is highly dangerous to do with strep throat recoverers. Especially one as serious as hers,"

"So, he going to Back Half soon?"

"Eager to get rid of him?"

"Yeah. Asahina didn't give him strep throat, but Oowada sure as hell gave him his 'fuck-off' germ," She put her hands on her hips.

"As soon as Touko-san and 'Jack' give me a green-light,"

Miu pretended to shiver. "Touko-san, one of the creepiest chicks here I've ever laid eyes upon, and that's sayin' a whole lot with creeps like Celestia-san and Seiko-san,"

"You're absolutely sure on the telepathy?" Munakata asked again, ignoring her spiel on the various caretakers. She nodded.

"Sure as sure can be," She smiled.

[][][][][][][][][][]

While Miu and Munakata discussed Shuichi's future, he himself was on his way to lunch, realizing the tank had made him extremely hungry. When Kaito had asked him what was wrong, he just shook his head, not wishing to speak of the tank.

Full of buckwheat noodles, he took a nap and felt a little better, looking around for Kyoko and finding her in the deserted East Wing. The Institute would be housing more residents soon, it seemed.

"Need any help? I wouldn't mind earning some more tokens," He asked nicely, but she shook her head.

"Not today." Her face was pale, far pale than he had ever seen on her, and she had gotten so thin it was like staring at a sheet of white paper. How much longer could they feasibly make her work for? Did they sign her up for a bone-marrow transplant? Or did she already have one and it failed?

Her laundry basket was filled with fresh linens and he dropped his own note in there, written with stuff he stole from E-2. She saw the note, nodded, hid it under a pillowcase, then Shuichi went on his way. That night in bed, he whispered to Chihiro for a long time before finally allowing the kid to go to sleep. There were two scripts they needed to memorize, he had told Chihiro. He thought Fuji-chan understood, or maybe he hoped he had.

Shuichi stayed awake for a long time afterwards, listening to Chihiro's light breathing and thinking on his escape. It seemed absurd and possible all at once. The cameras were dusty, he was left alone to wander constantly, the fake surveillance areas...he had to try. The alternative were the Stasi Lights, the movies, the headaches, the binzasara triggering whatever it was that it triggered. And at the end of it all, the drone.

When they stop testing, you might only have three days.

[][][][][][][][]

The following afternoon, Juuzou Sakakura joined Junko Enoshima in her office and briefly looked out the window as she pored over a file in her desk. He saw a few kids hanging around the vending machines that had just been restocked; the machine on the eastern part of the building which didn't have alcohol and cigarettes available and they'd have to go down the hall to get them. Most children just sampled them out of curiosity, but there were quite a few who went on to get addicted due to the fear and depression they felt constantly. Those kids were the best-behaved because they didn't just want tokens, they needed them. Same for the kids who became junk-food junkies; far more common. Some philosophers and politicians said religion was most important to null one's brain, but Sakakura disagreed with that. He figured a lot of ice-cream and wine and several hours in front of a laptop did that job just fine.

"Ready," Junko announced, her hair pulled back into a curly ponytail. Sakakura could tell today was one of her analytic ones judging by the tone of voice. Despite her age, she wore a starched blue sailor uniform with the cleavage tastefully measured and the skirt made decent by a petticoat.

"Can't talk long. Ikusaba and Ishimaru are going to be leaving soon with me tonight. Four more and one of them is delicate cargo. They're in a specially-contained environment," He began, wearing the heavy green coat he always did. Junko assumed that to just be a part of his image.

"Four more children, can you believe that? I don't think we've had that much in quite some time. Then again...I heard from some of my forebarers that years ago, there was even a waiting list," She began. "And as for that environment...you are referring to a rehab, yes?"

"Yes," He nodded, already preparing himself for the worst. He disliked children at the best of times and never blamed teachers one bit when it came to dealing with rowdy or ill-tempered students. This one supposedly was in a center after attempting to commit suicide after screaming about the voices. It was to be expected; high-functioning TKs blended in quite well in society, but high-functioning TPs had lots of trouble and usually became addicts in one way or another, were heavily regressed mentally, or just killed themselves off at a certain age. "I'm told she's worth it though. Super powerful, not as powerful as Fujisaki, but pretty good. So tell me what you need and let me be on my way,"

"Come over here," She ordered and he stood behind her shoulder, watching. She had opened up a video file and started playing it, revealing snack machines right outside of the cafeteria. The picture was cloudy and jittered every ten seconds and was often frizzy. "First of all, our equipment is incredibly subpar and not at all up to today's standards of quality. Letting things get this bad...I don't know how we're still standing,"

"Yeah, I'll tell some guys, but we all know this place's basic setup is shit anyway. Our last renovation was forty years ago back when things weren't as tight-knit. Hell, even what they could do back then still sucked because of the shitty economy. Everything's outdated,"

Junko nodded. She did in fact know all that already. She tried her hardest to hire people who were 'jack-of-all-trades' so to speak; that was one reason she got by with so few employees. Still, even the very best have a limit, and that limit is simply the fact that they're people. If times were different, or heck even if their nation was different, perhaps Junko wouldn't have to worry so much about security in the digital age, but she did. Word of her place could never get out, and it hadn't thus far. She was determined to keep it that way.

"Anyway, let's just get this started," She started the video again and it revealed Kyoko Kirigiri walking over with her usual basket full of laundry, being accompanied by two residents: Shuichi Saihara and Chihiro Fujisaki, the exceptional TP-pos who had taken to sleeping with Saihara most nights. Despite the bad video quality, the audio was very good.

"We can talk here. The mic here hasn't worked in years. Just smile a lot so they'll think you're buttering me up for tokens," Kyoko said. "Tell me what's on your minds, but make it quick,"

Chihiro just anxiously rubbed at his arms and pinched his nose, looking over at Shuichi. That didn't surprise Sakakura at all; Fujisaki was merely along for the ride while Saihara did all of the talking. He was the smart one, the analytical one, the future detective.

"It's about what happened in the cafeteria, to Kuwata-san and the little nature-girls. That's what we've been thinking about lately," Shuichi confessed.

Kyoko sighed a bit. "I heard about that. It was terrible, but they're all alright now,"

"Really? All three of them?"

She paused, and Chihiro looked up at her, scratching his arms, pinching his nose, and just generally looking like he had to pee. Finally, Kyoko spoke up again. "They may not be okay now, but they will be soon. Dr. Kimura is going to patch them up at the infirmary, the one here is very nice, in Back Half,"

"What else-"

"No, you can't ask me anything about Back Half. I can't say anything about it except say it's very nice, way nicer than Front Half, and after boys and girls spend time there, they get to go home," She pulled them close and hugged them tightly when the picture came back.

"She's really like a loving mother, isn't she?" Sakakura jabbed.

"Are you sure? They looked dead," Shuichi pressed.

"Yeah...everyone says that. Leon-oniichan spazzed out and stopped breathing, while Kiyomi-chan's head was all crooked and weird," Chihiro added, pinching his nose again.

Kyoko sighed again, and Sakakura could see she was picking her words carefully. She would've made a good intelligence agent or a secret agent in a place where that actually mattered. Finally, she said: "I wasn't there, so surely it was a lot worse in person," Chihiro squeezed his nose again. "If Kuwata had a seizure, then they'll give him medicine for it. Seizures are common among children your age, you know. I also heard Dr. Kimura and Dr. Munakata talk about Akamatsu-chan. Her neck is sprained and she needs a brace. Her sister will be with her for comfort,"

"Okay, as long as you're sure," Shuichi nodded.

"Everyone here lies. I was raised to never tell a lie, not even to a child. Most people don't respect children, but I never wanted to be one of them," She stared them down. "What's so important? Are you truly worried about your friends, or is it something else?"

Shuichi looked over at Chihiro, who nodded and gave his nose a big yank.

"Jeezh, just fucking pick it already, kid. Stop squeezing it like that, it's driving me nuts," Sakakura grumbled.

"It's a self-comforting gesture, and at least it's his nose and not his crotch. That's fairly common, you know. Both boys and girls do it. Now hush," Junko returned her attention back to the video.

"If I tell you something, can you keep it a secret?" Shuichi whispered anxiously. Chihiro tugged on his nose again and Kyoko finally nodded. Junko turned the volume up. "Some of the kids here are talking about going on a hunger strike. No more food until we know the nature-girls and Kuwata-san are alright,"

"Who?" Kyoko whispered back, but Shuichi shrugged.

"The newer ones, so I don't know their names,"

"Tell them it's a bad idea. You're a smart boy, you should know what will happen if they don't follow the rules," She picked her basket up again. "I have to go. If anyone finds out what we were talking about-"

"We were asking you for chores so we could get more tokens!" Chihiro announced, and Kyoko nodded.

"You'll be out of here soon and back at home, safe and sound. Until then, just remember that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down," She walked off, and Shuichi and Chihiro ran off together in the opposite direction. Junko turned the video off and tapped her cheeks.

"A hunger strike? Never heard of that before," Sakakura commented, and she nodded in agreement.

"Whatever shall we do?" She laughed at that, which surprised him. She never laughed in her analytic personality.

"Growing children would be terrible at a hunger strike. They're growing and eat anything they can get their hands on. Who do you think suggested the idea though?"

"None of them. The only one smart enough to know what that is has been here for a month and has rarely given us trouble,"

"Indeed, and I cannot wait until he's out of Front Half. Oowada-kun was an annoyance, but at least he was just angry and honest about that. Shuichi-chan is sneaky. At least by Sunday or Monday he'll be gone. Dr. Munakata is pretty much done with him."

"Will you address that hunger strike idea or let it die out on its own?"

She smiled a bit at that. "I believe I shall address it. We have many new residents now anyway, and it would make a good impression on them all if I speak to them all directly. I am their Headmistress after all,"

"If you do, Saihara is going to learn Kirigiri is a snitch,"

"Oh, I'm not worried about that. He'll be gone to Back Half in a few days anyway, and his nose-grabbing friend will follow soon after. A few days spent there and he won't be smart at all," Junko reassured him.

And true to her word, she appeared in the cafeteria that night, her hair up in pigtails and wearing a slim black business dress. She wore pearls everywhere and the only childish feature on her appearance were the bows tying up her pigtails. She stood tall and proud and thus everyone turned to look at her when she walked in. "As most of you all know, there was a terribly unfortunate incidence in here just two nights ago. Rumors have surfaced that two children died as a result, which is not true. We do not kill children here at The Institute," Junko began in her cold and formal 'scientist' tone. She surveyed everyone; their eyes were wide and their food was forgotten.

"We do not kill children. You did not ask to be here. We understand that, but we do not apologize for it. You are here to proudly serve your nation and the whole world on top of that. However, you will not remember your contribution, nor will anyone else, for your memories will be wiped. Your tests will be hard and grueling, but you will survive and rejoin your families. We've never lost a child before." Junko paused again and waited for someone to respond. Oowada might've, but he was gone. Saihara didn't, because he wasn't that sort of person. He was trained to be a detective, and they always worked on the sidelines anyway.

"Kuwata Leon-kun had a brief seizure following the visual field test some of you call 'the dots' or 'the lights' if you've had it. He inadvertently struck Akamatsu Kiyomi-chan who was trying her very best to comfort him. She suffered a severely sprained neck but is recovering. Her sister is with her. Both Leon-kun and the Akamatsu twins will be sent home next week, and we will all send our good wishes with them," She looked over at Shuichi, who was sitting near the back with his little friend. Fujisaki's mouth was hanging open in shock, but at least he was leaving his nose alone.

"If anyone contradicts what I said, know that they are lying and you are encouraged to report them to a member of our lovely staff. Is that understood?" Silence. "If you understand, I want you to say 'Yes, Mistress Enoshima,'"

"Yes, Mistress Enoshima," Everyone responded dully.

She smiled. "You can do better than that,"

"Yes, Mistress Enoshima!"

"Now once more, with feeling,"

"Yes, Mistress Enoshima!" This time even the staff joined in. She smiled happily.

"Good. There's nothing like an affirmative shout to give you confidence and clear your mind, right? Carry on with your meals." She turned to the waitress, Miss Tsumiki, who was chewing on one of her nails. "In fact...Mikan-chan, how about we give everyone extra dessert? Make every single kind of pie you and the cooks can think of, alright? We deserve to spoil ourselves tonight,"

"Y-Yes, Mistress Enoshima! Right away!" Mikan clumsily curtsied. Someone began to clap, and soon everyone else had joined in. Junko nodded and walked off, waving behind her back as she did so. She had a sweet smile on her face that reminded Shuichi of the fake plastic one Celestia had constantly.

Chihiro was still clapping when he leaned over to Shuichi and whispered to him: "She lied. She lied about everything. S-She's....a fucking bitch!"

Shuichi just nodded. Keep clapping.

[][][][]][][]

That night Shuichi and Chihiro lay side-by-side in Shuichi's bed as the activity in The Institute wound down for yet another night.

Chihiro whispered, recounting everything Kyoko told him each time he went for his nose, signaling her to send. Shuichi had initially been afraid she wouldn't understand the note he dropped into her basket, but she understood it perfectly and provided Chihiro with a step-by-step list. Shuichi thought Fuji-chan had been a bit too obvious about the signals, but everything seemed to have turned out okay. He wondered if the first step in the plan would even work though; the most important and crucial step.

Shuichi was trying to go over the steps for the tenth or fifteenth time when Chihiro invaded his mind with three words lit up in red neon that flashed brightly then left an afterimage.

Yes Headmistress Enoshima.

Shuichi poked him, making Chihiro giggle and send another image.

Yes, Headmistress Enoshima.

Shuichi poked him again, smiling, and Chihiro likely knew he was despite the darkness. He likely wouldn't be able to escape, but today was a fine day anyway, and hope was a glorious thing to feel for once.

Yes, Headmistress Enoshima, you fucking bitch!

"Stop before I tickle you," Shuichi whispered.

"It worked, right? It really worked...do you think you really can..."

"I don't know, all I can really do is try. Now go to sleep," He rolled over. "You never seemed like one for swearing," It was only a few weeks ago that Chihiro scolded Mondo in surprise for swearing constantly.

"Things are different. I've changed," Chihiro shrugged, remaining on his back. He was silent for a while before he whispered: "I really wish you could take me with you too. I wish it more than anything else in the whole world,"

"Me too," Shuichi whispered back. He knew it'd be tough there for little Chihiro to navigate on his own. He was more socially adjusted than the nature-girls, who binged on sweets like it was going out of style, or Kaito Momota, who recently had taken to being in a semi-permanent state of being high. Even then, nobody was going to crown Chihiro Mr. Personality.

"When you come back, bring a bunch of police officers with you. Do it fast before they take me to Back Half. Do it while we still have a chance to save Aoi-oneechan," Chihiro whispered.

"I'll do what I can," Shuichi promised. "Now please stop yelling in my head, it's not funny anymore,"

"I wish you had more TP and that it didn't hurt you to send. It'd be easier for us to talk,"

"Go to sleep,"

Chihiro did, and Shuichi started to drift off himself. He knew everything he had observed prior and figured the building itself was like a rocket that lost its jets and just slowly falling back down into the planet's atmosphere.

Chapter Text

The next day Hiyoko escorted him down to the third level, where his blood and oxygen levels were tested, as well as his temperature and heart rate. When he asked her what else was on the agenda for that day, she just shrugged. "It's your day-off. Have fun!"

He smiled back at her, Kyoko's note on his mind.

"How about tomorrow?"

"Don't worry about tomorrow. Let today end first,"

Dodgeball had become a daily affair on the playground, and almost everyone joined in for at least a few minutes. Shuichi played for about ten minutes before allowing himself to be hit, then walked to the back of the playground over by the fence and giant tarp where Angie Yonaga was sitting by herself. She was throwing a bouncy ball haphazardly at some jacks and he assumed she had no idea where she even was. She wore a black baggy sweatshirt that was several sizes too big for her and grey sweatpants with brown flip-flops.

Shuichi sat down next to the fence and carefully felt around next to it. Angie spotted him and tried waving him over.

"Would you like to play, Shuichi-san?"

He shook his head at her. "Later," He casually reached a hand behind him and felt the bottom of the fence, the one area the tarp mysteriously didn't cover, and found that Kyoko was indeed telling the truth. There was a tiny gap where the fence and grown slumped a bit. Nobody had bothered to fill it back in. He rested his hand on the exposed bottom and he wiggled his fingers around for a few seconds before he stood back up and brushed the dust off himself. He then looked back over at Angie and asked if she wanted to watch TikToks with him. "There are lots of art ones of people drawing and painting,"

She gave him an eager smile that smacked of longing for a friend. It almost broke his heart.

[][][][][][]

Shuichi had no tests the next day and nobody even bothered to check his vitals at that. He helped Tenko carry a few mattresses to empty rooms in the eastern wing, then only got a lousy token for his effort. He felt as though she didn't really like him very much. Afterwards, he encountered Kyoko drinking some water from the ice-machine; she usually kept a bottle in there to be chilled. He asked if she needed any help but shook her head then said at a whisper:

"Dr. Munakata and Miu-san were talking about you a few days ago by the flagpole. I saw them. Have they been testing you?"

"Not for two days," He admitted.

"I knew it. Today is Friday, and you might have until Saturday or Sunday, but I don't suggest testing that." The tense look in her eyes concerned him and he knew instantly what she was suggesting.

"Kyoko-san, do they...know what's wrong?"

She looked away. "My cancer came back and I already had the bone marrow transplant once, so I can't get it again, it's too dangerous. They don't really care though as long as I keep working. Go on, I'll clean your room while you're at lunch. Look under your mattress. Good luck. I...I wish I could hug you," Kyoko said truthfully. "I've never been one for intimate contact, but...I wish I could,"

Shuichi felt tears fill his eyes and quickly ran off before she could see. Despite having little appetite, Shuichi filled himself up at lunch and planned to do the same at dinner. He needed all the fuel he could get. At dinner, him and Chihiro were joined by Angie once more, who seemed to have imprinted herself on them finally. Afterwards, they headed outside to the playground, declining to watch her paint and instead said he'd watch Chihiro on the trampoline.

One of those red neon words bloomed in his head as he watched Chihiro do half-hearted jumping jacks on the trampoline.

Tonight?

Shuichi shook his head. "I need you to sleep in your own room tonight. I want a full night's sleep for once,"

Chihiro bounced off the trampoline and stared Shuichi down. "Don't tell me what's not true because you think someone will see me looking sad and wonder why. I don't have to look sad," He offered Shuichi a large fake grin.

Alright. Just don't blow my chance, Fuji-chan.

Come back for me if you can. Please.

I will.

The dots were returning, bringing with them a vivid memory of the tank. He thought that was part of the cost of trying to effortlessly and consciously send his thoughts.

Chihiro watched him for a moment longer before running over to the basketball court where Angie was painting with sidewalk paint. "Want to play basketball with me, Angie-oneechan?"

She glanced up and smiled mischievously. "Haha, you know that Angie'd beat you in a second!"

"Oh yeah? Try me!"

They played as the sun began to set and douse everything in orange. Shuichi remembered how Leon once called Chihiro his 'little bitty buddy'. He thought Chihiro would return to his room to at least get his toothbrush, but he never did.

[][][][]

Shuichi watched more cosplay TikToks for several hours before brushing his teeth, putting his pajamas on, and getting into bed, turning the lights off and hiding underneath the covers. He stuck his hand under the mattress and found two items there, hidden in a washcloth. A sharp knife, unlike the plastic ones he received in the cafeteria sometimes, and a blue flash drive. Chihiro probably would've gotten a kick out of that one. He slipped both items into the pocket of his pants.

The next part was simply waiting. For awhile kids ran around the corridor and noisily played and talked with each other, likely just trying to kill time before it was time for bed officially. Finally, though, the noise died down and he went over the plan one more time before he grabbed the plastic bucket in his room and walked out, coming up with a plan if he was caught.

He was just a kid, who woke up randomly in the middle of the night, either due to a nightmare or needing to use the bathroom, still half-asleep so he wandered to the ice-machine in his pajamas to get some ice. He was so tired he forgot he took the scoop with him and put it in his bathroom. He'd wake up in the morning and wonder where it came from.

In his room, he got himself a glass of water and drank half of it, sighing. He left the scoop on the toilet tank and went to bed, tossing and turning. Maybe the kid was missing his little bitty buddy and had trouble sleeping as a result.

After a while, he crawled back out and silently dressed, going into the bathroom and stuffing the ice scoop down the front of his pants. He then left the room and silently walked down the hall, finding Kaito Momota asleep in front of the lounge, almost curled-up. He stank heavily of marijuana and a half-eaten bowl of salsa was knocked-over next to him. Shuichi assumed he'd wake up the next morning, feeling fine but wondering where all his tokens went. He carefully stepped over him and headed into the cafeteria, the only light coming from the salad bar thus it looked gloomy and lonely. He picked an apple out of the neverending fruit bowl and took a bite, heading to the playground. If anyone asked, he'd say he was just clearing his head. Some kids did that; Aoi told him that she and Sayaka sometimes went out there to look at the stars because they were extremely bright due to the little light pollution. Sometimes other kids went out there to makeout. He sincerely hoped nobody was out there tonight.

Nobody was out there, just the silver moon lighting the playground equipment up slightly. He wandered over to the fence and got on his knees, pulling the scoop out and starting digging under the fence. He thought to himself that he must've been losing his mind to make it so obvious, but the security there was also pretty sloppy. How sloppy remained to be seen though. He continued to dig, the sweat rolling down his face and his heart beating loudly. He dug a small trench underneath but despite being an already-skinny kid having lost a lot of weight, he still couldn't fit in it.

He couldn't go back in though, that was a sign of being a coward. They were already going to do something horrible to him if he returned; the movies and headaches and Stasi Lights and finally the drone.

He continued to dig, dig, dig, and dig, at one point accidentally breaking the scoop's handle so he had to continue with his hands. They stung and bled and yet he kept on going.

Finally, the hole gaped out just enough, and Shuichi slowly crawled through it, gasping as he felt the barbs catch onto his clothes. He continued to crawl, grabbing onto a bush and yanking. He came free; one piece of the fence scratched at his back leg and left a sizable, burning cut there. He winced and took off running for a few seconds, breathing heavily. Somehow, he had made it out. Nobody had come for him. But he still had a longways to go.

He walked back over to the fence and tried to remember what Chihiro's instructions from Kyoko were.

Once you're out, go level with the trampoline. Put your back to it, then take one medium-sized step to the right. That's your direction. Try to stay on that path but it doesn't have to be exact. Chihiro had also told him he could try using the stars to guide him if he knew how; Chihiro didn't know anything about that.

There was one other thing Shuichi had to do first though. He reached to his right ear and felt around it, feeling the stud embedded in there. He remembered one of the girls, maybe Sayaka or Ibuki, saying they had their ears pierced before so it didn't hurt. Pierced earrings were supposed to unscrew though, right? He didn't know anybody personally with earrings so he wasn't sure, but that sounded right.

He worked his nails underneath the edge of the tracker and pulled; his earlobe hurt badly but nothing happened. He yanked again even harder, quietly hissing at the pain. Still nothing. He thought about trying it again, but knew that was just prolonging the inevitable. He knew that was why Kyoko gave him the knife; she had known. He pulled the knife out of his pocket and slowly felt for the sharp edge, then held it up to his earlobe.

He knew he had to do it fast and get it over with and to never scream even when it hurt badly. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, the knife's cold edge resting on his earlobe.

I can't. But I must. Oh God, I can't. But I must. I have to.

He swiped the knife quickly through his ear and felt the warm gush of blood drip down his neck, a searing pain coursing through his body. He inhaled sharply and ripped the rest of the lobe off and took his medium step. He glanced up ahead and saw the Big Dipper and knew he'd follow that. According to Kyoko, it wasn't even that long of a walk, then it'd be onto the next step. Just ignore the pain in his shoulders, his cut leg, and his ear, the worst pain of all. Ignore how much he was trembling, but first of all, he drew his hand back and threw the piece of flesh over the fence, hearing the tracker attached click as it hit the basketball court. Let them find it there, by then he'd already be long gone. Hopefully.

He took a deep breath and headed off, his eyes trained on that one single star. Shuichi continued walking, vanishing into the forest though knowing if they truly were in Hokkaido, the forest would soon turn into wetlands and wide-open plains, so he had to hurry to get to the next location before the sun came up. Something heavy rustled the bushes nearby and he paused briefly, worried it was a bear. Brown bears were everywhere in Hokkaido after being driven off the main island. If it was a bear, it'd likely smell the blood on him...

The noise soon stopped and Shuichi continued on his way, ducking under trees so he wouldn't accidentally pop his eye out on a branch. Crickets were the only sound he could hear. He kept walking and walking, at one point tripping over a branch and falling hard, gasping. His leg begun hurting again and so did his ankle, making him worry about it being twisted or even broken when he put weight on it and it hurt. For a moment, he almost wished he was back in his room at The Institute.

After a long time walking, he shielded his eyes from a sudden bright yellow light and gazed down the hill at a small collection of houses with a tiny bus terminal at the end of the road. Bright lights lit up the small neighborhood. Shuichi understood then that that was where the employees of The Institute lived when they were on break, and likely took that bus to work every day.

Shuichi walked along the fence, remembering Kyoko said she tied a scarf there. He couldn't ask much else about it due to fear they would be caught if they meandered for too long, but he found it easily; a light grey one that fluttered slightly in the breeze. He pulled it off the fence and tied it around his waist, wondering then how long it'd be before Enoshima and Sakakura learned he had escaped and who helped him. Not long at all, he figured. He silently hoped that Kyoko wouldn't resist and tell them everything she did, because they'd torture her and she was too sick to survive the tank for long.

He continued walking, making note of the fact the trees were smaller and further apart. He smelled something fruity and reached above him, yanking an orange off a tree. He made a small incision using the knife and sipped some of the juice that came out, sighing a bit. It gave him a small bit of energy and tasted good simply because it came from the outside. He climbed up some of the more rugged areas, pausing a bit to catch his breath. Everything that was throbbing in pain earlier now just dully ached. He absentmindedly ran his hand along his earlobe and hissed in pain, quickly pulling it back. He felt a clump of dried blood and a small scab there, making him bite his lip. His ear was mutilated and was likely to never grow back. He heard running water and soon the trees almost vanished completely, revealing a tiny hill and a large shimmering blackness that captured the stars above. He slowly climbed back down and found a tiny green rowboat placed neatly on the shoreline, just as Kyoko had promised. It was tied to an old stump.

How had Kyoko known about this place? Did someone tell her? Maybe before she was gravely ill, she found it herself on a walk, or maybe her and Mikan or some other caretakers had all gone on a picnic together out here, homemade bentos with sodas from a nearby store. Well, ultimately it didn't matter. The boat was there. He took a few drinks from the water and gasped at how cold it was, then slowly untied the boat from the stump, making it start to slowly drift away. He ran after it and pulled it back to shore, gasping at his skinned palms. Taking the tarp off the boat would result in it floating away in the current again, so Shuichi jumped into the boat and let it float off, wincing when he landed on something hard and angular.

He pulled half of the tarp off and in the moonlight saw the object he landed on was an oar, and unlike the boat, seemed to be quite new and fresh. Did Kyoko also leave the oar out for him? If she had, she deserved some kind of epic poem in her honor. She did all of this simply because he looked up stuff on the Internet for her, stuff she already knew, but it wasn't what he told her about her disease, was it? It was giving her the courage she needed to stand up to her family. Either way, he needed to use that oar, skinned palms or not, and was quite thankful he knew how to a little bit.

Yamaguchi was on the coast and sported several lakes designed for fishing and recreation, and sometimes his uncle took him out on a small rowboat and taught him rowing and swimming. He paddled out into the middle of the lake, sighing, placing the oar back in and letting the boat float around for a while. He looked over the side and saw the faded name; Asagohan. It was stupid yet it still made him crack a smile. A train's whistle loudly sounded through the night, making him realize it was indeed real, he was inside a real boat, with real stars above, and it took one who was imprisoned to realize what true freedom was. He laid down on the floor of the boat and closed his eyes.

I'll die before I let them take me to Back Half, He thought to himself before he cried. He meant that.

[][][][][][]

He had dozed off for a while, curled up into a ball, his sneakers sitting beside him, only being startled awake by the sound of another train horn. In the early hours of the dawn, he could spot the sleek white design of the train racing by in the distance. He grabbed the oar and shook himself awake, rowing the boat some more. The lake became narrower and a sandy shoreline was starting to become visible. The last part of his trip involved heading for red-painted steps; although Chihiro said that Kyoko told him they were more like pink these days because of how much paint had faded away; Shuichi thought they looked more grey with only a few flecks of red-pink paint. He slipped his shoes back on and jumped uneasily onto the shoreline, whispering a thanks to the boat that got him that far. He headed up the steps and tightened the scarf around his waist, briefly thinking of discarding it only to decide against it. Not only could that give a possible clue to his whereabouts, but it also felt special and important to him now. It came from her, and she was his savior.

He climbed to the top of the steps and smelled the salty sea-breeze; the small red sun illuminating a large dockyard filled with ships of all different sizes and purposes. He heard some trains nearby but he wasn't looking for the trains; not yet anyway.

Shuichi wasn't very knowledgeable about the ins and outs of riding on large ships or how ferries work; obviously his school didn't teach it and it wasn't something Shuichi was interested in. It was clear Kyoko didn't know either; she just knew a dock was nearby and a ferry would likely be there traveling from Hokkaido to the main island of Honshu. Where it went after that, though? Likely Tokyo or someplace else further south.

"She thinks if you made it that far, you could sneak aboard a ferry and ride it," Chihiro had whispered.

Well, Shuichi had made it that far, though sneaking aboard a ship was another matter entirely. Whenever it was done in the movies, it was usually some sort of historical drama back when ships didn't have as much security as they did now. Maybe it'd be better to head down to some local town and try to call the police. But with what? He didn't have his phone with him, and pay phones cost money, something he didn't have either. Even if he called the police for free, he had the feeling that would get him spotted immediately.

The first thing he had to do before he could even think about anything else was getting on a boat. One that was mainly carrying freight and preferably quite large so he'd have more places to hide. He stepped a bit closer and despite the very early hour saw people already at work; one guy had a clipboard and glanced up every so often. He used the boxes and signs as meager cover, getting closer and closer to the clipboard guy. He needed to see what the schedule was. He peeked into the office and found a large set of computers on display, showing the current schedule. Most ships would be in use that day, but they were scheduled to leave for late that afternoon or early in the evening, which were of no use to him. The last one on the list was still accepting freight and was going to leave by nine that morning, heading for Tokyo and its special wards. That was good enough, that'd have to do. Shuichi ducked away and hid behind more boxes, watching the men load cargo onto a small green ship. He couldn't make out the name of the ship, not like it'd help him much anyway.

He sat and waited for what felt like an eternity, watching the ship get loaded with cargo. A few early-risers got on as well, but Shuichi wasn't too worried about the passengers. He'd be down below in the cargo hold, hopefully away from any human eyes. His stomach growled as he saw some of the workers eating their breakfasts.

Finally, the work halted and a lot of the workers left, except for one who was in deep conversation on his phone. Shuichi took that chance and dashed off, silently stepping down the stairs to the cargo hold and slipping through the door; open just a crack, likely for more workers to come back and load some more stuff onto it. His body began to ache all over again and he panted, but for the moment, he seemed to be safe. The smell of salt water was far stronger down here, and he prayed there wasn't a leak anywhere.

He risked a look around and saw mainly a bunch of suitcases and duffel bags in all different colours and shapes and sizes. There was the odd piece of furniture that Shuichi assumed didn't actually belong to any passenger and was loaded to be taken to a store somewhere. He picked up the nametag on a nearby suitcase and found the person wrote their destination to be Okoyama and smiled a bit to himself. This boat seemed to be going even further south than he had originally anticipated and looked above. Someone was watching out for him.

He kept the cargo where it was but sat down on a sturdy suitcase, sighing. He was finally in a safe place, he had a few suitcases to sit on, and he was exhausted from days of anxiety and broken rest leading up to his escape. He didn't dare sleep yet, not yet, not until he was positively sure he was out of danger for the moment. Nothing happened for the next few hours, though Shuichi hid under the piles of cargo whenever workers arrived to put more in. By the time the morning was almost over, the whole room was nearly filled. He heard the door shut and close, then the ship honk from several levels above. He curiously went over to the small window in the room and saw the waves sway and bob, somehow knowing the ship had started to move. There wasn't much else to see because of his location, but just the sea-green waves were enough for him. He was finally out, away from caretakers and doctors and vending machines that served children alcohol and cigarettes.

He fell asleep, curled up behind several large boxes, sleeping in a ball. He slept for a majority of the first day, and nobody else came into the room where he was. Judging by the distance away from the islands, he knew it'd only be a few hours before they arrived at their destination, then he'd jump on a train that'd take him even further and deeper into the cities. He continued to sleep and sleep, even as a worker eventually did come down to get a few suitcases for passengers up above who needed stuff in them. Most of the passengers would disembark at Tokyo and make their way around from there, but a few had specified the special districts of Tokyo, like Shibuya and Shinjuku; the two most popular. Some wanted to see Akihabara; the electronics hotspot.

Either way, Shuichi was presently just a small drop in a large ocean.

Chapter Text

Part 6: Hell is Waiting

[][][][][]

As the passenger ferries were leaving the docks at Hokkaido, Junko was still in her office, reading over the files of two new children going to join The Institute soon. She'd send Kiyotaka and Mukuro their way very shortly. The boy wasn't very noteworthy, but the girl was autistic, according to her file. That'd make her a challenge for both the caretakers and residents, but her BDNF score was far too large to pass up on, so Junko knew they'd have to take that chance.

They were scores given to people from the moment they were born, although such tests are usually kept secret. The rarest people, the ones who had the highest levels, were considered to be the luckiest people on the planet. They never suffered from mental or physical disorders, they were very social and good at articulation, never got into fights, and never had to worry about getting too skinny or too fat. Junko knew the basics of this, though that was more Seiko's and Kyosuke's departments. Children with high levels of it were often found to have either telekinetic or telepathic powers, or, in extremely rare instances, both. Most children didn't know they had them, but in some cases, like Chihiro Fujisaki, they were aware and just didn't use them all of the time.

There was a knock at the door, then Ruruka stepped in, looking anxious for once. "Mistress Enoshima? You need to come right away. I'm sorry for bothering you, but it's urgent,"

Junko briefly looked up at her. No candy for Ruruka to fiddle with today, so she must've been very upset indeed.

"Tenko-san is asking for you. She says it's very important,"

"Like, tell her I'm busy. I don't care to hear one of her weekly rants about how the boys here are rude to her. They're little boys, just tell her to smack them,"

Ruruka shook her head. "She seems really upset, like genuinely upset. I think you should come,"

She sighed and set her papers down. "Alright, I'm coming,"

Ruruka led Junko to the western wing, where Tenko was there, her face pale. Her hairbows were all lopsided and she couldn't keep still, jumping up and down.

"Mistress Enoshima! You have to come right away!" She trembled. Junko followed her, wondering what could've spooked Tenko so badly. Was it another test gone bad, like what happened with Kuwata? Unlikely, a maid wouldn't have come across it; a caretaker seemed more likely. They headed over to an empty room, a purple-haired boy in ruffled clothes staring at a sign pasted on the door. He noticed Junko coming and looked startled, which pleased her.

"Momota-kun, right?" She asked sweetly. He nodded.

"Yeah!"

"What?"

"Yes, Mistress Enoshima,"

"Good. Now leave. Find something else to do if you're not being tested,"

"Yes, Headmistress Enoshima," He shuffled away while Junko stared at the sign; it was written in sloppy hiragana and said to keep out. She pushed open the door and found the room completely empty; no posters on the wall or sheets on the bed. She looked around, then looked at Tenko.

"In the bathroom!" She stated. Junko nodded and pulled the door open, widening her eyes. In her time as Headmistress, she had seen the attempted suicides of two residents and the successful suicide of another, but never of an employee. And surely that was what that was, there was nothing else it could've been, unless the employee just keeled over from disease, which was likely, but not super likely.

The maid; obvious from her brown uniform, was slumped over the toilet, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide in subtle agony. Her hand was rested on the toilet bowl. Bloody vomit was in her lap and inside the bowl, and an empty bottle was beside her. In the shower a message was written neatly.

"Kirigiri Kyoko. That was her name." Tenko shut the door. "She-"

"Go find Ruruka-chan and tell her to bring me my Walkie-Talkie," Junko ordered, and Tenko nodded and ran off. Junko looked at the message one final time, then down at Kyoko.

The message read: Hell is waiting. I'll be here to meet you.

[][][][][][]

Sakakura sounded groggy when Junko finally got a hold of him, but she didn't question why. She told him to bring Seiko and Kyosuke with him and head down to the western wing; he'd know which one because a maid would be standing outside. They all arrived at the same time.

"Seiko, can you lift her? We need to get her out of here," Sakakura asked, and Seiko nodded and hurried over, pressing Kyoko's arms to her sides and lifting her head up, dragging her away from the toilet, then Sakakura picked her up easily. "Ugh, she reeks,"

"Well duh, you ever get super sick? Puke isn't the only thing that comes out," Junko rolled her eyes. Kyosuke picked the empty bottle up and read the labels over.

"Syrup of ipecac. She likely took this to induce vomiting, but I feel as though she mixed it with something else, as there's blood in her vomit. Likely chased it down with an overdose of pain-killers or something similar. I bet she tried to mask her suicide as her death from her disease." He said.

"Yes, her cancer....came back and it was worse....maybe she thought she couldn't....work anymore..." Seiko added.

"'Hell is waiting', huh? Considering what we've all done, that's suitable," Sakakura mused.

"That's bullshit," Junko rolled her eyes.

"Maybe to us, but to outsiders, that's exactly what it looks like. Besides, that has nothing to do with this. A terminally-ill woman ended her life after declaring her guilt and ours," He pointed to the wall. Maybe that's what it was, but something about the message rubbed Junko the wrong way. It almost seemed triumphant in a way.

"She had a week off not long ago. That could be where she got the medicine," Tenko suggested.

"Go mop the floors, Tenko-chan. And clean the cameras. I asked for that to be done last week and I won't ask again," Junko snapped at her, and Tenko nodded and darted off.

"The usual?" Sakakura asked once Tenko was gone, and Junko nodded.

"You two, leave. I need to speak to Juuzou-kun privately," Seiko and Kyosuke glanced at each other, then left the room. She whirled around to face Sakakura, her hands on her hips.

"You're upset that your snitch is gone?" He guessed.

"She was ours, but yes, that's the problem," She thought back to nearly a year ago, when it was snowing heavily, and a woman named Kyoko Kirigiri arrived and asked for a job that would pay her more. Junko asked her if she felt bad about gleaming information from children, and Kyoko agreed to the job immediately, even showing a level of cunning with how much she lied about the supposed dead-zones.

"I guess snitching on the kids so much added to her guilt,"

"I don't think she was married, but she wore a silver wedding ring. Her grandmother's or mother's most likely. How much do we know about her previous life in Sendai?"

"I could always look it up later,"

Junko thought more about it, realizing how little she truly knew about Kyoko Kirigiri. She knew her mother was dead and lived with her grandfather for almost her whole life, she knew she was a former criminal like the rest of her staff, and she originally came from Sendai. But that was all Junko knew. It made Junko also remember the small staff she had, the older computers and cameras, the terrible surveillance reports especially from the night team, and the frequent food spoilings in the cafeteria. It made her think about how careless they all were.

"Who's on surveillance right now?" Junko finally asked, whirling around to face Sakakura again.

"Probably nobody. There's really no need though since this time of day all the kids do are sleep or play," He grumbled.

That's what he assumed, There were rumors in the nearby town about their true purpose, but they couldn't prove anything. The most common was that they were some exclusive, elusive private cram school parents sent their children to once they grew annoyed with them. They were a boarding school and that's why most kids seemed to spend forever in there. Junko didn't mind the rumors.

"Do you have orders for me?" Sakakura asked, and Junko nodded, snapping herself out of it.

"I want to know everything about her, and send Kazuichi-kun to keep an eye on surveillance," Kazuichi Souda was a mechanic and the best the building had ever known; he also wasn't shabby at all around computers.

"He's on vacation in Australia,"

"How about Miu-chan then? She's good with computers, right? She dabbled in technology before she came here,"

"Yeah, I think she's good," Vagueness again. She decided right then and there that come fall, big changes would come around. She'd have to call her higher-up on the Zero Phone, she didn't like to, but she had to. They had their own private jet and the employees were paid extremely handsomely with as much benefits as they could possibly want. Yet the facility itself looked like some old schoolhouse from the late-sixties. Things had to change.

"Also tell her to run a check on the locator button. Make sure everyone is present and accounted for here. I'm especially interested in Saihara Shuichi-chan and Fujisaki Chihiro-kun. Kyoko-chan talked to them a lot,"

"Their conversations amounted to nothing,"

"Just do it,"

"Gladly. And you need to relax. This was a very sick woman who saw her days as numbered and decided to take matters into her own hands. That's all it is," He motioned to the blood trailing down Kyoko's mouth.

Junko nodded, though she had no intention of truly relaxing. Relaxing was all they ever did, and look where it got them. She headed back to her office and told Ruruka to only let people in if it was Miu or Sakakura, and Ruruka nodded. She sat at her desk then, scrolling through the various pictures she had taken.

Most were of her posing eagerly with each new employee she received or sisterly ones with her twin, but some were of places she wanted to visit. At least when she was younger. Junko had come to accept at that point that she may never get a genuine vacation or even retire when the time came, just keep working until she keeled over at her desk, but that was perfectly alright with her. The Institute was her life; her pride and joy. Her staff all felt the same. To say they were all criminals in the strictest sense of the word was incorrect, but they all had done something bad in their lives they needed an escape from. Some had dirty secrets they couldn't risk getting out. Junko understood that and took them all in under her wing. Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Mukuro Ikusaba; her sister, both had military prowess under their belts. Mukuro had worked for many years as a mercenary while Kiyotaka served several terms as Prime Minister and also Governor of Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures. He wasn't a bad person; a rare example in her group.

Everyone made The Institute part of their lives, even if the small town with limited resources took some getting used to, but they all managed. Many had no desire to return to their old lives; several couldn't. Even the ones that took long vacations in other countries came back eventually, and no matter what ultimately happened at the place, they never talked. They knew if they did and people learned about the hundreds of children they helped destroy willingly, it'd be all over. They'd all be hanged.

Besides, life wasn't all bad in The Institute, surely not as bad as seeing your fellow soldier get their legs blown off or inadvertently ingesting poison due to a jealous coworker or getting thrown out into the street because you like kissing the same gender as you. At first some thought they could spend time with their family, if they had one; most employees there didn't. You couldn't tell them about what you did though, and after a while, you found you didn't care. You carried an heirloom of theirs like Kyoko had with the wedding ring and you moved on.

"Hello Mistress Enoshima? I got some readings for you," Miu spoke up, and Junko nodded and pressed the intercom.

"How many?"

"Twenty-eight, perfect attendance. Two kids in the lounge, five in their rooms, six on the playground, and all the rest belong to Back Half,"

"Thank you," She felt a bit better at that, though she wasn't sure why. Of course they were all accounted for. Well, onto the next thing.

[][][][][][]

Once everyone was at lunch, Tenko pushed a trolley from the kitchen into the room where Kyoko Kirigiri had ended her life, helping Sakakura wrap her up in a green mat. Someone left a teddy bear near the elevator, and Sakakura kicked it in slight annoyance.

"Come on, that could belong to some innocent little girl," Tenko scolded.

"I don't care. They always leave their shit everywhere for us to pick up," Once the elevator doors opened up, he pushed Tenko away, making her put her hands on her hips. "I don't need your help anymore. Put the bear in the lounge where the owner will see it, and then start dusting the lightbulbs," He rolled the trolley into the elevator and held his card up to the reader.

Tenko huffed in annoyance, rolling her eyes at him once he was gone. Stupid man, thinking he could push her around just because she was a 'maid'. She gently scooped the teddy bear up. Yes, she'd dust those bulbs, eventually. Not because he told her to, but because Junko expected it to be done.

[][][][]

Junko was waiting for Sakakura once he arrived, wearing a sweater-set with her hair in a ponytail to combat the chilliness of the lower levels. He nodded and wheeled the trolley into the steel tunnel separating Back Half and Front Half; stainless and small with bright overhead lights. A few flickered. They walked up a ramp and soon arrived at a slightly-dimmer room where a tall and lean man was sitting; long dark hair tied back behind him in a ponytail. Kiyo-real name Dr. Korekiyo Shinguji-was waiting for them, a fresh coat of lipstick on his lips, which he anxiously rubbed at. It reminded Junko a bit of the Fujisaki boy's excessive nose-grabbing, except Fujisaki was a child and Korekiyo was in his late-thirties. Working in Back Half certainly took a toll on everyone similar to working in an environment filled with low-level radiation.

"Hello, Mistress Enoshima and Sakakura-san. A pleasure to see you," He spoke in a soft, gentle, feminine voice. "My brother told me you'd be coming. It's such a shame the circumstances that allowed us to meet though," He gently patted the mat containing Kyoko's body.

"We're making this quick," Sakakura said, and Junko nodded in agreement. Korekiyo and 'Jack'; real name Dr. Touko Fukawa, were heroes for doing what they did, but that didn't make it any easier to be around them.

"Of course, follow me," He lead the way and the two followed down a hall covered in carpet. Sometimes the children fell and had the chance to bump their heads. They then walked down a hall lined with locked doors, and behind one of them came the sound of pounding and a female voice crying:

"Let me out! At least give me some medicine!"

"Maizono Sayaka-chan. A very beautiful girl with a lovely voice, sadly she isn't feeling very well today. Thankfully though, some of our newest arrivals are holding up quite well. Tonight's movie night, you know," He giggled. Junko nodded again. It certainly wasn't the buzz of electricity that she was feeling, it made it feel as though her eyeballs were vibrating.

They walked past the screening room with about a dozen plush seats. Sitting in the front row was Aoi Asahina, Mondo Oowada, and Kokichi Ouma. They were wearing red and blue old-fashioned gym uniforms; the Asahina girl had bloomers on as a result. She was eating from a bag of jelly-beans while Oowada smoked a cigarette, the air around him light grey. Ouma was rubbing his temples. Asahina and Ouma turned to look at them curiously as they rolled past while Oowada continued to stare straight ahead at the screen. Junko noticed with satisfaction that a lot of his fight was gone.

The cafeteria was next to the screening room and was smaller than the one in Front Half. More children were present, but the longer they remained in Back Half, the less they ate. Junko supposed that was irony. Three children were present as they walked past, two of them listlessly eating rice, while the third one; seemingly about twelve, sat silently with a full bowl in front of her. When she spotted them, however, she brightened and jumped out of her seat.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's that you got in there? A dead body? It is, isn't it? I've seen lots of dead bodies before, believe that! What was her name? Kiyoko? Karin? She has a pretty name. Can I see her? Are her eyes open?"

"Harukawa Maki-chan. Ignore her. She'll be at the movie tonight, but I suppose she'll be moving on soon. A shame to see someone so beautiful leave, but you know how it is," Korekiyo explained.

Junko nodded. She did indeed know; there was Front Half, Back Half, and then the back half of Back Half. She thought of a tricycle she had as a child, the fear and exhilaration she felt as she rode it down the street. Her first makeup kit, trying to walk in heels. The very first car she ever got as a present from overseas-

"It was a Panther!" Maki screamed, knocking her chair over. The other two children looked at her. "A real fancy one in purple, I know that!" She gasped and ran her hands through her ponytail, which was badly knotted and tangled. "Oh God, make it stop! I can't make it stop, make it stop! I want to go home!"

Two red caretakers arrived and grabbed her by her arms, dragging her away.

"Back to her room, but please no pills. She has a movie to watch tonight," Korekiyo waved them away.

Maki Harukawa; a quiet and unbothered girl who rarely let anyone into her corner, the girl who sometimes shared secrets with Aoi but glared at everyone else, screamed and kicked as she was dragged away, her sneakers brushing the carpet. She struggled and cried as she was finally dragged away. The loose thoughts in Junko's mind finally started to fade before vanishing completely. She finally sighed.

"Juuzou-kun, why do we have to drag the cart through the childrens' living quarters?"

"Doesn't ice-cream taste really good?" He asked instead, making her stare at him.

”What?”

”Sorry. It randomly came to me-“ He shook his head as Junko cut him off.

“There must be a lot of lone transmissions in the air today. Apologies. And nobody knows the answer, Mistress Enoshima,” Kiyo smiled prettily like a girl.

“I had to get the thought out, it felt like I was choking on food,”

“Speaking of which, where is Dr. Fukawa?” Junko asked curiously.

“She said she doesn’t feel well so she’s in her room. She sends her regards though and hopes you’re doing well,” The smile increased like a store worker.

[][][][][][][][][]

In the screening room, Aoi took a brief puff from Mondo’s cigarette before stamping it out on the floor and putting her arm around him. “Is it bad today?” She asked curiously.

“I’ve had worse,” He grumbled.

“The movie will make it better,”

”Yeah, but then there’s tomorrow. Now I get why my old man was always super pissy when he had a hangover. How about you, Hina?”

”I’m okay,” Aoi answered, and it was the truth. She just had a low throbbing under her left eye that would be gone the next day, only to come back the next night way worse. When it came back, the headache would be a steady pounding thud that made hangovers seem like fun in the sun. Hers weren’t even as bad as they could be; Mondo’s headaches were worse, Sayaka’s worser still, and it took longer and longer for the pain to go away.

Kokichi was the lucky one; in spite of his strong TK he had felt almost no pain at all. An ache in his temples and the back of his skull but that was it. It’d get worse though. It always did until it was finally over and it was their time to join the drone. The idea of being erased as a person horrified her, but that would soon change. Sayaka a majority of the time looked like a zombie with a dull, glassy look in her eyes, and Ibuki Mioda basically voiced her thoughts when she said anything would be better than the Stasi Lights and a screaming headache that never stopped.

Kokichi leaned forward, looking at her with bright sparkly eyes that were relatively pain-free. “He got out though. Concentrate on that! And hold on,”

”We will, won’t we Oowada-san?” Aoi asked curiously.

“We can try,” He finally managed a smile. “A guy as bad as sports as him being our salvation is pretty weird though,”

“He’s bad at sports but great at video games! Don’t count him out!” Kokichi teased.

A caretaker in red arrived at the door; there were no techs and the caretakers were basically interchangeable as they wore no name-tags. The only other staff members they ever saw aside from Dr. Munakata were Kiyo, Jack, and Sakakura. The terrible three.

“Free time is over. Either eat something or back to your room,” The caretaker barked, and the new Mondo simply got up to his feet and walked out slowly, nearly tripping over a chair. It broke Aoi’s heart to see him like that; in her opinion, what was taken from him was worse than just simply murdering him. In many ways.

“Let’s get something to eat, alright?” She asked Kokichi nicely.

“I was going to catch some reruns of dramas, but since you asked me so nicely, sure!” He grinned and followed her.

She knew Shuichi was out; Chihiro had told her, that was good and it was made even better by the fact the complacent staff had no clue. Her headaches kept coming back and she could always hear the drone that terrified her, but she knew she had to keep calm and keep her mind. No matter what, she had to hold onto her mind.

[][][][][][][][][][][]

The three walked past the back half of the building, the electrical buzz feeling stronger and more hypnotizing as they walked past it. Curious, Junko suddenly smiled a cutesy one that was foreign on her features. “Dr. Shinguji, when’s your birthday? Do you remember?”

He gave her the usual soft smile as if he knew what she was planning. “Of course I do. July 31st. I’m a Cancer,” They continued to walk after that, passing more motivational posters. One sported her own sister dressed in a mock version of her, carefully balancing a machine-gun on her shoulder that cheerfully stated:

I’m a hero! You can be a hero too!

They then entered a dark room with a large white furnace inside it, closed. Junko sighed a bit, hoping that meant her trip would soon be over. She vastly disliked having to visit Back Half and was glad her status made it so she very rarely had to. Even so, the electricity was starting to leave her body, and even Kiyo was starting to look better; no longer him but Korekiyo Shinguji, a wanted criminal for killing multiple teenage girls and sacrificing them in bizarre religious rituals. There was also talk he killed his own older sister which started the whole spree. So, as normal as a man like that could be.

He stood straighter and his eyes were clearer, and his mouth was starting to get covered up to hide the lipstick. His questions were quick and concise.

“Was she wearing any jewelry?”

”No,” She thought of the wedding ring she wore around her neck that wasn’t found on her person.

“I assume she’s dressed?”

“Duh!” Junko gasped in offense.

“Did you go through her pockets?”

She looked at Sakakura, who shook his head.

“Do you want to? Last chance,”

Junko has briefly considered it at the time, but eventually figured it wasn’t necessary. She left her suicide note on the bathroom wall and her purse was likely still in her locker. She wasn’t about to unwrap the body and expose that vomit and blood again just to find a half-used tube of lipstick and a packet of tissues. “Nope. What about you, Juuzou-kun?”

He shook his head and Junko thought he looked pale. Back Half was really taking its toll on him as well. At first she thought it’d do some good to check up on the citizens there more often, only to quickly discard that idea when she remembered Dr. Shinguji proclaiming himself a Cancer and Juuzou randomly saying ice-cream tasted good. Also wasn’t Dr. Shinguji really a Leo? Him saying he was a Cancer didn’t seem right.

“Alright. Okay. Let’s do this then, everyone!” He spoke softly and gently in a way that was all Kiyo, throwing open the white door to reveal a stainless steel conveyer-belt. Juuzou scooped the body up and placed it in; the mat fell away slightly to reveal part of her shoes. He closed the door and Korekiyo pushed a few buttons. “Much hotter than your usual cremator, but it also takes longer. My dear, won’t you stick around? We see you so seldomly,”

”I am terribly busy,” Junko declined.

“I had assumed as much,” He sighed.

[][][][][][][][][]

While Kyoko Kirigiri was starting her final slide, Kaito Momota was eating Neapolitan in the Front Half cafeteria. Chihiro Fujisaki grabbed him by the arm. “Come outside to the playground with me,”

“I’m not done eating yet, Fujisaki-chan,”

”But it’s important!” He lowered his voice.

Kaito took one last big bite, wiped his mouth, and followed after Chihiro. Nobody else was outside except for Angie Yonaga, who was sitting on the asphalt and drawing smiling cartoon figures with chalk. She didn’t look up as the boys passed.

Chihiro took Kaito over to the tarpless fence and pointed at a large hole left behind in the dirt, making him gasp. “Whoa, what did this? A fox?” He quickly glanced around to see if there was a rabid one hiding somewhere.

“Nope, it wasn’t a fox,”

“I bet you could wriggle right out of there and make an escape, Fuji-kun!”

Don't think I haven’t thought about it, but I’d get lost in the woods. And besides Shuichi-oniichan took the boat already, Chihiro thought to himself. “Help me fill it in,”

”We doing something secret? Did someone really escape?” He whispered.

”You shouldn’t shorten your words so much. It makes you sound rude. ‘Are we doing something secret? Has someone escaped from here?’ Like that,” Chihiro scolded lightly. Escape; that was just what his friend had done, God bless his heart. Where he currently was though Chihiro had no clue. He had lost touch with him.

“Has someone escaped from here?” Kaito repeated, and Chihiro nodded and got down on his knees.

“Nice. Now please help me,”

The two boys worked at it for a while, filling the dirt in with their hands. They both started sweating and inadvertently kicked up a cloud of dust, which also made Chihiro cough.

“What are you two doing?” A voice asked, and they whirled around to find Celestia standing there with her hands on her hips, her usual sweet smile gone.

“Nothing,” Chihiro answered instantly.

“Yeah, nothing,” Kaito agreed. “Just playing in the gross old dirt like boys love to do!”

“Move.” Celestia ordered, and when they didn’t, she kicked Chihiro in the side.

“Ouch! Owww, that hurt me!” He started sobbing, curling up.

“What, is it your time of the month or something?!” Kaito demanded, which earned him a kick to the shoulder.

Celestia looked at the half-filled hole, then at Angie, still engrossed in her artistic endeavors. “Did you do this?” She shook her head without even looking up. Celestia then took out her Walkie-Talkie from the belt of her dress. “Sakakura-san? This is Miss Ludenberg,”

”Yeah, this is him,” He answered after a pause.

“I think you need to hurry on down here to the playground as soon as you can. Perhaps it is nothing, but I do not like it,” Afterwards, she called Hiyoko to escort the two boys back to their rooms. They were to stay there until further notice.

“I swear we didn’t know anything about that hole! We thought a fox did it!” Kaito protested. Hiyoko told him to shut up and herded the boys back inside.

Soon Juuzou arrived with Junko, who bent over to survey the hole. "The only person who could possibly fit under there is Fujisaki-kun since he's not much bigger than the Akamatsu twins were, but nobody else," She relayed.

"Junko-san," Juuzou said quietly. Junko glanced over and saw Angie staring at them curiously, so she glared back.

"Go inside right now," She ordered coldly, and Angie did indeed run back inside, leaving her smiling cartoon people behind. She dusted off her chalky hands as she did so.

"There's blood on this fence," Juuzou whispered once Junko looked back over. "There's some more over here," Her heart sunk slightly as she thought of how she'd have to use her phone to call the main guy in charge and confess to him that after years and years and years of super-secrecy and lockdowns they managed to have a kid escape by crawling through the fence. She'd likely get fired. No, not likely. She would get fired. "I think you should check the residents again,"

"They're all here,"

"Check again,"

Junko pulled out her Walkie-Talkie and turned it on, asking for Miu. You better be there, Iruma-chan.

"Yeah? I've been keeping an eye on Kirigiri-san since Souda-kun is on vacation right now-"

Junko cut her off. "Check the locators for me again,"

"Okay," It was silent for a few seconds. "Sorry, these computers are slow as shit sometimes. Alright, I see forty-one,"

"That's great," Junko allowed herself a sigh of relief before Juuzou took the Walkie-Talkie from her.

"Where are they all, Iruma?"

"Uh, let's see. We got twenty-eight in Back Half still, four in the lounge, three in the halls, three in their rooms, two in the cafeteria," Miu rattled off boredly. Junko remembered three of those would be Momota, Fujisaki, and that artist-girl. "There's also one on the playground,"

"There's no kid out here," Juuzou said quickly. "Can you pinpoint where the signal is coming from?"

Junko looked around and saw something glinting in the sunlight; she walked over and looked closer. She smiled coldly and scooped it up, holding out her palm for Juuzou to see as well. It was half of an earlobe with a tracker firmly embedded in it.

[][][][][][][]

Everyone was told to instantly return to their rooms and any found outside would receive swift and harsh punishment. The security team was small, but they were good at their job. One was currently on vacation, but Junko still had Kiyotaka Ishimaru and her sister to order around. There were also two of the newer recruits, Sonia Nevermind and Gundam Tanaka, as well as Mikan Tsumiki who only really worked as a maid because she deemed herself personally unfit for any other work. Junko would need all of the help she could get though.

"He's from Yamaguchi, right? We brought him here last month," Mukuro said.

"That's the one," Juuzou confirmed.

"He ripped the tracker right out of his ear?" Sonia asked in disbelief.

"He's a strong one," Gundam praised.

"He's just wandering around in the woods...he can't be super hard to catch," Mikan trembled slightly.

"If only we had a dog," Sonia said thoughtfully. "Then we could track his blood or his scent in general,"

"We'll just have to make do with what we have. Needless to say, we'll shock his brains out once we get him back," Juuzou said.

"I'm returning to my office," Junko announced, trying to keep the thought of the phone back in her desk out of her mind. It was more like a hand grenade to her than a phone.

By three that afternoon, almost every single staff member had been out looking for the Saihara boy; though no leads were found. All cars were accounted for and the local police force were alerted of his appearance and were on the look-out too, though nothing was known. At least Junko had more information on Kyoko to get her mind off of things.

Miu managed to use Google Earth and her limited technological capabilities to locate Kyoko's old house and get into contact with her neighbor. She disguised herself as a schoolgirl doing a project for school and her lie was bought. The neighbor was polite and explained in the last few months she had seen Kyoko, she seemed determined and agitated about something, trying to write letters and send emails to specific people and asking about secretive ways she could do so. She had been in and out of the hospital several times as well; the neighbor thought she was a very sickly-looking woman especially for her young age.

"I suppose she was trying to get a will or something similar in place before she died. She never mentioned her parents, so maybe that was who she was trying to get into contact to. I don't think they're dead, so you can ask them for more information but I don't know their addresses or anything. Wouldn't surprise me at all if that's what she was doing, she looked really ill," The neighbor explained.

Junko knew that neighbor was correct in a way. Everyone who worked at The Institute knew that part of the deal was they'd likely never see their family ever again; they were all prepared for that unless they were unfortunate enough to have a family member work alongside them like her and her older sister. She had assumed a woman as mysterious and aloof as Kyoko had pushed her family away years ago, or been pushed away by them, and that was why she barely mentioned them, but something about that rubbed her the wrong way. She had been taking money; not for medicine like originally thought, but for some other reason. Junko figured that crafty bitch was the reason the brat was able to escape. She couldn't question her though, Kyoko made sure of that. Who else was there to ask though? Who else had Shuichi been close enough to that he'd be willing to tell them about and let them in on the escape plan?

She turned her computer on and found the file she wanted, playing it. It was right in front of her the whole time. The video showed Kirigiri, Saihara, and Fujisaki standing by the snack machines. Shuichi Saihara did most of the talking, voicing concern about the Akamatsu twins and the Kuwata boy. Kirigiri soothed them. Fujisaki just stood there, pressing his nose and saying very little. She recalled Juuzou's annoyance at his fidgeting and nose-grabbing. Junko smiled a cold smile again, knowing exactly what had been doing on.

"Andoh-chan? Can you please bring in the Fujisaki boy? I have something I urgently need to tell him. Have Komaeda-kun and Saionji-chan bring him. As soon as you possibly can?" She called on her intercom.

[][][][][][]

Chihiro Fujisaki, dressed in plain blue shorts and a Disney T-shirt, stood in front of Junko's desk, trembling and terrified with wide eyes. He was already very small to begin with and flanked by Nagito and Hiyoko, he didn't even look ten; he barely looked old enough for first grade. She smiled at him. "I should have gone to you first. I suppose I'm slipping, Fujisaki-kun,"

"Yes ma'am," Chihiro whispered.

"So you believe I am slipping?"

"No ma'am!" He quickly squeaked out.

Junko leaned forward, tapping her imaginary glasses. "I am not slipping now. There shall be major changes around here, but first, it is of the utmost importance that we bring Shuichi-chan back home,"

"Yes ma'am,"

"It is good we agree. Where did he go?"

"I don't know, ma'am,"

"I believe you do know. You and Momota Kaito-kun were caught trying to fill in that hole he left, which was idiotic. You two should have left it alone," She stared down at him.

"We both thought a fox had made it," Chihiro insisted.

"You know exactly who made it, your friend did," She folded her hands in front of her and leaned in closer, a little trick she learned from Celestia Ludenberg. "Smart boys do not just wander off into the woods themselves. He needed Kyoko-chan to give him the layout of the place, and she gave you the directions, piece by piece, everytime you yanked on your nose. She beamed it right into your talented little head, didn't she? Then you gave it to Shuichi-chan. I saw your video, so you cannot begin to deny it," She continued. "Now tell me where he went,"

"I really don't know,"

"You are shifting your eyes around. That is what people who are lying do," Junko said. "Tell me the truth, Fujisaki-kun, or otherwise Nagito-kun will take your arm and twist it behind your back, and that will hurt," She nodded at him, and Nagito grabbed one of Chihiro's thin wrists. Chihiro looked straight at Junko instead, which was hard to do because she had a mean and scary face, like a cold and mean teacher, but he did so anyway. Tears started streaming down his face. He had always been a huge crier, everyone in his class used to call him 'little crybaby cry' and during recess he was anyone's punching bag. The playground here was a lot better. He missed his mommy and daddy really badly, but at least here he had friends. Leon had pushed him down, but then he was a friend until he died. When they killed him with one of their stupid tests. Hina and Ibuki were both gone, but the new girl, Angie, was nice to him, and she even let him win at basketball. Only once, but still. And Shuichi. Shuichi was the best of all of them, the best friend Chihiro had ever had.

"Where did Kyoko-chan tell him to go, Fujisaki-chan? What was the plan?" Junko continued, her tone becoming less formal and calculating.

"I swear I don't know!" Chihiro said. Junko nodded to Nagito, who twisted Chihiro's arm behind his back and hoisted his wrist to his shoulder blade. Chihiro screamed in pain.

"Where did he go? What was the plan?"

"I don't know! I really don't know!"

"Let go of him,"

Nagito did so and Chihiro fell to his knees, sobbing. "That really hurt, please don't hurt me anymore..." He cried. "I-I don't want to be hurt," He briefly thought of adding 'it's not fair', but when did these people ever care about what was fair or not?

"I don't think I will," Junko admitted. She was immune to the pain of children after years and in her experience, most children just tried your patience anyway.

"I honestly don't know where he went," Chihiro cried.

"When people say that, it means they're lying. What was the plan and where did they go?"

"I don't know," Chihiro said.

"Nagito-kun, lift up his shirt. Hiyoko-chan, set your taser to Medium," Junko directed.

"No!" Chihiro suddenly screamed, coming back to life. He tried to pull away. "No zap-stick, please no zap-stick!"

Nagito managed to catch him and hoisted him up, lifting his shirt up. Hiyoko positioned her zap-stick just above Chihiro's belly button and shocked him, making him shriek. His legs jerked and urine watered the carpet.

"Where did he go, Fujisaki-kun?" Junko asked again. His face was red and wet from crying, he had wet himself, and yet the little brat still refused to say anything. "What was the plan? We can do this all day,"

"I don't know!"

"Hiyoko-chan, do it again?"

"Are you sure-"

"A bit higher this time."

Chihiro managed to wriggle out of Nagito's grip and started to take off, but Hiyoko tripped him and held him down, leaving Nagito to electrocute him instead. He screamed and went limp.

"Did he pass out? If so, get Dr. Munakata in here to revive him, we need answers from him," Junko asked curiously. Nagito grabbed one of Chihiro's cheeks; plump when he got there, thinner now, and twisted it. His eyes flew open. "Fujisaki-kun, this pain is unnecessary and stupid. Just tell us what we want to know and you'll be on your way," She sighed.

"I don't know," Chihiro whispered. "I really really really really really don't know-"

"Hiyoko-chan? Could you please remove his pants and apply your taser to his testes at full power?" Junko ordered.

Despite being sassy and apt to slap anyone who gave her even a small bit of sass, Hiyoko was clearly very unhappy with that command. Still, she started to reach for his waistband, which made him break.

"I'll tell you! Just don't hurt me anymore!" He sobbed. "Miss Kirigiri told him to go through the woods. She said to keep going straight and that he'd see yellow lights. She said when he got to the houses, he should follow the fence until he saw a scarf tied to a tree or a bush. She said there was a path behind it and to keep going until he found a boat." He stopped and Junko smiled at him. Shuichi had somehow gotten to the river? He was hours ahead of them at that point.

"What's next, Fujisaki-kun? Did she tell him to get off at the dock? Or the train station?"

Chihiro shook his head and stared at her; eyes wide and terrified. "She said that was too close, so she told him to keep on the river until he reached Honshu himself, then to take the train,"

"Wonderful, Fujisaki-kun. You may return to your room, but if I find out you lied to me..."

"I'll be in trouble?" Chihiro squeaked, and Junko smiled more.

"You read my mind!"

[][][][][][][]

It was five in the afternoon. Junko and Sakakura were waiting for more information from their spies, who were regular citizens who gave information on the children scheduled to arrive, such as their personal life and what security measures their houses had. They were all over the nation and were usually used for nothing more than that. They believed Junko was running a tightly-knit and private cram school for school-age children who came from underprivileged backgrounds and were essentially dumped there by their parents to get them out of their hair. With the large amount of money they were paid every month, they saw no need to question it further, and those that did usually vanished. Today, though, they were being used to seek out Shuichi Saihara and bring him back through any means necessary. A few were sent to check out the dock and train station, but most went straight for the main dock on Honshu that connected the two islands.

"Hello?" She got a call on her intercom from Ruruka, who was sucking on a lollipop again. Junko assumed that meant she had calmed down slightly.

"I have one of our spies on the line. Says he found the boat Shuichi-chan used," She said, and Junko eagerly asked for him to be put on the line.

"Yeah, I found the boat." The man said in a condescending, snobby, 'I'm-better-than-you' accent. Sakakura scoffed behind Junko's shoulder. "Came ashore several kilometres away from the docks here. There was an oar inside of it and some water splashed inside. Blood too. Maybe he wasn't used to rowing such a big boat,"

"There's a possibility he drowned," Sakakura surmised. "Even if he gets ahead of us, doubtful anyone will listen to him. He's a wanted murderer and anything he tells them will sound like mad ravings. He'll be sent to a juvenile facility more than likely,"

"Are you as hopeful as you sound?" Junko asked curiously once she killed the call.

"No."

Chapter Text

The residents were let out of their rooms for dinner, though it was an awkward and silent meal with caretakers and techs mulling around, eyeing everyone like vultures. They were all clearly on-edge, ready to slap or shock anyone who gave them lip, yet there was also a silent elation to it that was so strong it made Angie Yonaga feel slightly drunk and exhilarated. There had been an escape. All of the kids were glad but none of them wanted to show it, and Angie was sure a part of her was proud too, but...

Chihiro was sitting next to her, rolling his fried shrimp tempura around over and over again in circles in the tentsuyu. What Angie wanted to know was what would happen if Shuichi tattled to someone about what happened to everyone there. Would they all be set free and allowed to go back home to their families? It was what the other kids wanted to believe, but Angie had her doubts. She was only fourteen, but her God told her certain things she was inclined to believe, and that was one of them. He had told her she may never see freedom again. And so Angie resigned herself to that fate. That's why her artwork always smiled and seemed so cheery and bright. Not to mention, she knew something else the others didn't; Chihiro had been taken to Headmistress Enoshima's office and spilled his guts to her, which meant Shuichi wasn't likely to get away.

She looked back over at Chihiro. "Are you going to finish that?"

Chihiro pushed his plate away and stood up. Ever since he came back from Headmistress Enoshima's office, he looked like he had seen a ghost.

"For dessert there's going to be melonpan and karume-yaki, and unlike my home, you don't need to eat everything to get some," She coaxed.

"Not hungry," Chihiro left the cafeteria. Angie just shrugged and ate the remainder of his meal as well as hers, sneaking some melonpan into her room for later. The lounges had been closed off and the playground had been locked, so Angie had no choice but to return to her room after she ate and figured she'd get hungry later as a result. She headed to her room and pulled out a recent project of hers she was drawing using only charcoal and oils. She hadn't even changed into her pajamas yet; instead just tying her hair up into a loose ponytail and wearing her outfit from earlier; a lacy white blouse and matching tights with a yellow plaid skirt and cardigan over it with a brown belt and leather gloves. Around her neck was a shell necklace she made herself.

When she first arrived she dressed rather plainly and darkly, but after a while she switched to her usual colour scheme; mainly yellow. She felt like it was time for a change, especially since a lot of other kids dressed in dark clothing there. Angie Yonaga always needed to announce her unique nature to everyone else.

She had been hard at work for two hours already when Chihiro padded down to her room dressed in his pajamas and announced that he was hungry, asking if she had any tokens.

"Angie hasn't been here for very long, so no. She does not have any," She said without looking up from her work. In truth, she did have three, but she wasn't about to just give them away like that. She liked Chihiro, but not that much.

"Oh, okay," She could hear the pout in his voice. "What are you working on?"

"A thunderstorm using only oils. That's why it's so dark and wet-looking," She didn't look up.

"I don't like thunderstorms, they're pretty scary. Or earthquakes," He moved closer and saw the grey clouds she was working on. "That's really good. It looks real,"

"You're going to get Angie in trouble if you stay in here. Go to your own room," Angie finally looked up to scold him. Chihiro didn't say anything and she pouted. Something told her there was an actual reason he was there, but he wouldn't budge and Angie couldn't fish it out of him herself mentally, she wasn't strong enough. After a few more minutes of drawing, she stood up and walked over to her bed. "If you're hungry, why not just go to sleep? Then you'll wake up for breakfast and you won't even realize you were hungry,"

"I'm hungry now though," Chihiro pouted more, and Angie pulled out some of the melonpan she had hidden under her pillow. His eyes lit up when he saw it.

"Angie'll only give you two," She handed him the two smallest slices and he took a bite out of one of them, smiling happily. She sat down on a beanbag in her room and Chihiro quickly sat down beside her, still eating. She nibbled on her own piece, not very hungry. Once she finished one piece, she hid the rest again and headed into her bathroom, pulling out the lipstick she had in one of her skirt pockets in her closet and leaned in closer to the mirror, slowly putting it on. She liked wearing lipstick before bed; especially that shade, a dark red with glittery pieces mixed-in. She continued applying it, puckering her lips a few times when she heard Chihiro wander in and ask her what she was doing.

"Angie's doing her lipstick!" She announced. "Doesn't it look good on her? She likes this shade because it kinda looks like blood. Did you know some civilizations used to make paintings with blood? They'd make a slit on their wrist and use that to paint with,"

Chihiro shivered. "That sounds painful...why did they do it?"

"It was part of their customs," She returned her attention to the mirror. "Angie wonders what it would be like to paint with blood. She'd never use her own though,"

"I've never seen a girl wear lipstick before...only Mommy and that was before she went out with Daddy," Chihiro continued. "A-Are you going out too?"

"No." Angie capped the lipstick and put it away. She stepped a bit closer. "Angie just likes the way she looks with makeup," She stepped even closer to Chihiro and grabbed his chin, looking into his eyes. She saw confusion and uncertainty in them. Angie was often told back at home that one couldn't get anything done without persuasion and coaxing, by any means necessary. She felt as though Chihiro considered her a friend of his, if his constant trailing after her was any indication. He was hiding something, she knew it, and it wouldn't take much to make him crack. Despite how she presented herself, Angie was quite intelligent indeed and knew how to get what she wanted. So she pulled him closer and gave him a kiss.

"Mmmmpfh?!" Chihiro stared at her in horror as she pulled away slightly, then started kissing him again. She moved her tongue around and pulled back, a long line of spit attached.

"Angie just stole your first kiss! How do you feel? In some cultures, you would be considered a man now," She stared at him and let go.

"I-I...I think I'm too little for a girlfriend, Mommy always said so," He gingerly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Your mommy is not here though. Now go to your own room, Angie wants to watch TV," She sat back down on one of her beanbags.

"U-Ummm...Angie-oneechan...can't I sleep in here? Shuichi-oniichan is gone, and I'm really scared to sleep alone. They hurt me earlier and gave me 'lectric shocks. What if they come back and hurt me more? What if they shock me again? They might, if they find out-" Despite his motor mouth, he quickly shut himself up.

"Hmmm? What?" Angie asked curiously.

"Nothing..."

She smiled, sensing she was about to get what she wanted. Nobody could keep secrets for long from Angie Yonaga of Kyoto. "Okie-dokie! Just get into bed. Angie'll join you later once her show is over. It's about animals. Did you know that wild animals eat their babies?"

Chihiro looked horrified. "They do?! That's awfully sad,"

"Some of them don't," She patted his shoulder.

"Oh, okay. That's good then,"

"Don't talk either, Angie wants to focus. She doesn't like it when people try to talk during her shows," She scolded, and Chihiro nodded and climbed into her bed. Angie continued watching her show where an alligator fought with a lion, or maybe it was a crocodile. Either way, she thought it was interesting. She went back to her drawing after the show was over, thinking that Chihiro was also interesting, because he had a secret. If she was as strong of a TP as he was, she would've known what it was, but instead she only knew he had a secret at all.

Once she was positive Chihiro had fallen asleep, she changed into her pajamas and redid her hair and turned the lights off, crawling into bed with him. She gave him another kiss. "Chihiro-chan, Chihiro-chan,"

He groaned and tried turning away from her, but Angie wouldn't let him. She shook him. "Chihiro-chan, where did Shuichi-san go?"

"Up the river..." Chihiro mumbled, but she didn't care because that wasn't the truth.

"Chihiro-chan, come on. Where did he go? Angie promises she won't tell another soul," She held him closer to her and let her hair tickle his face.

"Up the red steps," He muttered, scrunching up his face. "Up the river and the red steps...he took those..."

"What red steps?" Angie tried again, but he didn't answer, likely assuming he was dreaming it all. He turned away from her and this time, Angie let him. She got everything she needed from him anyway. Unlike Chihiro and Aoi on her good days, Angie couldn't actually read peoples' thoughts. Instead she just had an intuition that was based on thoughts, and if someone was unusually open, like a little boy who was mostly asleep, she received brief but brilliant flashes of pictures.

She laid down on her back, feeling him relax in her arms. "You did a great job, Chihiro-chan! Angie is very proud of you!" She was then silent for a time, mulling over everything she learned. Once she was sure Chihiro wouldn't find some way to follow after her, she'd go straight to Headmistress Enoshima with everything she learned. She'd want to know and be so proud of Angie for telling her, she'd likely give Angie whatever it was she wanted.

"The river..." Chihiro suddenly mumbled sleepily, rolling onto his back. Angie briefly glanced over at him but ultimately ignored him. Either he was having a dream or still thought they were talking. Her job with him was done. She started to crawl out of her bed, pausing when she felt heat suddenly radiating from Chihiro. She looked down and found him curled-up, fast asleep as he started peeing on himself. In her bed. Wetting her bed!

"You're a bedwetter," Angie blurted out before covering her mouth and finishing jumping out of bed. She wrinkled her nose, noting how the little boy almost seemed to be smiling after the fact. She supposed that's what she got for talking about rivers so much, but it mattered little. She needed to find a staff member to take her to Headmistress Enoshima instantly, she had wasted enough time as it was.

And so, Angie hurried off.

[][][][][][]

At ten at night, The Institute was quiet. Maaya Sakamoto, one of the night caretakers, sat outside smoking while another caretaker, Hikaru Midorikawa, slowly trailed his hands up her thigh.

"Don't do that," She scolded sternly.

"Come on, nobody's even around to see," He teased. Maaya rolled her eyes and went to take another drag when she noticed a girl standing in the window, palms pressed against the glass, staring at them. She jumped.

"What the heck?!" She snubbed out her cigarette and dashed inside, throwing the door open and grabbing the girl by the neck. "The lounge is off-limits! You aren't allowed to walk around either, so I suggest you head back to your room before you get smacked good and hard,"

"Angie requests to talk to Headmistress Enoshima," The girl blinked, undettered.

"How about you tell me what's on your mind?" Hikaru asked, coming up next to Maaya.

"No. Angie wants to see her because she's the boss."

"The boss had a very busy day, so tell me what's on your mind and I'll decide if it's worth her time,"

"Come on, she's lying," Maaya insisted.

"Not lying, Angie swears it! She knows where Shuichi-san went," Her features turned more intense.

"If you're lying, you're in a word of hurt," Hikaru finally allowed. Better she spill some useful information than Shuichi to a reporter or police officer. It wasn't his job to determine what was useful information and what wasn't. He took her there and soon Angie Yonaga was standing in front of Junko's desk, her hands clasped behind her back. Her hair was in pigtails and she wore plain pink footie-pajamas.

Junko saw nothing super remarkable about the girl; she looked as foreign as her name, dark tanned skin, medium-length white hair, and vivid eyes. According to her file, her powers were useful but unremarkable and barely noteworthy. Yet her eyes looked as though they carried a secret.

"So Hikaru-kun says you have something important to tell me," Junko began sweetly. "Where did this particular revelation come from?"

"Chihiro-chan. He visited Angie's room and is asleep right now," Angie said.

"Fujisaki-kun has already told us everything he knows,"

"Well, he lied," Despite her calm front, Junko had dealt with enough children to know she was afraid and didn't want to be there, yet the confidence and surety in her eyes remained. It was fascinating.

Sakakura came back into the room at that point, adjusting his hair. "Who's this?"

"Angie Yonaga-chan, a girl who is lying," Junko answered.

"Angie's not lying. She knows what Chihiro-chan did not tell you. She's sure as sure can be!"

"Fujisaki-kun wasn't lying either."

"Maybe he was telling the truth about most of it, but he lied about the boat. Shuichi-san never rowed all the way to Honshu,"

Sakakura came over and grabbed her arm. "What are you saying?"

"Chihiro-chan told you that, but it was a lie," She smiled at Junko. "What does Angie get if she tells you?"

"What you won't get is shocked within an inch of your life," Junko huffed.

"Zapping Angie won't get you the truth, like how you zapped Chihiro-chan and he still didn't tell you the truth," If Angie had a pen or paintbrush in her hand, she'd be tapping it to her lips.

"What do you want? To go home? That's not a possibility," Sakakura commented.

Angie bit back a laugh at that. Go home? To her dull small house with her polyamorous mother who encouraged her entourage of lovers to drag Angie into the mix too? A recent addition to the harem had been an older man who asked Angie to show him her breasts so he could see how much she had been developing. "Angie doesn't want to go back home,"

"What then?"

"Angie wants to stay here,"

"Seriously?"

"But Angie doesn't want shots or tests, nor does she want to go to Back Half. She wants to become a caretaker like Miss Ludenberg or Miss Saionji, or maybe even a tech like Miss Iruma or Mr. Komaeda,"

"Okay, let's say that permanent residence can be arranged, and we catch him,"

"Catching him is not part of the deal, only Angie's information. And it's really good, she promises,"

"Fine, deal. Now tell us,"

Angie smiled more. "Also, Angie wants fifty tokens,"

"No."

"Forty,"

"Twenty, and only if your information is good," Junko cut in.

"Alright. He got off at some red steps, then went up to the docks. A dock was near the steps and that was where he went,"

Angie was then sent back to her room with her tokens and the promise she'd be in huge trouble if she ever spilled to anyone else what had transpired, then Junko and Sakakura pored over their files.

"If he went to the docks, he could be fuckin' anywhere by now," He grumbled. "Even knowing what ship it was doesn't leave us with a whole lot of possibilities,"

"He likely went on the early-morning one," Junko thought. "And the docks were likely just so he could get to Honshu. Then he likely took a train to a more-populated city. There's a train station right next to the docks he'll likely get off at that leads you straight to places like Akibahara,"

"So we check the major cities. If it was a passenger ferry he was on. If not, we check the smaller towns,"

"We check everything," Junko corrected him. "And we still have our spies, don't forget. In Toya, for example, a tiny town near the outskirts of Akihabara, we have that guy who owns the town's movie store. He lives there, so he knows the ins and outs of the town," She smiled a bit. "We'll get him back. I always get what I want in the end, after all,"

[][][][][][]

Shuichi moaned slightly as he opened his eyes, feeling extremely ill. He had a vague memory of the nightmare he had; the Stasi Lights blooming in his vision while Iruma held him down in the tank and the lights swirled around more and more. He thrashed a bit and slowly lifted himself up, placing his head against the wall. The lights remained for a few more seconds before vanishing and Shuichi moaned again. The ship had encountered a bad storm just an hour after leaving the docks and said storm resulted in engine trouble that kept it stalled for a day, or so Shuichi learned from the workers. The ship roiled and rocked during the storm and he felt as though he'd never be so sick in his entire life, moaning and vomiting in a tight corner even when there was nothing left in his stomach to vomit. He hated having to puke in a corner too, but also found it disrespectful to open up a random suitcase and vomit into that. Shuichi also knew he should've been counting his blessings for the delay, as that might potentially make it harder to find him, but ship repairs were reported and on the other hand that might make it even easier. He could tell the ship had started slowly swaying again and thus he moaned.

Several of the boxes and suitcases had fallen over while he slept; at first he wondered if the storm did that before realizing it was likely him. They were strapped down pretty tightly to prevent them from falling or moving during the storm. A long time ago, the extent of his telekinetic power was limited to small books or pizza pans, and even then only when he concentrated hard and focused entirely on something else, but it was clear he had changed in the previous months in ways he didn't want to explore further. His lips were dry and chapped while his stomach hurt badly from hunger. He crawled back into a hiding place under a large couch and held his breath as he suddenly heard footsteps approaching; the door opened and light flooded into the room.

Two workers wandered in and started pulling out some suitcases and larger pieces of cargo; they smelled strongly of tea and rice and once they stopped work, it took Shuichi all of his self-control to not crawl out of hiding and beg them for some kind of bite, even if it came from the trash. It took him all he had; images of Iruma holding him down in the tank, the Akamatsu twins, thoughts of Mondo and Aoi and however many else were also relying on him, and even then he might've still done it if one of them hadn't said something to make him freeze in place.

"Have you seen a kid on this boat?"

"There's tons of kids on this trip," The second guy was eating a riceball.

"No, like a suspicious-looking one. I got a call earlier about some kid who ran from his private school up in Hokkaido and wanted to sneak aboard a ferry ship. They also said he might try to use it as a crossover point and try jumping a train afterwards,"

"You think there's a reward?"

"Who knows. Besides, it's just a kid. He'll likely get lost or give up after a day and come back. They're all like that," The men then left the cargo bay after that, taking the suitcases with them. Shuichi crawled out of hiding and curled up on the couch instead, realizing they must've learned where he was and what happened. They knew he had escaped. He tried to park Asagohan a few ways down on the shore, but it clearly hadn't fooled them. They must've made Kyoko or Chihiro talk. The thought of them torturing the information out of Chihiro was too horrible of one to have, so he pushed it out of his mind. They probably had people stationed at certain stops to try and catch him.

Only an hour or so and he'd finally be docked and have to sneak abroad a train. His stomach growled and he briefly wished he was back at The Institute, thinking of the kids still there waking up and going to breakfast. He thought of the large cooler of lemonade and a big steaming kettle full of tea. All of the omurice he could eat; breakfast there was almost entirely Western and thus unknown to Shuichi, but he did like omurice. He laid down on his side and saw something lit up by the moonlight, blinking a few times to make sure it wasn't just an illusion. No, it wasn't-several pieces of clumped rice left behind by the man eating the packaged riceball. He crawled over and licked them all up, manners and decency be forgotten for once.

[][][][][][][][][]

There was still no sign of Shuichi Saihara, or so the constant hourly reports said. Nothing found on any ships nor trains leaving. While Juuzou pored over the reports, Dr. Korekiyo Shinguji walked in without knocking, looking strangely and uncharacteristically disheveled. Despite part of his face being covered, it was easy to tell he had tired eyes.

"Any word?" He asked curiously, but Juuzou shook his head. "Where's Mistress Enoshima?"

"Sleeping," Juuzou leaned back in his seat slightly. "Hey, that Fujisaki brat hasn't had the tank yet, has he?"

"Of course not," Korekiyo looked absolutely offended at that suggestion. "He's the furthest thing from a shiro, the highest rating we've seen in years. A beautifully powerful boy is he. To potentially ruin that...Mistress Enoshima would have my head,"

"She won't and he gets it today," Juuzou ordered. "Dunk that little motherfucker until he thinks he's dead, then dunk him some more,"

"But he's valuable property! Our highest in years!"

"Does it look like I give a shit? He helped Saihara get away. Have Miu dunk him when she gets into work today, she loves dunking them in the tank. Tell her not to kill him as I do understand his value, but I want him to have an experience he'll never forget. And then send him to Back Half,"

"But Mistress Enoshima said-"

"Mistress Enoshima agrees completely,"

Both of the men swung around, revealing Junko standing in the doorway with a regal pose Juuzou had never seen on her before, all dressed in vibrant white.

"Do it just the way he said to, Korekiyo-kun. If it ruins or damages his TP in any way, so be it. He needs to pay," She smiled royally.

[][][][][][][]

Shuichi grunted a bit as the chest he was in was tossed unceremoniously into the back of the train cargo car, trying to muffle himself. After the ship had docked, he locked himself into a large chest of clothing and huddled in, praying he'd get on the right train. Several pieces of cargo were unloaded directly and placed into an awaiting train at a station. He listened and finally kicked open the chest with a great force, knocking it open. He wobbly stood and glanced around, keeping to the shadows. He touched a hand to his head and felt his hat there, the hat he had worn for many years. He wore it originally due to his shyness and hoped it would deter people from speaking to him and also prevented them from looking closely into his eyes since he didn't like when people did that. He also had a nervous habit of pulling the brim down slightly. The hat had seen his worst days, and yet was a reminder of who he used to be. The Shuichi Saihara who originally bought this hat never would've even considered going on this whole escape plan, nor making the friends that he did. The new Shuichi Saihara would though.

It was risky; it could give them more evidence to track him with, yet how many other boys had caps like this? Hopefully it would be long destroyed before they found it. He clenched his fist and took the hat off and with one toss, threw it out the cargo window and into the waiting ocean below, slowly sinking as it filled with water. He sighed and huddled into another hiding place, feeling a sudden surge of confidence.

He was still very hungry and thirsty, but at least there was one discomfort he could rid himself of. He hadn't thought about it at all due to the nerves and adrenaline that lasted for a whole day, but now it was striking back with a vengeance. He slowly stood up and looked around through the cargo, dancing a bit. He soon found an empty bowl and placed it down on the floor, unzipping his fly and peeing what felt like several gallons into the bowl. It was a terribly mean thing to do to whoever owned that bowl and likely had it empty so they could fill it later with sand or stones or petals, but these were extraordinary circumstances. Once he finished, he zipped back up and tossed the liquid out the window, crouching down behind the suitcases and boxes and hiding again. The train started up and he knew it'd only be a few hours before he arrived at his destination. He started to doze off again, only waking up at the sound of voices.

Quick as a flash, Shuichi dived under a small couch, keeping an eye near the door so he could see who had come in.

It was three workers, moving cargo and suitcases out of the way. Shuichi curled up more under the couch. Unlike the workers on the ship earlier, these three were joking around happily with each other as they worked. One of them walked close to where Shuichi was and the large chest fell over, making him jump.

"What was that?" He demanded.

"Maybe the wind," The second rolled his eyes. "Stop being spooked by every little thing,"

After they worked for about half an hour, two of them left and called out to the third still in the room.

"Makoto-san, come on. We got out everything we needed," The second asked.

"You guys go on ahead, I just need to...make sure we did, you know? Maybe we left a purse behind," Makoto laughed awkwardly. The other two left and after a few seconds of silence, he looked over at the couch Shuichi was hiding behind. "I saw you under there earlier, come on out,"

Shuichi very slowly crawled out and wobbled, trying to keep himself steady. He nearly fell into Makoto, who gasped and tried to steady him.

"What happened to your ear?" He asked in concern. Shuichi tried to speak, but his throat was too dry so all he could do was croak. He cleared it and tried again.

"I got in trouble. Please, do you have any food or drink? I'm really hungry and thirsty," He all but begged, trying to keep his language submissive and formal. Makoto reached into his pocket and pulled out some strawberry-flavoured Hi-Chew, to which Shuichi placed four into his mouth and chewed. The fruity explosion seemed to rejuvenate him in a way. The dots reappeared briefly.

"When's the last time you ate?"

"I'm not sure....a day or so ago?"

"How long have you been on this train?"

"Only a few hours, but I rode a ferry for a day and a half,"

Makoto pointed to Shuichi's ear. "Who did that?"

"Someone's looking for me. What did they tell you? That I ran away from school?"

"Yes, there was a few. One said he was your uncle and the other, a woman, said she was your older sister. They said they were close with the police force," Makoto nodded.

"They're lying. My uncle is dead and I don't have any siblings. My parents are traveling overseas," He sighed. "It's complicated. If they catch me though, they'll take me away again. They'll take me back to where this happened," Shuichi pointed to his ear. "Please let me stay here,"

"You're a mess though," Makoto seemed to consider something. "They seemed a bit shifty though. The girl was dressed super elegantly and they dodged a lot of questions and just insisted to have you brought home as soon as possible. Do you even know where you're going?"

"Somewhere I can think,"

"Were you kidnapped?"

"Yes..." Shuichi felt his tears starting to come.

"Okay, do you know where you are? This train goes to major cities on the western part of the country. Akihabara and Okoyama and places like that. But if they're looking for you, maybe stay away from the larger cities. The next major stop is this tiny little town named Toya on the outskirts out Akihabara. You might have a chance there," Makoto spilled out.

"Please, they put me in a tank and tried to drown me," Shuichi added. "They'll do far worse to me if they catch me,"

Footsteps approached the car and Makoto rushed off, shutting the door. Shuichi could still hear him though and huddled in the shadows.

"What took you so long?" The second worker demanded.

"I got distracted by the view. It's so pretty outside today, huh?" Makoto laughed.

"The train isn't going to be stopped forever, you know. Speaking of which, did you see a kid anywhere? Jumped on a train from somewhere?"

There was a pause, and finally Makoto answered in the negative.

The train started moving again and Shuichi allowed himself a sigh of relief. A few minutes later, the train started to move smoothly along when a bag was thrown into the car. He heard Makoto whisper: "Good luck to you," And then he was gone.

Shuichi crawled over to the bag and pulled it open, finding two riceballs, a bottle of green tea, and a taiyaki filled with cheese. He ate a riceball and the taiyaki instantly, chugging half of the bottle down. He made himself save the rest and even licked his fingers for once. For the first time since he rowed himself down the river in the Asagohan, he felt as though life might be worth living. He said a silent prayer to whichever God was listening to bless Makoto Naegi with immense fortune and good luck for the rest of his days, already knowing he'd never see him ever again.

[][][][][][][][][][]

Shuichi dozed for a few minutes before he forced himself awake, knowing his stop was approaching soon and needing to be alert and clearheaded to get off. The knife Kyoko had given him had disappeared somewhere along the way, but he still had the flashdrive. He genuinely had no idea what could've been on it, maybe it was nothing, but maybe it was something useful, like evidence and documented proof. The train slowed a bit and Shuichi stood up, wobbling for a bit before heading over to the door. Outside the window were several stores and beyond those, houses.

He tried to keep himself steady so he wouldn't lose his balance while jumping and get run over completely by the train in some gory display. He swayed, holding onto the edges of the door.

"One..." He swayed right. "Two..." He swayed left. "Three!" He jumped from the car entirely, running in midair slightly, hearing someone yelling at him to look out for the signpost. Shuichi did indeed see the signpost, but it was too late to do much about it, as he collided with it, the right side of his face smacking into it hard. He fell to the ground and lost the feeling of consciousness, warmth spreading down his back again.

"What happened? What happened to you?" An athletic-looking man with brown hair was standing over him, looking confused.

"Don't let them get me, they're still after me!" Shuichi pleaded, unsure if he was actually speaking or not.

"Come on, I can't understand you. Something must be scrambled, and you're bleeding like crazy," He bent over. "Move your arms. Now move your feet,"

"I-Is he okay?" A nervous-looking man with long hair walked over, trembling. "Does he have a concussion?"

Shuichi tried to use his TP to read their minds and figure out what they were thinking, but it didn't work. For all he knew, his TP had been knocked right out of his head when he hit that signpost.

"I'm going to take him back to the office," The brown-haired man said, gingerly placing his hands under Shuichi's arms and lifting him up. Shuichi steadied himself a bit and planted his feet firmly on the ground, feeling more conscious thought return. "What's your name?"

Shuichi thought the man looked alright, but so did Nagito back at The Institute when he was in one of his good moods, as rare as they were.

"What's yours?" He finally asked instead.

"Hinata Hajime. Come on, you gotta get out of the sun at least," Hajime took Shuichi with him, while Ryota Mitari ran in the opposite direction, heading back to his small movie store. It was the only one in town and rarely saw business, so Ryota spent most of his time drawing and going around town on walks looking for inspiration. He wondered sometimes why his store hadn't been closed down due to loss of funds at times. That morning, he had been bored, but now he was just anxious. He quickly called a number on his phone.

"He's here. The boy you're looking for," He said quickly.

"Oh? Are you Ryota-kun in Toya?" Sonia's gentle accent asked him in surprise.

"Y-Yeah...he jumped off a train. Are you still looking for a reward?"

"Of course, and if you keep him there, it will be an even bigger amount,"

Ryota forced himself to laugh. "He smacked into a signpost when he came. I-I don't think he'll be going anywhere for a while,"

"Do not lose track of him,"

"Do you want me to call you every hour with like an update or something?"

"Yes! We will take care of the rest," Even over the phone, Ryota could hear her smile.

Chapter Text

Part 7: Hell is Here

[][][][][][][][][]

Hajime led the banged-up boy through Nekomaru's office; still dazed but able to walk on his own. Nekomaru wasn't there at the moment, though Hajime knew he wouldn't really be bothered to learn his office was being used like this. There was a tiny kitchen area and cot set out, which Hajime tried to get the boy to lay on, but he shook his head.

"Chair," He insisted.

"You sure?"

"Yes," He then sat down.

"Alright, what's that name of yours?" Hajime asked. He didn't want to spend all day going back-and-forth with a kid who clearly needed some kind of help. The boy gave him a doubtful look.

"Were you waiting for me?"

"I often walk the railways in the morning since there's not much traffic. Sometimes my girlfriend joins me. Now your name?"

"Who was that other guy?"

"I'm not answering anything else until you give me your name," Hajime said sternly.

"I'm Oowada. Mondo Oowada," He answered after a few seconds.

"Alright Oowada-kun. How many fingers do you see?" Hajime held up a peace-sign.

"Two,"

"Now?"

"Three. Did that guy say he was my uncle or anything like that?"

Hajime frowned in confusion. "That's Mitari-san. I don't know him super well, but he's an only child and never married. If he's related to anyone but his parents though, I wouldn't know. Now let me see your eyes move,"

Mondo's eyes followed his fingers left and right, then up and down.

"Okay, your brain seems fine. What'cha runnin' away from, anyway? Kids your age don't just up and book it for no reason,"

Mondo suddenly looked alarmed. "Who said I ran away from anything?"

"When I see a kid who's in as bad a shape as you, I assume they've been on the run. Runaways aren't common, but I have some experience. Now-"

"Goodness, what happened in here?"

Hajime spun around and found his girlfriend standing there, dressed in a frilly blouse and lacy purple pinafore with sneakers. A bunch of colourful barrettes pinned her short hair back. She must've been arriving to work and heard them talking.

"This is Oowada Mondo-kun. He's visiting us from God knows where. Jumped off a train and everything and hit a post on his way out. Oowada-kun, meet Koizumi Mahiru-chan,"

"Please take good care of me," Shuichi bowed clumsily. Mahiru bowed back.

"Geezh, did he get that ear ripped-off by hitting the sign post? Or was he roughhousing?" Mahiru sighed in slight irritation.

"Who knows, I'm trying to get him to talk. But I still need to attend to my post, so can you keep an eye on him until I get back?" Hajime asked. "I know you're my boss, but this is an emergency,"

Mahiru sighed again. "I'll only allow it because of your good behavior," Hajime had grown used to her teasing by then.

"Were you waiting for the train?" Mondo asked her instead.

"The only thing I'm waiting for is for my mom to text me back," Mahiru responded. "And I can handle a little boy. If he throws a fit, I'll toss my phone at him," She smiled.

"I won't throw a fit,"

"I hope not. It's very unbecoming for boys, even young ones, to pitch a fit when they're ordered to do something. Just do what you're told,"

Hajime nodded at the two and started to leave before he looked back at Mondo. "Your name isn't actually Oowada-kun, is it?" He guessed, and the boy hung his head. "I thought so. We'll discuss this later. Mahiru-chan, don't let him move and if he gives you trouble, call me,"

Mahiru nodded and waved to Hajime as he left. Afterwards, she wet a rag with cold water and handed it to Shuichi. "Place that under your ear,"

Shuichi nodded, wincing at how it stun. She cleaned the blood off him best she could with a gentle hand. Shuichi teared up slightly and bit his lip, hoping she wouldn't see, but he knew she had when she tsk'ed at him.

"I'm sorry...you...remind me of my uncle in a way. I know that's weird, but-"

"I get it. Your parents never paid much attention to you so you mainly raised yourself, huh? I get it," Mahiru responded briskly. "He must've been a good man, your uncle. A rare good man,"

Shuichi just nodded, unsure of what to say. He remained still and let Mahiru continue to clean him off.

[][][][][][][][][]

Sakakura had originally intended on going, but Junko overrode him because she was the boss and could, though he still looked extremely displeased at the suggestion.

"Don't look at me like that. We all get in trouble if this plan fails," She said.

"You've never been out in the field before,"

"Don't need experience, I've got some of the toughest people coming with me. Big Sis could spit out nails if I asked her to, and Kiyotaka-kun isn't too shabby either. I'll also have Dr. Kimura with me, and Hiyoko-chan, who's quite the charmer and can slink out of situations like crazy. I think Kirumi-chan is going too, and she's got quite amazing strength. I'll be fine," She adjusted her ponytail. "Keep things going here, and if all goes well, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon,"

Juuzou walked with her anyway to her expensive foreign car, looking quite out of place in the summery rural landscape. Sonia and Mukuro sat in the backseat, staring idly at a phone together. Both of them were dressed in colourful but skimpy schoolgirl outfits.

"Oh, and before I forget, make sure Fujisaki Chihiro-kun is good and dunked by the time I get back," Junko said with some cheeriness. "And that he's put into Back Half,"

"Kiyo-san didn't like the idea too much," Juuzou told her, and Junko responded with another regal but terrifying smile.

"Do I look like I care?"

[][][][][][][][][][]

Hajime was surprised to see Ryota Mitarai still standing near the train tracks; even-more-so because he didn't have his usual notebook or tablet with him to sketch with. As usual, he wore a plain and untucked suit in cream even in the humidity of summer. He kept running his hands through his hair instead and Hajime wondered why Ryota never bothered with tying it up.

"What are you still doing out?" Hajime asked anyway.

"M-My store isn't very busy during the afternoon..." He looked away.

Hajime felt like his store wasn't very busy during any time of day, but kept that thought to himself. "Don't stand so close to the tracks. It makes me nervous,"

Ryota looked at him then and fidgeted with his jacket. He kinda smelled like a cross between an old sofa and fried eggs. "Y-You're not the boss of me,"

Hajime just kept staring at him, and eventually Ryota ran off. Hajime saw Ryota a few times around town, usually with his head bent over whatever he was currently drawing on as he occasionally glanced up to view the object he was sketching. He went to the store sometimes to stock up on huge amounts of junk food before spending the rest of his time locked in his movie store, watching things on his tablet or drawing on it.

He headed back to Nekomaru's office and found Mahiru sifting through papers on his desk, making him clear his throat at her. "If you're gonna do the work, at least put on a uniform," He teased.

"Police work doesn't wait for someone to get dressed," Mahiru shot back with her hands on her hips. "It's all just generic stuff anyway,"

"How's the kid doing?"

"Good. I stopped the bleeding, but he's going to have to wear his hair long to hide that banged-up ear of his," She stepped closer to him. "While I was cleaning him up and waiting for the doctor to come, he confided in me that his uncle was murdered and he himself was kidnapped. Can you believe such nonsense?"

Hajime blinked a few times. "Well, it's certainly crazy, but boys don't just jump off trains looking like that around here. I'll try to ask him some more about it. Especially since if his story holds any ounce of truth, they'll likely come here looking for him, loaded too probably, if they're military,"

Mahiru left then, likely to actually put on her uniform and look professional, while Hajime checked in on the boy again. His ear had stopped bleeding and was bandaged, while the remainder of his face had been cleaned. Despite the large bruise on his right side, his eyes were clear and alert and he was currently drinking some Ramune the doctor got out of the fridge for him.

"Is he alright?" Hajime asked the doctor.

"Yeah, though he's badly dehydrated and hungry. He says he's twelve, that his name is Oowada Mondo-san, and he says he jumped on the train from up north. He won't tell me anything else though no matter what I try and promise. My advice is to fill him up with a big meal and watch that story pour forth from his lips," The doctor nodded before leaving. Hajime quickly called Nekomaru, promising to owe him one for covering his shift, then looked back at the boy again.

"You feel better? Headache gone?"

"Yes sir,"

"Don't mind being formal with me. Just call me Hinata-san. What do I call you? What's your real name?"

After some hesitation, Shuichi told him.

[][][][][][][][][][][][]

The poorly-lit hall between Front Half and Back Half was chilly and it made Chihiro start shivering almost immediately. He still had on the clothes he was wearing when Iruma and Komaeda had hauled his small unconscious body out of the immersion tank, and he was soaked. His teeth started chattering. Still, he held onto what he learned, because it was important. Everything was important now.

"Stop making that sound with your teeth, it is a disgusting sound," Celestia scolded, pushing him in a wheelchair, her smile nowhere to be seen. Word of what Chihiro had done was everywhere now, and she was terrified, terrified like all of them were, and they would continue to be so until Shuichi Saihara was brought back and they could all sigh a collective sigh of relief.

"I-I c-c-c-can't help it...I-I'm so c-c-cold," Chihiro shivered.

"Do you think I give a shit!?" Celestia growled. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Do you?"

Chihiro did, in fact, he had several ideas.

She pushed him through a door that was slightly warmer and Dr. Touko Fukawa was waiting for them, a white coat unbuttoned slightly over her slim pink dress, her braids messy, and a lopsided smile on her face. Chihiro's shivering slowed before it completely stopped, and then the Stasi Lights came back in their Technicolour glory, but that was alright because Chihiro could make them go away whenever he wanted. Iruma had nearly killed him in the tank, and in fact he thought for a brief moment that he was dead, but the tank also did something to him. He knew it did stuff to all of the kids that experienced it, but this seemed like something more. TK as well as TP was the least of it. Celestia was terrified because of what might happen concerning Shuichi, but Chihiro felt like he could terrify her too if he wanted.

It wasn't the time for that though.

"Howdy-howdy-howdy there, young man! We are so thrilled to have you here!" Dr. Fukawa laughed, sounding like a model in a food commercial. Her thoughts were flying around like scraps of paper caught in a strong wind, and Chihiro was intimidated by her. Something was seriously wrong with her. It was like radiation poisoning in her brain instead of in her bones.

"Hello," Chihiro greeted anyway.

Dr. 'Jack' tilted her head back and laughed crazily like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard. "You came sooner than we expected, but that's right-darn-tootin' okay with us! Some of your friends are already here!"

I know, and I can't wait to meet them. I think they'll be glad to see me too, Chihiro thought to himself.

"First we gotta get ya in some dry clothes," She shot a glance over at Celestia, who was trying to discreetly scratch at the sudden buzzing itch on her arms. "We have nice people here, oh you'll love them. Can you walk on your own?"

"Yes," Chihiro got out of the wheelchair as Dr. 'Jack' laughed some more. He looked at Celestia and gave her a long, piercing stare that made her start shivering. Not because she was wet or cold though, but because of him. She was shivering because she was afraid of him, because she felt his power and didn't like it. It was almost sort of beautiful in a way.

[][][][][][][][]

Hajime brought in another chair and set it down near the television, sitting down.

"Saihara-san, Mahiru-chan said you told her you were kidnapped. She didn't believe you, but I don't think you'd make up a random lie like that. She has...trust issues concerning men, we'll say,"

"I didn't lie about that. I was kidnapped from Yamaguchi, they killed my uncle and knocked me out," Shuichi nodded.

"How'd they travel from Yamaguchi to Hokkaido?"

"I was unconscious, so I have no clue. Maybe some kind of ferry. I really am from there though, I used to attend Project Junior High,"

"Sounds like you got some money in the family,"

"Yeah, my parents are rich. But what good is it when at the moment I'm really hungry. The only thing I've eaten for a few days are rice-balls and a taiyaki with cheese in it. Some man named Naegi-san gave them to me,"

"Nothing else?"

"Pieces of a rice-ball,"

"Geezh, let's get some food into you," Hajime pulled out his phone again. "Mahiru-chan? I'll make it up to you later,"

[][][][][][][][][][][]

Chihiro's room in Back Half was stark, with a basic futon pallet on the floor. There weren't any cartoon posters, no Beyblade sets on the window to play with, but Chihiro was okay with that. He was only ten, but he knew he had to be a man now, and a grown man doesn't play with toys.

I can't do this alone though,

He thought of Christmas the year before. It hurt to think about, but he thought about it anyway. He got the toy robot he had asked for, a really cool one that functioned through remote control, but you had to build it yourself. All of the pieces were spread out around the floor and he had no clue what connected to what and wanted to play with it badly, so he started crying. His father; who was dead now, Chihiro was sure of it, kneeled down next to him and said they'd follow the instructions together and build it, one step at a time. And they had. He kept that robot on the windowsill in his bedroom right next to his Beyblades, like a guardian, and it was the one thing they hadn't been able to duplicate when he woke up in Front Half.

Now he just laid on his cot in his barren room, dressed in dry clothes with his hair cut, thinking about how fun that robot was to play with once it was completed. And feeling the hum. It was constant in Back Half; loud in the rooms, louder in the cafeteria, and loudest of all behind the closed double-doors that led to the back half of Back Half. The caretakers called it the Loony Bin because the kids there were essentially loonies. He supposed they were still useful too, like a candy wrapper.

The doors here all had locks, and Chihiro stared at his and concentrated, trying to pick it. There wasn't anywhere to go aside from the hallway, but it was worth a try. He felt it trying to turn, but still couldn't quite manage it. He wondered if Kokichi Ouma would be able to, because Kokichi was a strong TK-pos to begin with. Maybe he could've with some help. He thought about his father again.

At five in the afternoon, an unsmiling woman walked in dressed in a plain red dress; not wearing a nametag, but Chihiro didn't need her to wear one. She was named Sato; though her colleagues tended to call her a 'bitch' behind her back. She was a good arguer and liked to take pictures for her social media page in her off-time. Chihiro knew she was envious of several of her colleagues though and that was why Junko picked her up; she started a fight at her old photography business and nearly gouged another girl's eyes out and got immediately fired. Chihiro felt like she liked hurting people too much.

"Dinner," She said simply. "Want it? If not you'll be locked in until movie time,"

"I want it,"

"Okay. You like movies too?"

"Yes," But I won't like these movies because these movies kill people, Chihiro added in his mind.

"Kids always like these. They show cartoons beforehand," She smelled of cigarette smoke and wine. "Cafeteria is on your right," She gave him a large smack on his behind to get him moving.

The cafeteria was painted a mint green and several children sat at a long table in rows, eating what smelled like beef stew to Chihiro. His mother made it a lot back at home because his dad liked to take it to work with him. She was probably dead now too. Most of the kids looked like zombies and several even drooled or nearly shoved food up their noses. One girl tapped the ashes of her cigarette into her food before eating it again.

He had felt Aoi as he arrived and saw her sitting near the end of the table and resisted the urge to run to her and hug her tightly. That would attract attention. Sitting next to her was Ibuki Mioda, who was staring vacantly at the ceiling. Her hair was dull and thin and tangled and she was extremely thin. Aoi was trying to feed her.

"Come on Mioda-san, come on, the world's most famous rockstar needs to eat!" She got a spoonful of the food into Ibuki's mouth, and when some of it dribbled out she scooped it up and gave it back to her. Ibuki swallowed and Aoi smiled. "Good job!"

Hina, hey Aoi-oneechan, Chihiro thought.

Aoi looked around, startled, then grinned when she saw him. Fuji-chan!

More liquid trailed down Ibuki's chin and Mondo Oowada used his napkin to wipe it off for her. He then saw Chihiro and gave him a thumbs-up, which made Kokichi turn around too.

"Look, it's Fuji-chan! Asahina-san told us you'd be coming. Welcome to our happy little home," He grinned.

"If you're here to eat, get a bowl. Things close down early tonight because it's movie night," A woman named Chisa scolded him slightly. Despite her innocent looks, she secretly enjoyed slapping children because it made her feel good. Chihiro nodded and got a bowl of beef stew along with a scoop of lumpy white rice on the side. Aoi smiled at him once he sat down; her headache was bad that day but she smiled anyway.

"Eat up buddy," Mondo said, though his own bowl was still full. His eyes were bloodshot and he rubbed at his temple. "It looks disgusting but trust me, you don't want to go to the movies on an empty stomach,"

Have they got Saihara-san yet? Aoi sent.

No, they're all terrified.

That's good, that's good!

Will we get hurty shots before the movie?

Probably not, but this is a newer movie so who knows?

Kokichi was looking at them with a mischievous look in his eyes. Once upon a time he had only been a TK, but now he was something more. They all were, because Back Half increased whatever you had, but thanks to the immersion tank, none of them were like Chihiro, who knew things. The Front Half tests were side-projects of Dr. Munakata. He hadn't had any of those tests, but he had had the tank, and as a result could make the Stasi Lights appear whenever he willed them to. He didn't need the movies and he didn't need to be part of the group-think, but he was still only ten, which was a problem.

As Chihiro ate, he probed around for Ibuki, delighted to find she was still in there. He liked Ibuki. She was nothing like that bitch Angie, who led him on and even kissed him before tricking him into telling her stuff and then snitched on him. Who else could it have been? He hadn't even needed to read her mind to know that, but at least he got some payback by purposefully wetting her bed. That made him feel good the more he thought about it.

Ibuki-oneechan?

No. Ibuki's not here, Fujisaki-chan, so go, Ibuki has to...

The rest was gone, but Chihiro could figure out what it was. She needed to hide, because there was a sponge filled with pain in her head, and hiding from it was a sensible response until the sponge just grew bigger and bigger until there was no place to hide from it. Then it'd squash against the back of her head and she'd be gone as Ibuki.

Chihiro tried reaching into her mind, which was easier than with the lock in his room, because he had been a powerful TP to begin with and TK was still new to him. He was clumsy and had to be careful. He didn't think he could save her, but he could still relieve her. It'd be good for her, and good for them too, because they needed all the help they could get.

He found the headache-sponge deep in Ibuki's head and told it to stop spreading and go away. He kept pushing and asking for it to go, but it didn't want to.

Aoi-oneechan, can you please help me?

With what?

He told her. She came in a bit hesitantly at first and they pushed together. The headache-sponge gave a little.

Kokichi-oniichan, Mondo-oniichan, please help us,

Mondo was able to help a little. Kokichi looked more puzzled but still made an attempt before stopping. "It's super dark in there,"

Never mind the dark, we need you! Aoi cried. We can help her!

Kokichi came back in, and it was good to have him despite his reluctance.

It's only a sponge, it can't hurt you. Push it! Chihiro could no longer see his bowl; it had instead been replaced by the swirls of the Stasi Lights. They kept pushing until finally Ibuki looked over at Chihiro.

"Look who's here," She commented in a sickly voice. "Thank God my headache is a bit better," She started eating on her own.

"Holy shit, we did that!" Kokichi gasped in amazement.

"Gimme five," Mondo held his hand out and Chihiro gave him one, but any good feelings left with the dots. Ibuki's headache would just come back, and it'd worsen everytime she watched the movies. Ibuki's would, Aoi's would, Mondo's would. His would too and eventually all of them would join the Loony Bin.

But maybe...there was some other way...

Aoi-oneechan,

Aoi looked at him, listening. Mondo and Kokichi also listened to the best of their abilities, though they were still partially-deaf in that regard. But Aoi listened. She ate some beef stew before shaking her head at him.

We can't escape from here, Fujisaki-chan, so just forget it,

I know, but we still have to do something. We have to help Shuichi-oniichan, and we also have to help ourselves. I see the pieces everywhere, all over the floor, but I don't know what to do-

"You don't know how to build the robot," Mondo finished for him in a low voice. Ibuki had stopped eating and was staring at the ceiling again. The headache-sponge was growing again, swelling. Mondo helped her to another bite.

"Cigarettes! Who wants them?" Chisa was offering, holding out several boxes. "There's also sake and wine on tap if you're into that, and hard candy you can suck on!" It seemed like not only were unhealthy habits easy to pick up on here but were strongly encouraged. "Take some before the show!"

We can't escape, so let's build a robot instead, with a shield and protection barrier. Our robot, our shield, our protection barrier, Chihiro continued.

"Your euphemisms need a lot of work," Kokichi teased, making Chihiro blush a bit. Aoi gently nudged him before smiling at him. Chihiro sighed in relief that she understood it. She started to say something herself before Chisa walked by them, her red skirt swishing.

"Who wants something?"

It was only after she was gone that Aoi said: "If we can't escape, we have to take this place over,"