4 Tenjiki Yuu - Stigma

4
Tenjiki Yuu - Stigma

 

Tenjiki Yuu knew exactly why Mikage Kasumi was so worked up. He’d looked into his friends’ backgrounds long ago.

Kasumi had lost a friend to drugs. And because he’d helped the other boy after a violent outburst caused by withdrawal, his school had assumed he was on drugs too, and expelled him. He’d known it would happen and still helped his friend. As far as he was concerned, drugs should not be allowed to exist.

“Calm the hell down, Mikage!” Koumoto Kouji yelled.

“How can I be calm?!” Kasumi yelled back. “Where are they, Koumoto? When is this happening?”

“How should I know?! I don’t even know what I said!”

“Anyone? Anyone know? God damn it!”

Kasumi slammed his fist on the table.

“K-Kasumi-kun…?” Nanane Kyoko looked shocked. Kazumiya Mitsuo and Tsuji Nozomi did, too.

Only Tenjiki Yuu remained calm.

“I believe they’re near a high-rise construction site,” he said.

Kasumi turned to look at him. “…what?”

“You heard that noise right? Go-gon, go-gon. That’s the noise of the pressurized steam used to drill shafts in the ground. The sound of a machine used in high-rise building construction.”

“O-oh!”

“And they said it started raining. That might help pin down the time. They talked like it hadn’t rained in a while, and it hasn’t, so this may be the next day it rains.”

Yuu rarely spoke at such length, and everyone was a little taken aback, but Kasumi was nodding, listening intently to every word.

“Based on prior activations, when Koumoto-kun’s ability triggers not based on any hints, but spontaneously, the event will occur nearby within the next two weeks. His range expands when he’s following up on the rest of our predictions, but no spontaneous activation has taken more than nine days to come true. It seems safe to assume this one’s within that range.”

“R-right…”

“W-wait, Tenjiki-kun…” Nozomi said, hesitantly. “Wh-when did you figure all this out?”

“I’ve just been paying attention,” he said, smiling. This was true.

This was how he justified being part of their group—he was monitoring them.

“But…”

“Kasumi-kun means business. We can’t stop him. So I thought I’d do what I can to help,” he said, gently.

“Tenjiki,” Kasumi said, eyes gleaming. Then he shook his head. “No, I’m glad you feel that way, but I shouldn’t get you mixed up in this.”

“Please, let me help.” Yuu bowed his head.

“Look, guys…this is dangerous. You get that, right?” Koumoto said.

“Of course! Right, Mikage-kun?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Okay. In that case…” Koumoto sighed. “I’ll help, too. Can’t leave this to the two of you.”

“Kouji!” Nozomi cried, but he put out a hand to stop her.

“I’ve made up my mind. I’m in.”

“Arghhh, you’re all idiots,” Mitsuo said. “But hey, I’m the biggest idiot here! At least, according to the rest of you. Can’t very well leave me out, can you?”

He laughed, rubbing his nose.

“Kazumiya-kun, too?” Nozomi asked, flustered.

Then Nanane Kyoto spoke up. “By the river,” she said.

“Huh?”

Everyone turned to look, and she shrugged.

“I smelled stagnant river water. That narrows it down, right?”

“Nanane!” Kasumi said, eyes wide.

“You weren’t thinking of leaving me out, were you?” she said, winking back.

“M-me, too!” Nozomi squeaked. Her usual cool façade was totally gone. “I’m coming, too! You’re not leaving me out!”

“Nozomi,” Koumoto started, but Mitsuo cut him off.

“That’s good, we’re all in this together,” he smiled.

“But…”

“If it gets bad, Tenjiki will protect us. That’s what you meant, right, Tenjiki?”

He was half-joking, but Tenjiki Yuu smiled back.

“Sure,” he said, nodding.

 

It was Saturday, so they disbanded, agreeing to meet on Sunday to hunt down the location.

Tenjiki Yuu walked off alone through the streets at night, but Tsuji Nozomi came running after him.

“Tenjiki-kun!”

“Mm? Oh, Tsuji-san. What is it?”

He’d known it was her from her footsteps alone, but deliberately didn’t turn around until she called his name.

The two of them sat down on a bench in the open area by the station, watching the crowds passing by.

“Er, um…” Nozomi said, nervous. “How—how much do you know about us?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like… earlier, you knew all sorts of things about Kouji.”

“Oh, that? I dunno that I know that much. I mean, we all have a rough idea what Koumoto-kun can do, right? I’m sure you know more than I do, Tsuji-san.”

“I…”

“You’re in love with him, right? The whole childhood friend thing.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Yes, but…still…” She hesitated. “I…”

“Whoa, there. We said not to share anything private,” Yuu said. He knew what she’d been about to tell him: the secret about Automatic that Tsuji Nozomi was hiding from the others.

“You already know,” she said, weakly.

“But what of it? We’re all friends.”

“You think so?”

“Of course.” He smiled. “I should ask you the same thing, Tsuji-san. Do you think of me as a friend?”

“You’re a good guy, Tenjiki-kun. You were right there to back Mikage-kun up.”

“All of you are good people. I’m just following your example.”

“Thanks,” Nozomi nodded.

“Tell you what. I’ll let you in on a secret of mine, Tsuji-san.”

“Huh?” she blinked at him.

“Truth is, Tsuji-san, I’m…”

He looked so serious. Nozomi swallowed hard, waiting.

“I’m not actually human.”

“Huh?”

“I’m a synthetic human created by a giant secret society hell-bent on world domination. Don’t tell anyone.”

He was dead serious. Too serious. He was clearly joking. It was impossible to take this any other way.

Nozomi burst out laughing.

She laughed so hard she bent over double, her shoulders shaking.

“It’s the truth. Don’t tell the others,” Yuu said, dramatically.

Nozomi laughed again, tears in her eyes.

“G-got it, I won’t tell a soul.”

“I owe you one,” Yuu said, smiling at last.

Nozomi smiled back. “Thank you, Tenjiki-kun. Really.”

“Same to you.”

“Come to think of it,” she said…

But Yuu suddenly stiffened, and looked around.

“What is it?” Nozomi asked.

He didn’t answer.

After a long silence, he said, “Tsuji-san, you take the train, right?”

“Y-yes…”

“Let me walk you to the platform.”

He took her hand and pulled her after him into the station, bought a ticket for the last station on the line without asking where to, and pushed it into her hand.

“W-wait, Tenjiki-kun?”

“It’s on me,” he said, and bought the cheapest ticket available to get himself through the gate.

He nearly pushed her onto the train, then stepped back onto the platform.

“See you,” he said, waving as the doors closed.

She waved back, bewildered. “T-tomorrow, then? Tenjiki-kun?”

The doors closed as she spoke and the train pulled out of the station.

Once the train was gone, Tenjiki Yuu’s smile was replaced with a mask as cold as ice.

He moved to the back of the platform and sat on a bench, head down, hands resting on his knees, with his fingers locked together. A figure stood before him.

“‘Sup, Eugene?” it said. It formed a very odd silhouette. Its arms and legs were long and thin, like rods, but the body and head were spherical. It looked completely unnatural.

“What is it, Spooky E?” Tenjiki Yuu asked, quietly.

“What are you doing around here?” A grin spread across Spooky E’s monstrous face.

It was Saturday evening. Few people would be waiting for a train at this hour. No one else stood nearby.

“Why do you ask?”

“Come, now,” Spooky E said, sighing dramatically. “Aren’t we both Towa Organization bio units?”

“I’ll ask again: what do you want?” Tenjiki Yuu spoke in a manner entirely different from how he did when he was with the other five. His voice was a knife, merciless, like he was slicing away at the man he spoke to.

Spooky E’s grin faded away.

“Who do you think you are, Eugene? This is my territory. What the hell are you doing here?”

“Your ‘territory’?”

“Yes. I own this city! You may be B7-Tier, but you’ve got no right to mess up my work!”

“I don’t recall consulting any C9-Tiers on their opinions.” Tenjiki Yuu smiled. The smile couldn’t be less like the one he’d used with Tsuji Nozomi. This smile was pure hostility.

“The hell with that! Tiers only designate the unit’s purpose, not the chain of command,” Spooky E snarled, baring his teeth.

Tenjiki Yuu didn’t bat an eye.

“If our purposes are different, what’s the problem? You’re just scared you’ll lose your freedom if another Towa Organization agent is nearby.”

“What?” Spooky E’s round cheeks quivered.

“What are you up to, anyway? Your instructions were to keep the drug contamination in the area below Level F. Market penetration on drugs is far too high.”

“None of your business!” he yelled. The handful of others in the station were too drunk to pay them any heed. Anyone sober would just assume they were two drunks arguing, and move away.

“Then don’t make it my business. Concentrate on your own mission, Spooky E.”

Spooky E’s face twisted with hatred, but then he snorted.

“I could say the same. What’s with those five brats? Are those the targets you’re monitoring? Are they even worth calling MPLS? A bunch of useless dropouts?”

Tenjiki Yuu remained unresponsive.

“Seems like you’re just doing whatever you want, too. Eh? How long’s it been since you sent Axis a report?”

Again, Tenjiki Yuu refused to respond.

“If those brats are MPLS, you sure have let them remain free a while.” He paused. “What are you even doing? Let’s be clear. You’re the one in deep shit if upstairs finds out.” He waited for a reply, and continued when none came. “Look, let’s make a deal. I can help you out,” Spooky E said, the grin back on his face. “You onto something here? Something big enough you won’t have to be at the Towa Organization’s beck and call?”

“Spooky Electric,” Tenjiki Yuu said, in quiet but firm tones. “You are class C, and I am B. If you interfere with my actions in any way, I have the right to dispose of you. Are we clear?”

“Big talk.”

“Or do you want to fight? A specialist-ability type against a combat-focus model? Do you really think you have a chance against me head-on, even if you catch me off guard?”

Spooky E’s smile didn’t fade, even in the face of a clear threat.

“Okay, okay, have it your way. But if you need help, just say the word.”

“Leave.”

“Got it. But Eugene…you better be careful. Word has it you know what’s lurking in this town.”

“What?”

“‘Boogiepop.’ He’s around here, somewhere!”

He chuckled. He was clearly joking. But if Spooky E had known he would lose an ear to ‘him’ later, he would not have laughed.

Tenjiki Yuu said nothing for a moment, then finally replied, “Never thought you’d believe in urban legends.”

He, too, knew not what fate had in store for him, but the wheels of that fate were already churning.

“An urban legend? You’re not wrong. But that name’s mixed up with a number of unexplained mission failures. That much is true. Hehehehe.”

No, at this point, Spooky E did not believe the stories, either. He was just mocking Tenjiki Yuu.

Tenjiki Yuu did not take the bait.

Spooky E put his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“You’d better watch out, Eugene.”

And then he left, guffawing.

Tenjiki Yuu let his head droop.

Fate…

His friends might be able to see the future, but they couldn’t see fate. Fate was not a point that lay in the future, but the path that led them there. No matter what powers one had, there was no way to stop the wheels of fate from spinning.

The loudspeakers echoed through the station. “Train approaching. Remain behind the yellow lines.” An express train thundered through.

When the train was gone, there was no trace of Tenjiki Yuu.

 

***

 

“Lucky find,” Mikage Kasumi said, staring at the abandoned bicycle.

“Mm?” The other five looked at him, baffled.

They were near the target construction site. They’d met up at seven that morning and found the location of the ‘deal’ by nine. The sign said “Moon Temple Construction Site.” Must be the name of the building they were putting up.

Work was suspended for the day and it was dead quiet. No signs of anyone but the six of them.

“What? What about that bike?” Koumoto Kouji asked, but Kasumi ignored him, fiddling with the bike’s mirror.

The bicycle was a rusted mess. The chain was broken and the basket filled with cans tossed into it by passers-by. Odds were it had been stolen and abandoned here.

Kasumi was adjusting the bike’s half-broken rusty mirror.

“Hey, Kasumi-kun,” Nanane Kyoko said, stepping closer and tapping him on the shoulder.

“Seven of them,” Kasumi said.

“Huh?”

“Seven, three of them foreigners.”

“Oh,” Tsuji Nozomi got it first. “You see them in that mirror?”

“Mm?” Nanane Kyoko took a good look at Kasumi’s face. When he was using his talent, his eyes always took on a haunted look.

“You can do that? Not just in people’s eyes?”

Everyone was surprised by this.

Kasumi just kept on talking. “Don’t seem like yakuza. More like academics? The foreigners are wearing long coats, but I dunno where they’re from. The Japanese-looking ones are all wearing suits.”

He clicked his tongue, annoyed.

“It’s too far away to see any more details.”

“About where are they standing?”

Nozomi opened her sketchbook, glancing in the direction the mirror was reflecting.

“No, don’t draw anything this time,” Koumoto said, grabbing her hand.

“Why not?”

“Too dangerous. And Mikage said he couldn’t make out much. Better to not have any evidence on us.”

“Yes, that’s a good idea,” Tenjiki Yuu said.

Nozomi looked at him. “You think?” she asked.

But Mitsuo answered instead. “I do.” He nodded.

Nozomi glanced down at her page in silence.

“Anything coming to you? Automatic ready to activate?” Nanane asked.

Nozomi jumped and then shook her head. “N-no,” she said, and closed the sketchbook.

Meanwhile, Kasumi had set out on his own, headed for the spot he’d seen in the mirror.

Everyone hurried after him.

“Y-yo, dial it back a bit, Mikage.”

“Don’t worry, the sky looked nothing like it does now. It’s at least a few hours away,” Kasumi said, irritated.

Then he stopped, and looked around. They were a fair distance from the construction site itself, in an area where building materials were kept. Piles of girders were stacked everywhere. Excavators parked nearby.

Kasumi was absorbing everything, his eyes like daggers.

“But what exactly is the plan here?” Mitsuo said, speaking for everyone. “Sure we shouldn’t just call the cops?”

“Yeah, we’ll do that. Once we’ve destroyed all the drugs. Ain’t gonna let those dirty cops sell this shit on the side!” Voicing his deep-seated distrust of authorities, Kasumi began scrambling up the pile of girders.

“But…we’re just a bunch of kids! Can we actually do this?” Nanane said, anxious.

“I’m grateful you came this far with me,” Kasumi said. He kept moving about, not explaining his actions at all.

“What are you looking for?” Koumoto asked.

When there was no answer, Tenjiki Yuu said, “Kasumi-kun, those girders won’t work. If you’re doing this, use the excavators. Dig out the dirt underneath and you can knock them over easily.”

“Yeah?” Kasumi said, looking at him. “Can’t tip this pile?”

“Hard to time it right.”

The others had no idea what they were talking about.

“What do you mean?” Nozomi asked. “Knocking things over? Tipping piles? You don’t mean…”

She’d figured it out.

“You’re gonna knock it over on them?”

“What?!” Koumoto gasped. “Like, dump a pile of girders or an excavator on them? You do that, you could seriously kill them!”

“Who cares? They deserve it,” Kasumi said.

He had a lot of residual guilt over letting his friend get addicted to drugs. That had led to this deep well of anger, along with a near-suicidal desire to punish himself.

But the others didn’t know that.

“That’s not the point! There’s no reason for the two of you to become murderers!”

“Doesn’t matter what happens to me.”

“Say what?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll do it right,” Tenjiki Yuu said. “We know exactly where they’ll be standing. We can pin them down without killing them. And then let the police have them.”

“That sounds better, but can you really pull it off?”

“That’s what we’re looking into. Right, Kasumi-kun?”

Kasumi said nothing. He clearly didn’t care if they died or not.

Or what happened to him afterward.

“Now, as for the direction…”

Tenjiki Yuu went right on with the work, totally unbothered by Kasumi’s behavior.

At last, Nanane said, “I wanna help. What should I do?”

That turned the tide and the others began helping Kasumi and Yuu.

The six of them always worked together.

 

***

 

Go-gon…

The skies grew darker quickly and rain began pelting down.

“Can’t remember the last time it rained this hard.”

“Where’d it even come from?”

The men standing in an empty yard away from the construction site glared at the skies, annoyed.

There were seven of them. Four Japanese, three foreigners. Each group facing the other at a distance.

…Go-gon…

The rumble of a shaft being drilled nearby.

“You got what it takes to pay for this volume?” one of the Japanese men asked the foreign group.

“Of course,” the foreigner said, in fluent Japanese.

…Go-gon…

He opened the case in his hands. But there was no money inside. There were just a few thin black chips.

And yet, the recipients looked very pleased to see them.

“Amazing! How’d you get your hands on those?” one of the Japanese men asked. He wore silver-rimmed spectacles.

All of the Japanese men looked like they worked in or around research and development at some conglomerate—they were just salarymen. The black chips weren’t much to look at, but they were so high-tech, they were worth more than any jewels.

“You sure you just want drugs for those?”

“Yeah. Drugs can be turned into money fast, anywhere in the world.”

“We can send you cash online anywhere in the world, too. There some reason you’re staying offline?”

“No questions. We’re here to do this deal, nothing more.”

This might be a criminal deal, but neither group looked shifty or aggressive. Both were simply here to do a job and were being professional about it. The foreigners, in particular, clearly viewed this as the mere means to an end.

The rain died down and eventually stopped.

“Fine. This is just business for us, too.”

The Japanese pulled their trunk forward and set it on the ground. They stepped back.

One of the foreigners stepped past the trunk and handed the package of black chips to the Japanese.

On his way back, he reached out to grab the trunk.

And then…

There was a horrible creak.

The man looked from the trunk handle towards the source of the sound.

His face froze.

The excavator parked nearby was tilting towards him—or more precisely, towards the trunk next to him.

He jumped back. A second later, the long arm of the excavator landed with a thud.

It scored a bull’s-eye on the trunk, squashing it flat between the ground and the metal arm.

“Tch.” He tried pulling the trunk out, but the arm was too heavy and it didn’t move.

“What the hell?!” The foreigners pulled out guns, pointing them at the Japanese.

“W-we don’t know!” the Japanese said, shaking their heads. But this was far too much of a coincidence. Common sense said the excavator toppled because someone had dug out the area under it, and only the Japanese could have placed the trunk precisely where it would land.

The foreigners began to fire.

The Japanese fled.

But as they fled, they kept a tight grip on the case with the black chips inside.

They made a sharp turn at the pile of girders, using them as a shield.

 

“They started shooting!” Nanane Kyoko squeaked, tugging Kasumi’s sleeve. They were watching from the shadows.

“I know!” he said, and pulled hard on the wire in his hand.

The pile of girders collapsed in front of the fleeing men, just as planned.

“Ah!” they yelped and changed course.

But as they ran across the tarp on the ground nearby, the ground collapsed under them.

A pitfall.

They’d fallen right into the most basic type of trap you could make.

The pile of girders rolled across the top, sealing them in the pit with no way out.

There was a clanking sound as the trapped men pounded on the girders, but there was no way they could lift those by hand.

The foreigners watched in shock.

A perfect trap. One sprung on both parties.

“Did this leak, somehow?” They shouted, but not in Japanese. “Is this the Towa Organization?”

They turned and ran.

Girders collapsed in front of them, but they ran right under, not trying to dodge. The pile had collapsed a little too late.

Koumoto, Mitsuo, and Nozomi were hiding in the shadows. When they saw the girders miss, they yelped in dismay.

“Oh no! Too late!”

“Crap, they’re getting away!”

“Shit, Tenjiki’s all alone out there!”

 

Of course, Tenjiki Yuu had let the girders fall a moment too late on purpose, to let the men get away.

He had deliberately led them to where he stood alone.

He moved quickly and without a sound, blocking their path.

“Wh-who the hell are you?!” they shouted, not in Japanese.

And Tenjiki spoke back, in that same language.

“Now that I know you’re enemies of the Towa Organization, I can’t let you leave.”

“Wh-what?”

The quiet-looking boy’s words caught them off guard.

In a fraction of a second, Tenjiki was on top of his first victim. Moving inhumanly fast, the tips of his fingers stabbed the man in the throat.

They went in deep, all the way to the root of the finger.

“—?!”

The other two didn’t even have time to be surprised. Tenjiki pulled his fingers out. Somehow, there was not so much as a drop of blood on them. Instead, there was a faint purple glow and some sort of liquid coated them.

“When this liquid gets inside you, it’s absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream, spreading through your body… causing a chemical reaction. A moment later…” he whispered.

There was a dull-sounding bang and the man he’d stabbed exploded.

Vanished without a trace.

Bits of his clothes, pulverized to millimeter-sized fragments, fluttered through the air, but the burst of high-temperature fire soon took care of them.

“Eee!” one of the others started to scream, but Tenjiki was already on him and a moment later he was vaporized.

Assassination without a trace.

This was the true purpose of Tenjiki Yuu—the synthetic human, Eugene—and his real power.

The last man didn’t even try to run. Tenjiki didn’t give him a chance.

Before he knew it, he was dangling in the air, Tenjiki’s hands around his throat, wondering how this skinny kid could be so strong.

“……gah…”

The hand on his throat was too tight for him to speak.

“I have a single question for you,” Tenjiki hissed. “Is the Towa Organization after you?”

A strange question. If these men were the Towa Organization’s enemies, then they were his enemies. But the way Tenjiki Yuu phrased it, it sounded as if he had no ties to the Towa Organization himself. It was as though he had no interest in who this man was, as if he had no intention of getting involved in whatever they were doing.

Terrified, the man just made a few strangled noises.

“I see. So if I don’t eliminate you, other Towa Organization members will come here to investigate. Then…” Tenjiki released him, and turned away. “You’re gone.”

Before the man hit the ground, he’d ceased to exist.

 

“Tenjiki-kun!” Nanane Kyoko got there first.

She found Tenjiki Yuu standing, staring into the distance.

“Sorry,” he said. “They got away.”

“Oh… but you’re safe! And we did what we set out to do.”

She came closer, then…

“…Hmm?”

She frowned. There was a strange smell in the air. Not a future smell, one actually present.

It was oily, like grease, or… it reminded her of something, but she couldn’t quite place it.

What…?

But the smell faded quickly, and was gone.

It smelled like animal or human body odor, but much fainter. It was extremely familiar, but impossible to pin down.

Kasumi caught up. “Tenjiki, is this…?” he asked, and knelt down to pick a black object off the ground.

“Beats me,” Tenjiki said, shaking his head. What Kasumi had picked up was a gun the men had left behind. Complete with a holster and extra rounds.

“We need to th-throw it away!” Nanane said. But Kasumi only stared down at it, making no move to get rid of the gun.

The other three caught up.

“Yo, hurry! The construction workers have noticed the commotion!”

Kasumi stood up, shoving the gun in his pocket.

Nanane looked really worried, but decided not to argue about it now.

They poured gasoline on the trunk trapped under the excavator and set it on fire.

After that, they left a note on the girders trapping the Japanese men that read, “These men are drug dealers.”

Then they fled.

Behind them, they could hear people coming.

 

***

 

For a few weeks, nothing else of note happened. The six continued to meet up and hang out, the same as before.

“That couple are gonna get all electric soon,” Mitsuo said, out of nowhere.

“What?” Nanane asked, frowning. The two of them and Yuu had all showed up way earlier than the rest, and were killing time in a café across the street.

“Uh…you know, just a feeling.”

He was looking at a young couple, probably still in junior high.

“…it’s a real masterpiece. I’m sure you’ll love it, Orihata,” the boy said, chattering happily. The girl was much quieter, and merely nodded.

They projected a gentle aura.

“They look close. Seem like a cute couple.”

“I don’t mean they’re gonna fight or anything. Just… electric.”

“I never understand anything your talent produces,” Nanane sighed.

“Do you have to be so mean about it? You could be a little nicer.”

“Should I be a little more squish squish? That’s how you’d put it, right? Squish squish squiiiish!”

She wriggled her hands in the air like tentacles.

“You an octopus now?”

“Call me the horrible octopus lady!”

She bent over laughing. Mitsuo snorted, but couldn’t suppress a grin of his own.

Tenjiki Yuu smiled at their comedy routine. He had information on the girl they were talking about. He knew exactly what Mitsuo’s ‘electric’ prediction meant.

But he revealed nothing.

He said nothing about anything that didn’t directly relate to the six of them.

“Oh, Koumoto’s here,” Mitsuo said, looking out the window.

They rose to leave.

They passed the couple as they left, but Camille had not been told about the higher-tier Eugene, and never noticed they were there.

“Heeeey! Kasumi-kun! You’re even gloomier than last time!” Nanane called out.

“Shut up! It’s the same thing every time!”

“Oh, you were all in there?”

“What were you talking about?”

“Scary octopus monsters.”

“Let’s go.”

With all six assembled, they headed for the karaoke place in a crumbling mall, shooting the shit as they walked.

“Ugh, it’s getting cold! Is it winter already?” Mitsuo said, shivering. “Looks like it’s getting ready to snow, too.”

“Yeah, those clouds look ominous,” Koumoto said, staring up at the sky.

“I hate winter,” Nanane said. “After it snows, it’s like all smells are suddenly gone. Everything’s the same, all differences erased.”

“Yeah? Never noticed,” Kasumi said.

“Yeah, well. Boys are dumb like that,” Nanane scoffed.

“Fair enough,” Kasumi said, rolling with it.

Walking behind the three boys, Tsuji Nozomi said, with perfect timing, “The dumb one, the uptight one, and the easy-going one. All second-rate chocolate. One ‘dark’ but low percentage, the next with some cheap nuts for crunch, and the last filled with honey that’s far too sweet.”

It was rare for her to joke like this, so Nanane laughed out loud.

“Ah ha ha! Totally!”

“I dunno, sounds good to me,” Mitsuo said.

Both girls laughed even harder.

“I guess I don’t eat a lot of sweets,” Koumoto said, deliberately sounding extra uptight.

“So dumb…” Kasumi said, scowling. But the edges of his lips were turning up.

The six walked on.

Smiling faintly, Tenjiki Yuu followed at the rear, his fists clenched. He was thinking about the girl Mikage Kasumi had seen, and about the shinigami.

Boogiepop. What is he? I doubt he shows mercy to those he judges a threat. And…

That girl. The girl who would tell someone to kill her to obtain the world. Tenjiki was certain—not that he knew directly, but he could tell from her face. She was like him.

But she’d been “created” somewhere else. She was a being who should not exist.

His fists clenched tighter.

He was betraying a massive system that had influence all over the world.

That was fine. The stigma of treason and the risk it incurred were both things he accepted. Death itself did not bother him at all.

But he was scared.

He had the power to kill people instantly, and a body that could survive for months on nothing more than water, and yet, he was more scared than he’d ever been before.

His friends… the one source of warmth an artificial being like him had ever found, or would ever find.

He had to protect them.

But what if he had to reveal his true nature to them in order to protect them?

What if they figured out the truth using their abilities?

That was what really scared him.

“Mm? Tenjiki, what’s wrong?” Mitsuo said, looking back at him.

“Huh?”

“You looked white as a sheet. You feeling okay?”

His friends often called Mitsuo simple-minded or a slacker, but he was always the first to notice if someone was feeling depressed or out of sorts, and the first to say something about it.

The others were all staring at him now.

Yuu fought back tears and forced a smile.

“N-nothing! I’m fine.”

“If you say so…”

“Tenjiki-kun, you’re so delicate! You have to take care of yourself!” Nanane said.

“The polar opposite of you,” Kasumi snorted.

“You’re so mean!”

Everyone laughed. Yuu laughed, too.

While he laughed, he felt a tear slide down his cheek.

 

It was winter. It looked ready to snow that evening.