Chapter 3 - Odoroki: Shock

1

Time practically stood still.

“It might be possible to eliminate the monster.”

What Hiroshi had said was such a shock that Shun stood there breathless. He coughed violently, desperately trying to pull oxygen into his body.

“What do you mean?” he asked hoarsely.

“I still don’t understand why, but the game you made and the Jailhouse are closely interlinked. For some reason, the game is reflected in reality—is this correct?”

Shun nodded. “But once the monster started to learn, it used the internet and the tablet to set up a trap to corrupt the game the next time I booted it up. I can’t even play it now, much less alter it.”

“What about a backup?”

Shun shook his head. “My whole hard drive was wiped.”

“Did you happen to save anything on external memory?”

“No. I know I should have, but it’s too late now. Actually... there’s one option left.”

The very first version he’d created was burned to a CD-ROM. He should still have that. It was basically the alpha, and was never meant to be seen by anyone else.

“Then please destroy that, as well,” Hiroshi said instantly.

“Huh?”

“I realize it’s likely very difficult to destroy your work with your own hands, but we need to make sure the game never sees the light of day again.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The monster corrupted the hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of copies of the game downloaded via the internet. There may still be some people whose games are unaffected, but as soon as they boot it up again while connected to the internet, theirs too will be lost. That will solve our problem, but it means the only working copy of the game remains the one installed on this tablet.”

“Oh, I see.”

Shun smacked his fist into his palm. He realized what Hiroshi was getting at.

“My game and the real-world Jailhouse are closely connected, so if we manipulate the game to our advantage...”

“They were most likely afraid of that, which is why the game on the tablet is now password protected. It seems impossible to access it otherwise. But that’s not an obstacle. If we do a factory reset, all data on the tablet—including the sole surviving copy of the game—will be erased. I have no proof this will work, but perhaps in doing so, the monster will also be erased.”

Shun understood Hiroshi’s plan perfectly. After all, he’d already considered it himself multiple times.

“May I erase all the data on the tablet, then?” Hiroshi asked.

However, Shun had trouble answering. It wasn’t that he was sad to see the game he’d worked months on be destroyed. He could always make another one. There was another reason he was hesitating.

“If we delete the game, will the monsters that escaped the Jailhouse also disappear?” he asked, thinking of Anna.

“There is no way to know. They may, or they may not. There are too many uncertain variables. All I can say is that there’s a chance they will—that’s all.”

“We don’t know if the monsters with Takuro’s and Mika’s consciousnesses are dead for sure, either. If they’re still alive—”

“What a peculiar thing to say. Anna, Takuro, Mika, and Takeshi... were all killed by monsters. They are no longer in this world. They were replaced by unidentified lifeforms that are merely disguised as them.”

“I know that. I know, but...”

He recalled how hard he and Anna had worked for three days to try and save everyone trapped inside the Jailhouse. The truth was that she’d been dead—a monster—the whole time, and Shun just hadn’t been able to tell. Most likely, she didn’t realize it, either. But if the monster continued to live a normal life as Anna—with her memories and all—then was it really such a bad thing?

“Sorry. Could you let me think about this for a bit?”

Utterly conflicted, that was the only answer Shun could give.

“Very well. Then I will entrust you with this tablet. I shall follow your lead on the matter. Once you have made up your mind, please reset it.”

“Yeah... sure,” Shun replied hesitantly.

He took the tablet from Hiroshi, but despite what he’d said, Shun had already made up his mind.

I can’t possibly destroy the game I made with my own hands.

Anna was dead, but a part of her—her memories—was still alive. It was like she was still there, and Shun couldn’t bring himself to ruin that.

The sound of footsteps crunching through the snow came from somewhere nearby.

Shun looked at Hiroshi, then around at their surroundings. There was no sign of anyone else there. But that was perfectly expected. The only people weird enough to come out here were Shun and Hiroshi.

“I thought someone was there, but... it looks like it was just my imagination.”

Returning to school after so long must have frayed Shun’s nerves. Perhaps he was just tired. Hiroshi, however, thought otherwise.

“It wasn’t your imagination. Look at that.”

Hiroshi was pointing to a third set of footprints. They trailed after Shun and Hiroshi’s, making it look like they’d been followed. They seemed to stop abruptly, however. Right before the edge of the swamp, strangely enough. There was no sign that the third party had turned around. It was as if they’d dived right into the water. But the swamp was still frozen over. The ice didn’t seem to be broken, and it wasn’t thick enough to walk on. What was going on?

A strong north wind blew, rattling the tree branches ominously. Goosebumps ran up and down Shun’s arms, but not because he was cold.

2

Shun and Hiroshi left their spot, walking along the relatively untraveled path in silence. Neither of them spoke a word. Shun’s mind was on Anna the whole time.

Had the monster with Anna’s memories realized its true self? Shun tried to imagine what it would be like if it were him. What if he had been killed and only a copy of his memories remained in some monster? Once he learned he was really that blue monster, he doubted he would be able to remain sane. Anna was likely the same way. In that case, wasn’t erasing everything for the best? But... His thoughts ran in circles.

“What’s that?”

Hiroshi’s voice snapped him back to reality. He could see the lights of a police car up ahead. It was stopped at the entrance to a cemetery. A terrible knot formed in Shun’s stomach. Hiroshi must have felt the same.

“Did something happen?” he said as he took off.

Shun quickly followed. Before they could get there, however, the police car departed. Left behind by the roadside was an old man with a white beard, bowing in the direction of the vanishing police car.

“Um, excuse me.” Short of breath, Hiroshi called out to the old man. “What happened here?”

“The most accursed thing possible,” the old man said, moving his thick eyebrows exaggeratedly. “Someone vandalized the graves. The tombstones are messed up, and all the food offerings were stolen. What a sad state this is!”

“Could we see?”

“Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt...”

Hiroshi was already proceeding into the grounds before the old man could finish answering. Shun followed, bowing his head. Avoiding the puddles of melted snow, they made their way into the cemetery.

Just as the old man had said, the graves were in a terrible disarray. Half of the gravestones were broken and scattered about every which way. It was impossible to tell what the grave robber was after. There was even a section of upturned earth. Shun stood there in shock at the sight. Hiroshi leaned in closer.

“Shun. Look over there.”

Hiroshi glanced and gave a nod to the left. Slowly, Shun turned to look. In the east corner of the graveyard stood a girl. Her hands clasped before a gravestone, Anna was praying.

3

“Anna...” Shun’s voice cracked.

It was so cold out, yet there was sweat forming in the palms of his hands.

“Oh, Shun.” Anna turned to them. “And Hiroshi, too. What are you two doing together?”

She was wearing a wide-brimmed hat that made it difficult to see half of her face.

“Wh-What are you doing in a graveyard, Anna?” Shun asked, his voice shaky.

Grief and fear created a complicated emotional cocktail inside him. He had no idea how to approach this.

“What else would I be doing? I’m visiting a grave. Today’s the anniversary of my parents’ deaths.”

It had been two months since Anna lost her parents in a car accident. It was true there was nothing strange about her being at the cemetery today. There were even flowers and incense on the grave she was standing before.

“I was a bit surprised at the state of the place, though. My parents’ gravestone was knocked over, too. It was hard work righting it. Now I’m all muddy. See?”

Anna showed them her palms and smiled. Her cute dimples were showing.

Shun couldn’t say a word. In this moment, there was nothing unnatural about what she was saying or doing. There was nothing unnatural about Anna. It was really her.

Was I mistaken the other morning?

That was starting to seem more and more plausible.

“School...” Shun finally managed to eke out.

“Huh?” Anna cocked her head slightly.

“Why... weren’t you at school?”

“I mean, you know what happened. I just... can’t go to school right now,” she said, looking down.

“You really weren’t at school yesterday?” Hiroshi, who had been silently studying her until now, asked coolly.

“No, I wasn’t. Why would you ask that?”

“Apparently they found your name tag in the animal hutch.”

“My name tag? That can’t be. When I came home from school three days ago, I’m sure it was on my uniform. I haven’t worn it since.”

She didn’t appear to be lying.

I knew it. I was overthinking things. Anna isn’t a monster.

It must have been a coincidence that her pupils had appeared wide and empty. That’s what Shun decided to believe.

“I have to get going. If I’m late, my uncle will start to worry,” Anna said and picked up the ladle and pail by her feet.

Slowly, she approached the two boys. Shun unconsciously took a step back.

Idiot. Why am I losing faith now?

As he cursed himself, Anna drew nearer and nearer. He tried to look into her eyes, but the brim of her hat was in the way. The moment she passed by, Anna suddenly stopped.

“...Hey, did you notice?” she said, her luscious lips moving as she stared straight ahead.

“Huh? What’re you talking about?”

Shun’s heart was beating like crazy.

“The toppled grave right there... It’s Naoki’s,” she said, pointing at Hiroshi’s feet.

“You’re right. I had no idea.”

Hiroshi checked the name engraved on the side of the overturned gravestone and arched an eyebrow.

“You didn’t know, did you? I bet no one in our class does. Isn’t that terrible? They made a big fuss when he was hit by the truck, but then went back to pretending like they never knew him. I bet they’ve all forgotten about him completely,” Anna said, grinding her foot into the remaining snow on the ground over and over. “Not that I’m any better. I only thought of him because I stumbled upon that grave. No... I’m the worst of all. I knew. I was the only one who knew Naoki was being bullied by Takuro, yet I couldn’t do anything. So... maybe I’m being punished?”

Her voice trembled ever so slightly as that last word left her lips. Anna wiped at her eyes.

“See you.”

And with that, she turned away. Shun could have easily grabbed her by the shoulder and forcibly checked the size of her pupils. But he was rooted to the spot. He could only watch her lonely figure walk off.

“She’s not a monster...” Shun whispered once Anna was completely out of sight. “That was Anna.”

Staring at Naoki’s gravestone, Hiroshi said nothing.

“I’m right, aren’t I? We just had a normal conversation with her. Do you think the monster could handle that?”

“The monster with Takeshi’s memories risked its life to save mine. Takuro and Mika also acted quite human even after realizing they were monsters. Rather, they aren’t ‘acting’ like humans. I believe their hearts are human.”

“You’re wrong. Anna is Anna. She’s not a monster,” Shun said, his voice getting louder.

“I understand that you wish to believe that, but...”

“Can you prove she’s a monster?”

“If we check her pupils—”

“That’s not proof at all. There are medicines and things that can dilate your eyes. Or maybe it’s some kind of illness.”

“Anna said earlier that she righted her parents’ gravestone on her own. Would you mind trying to do the same with Naoki’s?”

“What’s that supposed to prove?”

Shun pushed Hiroshi aside and grabbed the stone with both hands. Even straining his legs and back to lift it, however, it wouldn’t budge.

“The weight varies with the type of stone, of course, but a tombstone is far too heavy for a normal person to lift on their own.”

“But...”

Shun opened his mouth to try and argue, but nothing more would come out. He turned around to look in the direction Anna had disappeared.

“Maybe I’m being punished?”

Her last words resurfaced in his mind.

“It can’t be...”

His whole body felt limp. Shun collapsed to his knees and struck the ground with a balled fist. He knew it wouldn’t change anything, of course. But he couldn’t help himself.