Part 174: The death of Okabe Rintarou is predicted

A blood red stain gradually spreads over the tatami mat.

Dead.

Tennouji is dead.





Everything ended unintelligibly. Without us doing anything, Tennouji did his duty and disposed of himself. Today, has the will of the world recognized Tennouji's death?

"You're... an idiot..."

I strongly bite my lip. I pound my fists on the floor.

"How could you leave your daughter and just die on your own...!"

He said it was to protect his daughter, but just what should that daughter do from now on?

"Moreover, why... did you smile when you died...!"



Not just Moeka, but even FB is a mere sacrificial piece? That's how SERN works? This is just messed up...! It's too disconnected from reality.

Is Nae... still sleeping in the next room? Not knowing her father died? How can I explain this to his daughter...

Should I run? Again, strictly, my purpose is to obtain FB's phone. And then, if I change the world line by sending a D-mail, the present will be reconstructed. So, there's no need to shoulder the unpleasant responsibilities.

Run away. To run away is to be called a coward. Everything's going to be undone. Yet I...

I timidly open the sliding door to the next room.



But Nae isn't here. The window is open, and the lace curtains are waving as if to invite the fresh morning breeze.

"...she's gone?"

Where did... she go? Where did that kid... go...

Don't tell me she was kidnapped by SERN? Or was she gone before we came here?

I don't know. This is all so unexpected, I don't know what to think.



I'm relieved Nae isn't here. I don't have to tell her about her father's death.

Manager's phone was in his pants pocket. In any case, I was thinking about stealing it during the entire lookout. If he resisted, I'd have the conviction to steal it even if I had to kill him, just like Kurisu said before. But, I never thought that he'd die before I killed him...

And now, like a hyena scavenging fresh flesh, I'm stealing the possessions of the recently deceased. I make myself want to puke.



After getting Manager's phone, I carry the paralyzed Moeka on my shoulders, leaving the Tennouji residence as if running away. We regroup with Kurisu, who was waiting worried outside, and hail a taxi. If we had left the rental car parked close to that house, there's a possibility we'd become prime suspects. We should've properly reported it to the police, but we avoided getting asked the annoying details.





After bringing Moeka to her apartment, I explained the circumstances to Kurisu. How manager was FB, and how he unexpectedly took his own life.

Moeka sank to the floor upon entering. She didn't say a word on the way back. She's probably putting up with what Manager - what FB told her. FB himself clearly told her that she had been cut down. She might not ever recover from being completely denied by the object of dependence she had trusted.

But... But in the end, were Mangaer's words complete denial? I'm not quite convinced. Something felt off back then. Rounders who have done their duty are all disposed of, without exception. FB said so.



"Hey, Moeka... It's possible... that FB did what he did so that you might live. Maybe he didn't throw you away. He pushed you away so that you might live."

"..."

That's just a convenient perspective for Moeka and me. We can't ever know FB's true intention, can we? But that's what I want to think. That's how I was moved. And that's certainly where Moeka belongs.

So why... Why am I looking for words to comfort Moeka? Maybe I'm just soft.





Kurisu says so with a stern face.

"If you run away now, you could get caught up in all sorts of trouble."

Kurisu's pondering what I'm pondering.

"Your goal is to save Mayuri, not to exact revenge on SERN. Sacrifices are being made because of our Time Leap Machine. It's unpleasant."

"...Yeah. That's true."

I've gotten FB's cellphone. There's no point in lingering in this world line any longer. The police will soon find out about Manager's death. And then, the first people to be suspected would be me, Moeka, and Kurisu, since we were all there. I should send the D-mail immediately and change the world line. Then the present will be reorganized. Manger will probably not have died, and Moeka won't have broken contact with FB. And then, the IBN 5100 should return to me for sure.

I should just think about Mayuri.

"Do you think Daru's still in the lab?"

"I'll try calling."

The D-mail we send should be the same thing we sent before from Moeka's phone. What's different this time is that we'll send it from FB's address instead of Moeka's. Then it'll become an 'order' from FB. Since Moeka's dependent on FB, she'll believe it unconditionally.

The thought of abusing Moeka's personality itself makes me sick. That makes me no different from FB.

"He said he'll be there in five minutes."

So we wait until then, huh.



After closing her phone, Kurisu glances at Moeka and lowers her voice.

"When I was watching outside, I heard a gunshot. Then, right after that, I... saw her."

"Saw... her...?"

I dare ask again.

Even though I should understand who she meant by her.



"...She ran out the back door. When I called her to stop... our eyes met."

Kurisu bites her lip.

Right after she heard a gunshot.

If that's true, then... She saw the instant her father died, and then ran away...



Someone knocked on the door. Someone came.

Who?

Moeka, crouching at the entryway, slowly lifts her head. I've got a bad feeling about this. The perfect timing. Is this fate? The world has recognized that Kiryuu Moeka will die today. Is that fate?

Moeka reaches for the doorknob.

"Stop, don't open it--"

I try to stop her, but Moeka was already turning the doorknob. The door slowly opens. Standing there is...



An innocent greeting. A child's voice. A familiar voice. It's not afternoon. It's still morning. So it's "Good morning", not "Good afternoon". Wait, that's not the problem.

Why is she here? Why does she know this place? How did she get here? Why did she come here?

"ran away"

"eyes met"

"right after hearing a gunshot"





"Aha..."

An innocent laugh.

"Ahaha..."

Hands dyed with blood.

"Ahahaha..."

A knife in her grip.

"You're... kidding..."

"I'm not kidding."

Nae's lips twist audaciously. Her glance pierces me, filled with hatred unlike a child.

"I won't forgive you."

Goosebumps all over. I don't understand why. I don't understand, but this child in front of me doesn't feel like a child at all.

"You all drove daddy to death. I won't ever forgive you. I won't forgive you until I kill you with my own hands."

Kurisu and I are just overwhelmed, and can't move.

"Okabe Rintarou."

She startles me. Chills run through my back as if caressed by a cold hand.