Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

CHAPTER ONE: Start Killing

“You were stellar out there, Ito! Truly phenomenal! Rest up now, you hear? We leave at 7 AM to head for our show in Osaka!”

“Thanks! Will do! Take it easy on your part as well, ‘kay, old man?” 

The so-called ‘old man’ huffed and crossed his arms grouchily. “Tch, old man!? How fresh you youth have become! Don’t think that just because we live in these new times you get to act however you please! There are consequences for such a mentality!” he began to bark only to be cut off by vibrant laughter.

“If you say so, Mr Hayashi. See you tomorrow!” Hayashi looked as if he wanted to say more but just sighed and gave a small wave. He could discuss this more in the morning. “Fine, good night, Ito.” he muttered before walking away down to his own floor in the hotel.

Finally.

Closing his door, the young man finally let out a sigh. There was truly no end in sight, huh? Well, that was the cost of being an idol. Between waking up, the photo shoot, stage rehearsal, that eventual night concert, and finally a fancy dinner, he had received pretty much no time to himself. This was something he was beginning to wish he could have more of each day. 

Still, being on-stage to the excited roars of fans that awaited his call would make even siren’s envious… yes, it almost made it worth it. The cheers, the delight in their eyes as they begged for more of his expression of joy, those cute, adorable faces wanting more. Wanting him! Yeah, it was worth it.

“Soon no one will be able to match up to my popularity!~” the man gave a smile and let out a chuckle. Yes, no one would be able to resist the Monk Idol. The new shining star that will glow upon what was once a destroyed entertainment industry, especially with how the world is now. Slowly, a thoughtful expression replaced his mask of cheerfulness, blighting a charming and easy going nature with its seriousness.

“The entire world...” It wasn’t like that dream was impossible before things went awry. He was sure that, eventually, he’ll get noticed and hired by a recognizable entertainment industry member. It was plain to see. It's just that this particular little…okay, major, incident sped things up a lot. After all, with most of the competition dead or missing in action, this was a perfect chance to kick-start his career as the one up top! When everything has settled down, he’ll be known as the genius that Buddha himself sent down from the heavens to bring hope into the world!

With his laidback persona restored, he walked over to his hotel bed and plopped himself down on top of it. “Aaaaaah…now! Let’s see what my adoring fans have to say!~” With one hand reaching into the usual spot where he placed his bag of letters, he was able to easily grab it and place it on-top of the bed. Let’s see!~

“Who’s this first? Oooo, aren’t you a cutie? ‘To my biggest hero who brought me out of despair’ , awww!~ How sweet!” That letter soon found itself onto the floor. Then another. And then another. This process continued until a sizable pile of letters had been enough to be at least half the height of the hotel room’s nightstand. 

“C’mon, there has to be something good… oooh, what’s this?~” Attached to the letter he was holding was a picture of a woman with blonde hair and was wearing a rather, ah, fitting bikini that hugged her curves. “She’s gorgeous! Hmm… she’s… oh! A gravure idol, huh? Interesting!” The more he read the letter the more his grin became wider and wider and wider until his cheeks couldn’t feasibly stretch further. “Yep… I’ll definitely write to you back! We’re gonna date sometime… Kina-cutie!~” Placing the letter into his night stand, he felt high hopes for this one. The others were all run of the mill men and women. They couldn’t keep up with a rising star like himself. But an idol would know what it’s all about. She was perfect. She’ll make him even more perfect! The ultimate idol duo! That’ll be the talk of the country! They’ll-

A knock on the door interrupted his fantasies and a scowl came onto his face. Who was it at this hour? Better not be that damn producer. As he walked towards the door he paused to check himself out in the wall mirror. He was still wearing his stage outfit: a monk’s uniform. But he wasn’t really concerned about that at all. It was what the uniform was covering that mattered. Skin? Flawless as ever. Stylish reddish-brown hair? As perfect as ever.

Smile? The face of the man by the name of Momomichi Ito stretched into his famous grin which can win over the hearts of any man or woman. If only they could see the thread just barely holding it together.

Yep, all set!

Ito gripped the door knob and turned before flinging it open to whoever wanted to bask in the time of the Monk Idol. “Hello!~ How are y-!”

That was all he could let out before he found himself pinned to the floor, unable to get back up. He struggled and thrashed but was unable to escape. “What the hell!?” He looked up to find two people covered head to toe in what seemed to be black military-esque uniforms pinning him down. Well, except for their faces. They were covered by what seemed to be a black helmet which had a black visor that made it too dark to see their eyes. Of course, what was bizarre about it was that on top of such helmets were short ears of sorts, and to the sides, three short edges were placed there, acting almost like side tufts of ‘hair’, in a sense. Basically, it comes across as very wolf-like. Combine that with the scene now, with these invaders hovering Ito, it made for a strikingly intimidating display. As he continued trying to break free he noticed a third one walking in. In their hand was a syringe.

Ito’s eyes widened as the attacker came forward. No, no, no. He shook and shook but the other intruders' grips were iron-clad. There was one thing left to do. He opened his mouth to let out a scream. However, nothing came out. It was hard to scream when someone was basically strangling your throat, after all. He gagged and found himself losing more air than he could retain.

He couldn’t die here! He had a dream! He had something to live for! Not after all that he’s done, it can’t end like this. All that he sacrificed for his gain. For his moment, for his glory, for his victory!

“N-n…pl…please…”

Those were the last words he uttered before something sharp pierced his skin...and his vision went dark.

“Momomichi Ito has been acquired, Master.”

The room heavily resembled a typical board room one would see in just about any office. It seemed no custodian ever bothered to clean it well. It was a wide room with file cabinets and boxes scattered around, some opened, some still closed to the point they were gathering dust. Smack dab in the middle of the room was a brown, long, rectangular, table. However, at the moment only five people were actually using it, however only four were actually sitting down. The quartet were stationed at the farthest end of the table away from the door. The final person was standing by the end of the table that was closest to the door. They wore a similar black uniform and mask to those of the prior ‘guards’. The difference between them was that the reporting guard had a gold star on their uniform.

“Ah, is that so? You’ve done spectacular work! Good going, капитан!” praised the black haired man who sat on the right side of the table.  His pale white skin clashed with his outfit. A light red vest combined with a match jacket, of which its coattails reached down to his ankles, combined with a pair of white tights and a pair black boots. All of which gave off a look eerily similar to a ringmaster.  With just one look it was obvious he was of European descent. An easy going smile displayed itself on his face and his eyes had a look of amusement to them. Throughout it all he was tossing something resembling a ball up into the air and catching it nonchalantly. This clashed with an aura that would make anyone not used to his presence want to flinch back in danger. It was kind of like if one was to be in the presence of a defused bomb. It might seem safe, but there was always fear of it re-activating.

The next person on the left, a female of Japanese origin, scoffed at the news. “…Tch, another freak to babysit. Just great.” she muttered under her breath as one of her hand’s went towards her silky black hair. Her attire consisted of a filthy green nurse’s uniform. The dark circles around her eyes told of sleepless nights, devoid of rest, plaguing her.

The man gave a teasing smile, not bothering to look at the ball he was tossing in the air. “Ah, cheer up, yes? Sooner we get the last three, sooner we can commence. Then you won’t have to be up and down so much, no?”

“Easy for you to say, you don’t have to deal with that pack of lunatics on a daily basis. It’s a miracle none of them started slaughtering each other yet.” she let out a yawn and began rubbing one of her eyes. The man’s easy going smile turned into a smirk.

“Ah, but it’s no miracle. As long as you all have my skills, keeping them at bay is as easy as taming a lion with a whip.” 

“…That’s not exactly an easy thing to do.”

“Exactly! So is something like this!”

“…God, it’s too early for this stupidity.” 

The man’s lips stretched to a smile and he looked as if he was about to make a cheeky comment. But that was interrupted.

“…E-excuse me-!” the voice came from the guard near the door. Their face, while serious, held hints of uncertainty. It didn’t help that as soon as they opened their voice, both the man and woman glued their eyes on them. For the former, it was of malicious curiosity, while the woman's eyes glared a hole into their head. A feeling of unbearable pressure weighed heavily in the room. Still, the guard felt the need to speak up. After all, failure to do so might result in their death.

“My apologies, I was just wondering if… I could be excused?” As soon as the guard was finished talking did the ringmaster man look around the room to his three compatriots, his smile growing incredulously wide.

“If I could be excused? If I could be excused!? Друг, you are quite the card! Indeed!” The ringmaster beckoned the guard to come closer and the sheep followed the butcher without fail. Once they were close enough, an arm, his particularly muscular arm, was draped over their shoulders casually. That pressure was building up more and more, but if the man noticed it then he never showed it. Not one bit. Instead he began to laugh and laugh. Then the guard began to laugh…mostly due to fear. The ringmaster wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes. “Y-yes, you, you truly are quite an entertainer. Ah, if only you were with me back in the day. The audience would’ve loved you!”

“Ah… thank you, sir? Tha-gahhh!!?” Like a viper coiling around its prey, the ringmaster’s arm suddenly began to constrict around the guard, cutting off their supply of oxygen. The guard’s eyes widened as they desperately tried to breathe but couldn’t. The grip was too tight.

“…Yes, you would truly make people die of laughter. After all, you’re already like a clown! Just need a touch of makeup and voila!~” continued the ringmaster, acting as if he was currently not choking his underling to death. He held the ball right in front of the guard’s face. With it, came noticeable fear growing in the guard’s eyes. “Say, do you want to be a clown? I can certainly make you one? Is that what you want?”

“S-s… sir… pl-please! F-forgiv…!!” the guard tried to utter out, but the man began choking the guard out further. Their lips were quickly turning blue and they went pale. The woman looked at the scene with playful amusement. “If you’re gonna do it, leave some for my babies afterwards, will you? They’ve been begging for cooked food.”

“No promises!~” he said before gazing at the guard with a bemused expression. From the looks of things they were about to pass out. Almost there… and then… the fireworks could truly begin!~

However, before the guards vision could fade to black, a voice erupted shattering the tension.

“Enough, Chikatilo.”

Those two words brought everything to halt. The ringmaster, Chikatilo, chuckled and immediately let go of the guard. As soon as the grip was loosened, they fell to the floor and began gasping for air. Sweet, sweet, air. Slowly, did they look up towards their savior. The silent individual at the table. They wore a long black robe that covered their entire body. Not even their feet could be seen. However, what was noticeable was the fact they were wearing a black mask that heavily resembled a smiling face, with two red dots for eyes and a curvy, thin, red smile. 

The Director looked down on their hapless disciple and gave a nod. “You’re dismissed.” After coughing for a minute afterward, the disciple got up to their feet and gave a salute. “Th-thank you, Master.” The guard uttered before stumbling out of the room as quick as they could. They knocked on the door thrice and a moment later the door opened, and with it a glimpse of the persona guarding the door. A bald man in a black tuxedo that barely contained his muscles was behind such a door, and quickly made way for the guard to get out.  As soon as the door closed, Chikatilo let out a sigh.

“Aww, and I was hoping to have some fun! C’mon, Director! Let the great Ted have something to work with! Have Tsu grab that puppy and let me let the sparks fly! There’s still too much time before the grand debut!” said Ted Chikatilo as he sat on the table itself and gave a playful smile towards the Director. The woman growled at the sight, thus causing the man to laugh. “Hope you don’t mind if I sit here, right, Rei, darling?~”

“Oi, get your ass off the table! The last thing I want is that near me! And don’t call me that!” she spat out only for Chikatilo to instead wink at her, causing her to gnash her teeth in annoyance. However, just before she could yell at Chikatilo, she was prevented by the Director, who placed a hand in the air for silence.

“Calm yourself, Shimizu. The last thing we need is to break apart before the fated day arrives. This also goes for you too, Chikatilo. Please, do not aggravate her,” ordered the Director to their subordinates. Rei Shimizu, begrudgingly, calmed down, whilst Chikatilo gave a light hearted shrug. The Director turned towards Shimizu with an authoritative presence emanating from them, even with their face covered.

“...How are our participants feeling today, Shimizu?” asked the Director, to which the nurse gave a snort. 

“Same old, same old. Either they’re sitting around like a bunch of nitwits or they’re pacing in their cells bored. All healthy… well, mentally is debatable.” the Director nodded approvingly before facing Chikatilo and another Japanese woman who had not yet spoken, her gaze having been solely focused on the book she was reading. She had mostly silvery-grey hair with a dull violet strand being barely noticeable amongst it. Her uniform was a somewhat drab looking light blue yukata. She held a professional aura about her as she adjusted a paired of cracked glasses with one finger.

“Our Sponsors? Have we received any new news from them? And the preparation on our fields, ‘Yamraja’?”

“Preparations for your arenas are moving at a reasonable pace, sir. The contractors we have received have proven themselves to be efficient, despite their… origins.” she stated in a soft, yet very refined, manner. 

As for Chikatilo, he grinned and began speaking nonchalantly. “We’re getting new sponsors by the day and ‘viewers’ as well!~ The underworld is absolutely buzzing about our new program… then again we are filling quite the niche here. With that Killing Game over and the loss of that old Duel Noir program from a few years back… we were right that those old, rich, fucks and depraved bastards would flock to us for their next high.” In a carefree manner, he leaned back in his chair, eyes glued directly towards the ceiling. 

When he leaned forward, he saw the Director still looking in his direction. Tension returned and threatened to choke the ringmaster right then and there. Though, if he felt any sense of nervousness because of that, his mask never threatened to show it. Instead he just raised a brow.

“Something wrong, Director?”

“…I meant The Sponsors.” 

With those four words, Chikatilo’s lips went downwards into a bored frown. Oh. Them. The ringmaster placed his ball on the table and began mindlessly rolling on it. “…They’ll be arriving in about a week. They said they wanted to talk about a few things before this gets started. Just the boring stuff. Tch.”

“Is that so?” The Director spun their chair around so that their back was away from his comrades. They raised a robe arm and began signaling for them to leave. “Very well… you three may go. I would like to be alone at the moment. Keep up the good work.” 

The trio raised a brow and glanced at each other, but they didn’t seem to press on the issue. The Director didn’t turn around until the sounds of footsteps disappeared and the door closed. After a full minute had passed, the Director turned around and let out a sigh of relief. A hand went up to their mask and removed it. They took in a deep breath and exhaled.

“Wow, wearing that thing is uncomfortable! Kinda wished I picked up a much more fitting mask. Oh well, it’s too late to change it now. I have to keep at it and go without regret.” They leaned back in their chair, absorbing the time alone and staring straight ahead into the nothingness that was the air. No real focus, yet there was a sense of resolve to the Director. Like grabbing hold of something while in a dense fog.

“Two more… and you…” a small, thin, smile appeared from their lips. It was a particular smile that only appeared when it came to reminiscing about the past. Bittersweet, longing, but with a dash of acceptance over what’s to come.

“The judgement of sinners… soon it will commence.”

The end of the world.

Some people think it’ll happen when the sun eventually dies out, leaving the Earth in a perpetual state of cold until every life dies in the frost. Some think the end will arrive from a great rapture, where the worthy and pure ascend to a better life, whilst everything else is left to be purged off the universe. From incurable disease, to natural disasters, to perhaps something like getting devoured by walking corpses, there are numerous theories on how the demise of the planet will come about. One of these had to be right, yes? 

Well, as someone currently living after the end, I have to say it wasn’t anything like those suggested. If I had to describe it… the end was more like a train crash. At first slow and unassuming. People were becoming more forward in their displeasure at the ‘talented’ society we were living in. Scandals related to the top percent of our world were becoming more frequent and with it, merciless judgement from the public. But that looked to be where it ended. Yet, as time went on, more and more things began to go out of control. The train was moving faster and faster. 

Civil unrest and rumors of corruption drew even more ire from an already agitated majority. Nations all around becoming increasingly more aggressive in their attempts to clamp down on such criticism, but that only fueled the flames. This led to protests that faced unusually high levels of brutality before pushing back with force of their own! Vandalism, arson, people all the world over picking sides and ripping apart those who dared to disagree! Everything was building and building… until eventually the kettle boiled over.

Finally, the train lost control… and was sent crashing off of the tracks. International incidents all over soon had countries waging war with each other. In times of distress, people truly loved to blame each other, huh? Ideology, revenge, justice. Those were flimsily given out as an excuse, but as months went by it seemed obvious that people were simply fighting for… just the sake of it. Sake of their own ego or bloodshed. The sake of themselves. But civilians at home couldn’t keep safe as the violence at home broke its limit. Frustration, fear, ignorance, hatred, agony, corruption, perversion, envy. Almost simultaneously did crime spike tremendously from people snapping almost at once and taking it out on anyone who had the misfortune of being their target. With the police themselves becoming a prime target and deciding only violence could solve violence, it was only natural that things would ramp up until either Law or Anarchy caved in first.

The winner? Anarchy. The law couldn’t keep up with the strain of such a rapid assault on both itself and society all over the region. Combine that with the National Diet having been murdered (meaning the country was suddenly without its leadership… a fate other countries worldwide would face soon after) and the sheer despair of witnessing so many innocent kids from Hope’s Peak Academy killing themselves from their poor treatment pushing more over the edge, was it any wonder so many people just lost faith and decided to just do whatever the hell they wanted in retribution? Between getting slaughtered and attacked in ensuing riots or escalating violent crime from the underworld, many surviving law enforcement members broke off to join the rioters in order to save face with the public or even organized crime since the occupation was just about ready to crumble. Or they simply flat out just abandoned ship and tried to strike out on their own. This left any remaining remnants too weak to truly reign in the absolute massacre of the societal order.

Meaning anyone that didn’t get with the program of this new despairing world order were pretty much as good as dead.

That’s how my world ended in a nutshell. What was once studying for entrance exams became just trying to survive for an hour at best. Buildings were destroyed and reduced to rubble, fires broke out and the riots… the endless riots, with the bloodbath that they brought on which reduced people with hopes and dreams to mangled bodies on the floor. I live in a world where the value of life has dropped to nothing. People had become as expendable as ants. Whatever sense of order society previously had went out the window, thus leading to one replaced by an inescapable feeling of despair as atrocities were being committed on pretty much daily basis and for practically no reason.

It’s fitting to call this the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History. Though many just call it the Tragedy.

It’s not surprising that many people, those who were left alive after the initial days of bloodshed became a part of this new breed of pure vileness. Either because they were already twisted and were taking advantage of this new opportunity or they succumbed to their despair and decided to stop caring about their own morality anymore. Regardless, they did what they pleased. They oppressed who they pleased. They hurt who they pleased. They obliterated who they pleased. There wasn’t any way to reason with them. To those that didn’t become like this, existence at that time was just waiting. Waiting for your turn to die.

Then, slowly, things started to change thanks to two events. First, was the creation of the Future Foundation, an organization dedicated to fighting back against the despair of the world. Even if it seemed hopeless, Future Foundation helped to establish a sense of order and rescued so many lives. I’m grateful for that. Anyone would be. 

However, no matter how effective they were initially in saving people physically, mentally, people were still hurt. You can feed a person, put a structure for them to live in, stitch up their wounds, but if you can’t help them emotionally then they might as well be dying anyways. Things were still quite horrible in the world and you couldn’t ignore it. Those that caused such horrible things still had quite the grip on our mentality. It wasn’t even uncommon to find those that managed to be rescued hanging themselves afterwards in their designated apartments. They preferred death than living on in the world. I… can’t blame them.

But that’s when the other event happened. The perpetrator that fanned the flames of the world’s destruction, the one by the title of Ultimate Despair, began broadcasting ‘The Killing School Life’. She did this by hijacking Hope’s Peak Academy, a school that only accepted the talented, and turned a safe haven from the world’s despair into a place of despair itself. She wiped her classmates memories, gave them false hope that they would have a normal life to return to… and forced them to kill each other.

It was nigh unbearable. Seeing innocent teens murder each other brutally, then seeing the culprit getting a stomach churning execution at the end. I was nearly at the end of my rope itself. 

However, a miracle happened. The six remaining survivors banded together and managed to corner the mastermind of the operation, Junko Enoshima, into revealing herself, and after stealing their resolve they beat her game… and she killed herself. It was amazing, just seeing their courage and desire to continue on, even though things had become so hopeless… it was inspiring. Not just to me, but to a good chunk of people as well, we couldn’t help but admire those guys! It made us want to try to change something in this despair filled world ourselves. They gave us something to hope for again!

Those two events, there’s no doubt in my mind, those are why the world is now in its recovery process. It helped jumpstart more people to join the Future Foundation or try and reclaim our own lives against the world's damaged state. To make things better for everyone!

I am one of those people. My apologies for the late introduction. Starting today, I am a member of the Sixth Division of the Future Foundation! I am-!!!

“Misaki Asano!” 

“Eep!”

I got up from my seat, obviously in a startled state and did a poor man’s salute. The other agents nearby started snickering or giving me the dirty eye. Gah, what a first impression. Standing right in front of me was a rather mused looking agent, who looked like an average joe one could see just about anywhere. I’m not saying that to be mean or anything! That’s not it! Just… he really did look average. Like any black haired office guy you’d see anywhere. He raised a brow and began beckoning me to follow.

“Daydreaming on your first day, eh? If that’s your attitude, then you’re a dead girl walking.” he muttered. Thoroughly embarrassed, I could do nothing but follow him. We were currently located in what could be considered an average office setting. Desks were stacked with papers that needed filing. People were typing away on computers (granted if they were working I wouldn’t know). Occasionally stopping to make small talk with each other. Yep, couldn’t get more average than this. 

As we passed by, I noticed my reflection on a nearby computer screen. Did I look presentable? I was wearing the standard Future Foundation women’s uniform, basically a black suit and skirt with a white dress shirt underneath (with a tie for good measure). My short blond hair seems to be in good order too, black hairband is in good order as well. Yep! I’m all set! Although, my focus really shouldn’t be towards my appearance. Not fully anyway. It’s what was at the back of the room that was most important; a door. A door that lead toward who I should really make sure to impress. The agent in front of me knocked on the door.

“This is Yujiro Ida, I’m bringing in the new girl.”

“Come in.” authorized from a stern voice behind the door. With permission granted Ida opened the door and we both walked inside. The office itself was well-kept and immaculate with a desk placed right at the back of it. Behind it was a transparent glass case filled with case files. Sitting at the desk was a glasses wearing woman that seemed to be in her late twenties or perhaps early thirties? She was typing away on her laptop when we arrived, but had paused to give a rather stern look towards us. Everything about her felt as if she’s giving off an aura of thorns. Her uniform, her posture, hell, even her black hair which was styled into a bun with two, sharp and long, hairpins stuck in an ‘x’ pattern… all of it looked as if it felt sharp to the touch. As if I would bleed if I kept looking at her for too long. Trying to hide any sense of fear, I approached her. 

“G-good m-m-morning!” 

“...It’s one in the afternoon.” She responded nonchalantly. Yep, this was going quite well for me so far. A chuckle from behind me was heard. No doubt that was Ida. The woman looked behind me. “I can take it from here, Mr. Ida. You’re dismissed.”

Ida gave a nod and left the room, leaving me completely alone with my superior. I could’ve appreciated the presence of someone else, you know? Oh well, if I’m going into this profession then being able to stand on my own is a requirement. The woman scanned me up and down with a stern look. I could feel sweat dripping down my face. God, I’d hate to be the poor criminal who had to get interrogated by her.

“You probably were already informed of who I am, but it’s always important to make a proper introduction. My name is Ikue Dogami. I am the Chief of the Sixth Division Special Crime Investigation Unit. Here in the SCIU, we handle cases deemed ‘bizarre’ compared to the ordinary. From dismemberment, to mass murders, to crimes of passion, to cannibalism. To put it plainly we specialize in grotesque crimes of all nature. Though, if you decided to join us, I assume you’re aware of that.”

“Y-yeah…” I was quite aware. When I went to join this unit, everything from posters, to those in charge of recruitment, to even my contract... all of them made it very clear what I was getting myself into. Especially, given the-

“I’m assuming you already know of our unit’s mortality rate?”

“...Yes, I’m aware, ma’am.”

People not lasting long in the workforce wasn’t anything new nowadays. After a couple of months, hell even weeks, that guy you saw walking into work will just… stop showing up. Later on, you learn he was cut into pieces in an alleyway.

Of course this was the Future Foundation. The organization that actively fought against the problems the Tragedy brought. It was only natural that not everyone lived long while aligned with the organization, especially those aligned with the Sixth Division. Considering this was a unit that dealt specifically in ‘grotesque’ crimes, it made perfect sense.

(Still, openly going around bringing attention to the 78% risk of being gravely injured or dying while at work will probably affect your recruitment odds.) I thought, since it was probably for the best not to say that out loud. I’ve seen potential recruits switch towards another unit, hell another division, once they learn they might not last long. Still, regardless, I am prepared for it. At least, I think I’m prepared for it? I made it this far, I can’t turn back now. As such, I gave a fairly serious nod.

“...Very well. Starting from today, you’ll be an official member of this unit. I hope you can be of good use to us.”  She extended an arm out, and after overcoming the brief feeling of hesitation, I grabbed her hand for a very tense, rather awkward, handshake. I really hope my hand wasn’t that sweaty. Well, if it was, Dogami never showed it. Instead, she went back to typing away on her laptop. “I don’t have the time to show you the ropes. I’ll leave that to your partner.”

“P-partner?” I said, though I immediately regretted it. Dogami narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

“Yes, partner. Only an idiot would have a greenhorn bumble their way around the workforce. Here at the Future Foundation, people are counting on us to be as efficient as possible, so giving you a partner is just the efficient method.” she explained, though the eyebrow raised at me spoke more clearly about how she thought of me. “Of course, that’s just common sense, yes, Ms. Asano?”

It was like a teacher talking things down towards a student. Covering up my embarrassment, I nodded. “Y-yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Last I heard, your partner should be waiting for you in our break room. His name is Takumi Hijirihara. Get Ida to escort you to the room. You’re dismissed.” Her attention immediately went back to her laptop. At that moment, the sharp feeling I got from her abruptly ended, like she was directing it towards her work instead of me. Boy, was I glad about that. Without further notice, I made myself scarce and left the room.

As soon as I left, I saw Ida waiting just a few feet away. “I take it that I have to escort you to your partner?” I raised a brow and looked somewhat perplexed. 

“You were spying on us?” I asked, to which Ida shook his head.

“Spying? Nah, don’t need to. I’ve done this plenty of times before, especially when it comes to introducing people to Hijirihara. C’mon, let’s go.” he said and gestured for me to follow. As we walked, I couldn’t help but think about what he said? Just how many partners did Hijirihara go through to warrant a routine coming from it… and just what happened to them? Were they re-assigned? Did they die? I contemplated asking Ida but, before I could, we already reached the break room.

It was a break room that practically any other office would have expected. A few tables for people to sit around to eat or talk. A small television was switched on and hung up on a small shelf in the corner (promoting that rising Monk Idol, right?). A refrigerator and microwave stood at the very end of the room, both right next to your average looking cupboards. I looked around the room. Currently, only a few Future Foundation agents were using the room by the time we got in. Some were eating lunch by the tables, but one who stood out the most was the one who looked as if he saw better days. His head, which was full of shaggy, sandy-blonde hair, was on the desk and he was grumbling up a storm. For a moment, I feared he might have been Hijirihara. Having a grouch as your partner would be the worst.

However, that fear soon dissipated thanks to gossip coming from the agents sitting by him. 

“Sakkakura went hard on Tsuruhashi again, huh?”

“What do you think? I swear he’s got it out for the guy. I could hear him getting chewed out from the third floor.”

Well, that was one mystery solved. Still, what about the others? I looked to Ida to ask which one was Hijirihara but he seemed equally confused. His voice called to the others. 

“Say, any of you have seen Hijirihara?” Both glanced at each other before turning towards Ida with equally confused expressions. 

“Sorry, man, haven’t seen him all day.” said one of them. To this Ida shrugged and turned to me. 

“Huh, guess we must have missed him. Well, I’m sure he’s still in the building. For the time being, let’s take a break!” Without even waiting for me to even think that might not be a good idea, Ida walked over to the table with the other agents and sat down, quickly getting absorbed in their small talk. What a slacker. I let out a sigh. Well, whatever. Some food would be nice at the moment. I walked over to the cupboards, before turning back towards Ida.

“Say, which cupboard do you keep the paper plates?”

“Huh? Oh, bottom right!”

“Thanks…” Grabbing the handle of the cupboard, I opened it and reached inside. However, instead of grabbing the familiar plastic that formed around the paper plates I grabbed… huh? Was this… a jacket? Confused, I peered inside the cupboard.

“Wh-wha… AAAAAAH!!!! ”

I recoiled back in a mixture of surprise and fear. “S-s-s-s-some… someone’s in there!!!” I pointed towards the cupboard and gestured for the other agents to come quickly. What? My mind was racing. Why the hell was someone in the cupboard!? Were they killed and stuffed in there? No, that was quickly disproven as I saw movement coming from in there. That person… they were coming out! 

“Ngh… what time is it?” the person, or rather guy, had a groggy tone like he had just woken up. If I had to best describe the man it was unkempt. His jacket, his dress shirt, his pants, everything was all wrinkly and disorganized. Hell, even his hair followed that pattern, given his black hair was all over the place. One hair strand stood up from the rest, yet it also was bent like a wilted flower. Lazy eyes with crimson irises scanned the room with what looks to be disinterest. The only other thing that was of note was the fact he had a black bracelet on his right arm. Didn’t look too comfortable, really. What the hell was this mess of man doing in the cupboard of Future Foundation!?

“Who the hell are you!?” I ordered and got into a defensive stance. True, this guy didn’t seem like an immediate threat, but if he managed to get into a Future Foundation building then there was clearly something up with him! The guy gave a lazy glance over to me… and then turned his eyes over towards Ida and the others. Eh? Don’t just ignore me like that!

“Oh… hey, guys?” To my surprise the others, sans the Tsuruhashi guy still mumbling to himself on the desk, just waved towards this guy like he was a regular-wait a minute! 

“Y-you’re a Future Foundation agent?” I asked which caused the man to raise a brow. 

“Well, I’m not wearing their uniform as a fashion statement so… yeah?” he confirmed. This just made me wonder one thing. What in the hell was a Future Foundation agent doing in the damn cupboard!? 

Before I could ask that, Ida and the others began talking to themselves again. Quite loudly. 

“Heheheh, pay up!”

“Damn, could have sworn he was going to choose a locker this time. Guess he was feeling like a cupboard today.

“Hah, classic Hijirihara! You just never know what to expect.” Ida said, which caused my eyes to widen and my skin to pale slightly. Wait… what did he just say?

“H-Hijirihara?” Don’t tell me that this dirty, oddball of a man was- eep! I had just realized how close he was to me and took a step back reflexively. Was the concept of personal space lost to him? I felt a shiver down my spine as his eyes were staring at me. Almost like he was trying to look into my soul. Gah, how creepy!

“...I have never seen you before. So I take it you’re my new partner?” he asks and begins scratching the back of his neck. “I waited and waited, but waiting for you took so long I decided to take a little nap in the cupboard there. Oh, right, I should introduce myself.” as he rubbed his right eye, I couldn’t help but feel that was something that just came to him at that moment. 

God, please, tell me this is a joke, tell me this guy can’t be my new partner. The one by the name of- 

“Takumi Hijirihara. That’s my name. Starting from today, we’ll be partners. Hopefully, we can get along.” he said and extended a hand out for me to shake. To signify that this was reality, I automatically pushed down any trace of disappointment or dissatisfaction and gripped his hand. No matter how I felt at the moment, being professional was a must. Yet… even still...

As we shook, I couldn’t help feel that the high hopes I had for my path… abruptly had been shifted into a feeling of deep despair.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER TWO: KILLER FIRST DAY

Three loud knocks came from outside the door to Dogami’s office. With an inkling of who was at the door, she looked up from her laptop.

“Come in.” she ordered and the door opened. Entering was Ida, walking in with a pretty amused smile on his face. If she had to guess, that amusement probably had something to do with her new hire.

“I take it Asano has now been acquainted with Hijirihara?” Dogami asked, which was responded with a nod from her subordinate.

“Yep, and I gotta say they seem like they’ll be quite the quirky pair.” Dogami raised an eyebrow, but her expression didn’t give to any form of surprise. This was a song and dance repeated one too many times before, after all.

“I see. Do you believe that any significant issues will soon arise?” A dry smile formed on Ida’s lips.

“You mean aside from the obvious?”

“It would be in your best interest to keep your snark to a bare minimum, Mr. Ida. ” She stressed his surname with quite the level of ice in her tone, causing her subordinate to flinch slightly. (Yeesh.) He could never get used to that, no matter how long he’ll be with her.

“S-sorry.” Clearing his throat, the man gave his thoughts. “Eh, the most I could see is her being bothered  by some of his more… interesting habits. She’ll learn he’s pretty handy to have on board, soon enough. Then again, she could just remain estranged and bail out. Honestly, she seems like the sort to go fifty/fifty. Though, if you’re wondering if anything would happen as a result of her own end… well, I can’t say at this point. She seems okay in my eyes.” 

“‘Okay’ is how most people appear to others. You should know by now you can’t put too much stock into that in this day and age. Have they left for a tour of this building?” She asked, to which Ida gave a light nod.

“Yeah, Hijirihara is showing her around… and boy, did she seem like a deer in headlights once she saw him!!!” That boyish smile was back in full force. “I keep telling the guy he’s not gonna impress any ladies if he doesn’t bother to iron his uniform, y’know?”

“Reminder to stay on topic, Mr. Ida.” She sighed and put her hand on her forehead. She might need an aspirin after this. Why must her subordinate be like this? “...In any case, it's probably still too early to get an accurate gauge on her. Any other news to report?”

“Hmm? No, nothing else to rep-...oh! No, wait. Tsuruhashi is crashing on our break room table again. So there’s a chance the big guy might come by.” Upon hearing that, Dogami's forehead wrinkled and she could feel a dull headache begin to fester. (Oh joy.)

“...How unfortunate. Well, if that’s all, you are dismissed. Lock the door on the way out.”

Ida gave a nod and turned his body towards the door. “Alright, see you around!”

Sharp eyes watched as Ida walked away from her desk and continued to watch until he finally left the room. Once he was gone, Dogami went back to her laptop and began typing away, her eyes searching for a specific file. (Let’s see… ah, there you are.)

File: Misaki Asano.

Part of the most recent batch of Future Foundation trainees to have joined the Sixth Division, hailing from the Shibuya Prefecture. Prior to the Tragedy, her education stood at a freshman high school level as a former student of Blooming Fields Academy. Took the required two-month training period for the Sixth Division. Showed a… passable skill for investigation, though nothing too outstanding. Competent in regards to self defense, at least, if her firearm practice is anything to go off of. Practice rounds with interrogations and interviews were also rather decent as well.

( …Still, nothing too spectacular.)   thought Dogami as she read through the file. If she were to be honest, her talents really should have led her to be better suited for a career as a patrol officer. Yet, she was one of the few applicants to choose to show interest in the Special Crimes Investigations Unit, even after the warnings against such an idea. Not that Dogami was personally complaining since they did need more manpower.

Someone like that is… peculiar to say the least. She was also the only one to have gone forward with the decision and not back out. Interesting.

There were only two types of people that joined this unit: Those who sincerely didn’t care about what happens to their own wellbeing to care about an increased chance of death or those that are driven by some form of passion, be it justice or persistence, that outweighs the fear of death.

Frankly? With personal experience as her teacher, both sides could be utterly suicidal and with the grave marker’s to prove it. That said, the distinction was important in giving her a good indicator of what to expect from her employees. The more she knows, the more she will be able to really work around the coming days with her new agent. As she closes off her file on Misaki, a hint of curiosity briefly enters her gaze though, just as quickly as it appears, it fades to ice. Her proving ground period will commence soon enough.

“Let us see, what side of the coin do you fall under, Miss Asano.”

(God, I want to die… )

Those thoughts rang inside my head as I walked behind Takumi, who has just finished giving me a ‘showcase’ of the cafeteria’s… door. Just the door. Throughout our little ‘tour’ he rarely ever opened a door and walked into the damn rooms he brought me to. How half-assed can you be!?

“This is where the cafeteria is at. They serve the best soba I’ve ever tasted… on Fridays. Aside from that you’re better off just getting lunch from home. Trust me on this.” Takumi said and I nodded weakly to reassure I was paying attention. But only just barely. Inside, my head was spinning and whirling ever since I learned that this guy was Takumi Hijirihara. Of all the people to be paired with, it just so happened to be one of the most unreliable looking guys I have ever had to meet in my life.

Was this a joke? It has to be! But, Dogami didn’t seem like the type to joke around. Hell, I’m pretty sure if I tried to crack one, she’d crack me in half. Still, that didn’t really explain why she had me to get assigned to this guy, specifically. (Could it be...this is a test?) I thought and felt that might have been a good path to take. The more I got used to the idea, the more I felt myself believing it. 

Yeah, that had to be it.

The Future Foundation needs people at the top of their game and with a unit as small as this needs only the best. So it’s likely that they were just weeding out who was fit to really continue here. That means all I have to do is just prove to them I can handle working with an anchor and I’ll be all set to be recommended a proper partner! Yeah, that’s the ticket!

Pride began to swell in my chest for reaching such a conclusion. So much so that I didn’t realize we had just left the entrance leading to the cafeteria and were making our way down the corridor. Hijirihara was still talking to me though, by now,  I had successfully tuned him out.

“You seem happy. So you’re really enjoying what I have to say?” Takumi took note of it and immediately it broke me out of my new groove as I attempted to appear like I was still presenting myself as the listening rookie as before.  

“O-of course! I always enjoy what my senpai has to say!”

“Really? That’s good to hear…though,” a finger began scratching at his temple in confusion. “I’m not sure if I would enjoy being with a junior that thinks gore is a pretty good substitute for paint.”

I blinked. What? I felt heat rushing towards my cheeks and instantly began stumbling over my words to convince him, by every means, that I wasn’t that sick in the head, only for him to raise a hand for me to pause. 

“Relax, I was just messing with you. Was just making sure you were paying attention… and, well, you weren’t.” The few people that were in the hallways with us began to crack up and whisper amongst themselves, not even bothering hiding it from us. Or to be accurate, me.

So not the great first day so far. Ignoring the feeling of wanting to curl up and die, I coughed and looked somewhat sheepish. “S-sorry, Mr. Hijirihara.” Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly given his type, he shrugged uncaringly. “Meh, don’t sweat it. When I was new, I didn’t give a shit about the tour of this place either. Only several important areas we’re going to each week in this building, really. Besides, in our line of work we’ll be spending a good chunk of time outdoors or someplace else anyways. Anything else you can just learn as time goes on or just ask people. Unless you’re an introvert, then I just recommend grabbing a floor plan from wherever. I don’t really care...” 

I’ll say. I guess Future Foundation must’ve really been needing all hands if this one was able to slip through the cracks. These days, not even they can avoid the problem of hiring unmotivated people, huh? Takumi gave a yawn and gestured at me to follow. As we walked, he continued to speak in his flat, almost bored, tone.

“...Still, if I were you, I wouldn’t keep that attitude up when some people are around. Ever hear about the last poor bastard that wasn’t listening when Dogami was around?”

I raised a nervous eyebrow and shook my head. “N-no? What happened to him?”

Takumi paused and I flinched. There it was. That same, unnerving, yet judging stare of his. “That guy… he… he…”

...

“....Truth be told, I kinda forgot. It’s been a while.” Aaaaand just like that, all that nervousness was thrown out the window and I couldn’t help but feel annoyed. If you’re trying to warn me don’t forget halfway through, damn it!

Takumi stood up and gave a nonchalant shrug “Well, whatever. Just don’t piss her off and you’ll be fine. She’s actually kind of sweet once you get to know her. Hey, my advice is to write to her on some cute paper. She absolutely loves that kind of stuff.”

I nodded my head off, but inwardly I was already discarding such ‘advice’. Don’t get me wrong. The ‘don’t piss off’ part was something to keep in mind. But, seriously? A woman like that enjoying cute paper? That has to be something from an old rumor or half-baked theory of his.

Well, anyways, both of us continued onwards through the Sixth Division headquarters. For the most part, the atmosphere was about the hustle and bustle of what an office headquarters would probably be like. Employees carrying stacks of paperwork in their arms going one way, other agents making idle chit chat whilst heading another. For the most part, if you ignored the fact we were in the apocalypse then, calling us just your average organization would be pretty much correct. 

“So...what gives?” he asks, leaving me somewhat confused. 

“What do you mean?” I asked and he stopped walking to address me with those lazy eyes of his.

“I mean, what made you wanna join this unit? Personally, I’m fine being here, though I have to admit it's not exactly the best if you’re looking for good employee ‘healthcare’ if you know what I mean?” he said, and I let out a pretty weak chuckle. Back to that death toll, huh?

“You’re right that there were other options available.” After all, I could have become a regular patrol officer. It would have been a decent position, walking about the streets to see if anything was abnormal and helping keep up what little order there was. Or, perhaps, I could’ve worked as a prison guard. That’s a position that still needs an adequate number ever since the early days of the Tragedy. 

During the confusion, there were numerous widespread attacks on prisons throughout the country. Many people, from the guards trying to suppress them to the prisoners wanting to be free, were killed during the chaos. In the end, some crumbled and inmates believed to be in the thousands escaped. From petty thieves, to serial killers, they were now back in the public eye. It served as another layer of misery that helped fan the feeling of helplessness during those days. Even with Future Foundation’s efforts, there are still believed to be some who are still out there causing trouble. 

Yet, I still insisted on choosing the path of this unit. 

“Y-yeah, you’re right that there’s probably a million other positions here in the Future Foundation I could’ve applied for. Safer too. Even still, I just…”

“...You just?” He looked at me with a surprisingly patient gaze. Yet, with myself, I couldn’t quite bring myself to look at him as I tried to find the right words. Why I joined the Special Crimes Investigation Unit…

“I just… really felt like this was the right choice, you know? Like, a personal calling?” I finally admitted, rubbing the back of my neck, feeling somewhat embarrassed. I half-expected him to laugh at me even. Yet, after a solid moment, he didn’t respond. I glanced towards him and found myself staring into that judging eye of his. His mouth was formed into a small frown and his eyebrow arched upward, which gave off the impression he was still processing what I said.

Was it that strange? Sure, I guess it was somewhat of a cliche thing to say, and I suppose I didn’t come across the most confident in my answer, but still-!

“Alright, that’s passable. Though it lacks a sort of passion in it. Should be enough for a rookie to get by for now, though.” 

“Huh? What do you-?” Before I could ask, he gestured for me to follow him. Honestly, the vibe I was getting was a teacher who just barely accepted a student’s handiwork. Just barely. I felt worried as this judgement sunk in. For about a second. What remained was another wave of annoyance and a feeling of frustration with this man.

Why the hell am I getting so caught up with what this guy goes on about!? He’s a weirdo that climbed into a cupboard for pete’s sake! Speaking of which, while we’re questioning each other, now is a good time as any.

“Mind if I ask you something?” I asked Hijirihara, who barely arched one of his eyebrows.

“Hm? Sure.”

 “...When we first met, you were in a cupboard of all places. Why?”   To this, I witnessed Hijirihara’s eye glance toward the ceiling with some degree of thought. Was this really something he had to think hard about? Well, apparently not, as the answer he gave made me wish he did think further.  Or for him to just not answer.

“Because I like cramped spaces.”

Huh? Eh? What… what kind of answer was that!? Thinking I misheard, I opened my mouth to clarify.

“Ah… excuse me?”

“I like cramped spaces.” He repeated it again!? He does realize that doesn’t clear much up, right?

“I… see? So when you mean ‘cramped spaces’-”

“I mean pretty much any small places a human being can fit in. Cupboards, lockers, boxes, suitcases. If there’s a small place I can fit in, then I’ll probably spend a good chunk of time in them.” He explained in such a casual manner that just made things even more confusing for me. A feeling of deep regret was pushing so hard out of me… yet, I felt I needed to see things through like this to the end. Because I’ll be damned if I asked this question and not given… something coherent to comprehend out of this!

“Can… Can I ask why you find cramped spaces so, uh, pleasant?” I asked, praying that my tone didn’t show any signs of me coming off as rude. Hijirihara paused and a low hum could be heard from under his breath. I still had some faint hope! Please… anything that made sense!

“I-” 

(Please…something normal!!!)

“Just find being in cramped spaces comforting. That’s all.”

…

Why did I even bother?

“I-I… see.”

“I recommend you try it sometime. The cupboard or cabinet works best for rookies. I personally prefer a locker, though that isn’t quite so beginner friendly.” Why is he making it sound like some sort of game?

“...I’ll keep that in mind, sir.” Keep in mind that my current partner was half-slacker and half-nutty.

“No problem. We should probably head back to the main office by now. Chief Dogami will probably have some things to say for your next day tomorrow. Let’s go.”

Pushing back the feeling of utter regret and exasperation, I nodded and followed Hijirihara back towards the elevator that’ll take us to our floor. As we did, I tried to keep positive about my situation. After all, I was still a new member of Future Foundation’s Sixth Division! That was still something to celebrate!

God, I still couldn’t believe I was one of them. Even with my first day going awry, it still was an impressive achievement to be able to join the Future Foundation. It meant from this day forward I was an official agent of change. I wonder what kind of mission I’ll be sent on first? I’m working in the SCIU and bound to see some intense scenes. Still, I can’t back out now. I have to do this. I won’t be the pathetic woman I was before. From this day forward, everything will only be looking up!

“Elevator’s out.”

“Wh-what!?”

...Well, shit.

He urged me to follow him to the right, which led to a pair of double doors. “It can’t be helped. Technicians will probably have it repaired by tomorrow. Until then we’ll have to take the stairs.”

“Y-yes, sir…”

It was a silent trek as we climbed the stairwell, and I was somewhat regretting my choice of shoewear at the moment. Heels and long staircases don’t quite mesh well. By the time Hijirihara was at the top near the entrance to our floor, I was flat out exhausted and starting to pant a bit. 

“Are you alright?” he asked and I tried to flash a confident smile at him. Right, even if it's Hijirihara, I can’t just let anyone think I’m a pushover because of some stairs!

“I-I’m fine, sir! Now, let’s head on inside!” With gusto, I turned towards the door and grabbed its handle. However, as I touched it, I heard a loud, aggressive voice coming from the other side. 

“ Now get your ass back out there!! If I catch you slackin’ off in here in here again, I swear to Christ-!!”

“”S-s-sorry, sir!!! F-forgive me!!”

“Quit apologizing and move it!!”

I was so stunned (and, okay, kinda sorta scared) about that loudmouth’s screaming, I didn’t quite pay attention to the fact that some loud footsteps were barreling towards the door. Hijirihara did and, for the first time since I’ve met him, showed some concern in his voice to warn me. 

“Hey, watch out!”

“H-hu-?”

But it was too late. Before I knew it, the door I was holding flew open, and my face made contact with a hard metal door. I let out a cry and recoiled back in pain. I tried to regain my footing but that hit seemed to have knocked something in my brain. 

Spots filled my vision and I could feel myself losing consciousness. People were calling out to me, but I couldn’t quite make them out. As I started to black out, I felt my body start to fall back. I faintly realized what was going to happen.

( “The….stairs?” )

I was going to fall back down that staircase. Fall… and probably die. Nothing for me to grab onto, and even if I could, no way I was going to be lucid enough to keep hold of anything. 

Huh? So this is how my story ends?

Disappointing…

But, when you think about it, I guess somebody so unspecial like me dying like this wasn't too out of the ordinary. Killed before I could even get out of the starting break. Definitely disappointing, but not unexpected. Better than how most go out these days. Some would’ve wished they died by falling, rather than by some psycho.

Honestly, I should’ve figured this would happen when I signed up for this. Though, a part of me wished I could’ve had a more… noble send off? Maybe go out fighting a high ranking criminal? Or on the verge of breaking through a case? Something a bit more that said ‘my name was Misaki Asano and I went out doing something special’? Anything like that? 

Well, I suppose it didn’t matter now. My vision was almost completely dark as I fell, my prone body spiraling down the staircase towards a hard, yet abrupt, demise. 

Well… that’s what I thought would happen. For a few seconds, hell, that was going to happen. But, right before my death was all but assured, I felt something grab onto my left arm. Hm? Who? I could barely make out their figure…

“I got you, partner."

That voice….

(“H...Hijirihara?”)

That was my last thought before my mind went completely and utterly dark.

All in all? What a rough first day.

Ngh…

H-huh?

(Where… where am I?)

With his head throbbing the man known to many as “Monk Idol” slowly awoke. What happened? He was unwinding after a show. He heard a knock on his door and went to open it up, expecting a dedicated fan or that old geezer. 

What he got was being forced to the floor by several disguised intruders. Something injected into him. Then everything went dark. Panic begins to overtake him. What happened was blatantly obvious, yet the truth was something he didn't want to admit to himself. After all, crazy shit like this happens to other people, like that dead pop star from a while back. Not him! He was different! He was special! He was the Monk Idol!

As thoughts like that rang inside his head, his panicked heart began to steady. Right… horrible things only happen to others that weren't him. He was different. He was a true star. Clearly, this was just some stupid prank. Yeah, it has to be!

He got to his feet, an almost relieved smile on his face, as he used his state to get a good read of the room he was in. If there were two words he would give, they would be: drab and small.

To the upper right was a somewhat filthy toilet. To the upper left was a small foam mattress and your run of the mill pillow. To the front of the cell was an iron door without any form of knob that he can see. It was pretty obvious he wasn't going to be able to just up and leave. 

"Heh, pretty elaborate for a prank." With a sense of confidence, he walked towards the door and began to bang on it, hoping he could get some person out there to notice him. 

"Hey!! In here!! C'mon! You can let me out! Fun is over! You can let me go now! I swear I'm not gonna call the cops! Lemme out and we can let bygones be bygones!" He said. After all, certainly this person doesn’t mean any true harm to him, right? No one would actually dare be serious about this, right? Right! So he’ll just let this little incident slide, perhaps give them a stern talking to, maybe get some form of ‘compensation’ for all of this, and he’ll happily be back towards his hotel to start working on his next song.

Click.

Ah, the door! The sound of a lock being released can be heard from the outside and he begins to smile. They heard him! Sweet, now all he has to do is just walk ou-

“Don’t move.”

Huh? As soon as the door opened, he found himself paralyzed with fear. It made sense. Considering he was staring down the barrel of a gun, it was perfectly reasonable that he would obey.

At the doorway was someone wearing the exact same uniform as that night when he was kidnapped. The only difference being this one was pointing a rifle aimed right at his chest, and not immediately going to tackle him. Sweat poured down his face and for a moment he wanted to scream in fear. That is, until he reminded himself. This was just a prank. Just a prank.

“Ahahaha… r-really dedicated to that little roleplay of yours, huh? N-now, tell you what! I won’t call the cops, if you just let me go! See, well it's obvious since you went out of your way to nab me, but I’m quite the big super star! People love my music and especially love me. Which means that there is probably quite the search going on in order to get me back. Do you understand now? Are you catching my drift?” Slowly, Ito walked forward towards the guard, a familiar feeling of grandeur encouraging him to. Right, he was a star. A star that will never burn out. When he was at eye level with said guard, he leaned in with a gaze that his fans would agree was quite charming, even seductive maybe.

Though for others, a faint sense of unease would have begun to spike as the Monk Idol had their sights on them. 

“...So why don’t we just cut this roleplay bullshit, lower the gun and just let me go back home? I’ll be perfectly willing to keep silent about this little… mistake.” A hand slowly moved onto the gun and crawled its way up to the bottom of the guard’s mask, holding it in a light but firm grip. All it would take is one tug to see who would go through such lengths to actually pull this kind of stunt.

“...And maybe, if I like what I see, I might give you a little parting gift to remember me by. Something memorable for your wasted efforts.” A solid moment passed… and slowly the guard lowered their gun. Ito’s eyes lit up with glee.

WHAM!

In an instant, what once looked joyous turned pained as he hunched over in excruciating agony. The guard had much faster reflexes than what the idol could ever expect. Before he even knew it, the butt of the gun had been rammed into his stomach with a considerable deal of force that sent him down on his knees, gasping for breath.

“Y-you… piece of fucking shi-!! ”

“It would be in your best interest to shut up for now.” With watery eyes, he looked passed the guard and towards the doorway. Standing there was a Japanese woman with long light-brown hair that ran down her back and curved into some sort of ‘tail’ of sorts. In addition, there was a cream colored streak in the middle of her hair and trailing down her ‘tail’. She was wearing a ratchet tattered black poncho and a pair of worn down jeans. Her round brown eyes, topped with red framed ‘full moon’ shaped glasses, glared at Ito with pure contempt.

“Wh-what did you say to me!?” he spat at her, causing her to roll her eyes. 

“I’m saying…” She waved her hand and a harsh kick to Ito’s side sent him sprawling right to the ground. He let out a pained cry.

“You have no power here. Not over me, not on our gracious guard here-” she signaled with her hand again and a boot sent the already hurt man into the wall. Tears streamed down his face as his body ached and groaned with pain. He could barely sit up right.

“Got it!? Drill it into your skull that a shitstain like you will never get even a sliver of a chance of what you had before! So get with the program and you might live a bit longer. Then again, considering how much of a dumbass you were acting earlier, I’m having doubts. God, maybe I should’ve dug a bit harder for someone other than you. Well, this late in, it's probably too late...” The girl turned on her dirty boots and walked out of the cell, only for a moment later to return with a bowl of what seemed to be broth and a bottle of water, though no utensils.

“Your meal for the next seven hours. Make sure you make it last… or not. I don’t really care what you do with it afterward. Trying to starve yourself will probably be met with something similar to what you just experienced.” Nodding towards the guard, both turned and began walking out of the cell to leave Ito to himself.

(What...the hell!?) Ito thought.

“Oh, by the way, don't mess with the guards either. From what I hear, they got wicked fast acting poison pellets in those guns instead of bullets. Apparently, that talent school had some hand in making them, but we modified it to go faster and harder. Believe it's called an Obelisk Agent? You get hit with one of those and you'll be weeping for a regular bullet to the brain.” She smiled viciously. 

“Who…” Pushing back the pain, Ito craned his head up more, eyes filled with absolute hate towards the girl at the door. “Who the fuck do you think you are to do this to me you goddamned bitch!?”

The girl paused for a good moment before her head glanced back at the prone idol. Who was she? Well, that was easy enough to answer.

“Me? …Well, I’m not really important in the grand scheme of things. I guess you can say… I’m just an Intern in this place. Which is still better than being pretty much captive here.” One of her fingers points towards her neck. Confused, one of Ito’s hands touched his neck and his blood ran cold.

Something cold and metallic was wrapped around it. Ito gripped the edges and did his best to pry it off. His veins and muscles tightened as he pulled, but it was of no use. It would not come off. Horrified, he glanced up at her.

“H-hey…”

“So long, Monk Idol…” Without any further ado, the Intern left and the iron door began to close. Whether it was desperation or anger, Ito forced himself to his feet and lunged for the door. What was once the cool, charming, young man turned into a desperate beast pounding away at the door. Sweat drenched his face and wet hair covering eyes filled with terror and fury.

“OPEN THIS DOOR! OPEN THIS DOOR! THE DOOR! OPEN IT! OPEN IT! OPEN! FUCKING OPEN THIS UP, YOU SQUIRREL LOOKING BITCH! OPEN THE DOOR OR I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL KILL YOU!!!”

(I’ll kill you…)

A devilish smile formed on her lips. Yeah, that’s the kind of attitude that made the effort of getting Ito all the more worth it. (The higher ups will definitely be pleased!~ He’s sure to bring in a good audience. Keep honing in that murderous rage, you bastard… you’ll definitely need it for later.)

If he’s as good as a performer as he thinks he is… he’ll adapt to this style shift, no problem.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER THREE: Killer Impressions

Pain…

The first thing I was quite aware of when I opened my eyes, and from multiple areas to boot. My face was aching like crazy, my eyes burned as a result of the bright light above, and, most importantly, my pride was wounded to hell and back as I began to recollect what had happened before I blacked out.

(I was about to open that door which led to our office… and got smacked in the face with it.) That was the truth of the matter and the more I came to accept it the more I wish I had probably just died there. God, my first day on the job, and I somehow managed to get hurt before I stepped one foot towards my first assignment.

“...What a trainwreck.” I murmured as I tried to sit up from this… bed? Oh, right. Where exactly was I? I took a glance around my surroundings. The smell of rubbing alcohol? Pure white walls? Beds lined up everywhere? Oh, a medicine cabinet to the far right. Yeah, no doubt about it. This was the division’s infirmary. He must have taken me here after I blacked out. Though, there didn’t seem to be a doctor here at the moment. Perhaps they stepped out? As I began to grow more aware of my surroundings I took notice of something over my nose. A bandage? It probably, hurt to hell when that idiot slammed that door into me. As I mulled over my poor luck, it hit me.

“Wait, he? ” I winced in pain but fought to try and recall. That’s right. Someone saved me. It was… Hijirihara, right? If it wasn’t for him I would have fallen down the stairs and gotten hurt or, at worse, died from the fall.

“...He saved me, huh?” As I mulled over that fact, I had begun trying to get up from out of the bed. I can’t afford to stay here for the entire day. I have to get back to the office of the Special Crimes Investigations Unit and report back in. Finding some amount of energy into myself, I tried flashing a grin of confidence. Yeah, this was nothing!

“Alright, back to wor-!?”

I suddenly shot out of bed as something began to shift next to my back. ( What the hell was that!?) I went into a defensive stance as I got a good look at said ‘something’. Covered in bedsheets was a massive lump of sorts that was shifting in a slow manner. 

Well, massive might have been a bit of an exaggeration. In fact, the lump was smaller, really. Doesn’t make it any less creepy, though. Thoughts of running out and asking someone to help tackle whatever this was entered my head, though I quickly cursed myself for my cowardice. What kind of Future Foundation agent runs for the hills because something is under her sheets!? 

Pushing back fear, and in its place, welcoming anger at presumably a stupid pervert, I marched up to the lump, grabbed the sheet, and ripped it off.

“Alright, who the hell i-!? Wh-what?”

What was in front of me, or rather who was in front of me, was… a child? At least, she looked like a child given her appearance, but looks can be deceiving. She resembled a kid in fifth or maybe sixth grade, with brown hair and wearing some sort of light grayish-yellow hoodie. Without that blanket covering her, I could hear her snores a lot more clearly. 

“...What’s a kid doing here?” Perhaps they were an agent’s kid that they couldn’t hire a babysitter for, felt sick and was escorted to the infirmary? A babysitter would be on the list of professions that had a lot of vacancies that still needed to be filled after the Tragedy, and it would make her presence in this building make sense. Although, that doesn’t explain why she was in my bed when I woke up. If she was sick or hurt, the other beds were all there for her to sleep on. 

As I pondered what could have been the issue, the breathing from the little girl slowed and she began to stir. 

“...H-hm?” her small hands reached out, trying to grasp something, but upon finding nothing, miffed frown forms from her lips. Her eyes open, revealing a groggy emerald gaze staring right at me.

“Ah...h-hello?” I said, hoping my tone wasn’t too awkward. The girl sat up and began stretching her arms. 

“Ngh… what time is it?”

“That’s… actually a decent question.” What was the time anyway? I got to work at around eleven for the scheduled meeting (moving forward it would be around the nine o’clock hour), waited for about an hour at twelve, before meeting Hijirihara, and doing the whole tour debacle around one in the afternoon. Surely, not much time could have passed by then, right? 

Patting my coat pockets, I reached for my phone, but found that it was nowhere to be had. Did the doctor take it when they brought me here? Or did Hijirihara have it? Well, regardless, it led me to wander around the office. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be a clock hanging up around anywhere. I was prepped to leave when I noticed what seemed to be a timesheet.

Ah! That’s it! I can use it to get a feel on how long I was out! Let’s see… there’s my name! Misaki Asano. Admitted: 2:30 PM. Reason: Fainting due to head injury. This was all signed by a… hm? Their handwriting was too scribbly to be made out, but from what I can see it was from a ‘S. Kimura’? I think? Well, regardless, I suppose I’ll have to thank them in person when, if they ever, get here.

There were several other names listed there after me. “R. Komatsuzaki, Y. Isogai, K. Ishiru…” I mumbled under my breath as I went down the list until I finally saw the last name and their check-in times. “Komatsuzaki! They checked in at around… s-six thirty!? I’d been out for four hours!?”

Just how hard did that freaking door hit me!? Panic swelled inside me as I thought of my coworkers' reactions. (‘Yep, that’s Misaki Asano. Missed most of her first day on the job because she couldn’t step away from a door in time!!’). Who’s going to want to trust that person to investigate a crime scene!? 

“Oh shit, oh shit!! I need to get back quickly! I need to-!”

“...Excuse me?”

I spun around. The little girl had gotten out of bed and was right behind me with a half-dazed, almost bored expression. Oh, right, I was supposed to be getting the time for her, right? Still, given how late I am, I doubt I could really stay to entertain her anymore.

“S-sorry, but I have to go!! I need to get back to my office! I’m sure your parents will be here soon! See y-!” I was already rushing myself out of the office until I felt the back of my jacket being tugged back. Turning around, I saw the little girl tightly holding onto my jacket with a look that I can best tell was ‘groggy annoyance’.

“Ah?”

“...What unit do you work for?” She asked in a fairly serious tone that didn’t quite seem to fit for her size.

“Ah, I am a member of the SCIU! Gah, I mean, Special Crimes Investigation Unit. That’s the full title! But why would you want to know?”

Her small shoulders move in what has got to be the laziest shrug I’ve ever seen. “...I also need to go there to meet someone. Since we’re both going towards the same place, mind taking me there?”

So that’s it? I thought about it for a good second, before deciding it probably wouldn’t hurt. I mean, it's not like I had any reason not to help out a kid…

Okay, being in my bed was rather freaky. But, perhaps, she’s just one of those kids that can’t sleep without being by someone’s side? Still weird, but it's an acceptable level of weird that was understandable. Plus, her request… Maybe she was meeting her parents or guardian back at the office? That could be it! If that’s the case then… helping a civilian out is just playing a vital part in being a Future Foundation member! 

With a renewed sense of purpose, I nodded towards the girl. “Yeah, it's no problem! I can take you there!” It was faint, but I could see the traces of an appreciative smile appearing on the kid’s cheek. Aw!~ It’s smiles like those that can really help turn an overall crappy day like this one right around!

“That’s great… can you also do one other thing as well?” With a wide smile on my face, I gave a thumbs up.

“Sure! What do you need? Want to get a snack along the way or something? Some juice?”

“Carry me.”

…

“...E-excuse me?”

I looked down at her expecting to see probably a beaming, jokester-esque face like any other kid would probably have at that moment. But this kid’s face was stone cold and very serious. Her lazy eyes fully focused on me, as her hands outstretched in preparation of…I guess myself stooping down to get into position? 

“...Can you please repeat that?”

“Carry me… I want a piggyback ride...”

“Th-that’s quite the consistent boldness!”  Who knew kids could be so forward these days? Still, I can’t just allow myself to be walked over like that. “You really shouldn’t just ask strangers to carry you about everywhere. I could be dangerous!”

The little girl gave a small pout and looked somewhat miffed. “You said you’d be willing to do anything. So why not? It’s not as if I’m asking you to rock me to sleep, I just need you to carry me to the office. I’m too prone to just giving in to sleep even while walking, so having someone carry me there would be a huge favor.”

“St-still…”

“You were willing to gimme snacks, so why is this so different?” she asked, and I found myself being sort of unable to look her in the eyes as I felt a degree of embarrassment swell in my chest.  

True, it wasn’t a hard task to accomplish in the slightest. Heck, given this girl’s height it should be relatively easy. But, even still, that didn’t make me really warm up to the idea. Buying snacks for a kid didn’t require you to act like their personal taxi! God, what if some other agents from the office saw me walking around with her latched onto me!? They probably already have a low opinion of me given that fiasco from this morning! ( “Look, it's Asano carrying a kid! I guess a girl like her is more naturally suited to be a caretaker than handling high profile cases like these!”) That is something I do not need at the moment!

Still, the little girl didn’t seem to be budging from this. In fact, those eyes of hers seemed even more determined to get that piggyback ride from out of me. She’s even, kinda, unsettling… wait! What the hell am I doing!? I am an adult!! I can just refuse her if I act confidently. Adjusting my tie, I gave my best stern glare at the kid.

“I said no! I’m not giving you a piggyback ride and that’s final, young lady! Now, if you’re planning on going to the office with me, then you have to walk on your own two legs!” There! I did it! I asserted my authority and didn’t stutter or hesitate at all! Is this what it means to be a firm adult? Heh, feels sort of amazi-!

Sniff!!

Huh? All that bravado disappeared in an instant as I looked down at the girl whose head had hunched over and she began to… sniffle? Yeah, she was sniffling and her hands were now covering her face- Oh shit.

“H-hey, w-wait! Pl-please don’t cry!!!” No, I don’t want to be the one responsible for making a little kid cry! That’s the worst!! I just wanted to stand my ground, not make her upset! I began to panic, and darted around. God, if someone were to talk in on this…

F-fine! Screw it! I’ll take being embarrassed from helping someone in need than be known as an evil bully any day of the week. 

“I-I’ll give you a piggyback ride! See?” I lowered myself and got into position for her to jump on at any time. “Just no tears! It’ll be alright! Honest!!”

…

“...Huh?”

I turned around, expecting to see a kid that was calming themselves down from almost going into full hysteria. What I got… was a girl that looked positively dumbfounded. Eh? Wait a minute, her eyes weren’t red at all and she certainly didn’t seem to be someone that looked like she was crying, either! It was then that I noticed in her hands were some pieces of used tissue. Don’t tell me…

“I was just trying to clean my nose before we left…” A lax smile forms from her lips. But also a smile, I could easily tell came from someone that saw an opportunity and was about to take it. “But if you insist!”

“Waitwaitwaiiiiiiiiiii-!!!!” But it was too late.

The little kid jumped onto my back, her legs wrapping around my midsection and arms around my neck to keep herself still. I jolted forward in surprise, but managed to stop my fall, only barely. Jeez, didn’t anyone tell her not to just jump on someone like that!? Still, as I thought, she didn’t weigh much, but that didn’t change the burning feeling of shame over getting myself into this situation.  

“By the way, can you please stop calling me ‘kid’, it’s annoying.”

“Then, y-you should stop acting like one!!!”

Ngh, the consequences of trying to appease someone in need… they really are quite blatant. I should really learn to be better in the assertiveness department. Oh well, it can’t be helped now. Not like I was going to be the cold bastard to just drop a child.

A small finger pointed towards the direction of the door and, with it, also a sluggish voice rang out. 

“To the SCIU office…”

“W-what am I a taxi? Also, at least sound more chipper since you wanted this so much!”

“We’re wasting time. Onwards… noble… Saki…”

“Jeez, I’m not a horse!” I began to move out, inwardly focusing all my energy into just reaching back with as much pride as possible. After about a few steps, it suddenly clicked on me. (‘Wait, ‘Saki’? That’s... )

“Hey, how do you know my n-?” I felt some weight on my left shoulder and I glanced towards it. It was the kid with her head buried firmly in my left shoulder. Seconds later, deep snoring came from her as well. Yep, just like that, she was out like a light, was she narcoleptic? I began to feel some irritation from this. 

Seriously!? You made such a fuss over getting this piggyback ride and not even a minute in you clock out!? At least, stay awake for it! I contemplated waking her up, but decided to just drop the matter. Chances are she’ll just fall asleep midway through my question. She has business at the office so she’ll probably try harder to be awake there. If I’m lucky, she could maybe fill me in? But, really, I have bigger things to deal with than something like that. 

So, with a sleeping kid on my back and a destination to get back to, I made my way out of the infirmary and into the corridor! My goal is clear! Get back to the Special Crimes Investigation Unit’s office!

…

Ah, which way was the elevator?

Pant...pant…

“I-I… hate stairs… s-so much…”  

( They still haven’t fixed that elevator!? Where the hell was that technician?) Similar thoughts filled my head as I climbed the steps leading back up towards my division’s office. These flights of stairs were the last thing I ever wanted to return since what happened earlier. But it seems life had other plans for me. What made matters worse was that I was sort of stuck with this child load on my back and I couldn’t just drop her after all. Ignoring the obvious moral problem of dropping a kid down several flights of stairs, I wasn’t one to just leave someone who was in need.

Eventually, I made it back up to my floor where the office was stationed. Is it strange to feel relief from seeing something that caused me to go through this more than once? As I reached out towards the door, a feeling of anxiety began to come onto me, causing me to stall.

I nearly ended up severely hurt or dead because I got smacked with this thing. That’s a feeling I rather not relieve. Still, I shouldn’t just stay out here since I have to report back to my office. Yeah, that’s right! No matter what I need to get back to get back to my destination. I can’t let a stupid door prevent me from finishing this day off right! Psyching myself up, I walked towards the door and grip the handle firmly. Time to face my f-!

“Aaaaaah!~ Time to head out!”

My eyes widened and, with a sense of dread, I quickly hurried to get out of the way. A wise move since, just like earlier, the door suddenly shot open. If I had lingered for just a few seconds longer I would’ve found myself re-enacting a similar scene and falling down those stairs again. This time without Hijirihara there I doubt I’d get off so easily. Plus, I had a kid on my back so things would have been even worse. 

“Now it's time to put the office behind me!!” The one who came strolling out, with a wide smile on his obliviously happy face, the utter jerk who was completely unaware he could have easily sent someone sprawling down the same damn flight of stairs-!!!

Upon seeing my face, Ida’s smile quickly turned into quite shocked, even sorta nervous? Then again, with how hard I was glaring at him then that was rather understandable.

“O-oh, Asano! I...wasn’t expecting you to show back up here. Ehehehe… hoo boy.” Ida coughed and looked to the side somewhat embarrassed as I continued glaring at him. Finally, he sighed and lowered his head apologetically. 

“Uh, sorry about the near hit… should’ve been taking my time.” Hm… well, alright. I don’t have time to really stay mad at someone who does seem sincere in their apology. With a nod, I flash a small smile at him.

“It’s fine. Is Ms. Dogami in her office? Need check in with her before I leave. Oh, and-” I nodded towards the girl still snoozing on my back. “Drop this one off there.”

Upon noticing her, Ida’s eyes seemed to light up and he gave a bit of a snicker. “Well, well, if ain’t Sleeping Mekuru! She asked you to carry her here today, huh? That’s a lot of trust for a newcomer. Well, that’s nice! Anyways, Ms. Dogami is in her office.” From his words, it seems like this kid was a regular in the office. Guess one of her guardians really did work there. I wonder if I’ll ever meet them? Plus, at least I got her first name now. Mekuru, huh? Pretty cute name for her.

With a nod, I began the walk into the office before something hit me. Oh right! Turning around, I asked:

“Oh, Ida! Do you know if Hijirihara is there? I kinda want to talk to him as well.” she asked. Ida scratched under his chin as he thought. 

“Erm...no? Not since he reported about your accident has he been back at the office. He wasn't assigned anything, so I sorta figured he was with you, waiting for you to wake up in the nurse's office.” Ida explained, causing a frown to come onto my face. Not here, huh? It’s doubtful that he went home just yet. Where could he be? Oh well, for now, I'll ask Dogami if she had any idea on his whereabouts. If not, then chances are she’ll just have to talk with him the next day then. 

With a final goodbye to Ida, she opened the door to the office of the Special Crimes Investigation Unit. Compared to the bustle of that morning, the office seemed to be rather empty, with only a few still around typing away. Every agent was probably out dealing with field assignments or off somewhere else in the building. Still, they weren’t my concern. That would be Dogami. Ah, but first-!

I placed a hand on Mekuru’s shoulder and began to gently shake her. Soon enough, the kid began to stir.

“Mm? W-what’s going on?”

“Hey, wake up. We’re at the office. I’m gonna put you down now, ‘kay?”

“M’kay…”

Crouching down, the girl hopped off of my back and gave a stretch of her legs, complete with a rather adorable yawn. She turned to me and gave me a small thumbs up in appreciation. Even if it came from a kid, just seeing someone being appreciative of my deeds does give me some form of happiness.

“Thanks for taking me here, Saki…”

“Heheheh!~ It’s fine! Anything to help a cute kid, like yourself…” A small frown quickly appears on Mekuru’s face.

“I told you, I’m not a kid.” She retorts as I make my way to my feet. At that point, my focus was already drifting to the second objective for me to complete, so I didn’t take much heed to her protests. Talking with Dogami. With a pat to Mekuru’s head, I began to walk over to my boss’s door.

“Hope you find who you’re looking for.” I said tenderly before I stopped right in front of Dogami’s door. Steeling myself, I gave a hard knock to her door and waited. Though, that wait was rather short-lived.

“Come in.” called Dogami in that sharp voice of hers. Swallowing my fears, I entered her office. Dogami, just like when I first met her, was at her desk with her laptop out, typing away. When she noticed it was me, she raised a brow. Shutting off her laptop, she beckoned me to come closer to her. 

“Ah, Ms. Asano. I heard about your accident this afternoon. I hope you’re feeling better?” Dogami asked. I rubbed the back of my neck and gave a sheepish grin.

“N-no need to worry! I feel great as ever!!” Which wasn’t a complete lie. I did feel mostly better, aside from a bit of throbbing near my nose. Dogami’s head tilted to the left in thought.

“That's so?... Then I guess that new drug she made actually works.” New drug? She? Before I could ask, Dogami addressed me. “Do you feel able to come to work tomorrow? I hate to ask this of someone who had just gotten in quite the accident, but here in the SCIU we only have so much in staff available. That said, if you really can't, I would understand.”

Without missing a beat I give a nod of my head, with a salute. “O-of course!! I wouldn’t let a little door smash stop me from doing my job!” I say proudly. Plus, it also looks pretty bad if I don’t come in to work on the second day I got this job. Accident or otherwise. Don’t need anyone thinking I’m just taking advantage of my circumstances after all. 

“How eager… still, I’m glad you’re at least fine enough to do your duty. For now, you’re dismissed. Head on home and get some rest. Tomorrow is your proving ground, so to speak.” She advised and I gave a firm nod. She does have a point. Tomorrow will mark the start of my career as an investigator. I’ll need to be at the top of my game.

As I turned, I quickly recalled some and looked back at Dogami. “Ah, say… have you seen Hijirihara? Also, do you know what happened to that door kicker from earlier?” 

“The ‘door kicker’ you speak of has been giving a stern warning for his behavior,” began Dogami, though her words leave me somewhat disappointed. That’s it? A warning? Shouldn’t there be some other form of punishment as well? 

“As for Mr. Hijirihara… unfortunately, I have yet to hear a word from him. I imagine he might still be in the building somewhere, but where he is located exactly is something I’m not aware of.” Internally, I sighed. Figures. Still, at least I got some amount of information from this.

“Well, thank you, ma’am. I’ll be going now.” Turning on my heels, I went to exit the office… only to recoil in surprise. Standing behind me was the drowsy kid, Mekuru.

“E-eh!? Wh-what are you doing here!?” I ask her. She looked up at me before pointing straight at Dogami.

“She’s the one I need to see…” She mumbled out. Oh? Dogami was the one? Wait, so could it be that-! My head turned from Mekuru to Dogami, rapidly looking back and forth between the two. “O-oh, s-so you’re Mekuru’s guardian then!? Or… are you her moth-!!”

Eep! The glare she was sending shut me up pretty quickly. D-did I hit or sore spot? Or was I just completely off the mark? From behind me, Mekuru’s voice piped up. 

“Uh… no… she isn’t my mom, Saki. Guardian…isn’t quite right either?” She said as she began walking up towards Dogami’s desk, unfazed by the glare… granted it was only being directed towards me so not like she had anything to worry about.

“Oh… erm… ah…” With my face red as ever, I quickly began bowing to Dogami. “I-I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!! Sorry!! I didn’t know! I mean… I just assumed! Really sorry! I won’t make such a mistake again!” How to make yourself look stupid in front of your boss on the first day: apparently be me.

Dogami sighed and a hand found itself rubbing her temples. “...It’s fine, Ms. Asano. But, please try not to go wild with your assumptions. You’re an investigator now. Getting to the truth of the matter should be second nature to you.” 

“Y-yes, ma’am…” I mutter out dejectedly. Even when I’m in the clear for the day, somehow I get myself into these troublesome situations. 

“Hey, if it helps matters, you aren’t the first person to think someone from this office was my parent.” Mekuru says as she rubs the back of her neck. She seemed rather unfazed by what just transpired. “Though, usually people think it's either Hiji or Yuji. Dogami is a bit of a rare one…” 

“I… see?” By now, Dogami’s gaze (while piercing into my soul), had at least softened up a bit. Her hand pointed towards the door.

“I’m about to have a private discussion with Ms. Katsuragi, so could you kindly take your leave?” With a weak nod, I turned and made my way towards the door. God, what a blunder. As I exited, I heard her voice ring out. 

“Oh, by the way. You’ve been assigned a locker for your things. However, the key is in Hijirihara’s hands, so tomorrow you’ll have to ask him to hand it over. Still, it would be wise to be familiar with yours before you leave. It’s the last locker to the bottom right. You can’t miss it.” She said, With that information gathered, I gave a nod and walked out.

Well, let’s review how my first day on the job went: Made a fool of myself in front of others by daydreaming. Annoyed my boss when we first met. Got paired with the world’s weirdest slacker (...but he did save my life) . Made a fool of myself a second time during the tour of this damn building. Got knocked out by a door and nearly died. Served as a horse for some kid to be taken back to the office. Almost got hit with the same damned door again. Made a fool of myself, for the trifecta, when I met with my boss again.

...Overall? Not the best start. Honestly, all I wanted to do was just catch a taxi back to my apartment and take a nice, long rest. Still that locker was the last thing on my to-do list. I just need to get it out of the way. 

The locker room was located to the right of the break room. It was narrow and, to be honest, rather cramped. Guess the intention was for employees to quickly place their items in there and leave without loitering in here for too long. I’d hate to be stuck in this place with a hoard of people. Getting out would be a living nightmare. Doesn’t help that I got the short end of the stick and got the worst possible one. Guess that’s a problem being a rookie, huh? Can’t be helped.

The locker itself didn’t seem to be anything special. Granted, I wasn’t expecting anything fancy from a locker of all things. Long and narrow, it would work decently for storing my lunch or probably a spare jacket or whatever. Still, it's too bad I don’t have the key for this. But, not much I can really do about that until I find Hijirihara.

“...Guess, that’s that. Time to go hom-!”

Rattle!!

I stopped in my tracks. Huh? “What… the hell?” A sound came from… inside the locker? My locker. Somewhat scared (...okay, a lot scared) , I quickly backed away from the locker, which continued to make some sort of banging noise from the inside. No doubt about it. Something… or someone was in there.

 But this just begs the question: why? Why the hell was someone in my locker!? Were they stuffed into it? Heck, how did they even get in there in the first place? It should be locked and the only one who has the key is-!

  “I recommend you try it sometime. The cupboard or cabinet works best for rookies. I personally prefer a locker, though that isn’t quite so beginner friendly.” 

  …

 “ Hijirihara…”

That man’s name escaped from my lips with a tone of deep, unmistakable, annoyance. So that’s it, huh? As soon as I’m out of the picture you grab my key, head into my locker, and stuff your ass into it!? Probably, dozing off, I bet! Gah, and here I was beginning to think you were actually kinda, sorta, a great guy!! Tch, serves me right.

With balled fists, I stomped up to my locker and started banging on it like crazy. “ Wake up!! C’mon! Get your butt out of my locker, you freaking slacker! No one told you to go to sleep in that damn thing! Get out!! I said-!” Gripping the handle of the locker, I yank it open with all of my might and reach in to grab the guy. Grabbing a fistful of something, sorta felt like a dress shirt, I yanked back with all my might to force him out.

“Get ou-... huh? Wh-what?”

“S-sorry, sorry! I hear you! Th-there’s no need for violence! See? I’m getting out now.”

This… wasn’t Hijirihara. Standing in front of me was a man with narrow eyes that sort of made it hard to tell what color his irises were. His hair was white, with one strand curving in a crescent shape. His look seemed pretty casual. Black shirt and blue jeans with a white jacket over said shirt. But, that just makes this even stranger. Why the hell was someone like this stuffed into my locker? An apologetic look was on his face with raised arms.

“Who are you and why were you in my locker like a damn creep!?” I yelled at him, causing him to shrink back a bit. He had a look that screamed he regretted his life choices that got him here. 

“Th-that’s...well…” He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. I fold my arms and await something, anything really, that can reasonably explain why he thought that this decision was a smart move to make. Honestly, even if the Tragedy wasn’t ongoing this shouldn’t have to be a thing! 

“I’m waiting…”

“Erm, that is to say… I guess you can call it…”

Yes?

…

He gave a weak grin and shrugged. “I just… like cramped and dark spaces?”

At this point, I was wondering if getting smacked with a door again would’ve been better for me. A bit of unconsciousness would’ve been quite helpful at that point. My head was beginning to ache from this nonsense and I found myself putting a hand to my temple to gently rub it. 

“God, that sounds like something that Hijirihara would spout…”

“Someone called my name?”

“Gah!!!”

The voice came from right behind me and I found myself jumping back in fright. Standing behind me was Hijirihara, who looked as if he had just woken up himself. 

“What’s with all the racket out here?” He muttered out. After I quickly put on my best ‘I totally was not freaking out’ face, I cleared my throat and pointed towards the intruder with a stern look on my face.

“Th-this creep was in my locker!” I said indignantly. Hijirihara glanced over to the newcomer for a brief second before addressing me with a nonchalant gaze.

“...Okay?”

“‘Okay!?’ What do you mean okay!!? Act a little more lively! Do you know how the hell this guy got in there!?”

“Oh! Yeah, I do know how he got there.” Causing me to raise a brow… though in the back of my mind I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like the answ-

“I opened it up for him.”

-Aaand called it! My eye twitched and I was doing my utmost best to not take Hijirihara by the throat and throttle him. However, before I could give in to temptation, I heard the newcomer cough.

“Erm, miss… ah?” He started to trail off and I took that as a cue to introduce myself.

“My name is Misaki Asano. This is my first day working for the Special Crimes Investigation Unit.” With a grin to his face he started nodding his head.

“I see, I see… well.” He extended a hand out to me. “My name is Shuji Fujigawa. If we’re talking departments then I work for the Sixth Division as a part of the Special Troops. Responding directly under our Director, I have no qualms in charging in to fight any sort of despair this world throws at us! ...Although,” A hand went to slowly rub the back of his neck as he gave a sheepish smile. “Admittedly, the work environment could be a tad bit better.”

After a moment, I accepted his hand and gave it a firm shake. At this point, it's better to just try and be cordial. The way I was heading, I’d probably only give myself a horrible headache which was the last thing I would want. Onto this Shuji guy… the Special Troops, huh? I did hear about them, at least a bit. Apparently, these guys were handpicked by the Sixth Director himself to act as a part of his own personal squad to deal with extremely dangerous threats. To even be considered for such a position requires you to have a pretty excellent track record concerning what you do in the Sixth Division, ranging from your arrests to track record on cases solved. 

If this guy was telling the truth, then he’s not just some average joe. He's pretty much one of the elite members of the Division itself. Yet, with that in mind, it just made us meeting like this… quite a deal underwhelming. When you meet essentially the cream of the crop for your organization, you’d expect a more formal meeting then forcing them out of your own locker.

Shuji seemed to have picked up on this and gave an awkward cough. “O-once again, sorry for the whole locker situation. I was hoping to take some R & R and heard that yours wouldn’t be used until at least tomorrow so I thought I could use it for the time being.” Ignoring the fact that he found a locker somehow comfortable enough to sleep in… I can sort of, maybe, see where he was coming from? Kinda? ...Not really.

With a sigh, a hand moved to my temple as I began to massage it. “Was there a reason why you couldn’t just rest normally without the need for a locker?” To which Fujigawa gave a weak chuckle.

“Aaah, sorry, but not quite. Preferences aside, trust me when I say that if I didn’t find a locker or cabinet to crawl into from time to time, I’d wind up as our troops Platoon Head after our boss gets through with him. Like today, he was screaming like crazy this afternoon once he caught him trying to take a break here. My ears were ringing for hours.” By the end of his complaining, his face looked rather uncomfortable as he recalled his predicament. It really is that bad for him, huh?

“Well, next time just… make sure you stay out of my locker.” The white haired man grinned at me and gave a thumbs up.

“Duly noted!” He said cheerfully. Never in my life would I ever think I’d need to tell a grown man to not stuff himself into a locker. I guess that’s what happens when you're living after the apocalypse, although society beforehand really wasn’t all that much different thinking back on it. Eager to move on, I turned to face Hijirihara.

“As for you, please, don’t give people access to my things! You should know better than that! Also, on that note, hand over my key! Might as well fork it over since I’m right here. My phone too!” My slouchy partner gave a slow nod and handed over my belongings. Sheesh, definitely wasn’t the reunion with him I thought we would have. Still, at least now I can talk to him. 

“I thought you would have left by now. Where have you been? No one knew where you were when I asked!” I said. In response, I got the world’s most carefree shrug. C’mon, at least looked somewhat apologetic or reassuring or, hell, anything.

“Well, after dropping you off, I was just doing a bit of this… a bit of that… then I got tired and went to come back here to take a nap in my locker. That’s when I ran into Shuji and offered him yours for the rest of that day since I figured you’d probably weren’t going to stick around to get the key. Had quite a nice dreamscape… until I heard someone banging on the locker next to me...” He murmured out, with his lips forming the world’s droopiest frown as he was reminded of his rude awakening. Tch, seriously? Then next time take a nap in the breakroom or something instead, weirdo.

“A bit of this and that?” I repeated and he just… shrugged again.

“Yep…”

Sigh, I’ll just file it under blatantly vague explanations and leave it at that. I don’t have the energy to pry into his ridiculousness. Heck, I can even feel my head begin to throb a bit from it all. 

“Ergh, it's annoying how you thought that giving some weird guy access to my stuff would have been appropriate at any point."

“In Takumi's defense, I can at least say I'm not just 'some guy' for him.” Not denying the weird part though. He walked over to Hijirihara and draped his arm around his shoulders in a friendly manner. Though, truth be told, it looked as if Hijihara was going to keel over with the extra weight. 

“Nh...heavy…” He complained. 

“You see both of us go way back since junior high! He’s pretty much my best friend! Honestly, life here at Future Foundation wouldn’t be the same without him.” Considering how much of an oddball he is, I don’t doubt that. Though with that in mind, it does make me wonder.

“So… if that’s the case, did you two join the organization together or around the same time… or?” To this Fujigawa just shook his head.

“No, I joined the organization first, and…” Shuji glanced over to Hijirihara, almost uncertain, though from the looks of things my partner seemed rather disinterested in what was being told. “...He joined quite a deal later.”

“O… kay?” What? Was there some sort of issue when Takumi arrived? 

“Hmph, it’s just… old news.” He muttered out before he made eye contact with me again. A bead of sweat rolled down my neck as a degree of nervousness began to crawl up my back. Someone this sloppy looking shouldn’t have such a harsh stare as their default look, damn it! 

“Anyways… Asano…” He began with a gaze seemingly intensifying as he stalled. C’mon, out with it!! Seriously, does he realize how unsettling he can be with such a look? 

“Yeah?” I asked, almost cautiously. I expected an immediate response, but nothing came for a moment. Huh? What? Was he collecting his thoughts or something? What’s the hold up on his word-?

“Do you…” He continued though midway his face seemed to be in a degree of discomfort? Hm? What’s wrong? His hands cover up his stomach and he almost seemed to be teetering. My eyebrows furrow in concern as I approach him. 

“A-are you okay?” 

 “I… I…”

“D-do you need to head to the nurse's office? H-here you can lean on my shoulder and I can take you th-!” 

“That’s not it… I… I am… I am-!!!” A hand was placed on my shoulder and I felt a shiver down my spine and he leaned in closer, still looking distressed. My eyes widened in surprise and I took a step back. What was wrong with him!? Was… was he, perhaps, dyi-!

“ I’m so hungry... ”

…

“...Come again?” 

“...I didn’t have time to really get anything to eat today… so I’m pretty hungry…”

Ahh… so that was it. He wasn’t hurt or dying. Just incredibly hungry. That makes sense. I’m glad that the partner I was assigned to wasn’t going to croak… but at the same time I was also becoming well aware that if I had to deal with another quirk of his I was probably going to put him in the grave myself. 

“I could go for some soba… but from where?” Hijirihara seemed utterly oblivious to my murderous intent. Thankfully, before his demise could be made a reality Fujigawa caught on and jumped in with nervous laughter.

“Ahahaha, well, how about I treat you two to to a good restaurant. Ever heard of Pig Boy?” Takumi seemed to perk up at this and gave a thumbs up in support of Fujigawa. Though as for me, I was a bit uncertain. Considering how my day went, I really should be getting back to my apartment. Plus, eating with two locker camping weird guys is definitely not my ideal way of spending dinner time.

On the flip side, I do suppose it would be good to get to know my partner better. A good relationship is necessary, especially when it comes to your co-workers, I suppose. Though, considering the ‘co-worker’ in question was Hijirihara and his pal, I wasn’t quite sure if it would be worth it. 

Go? Or don’t go? Which to choose?

>Go.
>Don’t go.

After a moment of internal debating, I (much to the chagrin of my better judgement), gave a nod to Fujigawa. 

>Go.
>Don’t go.

“...Alright, fine. Let’s head to dinner then!” Beaming, Fujigawa gestured to the exit and thus all three of us made our exit.

“Thanks, I swear you'll probably like what this restaurant has to offer! Really! Right, Takumi?~” In response, Hijirihara gave a firm nod of his head.

“Yeah, from what I hear their food is like a taste of meaty heaven!” Hm? ‘Heard’? ‘Probably?’ 

“Have… have you two ever eaten at that place before?” I asked. The duo glanced at each other before turning back to me. One was smiling, the other a frown. A classic chipper and gloomy duo in every sense of the word.

“Nope!~”

“Nah…”

...Yeah, my headache was officially back in full force.

Another day on the job.

The order was simple on paper: Make sure the staff was alright while the boss was away.  Compared to something like a hit job, this should be no problem to pull off. 

God, he was so wrong.

The problem revolved around the ‘staff’ of this little operation he was in. Namely? Almost all were practically batshit crazy in some form of the other. Thus, he found what should have been a nothing task, taking up most of his day. Just remembering the shit some of them pulled today…

Crack!

...Huh?

Oh shit… he did it again. Spilling onto his hand and down onto the floor were the ebony colored contents of his Dr. Hopper. Nearby, he witnessed one of the janitors pushing out one of the trash bins, feeling slightly awkward as they looked in his direction. Granted, given his get-up he sort of supposed that might have happened anyway, if to a lesser extent. A completely bald man whose body seemed to be actively straining under the tight jet-black suit he wore. Not to mention the shades really enhanced the ‘person you don’t want to approach casually’ aura he had made for himself.

“...Sorry.” he apologized, before quickly tossing away his ruined can and walking off. The hallways were particularly empty at this point in time. It made sense. Their resident doctor was likely to be busy tending to the gathered for their operation, for now. Least he was past dealing with her… ‘children’. Quite frankly, he hoped to not be called again by her today. Rei’s mood sucked ass and seeing her ‘raise’ her young just put chills down his spine.

As for Chikatilo… fucking hell. The guy was one heck of a manager, but his mood was all over the place. What set him off? What got him laughing? What bored him? What made him happy? Quite frankly it seemed to shift day after day, and he couldn’t tell how many times he witnessed some poor worker become splattered on the wall for an innocuous comment that Chikatilo wouldn’t care for any other day. Today, two repairmen wounded up being on that guy’s shit list for a case of flickering lights. They fixed it with no problem… but as soon as they started to pack up, they were done for. Given the aftermath of what remained of those poor bastards, it pretty much guaranteed that these janitors weren’t getting paid enough to deal with Chikatilo’s nonsense.

He was sure the only reason why Chikatilo never raised a hand against him had to be because of the boss’ prohibition against harming the upper levels of ‘management’. Granted, it was doubtful that the Director even cared about even the lives of those in the upper tiers. He wouldn’t be surprised if one day he just threw one of those nutcases out…

“Rough day, big guy?”

“Hm…?” He turned to his right and looked down only to relax visibly from seeing it was just the Intern. He grunted and just gave a shrug. The small woman shrugged and leaned to the wall beside him.

‘Intern’… wasn’t bad company. Granted, she wasn’t company he actively seeked out. But if she happened to be there… he wouldn’t really complain.

After all, in a place that embraced death and murderers… even a thief could find solace in it.

“Heh, I figured!~ Those meanies must’ve driven you up the wall today, huh? Lemme guess: Another firework test gone wrong… or was it one of Rei’s freaks that nearly got one of your limbs as lunch?” An annoyed snort was all she received in response. She smirked. “Heh, it was obvious!~”

“Both! Hah, figured! Definitely felt like a day where they would do that! Must fuckin’ suck, ri-”

“Why the hell are you here?”

Right to the point and complete with a shot in her direction. Hair stood on the back of her head as she watched his fingers twitch. As if each one was a trap that could be set off with one false move. Still, she navigated through such passages before. Enough to know how to not set off such a man further.

“Taking a break from finding another candidate and thought small talk with someone would help alleviate matters. That’s all.” To the point. Their group’s guard minced words as little as he actually bothered to speak. Doing the same would earn you back on his ‘neutral graces’ at any least.

“...Poor choice of someone.” The man remarks as he leans back against a nearby wall. The Intern chuckled and copied his movements. 

“True, but still it's better than talking to the other two around here, and the rest of the security don’t really seem to ‘listen’ beyond orders. Add together the Director and that geezer are both out, and my options are rather limited.” She tilted her head at him and shot an excited smile.

“We’re nearly at the moment to begin!~ Aren’t you somewhat excited to get the ball rolling and see some action?” She asked, only to get a ‘tch’ in return.

“...Just a brawl with lunatics.” He muttered, with hints of either disgust and disinterest mixed into it. The Intern raised a brow.

“Eh? Thought you’d be more excited. Always heard you liked a challenge.”

“...Things change.” 

The Intern tapped her chin and pointed at him with a sly smirk. “Heh, you’re the ‘if I’m not neck-deep everything else is shallow’ type right? Still, I thought you’d be aching for things to come given who decided to guest star in this.”

“...What that weeb does was never my concern.” He said, though after a solid moment muttered. “Well, not since the incident in Prague at least.”

“Oh? What happened in Prague?” The Intern asked with interest.

“A complete shitshow. You could even call it a precursor to this fucking Tragedy.” He answered flatly and in a tone that screamed ‘do not press’. The Intern got the hint and chose to drop it.

“Well, moving on, she seemed to be excited for things to get going when I met her a few days ago. She’s quite confident in her victory. Then again, what we’re asking for requires experience she had years to acquire. I’d be confident too!... Still…” Her eyes narrowed from the praise she sung into one of annoyance.

“If she starts blabbing up the latest issue of Comic Ponpon one more time, I’m gonna lose it. The industry just got its ass up and she’s throwing a hissy fit over not getting the latest volume. I swear, how could you ever deal with her back then?”

“Well, there’s always one method I take.” The Intern raised a brow and turned to him curiously. 

“Oh? What was it?"

“One, you turn around…” He said, complete with a demonstration of his own. Following this, The Intern nodded her head and focused on the man’s movements.

“Alright, and what do you do next?”

…

“...Walk away.” The small woman sputtered and began to call out as he began to walk briskly away from the scene. 

“H-heeey!! C’mooooon!! Seriously, Tsu!?” 

“See you later…” With a half-hearted wave, the hulking man known as Tsu continued down the corridors, completely content to ignore the complaints of the young Intern. After all, he had to go back on patrol around this time anyway. Don’t get him wrong. Tsu couldn’t stand who he had to look after and, quite frankly, if anything were to happen to them… he’d lose not a wink of sleep.

But regardless of his feelings, he had a job to see through. Be it to put someone in the ground or to simply impress, he’s always been the type to give everything he got without regard. That included women and children too, underestimating anyone is a detriment. As long as that Director kept giving him these sorts of challenges… 

Well, he supposed he could put up with batshit crazy, if just for a little more.

Chapter Text

PART FOUR: ANXIETY KILLER

“Thanks for the meal!”

It was a lively night at Pig Boy. Exhausted office workers swigging back large glasses of alcohol to forget about their work stresses. A family of four chatting animatedly about their day's experiences and misadventures. Some lovers eating out for a time to really get to know each other. Perfectly normal people having a normal time eating and hanging out with each other…

Sluuuuuuuuuurp!~

“Mmmmph!! You knomph, Takumpph! You shoulmph eafhp wif youph mouth opfhh!!! Impoliph to dph in fromph of a girplh…” Came from the silver haired Shuji Fujigawa, cheeks almost the size of a squirrel’s as he shoveled fried pork inside of his mouth. Next to him was Takumi Hijirihara, my new partner who would be showing the ropes on how to be a good investigator (in theory anyways), who was currently slurping down his soba like there was no tomorrow.

Instead of answering, Hijirihara gestured to his soba to the fried pork Shuji was eating, complete with wild hand movements. Fujigawa, in a weird solidarity, got the hint and nodded before swallowing. “You wanna taste my food? Alrighty! I hope that soba tastes great with how you’re acting!” Without missing a beat, both quickly shifted their plates over to one another and began to quickly slurp/munch on their respective meals heartily… and rather noisily. It got to the point some people were beginning to glance at us.

…Thus, one can imagine how I, eating some salad across from them, felt from all this activity and attention. Red in the face, and seriously wishing I had just gone for broke and ordered takeout at home, I let out a cough to get the boy's attention. After redirecting their puzzled looks towards the others in the dining hall looking at us, they seemed to have gotten the message. Well, Fujigawa did, as he swallowed his food and gave a sheepish grin to the bystanders near us. Hijirihara, on the other hand, swallowed his food and didn’t seem the least bit phased!

Rude!

“Ahhh, guess we’ve gotten a bit carried away there. Sorry about that,” Apologized the silver haired man. Letting out a sigh, I gave him a half wave. It’s pointless to hold a petty grudge for that.

“It’s fine, it's fine. Just be careful on how you eat.” I said, though my gaze was firmly on Takumi as I spoke. Would he get the hint? Nope, the guy had his eyes closed as he went about his meal. Ugh…

“So you’ll be starting out in the field tomorrow, right?” Fujigawa asked, with such a question breaking me out of my rising annoyance.

“A-ah, yeah. Ms. Dogami will be putting me on-duty officially tomorrow.” I said, though inwardly cursing my stutter. Fujigawa gave an understanding nod and, as he began to take another bite of his food, asked a question.

“Pretty rough unit for a rookie to walk into. What made you sign up for it anyway?” Oh boy, this question again. In my chest, an anxious feeling swelled up more and more as I began to frantically put together my words.

“A-ah…well-” While I tried to formulate a proper response, unexpected help came in the form of Hijirihara.

“She said it was a ‘personal calling’,” He muttered before munching on some pork. Strangely, despite it being incredibly vague, Fujigawa seemed to have no trouble accepting it and just shrugged. 

“Ahhh, well, I get it. All I can advise is just do your best out there. I know a bit about Dogami and she seems like the type to appreciate her employees doing their job with as much effort as they can muster. So as long as you give it your all, you should be relatively fine.” He said with a supportive grin on his face and with quite the deal of sincerity. It was enough that my nerves began to calm down, enough for me to give an honest grin back.

Too bad he couldn’t keep grinning as well. His lips soon form an almost worried frown, his eyebrows furrowing as well. “Also… make sure to keep safe. An eye out is always good on the job, you know? The world… isn’t super safe. We might be in this ‘reconstruction’ state but… well, you’ll probably see what I mean once you start off.” He said solemnly… which did nothing to prevent my nerves from rising back up again! Couldn’t we just end that note off with a smile!?

He seemed to have caught just how much this was affecting me and he began to desperately backpedal. “A-ah, sorry! Just, you have no need to worry much! I’m sure things will go right! Especially since you got Takumi with you! Trust me, you’re in safe hands!” Granted, I never asked to be in Hijirihara’s ‘safe hands’ to begin with, but I did appreciate his attempt.

“R-right… so, remind me of how many partners you had before me?” I asked Hijirihara. After swallowing some more food, I watched those red eyes of his glance upwards towards the ceiling for a moment.

“...My fourth partner.” He said and, despite every inch of my body saying it was a bad idea, I continued to press on the issue.

“S-so… what happened to the others?” I asked tentatively… and ended up flinching once Hijirhara locked dead eyes with me.

“They’re gone.”

My heart sank and I felt my fingers begin to tremble. Wh-why was this fork so hard to hold now!? “S-s-s… th-they’re d-!”

“No! I mean! Ah, they simply don’t work for the organization anymore! I-I mea, they’re just… they resigned in a totally living way! Really, no deaths! Well, I mean one resigned and the other was fired. A-and… there was maybe one death-oh! Um! Listen! It’s alright! That time was just… oh jeez, sorry, Takumi…” Fujigawa’s head lowered apologetically as, try as I might, my body couldn’t stop shivering.

“It’s fine, you did your best.” Hijirihara said plainly, though everything in my mind said otherwise. What was his definition of doing your best!?

Hijirihara turned to me, my nerves all over the place, and gave a soft sigh. He looked straight at me- ...hm? Compared to how intense his eyes usually were, they seemed… softer than they were before.

“It’s true that… my last partner didn’t exactly make it. They were taken far too soon and it was unfortunate they couldn’t show their fight a bit longer. Obviously, you might feel it's odd my first two partners left the Foundation as well. Ultimately, they split because of personality clashes, which is understandable. Teamwork is essential in these times, and people can wind up dead if they can’t find synergy with their partner. I don’t mind if you end up looking to go solo or find another person to work with considering the information that you heard. Still…” Just like that. That intensity was back. Intense… sincereness?

“...At the very least, I would be honored if you would at least allow me to help show you the ropes of active investigation in the SCIU. It’s the least I can do for you as your senior, so to speak.” Hijirihara humbly said, and he even bowed his head afterward!

Truth be told? I doubt I’d have the power to say no to working with Hijirihara since I’ve just joined the unit… not that I’d tell that to his face. As it stands, Hijirihara now is just adding more to my conflicts with him. He’s a totally weirdo and seemed like your typical organization’s slacker, yet everyone seems to treat him casually and with a degree of respect. He’s a nutjob that sleeps in cupboards and lockers enough to apparently have brought his long time best friend into that act as well. Yet, he had quick reflexes to save me from tumbling to my death. Talking to him can be downright infuriating… but then he goes and does something like this.

I’ve only known him for one day and I can only peg this guy as just being a real enigma. Still, an answer was needed for him…

“...We’ll see for tomorrow.” I finally said. No promises given, but no rejections either. First impressions weren’t so good… but perhaps tomorrow will be better. At the very least, Fujigawa seemed happy that the tension seemed to be gone.

“That’s good to hear! Trust me, you’ll learn a lot of great stuff from Takumi!” Fujigawa said assuredly and I certainly hoped so. It’d be kinda disappointing if he couldn’t live up to the flair just now.

“Let’s do an alright job tomorrow…” Hijirhara said as he raised his glass, though he was back to being as enthusiastic as a rock again. Still, I tried to pick up the slack in that regard and raised my glass enthusiastically. It also helped that Fujigawa was also joining with his own friendly fervor as well.

“Cheers! To Asano’s first assignment!” Fujigawa exclaimed and began to knock back his glass. Not wanting to be the odd man out, I chugged mine down soon after. With a cold glass of sake now down the pipe, I let out a cool sigh and glanced at my partner, who was just sipping away at his drink without much care in the world. Guess he wasn’t a big drinker. Fujigawa also noticed this and sheepishly chuckled.

“Ahaha… usually we’re supposed to all chug back together, Takumi…” To this Hijirhara’s eyes glanced off to the side. 

“...Sorry, my mind was on something.” Hmph, liar! Just admit that alcohol isn’t your thing! At least, I say this internally. I don’t have nearly as many stones to call him out on it. As the mood began to lighten, and I could feel the ‘liquid courage’ giving me some confidence, I felt myself trying to start up a conversation. Namely concerning the topic of a certain other people’s ‘first day’s’.

“So, when you joined the SCIU… how was it? Your first day I mean.” I asked. Certainly couldn’t be as bad as what I went through today… right? Yet, as I watched Hijirihara continue to down his drink, somehow even slower than before, I got the feeling it was quite the opposite. Fujigawa seemed to be similar as he gave an awkward chuckle. “Was it really that bad? What happened?” 

Putting down his glass, Hijirihara swallowed his drink and shrugged. “Eh, it wasn’t really major. Met Ms. Dogami, had an orientation on where and where not to go throughout the building, met my first partner and narrowly avoided losing an eye via hairpin. See? Nothing out of the ordinary… oh! Wait! It was also the first time I ever went into that locker of mine. So that’s a pretty fond memory.”

“I feel like you’re glossing over a pretty blatant outlier…” I said, but Hijirihara didn’t seem to agree with such an assessment.

“I don’t really think it’s that out there. You nearly went over the stairs, I nearly had my eye stabbed out. Even if the methods were different, it doesn’t quite change that both of our lives were in danger during our first day, right?” He said.

I mean, he wasn’t wrong? Technically? But I feel that most people would separate the difference between an accident… and what was likely not an accident. Pins don’t usually reach eye gouging levels based on regular mishaps with one’s coworkers. Especially hairpins of all things.

“Ahhh… I think you missed one or two details.” Fujigawa muttered, but just as quickly as he let that out, did he clasp his hands and look at me with his pleasant smile. “Oh! I guess I should probably tell you my first day on the job, right?” 

I gave a half-nod. I mean, there wasn’t any harm over getting another account, right? “Sure, go for it, if you want!”

That crescent haired man beamed. “Aha! Thank you! Now… where should I start?” Fujigawa’s head turned upward towards the ceiling as he went into thought. Was his day really that more exciting than ours? Or was he having trouble recalling it well? 

“Well, what part of the Sixth Division were you from?” I mentioned, if only to get the ball rolling. After all, you don’t just join Division Six and sign up for the most elite sector all willy nilly. That takes being scouted by the Director himself. Something that takes a deal of effort, talent, effort, perseverance, tolerance for short tempers, and… effort to pull off. Honestly, now that I have time to think about it, I’m technically eating dinner with essentially an organization elite. Had Fujigawa never mentioned that fact I would have probably placed him as being a part of a more support based unit, let alone a high ranker.

Fujigawa seemed to positively take to that question, responding pretty much instantly. “Oh! Well, I was originally a regular patrol officer, you know?” He let out almost an embarrassed chuckle. “I know, I know, it's pretty much just being a regular cop these days, but back then it was incredibly important to have people go around keeping watch for any sightings of Remnants or severe criminal behavior. Always a job that kept you on your toes at the very least… and punished you for not being vigilant.”  

Even as he kept his smile up, there was no mistaking that tone of his becoming melancholic briefly. No doubt in my mind he probably saw a lot of tragic things on his run.Still, such an attitude was brief and she perked back up in no time. “Still, I can’t say I disliked working as one back then.” 

Now this got me to raise my eyebrow. “Really? Are you not too fond of being a Special Troop member?” I asked, but Fujigawa was quick to refute.

“No, no, no! It’s nothing like that! Honestly, I’m honored the Director even thought I was worth even bringing onto his team! Just… some days I kind of feel like people were really overestimating my capabilities. Really, I’m not that different to warrant being given such a role.” Now this caused Hijirihara to scoff.

“I think most people in the Foundation would think otherwise, ‘Crescent Hunter’...” Hijirihara said, which caused Fujigawa’s face to turn bright red.

“H-hey!! C’mon, you don’t have to call me that! It’s just a silly nickname!!” Fujigawa exclaimed, but it didn’t seem like Hijrihara was going to budge. In fact, he did the exact opposite. With a hand moving towards his chin and an intense flair in his eyes, Hijirihara continued on.

“Criminals beware!! As long as the moon shines in the night sky, as its rays beat down on this strife torn world, you will never be safe and will never get far in your misdeeds!! Your evil ways will be stopped by Future Foundation’s Crescent Hunter - Shuji Fujigawa!!!!” He declared, earning a bit of applause from various patrons of the restaurant. Not to mention earning a significant groan from both Fujigawa and myself. On top of being a weirdo, it seems like Hijirihara has a bit of a theater kid energy to himself.

“Ergh, why did that name have to catch on? It makes me sound like the main hero to a B grade shonen or something. Argh… perhaps I should have lost the ahoge after junior high school? Why must I be cursed with this unremovable bedhead…” Fujigawa griped, his face practically stuck to the restaurant table.

“Hey, don’t go saying such things… that cowlick is a defining part of your character design.” Hijihara said flatly. At this compliment (...least I think, it was a compliment), Fujigawa perked up happily. 

“R-really!?” He exclaimed. In response, Hijirihara gave an equally flat thumbs up, but that only seemed to make Fujigawa happier. Perhaps, stand up comedy would have been a viable path in their future had the Tragedy never happened?

“I mean, I don’t think it’s that lame? It’s cheesy, yeah, but I think even a cheesy name works if the person really has the attitude for it.” I said supportively. Compared to how he reacted to Hijirihara, it was less enthusiastic, but he did seem grateful. “So… how did that name come about anyway? You must've really been something, right?”

“I was just doing my job! Just basic determination to pursue a criminal! That’s what a law enforcement officer is supposed to be.” Fujigawa said, though Hijirihara doesn’t look right convinced.

“Though, I take it most patrol officers aren’t parkouring off of buildings to apprehend some wannabe purse snatcher or spend hours tracking down some muggers in the sewers.” He said, which caused Fujigawa to look quite bashful.

“I thought I asked not to tell that story again!” He complained, but instead my new partner seemed content to take another sip from his glass. 

Fujigawa sighed and it was then I noticed his face shift a bit. Firm and uncompromising in what someone would believe in. To be accurate, looking at it closer, it was probably righteous justice. 

“I just can’t stand criminals. Bastards that hurt others during a time like this… they’ve got no sympathy from me. Thieves, arsonists, gangsters, rapists - nothing but trash that needs to be locked away from this society!!” There was an unmistakable passion in his voice and I couldn’t help but listen to him further. Even some of the patrons were really glancing over our way now.

Fujigawa continued his passionate field rant. “The worst of their ilk… that has to be murderers. Pieces of shit that take away people’s loved ones and only exist to cause more pain. That continues to make this hellhole even worse with their wretched desires. I absolutely despise them. Their actions… quite frankly they are utterly-!!”

“Unforgivable?” I interjected. Fujigawa paused and turned toward me. By now, I felt a lump in my throat. My face felt hot and I knew it wasn’t from the alcohol or a fever. If anything, it was probably that same justice filled fury Fujigawa had. 

“I agree. Murderers are the absolute scum of this society!! They ruin… so much.” My hand was gripping my glass so tightly I wouldn’t be surprised if it broke any moment now. “That’s why… that’s why I want to do my best tomorrow! Whatever happens, I want to see that I can do my part to ensure some of those horrible people never see the light of day again!!”

…Hm? Fujigawa was smiling? Granted, throughout all that I knew of him from this one day, his smiles were nothing new. What was different about this one seemed like he was, if I had to guess, trying to ‘challenge’ me so to speak. 

“Then I wish you the best for tomorrow!” He raised his glass in the air. “One last toast: for a world without killing!~”

With a sense of glee and kinship, I did the same. “A world without killing!!” Now all we need to send this off is our third compatriot!

…Hijirihara?

Both of us glanced at our co-worker… who was currently red in the face and wobbling from side to side. Eh!? But his glass is only half-full! Don’t tell me he’s a lightweight!? Those red eyes finally seemed to register what was going on and he tried raising his glass well. But, that sadly caused a bunch of alcohol to spill everywhere.

“T-t-toast!! Toast!! To… to… what are we toasting for? Nothing??? To nothiiing!!~” A hiccup here and a light giggle there, my new partner suddenly fell face first onto the table. Snoring away without a care in the world. It was only by quick reflexes did Fujigawa catch his glass before it broke onto the table.

Sigh. Here I thought I was going to end this on a high note. Fujigawa gave a sheepish chuckle and gently rubbed his friend’s back. “Y-yeaaaah, I think it’s time I get this one back to his place. Don’t worry about the bill, my salary is pretty hefty so I’ll cover it this time. See you later! Really, Hijirihara is more than useful!! Trust me on this one!!” As he slung the downed Hijirihara over his back, Fujigawa waved me goodbye.

Leaving me all alone with a salad to eat, gossiping patrons making assumptions about my affiliation with these weirdos and a severe sense of doubt over tomorrow’s success rate.

Thus ended my first day as a Future Foundation agent.

Name: Rei Shimizu

Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Journal Entry: NEMESIS Participants Health Log No . Fuck it. Who cares at this point.

Another day in this hellhole started just like every other.

With me trying to get in my usual two to three hours of sleep… and being awoken by that goddamned circus fucker’s explosions!!!

‘In my country, fireworks were what my family used to signify the start of a brand new day!~’ Bull-fucking-shit. He’s doing this just to spite me! I know it! That man lives just to be a pain in my overworked ass. Oh, he better hope that he won’t be needing surgery or get sick, otherwise he might find one of those rockets shoved right up his…

Ergh, that wackjob got me off-track again. Anyways, moving on from my rude awakening, I got one of the cooks to whip me up some coffee and toast before I started my duties for today. If there’s one thing I can at least say is ‘improving’ in this wreck, is that at least the cooks are stepping up their game practically everyday. I can still remember ordering coffee on my first day here, but ended up taking a swig of some of the vilest shit I’ve ever tasted. Doesn’t help how creepy the cooks are too, maybe their creepy same-faces are rubbing off into the food they make.

Once breakfast was done, I decided to check up on my Babies. A good mother always makes sure her young are okay before going about their day, right? For the most part, my young have been complacent for the time being. I just knew that a change in their diet was a good thing!~ What growing children need is nutritious food after all!~ This is a far cry from my hospital days of just feeding random sick shit to them and hoping they grew up healthy! So… mark that as a point for this new ‘job’.

Okay, yes, this is more like forced indenture, but you get what I mean. Still, not all of my children were as happy as others. Really, it’s down to the last few that I have issues with. Sometimes new kids… just might have a few defects or two. Some can be so picky they don’t eat anything, regardless of how you cook it or slave away at the stove. Others have attitude problems that go beyond solving with grounding or a good spanking. No, these are issues that would take time, money, patience and more of my love to cure.

Unfortunately, Director Asshat doesn’t have that patience and they’d much rather use my funding to essentially ‘improve’ on a project more ‘personal’ to them. No matter where I go, it seems I can’t escape bureaucratic jackasses interfering with my research. That fucker even suggested I use my own babies for this project! My Babies! Don’t they know how long this took! I’m done pretending to be cute or nice around these idiots when they disrespect me like this. 

They even wanted to put men and women in the same cell areas as each other, as if a girl would be compliant for a health check up with a lecherous criminal looking straight at them. At least the Director had some common sense to change their mind after I spoke up there. Now the men and women have their own separate cell areas. Don't get me wrong. Everyone here, male or female, can go to absolute hell. But, as medical professional, there's some basic fucking things that still need to be upheld.

Pushing past that issue, I went about grabbing the supplies I needed for the regular check up concerning our ‘desired’ participants of this upcoming freak show. It’s my job to make sure these bozos are fighting fit for what’s to come, not sick or trying to off themselves. You know? The usual.

For most of these check-ups, a good deal of these idiots are mostly cooperative. The few that willingly signed up especially so. Mostly thanks to the collars Chikatilo placed on them. Well, having armed guards pointing a barrel at your temple is going to help in the ‘do I want to fucking take my chances now’ decision making. Still, a few can’t help but be general assholes (go figure, mass murders aren’t the nicest of people). Sometimes it’s that snot-nosed four-eyed regal bitch, who isn’t even good enough to be my kids lunch, just going on and on about how her room fucking sucks. Other times, it’s that yakuza turncoat pushing my buttons with his sexist ‘sweet talk’. I swear if the Director just says the word, I’d be happy to go out and find a replacement for this piece of shit… anything to just slip a needle in one of his veins.

Speaking of sweet talk, guess what the new guy specializes in? ‘You know, if you let me go, I wouldn’t mind taking a jab from you!~’ and other sappy shit. God, if that’s how he lured in his other victims then frankly they’re dumb as a sack of hammers to fall for such cliches. Had to get one of the guards to point their guns at him so he would finally shut up and allow me to do my damn job.

But would you believe me if I say not even that asshole was the worst one today? No, that honor goes to the most delusional geek I’ve ever had the misfortune to be forced to take care of…

“...Mimiko Tomizawa.” I muttered, feet already in front of her door, but eyes glued to her profile. At first glance, she was the stereotypical nerdy girl you’d see just about everywhere. Round unflattering glasses, small mousy stature, hobbies that revolved around memorizing old battles and crap no one gave about? Yep, sounds like the makings of some dweeb that was probably going to live a life of envy and cleaning up litter boxes.

Yet, the Director ‘chose’ her for this. Not for Chikatilo’s little sideshow, but for this ‘festival’ coming up. I always wondered if it was because of how brutal and over the top the pipsqueak did her victims in or if it was mostly because of her connection with that new ‘hit gravure idol’ they’re pumping out recently. What was her name Kunie? Kinako? Ku-!

“You will take me out of here!!! Lord Kunugida requires my assistance!!”   Tomizawa was standing in the middle of her room, white kimono stained with filth and in tatters from when she was brought in. In contrast, it seemed she was at least trying to keep up the ‘tender geek’ look with her black hair still straightened as neatly as it could be, alongside those glasses of hers. Those bright eyes of her were as sharp as that katana I heard she wields… too bad her actual weapon was dramatically unimpressive.

“Tomizawa, please, just put down the damn fork…” How the hell did she even get a plastic fork? The guards and chefs were ordered to be careful with what they gave to these participants. That includes no utensils for their meals. Yet, somehow, those idiots found a way to slip up somehow. Thus, this causing this scene to break out: A stupid cosplayer holding the fork like it was a katana… staring down two guards with rifles.

“My lady needs me… I will return to my master!! No matter the cost!!” She seethed, and I could practically feel the aura of a samurai from a long begotten era envelope her. Ready to strike out for her beliefs. Granted, I don’t doubt for a second our poison rounds would make mincemeat out of some ye olde samurai in seconds, but it was something she had going for her.

With a sigh, I channeled my inner ‘concerned caretaker’ and began to calmly speak to her. “Ms. Tomizawa, I can assure you that your master-” God, I can’t believe I said that with a straight face. “Is both alive and perfectly safe. Remember how we said we would make sure all loved ones would be looked after while you are here with us?”

Tomizawa shook her head forcefully. “But I have heard nothing from my master since I was brought to this horrible place!! For all I know she could be in danger!! To kidnap me is vile, but to leave my lady in the hands of potential bandits or perverts would be the same as stabbing me in the heart!!” Oh how I wish the Director would let me do that… but, I have my role to play.

“Ms. Tomizawa, on behalf of the staff here I humbly apologize for making you feel so distressed.” I said, complete with a bow and the guards following my lead. When it comes to unruly patients, de-escalation is a vital skill for the violent ones. Getting excited or ticked off will just make them prone to acting empty-headed. I continued my little ‘apology’ act. “I will see to it that the Director sends only the best to check on your master and report back at a reasonable time, okay?”

Unfortunately, the dweeb didn’t seem to be buying it and even bared her teeth at me. What was she? A dog? Heh, well, she is a bitch, so never mind.

“Liar!! You have no intention of filling that promise!” She growled and took a step closer. Knowing things might get an ugly, I tried to cut in.

“Wait, Ms. Tomizawa! I assure y-!” But, that nerd cut through my words pretty easily.

“Silence, you wretched harlot! No more games! You’ll lead me to this exit right now!!” She was about a few feet in front of me, poised to strike. Granted, I knew I didn’t have much to fear, but this situation was getting on my last nerves.

“ Miss. Tomizawa .” I couldn’t stop it. The ice in my words filled the room to the point, even Tomizawa had to pause briefly. I try to play nice, you know? But sometimes, you have to be a bit firmer when it comes to subduing these freaks. I gesture to the guns still pointed at her.

“I truly am sorry if our ‘service’ is making you feel that it is inadequate. However, I must urge you to keep in here and cooperate. I am certain that our…” What was that squirrelly brat’s name again?” “Our intern… explained the ‘guidelines’ of your stay here. Specifically, in regards to what the guards use for methods of punishment?”

“...It was something called an Obelisk Agent, yes?” She said after a moment. Well, at least she was paying attention. I know a good half of these idiots couldn’t be bothered to remember such details. At least my hard work creating a more potent version, using my own children even, hadn’t gone to a complete waste. Even if that someone who remembered was an idiot.

“Yes, it was. As such, I won’t remind you of how potent it can be. I know you value yourself as a bodyguard-” I coughed and quickly corrected myself. “A samurai to your master. However, even you know you can’t be even remotely effective as one if you’re dead. So, please, hand over the fork and please cooperate with your examination. I understand that such a situation is tough, truly.” I should know, it’s hard on my overworked ass as well. “But you must bear with it for a bit longer. Okay? When the proceedings start, no doubt you’ll find that the chance to get back to your master will come soon after.”

“...” Tomizawa glanced at me, then to the guards rifles, then back to her ‘weapon’ in hand. After what felt like ages, she sighed and dropped the fork. A second later, said fork was stomped to pieces by one of the guards. No more ‘dangerous weapon’. Granted, I’m pretty sure just pocketing it would have been just as effective.

With the nerd back to being agreeable again, I diligently did my examination of her. Like with the rest of the participants, I found she was in pretty decent health. Definitely not in danger of keeling over from some disease or the other at least. Once that was done, I gathered my things and the guards, before quickly making myself scarce. I couldn’t stand to be in there any longer. 

At this point, I was looking forward to a nice, long, bre-

“Damn it, you guys never pulled the trigger!! That’s so boriiiing!! C’mooon, can’t you useless vermin do something right to entertain me.” An annoying voice from the room to the left of Tomizawa’s cell blurted out.

My teeth went on edge, and I couldn’t help but scowl at the door that had quite the nuisance behind it. “For the last time: I am not here to entertain you. Neither are the guards.” Though considering the circumstances, could having her cell neighbor potentially die really be thought of as entertainment?

“Tch, that’s why this production you have will never entertain anyone! Let alone any Sponsors of this event!!” She yelled out, to which I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Spoiled brats were the worst even back when I was still some schmuck working at that fetish hospital. Spoiled brats that were glorified butchers were pretty much the same deal.

“Good thing you aren’t a sponsor of this event then.” I retorted and began to walk off. Still, that brat kept talking. “...I just wanted to see it again. That Obelisk Agent you brought up? I’ve heard about the attempts to upgrade it. I certainly want to see how much this new one would have worked out. I’ve not seen it since I sponsored a Duel Noir…”   Even from outside here I felt it near the end: The sound of bitter remembrance seeping into her voice.