Utsuro no Hako:Volume 6 Scene 4 (2)

scene 4: Piercing at Fifteen 2/3

• 11. PARK – DAYTIME
• The camera focuses on a baseball field within a spacious park. The sound of children at play echoes in the background, but no one is in the vicinity of DAIYA and KOKONE.
• Raven-haired DAIYA is standing on the pitcher’s mound, while KOKONE is perched on home base, her back against a wall. She is wearing her glasses.
• The scenic view to the rear of the park is illuminated by gleaming fields of golden wheat.
• DAIYA
• Here we go!
• DAIYA throws a ball in a gentle arc to make it easy for KOKONE to catch. Visibly tense, KOKONE readies herself and holds out her glove. The ball bounces off her glove and rolls away. She hurriedly picks it up and tries to return the ball, but her throw does not quite reach DAIYA.
• This cycle repeats several times.
• DAIYA
• You totally suck!
• DAIYA laughs heartily while retrieving a ball that has flown completely off course.
• KOKONE
• Uuh! I’m sorry!
• KOKONE somehow manages to catch the ball by holding out her glove with both hands, but she fails again when she tries to return it to DAIYA.
• KOKONE
• Daiya…isn’t playing catch with me boring?
• DAIYA
• Well, I can’t get any real practice in like this, that’s for sure.
• He picks up the ball that comes rolling toward him.
• DAIYA
• But that’s cool!
• KOKONE
• But I can’t throw far enough…and my pitches always go astray…
• KOKONE throws the ball off to the side once again, and DAIYA chases after it.
• DAIYA
• You can throw them wherever you want!
• He bends down and picks it up.
• DAIYA
• I’ll pick up every single one.
• DAIYA smiles, and he means what he says. Nevertheless, KOKONE does not want to depend on him forever, so she runs up to him to get some tips on how to play properly.
• KOKONE listens carefully as DAIYA explains things like throwing techniques and proper stance. He somehow seems to be enjoying it.
• KOKONE
• Okay, here I go!
• KOKONE throws a few balls; her form has improved a tiny bit. As time passes, she gradually improves.
• KOKONE
• Go!
• The ball flies directly toward DAIYA’s glove.
• DAIYA
• You did it.
• DAIYA smiles.
• KOKONE
• I did it.
• KOKONE smiles.
• 12. PARK – A WINTER NIGHT
• DAIYA’s hair is dyed and his right ear is pierced. He is fiercely flinging a baseball against a concrete wall. Every time the ball bounces, it makes a loud thumping sound. There is no one catching his throws; he’s all alone.
• The fields of wheat have been scythed bare.
• DAIYA
• …Hah…hah…
• He winds up and pitches.
• Because he’s put far too much reckless strength into that throw, the ball flies high, right into the fence above the wall, and gets stuck.
• He cannot retrieve the ball.
• DAIYA stands there silently, scowling at the baseball.
• KOKONE (MONOLOGUE)
• Purity is
• KOKONE (MONOLOGUE)
• beautiful
• KOKONE (MONOLOGUE)
• fragile
• KOKONE (MONOLOGUE)
• and irreplaceable.

◆◆◆ Daiya Oomine – 09/11 FRI 22:50 ◆◆◆

I’m at my limit.

An alarm bell is ringing in my head like an emergency earthquake alert.

Displayed onscreen are Kokone Kirino, back before she dyed her hair, and my boyish and naïve former self.

I was prepared.

I was prepared for what “Piercing at Fifteen” would show me.

But forewarned was not forearmed; the pain I bear as I watch remains.

“—Ah.”
Ill will.

Ill will.

—Ill will.
It’s as though ill will were crucifying me in my seat with its sharpened blades. The world’s color has changed, stained with a muddy color called reality. I’m stricken with a feeling that the entire world is opposing me.

All the ill will I have gotten used to is eating away at me once more.

The world in the movie is so beautiful that the difference, the dirtiness, of the world today stands out with horrible starkness.

Aah.

I want to pass out.

I want to be released from this torture.

“Master Daiya.”

My fading consciousness is pulled back to reality by a voice that addresses me with a disgustingly exaggerated title.

Struggling against the listlessness that the ‘Cinema’ brings to bear, I brace myself and turn my head toward the voice. An unfamiliar woman is standing near the entrance of the theater. Although I fail to recognize her right away because of my weakened state, I quickly realize who she is. Her face isn’t very familiar, but among my [servants] only my most fanatic worshippers call me “master.”

It is not, however, the fanatic middle school girl I met previously in Shinjuku; she’s not my only fanatic worshipper. Ah, I remember now. The woman walking toward me is a university student who repeatedly tried to commit suicide. Like the other fanatic, she mistakenly experienced a theophany in my presence when I used the ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’ on her.

Ironically, someone that impure is the only thing that can calm me down right now.

It’s probably because she’s a reminder of the reality I’ve experienced, which is the opposite of the warm scene set in that movie. How terrific that someone as terrible as she is allows me to get a grip.

“What’s the matter?”

While my headache and nausea are still plaguing me, I have pulled myself together enough to remember the task I had assigned to that believer. I told her to observe Kazu.

I gave my other fanatic, the middle school girl, the [order] to use Mogi to force Kazu to come here—breaking Mogi’s fingers if necessary. At the same time, I also [ordered] this university student to secretly follow and monitor the middle school girl. I was fairly certain that Kazu would be too busy dealing with Mogi and the first fanatic to detect the presence of yet another one of my [servants].

I also [ordered] her to enter the ‘Wish-Crushing Cinema’ afterwards and report to me.

The university student reaches me and crouches down like a faithful slave. She is visibly nervous.

I draw the obvious conclusion:

“Did the threat fail?”

“Yes.”

That’s only natural given the power that Kazu has obtained. I gave that [order] before speaking to ‘O’, and I’ve since learned about Kazu’s ‘box’ crushing abilities. So I’ve already written off this attack.

However, I didn’t expect the message that follows.

“But that’s not all; he has seen right through your plan!”

Unable to stomach her message, I frown. “What do you mean? How much does he know?”

“He knows that your goal is to erase Aya Otonashi’s memory, Master Daiya!”

“What?”

How could this happen?

It goes without saying that I haven’t mentioned such a plan outside the ‘Wish-Crushing Cinema’, so there’s no way it could have leaked out.

“If anyone could have told him, maybe it was ‘O’? …No, it’s unlikely that she’d do that after saying that Kazu’s her enemy. So that leaves—”

“Excuse me, but Kasumi Mogi was the one who leaked the plan.”

“Mogi?”

Mogi knows what’s going on in the ‘Cinema’? How is that possible?

I consider the question momentarily and come up with an answer right away. I turn around and look to my right.

The source of the leak; the girl I previously considered to be out of the game entirely.

“Yuuri Yanagi.”

“Eh? Yes?” she says as she widens her eyes. She looks totally clueless. Nevertheless, slowly but surely, I’m starting to understand her play-acting.

“Shindou shared her power with you? Without my approval?” I say, having grasped the situation.

Yanagi doesn’t bother to dissemble, and flashes a cheerful smile instead. “Ufufu,” she giggles before her face turns ice-cold. “It can’t be helped if you found out. Yes, you are right. And Kasumi-san is my one and only [servant],” she admits.

Her provocative attitude causes the fanatic university student beside me to scowl at her with blatant enmity. While signaling with my hand to the fanatic to keep back, I continue to speak with Yanagi.

“Did you forget that my victory will help you to get closer to Kazu or what?”

“Hah? What are you talking about? I said this before, but why would I submit to someone who once killed me? It’s nauseating that you seem to think that you can control a girl like that, so could you please go die in a fire? ”

This girl is too much.

With the power of my ‘box’, I can stimulate her ‘Shadow of Sin’ and torment her as much as I want; I can command her to do anything I want. Despite that, she still finds ways to defy me.

I wait for her next few words, planning to torment her with her ‘Shadow of Sin’ once she has spoken.

However—

“Just kidding,” she says with a smile.

“What?”

“Just kidding, Oomine-san! Please don’t get angry. Things aren’t as they seem—I’m helping you out like I promised.”

I definitely can’t trust her, but I decide to hold off on stimulating her ‘Shadow of Sin’ for now, and instead investigate her true intentions. “You claim that leaking my plans helps me?”

Sounds like a crappy excuse to me.

However, Yanagi answers “Yes!” with utter conviction.

What’s with this attitude?

Yanagi isn’t dumb. She should be perfectly aware that as a [master], I’m practically holding a knife to her neck. How can she be so confident that I won’t use that knife?

“Just imagine how Kazuki-san would react if he learned that you are trying to erase Otonashi-san’s memory.”

I finally understand what she’s getting at.

“So you’re saying that what you did was,” I conjecture, “a trick to lure Kazu into the ‘Wish-Crushing Cinema’?”

Yanagi gives me a slow, stressed nod. “Yes. Don’t you agree that that is the ultimate threat? There’s no need to do something as horrible as breaking Kasumi-san’s fingers!”

That strategy involving Mogi was just a feint, a now pointless countermeasure intended for ‘O’. It’s understandable that Yanagi would consider it an ineffectual choice.

“Otonashi-san. Kazuki-san will come, right?” she says as she turns to Aya for confirmation.

Aya, who has kept out of our conversation thus far, answers: “…Yeah, without a doubt.”

What she says can be taken for granted.

“See, I did help you, Oomine-san!”
Thanks to Yanagi, Kazu’s coming here.

We’re going to confront each other directly.
Geez…, I think silently, thanks for dumping this mess in my lap.

It’s not like I didn’t consider using the plan to erase Otonashi’s memory to threaten him; I was well aware that I could bring Kazu to me that way.

But why would I take such a risk?

If he learns about our intentions beforehand, he can better plan his response—the likelihood that he can impede our plan rises. This becomes all the more pressing because he possesses the overwhelming ability to destroy ‘boxes’.

If Yanagi wanted to help me out, she should have come up with an entirely unrelated strategy and disclosed that to Mogi.

That aside, it surprises me that she’s willing to go so far to separate Kazu and Otonashi…

“Kazu would hate you for this.”

“Of course not! What are you talking about?” she counters casually. “After all, I tried everything in my power to keep you from hurting Kasumi-san, and on top of that, I leaked your plan to him, didn’t I? If anything, he has reason to thank me, and certainly no reason to hate me.”

…What is she talking about? But now that I think about it…she’s right.

From Kazu’s standpoint, Yanagi’s choice to disclose my plan makes her appear to be an ally. It’s also true that she tried to protect Mogi. This girl is really living up to the role Kazu has given her.

She is carefully plotting to maintain her favorable position in his eyes.

“So much for helping me…”

Her actions even serve to protect her. Now that Kazu knows that I’m trying to erase Aya’s memory, he’ll realize that Yanagi is a likely target for the ‘Flawed Bliss’; his natural response will be try to prevent that—to come up with a way to protect Yanagi.

What Yanagi has done is increase the probability that she’ll be saved.
“—well, that’s what you might think, Yanagi, but you just dug your own grave.”

“Huh?” she utters, widening her eyes. I grab her ‘Shadow of Sin’. “——Ah, AAAH!!”

She gets to taste the sin of the murders she committed inside the ‘Game of Idleness’.

“AAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

There’s no way she could endure that pain.

“I considered it necessary to use the ‘Flawed Bliss’ right before Kazu’s eyes to create a massive impact, but it’s a different story if he knows that I’m going to erase Otonashi’s memory and we know that he’s coming here. Kazu will know what happened if Otonashi has already lost her memory before he arrives. By confronting him in that manner, we will break his will.”

Yanagi tumbles off her seat.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!”

“Rejoice, for your actions have brought ruin upon Kazu. Now despair and yearn for the ‘Flawed Bliss’.”

Her sin is murder.

Yanagi might be crafty, but at heart she’s a good person—pure, the opposite of a criminal. There’s no way she could endure such a heavy sin.

And yet—

“………I refuse,” she squeezes out, astounding me. “I refuse. Doing that would be losing to the ‘Game of Idleness’. No doubt I’m a monster for doing what I did, but those actions were unavoidable. There was no other way to survive. If I didn’t have any other choice—right or wrong doesn’t matter—I just have to accept it.”

“Stop spewing crap, murderer.”

“Shut up! I won’t render his efforts futile. Kazuki-san visited me every single day when I’d shut myself in at home and patiently explained to me that I’d had no alternatives. He has forgiven me. So no matter how painful they are, I won’t lose to my sins…I won’t!”

“…How long are you going to be able to continue saying that?”

No matter what she says, she won’t be able to hold out for long. I’ll just have to wait until she begs for mercy.

However.

“Stop it, Oomine!” Aya yells. “I won’t use the ‘Flawed Bliss’ if you force someone to ask for it!”

I let go of Yanagi’s ‘Shadow of Sin’.

“Don’t you dare do that again! Okay, I’ve decided: I absolutely won’t use my ‘box’ if you make someone suffer for it!”

She’s dead serious.

And so Yanagi escapes from her pain.

“Uh…aah…aah…” she groans as she scowls at me with tears running down her cheeks. “…Uh…haha…did you hear that…? She’s not going to use it for you the way you want… serves you right!”

With the last of her strength, she pulls herself onto her seat and collapses, completely still, while slumped over. She whispers “Kazuki-san…”—appealing to Kazu’s sympathy even though he’s not here? Either way, I understand now: Yanagi informed him of my plans because she wanted to stop me.

“Tch, stupid bitch…”

What a shame. My plan would have worked if I had properly won her over.

…Or was it because of Kazu that she could resist the power of my ‘box’? Because Kazu fought the ‘Game of Idleness’ and patiently helped Yanagi to recover from it as well?

A wave of exhaustion flows over me. I plunk down into my seat.

Meanwhile, the fanatic girl is still positioned somewhere between squatting and standing, and looking at me in a worried fashion.

She is getting on my nerves.

“Get lost.”

“Huh?”

“Get out of my sight.”

She seems unhappy, but since she believes in me completely, she’d never refuse my orders. She stands up and obediently leaves the theater.

“——”

Scene by scene, the movie continues to play.

In just a short while, I’ll have to watch Rino burn Kiri’s back with cigarettes.

✵
Okay, my advantage has been countered by Yanagi. My headache and my nausea have gotten worse, and I’m constantly weakening, but I have to order my thoughts and deal with the situation anyway.

While holding my head, I try to revise my plans.

My situation has taken a turn for the worse after the end of Repeat, Reset, Reset. There are 5 changes that I know of:

• ‘O’ is no longer on Kazu’s side.
• Kazu now has the power to crush ‘boxes’.
• I realized that Kokone Kirino is the ‘owner’ of the ‘box’ I’m in.
• Kazu is coming here.
• Aya won’t use the ‘Flawed Bliss’ if I force someone to ask her for it.

Given new information, I also have to modify my tactics. I originally thought that I just had to break Kazu’s will; break his will and have him abandon the ‘Wish-Crushing Cinema’.

I was wrong. Even if I managed to defeat Kazu, I’d still lose because Kiri would maintain the ‘Cinema’.

Nevertheless, it’s still necessary to break Kazu’s will; I absolutely have to disable his destructive power.

The following conditions are sufficient for me to achieve my victory:

1. Bring the ‘owner’ of the ‘Cinema’—Kokone Kirino—here before September 11th ends and make her abandon her ‘box’.
2. Break Kazuki Hoshino’s will before he can touch my chest. Do so by making Aya use the ‘Flawed Bliss’, which will also erase her memories of Kazuki Hoshino.

What the hell? How can I possibly meet these conditions?

For starters, how am I supposed to get Kiri to come here? How am I supposed to make her abandon her ‘box’? How could I possibly persuade her when the purpose of her ‘box’ is single-mindedly devoted to destroying mine? There’s no way I could reverse someone’s firmly held beliefs in a single hour. Instead, I’d have to find a way to destroy her ‘box’ by force.

But I don’t have any means of doing so. It’s impossible.

Besides, how am I going to get Aya to use the ‘Flawed Bliss’? I’ll be forced to bring one of Kazu’s friends here who, in addition, will have to be interested in the ‘Flawed Bliss’. Even if I managed to do that, I doubt that person would be able to make the final decision to accept the ‘Flawed Bliss’ that quickly, which will give Kazu the opportunity to destroy my ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’. After all, he just needs to touch my chest.

Impossible.

Unless I could perhaps control Aya Otonashi’s actions, it’s impossible for me to win.

“……”

Wait.

Ah, so, would that be the solution?

There’s only one condition necessary for my victory.

That is—
—making Aya Otonashi my [servant].
There’s only one way I can get rid of the ‘Wish-Crushing Cinema’—use Kazu’s power to destroy it. I can even use my [orders] to tell someone to kill herself. If I threatened to make Aya commit suicide, Kazu would have no choice but to obey me and crush Kiri’s ‘box’.

I would also be able to force Aya to use the ‘Flawed Bliss’ with an [order], and defeat Kazu by erasing her memory in front of his very eyes.

If I make Aya Otonashi my [servant], I can fulfill both victory conditions.

However.

“There’s no way I could do that…,” I whisper, as I watch Kiri desperately struggle against her attackers on-screen.

“Stop it! W-Why are you doing this to me, Rino?!”

Aya Otonashi is defined by her iron will. There’s no way she would become a [servant]. Even thinking about going there is a waste of time.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”

My will power drains away as the shriek echoes from the speakers, chipping away at my heart.

I try to touch one of my piercings and fail. I can’t even bring myself to lift my hand to my head.
End.

End.

End.

End.

End.

Just end! Fuck it!

“—It’s…”

It’s enough.

Time to give up.

Time to give up on trying to realize my ideal world with my own two hands.

“…Should I kill them?”

Kazuki Hoshino and Kokone Kirino.

It’s possible if I use my [servants].

If I do so, I can erase both the ‘Wish-Crushing Cinema’ and Kazu’s power to destroy ‘boxes’.

I know. My mind will collapse if I do it. I’m already at my limit; I will break without fail.

However, I won’t be able to stay sane for much longer anyway. I have to find someone who will take on my burden before it’s too late; I have to give the power of the ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’ to someone who is able to use it properly.

Even Shindou was defeated. She was a person who seemed to be capable of adopting my goals—albeit in a relatively distorted fashion—but she lost her ability to use the ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’.

My fanatic worshipers are out of the question. They are only fit to obey a leader, not to give [orders]. I try to run through the faces of all of my [servants], but there doesn’t seem to be anyone who would suit my purposes.

There is no one who would want to sacrifice himself for a better world.

There’s simply no one.

Such a person—

Such a beacon of hope—

A person who would adopt my goals as his own just—

“—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————exists after all”

Just one.

There is just one person who, in fact, may be a lot more capable than I am.

The girl who declared herself to be a ‘box’ and abandoned everything for her goal.
Aya Otonashi.
The moment I realize this, I am struck by a flash of inspiration.

It’s like throwing the shuffled pieces of a jigsaw puzzle on the floor, and watching the pieces all somehow spontaneously lock together to form the completed image. As ridiculous as it sounds, my entire situation really has become that clear.

I stand up. Until a moment ago, I had lost so much energy that I couldn’t even touch my piercings, but who cares anymore? Opposing the compelling force of the ‘Wish-Crushing Cinema’, I turn around to face Aya.

I feel so awful that I worry that I might throw up blood when I try to speak. A powerful bout of dizziness is messing with my sense of balance, causing me to stand askew.

However, before I know it, I start to smile.

“Aya, you’ve always sought a new ‘box’, right? And you’ve been chasing after ‘O’ and the ‘owners’ to get one—all to perfect your ‘wish’.”

Aya frowns at me.

“It’s also why you spent a lifetime inside the ‘Rejecting Classroom’ and stayed with Kazu: because he attracted the interest of ‘O’. You have devoted your entire life to that goal and you continuously worked toward it. You exist solely for that goal.”

“Yeah, right. What’s your point?”

In reality, her efforts are futile; Aya can’t possibly obtain an ideal ‘box’. That’s why she never grasps what ‘O’ truly is and keeps fighting against her.

Her ‘Flawed Bliss’ tries to stay flawed.

But that’s because she’s fighting on her own.

What if there were someone who could share her burden?

What if she found a kindred spirit?

“Rejoice.”

What if there were someone who happened to have a similar ‘box’?

“Your wish is about to come true.”

Aya realizes that I’m serious, and she stares closely at me.

“Where is it? Where is the ‘box’ that I’m seeking?”

The ‘Flawed Bliss’ and the ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’ are similar.

They were both created by strong beliefs, yet in many ways are fragile and cold. At the same time, they can be used for almost any purpose.

I’ve always thought that they felt alike.

“It’s right here,” I say as I point at my chest. “The ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’ is the ‘box’ you seek.”

Right, with my ‘box’ she can finally escape the quicksand-like trap of ‘Flawed-ness’ she’s caught in.

Aya has been observing me with eyes wide open the entire time. She now casts her eyes down toward the ground and shakes her head.

“Do you realize how nonsensical you sound? Your ‘box’ is not what I’m seeking. A ‘box’ that sacrifices others is far from my ideal; in fact, it is the exact opposite. What you did to Yanagi earlier should be proof enough.”

“That’s because I’m the one using it,” I counter, drawing her gaze once again. “You’re right; when I use it, my ‘box’ creates sacrifices because that’s how I was trying to change the world. However, it goes without saying that you can do more than just create ‘Dog Humans’ with this power. At its core, it’s a power to control others. No, describing it that way gives it a negative connotation. In your words—”

I look deeply into her strong-willed eyes and say:

“—it has the power to guide others.”

Aya’s expression changes.

Ah, just as I expected. She is interested in this ‘box’.

“It does have the power that you’re looking for,” I say with conviction. “The power to guide others to happiness.”

“No way—But, but…”

While she is still trying to deny it with empty rationalizations, she has already realized—

That I’m telling the truth.

That this is the ‘box’ she has been searching for.

I walk toward Aya Otonashi.

All this time, the listlessness generated by the ‘Wish-Crushing Cinema’ is still tugging at me. In addition, I feel my ‘Shadows of Sin’ eat away at me with every step I take. I stumble back and forth as I walk, supporting myself by grabbing the theater seats as I proceed toward the back where Aya is sitting.

“—Hehe.”

Even though I feel horrible, I can’t suppress the pleasure that wells up within me.

After all, I have finally found the answer.

From the very moment I obtained the ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’, I was prepared to pay with my life for using it. I was prepared to go crazy in the near future and die a shameful death.

By its nature, this ‘box’ is designed to be passed on.

But who was to be my successor?

Perhaps I have known the answer all along.

After all, didn’t I label her my source of hope earlier?

While I don’t know if it’s because we’ve worked closely together in the ‘Rejecting Classroom’ or if it’s simply because I noticed her transcendence, I’m sure that some part of my brain had already decided who this ‘box’ would eventually pass to, right when I first obtained it.

If that’s true, then the ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’ is in reality—
A ‘box’ made to be passed on to Aya Otonashi.
“……Hah, hah…”

I finally reach her seat.

While she is visibly hesitant, she shows no signs of trying to escape.

“Stand up, Aya.”

She is staring up at me.

“Stand up and accept the ‘box’ you have been seeking!”

A few moments pass.

However, Aya eventually stands up.

She stands up, knowing full well what I’m about to do. The light of the screen causes her to cast a small shadow.

I look in her eyes.

There is no hesitation in them anymore.

She has already prepared herself to accept it.

“Very well.”

I’m the one who has to accept her first.

“Show me your sins, Aya Otonashi!”
So I sayeth as I step on her shadow.
“——Ah.”

I step on it and see a sin.

Aya Otonashi’s…no, Maria Otonashi’s sin.

That is,

That is—
“—
——
————
————————— ”
I collapsed.

I passed out momentarily.

Did I also scream? No, I guess I wasn’t even able to do that?

I reflect on the memory I just saw.

It wasn’t the most gruesome of the thousand sins I’ve seen, nor was it the cruelest. But gruesomeness and the like are distinct from the pain that accompanies a given sin; the level of pain I suffer is the level of pain that a person suffered subjectively at the time of her sin, and has nothing to do with the objective cruelty of the sin.

So what’s the damage Aya Otonashi sustained back then?

A stinging pain as though a thousand knives had pierced my heart, my eyeballs had been squashed with pliers, my fingers had been torn off one by one, my guts had been thrown into a blender, nails had been hammered into every single pore of my skin, and on top of that every inch of my body is on fire. Her sin feels like molten steel that is melting my body into a lump.

What the hell?

My hands can’t stop violently shaking and my eyes are still wide open in shock.

She—

She was bearing such a load all this time?

“……Gh!”

I struggle to my feet and gaze at Aya Otonashi.

In order to make her a [master], I first have to temporarily make her a [servant]. In order to do that, I have to swallow her ‘Shadow of Sin’.

And if I do that, Aya will relive her sin.

But will she be able to withstand the pain?

Regardless, I don’t intend to back off.

I’m not in any position to hesitate.

“Here we go.”

I grab her ‘Shadow of Sin’, which I had absorbed after stepping on her shadow, and swallow it.

“———!”

Aya tenses up and grabs her chest.

But that’s all she does.

I can’t hide my astonishment. “……How can you be okay?”

Aya Otonashi is standing there without a problem.

“I’m not okay.”

Upon closer inspection, I can see cold sweat on her face. She is gritting her teeth in anguish. But as someone who lost consciousness after contact with her sin, it’s hard for me to believe that’s the extent of her reaction.

“How can you still be standing? You shouldn’t be able to endure that. I’ve experienced it firsthand—I can tell.”

“Unless I’m wrong, your ‘box’ causes people to recall their sins?” Aya says. She is staring at me, iron will glowing in her eyes, even as pearls of sweat are running down her cheeks.

“Yeah, so it should be impossible for you to bear your sin if you are confronted with it so suddenly.”

“It’s not so sudden.”

“What?”

Aya lets go of her chest and catches her breath. She’s practically back in fighting trim.

“I endure this pain 24/7. I have grown accustomed to it.”

She isn’t making sense.

If I were to take her at her word, that would suggest something absurd.

My ‘box’ makes people recall their sins, or their feelings at the time when they sinned. Sinners typically block that dark memory from their daily lives in order to live with some peace of mind.

But what if Aya didn’t do that? What if she hasn’t forgotten about that trauma for a single second?

“I am always conscious of my sin.”

If so, she’d get accustomed to that infernal anguish and it would become just another part of her everyday life.

If she has always lived with this pain, there’s no reason she’d get overwhelmed after being confronted with it.

“I won’t be forgiven. That’s why—”

But hey? How can a human being possibly live that way?

No…I see.

That’s why.

“That’s why—I can’t live as a human.”
That’s why she could become ‘Aya Otonashi’.
She’s always conscious of being a sinner. By refusing to forget about her sin, she keeps punishing herself.

That’s the ethical way to carry out sin and punishment.

That’s what left her bereft of her humanity and turned her into a ‘box’—into ‘Aya Otonashi’.

By aggressively suppressing her true self, she can focus on a single ‘wish’. She can devote herself entirely to a single goal.

For the sake of everyone else’s happiness.

She calls forth feelings of respect, envy, rapture, and veneration.

She embodies the sad outcome that awaits a true ‘owner’ at the end of the road.

But this is exactly why there is no one more suited to accepting my power.

Aya Otonashi.

Please live on for the sake of our ‘wish’.

Sorry Kazu, but I absolutely refuse to return ‘Maria Otonashi’ to you.

I absolutely refuse to let you crush our ‘wish’.

“I give you my power. I give you all the ‘Shadows of Sin’ that I possess.”

Giving her my ‘Shadows of Sin’ has no direct effect on me. I can still control my [servants].

My mission, however, has changed.

My most important task is to get rid of Kazuki Hoshino, the man who has a deeper influence on her than anyone else, and his power to destroy ‘boxes’. I must assist her as she lives for the sake of our ‘wish’.

“Are you ready?” I ask, but Aya is ignoring me. She is staring straight ahead.

“I was always trying to imagine,” she whispers, “how I could help people become happy; what kind of ‘box’ I would need. Happiness is not something I can just create and force upon them. Nor is it attained by throwing them in a paradise and releasing them from their anxieties and worries. Eventually, I arrived at the conclusion that flawless bliss is only possible when you envision and work toward your own ideal form of happiness.” She clenches her fist impotently. “What I needed was the power to guide people,” she says in an emotional manner. “I can’t believe that I just had to change my perspective a bit to realize it.”

Finally, she looks at me.

“Oomine. I didn’t think much of the fact that we were pointed in the same direction, but I’ve changed my mind. You taught me that wonders such as this are possible… I see, so that’s what it means to be kindred spirits.”

“Kindred spirits…yes,” I nod and pass on my ‘Shadows of Sin’.

Come to think of it, an idea came to mind when I gave Shindou a few ‘Shadows of Sin’: a truly strong person might be able to remain unaffected when he swallows other people’s ‘Shadows of Sin’; in turn, that might make me lose confidence in my fitness as a ruler.

“……Hm.”

Aya Otonashi easily stomached the 998 ‘Shadows of Sin’.

Thus, she became a [master] and, just as I originally planned, my 999th [servant].

“Oomine,” the new ‘owner’ of the ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’ says to me: “Thank you.”

However, not a sign of joy appears on her robotic face.

✵
After repeatedly supporting myself with the theater seats, I shakily wend my way back to my own seat at last.

Listlessness attacks me at once and presses like a heavy weight upon my shoulders, relieving me of my will to move.

Nonetheless, I mustn’t switch my mind off yet.

Now that Aya has become a [servant], there is only one hurdle left to overcome in order for me to meet my victory conditions.

That is, to bring Kiri—the ‘owner’ of the ‘Wish-Crushing Cinema’—here.

Once she’s here, I’ll just threaten Kazu and have him crush her ‘box’.
“Kokone, I love you!”

My voice resounds from the speakers of the theater, and I can’t help but react.

I’ve been looking at the screen for a while, where I am currently tearing up while embracing Kiri in the classroom.

However, Kiri just stands there stiffly, her arms dangling like those of a lifeless puppet.

My self of yesteryear repeats his cry.

“Kokone, I love you!”

That’s how I tormented her.

I tormented her by trying to convey my straightforward feelings for her. Tears appear in her empty eyes.

But my feelings didn’t reach her as forthright love; instead, they appeared like the product of an obsessed and diseased mind.

—Don’t abandon me when I love you so much!

To her, my words must have sounded like…like a threat forbidding her to change, forcing her to maintain her identity as the girl she considered ugly and worthless.

I was a horrible guy.

I couldn’t stay like that.

I had to change the world around us.

I had to reform the people who victimized her, who would keep her in her current state. Not the evil ones who had to be purged—Rino and her companions weren’t evil—but the mindless fools. They only see what’s in front of them, but not the ultimate consequences of their actions. I had to fix that. By fixing that flaw, tragedies like Kiri’s would no longer occur.

Kokone Kirino would have been able to stay who she was.

Right?

For a just world.

Nothing else matters.

My happiness and Kiri’s happiness are irrelevant.

“——Aah.”

I got it.

I’ll just have Kokone Kirino use the ‘Flawed Bliss’.

Her heart is already broken, so she will certainly seek it. If I use her for that purpose, Aya’s memory will be erased, breaking Kazuki Hoshino’s will.

—Isn’t there something fundamentally wrong about that plan? No there isn’t, right?

The moment I thought about using Kiri, I also came up with an easy way to lure her here.

No, it’s simple. As her childhood friend and ex-boyfriend, it’s only natural that I could easily come up with any number of methods to bring her here. If anything, I should be reflecting on why I didn’t come up something like that earlier! Was I secretly holding myself back or something?

I [order] one of my fanatic worshipers: “Send an e-mail to the following address—” I think of her e-mail address, which I have long since memorized. “—and write in that e-mail:”

Kiri wouldn’t come if I just told her to do so.

However, she will come if she thinks I am crying out for help. She will come if she thinks that I am at my very limit. That’s just her nature—she’ll choose my happiness over hers.

I determine the most effective message to convey my cry for help to her, and [order] my [servant] to use it. That awful message is the same horrible line that appeared in the movie. “Kokone, I love you!”

That being said…

Yeah.

I’m at my limit.

◇◇◇ Kazuki Hoshino – 09/11 FRI 23:02 ◇◇◇

“Maria has become a [servant]?” I parrot back what Mogi-san has said.

“Kasumi…what’s that supposed to mean? W-Why would Maria-chan…?” Haruaki asks as he raises his head while continuing to kneel on the ground.

“I-I only repeated what Yanagi-san told me, so I don’t know anything else…”

How could this happen?

Daiya’s ‘box’ had no effect when Iroha-san stepped onto my shadow; when Daiya steps onto Maria’s shadow, it should be equally ineffectual.

Unless she wishes to accept it of her own volition.

“——!”

Suddenly, my cell phone beeps, notifying me of a new e-mail. As I take it out, it beeps once again.

“…W-What the?”

Given the situation we’re in, it can’t be a good sign to receive multiple e-mails in a row.

I’m unfamiliar with the senders’ e-mail addresses. I try opening the second e-mail, but it only contains the letter “O”, and even as I read it, a new e-mail arrives.

Five more e-mails from unfamiliar addresses reach me in 5-second intervals. They all contain only one letter, and chronologically sorted, they form the following text.

“F”

“O”

“R”

“G”

“E”

“T”

“M”

“E”

The identity of the sender couldn’t be any clearer.

“Maria…!”

So it’s the truth.

It’s true that she has become a [servant].

No, even worse.

“Maria has given [orders] to at least eight different people…”

Maria has become a [master].

“…Why…did it come to this…?”

Yet another e-mail reaches me while I’m still mired in confusion. The sender is yet another unfamiliar e-mail address, but this time, the e-mail contains more than one letter.

“Watch the news”

With bated breath, I start up the 1seg function of my cell.

I immediately see what she was referring to. The newscaster cites the following text:

“Breaking news: Katsuya Tamura, a victim of the so-called ‘Dog Human’ phenomenon, has just regained consciousness. This is the first known case of recovery. The official police statement is that they have taken Tamura-san into protective custody, he is calm and showing no signs of confusion. Furthermore, he claims that he has no memory of his time as a ‘Dog Human’, that he killed his parents and that he is willing to accept any form of punishment. —We have just received additional breaking news. Yasumi Ishikawa, another ‘Dog Human’ victim, has regained consciousness as well and…”

What’s going on? Why did Daiya release the ‘Dog Humans’ now, of all times? Didn’t he plan to make the people of the world reconsider their ethics by mass-producing ‘Dog Humans’? Isn’t releasing them rendering his efforts futile?

Or is it Maria who’s doing that?

But then why is Daiya permitting this?

One would think that Maria has taken over the ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’!

“……Good lord.”

Is that possible?

Did Maria seriously wish for the ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’ of her own volition? Did Maria become a [servant] and [master] for the sake of using that power at will?

If that’s true, then why?

“—No, that’s…”

As clear as day.

If that’s true, her motive is obvious.

Her only ‘wish’ is to make others happy. She cares about nothing else. Therefore, what she is doing now also serves that ultimate goal.

In other words, Maria determined that the ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’ is capable of bringing about happiness.

I know she’s been searching for a ‘box’.

And the ‘box’ she chose is the ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’? The power to control others?

“What…the hell…”

I grind my teeth.

Doesn’t that basically imply that Daiya is the person who best understands and most needs Maria?

Over—

“Over my dead body.”

I know what she is going to do next.

Unlike Daiya, she’s not going to make a big spectacle. She will approach people one by one, and intervene where needed to guide them to attain happier lives.

That’s an impossible and endless undertaking.

A life wasted on serving others.

Despite that, Maria would gladly devote her entire life to the happiness of others.

She would be delighted that she has finally taken a step forward.

“Over my dead body,” I repeat to myself.

She is only acting this way because she is obsessed with ‘Aya Otonashi.’

She is completely disregarding herself.

“I will…………”

In that case, my answer isn’t hard to reach.

“I will also crush……”

I won’t leave her any hope as ‘Aya Otonashi.’

The only thing ‘Aya Otonashi’ will get from me is despair.

“I will also crush that ‘Shadow of Sin and Punishment’ you cling to!”

Is it the ray of hope you have found after so long?

I don’t give a fuck!

Cry as much as you want, I won’t hold back from crushing your ‘box’.
I have made up my mind.

The question now is how to pull off my plans.

Daiya can [order] Maria. He can threaten me as much as he wants. By threatening to use the ‘Flawed Bliss’ on Yuuri-san, he can get whatever he wants from me. If he orders me to destroy the ‘Wish-Crushing Cinema’, I’ll have to destroy it. If he orders me to let Maria go, I’ll have to let her go.

“Ngh…”

Then what can I do?

Daiya is still standing between me and Maria. Unless I find a way to oppose him, I will fail to recover Maria and lose.

—A way to oppose him. A way to oppose him…!
What comes to mind is—
My gaze wanders to Haruaki, who has been asking something of me. He wanted me to bring him and Kokone with me into the ‘Cinema’.

“Haruaki.”

Right, at the end of the day, she’s Daiya’s only weak spot.

“Let’s meet up with Kokone.”

A shiver runs down my spine.

A shiver runs down my spine because of what I am planning.

✵

Mogi-san said that she wanted to support me, but we couldn’t just take her into the ‘Wish-Crushing Cinema’, so we hurriedly returned her to the hospital. After that, we met up with Kokone.

We had called Kokone in advance, so she was already waiting for us in a parking lot near the dorm.

As soon as we meet, Kokone jumps into my arms, clinging to my chest.

“Daiya just sent me a message,” she says in a trembling voice, “saying that he loves me.”

She doesn’t look up at me.

Even if she weren’t shaking like a leaf, I could tell that she is crying.

“This is the first time he’s said that to me after he realized that I’ve changed.”

Haruaki bites on his lip as he silently listens to her.

“I’ve made my choice. And I’m going to have my way,” she says as she raises her head and looks at me with bright red eyes. “I will go save Daiya.”

Her resolve is unshakable.

“Kokone…”

He must have told her indirectly that he loves her via e-mail. It’s obviously a trap, but that won’t stop her.

However, that happens to support my own plans.

“Are you willing to do whatever it takes?”

“I am. I’ll put my life one the line if that’s what it takes.”

That’s the answer I wanted to hear.

That’s the answer I wanted to hear, so I can take advantage of her in order to oppose Daiya.

“Kokone. Haruaki. Let’s enter the ‘Wish-Crushing Cinema’.”

I will make use of Kokone’s passion for Daiya, but solely to recover my Maria.

Yet, Haruaki smiles at me.

“You’re taking us with you? Thanks a bunch, Hoshii!” he says as he grips my hands. Firmly.

“T-That hurts, Haruaki.”

But he doesn’t loosen his grip, his eyes remain fixed upon me, and tears start running down his cheeks.

“Thanks, Hoshii!”

Even though bringing Kokone with me doesn’t mean that Daiya will be saved.

In fact, Haruaki is most likely going to witness Daiya’s destruction. And yet Haruaki sheds tears of relief, incorrectly believing that I made this decision for the sake of Kokone and Daiya.

He finally lets go of my hands.

They have become hot.

“Ah—”

My heart suddenly heats up; so much so that it’s hard to bear.

The pure tears they shed for Daiya attack me.

And they make me realize.

“Ugh…gh…”

I look at my hands that Haruaki’s tight grip have warmed. These hands possess the power to crush ‘boxes’ and knock out others’ ‘wishes’.

These hands prove that I have strayed from the path of humanity.

My intention to exploit their feelings for the sake of Maria proves that I have strayed from the righteous path.

For what I am going to do is——

“AAAahh…”

When did I go so far astray? No, wasn’t my attempt to kill Iroha-san already proof that I’ve got some screws loose? I had already been messed up mentally back then; I just didn’t notice because Iroha-san happened to survive.

I want to pray for Daiya. I want to pray for Daiya’s happiness together with Kokone and Haruaki. I want to cry together with them. I want to share their feelings and ride to his rescue together.

But I can’t.

I will recover Maria. I can’t help but prioritize her above everyone else. There’s no helping it.

I have changed for good.

By obtaining the ‘Empty Box’, I have been recast into this monstrous shape.

“Uh…uuuuuh…..”

I shed tears.

But mine are not beautiful tears like Kokone’s and Haruaki’s, shed for someone else. They are hideous and egotistical tears, shed in lamentation of what I have become.

“Haruaki, Kokone.”

I can only put my honest feelings into words.

“I really love you two.”

That’s the one thing I can say with sincerity and honesty.

Haruaki embraces us.

Kokone is crying out loud.

It feels like a horrible sin to shed such monstrous tears. Kokone’s tears drip onto my cheeks, their purity seeming to silently condemn me and making me even sadder.

“I love you, but I may betray you.”

They look at me with rounded eyes.

“I’m sorry. No matter what, I will do anything it takes to save Maria. I will even exploit your feelings to recover her. I might not be able to save Daiya. I might corner him. But I really really think that I want to save him. Sorry. But I can’t commit to that from the bottom of my heart. Sorry. I’m sorry that I can’t wish for his rescue with all my heart.” My tears won’t stop. “Please forgive me.”

For a while, we remain silent, hugging each other in a tight circle.

Kokone is the first to speak up.

“It’s okay,” she says as she sobs. “I’m no different. I can only act for Daiya’s sake. I couldn’t act for my own, even if Haruaki wants me to.”

She pushes away from my chest, slipping out of our circle, and smiles at me.

“I forgive you, Kazu-kun, so please forgive me too.”

Looking at their tears, I can only say:

Just like the four movies Daiya has been watching, I can’t imagine how this story could have a happy ending.

Where did I make my crucial mistake?

When did things start to go wrong?

If I was mistaken from the start, was Daiya right about correcting the world?

I don’t know.

I don’t know, but we have to go.

To the shopping mall where the entrance to the ‘Wish-Crushing Cinema’ can be found.

To Daiya.

To Maria.

But before that, I shall carve a reminder that I have gone astray into my body.

Yes, I’ll do it to the part of me that possesses the power to crush ‘boxes’. I’ll choose my right hand.

Once I’ve done that—

I will go and watch the end credits of this story.