Case 08: Does the Place Underground Exist, or not? (2)

In class A on the second floor of the main school building, we found her reputation to be even more horrible than I had imagined.

“Generally speaking, she’s a creepy girl.”

“She’s always staring off somewhere.”

“She’s always looking at gruesome pictures of people dismembered.”

“Photo books of corpses, right? That’s super gross.”

“There’s a rumor that she eats frogs, but I wonder if it's true.”

“It stinks so much when you get close to her.”

“It really does! A gutter-like stink.”

“She’s always vomiting.”

“And she doesn’t even clean up when she does that.”

“She seems to have a weak body, but isn’t she weak in spirit as well?”

“She seems like the type to suddenly go and kill herself.”

“Ahahaha. Exactly. There's a girl who said she saw her scars from wrist cutting or something.”

I couldn’t tell how many times I clenched my fists while listening to them, thinking I was gonna beat the shit out of these first-year brats. But each time, I managed to bear with it when the Kurimoto siblings, who were quick to sense my intentions tugged at my sleeves.

I was supposed to be firm in my determination to not associate with Yoishi anymore – but hearing her be insulted so unabashedly made my innards seethe with anger. It was probably because of the smirk on their faces as they spoke ill of Yoishi. I mean, why do people seem to have so much fun when they bad-mouth someone? Are they so eager in wanting to create someone inferior to themselves in a group? The image of Yoishi’s figure painfully walking out of the main school gate suddenly came to mind. She always looked exhausted as she staggered outside, as if all the energy had been sucked out of her.

“Anyway, do any of you have any idea on Mitsurugi-san’s whereabouts?”

Krishna-san inquired, making a point of flaunting off her ‘newspaper club’ badge. In response, the first-year students in front of us simply exchanged looks and laughed.

“Noooo idea.”

…Don’t be happily inflecting your words when a person has disappeared.

I felt the rage bellow up inside me once more, but barely managed to hold it in. At any rate, I could infer that she was at the bottom of the school pecking order in just five minutes according to their stories. It seemed that even in school, she lived exactly as the ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ I knew. Not to mention that middle school and high school are the most brutal insular environments where only the body gets bigger while the mind remains that of a child. It's true that in that environment, if you're sitting there looking at picture books of dead bodies, refusing to taking baths, throwing up all over the place, and continuing to act like a denpa, you're bound to end up like that.

“But why is the newspaper club looking into Mitsurugi-san?”

A lone girl asked, and Krishna-san smiled in response.

“Actually, the research she’s been doing has been attracting a lot of attention at overseas universities in recent years, so we thought we should cover it.”

The guys in class A were blown away by those words. And me, as well. Yukihito-kun alone grinned as he looked at Krishna-san.

“They often say there’s a thin line between genius and insanity – but she has an unparalleled ability to focus when she's immersed in her research. That might seem a bit eccentric and strange to an outsider, but well, I hope all of you will continue to warmly watch over her.”

Saying that, she turned to casually motion to Yukihito-kun. Understanding what she meant, he said, “Excuse me”, and approached Yoishi’s chair, then he began to take pictures of her desk and the notebooks inside with his cell phone camera.

“Now that you mention it…”

Was it encouragement from Krishna-san’s bluff? One of the boys timidly stepped forward.

“A few days ago, Mitsurugi spoke to me.”

“Seriously?”

He nodded as I stepped forward.

“As I recall, she asked me what the most depressing place in our school was.”

“Most…depressing place?”

“Yeah. That’s right. Was it part of some kind of research?”

“…It might be. So, how did you answer?”

“Well… I said the staff room, but…”

He replied looking somewhat embarrassed, but that was actually a normal answer for a student. Indeed, the staff room was the most depressing place for me in high school, as well.

“And how did she respond?”

“She just said: ‘Hmmm.’”

Well, I guessed as much. And that normal student’s idea was definitely not the answer she was looking for.

“She asked that from me as well.”

Eventually, a girl at the far back of the room with her hair tied up on both sides of her head opened her mouth.

“And what did you answer?”

Being pressed by Krishna-san, the girl cast her eyes downwards somewhat and kept silent for a moment before answering.

“The school grounds.”

“…Huh?”

“I said the school grounds. When I stand in ground number one in the morning assembly, I always get dizzy. I might have low blood pressure or something.”

Her response prompted laughter from the guys in class A, but –

I witnessed it. Krishna-san gulped as she bit her lip and sank into silence.

A gloomy expression – as if gulping down iron, like she had recalled something she had tried so hard to forget.

Even after we left Class A, Krishna-san continued to act distant and silent. She seemed to be lost in thought, and no matter what I asked, she gave me a distracted answer.

I shrugged my shoulders, and looked to Yukihito-kun.

“Now let’s try and ask about her in the other classes.”

Yukihito-kun began to lead us once more.

First off, we checked in Class B. Then on to the neighboring class C. And finally, Yukihito-kun’s class D at the end.

We first asked if they knew of ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ from class A, and if they had seen her anywhere. But perhaps it was because it was a different class. We failed to get any more information than what we obtained from class A.

But anyway, for the time being –

Let’s summarize what we’ve learned so far about Yoishi on the day of her disappearance.

Yoishi disappeared in Math class two days ago during second period. She seems to have said she was going to the infirmary as she left the classroom. However, when the homeroom teacher inquired during homeroom at the end of day, there was no sign of Yoishi having visited the infirmary. Afterwards, the homeroom teacher tried to contact Yoishi’s household, but no one responded. In the end, they just let things be for a whole day, and finally on the second day, it became a problem for the school when they realized that her black leather shoes were still in the shoe rack; Whereupon, they tried to contact her guardian: her uncle. But they failed to make contact with him. Class committee members and teachers from each class searched the school. However, they couldn’t find her. Taking into account the fact that she had previously been absent for three days without leave, they decided to wait the next day (In short -- today) and if she didn’t appear, they would contact the police.

As a person who knows Yoishi well, a part of me wants to sympathize with the school’s way of dealing with things – however, even though she might be a denpa, she’s still a student dammit. What the hell do they think of a precious student’s life that’s under their care? What's more, Yoishi had disappeared within the school in broad daylight. Shouldn't they be searching for her more urgently than they were now?

Then, as we were left class D, Yukihito-kun spoke:

“I think the reaction of teachers and students alike to Mitsurugi-san is probably related to the ‘witch trial incident’.”

“Witch…trial?”

“It happened In April of this year – during the early part of the entrance ceremony. I didn't even know her name at the time, but when she suddenly showed up late for the ceremony in the main auditorium, she was called out by the principal, who particularly disliked people who weren't punctual, and denounced her in front of the entire school, telling her to express her remorse.”

“Huh? Just for being late?”

“Yes.”

To denounce someone in front of the entire school…what educational benefit does that have?

“So that’s why it’s called the witch trial incident?’

I asked in disgust, Yukihito-kun chuckled and shook his head in response.

“No. That’s not why. The incident happened after that. At first, Yoishi Mitsurugi-san stood in silence when put on stage in front of the whole school. Her homeroom teacher, who had to save face in front of the principal, kept pestering her to hurry up and apologize – And eventually, um…”

“…Yeah?”

“She threw up right then and there.”

“Ahh.”

It was all too predictable. In such a situation, most people tend to shoot a cruel gaze, as if they are witnessing a spectacle. The moment when someone gets angry becomes a unique type of occasion. The daily routine is disrupted. At that moment, people end up expecting some kind of special event. However, this expectation contains a kind of malice that more or less everyone possesses. And Yoishi Mitsurugi reacted to the malice of others. Regardless of location, her peculiar trait would force her to throw up whenever faced with a strong malice –

And with that train of thought, I came to realize--

Come to think of it, Yoishi hadn’t thrown up in front of me since we had met again in Tokyo. Neither in the clock tower, nor in the cat incident, nor in the Rororo incident, she didn’t vomit even once.

“At any rate, I think it was a very cruel thing to do to a girl. In fact, I remember there were some people in my class who felt sorry for her. But what happened afterwards was why she became legendary. After she had finished vomiting, she didn't even wipe her mouth -- and merely muttered ‘How absurd.’ into the microphone.”

“…Huh?”

“That whisper, however, was amplified by the microphone. It filled the auditorium and reached the ears of every student in the school. Without even turning to look back at the flustered face of the principal, she continued: ‘Do you really think that forcing your emotions on people by force is education?’ In a panic her homeroom teacher tried to get her off the stage, but she clung to the mic and declared: ‘People haven’t changed at all since the days of the witch trials.’ In the end, she was forced to leave the buzzing assembly hall -- but after that, Mitsurugi-san became pretty famous. That was when I first thought that she was an interesting girl.”

Yukihito-kun spoke happily, as if he were boasting about a close friend. I can't deny that I also thought, ‘Good job, Yoishi,’ while listening to his story. It must have been especially significant for high school students, the generation that rebels against their superiors. The principal, who was used to lording it over everyone was humiliated in front of the whole school. It really was a special event.

But—

On the other hand, I felt gloomy when I thought about Yoishi's future.

Why couldn’t she just let things slide? Why did she have to denounce that stupid teacher in public? Bringing yourself down to an idiot's level, that's just like having a full-on argument with a kid- wait... huh? The teacher's the adult, so does that put the teacher in the wrong? She was innocent, and yet, since when did I end up being the one who compromised with society?

The more I thought about it, the harder it became to tell who was right or wrong, when –

“—Nagi-kun, Yukihito.”

I suddenly heard a voice behind me. I turned around to see Krishna-san stopped in the middle of the hallway, staring our way with a serious look on her face.

“I need to check something, is it alright if we split up for a bit?”

“Huh?”

“I’ll contact you as soon as I’m done.”

I was a bit puzzled, but Yukhito-kun nodded.

“That’s fine, I was thinking of heading to the staff room next as well. But it would be a bit of a problem to take Nee-san and Nagito-san there with me, so I was wondering what to do.”

“Sorry. Well then, let’s split up.”

“A-ah, wait a m--.”

Don’t just rush the conversation by yourselves.

I was about to say that, but Krishna-san had already run off in a complete girly run. The way her short skirt waved as she ran made me feel like she was much more of a high school student than I was.

“Well, if you'll excuse me as well.”

Yukihito-kun spoke out, making me panic.

“Hey, just wait a minute. What am I supposed to do?”

“Nagito-san, please take a nice and relaxing walk in the school.”

He smiled and walked away – Hey, are you just gonna leave me here in a hallway full of high school students? It’s definitely been somewhat entertaining, but suddenly being left alone is quite unnerving – while I stood there flustered, a gym teacher in a jersey with a shaved head and a big build suddenly came lumbering down from the other side.

“……Hmph.”

The moment he passed me by, he threw a fierce glare my way – Unconsciously, I cowered back. That overbearing face clearly had ‘What are you looking at?’ written all over it, and my face probably indicated ‘Sorry for looking you in the eye’. I meekly bowed my head, and the gym teacher nodded with a grunt, and passed me by with a confident strut. Once he got sufficiently far away, I gently turned around and finally let out a long sigh.

“At any rate, it’s gonna be a problem if I stay in the hallway.”

For the time being, I decided to visit the infirmary Yoishi headed towards before she disappeared.

“Huh…Here too?”

I retraced my steps and went back again, only to find another dead end.

I crossed the corridor, descended the stairs, and returned to the entrance. From there I went out to the courtyard, and checked the school map. The infirmary was supposed to be somewhere between the school building and the grounds – but for some reason, I couldn't quite get there. It wasn’t like I was someone with a poor sense of direction or anything, but this seemed to have something to do with the structure of the school building. The main school building and the special lab building are constructed in a strange oval shape, and if I normally tried to go around the school building, I would get stuck.

I was about to return, when I noticed several students had gathered in the corner of the courtyard; They were working on a large, flashy signboard, noisily chatting away. On it, in a fancy font, were the words: "The 115th Koumei Institute Mary Festival".

Oh – now that I think about it, the festival is pretty soon. I don’t remember if the affiliated school and the university have it on the same schedule, but as I recall, the university festival at the Koumei Institute is scheduled for the second half of October.

“Ah, it’s gonna be fun, isn’t it?”

I took a deep breath and thought so.

The atmosphere before a festival sure is nice. I had thought that unlike the university, the atmosphere of the attached high school was surprisingly lively, but that might have partly been due to the pre-festival excitement. At my university, most of the students don't even know the schedule of the festival, except for those who are eager to actively participate. Seeing the high school students here so excited in preparing for the school festival really delights a festival lover like me.

I heard the cheerful laughter of several students. A girl in a short skirt was slapping a boy on the shoulder and laughing boisterously.

--Ahh, Damn it all. I groaned at the precious time gone past.

Like my partner-in-crime from back home, Pei-chan often used to say. All boys should know the blessing of girls in uniform. There’s no other environment in life where you’d have so many girls of the same age within arm’s reach. Ahh, Pei-chan. It’s just like you said. I should have enjoyed that precious time much more. I should have savored it much more. However, as I continued to regretfully watch the high school boys and girls working on the signs -- I suddenly realized.

Huh, now that I think about it…

Why is our school festival called ‘The Mary Festival?’

That question brought back a dreadful memory. Didn’t that come up in the story of Krishna-san’s senpai who disappeared?

“…That’s right.”

If I remember correctly, it was something about artificially creating a Mary. The Mary in question, of course, being the famous mother of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary. Artificially creating that person? It doesn’t make any sense. It would be one thing if it were about the resurrection of Christ the Messiah, so shouldn’t it be the other way around?

“Speaking of which, didn’t Sako also say something like that?”

Something about this institute being distorted since its foundation. Which was why it was helplessly distorted – and why there were so many suicides.

--Instead of directly confronting what happened…

--They just pretend it never happened, and repeatedly try to cover it up.

I recalled Sako’s words one after another.

I felt a chill blow under my feet, and I stopped in my tracks.

Before I’d realized, the sports ground was spread out before my eyes, and I’d arrived at an old white building with the word ‘Infirmary’ written on it.