A/N: It has finally arrived, the long awaited chapter.
How about you write your predictions of what will happen before reading it?
I'm curious what everyone else thinks is going to precisely happen.
Anyway, I'm not holding you off much. Here you go.
[Word Count: 9542]
--
"The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis." — Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
--
[18th December, Friday, 7.41]
[Kurushima Pov]
"I've waited so patiently for this moment..."
"July 19th, 2007..."
"With Today, it's precisely 8 Years and 183 Days, since the day I opened the safe, finding the diary of my father..."
"Although... I figured out that they were murdered on July 2, with no real clues at that time, however..."
"So I suppose... it's 8 Years and 200 Days more precisely, to say..."
"Haah...."
I slightly looked at my hands, seeing them trembling already.
"Fear and Excitement, huh...?"
"I suppose it's not easy for someone to prepare themselves for this mentally, no matter how much one convinces himself, after all..."
"Aoki... I guess, we'll see each other sooner than expected."
"I hope..."
"You'll be able to endure the remaining time with me until I'm 18..."
"The legal age..."
"It should not be long anymore until it's changed from 20 to 18..."
"All you need is your hands on a very convincing politician..."
"With Kijima-san, our Prime Minister, supporting this too, it's only a matter of time in the next year, until it's decided..."
"119 Years..."
"I'm breaking something off, that's consisting that long, already."
"But it's both for me, and overall, for everyone, in Japan, for the better. I'm really excited to see the news on April 1, the 'official' start of the second year."
"But I'm going to be gone, by then..."
"I wonder... what'll everyone think...?"
"That I'm going like that...?"
"It's no use becoming loquacious again..."
"I should head out to the school, first..."
I looked at my side, seeing how everything was already prepared.
"Well... I have prepared everything already, Chairman Sakayanagi..."
"The Poison works very well, too..."
"Since I tested it out on myself, after all..."
"It's going to be a good day for me, I suppose..."
"But for you..."
"Today..."
"Might be your last day..."
--
"Good Morning, Kurushima-kun."
"Good Morning, Hirata."
I greeted a couple of people back, but I did notice, in comparison to previously, the amount of people greeting me became slightly less.
Of course, some think I'm the traitor, but I'm not.
Well... I'm Y... so in other words, a Traitor that helped the enemies class, but there's no reason for anyone to suspect me with this.
Since there's no evidence either, nor anything that could pinpoint it to me.
And it's also going to be a mystery that nobody is going to be able to solve, without any evidence on their hands, at all.
Because by that point, I'm going to be gone from this school, already.
Kanzaki...
I could let him stay here, and these two, they'd constantly look after Y in his class, to see whether it's him, or anyone else... but... I'm not quite sure...
I want to be the one who's finishing both Kanzaki and Sakayanagi off...
And both Ayanokoji nor Ryūen will really be able to solve this mystery with Y, alongside any other person, who's aware of Y...
Well... If I'm leaving... I could tell it to her, perhaps...
So that she knows, there's no real threat in Ichinose's class, currently...
Should I reduce their class points to 0...?
No... it's just Kanzaki that I want to be gone...
If I'm expelling him, I'll make sure they don't have enough points to save him.
Nagumo Miyabi, the Student Council President...
If he's ever thinking of helping Ichinose with Points, I'll have to interfere in this matter...
He already laid his eyes on Ichinose, but he's most likely also using her to challenge me, in the future...
As for Sakayanagi... I'll figure out something, soon.
She should be able to gather 20 Million Points, unlike Ichinose's class.
Although, I can, too.
I have quite much of them, currently, to be truthful.
[Kurushima Kaoru:]
[Private Points: 10,199,584]
[Class Bank:]
[Private Points: 10,850,000]
If I ever wanted, I could change classes or transfer them to her so she can prevent an expulsion, in case.
But there's no one in this school that could expel me, either way...
For that, the difference between me and them is simply too high...
If my family was still alive, it might have been possible for them, but in my current self, that's not even possible in the slightest bit.
My progress...
It has been inhumanely, ever since their death's...
--
[18th December, Friday, 17.11]
"Chairman Sakayanagi..."
"Here I come..."
As I slowly approached his office, I looked in my inside pocket, thinking of whether I should take the mask or not...
"No... I'll let him see the real me..."
"What he is responsible, too, of having created..."
Nonetheless... if the camera did coincidentally work, despite the non-existent possibility, I had prepared something else for myself, too.
Just to hide my face, naturally.
Taking it out from my inside pockets, I slowly looked awkwardly at it.
"This, huh...? I never wore something like this before..."
"But it's a precautious measure in case this does not work. But it will..."
"Still..."
"I can't let anyone know I entered this room..."
In case, what I did not anticipate, that the camera would be functioning despite my attempts on disrupting it, I would still confront him.
I did have a few other things prepared in case this would not work, but it definitely will. It's just a simple confidence I have in my abilities.
However, I will be still quite careful, nonetheless.
I can't afford failure in the least amount of bit...
I suppose, I should use this, now.
I took a winter cap, where a battery with small other constructions was made by me, connected well together, hidden beneath the cap, and a small IR LED, which should make the camera unable to see my face, in case they would be working still...
To be more precise, the enormous bright light coming from the IR LED will be so bright, the camera would not be able to see my face, as it's entirely covered.
For the human eye, it's invisible, though. Since it's also very well hidden, there'd be no worries for it, either way.
This method does work only in the case, when the camera switches into the nighttime, where the camera looks for infrared.
My confidence is quite justified, since I'm well-aware of how the camera's decently work in this school.
From my part-time job, as well as the times I had visited the security room due to me being part of the student council with the respective duties of getting footages in case of trials from the security room, handed to me over in a USB.
Through these cases alone, I did observe, that there were some cameras in the night mode, while the majority wasn't.
One of the reasons is the lightning around the area, so if the environment is fairly dark around the camera, it will turn automatically into the night mode looking for infrared.
Looking at the current time, alongside the fact, the floor right in front of him is pretty much covered in dark, it's already easily to conclude, it's the night-mode for the camera.
The Variable would be among everything, the security guards.
But I was well-aware from my visits until now there, which kind of camera's they observed frequently, which didn't include the one right before his office...
Besides...
They'd be not in the security room, right now, for a period of time...
I already did a few things regarding that already in advance...
It was nothing much, truthfully, to make this. Took me a few minutes, after I had soldered it with the soldering iron, the only store in the school, that has this tool, for which I went there, the electronic store.
Since it was needed in selected cases for the reparation of one's phone, it's natural for the soldering iron to be there, in the only store, which is responsible for the reparation of the student's phones.
Normally, it'd be also offered in the construction market... but then again, this is still a simple high school, so it's not offered here...
As for the IR LED...
It was quite easy to get...
Some specific flashlights have the part I needed... so all it took was for me to take this specific part out from it...
Of course... I could simply hold the flashlight constantly against the camera, too... which would solve it in the end, but... I could easily make this, so there's no problem for me with this, either...
Although I suppose my worries were unnecessarily again, it seems...
I knew very well that it would work, but I have always been so cautious, ever since the day they died.
No matter what... the future I planned... I can't allow it to have any variables.
I walked slowly further, looking amused on the ground, slightly.
"I suppose..."
"No high school student would ever use something like this, would they...?"
"I guess not..."
"I've always been different from the rest...."
To disrupt the wireless vandal dome camera from recording, two essential things were needed.
The frequency of what the camera operates on, which is 2.4 GHz, easily deduced from the times I visited the security room alongside the confirmation from my part-time job in the electronic store.
Wireless cameras which are connected with Wi-Fi either operate on these three frequencies, commonly: 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5.8 GHz.
Since I never heard of a vandal dome camera before... I did not know which frequency would be used...
If I went with my one method... I would not need to know about the frequency...
But with the other method, the deauther method, where I'm disconnecting the camera from the Wi-Fi, thus making the camera freeze, leaving it unable to record anything, I did need this information about the camera frequency.
Haah... I never expected the thing with the Poison Plan to work... so I was after expelling the students, actually...
If more than enough students were expelled... I could bring this school in question of dissolving itself...
In that sense, I'd have confronted Chairman Sakayanagi, lending him my help...
Among that, and the Poison Plan, this one was by far more difficult...
The Poison Plan would have been more than easy enough...
I could have gotten the poison from outside...
But Aoki...
My father figure...
I did not want him to be disappointed and disgusted by me...
In the end, that single decision has led to many happy memories...
The last ones I'll probably experience in my lifetime...
So I'm more than satisfied with my decision, in the end...
I began to activate the deauther, disconnecting the vandal dome camera from the Wi-Fi, which could now let me easily enter the room, without the camera recording me.
There were many choices of how I could approach this, but in the end, it was in-between the Wi-Fi Jammer or the Deauther.
These two were my options, I considered the most among all of my potential choices.
The Wi-Fi Jammer would require myself more additional resources... which I could technically gain... by stealing a phone from someone...
Not really stealing... since I would make sure they think it's destroyed, along the school, by covering it up in a Faraday Cage, so it cannot be traced from anyone...
But the Wi-Fi Jammer... it's something I did not want to use...
For one, it must be covering an area of 15 Meters, which would affect many other kinds of devices too...
Besides... I'll have some plans for Chairman Sakayanagi prepared, and his Wi-Fi connection is something he needs if it happens...
Also... it'd take a bit longer, and since I was already plentiful busy, I did not want to spend my time in the evening making this...
I wanted to enjoy my sleep, since I'm able to sleep without my pills, ever since she and I have been dating.
A nap without my sleeping pills...
Who knew it would be this refreshing...?
But I guess I'll soon go back...
"Well... she has been a great influence on me..."
Without disrupting myself any further, I slowly approached his room.
Counting step after step, I realized that I have now arrived.
For a brief moment of silence, I looked at the door, right in front of me.
I calmly breathed in and out.
"I'm here now..."
"Time to become a Monster..."
"Let's see... if he really is as kind as he shows himself to be... or simply just another corrupt adult in this country..."
"Based on that... I might walk differently out today..."
Knocking at the door, I felt the urge... of simply kicking the door in...
But right now... I really have to confirm this...
After that, I don't mind showing him my true colors.
"Come in."
I grabbed the doorknob with my right hand, opening the door. I had gloves currently on, so I was plentiful prepared already.
It was fairly cold outside, so it's not like I'd be particularly suspicious. The Winter Cap, alongside my other clothes, easily indicated this already...
I bowed my head slightly for a moment, until looking at him.
As much disgust I hold for this very own individual in front of my eyes, I would not show him that yet.
"Ah, Kurushima Kaoru-kun, how can I help you?"
"I have come to ask something, Chairman Sakayanagi."
"Can I take a seat...?"
"Of course."
I did a nod of gratitude, approaching the seat right in front of his desk, facing the two of us opposite to each other.
As suspected, the small Infrared LED was not quite visible.
It was also very small, around 16 centimeters, and was well hidden. One might think, it's a simple logo of the company that made this winter cap, if they were even to see it.
I took my winter cap off, putting it in my inside pockets.
"Chairman Sakayanagi, have you perhaps known my father?"
He looked quite shocked for a small moment.
"What makes you think that, Kaoru-kun?"
Normally, nobody would use my first name, even those among the conglomerate or any other kind of people from rich families, but the man in front of me did it, right now.
While I was still only a child, I was one of the richest people in Japan, once I would become 20—I mean 18 years old.
Neither did I have any family member remaining, so I alone, represented the name Kurushima, itself. In that sense, despite our difference of positions, I found it quite rude that he did this.
It's both currently a conversation between a student and the Chairman, while also a conversation with the head of the Sakayanagi Family, likewise with me, of my family.
In terms of wealth... I had upon two to three times more of their amount... but in terms of connections in the business and political world, I was very inferior in that regard.
Still, it did not change the fact, at all.
Although... in 10 years... I suppose... the name Kurushima alongside the bloodline will be completely vanished...
But remembered... at the very least...
My plan... it won't change...
Haah...
Recompensing myself, I looked at the man in front of me.
"The two of us used to be in the same fraction, when I was still a politician..."
A politician...?
You were a congressman, to be more precisely.
A powerful one...
"I did not meet him often, but when I did, it was when your Father visited Tokyo."
I was well-aware of that, too.
Since we lived in Kyoto, Father usually was either in Osaka, Nara, or Hyogo, which are three big cities, unlike Kyoto. They were also just up to 30 Minutes to up to an hour away, from Kyoto.
But he also had to visit sometimes Tokyo, too, since he was a politician of the Citizen Party.
Although... I was aware, he did not like it, particularly well there. But corrupt politicians have to be expected...
But for the changes Father planned, the ruling party, which is the citizen party, he essentially joined there, for that reason.
Like Kijima-san, our current Prime Minister, he was in neither one of the three fractions, that of Naoe, Isomaru, and Former Prime Minster Miyako, inside the citizen party.
It was the fourth fraction, the one which belonged to neither of these three major fractions.
But even so... the Prime Minister was possible for Kijima-san, the one true authentic politician father described. I always knew the admiration he held for Kijima, our current Prime Minister, from his diary.
"We would have conversations from time to time, but he would often meet-up with Kijima-sensei, when your father came to Tokyo."
"But, I'm afraid, that I wasn't really well-known with him. It was just discussions about reforms or ideas we had sometimes in common."
"I see..."
It's not like it wasn't information I did not know.
I knew it very well.
But in the end, it was simply a useless conversation. I expected something to get... but it's just things I already am aware of.
"Then...."
"How about we come to the main reason I'm here."
"Your main reason...?" he looked curiously.
You should not.
But let's see if you're truly kind...
Perhaps then...
I won't feel remorseful for what I will do...
"Chairman Sakayanagi..."
"Would you mind telling me everything you know about Project WR?"
I looked at him simply with an expectant gaze, observing the facial twitch he would make, upon the revelation of that very own project.
His face showed for a moment a slight bit of shock, until I saw him recompensing himself. By this itself, it was quite evident of him knowing about this project and the abbreviation behind WR.
But in the end, he's not willing to hand it out, huh...?
Not handing it out...
Well, that was expected, after all...
But if I didn't try this at least, I might come to regret it...
No... I suppose... Aoki would want me to do it like this...
Mother and Father, too...
"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're speaking of, Kurushima Kaoru-kun."
Chairman Sakayanagi replied, without hesitation.
"Is that so...?" I looked at him, standing up, walking around the office.
"What if I were to tell you something additional, too...?"
"Something very important..."
My gaze meet his, and I could tell, he was curious.
"Important...?"
"The very own project that you're protecting right now, is the reason for the death of my family, 8 Years and 201 Days Ago, on the 1st July 2007."
"Sensei... wouldn't...." I heard him murmuring, in a low voice.
When I heard the word Sensei, I immediately got attentive and felt how my whole body was suddenly feeling full of rage and hatred.
He knew the person...
Not just about the project, but also the person...
Finally...
I have insight of the true culprit behind their deaths.
It seems like I was true all along.
He must be affiliated with the project quite deep, since I was not able to gain the name of the one in charge of it, nor any information relating about it.
"Does it still not change your view...? How about telling it me now, Sakayanagi Narumori...?"
I looked at him, my voice abruptly changing, but he did not say anything.
"Why are you being so quiet, Chairman Sakayanagi...?"
"Answer me!"
I could see how he was in an inner conflict, but he shakes his head, looking at me—my eyes, to be more precise.
They just showed how much hatred they contained in secret. Something he was the person to first witness...
"... I'm afraid you'll have to leave now, Kurushima Kaoru-kun..."
"Otherwise, I'll have to call the security..."
He must have been in shock that a student could contain such an amount of hatred.
But I could not help but feel a smile forming on my face, seeing how his hand was under his table, where presumably a button for the security is supposed to be.
"Hahaha..."
"Do you really think I came here that unprepared, my dear chairman...?"
"Please, I'm not so stupid that I'd let you know that I'm aware of that project's existence without necessarily preparations on my hand..."
"They won't come..."
"Neither will anyone else..."
"It's just you, and the Monster you, who all are in this Project affiliated, created."
"I've waited so long, you know..."
"I won't let anyone interfere in our small little talk."
"If you're going away now, everything can be resolved peacefully."
"Peacefully...?! Don't make me laugh."
"The moment you decided on keeping quiet about this matter, it could not be resolved peacefully anymore."
"I gave you a chance, Chairman Sakayanagi..."
"But sometimes..."
"People have to learn it through other ways..."
"Are you not afraid of here being a camera present...?"
Feeling a smirk forming my face, I answered his attempt on bluffing.
"Haha... I already looked over everywhere at the last time when I was here if there was a camera. I'm quite confident in my observational abilities... so I can confidently state, there are no cameras..."
"So..."
"Are you scared now...?"
"Being inside with someone superior that everything appears to become hopeless...?"
"If you're not now, soon you will..."
"I'll make sure you're going to experience even just a small fragment of my pain that I accumulated over the past eight years..."
"Beginning with..."
I slowly walked towards his desk, taking his phone in my hand.
*Ring*
"Oh my, Masashima-sensei is calling you right now. It must be surely something very important, is it not, old man...?"
I could see him gulping his throat, unable to speak. It was clear that I was the dominant one in our conversation, currently.
All that hopelessness I felt...
He will feel it, too...
"You know, there's this famous saying..."
"But it goes like this, if you have not heard about it yet."
"You reap what you sow!"
"And it's now your time, to reap what you sow..."
"When I was desperately climbing to the tiniest bit's of hopes to the authorities regarding their deaths, I was rejected, merciless, without a saying."
"Corruption in the broad daylight..."
"And the murder of my family forgotten, left unsolved, because of individuals like you, that are harming this country, in the long term."
"Judges, Police, Private Investigator's... None worked..."
"Not even those who knew of this project... approached me..."
"All because my father was able to gain insight about the true side of Project WR, which he wanted to make public..."
"You must have surely known this too, Sakayanagi Narumori...?"
"After all, there's no way someone like you, a former congressman, from such a distinguished family, with a Senator as a Father at that time still, would not know about this information, would you?"
"Did you have suspicions...? Perhaps even the tiniest bit's...?"
"This incident... it was strange, wasn't it...?"
"False Data's created... no surveillance camera in the park house, nothing. It's evidently that it was planned all along..."
"My desperation I felt throughout these years..."
"I'm going to make you feel the same desperation as me..."
*Ring*
"An E-Mail from Masashima-sensei now, huh...?"
Smirking a bit, I looked at him. "I wonder what that could be."
I put his phone right in front of him, looking at him with pure disgust and hatred. He was currently unsure what to do.
He could tell, I did not care about being expelled.
I was superior in regard to him, too, and the security button did not work, as they weren't there in the office, currently.
Even admits his hope, he noticed nothing happening.
"You're allowed to look at it, Chairman Sakayanagi..."
He took his phone, reading the E-Mail, feeling how the phone was slipping down from his hand, landing on the desk.
"... Arisu... collapsed..."
He suddenly looked at me with a fearful look, realizing it.
"I'm sure you realized it already, but do something stupid... and your daughter..."
"Will die..."
"How...?"
"Poison, my dear Chairman..."
He gulped his throat, seeing that I was not joking at all. He could tell it from the seriousness of my eyes.
"Did you prepare something like this... in advance...? But that's not possible..."
Amusingly, I shake my head. "Yes, it's not. Taking poison from outside... it's incredibly difficult... No, impossible..."
"But it's all thanks to this worthless school, actually. There was one exam I simply had to use to my opportunity, no matter what..."
"I'm sure you realized which it was, do you not...?"
"The Survival Exam..." he murmured.
"Correct. That's 100 Marks right on the spot. I obtained various kinds of poisonous berries, alongside the venomous poison from the snake that I let myself deliberately be bitten from."
"After that, it was quite easy to make an efficient poison. It's a first time for me, but even I got really bad affected from what I made, surprisingly..."
"My whole body was feeling like it has been burning alive at that time, so how will someone feel who is in a far worse physical condition than I am, old man?"
"Don't think I'm not aware of the fact that her medication pills arrived today... I'm well-aware of it. Otherwise, I would have not confronted you today."
"Swapping medication pills it's quite easy..."
The moment he heard me saying this, he looked at me even more differently. Fearful, shocked, scared, I could read all of his thoughts currently.
The willingness to see whether your own poison is really effective, by testing it on yourself, it was something no one would do, normally.
To disregard your own life like this... it must have made him more scared of me...
He should know even more... that I was never even joking, in the slightest bit.
Seeing that expression of his—it made so happy.
I clapped my hands one after another, smiling and dancing, feeling the enjoyment in each cell of my body currently.
That look of his—
It's priceless...
"Haha..."
"I'm feeling so energetic, suddenly."
"Seeing the desperation in your face, the hopelessness, it's the way I looked too, in the past."
"Oh... I must inform the officer's. I have to abide the law, righteously..."
"Be virtuous..."
"Be kind..."
"Do that, and everything will be fine..."
"My Mother used to say this, so often..."
"Do you know how it felt that everywhere you go, there were enemies."
"Therapist... could they be trusted...?"
"Could anyone be trusted, even...?"
"When the local authorities rejected this case alongside the clear evidence I provided upon the car details, do you know what they did...?"
"Thrown away in the trash can, lit in fire, by the police...."
"At the court, the judge changed the details of the car, so there was no investigation made, and the car company was automatically at fault..."
"And I was supposed to be happy, because of the willingness of the car company giving me 100 Billion Yen tax-free as a compensation..."
"It's time for my retribution for everything that was done to me..."
"Now I can finally fully start with my revenge, my retribution, my justice..."
"I had my fun, so let's move onto the important part, Chairman Sakayanagi."
"Or if you don't want that... Your daughter will simply die..."
I heard how his breathing becoming irregular, looking at me nervously.
From my inside pocket, I took another thing out. It was a small bottle.
"Well... what will it be...?"
"Sacrifice your daughter, or tell it to me...?"
"The choice is yours."
"Right here on my right hand is the remedy for her..."
"But she has only 44 minutes remaining..."
"Especially considering her congenital heart disease..."
"It might take even less time..."
"And this, here, takes at the very least a couple of days to make..."
I threw it in the midair, catching it with my left hand, making him attentive of it. He is spacing out, panicking, so I cannot allow this to continue.
"You have no time to be in a shocked state or space out."
"Please don't throw it any further... Kurushima-kun..."
"I will tell you everything I know..."
"But please don't hold my daughter responsible for this..."
Doing a long deep sigh, he looked at me, with the intention of explaining it to me.
"Project WR..."
"It's also known under a different name as the Human Resource Development Plan, a governmental project created from Naoe-sensei's faction in the citizen party..."
"H-human Resource Development Plan...?! Created from the ruling party of Japan...?"
"Yes, but as far as I know, it's only Naoe-sensei's faction that is in charge of knowledge of this..."
"If you're lying, you know what happens."
"I have no intention of lying to you, Kurushima-kun. Can I continue...?"
I gave him a small nod, signaling him to continue.
But just from hearing one of the aliases of the project's name—The Human Resource Development Plan, I felt how my fists clenched themselves already...
Damn Bastards...
What are they doing...?
I should listen further without interrupting him.
"It's something that was for a long time tentative, however, due to Naoe-sensei not finding the right person whom he could entrust this project onto..."
"The intention of the project is that Japan does not fall behind the other countries, in the next 20 to 30 years in education. Until a long time... the project was tentative, until 20 years ago, Sensei was entrusted with this project and took charge of it..."
"Although there was the idea of this project for quite a time, until then, no one had anything achieved regarding it, from those, who were entrusted with this from Naoe-sensei, before Sensei was in charge of it."
"Sensei made many political connections, with those in the business world, and slowly, expanded his power within time to time."
"I was Sensei's first connection to the political and business world upon Naoe-sensei's request and introduced him to various other kinds of people to finance this project that would cost quite much."
"Slowly, Sensei was able to gather a firm standing and has realized this project, that despite being discussed very often, had no actual progress yet in the past."
"The intention of this project is to give children, regardless of their genetics or talents, education from infancy, so that they can surpass geniuses like my daughter, or even yourself, Kurushima-kun."
"Sensei took abandoned children—abandoned orphans from the country in, that would have grown up in poverty, with not many future chances, so that they too could have a chance, making it easier for them to be accepted in high school or in college, graduating from there, and living a life in comfort."
"Children that were unwanted from single parents given to childcare or abandoned, had a place to stay, with rigorous education that they would have never been able to receive in their lifetime at the orphanage."
"And these very own children are those who may one day lead Japan."
"Creating ordinary people with normal genetics into Geniuses—No even above that, that is the intention behind this project, in the end."
"It's still in an experimental stage... so educating any child into Geniuses is not quite possible currently. But the samplings they are able to gather from the successes will help the children in the future of Japan..."
"Creating the perfect education by the Data's of the children that have taken part of the project until now, for the children in the future, that's another goal Sensei wants to achieve."
"As for the reason you know it as Project WR, Sensei changed the name of the project from the Human Resource Development Plan to the name White Room, in short, the abbreviation standing for the two letters WR..."
Admits all that information I received now... I couldn't help but think whether the man in front of me was simply joking or not...
A joke...
Was this one...?
Believing that there exists a secret illegal facility in this country, that disregards the well-being of children's—of orphans, like me...
Their rights... just everything from their pure existence...
Nothing more than lab rats since birth...
I have trouble on believing it...
But in this state... he would not lie to me...
Especially, since I hold the life of his most precious thing, his only child, in my hands...
Such a place... truly exists...?
And it's supported by... the citizen party...
No, by many governmental officials, more precisely, probably...
Such a project cannot be hidden so long from the other factions and parties...
Hahahaha...
A project supported by the ruling party of the government, which leads Japan...
I really did not expect this...
It's so much information I have to digest...
And merely thinking about everything makes me boil in anger...
This man in front of me is no different from those in charge of power. No, he might be even worse...
The Chairman of ANHS, perhaps one of the biggest supporter's from this project...
Even if it was simply early on... it does not change the fact at all...
He's just another corrupt adult in this country...
The Japan my parents wanted, the one I see... will have no such things...
Hahaha...
I'm going crazy...
My breathing—it has been becoming irregular ever since he decided to reveal me it.
Am I going to have a potential panic attack...?
In front of this person...?
No...
Breathe in and out...
Weakness...
I won't show anything like that to him...
Rather than that... I have to confirm something else, too...
It's something I really don't want to be the truth, but I don't think I could contain myself any longer, if I knew that it's truly like I suspect, too...
That disgusting place—it's not a method of white torture, is it...?
Don't tell me I'm right...
"White Room..."
Murmuring this, I looked at him, with an expectant gaze.
I have to know this in advance...
"The name White Room... is there any specific reason why it was chosen...?"
"Yes..."
"As the name might imply it already, it's because the environment is only filled in the color white where the children are raised and educated."
Feeling already how hard I was clenching my fists, I looked at him with pure disgust in my eyes.
"And you're supporting that?! Don't you know the consequences of being raised in an environment surrounding in an environment with the only color being white?"
"It's disgusting enough already... but that makes it even by far worse. What else is there still that you keep quiet about...?"
"And don't even think of hiding it, old man. You're not in the position of being quiet."
"From what I'm aware of, one of the leader's used on the three-year-old children's... physical punishment, mental pain, pushing them to the edge of terror so that the brain quickly adapts to its rash environment and focuses on learning."
"He eliminated the emotions, while the two other leaders with their bunch of children responsible didn't. But the difference between these three groups of children were different..."
"These three-year olds were above 90% of those in their current age..."
"And that justifies it...? You believe the end justifies the means...?"
"I never said that."
"You did not, but your silence told me everything already. The more I'm conversing with you, the more do I feel my anger increasing and the more do I become irritated by your simple presence."
"Before I'm doing something I might regret of moving too fast with our conversation, I'm going to ask you this. What happens with those who cannot continue any longer..."
"The normal orphans are sent somewhere else in one of Sensei's orphanages living a normal life, and as for the children from the affluent families..."
"They're sent back to their families, logically."
He nodded.
"I see..."
"I believe I have grasped this disgusting project quite well from your explanation..."
"I can finally see it now..."
"My father—he must have reacted like me when he found about this project. But what happened is something you're aware of..."
"Their lives, their futures, it was taken from them. The genuine good persons who tried on changing this country for the better..."
"It's always them who are affected by this..."
"So I'm going to ask you this now, Sakayanagi Narumori..."
"Tell me, who is the person you're referring as Sensei the whole time?"
I looked at him with pure hatred again. But I gradually felt the disgust in my veins, too.
This man in front of me is no different from those people...
"Sensei's name is..."
"Atsuomi Ayanokoji..."
"A-Ayanokoji...?!"
"As in..."
"Your classmate Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Sensei is his Father."
Feeling the sudden urge, I felt how I laughed.
"Hahahaha..."
"How ironic fate can be..."
"It truly is..."
"Hahaha..."
"In the end, my decision to let him stay here was fatal..."
"I'm really doing quite the stupid decisions, lately..."
"Hahahaha...."
"Shit..."
I clenched my fists harder than ever, looking at the ground. For a brief moment I calmed myself down, because it's not the time of panicking here.
All that information has been too much for me to digest...
I looked at him again. I also looked at the clock, seeing how much time I had remaining.
I see...
I should do this fast.
Time has surely moved fast...
I wasn't aware of it...
In the next seven to eight minutes a teacher should arrive here as Chairman Sakayanagi was not going on his phone...
"What's with his son, Sakayanagi Narumori? Don't think of being quiet."
Seeing his nod, he explained. "He has also been raised in the White Room. To be more precise, he's the one and only success until now the White Room has produced from the hardest curriculum ever known among the 20 generations."
"Hahaha..."
"So that explains his devoid look of any emotions present. And you're still supporting this project, knowing what happens to these children..."
"Hahaha..."
"It's hilarious that the chairman of this school is like this. The one who should support children, nurture them, is in fact like this, secretively."
"In the end, I should have expected this already..."
"Another corrupt adult in this country..."
"Ayanokoji..."
"He's the son of the man that took everything from me..."
"Haah..."
"I am feeling the anger and hatred in each vein of my body currently..."
One moment...
His father should show the same characteristics as him...
Brown hair, yellow eyes, right...?
Did that guy...?
"Tell me, how does that guy look like...? That fucking bastard...?"
"Sensei has... brown hair, yellow eyes... is around..."
"1.80 meters tall and is wearing a black suit..."
"How did you...?"
"Hahaha...."
"That bastard... appeared on the day of my family's funerals..."
"I can't believe he was so close, so nearby to me, at that time..."
"That indifferent and cold look..."
"Now I understand..."
"The person who took everything from me..."
"Damn...."
"I'll make sure he'll suffer to the greatest extent imaginable..."
"He'll wish that he'd die, but it won't be that easy..."
"I'll crush everything he's so proud of..."
"Only then I will be able to see that bastard's despair, his hopelessness..."
I looked at him with nothing more than hatred in my eyes, seeing how everything was filled in the color full of red, again.
Likewise with parts of my gloves that have been red as my hands were bleeding from how hard I was clenching my fists...
If I didn't wear them, the ground would have been spilled with my blood already...
I didn't expect it would take such a toll on me...
I thought I was prepared all along, but I really was not...
Hahaha...
I feel how I'm going insane slowly...
Everything is so hard to digest...
"You said Ayanokoji is his first success, his masterpiece. Why is he in this school, then?"
"He fled without his father's permission when the White Room was temporarily shut down..."
"Fleeing...? I see..."
"His father wants him back, I presume. Is that not so...?"
"His one and only real success of which he is proud of is in this school, and he can't do anything about it. Is that right?"
"You're correct, Kurushima-kun..."
As the anger was just cursing through my body, making me irrational, I remembered something important from a couple of days ago that I might have forgotten to ask.
"Brown hair..."
"Tell me, did that bastard appear in this school, three days ago...?"
"Answer me!"
"You're not going to achieve anything of being quiet or of simply trying to buy time. No matter what, no one will come to save you."
"And if someone really does enter this room..."
"I'll have to beat them up..."
"You're well-aware of my capabilities, are you not...? Even when I'm holding myself plentiful back already..."
"So don't think of trying on holding yourself with the information back, as you have done until now. The only reason I did not say anything was because I had to digest everything you said to me."
"Yes..."
"Sensei appeared three days ago here in order of having Kiyotaka-kun drop out from this school. The White Room resumed their operations again... so he wants him back to nurture him further there..."
"Hahaha..."
"Not once, but twice...?!"
"Damn it..."
"I let him go two times already..."
I looked at the ground again, full of anger, until looking at the clock.
Time sure has moved very fast...
I have to deal this very fast...
So now, I have to ask the important questions and prevent long explanations from him as he tried to buy time previously...
"I'm going to ask you this question once, but who else is affiliated in this project...?"
"I'm aware of Amasawa, Kanzaki, Naoe alongside his faction of the citizen party, but who are the other people...?"
"Kanzaki...? You know of them, too..."
"So that's how it is..."
He could now tell that the results of his class weren't a simple coincidence, but rather something where I constantly interfered with behind the background.
Realizing this, he must also know that I really did hold myself back as I told him.
"I didn't ask you to repeat this information. I asked you who the other people involved in this project are..."
"I'm not aware of many, I'm afraid, Kurushima-kun. Ever since I'm the Chairman of this school, I have prevented contact with Sensei to prevent rumors."
"You're not willing to hand it out, huh...? Really...? When you consider your position currently?"
"I'm not joking..."
"Nogi... Fuji... Ishigami..."
"I see..."
In short, the member's of the upperclass as expected.
The question was useless itself in the beginning already...
Father and Mother... they would have never approved of such a project, so they were never invited to these kinds of meetings...
Well... unlike many others, they were known as kind-hearted individuals...
In the end... that's the reason they died...
Hahaha...
I never thought of myself as a kind-hearted individual until now, but in comparison to these people, I really look like a saint...
What a disaster...
"There's another question I have... but I'm really curious. Does your daughter know about this, too...?"
He nods his head.
"I see..."
"I think I know everything now, so this conversation has no use to me anymore. So there's no need for you to speak any further. I'll look into this matter myself either way, to confirm it, once I'm home, so let's not waste any more precious time."
"However..."
"There's one thing that will have to change, my dear Chairman..."
"If you want to save your daughter's life..."
"I added another clause, to be more precise..."
"You can't possibly do this..."
"Now you care about sudden fairness, huh...?"
"What a hypocrite..."
"Where was the fairness you dejected when I tried to confront you honestly about this very own project...?"
Where was it, Sakayanagi Narumori...?"
"Despite knowing my reasoning, you had no intention of telling it..."
"But don't worry, it's nothing much..."
"I'm sure you have heard of this famous saying, too..."
"But I'm going to repeat it, just for you."
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a life for a life..."
"Sacrifice yours and save that of your daughter's..."
"Here is the poison."
I took the other small bottle from my inside pocket out, putting it right in front of his desk.
"It's time that you'll be punished for your sins."
"Do that, and I'll make sure she'll receive this, her remedy. I promise this from the bottom of my heart..."
"Of course, it's up to you, entirely, old man. But I'll drink it right on the spot, if you don't drink yours..."
I gave him time to contemplate until he looked at me.
"I apologize..."
"It won't change anything, old man..."
"I'm well-aware... I've failed you as your Chairman..."
"Instead of helping my students out, I did not realize, my actions inflicted so much suffering to you... and Kiyotaka-kun..."
He looked slightly ashamed on the desk, until looking at me.
"Can I be rest assured you'll give it to her, Kurushima-kun...?"
"I'm much, but I'm not one to break my promises. At least that's what you can be sure of. I'm not like you or the other adults."
He nodded at me, until looking at the desk.
"I suppose... That's going to be the price for what I've done until now, what I overlooked, kept quiet about, secretively, all along..."
"Despite the fact that I do not like the project very much... I supported it, and supported Sensei, in secret, too..."
"There's no use of denying it..."
"And what Sensei showed me about the White Room might as well be a simple facade, in order to prevent me seeing the true horrors behind these white walls..."
"But..."
"Sensei's message on changing this country... it was certainly something I always approved of."
"His ambition to change this country—to steer it in a bright future, where Japan will not be devoured by the other countries in 30 to 40 years in the future ahead..."
"It was something I always admired about him..."
His ambition—it was endless."
"In the end, his single ambition however caused you so much suffering, Kurushima Kaoru-kun."
"For that, I'd like to apologize earnestly..."
"I'm sure it won't change much, seeing how resolved you're..."
"But I just wanted to get this off from my chest."
"I hope it's okay for me to say this..."
I made a small nod.
He looked at the small bottle in brief silence, until his eyes met mine. No grudge, no anger, nothing of that was written in his eyes.
It was simply acceptance.
"Kaoru-kun..."
"What are your plans regarding Japan...? Do you think it's fine in its current state...?"
Even though I knew I did not need to answer, I did it regardless. If it's the last time he's speaking to someone, I might as well answer his question.
Despite my anger, I replied in a calm, but slight irritated and sad tone.
"Ever since my family died, I saw the country in its true colors. I want to change Japan, in a way my Mother and Father would have wanted, which benefits everyone else residing in Japan, too..."
"From the way how the laws regarding the orphans work, to the way of how the working culture in Japan is being treated, to the point of how the organizational system in Japan is."
"I'd like to change everything."
"I don't need anything like Power, Money, or Fame..."
"I simply want to change it..."
"Japan—I want to make sure it lasts, not just now, but in the future, too..."
"I see... I'm a bit reassured now..."
"With either you or Sensei in charge of it... Japan surely will be a country that will last very long..."
"If it's you... I can imagine that Japan might be even in it's best state possible..."
"Why do you think so...?" I asked curiously.
I didn't know he held me in such high regard, truthfully.
It's a bit surprising, if I'm being honest.
"I've heard about it before, but you made sure the working culture in your families conglomerate that your Mother and Father implanted are maintained by appearing as a small child very often, making your authority as the largest shareholder clear."
"Your actions—they had many positive effects on those who work there. The people in your conglomerate, they're said to be the happiest worker's among all of Japan."
"They don't live to work, but work to live..."
"Something I believe should change in this country..."
"And you, who inherited these values... unlike many of our politicians, is someone I believe could change it very well..."
"I'm sure you can even do far more impressive things in the future... Kaoru-kun, but the path you have chosen will be very difficult..."
"Take care of yourself..."
"Be careful of Sensei. That's all I can give you as advice as your Chairman, without betraying Sensei, either..."
He looked for a moment at the picture frame.
"Farewell, my beloved daughter, Arisu..."
Taking the small bottle in his hand, he took it in one sip, drinking all the poison.
Immediately, I took the empty small bottle, putting it in my inside pockets.
After a couple of seconds passed, he looked at me, feeling the effects of the poison kicking in.
"Promise me this, please, Kaoru-kun..."
"That Arisu will stay safe... that's my only wish..."
I did a small nod.
I told him it already, but I wasn't one to break my promises.
Besides...
"Don't worry, she's safe. It wasn't poison I put in there..."
"She's just unconscious from a sleeping pill..."
"I might be a Monster, but I would never go that far. Not now, or in my lifetime."
"So since the very beginning... you hoped that I'd tell you about the project without you having to threaten me about it...?"
"I had a bit of hope, honestly. That the two of us could talk about it peacefully..."
"That I might not have to take this step..."
"That you're not like the person I thought you're..."
"I wanted to be wrong..."
"Proven to be wrong..."
"But in case I had to ensure that I'm getting this information..."
"I've waited so long for it..."
"And finally, I know it..."
"The murderer of my family..."
"The reason why they died..."
"From the very own beginning, I knew... I had to confront you..."
"I see... I'm sorry that I have disappointed you..."
"Taking this step... it must have been a very hard toll on you..."
Not even a few seconds later, Chairman Sakayanagi clenched with his right hand his heart.
"Farewell, Chairman Sakayanagi..."
"In the end, you were able to redeem yourself a bit, something I cannot ever do."
"With today onwards, Kurushima Kaoru will be completely gone..."
"All what remains is a vengeance seeking Monster..."
As I heard his head falling on the desk, I looked slightly behind myself, hearing how he was breathing very lowly and feeling how my hands were trembling.
"Now... I'm too, the same as him..."
"Another Monster in this world..."
"Mother, Father... I'm sorry..."
"I cannot be the boy anymore you wish I would be..."
"For that... it's simply too late, now..."
"I'm sorry... Kaoru-kun..."
Hearing his voice, I felt even more panicked.
I looked in panic behind me, at the desk where he lied, my breathing slightly irregular, seeing how he was lowly breathing.
"Breathe in and out..."
"The more I stay here, the more does the risk increase of myself getting caught..."
As I had trouble on opening the door, my hands trembling, I opened the doorknob, leaving the Chairman's Office with clenched fists...
"I should be happy..."
"Relieved..."
"Satisfied..."
"But why... do I feel so empty...?"
"I achieved on one of the responsible people my revenge..."
"Damn it!"
I shouldn't shout...
You know never what happens...
I should delete the camera footage in the security room, alongside the notification he called while the security are being distracted by what I orchestrated.
Rumors...
No... it's the truth...
I had Kushida give them to me...
All I did was spreading something among the upperclassmen and lure them at a certain location...
The conflict would resolve itself to be more dangerous than they thought, and suddenly the security has to interfere, as they see in one of the major spots they observe from the camera's a large conflict occurring...
It's Friday, in the evening, and no one is there, aside from them.
Around this time there are only two security guards in the security room as I observed so far, so I lead them away with this case, calculating how long I'd take for them to arrive there...
"Breathe in and out..."
I quietly muttered.
I still had to do something important.
After that, I could go as crazy as I want...
Just not now...
I approached the security office, taking the last thing out I made at the electronic store, from my inside pocket.
"A small little EMP device I made that can temporarily unlock any door in this school as long as I hold it against the scan device..."
Disrupting it, I was able to open the door now, entering it.
I looked at one of the main camera spots, which is recorded by the school, seeing how the nine people I brought there, were having a fight. But not soon afterward, the two security guards appeared.
At the same time, I saw on one of the camera footages Masashima-sensei sprinting, several minutes away from the office, suspecting what could have happened, probably, as he wrote Chairman Sakayanagi the E-Mail.
I deleted the camera footage from everything that happened 30 minutes ago around the entire school, when the guards left alongside Chairman Sakayanagi's help notification that was sent to the security room.
I deactivated every single camera, making them unable to record anything, orchestrating it as a Software Mistake...
Without the camera footage, nothing will happen to these nine people...
I won't expel any additional innocent students anymore...
As long as both parties deny everything, it's a solved case...
And as for me... I'll be suspected of being in the dormitories...
Because I never left it after the camera footage...
As for Chairman Sakayanagi...
He'll be suspected of having gotten a cardiac arrest upon the sudden notification of his daughter collapsing...
His daughter—born with a congenital heart disease, can experience these kinds of life-threatening things, so it's a common deduction one would arrive at...
The Poison is also not traceable...
I made sure of that...
But still...
The feeling of guilt did not disappear...
Did I... do the right thing...?
--
"Hahaha..."
Feeling relieved as I arrived in my room, I fell on the ground, leaning myself with my back against the door.
"I avoided of being seen by anyone, so everything should be fine..."
"I really did it..."
"I took a human life..."
"I still can't believe it..."
"I really am..."
"A Monster..."
Looking at my trembling hands, I decided on taking off the gloves.
"So much blood, huh...?"
"That project..."
"These disgusting individuals..."
"Hahaha..."
"And a secret facility, educating children from infancy, disregarding any of their human rights..."
"Hahahaha..."
"It surpassed everything I imagined of..."
I did a deep breath, feeling every inch of my frustration and anger gathering, shouting it all out.
"Shit!"
"That damn bastard..."
I stood up, throwing from the side the plates, glasses, glass bottles and anything else that was within my reach on the ground, feeling every surge of my anger being released currently.
In the end... my entire floor was covered in full blood...
And I...
Leaned myself the entire night long against my door, thinking of what I've done...
--
A/N: And this concludes the chapter.
How did you find it? Please let me know, since I'm a bit insecure regarding this chapter, if I'm being honest.
It's been quite the long chapter, I know, but it would help me out immensely if you could share your thoughts with me.
What do you think of Kurushima now...?
And what do you think of his plans he formed...?
I would be curious to hear that.
Anyhow... did you like it or not...?
Did you want this to happen like this or did you have other imaginations...?
Honestly, I reread Volume 0 again, and Chairman Sakayanagi has always overlooked it really.
Then again, he's involved in this project completely alongside his family, so him telling it would be not the best choice.
Atsuomi is also one of his closest acquaintances so there's no way he would betray him either, willingly.
And everything said here is also true, confirmed in Volume 0, like him being the first person to support it and introducing him to other's and co.
He's on Naoe's side, most corrupt politician in cote, who's bribing underage girls, committed this and that... and many other things.
I don't think he'd have ever willingly told anything about it, since he literally keeps quiet about it since 20 years already.
Anyway, that's all.
Have a Great Day.
Hope you liked this chapter.