Chapter 3 (1/2)

Chapter 3 — Brawl the Block

1

A cold thing is being placed on my forehead It feels comfortable

Openingan ice bag on my head

“Levan…”

“Minaoodness…”

I do not understand what he looks so happy about But, I get it after seeing my own condition There is a mirror placed parallel to the bed, where I can see auze My hard-to-open eyes are swollen, and the saoes to parts ofon one of the canopy pillars

“How long… did I sleep?

“About two days, I think Didn’t you fall from the top stairs of The View frolad you’re still okay”

I do not know anything about that, but it seems to be some explanation that Kozuki made for Levan

I give hiue nod, and I look up I am still in Kozuki’s hideout…

My head is blank It still hurts, too And I am thirsty

“I want some water”

Levan gives me water froivingI can taste iron in the water

“Oh, so you’re awake”

Kozuki enters the bedroom, and she makes a beeline to the IV

Other than the cut and swell on her lips, I cannot see any other wounds on her Clearly, she is in a better shape than me

“Really, I’ain, I’m so worried if…”

“Levan, sorry, can you leave me and Kozuki alone?”

A confused look floats on his expression I repeat to hi him off Levan leaves the room with slumped shoulders

“Did you develop tinnitus? Or perhaps have you begun seeing illusions?”

“Whatever What is ‘View from the Shard’?”

First things first, I ask her about the thing that intrigueson the side table next to the bed for lass-pyra

“The View from the Shard is a skyscraper, approxi your visit to the observation deck, you missed your step on the stairs and fell down until the first floor”

“Where is the observation deck located at?”

“On the 72nd floor”

“And I fell, down to the first floor?”

“Yes”

“What kind of bullshi+t is that”

Kozuki finishes changing the IV, then she sits on the bed

“The reality is the sas You were even beaten in your own game”

“Stop joking with me!”

I grab Kozuki’s arth

“The Ark has been stolen, by your grandmother!”

Kozuki probably knows everything She looks ashaiven up onthat

“Didn’t you say that you kept it in a safe place?! Because of you, I…!”

A dull pain runs through oing to my head

“See? It’s because you are getting too agitated Here, a painkiller”

I put the pill init I refuse when Kozuki holds out the pitcher for me, but I am still unable to s it down

“Don’t ignore me, here”

I reluctantly drink the water My ed to s the pill

“You’re right… what Grandmother did was not in my expectation”

“She knows about our location, you know”

“Yes, but we have our family rules ‘We will never betray one of our own’, that one”

“I’h”

“I’ll say this to you!”

Kozuki ju in the bed sway in response

“The one who beat all the rules into me is Grandmother She would never break any of them on her oithout a doubt!”

Why is she sticking up for her grandmother when she has tricked us?

Everyone needs to survive That is why rules and such never have any irl should be the one who knows it better

“But right now, she is our enemy”

“Be it an ene, she will definitely uphold the rules We have our family precepts after all”

I do not even know her face How can I trust her when I have only heard her voice? She is just a total stranger to me

And Kozuki When we had just arrived here, she already transferred the Ark to who knohere Senseless Maybe, is she an accomplice of that weapon seller? After all, she did contact the organization without tellingbehind me

I gaze at Kozuki’s face intently What is she thinking, why didn’t we leave from this hideout?

“Why are you staring at me?”

“No reason”

Her eyebroitch

“Listen You better not angerme, I will insert air into the IV tube and let it fill the blood vessels in your brain”

Kozuki ht because of my wounds I entrust my body to the bed, and I close my eyes

“I won’t say it anymore”

“Wise decision”

Maybe the painkiller is working, I feelless

“Just rest well for the ti”

“How can I? They knoe’re here”

“If ander about carelessly, it will become a moment for them to aim at us Just be obedient now”

She put the replaced IV on a tray and leave the room with it

This hideout is like a house built on sand With its foundation shaved by wind and waves, it will eventually crumble Why does Kozuki choose to stay here? How did Black Fist obtain the Ark? What did Professor grant ESP to Popper for?

Every hu to destroy uard down

If Kozuki does not want to, then I will search for another hideout on uidebook and take a look at the map I confirm my current location on it, and I search for a suitable place to hide But of course, the uidebook does not describe any reclusive places

I aht, maybe because of the painkiller And so, I fall back to sleep

2

It is already ht when I wake up My swollen face has recovered quite a bit, but I can’t see anything in this total darkness Kozuki is not here Where did she go?

Nah, I do not even need to guess Shearound Actually, I am relieved that she is away

I aht wind

Wrapping myself in a coat, I takeroom I continue to the door, and I place o through the hallway to get out This is the enemy territory Kozuki’s rules are useless, too I dash outside of the apartment

I am now in an open space at the complex I do not see anyone

Now, I am alone I had always been since I was a child But so the line, there was someone who appeared in my life

“Kyoutarou…”

When Iirl, and is cheeky despite being the sauard down for

Kyoutarou had always been by my side

A boy we found in Efrasia A brother unrelated by blood And my————

I first thought Professor took hi

“Don’tto him About what happened to that country, about ESP I will tell him myself when the time comes”

That was the first thing Professor said to ether

Getting up in thetable, but we both stayed silent We went to the sa to each other at school, either

Soround It was a sudden change for hi to the peaceful japan from Efrasia that was filled with hatred It was iht

But I never considered doing anything to help him adapt After all, we had been abandoned by the world

A houseer That was my impression of him at that time

But in tie

We started talking, although aardly Every ’ And e returned ho the day, or about the books we read

Since I cannot cook, my meals are ed that When I returned, the ho cooked

“I’h”

Said he, e was not that exquisite, but it was still delicious After eating dinner, ould sit next to each other on the sofa and talk about trifling things

“You’ve grown taller”

“Really?”

“Yes It’d be better if you change your school pants”

“I can still wear it It’ll be a waste”

“They already look bad on you”

That hen I had my first tranquil days after my mother died Every day became fun

We talked about various things, but we never mentioned about Efrasia

I believe that was not escapism nor a rebuff, but kindness

Both of us bore si the existence of those wounds, we never tried to probe into them It was comfortable that way

Kyoutarou becauard down for, and I believe he regarded me similarly Kyoutarou was a part of me, and I was a part of hiether, that hat I thought

However, Kyoutarou is not here I aer with Kyoutarou either The one by his side is now Urushi+ba Rinka

In order to stop me and Professor, he remained with Urushi+ba

Why was he on that side? How did he get involved in the first place?

Kyoutarou, who had seen the scenes of hell in the civil war; I had wanted to keep him away from our battle That was the reason I left him

It was about one year after an, I killed people I was assaulted, and I tried to protect myself It was inevitable That hen I became a murderer

I did not return home Instead, I went to Professor and told him about the incident

“I willof worthless to worry about”

If only I could think like that, everything would have been much simpler

“It’s still possible for you to return”

My body shook when I heard his words

“You are currently at a forked road You can forget about ESP and about this whole revenge You can go back and live normally with Kyoutarou like before”

Kyoutarou Yes… I have Kyoutarou As long as he is there, he is the only one I need But…… how can I forget……

“But if you can’t…”

Can I? About those days? My Father’s anguish, his sorrow for losing Mother, his anger towards those people who feigned ignorance

“Then you have no other choice but to follow e”

Professor put out his tobacco and stood up, but I could not led around hedme to my seat

I could notKyoutarou with us? Why did Mother die? Why did Father think of soe? I wondered about those questions

Kyoutarou… Mom… What should I do?

“The first time I killed people hen I was fifteen”

Kakunoshi+n as standing still in one corner of the room suddenly spoke

“The country where I was born in adopted a strict class system I was froer sister I also had power, as well as a large build No one could beat h to silence the harassment from the upper classes”

His tone was flat, without emotions I kept silent as I listened to his story

“As expected, soher status didn’t like that and decided to hammer me down But, the one who received the brunt of it was my sister She was still thirteen, yet she was raped for hours and hours She was barely alive when I found her”

“Cruel…”

“It’s a common story where I lived My sister died in the end She beca after”

I wondered what kind of expression he had under his helmet Kakunoshi+n spoke indifferently to the end

“You were close to getting your heart killed If you didn’t kill them, it was your heart that would have died instead I am not sure if this serves as a consolation, but I think it is good that you didn’t end up like my sister”

A heart that was killed I suddenly thought about Father before he became ‘The Professor’ Father’s heart must have been killed when Mother—his most precious—was snatched away from him, and trampled

Then his wilted heart resurrected itself With revenge as its dark fuel, his heart blazed forward

“So the first persons you killed are…”

“Everyone who took part in raping my sister, I killed their families as well Also, both my parents”

“Why…?”

“This is what they said todeal'</eive that Those people were obviously the ones at fault, so why did we have to resign ourselves to it? I couldn’t forgivesuch a situation And at the sa such a twisted world”

“Is that the reason you joined hands with Professor?”

Kakunoshi+n nodded in agreement

“Professor understoodchased by society But, he told ”

“But, the people you’ll kill next ti to do with all that”

“The moment I found so the whole world my enemy”

Someone who truly understands ether, I can feel strength welling up whenever I think back upon it

I would do anything in order to protect hiht accept the current me Maybe he would understand what I did

“Welcome home You’re out late today”

Like always, Kyoutarou greetedat a moment’s notice

That was Kyoutarou, his real self that he regained after living in the peaceful japan He was cheerful by nature, and kind He would never choose to kill a person

He was the sole survivor e et involved in another war?

——No, I couldn’t do it

“Minami?”

I buried ht had surpassed mine who knohen

I could hear his heartbeat It was proof that he was alive Without a doubt, his heart was still pu I do not want it to ever stop

I really wanted to take him with me I wanted to be with hi hiether were only for the sake of getting him involved

I did not want that to happen I did not want to taint our life together I did not want Kyoutarou to forget about the time he had spent with me, either

Still clinging to his chest, I desperately tried to keepI had to, but I could not stopofforth

“I love you, Kyoutarou”

If only I could say that, how relieved would I have been? Would I be saved? But, I could not permit myself It was exactly because of my love for him that I could not allow s I wanted to let Kyoutarou live free, bound by nothing Yes, free

I left ho anything; I decided to walk behind Professor, in the path of carnage

However, ure appeared on the opposite side He, too, awakened his power And of all things, he just had to become a teleporter just like me

Kyoutarou and I have lost the ability to understand each other for eternity

I aloomy darkness

I wonder where things rong Why a happen purely on ht me to this place?

Thinking back, I feel everything is just a continuation Instead ofpower at hand that has been forcing ain and again, leading me to my current state

“I have gone a long way… from Tokyo, and from Kyoutarou”

As always, the apartet used to this smell

The s in order to live, huh There is no way for me to understand that I do not believe people would have

The ones living here seem to be detached fro to follow its rotation

What is the point keeping up with a world full of deception? I a them drea side That is the delusion it gives them But, that is all it does, as they will never reach that place They are just running around in circles

Maybe I can change that When Kozuki returns the Ark tofish around this complex The qualified will obtain ESP, and evolve into those with merits They will become the true holders who can stop the world

I laugh at

People withthis miserable life in fear, there is no way someone like me has any merits

Froht power, I spread fear, and I overturned the world But, did my ‘will’ exist in all that?

I was only following Professor’s words when I thought, when Ia face called hatred, brandishi+ng the power of ht to throw all other emotions aside I had killed my heart with my very own hands I lament my current state, but I cannot even cry or shout, just like a doll

That… is me

Even so, I have to protect the Ark That is the only thing left ofa doll’s duty to fulfil

The night wind caresseswounds It is still a bit cold, but it has been comparably warmer than when I first arrived It will turn April soon ‘If Winter co be far behind?’

But Spring will never come for me, not for eternity

3

I walk around the apartment complex aimlessly There are other people in twos and threes, but it was quiet

I as tell me to I know I have no destination into the room

Somehow, I reach a public park near the aparthtly lit, but there is not even a person in sight The playground equipraffiti One with a lion shape has been sprayed co at the sky

I try cli the top, I can see a slightly different view fro above ht before noers just a tad bit before me

Maybe this is how espers view the world; a view slightly above the ground Just this slight elevation makes them merry and feel as if they are better than others

Urushi+ba Rinka said it at the National Diet Building

‘We have soue with… We have someone we can fall in love with! We espers are humans, too, aren’t we!’

Maybe she is right She faced er She fought with the intent of saving people, believing in justice She was naive, and her ed to accomplish it with her ‘will’

“Minami, it’s really you”

I look down and see Levan He is standing there, carrying his sketchbook like always

“What are you doing at such a ti here?”

“I can see this park from my room”

He points at the apartment

“You’re sharp to know that it’s me”

“Hehe”

He laughs as if e up, as well

“Won’t your dad be worried?”

“Dad is in a night shi+ft, so he won’t be ho”

Said Levan as he sits next to me

“And how about you, Minami? Is it okay for you to be outside already?”

“I’et some wind”

“I see”

At that moment, the wind blows I squintfrowounds

“Minami, you really have a pretty smile”

What is he talking about? I glare at him, and he looks away in panic

“I didn’t smile at all”

“But… I know I saw it during the wind just now You smiled a little”

There is no way it is true Even if it is, itof anything worth laughing I try touching the edge of ht line

“You have some nerve to make fun of me”

“O-of course not! I… really… thought so…”

Heweird

“You’re sain”

I i this time

“Enough I’ back”

“Sorry, I’ive me!”

“No, I won’t”

Levan’s s to cry at a es so easily that he just ht rival Kozuki I think I was e