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A genius is what Eiji Biwasaka would describe himself as.
He can recognise it in others as well. The Osoto doctors in the Kanagawa prefecture are what he'd call his fellow geniuses in their fields. Their reputation and skill is well deserved. It’s why he’s having dinner with them right now.
“You’ve had that recent successful case haven’t you, Biwasaka-san?” Mrs Osoto asks him.
“Yes, the one with the politician you mean?”
“I heard it was quite a difficult case considering the circumstances around it,” Mr Osoto adds.
“I don’t want to act like I'm boasting, but it really wasn’t such a difficult effort.” Eiji smiles.
Connections are always useful things. Eiji has the tact to skilfully appeal to others with his charm and reputation. It’s a necessary trait to have to advance in the world and Eiji simply expands on the foundation he has from his family connections. This necessary search applies to the Osoto doctors too. Despite how stern-looking they appeared at first, it’s easy for Eiji to lower their defences. Usually, being able to talk at length about their job and demonstrate their knowledge is a smooth segway into complimenting their abilities and appealing to their egos. Then, pepper in more flattery while showing off your own ability to match theirs until you have them in the palm of your hands. If they are of the loyal kind who will do you many favours, shower them with the appropriate praise in return. Other methods include appealing to their sentimental side and touching on the subject of loved ones. Interestingly, this happens to be less effective on the Osoto doctors, but it’s all the more amiable in Eiji’s view for he never liked the types who talked too much about attachments like that.
Dinner goes smoothly to say the least, and he sees in their eyes indications of satisfaction. Eiji has made a valuable impression on them, and in time he suspects he’ll be called on by them again. Their business cards are given to him with a warm smile and Eiji returns his own polite one. This is of course all just a game to him. They part ways once the elevator reaches the ground floor and he thinks of heading to one of his regular clubs to spend the rest of the night away.
As he is walking, Eiji feels a prickle on the back of his neck. He whips around, but finds nothing out of the ordinary. Some staff are walking by and sweeping the floor, but none of them are looking his way. Strange.
It’s something he can’t shake off easily.
Even as he resumes walking, there’s this unsettling feeling.of being…watched.
Eiji doesn’t like it.
Eiji quickens his steps to put as much distance between the thing watching him and himself. He’d prefer to deal with it himself if it were possible, which it currently wasn’t. He keeps up that quick pace until that sensation disappears entirely when he seems to have walked out of their view.
Eiji hates being at the other end of this, like he’s some sort of prey. He’s aware he’s a popular man who’s garnered a bit of a reputation because of his prowess, so he will have to investigate it later if it happens again. Speaking of, his next priority is tying up some loose ends he overlooked. Someone who also has the same unpleasant behaviour as this stalker of his.
It’s a pesky endeavour trying to locate him, but not impossible. Eiji’s contacts give him the information he needs to locate that idol-obsessed freak. No matter how slippery Tadokoro can try to be, Eiji will find him. Nobody is above Eiji in anything.
The building is derelict and the streets quiet. Tadokoro must think he can lay low forever in this makeshift hideout. Eiji walks past some trash and up a flight of stairs. He doesn’t need to ponder over which room he could be in because Tadokoro drops a can of soda as soon as he sees him in the corridor.
Tadokoro’s face turns pale white like a ghost, mouth gaping like a fish.
“B-B-B-Biwasaka-san?!!”
“Hello. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Eiji smiles eerily.
“W-Why are you here?!? H-How did you find this place?!”
Eiji ignores his questions. “My, what a dump you live in these days.”
Eiji’s sweeping glance is slow and casual. When they land on Tadokoro, he practically trembles under that stare.
“I-I did what you told me to do! S-so, why…Why are you here?”
“About that.” Eiji closes the distance. “You’re too much of a risk.”
Eiji did not come unarmed, of course. Tadokoro yells as he’s tasered and then collapses onto the ground. Now, it should be a quick and simple endeavour from here. Though, Eiji doesn’t like making too much of a mess, which is why he came prepared with various poisons. It’s not too difficult to stage, maybe the police will spin the narrative and think he committed suicide from the guilt if they ever find him. Eiji forces open his mouth to pour it down his throat and he bends over him as Tadokoro retches and struggles for several minutes, vomit and drool pool next to him. Eiji thinks it’s disgusting, but then again, it's a fitting image for the man. Once Tadokoro becomes still, Eiji stands up and turns around. That’s one headache now dealt with among a list of tasks.
What Eiji doesn’t predict when he thinks he’s done is Tadokoro pushing him from behind just as he is about to descend the stairs.
He wakes up in an endless sunset filled landscape when he blinks his eyes open.
His mind is fuzzy. He cannot remember anything, so he wanders. He wanders until he finds an old fashioned hotel. A flame headed man greets him at the front desk and the nameless man can’t recall anything, not even his own name. When he gets escorted by a strange purple-haired girl to his guest room, he’s impressed. It’s opulent and perfect for him. Once he picks off a manilla folder from a shelf and opens it, it all comes rushing back to him.
Eiji Biwasaka. The most flawless being in all of the world.
And so, Eiji is here, stuck between the border of life and death at the Tasokare Hotel.
“Oh, so you’re really a lawyer, Biwasaka-sama?” The purple-haired girl, which he comes to know as Neko Tsukahara, asks with that mismatched tone of curiosity and deadpan look.
“Not just any lawyer,” Biwasaka corrects.
“I see. You did give off the same elite impression like Osoto-san.”
“Osoto-san… Would that happen to be the man over at the bar there?” Eiji points to a green-haired man sitting at the bar and talking with a tarsier-like creature. He’s still adjusting to the supernatural concept of the hotel itself and the strange residents in it.
“Yes, that’s Osoto-san. He’s a medical student and rich,” Neko elaborates. “Oh, but he’s also a criminal, you hadn’t arrived yet, but it was a real mess finding it out. He’s not dangerous though, we have a truce in the hotel, but I thought you should know if you’re interested in him.”
A criminal? How interesting.
“Hm, the family name sounds familiar. Perhaps I know some relatives of his.”
“Rich people connections, huh,” Neko sighs. “Well, I have to go now. It’s my turn to take over the receptions.”
Neko excuses herself and leaves the dining room. Eiji waves goodbye to be polite. He isn’t particularly interested in Neko, she is too eccentric and overwhelming at times, and not someone he can see as useful. Still, while he’s in an unfamiliar setting, it’d be best to maintain positive relations. Which he intends to do with his next conversation partner.
Eiji stands up and walks towards where Osoto is sitting. As soon as he nears, Osoto’s attention latches onto him with immediate interest.
“You wouldn’t mind me sitting here, would you?” Eiji asks.
“By all means.”
Eiji seats himself down. What strikes Eiji first is his intense gaze. Those green eyes look as if Eiji is the only being in this world and Eiji doesn’t mind this kind of attention even if it surprised him. He tends to have that effect. What catches his attention next is his outfit. Neko was right when she said they seemed to be in similar status positions, his clothes are as high quality as his own for a guest. Eiji flags down Menow for a glass of wine and Osoto also orders another drink.
“Do you spend most of your time here?,” Eiji starts.
“Yes, it gets boring in my room otherwise and it’s more fun conversing with the others here.”
“True, there isn’t much to do here.”
Their drinks arrive and Eiji notices that Osoto still has his gaze glued on him rather than his glass.
“I suppose I should introduce myself, I’m Eiji Biwasaka.”
“Masaki Osoto. You arrived recently, didn’t you?”
“Earlier today in fact, if time here flows the same. By the way, Tsukahara-san mentioned to me that you’re a medical student. Are you related to the Osoto doctors in Kanagawa?”
Osoto’s expression breaks and flashes into something unreadable for a moment. Eiji notices.
“Ah…yes, they are my parents, actually.” Osoto seems somewhat reserved about that fact.
What perplexes Eiji more though is the fact that he can’t recall the couple mentioning anything about a son.
“Do you have a good relationship with them?”
“It’s a bit tricky. I’m still in my studies and far from their expectations, so I feel like I can’t exactly call it the best relationship.” Osoto is surprisingly humble about this fact.
“I can relate to you a little bit in that case. My relationship with my father was strained at times and he was quite harsh to me, but sadly, he died before we could reconcile,” Eiji musters his most convincing attempt at regret and it seems to have worked because Osoto’s expression shifts slightly.
“That’s…very unfortunate.”
Osoto taps his fingers against the glass and he breaks eye contact for a moment before speaking again. “Do you wish you could’ve been born to a different set of parents?”
What a ridiculous question. “No. I wouldn’t wish for something like that. I’m quite content as I am. In fact, I wouldn’t have been a lawyer like my father if I wasn’t.” He’s already perfect, why would he change anything about his parents or upbringing?
“Your confidence is a bit envious, Biwasaka-san.”
Eiji smiles at that and takes a sip from his drink.
“It’s because I was born as myself. Not a lot of people are naturally confident in themselves,” Biwasaka says. “But let me ask more about you. Ah, say, are you familiar with the trolley problem? I’m fond of thought experiments like those.”
“I am. Though, if you were to ask me something like that, my answer might be a bit different from most people.”
“How so?” Eiji rests his chin on his hands.
“You see, I don’t desire to save anyone. So the numbers don’t matter in the end. The choice is pointless.”
Eiji almost laughs at that. What an enigmatic person this Osoto is.
Biwasaka spends the next few days just chatting away with Osoto. He finds him to be a pleasant conversation partner with their similar intellectual interests and status. He can talk about difficult topics or at least keep up decently with ones out of his expertise, and has an appreciation for luxurious things. He finds the younger man somewhat naive or idealistic in certain ways, but otherwise fine. There is also the fact that Osoto stares at him a bit too intensely at times. It flattered him at first, but now it’s annoying. He clings onto his words like a child and is almost insistent on keeping him there to talk for as long as possible. Osoto is impressionable in Eiji’s view, and he finds that Osoto is almost desperate in seeking his approval, often lending out books of his from his room or doing other small favours on Eiji’s behalf.
Eiji still has yet to figure out the cause of why he ended up here which is preventing him from leaving the hotel. Some days have passed before Eiji receives unsettling news.
“Biwasaka-sama!” Neko rushes over to him, unexpectedly. “Have you seen Osoto-san?”
“He just left for his room now, why do you rush?”
Neko purses her lips, debating in her head on telling him something. “It’s …you know Osoto-san is a criminal, right? Well, he’s murdered several people and I found out I was one of those people he attacked.”
“Is that so?” Eiji replies unsympathetically, not really bothering to put in the effort to pretend he cares about hearing this.
“But it’s not just that… Biwasaka-sama…there were pictures of you when I went through his room.”
Eiji’s face darkens. “What?”
“You weren’t looking at the camera in them. It looked like he took them in secret while you were in a hotel, I think.”
As soon as Neko says this, it clicks for him. Eiji is furious. Before Neko could get in another word, he’s already striding towards the direction of Osoto’s guestroom. He doesn’t even knock, and thankfully, it’s unlocked when he bursts into the room. Osoto is startled, and before anything could even be done Eiji grabs a hold of one of his shoulders and uses the other to punch Osoto square in the face.
“How dare you.”
Osoto can’t react before Eiji throws another punch and he lands on the floor. Even though they were of similar height, Eiji doesn’t have a flimsy constitution like Osoto.
“How dare you!” Eiji grabs a hold of his collar. “Who do you think you are, huh? How dare a freak like you get close to me like that! You were the one watching me on that day, huh?! You–!”
Eiji can’t contain himself. He feels like pummeling the man until he’s half-dead. And to think his damn stalker is someone like Osoto.
“Biwasaka-sama! Osoto-san!”
Neko bursts into the room, horrified at the scene in front of her.
“Tell me! What makes you think you can get away doing something like that to me!” Eiji yells, shaking the man by his collar.
“I-I love you, Biwasaka-san!”
The answer bursts out of Osoto and Biwasaka pauses out of sheer shock. His expression then turns disgusted.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I-it’s true! Ever since I saw you with my parents, Eiji, it felt like I had met my destiny. I had to get closer to you. You were so- so different from me! When I tried getting more information about you and started to get to know you, it confirmed what I thought. You are truly a genius unlike me. And then I saw you here…I had to… I had to become closer to you.”
Every word out of Osoto’s bloodied mouth sickens Eiji. How dare he even call him by his first name. They aren’t friends. How deluded does this guy think he is?
“Never come near me again or I’ll kill you.” Eiji lets go of his collar, letting him drop to the floor.
He turns and leaves the room. Neko steps to the side for him and looks back to the injured Osoto now also half delirious. “Eiji-san…”
Eiji leaves the hotel the next day.