Part 167: Okabe Rintarou commits assault and theft

"...n-no...!"

She resists. I grab Moeka's slender hand and pin it to the window. I used so much force I wouldn't be surprised if the glass broke, but luckily it was undamaged. With my free hand, I grasp at the phone Moeka clasps to her chest.

"Goah...!"

Right in the solar plexus...



I can't breathe for an instant, so I desperately gasp for air. In a fit of rage I raise my hand to strike, but...

Hesitation. Damn. I was going to steal the phone, even if I had to kill her, right?! But I've never hit a girl in my life. I'm not a feminist or anything, I just never had the opportunity, and it's common sense that its bad for a man to hit a woman. That holds me back.

So, I lower my raised hand, and instead grab onto Moeka's neck. Her struggling feet trample mine. I strengthen the pressure on her neck. My fingertips sink in.



She struggles painfully. Moeka's gulps of breath go up and down her throat. I can clearly feel those movements through the palms of my hands.



"So, you finally looked at me...!"

"Hooh, hooh, guh, haah, hooh..."

But I can't move my own body for now. If I let go of Moeka just a little, it'll turn into a struggle again. Moeka hides her hand tightly gripping her phone behind her back. I'm restraining Moeka's neck and hand. Which should I let go of?

"Hand over your phone...!"

Moeka weakly shakes her neck left and right.

"If you don't, I'll kill you...!"

Can I? Of course, I can undo it by using the time machine. We're not talking about the perfect crime. We're talking about a full reset. But, that's all.



"If you don't hand it over, I'll kill you!"

"Haah, khah, haah, kahh, haah..."

Moeka leaks out rough breathing without saying a word. A standoff. Neither of us shows the other any openings. Even though we're not making vigorous movements, we can't catch our breath. It takes all my strength just to pin her down.

Our rough breathing, reverberating throughout the room, eventually synchronizes to the same rhythm, and then suddenly separates. We won't get anywhere at this rate. Judging so, I let go of her neck. Instead, I make full use of the wall, pinning down her throat with my arm like in a guillotine choke.

"Guh, hgg, gah, hah, geh...!"

She starts groaning in pain. Now I put strength into the arm holding Moeka's left wrist. I transfer it to my right hand, which was pushing it against the glass, to my left hand in guillotine choke position. Then, I wrap my newly free right hand around Moeka's back. I gear near her body, so close we stick to each other. If I don't, I can't reach her back.

Pain runs through my jaw.



I put more strength into my guillotine choking arm.

"Ah... gah...!"

Twisting her face in pain, Moeka grows violent - not in resistance, but in pain. But my guillotine choke seems to be fairly effective.

Any more than this, and she might really die.

Although thinking that, I put even more strength into my arm. Moeka writhes in pain, spilling not just tears, but saliva as well. Her resistance is just about gone.



Despite the circumstances, she's holding her phone even tighter without letting go, but I forcibly tear it away.

"Gehh, gehhehuggehgehoh--"

I loosen my restraints, and quickly distance myself from Moeka.

"Gehohgehohgehoh, khah, ga... beh... gh..."

While coughing violently with her body bent over, she looks up at me with teary eyes and reaches out her hand. Meaning she wants me to give her phone back, but I don't comply.



In the new mail window is a whole bunch of "FB"s. I erase them and start entering a new mail, but my phone's a different model, so I don't quite know how to use it. Umm...

"Gehohgehoh, bi...na..."

Startled, I raise my face and see Moeka staggering up. Just how persistent is this girl? She's like a zombie. Or like Sadako in that horror movie.



I quickly close the door. I lean my entire body weight onto the door to prevent it from being opened from the inside. Inside, she violently turns the doorknob. Furthermore, she's recklessly striking the door over and over. Doesn't this usually happen the other way around?

But I got the phone. I just need to send the cancellation D-mail as Moeka. Mayuri will be saved with this. Moeka's changes to the past will be canceled, changing the world line. The IBN 5100 will come back to me. Afterwards, we hack SERN, and Mission Complete. My fight against the world and SERN will be my victory...!



"D-mail settings, please...!"

"What's that weird noise I hear?"

"In the middle of a little fight here."

"So you didn't kill her. Good job!"

I tell her Moeka's forwarding address.

"Entry complete."

"And Mayuri?"

"Still here. She's talking with the Braun Tube Workshop manager, to get him to turn on the 42" Braun Tube TV."

"You didn't say anything, did you?"

"About her death? There's no way I could."

"That's fine, then. Don't hang up yet."

I remove my phone from my ear and enter the mail into Moeka's phone.



Our eyes meet, so I put on a forced smile. The lady grins a scornful smile, going back inside.

I wonder what she was thinking. She must have concluded it was a lover's quarrel and came out to check, but gave up.



The contents of the D-mail Moeka sent should've been 'Don't change models,' so I appealed with how it'll be hard to get once it's out of stock to stir up her desire to buy it. It's in the Japanese blood to want limited editions and hard to find things.

The insistent pounding on the door continues, and I can hear a groaning voice from the other side. She really is persistent. Is her phone really that important? Full-blown dependence syndrome, huh.

But I've already won. Now all I have to do is send the cancellation D-mail. My relationship with Moeka ends here. I won't ever forgive you, but I won't meet you again, either.

I don't want to meet you. I put the phone up to my eye level. I take a deep breath.



I whisper inside my heart. I firmly press down the send button.

"..."

"..."

"...?"



Reading Steiner doesn't activate.

"Wh...y? Just why?"

Why won't anything happen?

Did the Microwave Ophone (Temp) not work?

I pick up my phone again with Kurisu on the line.

"How is it?!"

"Did you send it?"

"I sent it. Did it work properly?!"

"I confirmed a discharge phenomenon over here."

"Did it work normally?"

"Without a doubt."

"The world line isn't changing."

"You mean it failed? What's the cause?"

Possibilities I can consider...

"Maybe the contents of the mail weren't enough to persuade Moeka to change models..."

"Is it possible you have the wrong destination date?"

"July 31. Without a doubt."

"You should check the mail time of the first D-mail this Kiryuu person sent. If you sent it right after that, maybe her impression will change."

"Guh, such a bother...!"

The sound of pounding on the door paused.



No, I don't think so. Is she going to leave from the window and loop around? But this is the second floor. It's not that easy. I still should have time left.

"Try sending a pattern in different styles. If that doesn't work, then I'll adjust the timer."

"You're a lifesaver. How are things over there? Has Mr. Braun marched in?"

"Now I hear him shouting from below. Hashida and Mayuri should be desperately calming him down, but who knows how long that'll last. I don't think there's much time left."

I put my phone away in my pocket in a way that it won't hang up.



...But nothing happens after all.



I make another one. Send. No good either.

What? What am I doing wrong? If I could, I'd like to cross-examine Moeka about the cause, but if I went back inside now? I'd probably get attacked instead of a talk.

Which reminds me, she's been awfully quiet. Just what is she doing now? She might have seriously escaped from the window. I look around. I don't see anything suggesting that.

Think. Think about the source of this trouble. I wipe the sweat from my brow. It might be because I'm in a rush, but my sweat doesn't stop.

There's also the possibility that Moeka changed mails addressed after changing models. I take out my phone and call out to Kurisu.

"Do you hear me?"



"I tried sending two more times, but to no effect. While thinking hard about what to do, I stared hard, at Moeka's phone."

In the dark apartment passageway. In the weak lightning shines the phone's gaudy purple surface...

...I notice something's wrong.

I take another good look at the phone.

Something is

wrong.

What exactly

could be wrong?

"Okabe? What's wrong?"

Gaudy purple.

Latest model.

Removable LCD.

The written model name is GG01.

Nothing's strange.

Nothing could be strange.

I saw this phone once before, when Moeka sent her D-mail.