“You been to their houses?”
“Nope. No idea where he lives. Never asked.”
“Is that what bands are like these days?”
“Hey, I thought it was a little sad too, but everyone else seemed cool with it, so I guess I just went with the flow, you know,” the skinhead protested weakly. It seemed like he was basically a nice guy deep down.
Kotoe sniggered, “So? This Imaginator... this guy heard him give his name?”
“Yeah...”
“What did he sound like?”
“Prim and stuck up, apparently. Said, 'If you must, you may call me the Imaginator,' whatever the hell that means.”
“He didn't see him?”
“Nah, he was hiding. Oh, that reminds me...”
“What?”
“White. He said he saw a figure in white.”
For reasons she didn't understand, Kotoe was badly shaken by this. “WHAT?!”
The skinhead was surprised by her sudden, strong reaction.
“Wh-what? You know someone that wears white?”
“--------” But Kotoe had been programmed to suppress all unnecessary memories. So she was utterly unable to determine the cause for her surprise. She had a vague feeling that she knew a man who always dressed in white, but she couldn't remember who.
She could hear the faint roar of the musicians and the audience, like the sound of wings in a swarm of insects. It swirled around her, made her ears hurt.
“N-no...” Kotoe said, shaking her head as if trying to clear out the confusion. “Never mind.”
“So who are you? Why are you after the Imaginator?”
“Don't you want revenge?” Kotoe suddenly asked, out of left field.
“For those guys?” The skinhead looked dubious.
“You'd rather leave them to their fate? Fine by me...”
'Not that!” he yelled, turning red. He leapt to his feet, kicking over the folding chair he'd been sitting on.
“Then do as I say,” Kotoe smirked, looking up at him.
She opened her bag, and took out the rest of the money. She dumped it on top of the table.
The skinhead gaped.
“Use this to gather all the people you can. We're going to hunt the Imaginator down.”
“That's... that's a lot of money,” the skinhead gulped.
“Not to me,” Kotoe said, unperturbed.
“What if I take the money and run?” he asked. Like good guys always do.
“No skin off of my teeth,” Kotoe said, cool as cucumber. “I'll just know you're a coward.”
“............ !”
“But if you're going to swindle me, you should wait a little longer. There's more where that came from,” Kotoe said, broadening her grin. No matter how big her smile became, her eyes never narrowed.
Just like Spooky E.
II
Rather than ask yourself
if you are correct,
it is far more realistic to think
about how you are mistaken.
Most humans have not been
designed to be right very often.
-- Kirima Seiichi (VS Imaginator)
My name is Taniguchi Masaki. I became a high school student this past April, and about a month ago, I began imitating -- okay, maybe it's just cosplaying as-- the legendary Boogiepop.
It was the first time I'd ever fallen in love with a girl, so I got carried away and did whatever Orihata Aya told me -- even if that meant dressing all in black like some sort of shinigami and walking around acting like a superhero. What's crazy is that I still have no idea why she wanted me to do all this.
But every time she called me, I'd come running. I made fun of myself awhile for it, but just being with Orihata was the best time I'd ever had.
Then early one Sunday, as I was tying the laces on my sneakers, getting ready to leave, my sister popped up behind me.
“Hey, Masaki...”
“What, Nagi?” I said, not turning around.
“You've been out of the house a lot lately.”
“Have I?”
“And back late, too. What's going on?”
My sister always sounds a little harsh, but she's a nice person, fundamentally.
“You're out all night too, Oneechan,” I said, smiling.
But this time she wasn't letting me get out of it that easily. “Same thing, every time?”
“Same what?”
“You don't look like you're off to meet a girl. Your clothes aren’t nice enough. You used to dress better.”
“……..”
I was wearing a pretty shabby T-shirt, a pair of 3,000 yen jeans, and a cheap windbreaker. I'd be disguised as Boogiepop anyway, so I hadn't put a lot of thought into it.
“Where are you going?” she asked, leaning forward and peering into my eyes.
Less peering than glaring.
'N-nowhere special,” I said, feeling a bead of sweat roll down my neck. This was not how my sister usually acted. She was a lot more intense today.
Nagi grabbed my hand. It was so sudden that it startled me.
“Wh-what?”
“Nice calluses,” she said, stroking the back of my hand. “You practicing karate?”
“Um, y-yeah. A little. I'd been slacking off for a while, so...” I stammered.
“You're pretty strong,” she said, like she was accusing me of something.
“Oh, not really...”
“Sakakibara-sensei warned you about the danger of being strong. Get cocky, and you'll get creamed.”
Sakakibara-sensei was my karate shishou, and an old friend of Nagi's deceased father.
“Yeah, I remember. He said that so many times I still hear it in my sleep.”
“But do you really understand it?” She moved her face right up against mine. My sister's a beautiful girl, and we aren't actually related, so when those red lips came towards me... But the atmosphere around us was about as unerotic as you could get. The air was chilly, and it left me shivering.
“Y-yeah,” I gulped, nodding. I felt like a frog transfixed in a snake's glare.
“Then... okay,” and at last, she let me go.
I fumbled as I tied my laces, and staggered out the door.
On my back, where she'd touched me, there was a wet patch of sweat, like I'd been standing next to a fire.
(They say girls are scary, but Nagi-neesan's freaking terrifying!)
I shivered again, lowered my head, and plunged into the chilly April wind.
***
When I entered the cafe where Orihata and I were supposed to meet, I saw something unexpected.
Like always, Orihata had arrived first, and she was sitting there, waiting for me. No matter how fast I tried to get there, she was always there first. This wasn't the unexpected part, though.
No, today, there was someone else sitting next to her. Not across from her, mind you. No, the shop was empty. This person was next to her, and it was another girl.
“Oh, is that your boyfriend? Ha ha! Right, he is handsome,” the new girl said, looking at me, then grinning at Orihata. I disliked her instantly.
“Masaki, this...” Orihata stammered. She couldn't figure out what to tell me.
“Friend of yours?” I asked her, carefully avoiding eye contact with the other girl.
“From school. ..my sempai.”
“Kinukawa Kotoe,” she said, standing up and holding out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Taniguchi Masaki-kun.”
“Yeah...” I said, reluctantly shaking her hand.
She giggled. “Boy, you sure don't hesitate to take a girl's hand, do you? Must be experienced. Will make things easier for Orihata-san someday, hunh?” She said, lewdly. It wasn't like she was making fun of me; it was more like she was trying to provoke me.
“Who are you?”
“Orihata-san's friend. Just like you.”
“?”
She released my hand and slapped me on the shoulder. “Right, Boogiepop-san?”
&nbs
p; I looked at Orihata. She gave me a tiny nod. “Kinukawa-san knows everything.”
“Orihata-san told me all about it. I knew I had to help,” 'Kinukawa-san' said brightly.
This wasn't exactly working for me. “What do you want?”
“You don't need a reason to do the right thing,” she said reasonably, but the phrase, in this case, was just screwy.
“.........” I silently picked up the check. “Uh, Orihata, come with me for a minute.”
“Oh, I don't mean to get in your way,” Kinukawa laughed.
Sullenly, I said, “I'll pay for this, so take your time.”
Then I took Orihata's hand and pulled her out of the seat.
We left the shop, and Kinukawa waved at us through the window. I walked quickly away, and hid beneath the bridge.
“Um, Masaki...” Orihata tried to say.
I interrupted her. “What did she do to you?”
“Nothing...”
“Who the hell does she think she is? Did she threaten you?”
“Nothing like that, really,” Orihata said, looking distressed.
I backed down. “Then what? She doesn't look like a friend at all.”
“……..”
“If you're in some sort of trouble, I could...” I began, hands clenching into fists.
'No!” Orihata cried, turning pale, and grabbing my hand.
I took a deep breath. My sister's voice floated through my head, “Get cocky, and you'll get creamed.”
“O-okay then... sorry. But at least tell me why that girl knows about Boogiepop,” I asked, staring at her.
She avoided my gaze, staring at the ground. She looked like she was searching for a lie, which pissed me off.
***
“... She saw the clothes,” Aya managed, obviously lying.
“Where? At school?” Masaki asked. The edge in his tone made it clear he didn't believe her.
“In my apartment. She's my landlord's daughter.”
This was true, but she couldn't tell him that her personality had been changed by Spooky E.
“What?” Masaki asked, surprised. This rang a bell. He growled, “There was a sign saying Kinukawa Enterprises...” He had been to Aya's apartment building several times, and seen the sign next to the door. “So what does she want?”
“Well...”
***
The truth was:
Yesterday, she had received orders from Spooky E, saying that a girl named Kinukawa Kotoe would be coming over, and Aya should do whatever she said. Kotoe had shown up at Aya's apartment shortly after.
The moment she laid eyes on her, Aya knew Spooky E had spent quite a lot of time working on her. Her expression was exactly like Spooky E's, but was less his arms and legs, and more like an independently functioning copy.
“lt's a good thing you live in Kinukawa Kotoe's territory” what should have been Kotoe herself said, laughing. “We're gonna use this as a base while we hunt down the Imaginator.”
“The Imaginator... ?”
“You don't need to know But there will be a few men coming by, so let them in, do whatever they ask you to.”
Aya stiffened at this. She was sure “whatever” covered a lot more than cooking.
“B-but then Masaki will...”
“Like I said, you're almost finished with that boy. Time to cut him loose. Or are you still going on about how you don't want him to hate you?”
“Th-the Towa Organization t-told me not to be h-hated by anyone, so...”
“The Towa Organization? You still think you're working for them?”
Kotoe shoved Aya hard. She fell over backwards.
Kotoe then kicked her in the cheek. Aya couldn't dodge at all, and cut the inside of her mouth, blood spilling out from between her lips. Kotoe continued to hurt Aya, and Aya never resisted.
Had Kotoe had any free will left, she would have undoubtedly shrieked, “Stop!” in Aya's place. But no one there was capable of stopping the violence.
“The Towa Organization forgot about you years ago! You are nothing but a tool for me -- for Spooky E, to use how I see fit!”
“Yes...”
“And where the hell do you get off, getting all picky about men now?! Can you even count how many men you've taken since you left the institution?”
“No...”
“All on the pretext of some experiment to see if normal and synthetic humans could crossbreed-- but you never managed to get knocked up, did you? Which means you're just a useless whore!”
“Yes...”
“All the successes I've had and I get no luck at all! Why should a failure like you get to have all the fun? You piece of shit! You little bitch!”
Rage that had nothing to do with Kotoe's body, but everything to do with the knowledge and personality overwriting hers, came pouring out.
But all the expressionless Aya did was answer mechanically, “Yes...”
The beating continued a little while longer, but at last Kotoe grew out of breath, and she stopped.
“Hmph! Get up and make me some food. Kinukawa Kotoe's body has moved too much and is demanding nutrition.”
“Yes...”
Swaying, Aya got to her feet.
She took her own convenience store bento and put it in the almost unused built-in microwave. Standing there, waiting for it to warm up, Aya's eyes were vacant. But her lips were faintly trembling. Not from fear, but rather because she was whispering something under her breath. So quietly that no one else could hear, so quietly the sound did not even reach her own ears, over and over:
“I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki...”
***
... And then this morning, Spooky E had ordered Aya to bang Taniguchi Masaki. It was her last chance to test if crossbreeding with him was even possible. The cruelest joke he could make, though, was to send his copy, Kinukawa Kotoe, along to watch. It was like pouring salt directly into her wounds.
But she couldn't tell Masaki any of this.
“I...”
“You can't tell me?” Masaki said, sadly.
“It... it's all my fault,” she managed.
“Okay,” Masaki nodded, like he had made up his mind about something.
Aya hoped that this had made Masaki hate her. After all, Spooky E had said her orders (to not be hated and to not make trouble) were no longer active. There was no one to criticize her for being hated. If hating her saved him, then she wanted him to hate her.
Her own feelings were another problem.
“ln that case, we should stop playing Boogiepop,” Masaki said, curtly.
“Yes,” Aya said, still staring at the ground. This was for the best, she thought.
But his next words shocked her...
“So, I'll take that,” he said, and took the Nike bag out of Aya's hands.
“Hunh?” Aya's eyes widened. The Boogiepop costume and makeup were in the bag.
“I'm going to keep doing this without you,” Masaki said.
***
Ultimately, I was just angry.
Kinukawa's attitude had pissed me off, and I was annoyed that Orihata couldn't tell me about it. But more than anything, I was furious with myself for happily dressing up as Boogiepop without once trying to figure out why Orihata wanted me to.
“M-- Masaki?” Orihata asked, surprised. “What do you mean?”
“Like I said... I'm going on alone. I don't need your help anymore,” I snapped.
> I had assumed I was playing Boogiepop because Orihata wanted me to.
But judging from that Kinukawa woman's attitude, Orihata had not been doing that of her own free will.
I'd been useless. By trying to make her happy, I'd simply driven her into a corner.
“But why?! You don't have to do anything anymore, Masaki!!”
'No, you don't!” I shouted, angry. “Why didn't you ever tell me you really didn't want me to be Boogiepop? If you'd just said something, you never would've had to have been bait!”
“I...” Orihata stammered.
“l didn't want to put you in danger like that! But I thought it was what you wanted to so... !” I trailed off, losing track of what I wanted to say.
Both of us stood there in the darkness, glaring at each other stupidly, shaking.
Finally, “Why.. .why are you... I just.. .” Orihata whispered, sounding exhausted.
For no real reason, this made me angry again.
“Goodbye!” I roared, turning my back on her, and walking away. I couldn't bear to be in this conversation another second.
All she'd done was use me, and for something she hadn't even wanted. That's how I understood the situation. So what did that make me?
All I'd done was to think cheerily that being with her was all I needed.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”
I swung the bag filled with Boogiepop stuff around me as I ran, tears streaming down my cheeks. I was incredibly ashamed. Dressing up as Boogiepop was far less embarrassing than this.
Right then, I screamed inside.
'I'll be a superhero as long as I damn well feel like it!'
***
“Masaki!” Aya shrieked, and tried to chase after him.
But someone grabbed her shoulder roughly from behind.
“Wait, Camille,” he said. It was Spooky E. He had been secretly watching the entire time.
“L-let go of me!” She tried to fling him off. But Spooky E was inhumanly strong, and Aya's body might as well have been in a vise for all the freedom of movement he'd left her.
Boogiepop Returns VS Imaginator Part 2 Page 3
