Chapter 4 - Kiben: Sophistry
1
They approached the teacher’s lounge, careful not to make a sound, and peered in through the window. From the outside, the sight of three students sneakily peeking into the teacher’s lounge was quite comical. But there was nothing funny here. They were looking for signs of Naoki, and unfortunately, the lounge appeared to be as empty as the classroom had been.
“Was the sound we heard really here at the teacher’s lounge?” Hiroshi asked, glancing over at Takuro.
“What? You don’t believe me? It was totally here. Right, Takeshi?”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure I heard it coming from about here...”
Unlike the confident Takuro, Takeshi seemed rather unsure. Hiroshi had no idea who was right or just how enhanced their hearing really was. But the moment he shifted his gaze back to take a second look into the lounge...
“What are you three doing here so early in the morning?” a husky voice asked from behind them as someone put their hands on the boys’ shoulders.
“Waugh!”
Takeshi shrieked and nearly jumped out of his skin. Takuro’s face went stiff. Even the stoic Hiroshi, after being touched on the shoulder without warning, was quite shocked.
“Oh, Mr. Inoue. Good morning.” Hiroshi turned and greeted his teacher politely, as he always did.
“Oh, it’s just you, Panzee? Don’t scare me like that,” Takeshi said acidly from the hall floor. It seemed he couldn’t yet stand on his still-knocking knees.
Inoue Noritsugi was their homeroom teacher. He was still in his twenties, making him the youngest teacher at the school. But thanks to his perpetually messy hair, hunched posture, and the lab coat he always wore, he seemed far beyond his years. Some students had even taken to calling him “Panzee” because he looked rather like a chimpanzee when he walked.
“You’re here early,” Hiroshi remarked.
“I’m a teacher. I always get to school early.”
“Your sleeve is wet. What happened?” Hiroshi asked, pointing at the stained arm of his otherwise white coat.
“Sharp as ever, I see. I forgot to put water in my amoeba tank last night. I got worried that they might be all dried up, so I was in a hurry refilling it when I got here.”
Mr. Inoue was also the advisor for the biology club. They raised a wide variety of animals, including hamsters and tropical fish. The amoebas must be one of their projects.
“Were they okay?” Hiroshi asked, concerned. He secretly quite enjoyed observing the various creatures in the science lab.
“Yes, no need to worry. They’re all doing just fine.”
Hiroshi breathed a sigh of relief to hear the good news.
“More importantly, you kids... How’d you get in here? The entrance should have been locked.”
“I snuck in through the bathroom wind—ow!”
“What do you mean? The door was just open, man,” Takuro fibbed after discretely smacking the stupidly honest Takeshi on the back of his head.
“Ah, I see. Another teacher must be here already, then.”
Mr. Inoue didn’t even pause to consider doubting a star student like Takuro.
“Still, I must say, this is a curious combo. What’s got you boys at school so early?” Mr. Inoue asked, looking from Hiroshi to Takuro and back.
“Well...”
Unsure of what to say, Takuro’s gaze shifted to Hiroshi. “Back me up here,” his wide eyes pleaded.
“Mr. Inoue, we happened upon a rare bird in the courtyard.”
There was no time to think too deeply about an answer. He used the first thing that came to mind, which just so happened to be out-of-season swallow he’d spotted earlier.
“A bird? What kind of bird?” Mr. Inoue asked, seemingly intrigued.
They hadn’t answered his question at all, but it seemed they’d succeeded in distracting him. Since Mr. Inoue was the biology club advisor, Hiroshi was hoping that the mention of a rare species would capture his attention. And so far, it seemed to be working.
“I’m afraid I’m uncertain... but it might still be in the courtyard. Would you come with me?”
“Oh, sure. Just give me a minute. I’ll get my coat.”
Mr. Inoue was already halfway through the door to the teacher’s lounge before he finished answering.
“Hey,” Takuro whispered in Hiroshi’s ear. “What’re you thinking, taking Panzee outside?”
“Mr. Inoue is our homeroom teacher. It’s very likely Naoki has a grudge against him too. If we don’t do anything, he could end up a victim,” Hiroshi quickly explained. “For the moment, let’s get him outside and—”
Before he could finish, the world was suddenly plunged into darkness.
Hiroshi didn’t immediately understand what had happened right away. He was momentarily worried he’d gone blind, but when he heard Takeshi screaming, he knew—whatever had happened—that it wasn’t just him.
“Hey, what’s the meaning of this?”
A dim light appeared from inside the teacher’s lounge. It seemed Mr. Inoue had known where a flashlight would be.
“A blackout?” a confused and scared Takeshi asked.
No, that couldn’t be it. The sun was already up. Unless it had suddenly been extinguished or the windows were covered, there was no reason for it to be this dark. Wait...
“...The windows?”
Hiroshi reached out for the glass panels that should reveal a vista of the courtyard outside. It was just as he feared. Even in the dark, he could tell that the window had been shuttered with a solid panel... Just like in the Jailhouse.
Not good. If this is Naoki’s work...
“Mr. Inoue, we have to hurry.”
Hiroshi grabbed Mr. Inoue, who was looking rather bewildered as he exited the teacher’s lounge, by the arm and began to run. The flashlight only illuminated a few meters in front of them, but Hiroshi knew the path to the front entrance well enough that he could have navigated it completely blind.
“I’ll go scout ahead,” Takuro offered as he took the lead.
He was running at full speed in the darkness. Hiroshi could only assume his vision had been enhanced in a similar fashion to his hearing. And with Takuro guiding the way, the group quickly made it to the entrance. As Hiroshi had feared, however, it too was shuttered closed.
“It’s no use. This thing won’t budge.” Bathed in the light of the flashlight, Takuro sighed. “We’re completely trapped in here.”
“But that means no one else can get in now, right?” Takeshi, the lone straggler of the group, cocked his head quizzically at his own question. “Doesn’t that seem weird? Naoki brought us here because he wanted vengeance on our whole class... Right?”
He had a point. What was Naoki really planning? His true intentions were still shrouded in mystery. Black clouds of doubt swirled in Hiroshi’s chest. His sense of foreboding was growing by the second.
Krrrk...
The raised plastic flooring in front of the shoe lockers creaked ever so slightly. Mr. Inoue pointed the flashlight toward the source of the noise. A deep voice slipped from the depths of his throat.
“Oh, my...”
For from the darkness appeared Naoki.
2
For a brief moment, no one said anything. Mr. Inoue simply stared at Naoki, blinking repeatedly. He was probably having trouble believing his own eyes.
“Long time no see, Mr. Inoue.”
Naoki was the first to break the silence, and he giggled when Mr. Inoue found himself unable to respond.
“Why the dumb face? Cat got your tongue? Or did you forget about me?”
“...Who are you?” Mr. Inoue finally managed to eke out in a raspy voice.
“Ah, you did forget me. I’m hurt. It’s me, Naoki. Ohashi Naoki.”
“Don’t lie to me. That can’t be... You... Naoki’s dead. There was an accident at the end of last year...”
Mr. Inoue’s voice was quivering. Hiroshi had to wonder why. He could understand a reasonable amount of shock upon suddenly encountering a student he believed to be dead, but with the way he was acting... Were they related or something? Mr. Inoue was beyond frightened. It was almost as if his fear was tinged with something else. Guilt, perhaps?
“No, that was no accident. I was murdered. By Mr. Star Student Takuro right there, no less.”
“Yeah, that’s right. It’s just as you say,” Takuro cut in. “So if you’re going to hate someone, hate me. Panzee’s got nothing to do with this.”
“Are you stupid, Takuro? He knew the whole time. That I was bullied. That you’re a fake. Everything.” Pointing at Mr. Inoue, Naoki’s tone intensified. “He saw it all and pretended to be totally blind.”
“Th-That’s baseless conjecture,” Mr. Inoue said, shaking his head from side to side. “I had no idea. My students are all important to me. If I’d known, I surely would’ve tried to help you.”
“Don’t you lie to me!” Naoki’s whimsical smile suddenly became a sharp grimace, and his voice turned low and dark. “How many times did I come to you for help? But you always said the same thing. ‘Is that really bullying? It sounds more like friendly roughhousing to me. If you don’t like it, then why don’t you just say so? It’s not that big of a deal.’ I knew it was pointless, but I still came crawling to you every time, desperate for help. You were the only one I could rely on. And yet... And yet, you...”
Naoki’s right eye suddenly bulged with a gross popping sound. Mr. Inoue’s mouth fell agape in a silent scream. Blisters appeared on Naoki’s face, growing and merging until they became one giant lump. His skin darkened and turned blue. And finally, a savage, inhuman howl echoed through the front hall.
Naoki’s horribly distorted eyes fixated on Mr. Inoue like a falcon zeroing in on its prey. And Mr. Inoue was no better than a defenseless mouse. Hiroshi spread his arms to try and protect him, when...
“Stop!”
It seemed Takuro had sensed Naoki’s bloodlust as well, and he wasted no time jumping at him. However, with Naoki nearly in full monster form, it wasn’t much of a fight.
“Out of my way!”
Naoki brushed Takuro off easily with his left arm, sending him flying through the air and into the far wall. Hiroshi could feel the room shake from the unimaginable impact.
“Ahhhhh!”
Witnessing Naoki’s display of inhuman strength must have snapped Mr. Inoue out of his stupor. He immediately took off screaming.
“Wait, Mr. Inoue!”
Hiroshi tried to go after him, but Mr. Inoue had taken the flashlight with him. Darkness immediately closed in, obscuring everything outside of arm’s reach.
“Help! Someone help!”
Shouting was only going to make it easier for Naoki to find him, but Mr. Inoue kept screaming as he disappeared down the hallway. Eventually, his voice faded into the distance.
“Ugh...”
Once everything else was quiet, Hiroshi heard Takuro groaning in the darkness.
“Takuro, get up!” Takeshi’s panicked voice quickly followed.
Without a light, it was impossible to tell what was going on. Hiroshi put his hand against the wall and used it as a guide to find his way over to where his friends’ voices were coming from. It was an ugly situation to be in. They’d be utterly helpless if Naoki circled back around for them.
Feeling his way along the wall, however, Hiroshi felt something sticking out. He traced its shape with his fingertips. It had to be a light switch. Elated, he flipped it. And to his pleasant surprise, the overhead lights flickered to life.
Hiroshi’s first priority was then checking to see if Naoki was still in the room, but he was nowhere to be seen. He suspected he’d gone after Mr. Inoue. His second priority was Takuro, who was collapsed over by the entrance. He was currently lying on his back, unmoving.
“What do we do? Takuro’s not responding to anything,” Takeshi said from his side, nearly in tears.
Hiroshi jogged straight over to them. Thankfully, Takuro was still breathing and his pulse was normal. He wasn’t obviously hurt, either.
“He may have a light concussion from hitting his head,” Hiroshi postulated.
“What do we do?” asked a concerned Takeshi.
“If there’s no damage to his spine, it should be perfectly fine to carry him to the nurse’s office.”
Fortunately, that was just around the corner from the front door. Hiroshi went on a quick expedition back to the teacher’s lounge, snatched the key from the rack on the wall, and returned to unlock the nurse’s office. Then he helped Takeshi carry Takuro inside and glanced up at the clock on the wall.
6:45 AM.
It hadn’t even been 15 minutes since they’d first infiltrated the school, yet his mind and body were already exhausted. But when he stopped to think about it, that made perfect sense. He hadn’t slept a wink since the night before. And it certainly didn’t seem like he would be getting any sleep anytime soon. Where was Shun? Was Takuro all right? And Mr. Inoue... His worries were only increasing as the minutes passed.
“Now, let’s begin the game!”
Naoki’s declaration from the rooftop rattled around in Hiroshi’s brain. If this was a game, that would imply there were rules and a predetermined way to decide the winners and losers. But they’d been given no such stipulations. Not even instructions. How were they supposed to play or fight to win? What were they even supposed to accomplish? Should they kill Naoki? Or was the point to escape the now sealed-off school?
Hiroshi let out a deep, heavy sigh. He knew all too well that they would never solve anything with so little information.
3
Pain. His lungs were on fire. His heart was pounding so fast he feared it might explode at any minute.
He hadn’t run like that since field day in middle school. He’d gone so long and so hard that his quivering legs now refused to listen to him, like they didn’t even belong to him. Muscles throughout his body, atrophied from years of neglect, begged pitifully for rest. He was at his limit. If he ran any more, he would simply break down.
Using the last of his strength, Inoue Noritsugi burst into the science lab. He’d been in here just minutes earlier to change the water in the tank, so the door was already unlocked. He closed it as quietly as he could behind him and stumbled further inside the room. He retrieved a scalpel from a drawer reserved for dangerous tools, and gripped it tightly in his right hand as he hid under a desk. He cut the flashlight and tried to breathe as little as possible.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
Slow footsteps approached.
He slapped a hand over his mouth, desperately trying to keep a lid on the scream ready to burst out of his lungs. There was no telling what exactly would happen to him if he were found, but he knew it wouldn’t be good.
Damn it!
He cursed internally, not daring to say a word out loud.
Why is this happening to me?
He ground his teeth so hard that the iron taste of blood began to spread in his mouth.
I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t do anything wrong.
He repeated the same thought over and over in his head like a mantra. He didn’t even know who he was trying to convince.
Naoki’s doppelganger had been right. Inoue recognized the bullying early on. However, he’d never had even the slightest intention of getting involved. A teacher’s interference was unlikely to solve anything. It might just make things worse. The bully would only turn harder on a snitch, perhaps learning to be more careful so as to keep out of the eyes of adults. Kids had to learn to stand up for themselves or else they would be bullied for the rest of their lives. That was Inoue’s theory.
It wasn’t just a problem he was avoiding. Bullying was a real issue even in the adult world. Plenty of his friends from his schooldays had quit their jobs, unable to handle the abuses of power poured on them by their superiors, never to return to full-time work again. Others simply fell into depression when forced to work overtime by companies with no respect for labor laws or common decency. By allowing the children to try and fail in resolving their problems on their own, he was helping them learn what real life was like. Leaving them to their own devices was just his way of trying to instill independence in them. That’s right. He was helping them. He hadn’t done anything wrong.
Tap, tap... Tap.
The footsteps suddenly stopped in front of the science prep room.
Does it know I’m here?
Inoue held his breath. The door slowly opened. The ceiling light flipped on, illuminating everything in a sudden burst of light.
“Mr. Inoue, there’s no point in hiding.”
Naoki’s voice echoed through the now-lit room.
“I know you’re doing your best to hold your breath so I won’t find you, but you can’t stop your heartbeat,” he said, giggling. “I can hear your pulse, even from meters away.”
Don’t be fooled. It’s all a bluff. No normal human can hear a heartbeat... Wait...
Recalling what he’d seen Naoki turn into at the school entrance, his whole spine went cold. Those bulging eyes, that oddly twisted face, that blue skin... Nothing about that seemed like a normal human. Moreover, Naoki was dead. Inoue had never heard anything about him having a brother, much less a twin... So just who was this boy?
“Found you, Mr. Inoue,” Naoki said gleefully as he popped into view, squatting down to look up at his former teacher. “They say a female student committed suicide in this room long ago. Then a few months later, the kids who bullied her wound up strangled to death by the model skeleton. It’s just a rumor, so who knows if there’s any truth to it, but it scared the other students badly enough that they avoided this place at all costs. That was perfect for me, honestly. It meant I could hide out here in peace during breaks.”
“A-Ah...”
Inoue didn’t even have the energy to scream. Naoki’s face was even more warped than it was before. He no longer looked like himself, or whoever he was...
“This was my favorite spot, actually. Mind scooting over?”
“Aaah... H-Help... Help me...”
Panicking, Inoue crawled backward straight into the wall. There was no way to escape.
“Would you mind telling me one thing?” Naoki asked, the corners of his lips drawn up all the way to his ears. “Why didn’t you help me?”
“Ah... Ahhh...”
“Did you not care about me?”
“Help me... Help me, please...”
“If you don’t answer me, I’ll kill you.” His voice was a low mumble. “So tell me. Was I a hindrance to you or something?”
“O-Of course not. I was always concerned about you.”
I can’t die here...
Inoue searched desperately for the right words to soothe Naoki.
“B-But... But I didn’t know what to do. Bullying is a difficult problem. You understand, don’t you? I discussed it with the principal and came up with some plans of action, but by then, you’d...”
“Liar. You were never concerned about me.”
“It’s not a lie. I’m your teacher. I tried to help—”
“You just didn’t want to get on Takuro’s bad side, right? His father holds all the real power in this town. If you annoyed his son, who knows what might happen to you? And I don’t blame you for that. It’s only natural, I think. We all put ourselves first in the end.”
“N-No, that’s not true!”
“N-No, that’s not true!” Naoki mimicked in a derisive tone before bursting into laughter.
“...Naoki?”
“Enough with the lies.”
“I haven’t lied to you.”
“That’s a lie, too.”
“No, you have to believe me.”
“Then why did you always give Takuro special treatment? Or did you think I didn’t know your little secret? Whenever there was a surprise backpack inspection, you’d let Takuro know in advance. You knew he was cheating on his tests, yet you pretended not to notice. Did you think trying to curry his favor would get you something down the line?”
“I never...”
“You sure worked hard to worm your way up in this world. Too bad Takuro’s father is dead now, huh?”
“...”
“Wanna know something funny? Do you know how Takuro’s father bought the farm?”
“...What are you saying?”
“I’m the only one who knows the truth about his death.”
“Don’t tell me you...” The next words were too horrible for him to even utter. “Are you going to kill me, too?”
“My, what should I do?”
Naoki sounded delighted, and swayed his head back and forth like he was having trouble making up his mind. Watching him, Inoue realized the truth.
He’s serious...
The top of his skull tingled numbly.
No, I don’t want to die...
Completely cornered, Inoue’s survival instincts began to kick in. He tightened his grip on the scalpel in his right hand.
“Raaah!”
Mustering the last of his courage, Inoue burst out from under the desk. He went right for Naoki, tackling him with his shoulder. He must have taken him by surprise, for Naoki fell straight back onto the floor.
This is my chance!
Inoue lifted his right arm and drove the scalpel straight down into Naoki’s neck. Bodily fluids spewed everywhere, painting the room blue.
“Ugh... Ahhh...” Looking at the sticky liquid covering his hands, Inoue let out a pathetic moan. “It’s not blood? What... What are you?”
“That was mean, Mr. Inoue. I can’t believe you tried to kill me.”
Removing the scalpel protruding from his neck, Naoki stood up. He didn’t seem to be any more bothered by it than he would be by a bee sting.
Inoue turned and glanced at the drawer he’d gotten the scalpel from. It had been the only one. There was little else in the room other than the tanks for the fish and amoebas. Hardly anything that could pass as a weapon.
“Help me!” Inoue shouted as he turned back to Naoki.
He could only hope and pray now.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he declared, shaking his head so violently he nearly twisted it clean off. “I was laying the groundwork to save you the whole time. I just needed a little more time. If only you hadn’t...”
“Humans are so interesting,” Naoki said with a bitter laugh, almost as if he weren’t human himself. “They’ll say and do whatever it takes to live, no matter how unseemly.”
“I’m not lying. You have to believe me. And I didn’t treat Takuro differently because I was afraid of his father. It was for the class’s sake. It’s easier for the class to band together around someone like him. I knew that, and so I turned a blind eye to his transgressions. And it worked, didn’t it?”
“Oh, so that’s what it was?” Naoki asked, a vein in his temple visibly twitching.
“Do you understand now?”
“Yeah, I do. Really, humans are so very interesting. Even when you’re lying, a little bit of the truth slips out.”
“Huh?”
“In order to unite the class, you needed a victim. Someone like me to be bullied.”
“No, I didn’t—”
“I’m very disappointed in you. In fact, the thought of you living another second just makes my blood boil.”
“N-Now just hold on...”
“Goodbye, Mr. Inoue.”
Naoki’s expression was fearsome. And it was the last thing Inoue ever saw.
“Goodbye, Mr. Inoue.”
The moment Naoki made to attack, a blue shadow leaped from a tank on the shelf. It landed on Inoue’s face, completely smothering him.
“Aaaaah!”
The room filled with his muffled screams as the gelatinous substance pulsed and crawled its way across his face. It was covered in a striking pattern that resembled human eyeballs. No, it wasn’t a pattern... They were swiveling restlessly and blinking repeatedly. They were actual eyeballs.
The amoeba monster swallowed Inoue’s face entirely. He struggled for a time, but eventually both that and his screaming stopped. He twitched and spasmed briefly, then ceased moving altogether.
What is this monster?
Naoki stood there dumbly, staring down at Inoue’s body.
Kwirrr...
The monster’s eyes all turned to face him. He then heard a strange, high-pitched sound like what you might hear when fast-forwarding a scene. It was coming from the monster.
Kwirrr... Kwirrrrr...
To Naoki’s ears, it almost sounded like the monster was laughing.
