Chapter Five: The Nightmare He Saw
It’s the dream I always see.
[Early this morning, a passenger plane crashed at XXX.]
In a cramped, dark space filled with debris, I was alive.
The smell stung my nose.
The only thing connecting me to life was the rainwater dripping down from above.
[Rescue efforts begin, an attempt is made to search for survivors.]
They’re watching me.
Two lifeless gazes.
Even the kind expression and eyes I knew transformed into ones filled with agony as they continued watching me.
I couldn’t look away.
Because my body was pinned under debris, I could barely move.
[Many dead, finding survivors seems hopeless.]
It’s agonizing.
Please stop.
I’m finally freed from this hell.
[Three days after the crash! A seven year old child rescued from the wreckage!]
I alone somehow survived.
Everyone important to me was gone.
[Miracle child, dramatic rescue from the brink of death!]
“Katsumi! Tell us about the situation back then!!”
Stop it.
“Just what happened there!? Katsumi!!”
Leave me alone.
“Say something, anything, don’t stay silent!”
I hate television.
“Won’t you say a word about your deceased family!?”
I don’t want to interact with anyone anymore.
“Why won’t you answer!? We have a duty to convey the truth!!”
I wonder why I’m still alive.
“It’s okay. You’re okay…”
The moment I faintly heard someone’s clear voice, the black silhouettes that had surrounded and flung unintelligible words at me disappeared.
Next I felt a sensation like someone was embracing me.
As my consciousness surfaced and I opened my eyes with a sluggish feeling, there was an unpleasantly perfect face right in front of me.
“Oh, you’re awake? Are you okay?”
“Red…?”
“Yeah.”
Did I fall asleep?
So I had the usual nightmare, was fretting when Red embraced me as I awoke?
Having understood the whole situation, I calmly stand up and dash into the bathroom, closing the door.
“Oh, is he embarrassed?”
I can hear her carefree voice but with an anguished expression I immediately kneel in that spot and…
“Bluueehhhh!”
“Ehhhhhh!?”
I vomit up what was welling up in my chest.
After going to the refrigerator and drinking water to wet my mouth, I notice Red and the others looking at me dumbfounded.
…That was bad of me.
No matter what, that just now was inexcusable.
“Sorry. Don’t worry about it, it’s not your fault.”
“No I do worry! My heart is in pieces! I didn’t think you’d puke! It was a beauty’s embrace!”
“Saying that yourself is normal huh.”
Some serious confidence, but it is factual.
Well, when I was going to school normally I was pretty popular so there’s no mistake.
Though it doesn’t get through to me.
“Honestly I did think it was lame.”
“Yeah.”
Yellow and Blue who had been watching in the same room are saying some awful things.
Red purses her lips and looks at them with a squint.
“You guys are allies…right?”
“We can become your greatest enemies depending on circumstances.”
“Don’t get cocky, Red. Don’t think you can stay the leader forever.”
“Friendship collapse!?”
Red is dejected after being glared at by Yellow and Blue.
I don’t even have the energy to retort to the fact they’ve completely made themselves at home in the room.
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Noticing the three are doing something around a table while directing chaotic gazes at me, I let out a sigh of resignation and sit in one of the five chairs.
“So what are you doing?”
“Um, a quiz tournament.”
“What are you really doing?”
Isn’t it nothing you’d do in my confinement room?
Though for a quiz tournament, all that’s on the table is a laptop.
“Where are the questions?”
“Well, we thought we’d have a voice program read them out.”
“Unnecessarily talented…”
“I’m in science after all.”
Right, enough to disarm my bombs.
Whether that’s the power of science I don’t know.
“Hey, want to join the quiz Katsumi?”
“Huh? No way. I don’t intend to get all buddy-buddy with you guys.”
They try to recruit me into the Justice Crusaders periodically but I absolutely won’t join.
No matter what the world says, only I, only I, absolutely won’t join them.
“Could it be you’re scared of losing?”
“Ha? What’d you just say? No way I’m scared.”
“Oh, shy huh…I mean avoiding quizzes to that extent means you’re bad at them, right?”
Yellow speaks in a provoking tone.
Me, afraid to lose at a mere quiz?
“Fine, let’s do it! If I lose, I’ll listen to anything you say except joining as an additional warrior!!”
“Then if we lose, we’ll treat you to a meal.”
“I’ll have you treat me to a crazy expensive one…!”
Since I’ve never had delivery food, I’m looking forward to it…!!
“Wait a bit more, I’m making the questions now.”
One way or another I accepted but it looks like it will still take some time for the questions to be ready.
Blue says she’s making questions on the computer. The answerers are me, Red, and Yellow, three people.
I cross my arms and try to wage psychological warfare, speaking to the two.
“Regret instigating this battle…! I’m the guy who beat the Quiz Monster, you know…!!”
“Eh, what’s with that weak sounding monster? Was it strong?”
As the name suggests, it was a monster that gave quizzes.
The nasty thing about it was it would forcibly make all humans within a certain range participate as answerers.
Get a question wrong and it would impose an inescapable penalty on everyone.
“How did you beat it?”
“I chucked a rock from super long range and smashed its question mark head.”
“Can that be called winning the quiz…?”
I tried facing it head on once but within range you can’t attack unless you answer the quizzes right, and even if you do get it right you can’t deal much damage.
“Then how did you defeat the ghost monster?”
“You guys somehow already know the contents of the questionnaire right?”
What about confidentiality…?
“Well, it said to only show Shirakawa-chan but didn’t say Shirakawa-chan couldn’t talk about it.”
“No, there’s things like a doctor’s confidentiality right? Don’t make it sound like I did something wrong…”
That’s weird on a common sense level right?
…………
Why do I have to lecture them on common sense…?
“Well well, tell us. To be honest, because of your questionnaire the higher ups have way more than headaches.”
“Haah, it can’t be helped. I also don’t want to be asked the same questions again…”
I let out a sigh and explain about the ghost monster.
“The ghost monster couldn’t be affected by physical attacks but in exchange, it also couldn’t attack opponents.”
“I see, sounds like a pretty easy opponent.”
“In exchange, it would psychologically attack like Japanese horror.”
Red’s face instantly turns blue, despite being red.
To be honest, I don’t have a very good impression of this monster.
But for their sake. If I hide it clumsily they’ll catch on right away and annoyingly worry, so I’ll tell it straight.
“It would peek into the mind of its opponent and take the form of someone dear to them that passed away.”
“…It has a really nasty personality huh.”
“That was its ability.”
It doesn’t actually possess them but it’s like invoking a spirit.
Imitating perfectly their emotions, personality, habits, it psychologically pressures the opponent and takes their weakened soul as power.
“Well, it didn’t work on me but…”
“Eh, but at the time for you it was probably…”
“Yeah, my family.”
“””….!”””
So you see, I didn’t tell this story to make you guys make those faces.
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