Part 102: Episode 94: Running

A Le Bel is not allowed hesitation.

No… I have not even the right to claim that restriction anymore.
…Yuuya…

Foolish.
…No, not “ish” at all. I am a fool.
I have been pampered my entire life, while in my shadow he crawled along under the weight of a crime of which only he knew.
I have been nothing but vain and selfish.

…What should I do, Yuuya…?

The silence of the maintenance office was broken by an unwelcome guest.
The music stops.


…Leave. No one wanted you to come here.


Coo! (Everyone is leaving! It is a grand daring escape!)
Coo, coo! (Sakuya will find Ryouta with Okosan! Away we go!)
Shut up… Don’t talk to me.
Coo? (Sakuya weeps?)
The music stops.

N…No! I do not! It’s raining!

What a foolish excuse… not even San would believe something so ridiculous.



Coo, coo, cooo! (Okosan used HEALING TOUCH!)
Confound you! Must I repeat--
Coo, coo! (Okosan knows! Okosan heard that Yuuya has gone somewhere far, far away! We will never see him again!)
The music stops.

…So, they told you.
Coo! (Do not worry! If we cannot meet him, we need only chase after him!)
Do you have any idea what you’re saying? Death is not a good place to chase someone to.

No doubt the older breeds have no concept of death.
Chase Yuuya into the grave? What kind of fool would…



What foolishness… Speaking with mongrels makes my head hurt.

…Except I’m a mongrel, too.

Poor mongrels who do not notice even their own error, that is.
Coo, coooo! (Okosan is not a mongrel!)
Coooo! (Sakuya, and Yuuya, and Okosan all have their own wonderful names! Names more important than any breed!)
Is that your argument? That isn’t even--


The music stops.

……


I am… myself…?
Coo, coo! (It is time to go! Okosan and Friend are late!)

Oko is always brimming with useless energy, as he was… Am I the same, perhaps?
We will never see him again, no matter how far we run.
But--if he were here now, what would he do? What would he want me to do?
At any rate, moping around here won’t get us anywhere.

Two more hours…

I will chase after him. I will never find him… but I will find myself.

Let us go, Oko! There is nothing more for us here.





As we moved forward through the basement, we came upon a large examination room.


I feel a little nervous relying on Anghel’s bizarre intuition alone, but it’s worked so far and we’re in a hurry.
Is he actually following the doctor by his scent? Or was that just an Anghelism?

There’s some very advanced equipment in here… and these documents look fairly new. Maybe this place is still in use?

There’s a register of names left open on one desk. Maybe it’s a student register…?

Look, you’re name’s here too, Anghel.
The Dark Grimoire…! I feel the Tendrils of Imminent Tragedy!
They have notes on some of the students, too. Under Higure…

“The pheromone causes others to temporarily lose control of themselves, but its usefulness is limited. Not currently applicable to combat.” Hmm…
I shall not allow the sorcerer to make me his pawn… I am the Crimson Angel of Judecca, destined to wander this earth alone!

I’m not sure what he’s talking about, but he sounds and looks unexpectedly heroic.

It looks like all the students who were invited here have some sort of physical idiosyncrasy.
…How did you enroll, Kawara?
How…?
I was… invited, too. I don’t know why.
Hmm… Yours is just a bunch of numbers. I wonder if it’s the explanation for something like Higure’s…?
…! No! The Black Miasma of Inevitable Doom draws near!
The music stops.


Let’s go. The doctor’s waiting for us.
…Could you wait a minute, Kawara?
What is it, sir? We’re almost done. We need to--
I want to ask you something first, Kawara.
You lied, did you not?
…Huh?

Lied? Me?

I don’t know why you would lie about that.

Yesterday? After school? Like I said to Sakuya, I don’t know anything about it. We have to ask the doctor--
Hmm, I see… Let’s go on, then.


I’ve been trying to find the truth about Goon’s death since this morning. Why would I lie?
Maybe Mr. Nanaki misunderstood something…? But that seems too simple.
Well, I can’t dwell on these sorts of details right now. We need to find the doctor, and soon.