The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria
Book 6: Chapter 9

I can’t even remember how many times it’s been now, but I’m teleported immediately after this conversation.

I’m seated in front of the screen.

In five minutes, the final movie, 15 Years Old and Earrings, will play.

The audience consists of the decorative audience who look as if they’re wearing masks of themselves. More of these unsmiling dolls are familiar faces than before. Behind and to my right is a realistic Yuri Yanagi. Aya Otonashi is back and to the left. O-in-Iroha-Shindo’s-form is nowhere to be seen.

After that, there’s that odd phenomenon unique to this Box. A pitch-black hole, in the shape of someone sitting. An utter darkness that is now just two seats away—the abyss.

And then, next to me—

“Yeah.”

It makes sense.

Kazu can’t become an owner. He couldn’t come up with the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes. He never could have made a Box with the lone purpose of stamping out my wish.

Who, then, is the owner?

Who could think only of me?

Who could wish only for me?

Only one person.

And so, sitting next to me is the star of this movie.

...Kokone Kirino.

The air-conditioning is too strong. It feels as if the unnaturally pure air is boring holes in my skin. I touch my earrings. I put holes in myself every chance I get, but it really isn’t enough. I don’t have nearly enough openings.

Kokone.

No matter how many holes I punch in my body, you won’t get out. Seeing you there brings it all back from the distant past. That warmth in my arms never leaves. The once-gentle aura around us, the heat for us and only us, clashes sharply with reality to create a screeching that nearly drives me insane.

There’s no way I can watch this movie to the end.

My mind will probably snap before the credits roll.

Why—

Why...

Why...

Why did it end up like this?

The Box I’ve been fighting belongs to Kokone? Does that mean I’m fighting her?

No.

It’s not that we’re fighting. Something doesn’t fit.

If so, then who am I fighting?

What am I fighting?

What would it take for us to be happy?

No.

That thought is wrong.

I didn’t choose happiness. I chose justice.

That’s why this was a foregone conclusion.

This story was always going to end in tragedy.

Well, my psyche will crumble soon, I think. I’ll probably be destroyed. But I’m fine with that. I have no problem with it. If I only figure out what is just and act to make it happen, I’ll be able to work on autopilot. Empty-headed. No problem.

I know. I know what this is.

It’s despair.

But despair already won a long time ago.

Yeah.

The screen flashes white, and then the light is red. It’s the end of the world. I’ve seen it before.

What’s about to appear on-screen is just another romantic drama with naive middle schoolers. I’m sure it’ll be great. A guaranteed tearjerker. Everyone loves those, right? Stories about other people’s suffering. Stories that make you cry over how very sad those poor characters are, and then you feel better. So please eat some popcorn and enjoy.

Everyone, a round of applause.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap, clap.

Kazuki Hoshino 09/11 FRI 10:31 PM

Mogi still can’t operate her wheelchair on her own.

That’s why the one who brought her here, the one who called out “Found youuu,” is not Mogi.

“Eh-heh-heh. Lucky me.”

The person pushing Mogi in her wheelchair is a seemingly ordinary young girl.

That ordinary impression lasts only for a second, though. The only reason I thought it at all was because of her plain black bob and the prim dark-blue sailor uniform identifying her as an average middle schooler. But upon seeing her eyes, I can tell that this girl isn’t going to act like one.

We’re on a backstreet with not much foot traffic. The girl’s pupils glimmer with so much fire beneath the glow of the streetlamp that I wonder if they forgot how to reflect light properly. It’s as if they’re made of aluminum foil.

They aren’t normal.

“I found you. Kazuki Hoshino, Kazuki Hoshino, Kazuki Hoshino.”

Full of energy, she twirls around on the spot. Just as I start to realize what’s going on, she suddenly falls silent, biting her lip and fixing me with a glare.

“Lord Daiya’s enemy.”

I had a feeling that was it. This girl is one of the Daiya fanatics Yuri mentioned briefly.

“Hoshino…”

For some reason, this fanatic has brought Mogi with her.

“Mogi… What’s going on…?”

Mogi is as white as a sheet and still in her pajamas, suggesting she was brought here against her will.

“Sh-she suddenly showed up and took me with her… I was really scared, but…it’s not like I could fight back.”

True. Mogi’s body is in no state to do anything.

So what this girl is doing—no, what Daiya is doing—is the work of an undeniable coward.

“I had no idea what was going on. She took me outside, stole my cell phone, and then started trying to get in touch with you. That’s when I realized why she came to get me.”

“And then you found me the moment my phone rang…meaning we happened to be nearby…”

This road is close to the hospital. While it’s unfortunate we were found so quickly, I probably would have responded to any contact from Mogi. This girl with her aluminum-foil eyes would have caught us sooner or later.

The girl begins to caress Mogi’s hands.

Then she says:

“I’m going to break them now.”

“Huh?” The word “break” has nothing to do with this situation. I don’t get it.

“Fingers. Hers. I’m going to break them. I’m sorry.”

Mogi’s eyes go wide, and she looks up at the girl.

Unsure of how to respond, I decide to start by asking the first question that came to mind. “Wh-why would you do that?”

“Um…because that’s the Order. From Lord Daiya.”

“Hold up,” Haruaki interrupts after watching us. “What would that accomplish?”

“Accomplish? I just said it’s an Order, right?”

“That’s not what I mean! What’s the goal? Doesn’t Daiya Oomine want something from Kazuki Hoshino?!”

“Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. I was told to make Kazuki Hoshino come into the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes.”

The girl replies as if the objective doesn’t matter to her in the slightest.

For a fanatic of Daiya’s like herself, maybe she doesn’t care about the ends or the means. She simply obeys the instructions given to her. She doesn’t prioritize, either.

“Don’t you feel anything seeing Kasumi in this state? You’re just fine doing this?” Haruaki is a little stunned by her behavior, but he lays into her anyway.

Upon hearing this, the girl tilts her head all the way to the side, leaning over Mogi and staring at her upside down. Mogi squeaks at suddenly finding that face looking at her.

“I feel bad for her.” It’s an unexpected reply. “But I feel even worse for myself.”

“Wh-why?”

She raises her head again and mutters, “I have AIDS, you know? I’m gonna die eventually. Yeah. I’m worse off.”

But her tone makes it sound as if she doesn’t care at all.

“So does my pity mean anything?”

She doesn’t care. For this girl, “feeling bad” for Mogi is yet another thing that doesn’t matter to her.

Nothing matters except her devotion to Daiya.

That is abnormal.

It’s so abnormal that Haruaki is too stunned to reply.

I’m sure of it. This girl will indeed snap Mogi’s fingers one by one without batting an eye. She’ll do it without any deep feelings or thought to what it means.

“………Ugh.” I let out a sigh, then laugh scornfully. “C’mon, man.”

Daiya, what are you even doing?

Is this what you want? I thought you couldn’t stand people with no imagination? Isn’t this girl here exactly what you described?

“What’s so funny?”

The girl stares at me angrily with those aluminum-foil eyes.

Should I be afraid of those eyes?

I don’t really think so.

In fact, I’m convinced they’re a hindrance.

A hindrance to her that means I don’t need to hold back at all.

Here’s the thing about people with no imagination, people who just do what they’re told. From a certain perspective, such a total lack of original thought—

“Huh? Oh!”

—leaves them wide-open.

The girl gives a cry of confusion when I abruptly dash forward. But she can’t think, so she can’t react.

I weave around behind her.

“Ah, ngh!”

I squeeze her neck with both hands.

The girl lets go of the wheelchair without thinking.

“Haruaki!”

He’s been watching me in wide-eyed surprise, but he knows exactly why I called out to him.

Now that the wheelchair is out of the girl’s hands, he snatches it away.

“Koff, koff!”

Not loosening my grip on the coughing girl, I seize her by the collar and then push her down without giving her a chance to respond.

The girl’s aluminum-foil eyes are now full of shock. I can see the beginnings of rising fear.

Who gives a crap, though? It’s worth no more than dog food.

“Not having any doubts is a strength, but still.”

I ready my right hand.

Then I plunge it into her chest like a sword.

“Agh, guh!”

“This is what happens if you don’t have any will or determination.”

I pull out the mass-produced offshoot of Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime.

“Ah…”

The girl looks at what I have in my hand: an inferior Box that resembles a black bean.

“S-stop! M-my link! My link to Lord Daiya will go away!” she shrieks desperately.

I snort in amusement. “You never had one to begin with. Just shut up.”

I’m taking back Maria, and I’ll do whatever it takes to anyone who gets in my way.

I crush it.

—Crsssh.

There isn’t much resistance. It feels like squishing a pill bug.

“A​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​ah!”

The girl faints, just as Iroha did when I destroyed her Box.

“………Whew.”

It doesn’t make me feel much of anything.

I just did what I could. That’s all.

Looking down at the girl where she has collapsed, I stand and brush the dirt off my clothes. When I glance at Haruaki, I find he’s been watching me with round eyes.

“……What’s wrong, Haruaki?”

“…Uh, well…it’s just that you did something weird.”

“Yeah, I’ve gained the ability to remove and destroy Boxes.”

“Oh…okay…”

Despite my explanation, Haruaki’s expression is still dubious.

“…? It looks like you have something else to say.”

“Oh yeah. Um…man, you don’t pull your punches.”

“Pull my punches? Why would I need to do that? She was going to break Mogi’s fingers, wasn’t she? You could tell she had no qualms about it, right?”

“Y-yeah. What you did, yeah, it was justified.”

Justified.

Yes, it was justified.

So Haruaki’s confusion is a little bewildering.

More important is Mogi, now that she’s suddenly involved. I lean over and smile at her in her wheelchair.

“Are you okay?”

“Th-thanks.”

I thought I spoke to her kindly, but she still seems bemused.

“……”

…Now I know I need to take care. My actions are a little bit strange.

Mercy was a luxury I couldn’t afford, though… As I look at Mogi and try to justify my actions in my mind, I suddenly spot something.

“Huh? Mogi? Are you hiding something in your left pocket?” I ask, pointing it out.

“Ulp.” Mogi won’t look me in the eye.

What’s with that reaction?

What is it? I’m about to ask, when Haruaki taps me on the shoulder.

“Bad news, Hosshi. Looks like that scream got everyone’s attention,” he tells me.

Lights have appeared in the doorways of houses nearby, and a commotion is beginning.

It makes sense. This place doesn’t see a lot of traffic, but it’s not deserted like that tunnel under the tracks that Iroha brought me to. This girl was really reckless for trying to hurt someone in a place like this.

“What should we do? I don’t want to take the time to explain the situation.”

“I’m worried about her, but let’s get out of here. She’s down for the count, so people may get the wrong idea and think we hurt her. Maybe we should lean her against that wall over there. Someone will probably hand her over to the police.”

I nod and do as Haruaki says.

We beat a hasty retreat, and once we’ve got some distance, we begin walking over to Kokone’s again.

But there’s a problem, and I shouldn’t even have to say it’s Mogi.

Mogi has no idea what any of this is about. I can’t tell her about Boxes and drag her into this.

If Daiya is going to keep giving Orders that involve Mogi, though, then I can’t just take her back to the hospital and be done with it. There’s no telling if a similar incident might happen again.

Maybe I should explain just a bit of what’s going on to her? And is it the right thing to do, to take someone who can’t move freely?

“Mogi, what do you wanna do?”

Unable to decide myself, I instinctively ask the person in question. Clueless about the situation as she is, there’s no way she can make a good call, but still.

As Haruaki pushes her wheelchair along, Mogi doesn’t answer right away. Then she says with a troubled look, “What would be the best course of action?”

It sounds like a throwaway response. But it bothers me.

I mean, that’s definitely not a natural reply. Normally, wouldn’t someone ask what’s going on or just be lost before they got to that?

“Mogi, I’m sorry!”

“Huh? Oh!”

I can’t stop wondering about what’s hidden in her shirt.

I shove my hand into her pocket, and it touches something hard. Mogi’s face has gone bright red in either panic or discomfort over being touched, and she protests weakly. She doesn’t have much strength, though, so I take the hard little object with ease.

It’s—

“A stun gun…?”

Why? Why would Mogi be carrying this? Would she have had the time to hide this in her pocket when Daiya’s fanatic took her from the hospital? Did Mogi always have a stun gun with her there?

My conclusion is only natural.

Mogi had that stun gun beforehand.

In other words—

—she knew that the fanatic was going to attack her.

“……”

Then there’s the thing I discovered when I touched her.

As the one with the “Empty Box,” I had to notice this, at least.

—Mogi is an owner.

—Mogi is a Subject.

If she knew she was going to be attacked, then why didn’t she use the stun gun when it happened? Who did she plan to use it on, then?

What Order has she received from Daiya? If Daiya has given her an Order, then who would her target be…?

“I didn’t want to tell you,” Mogi says in a small voice. “I didn’t want to tell you I had remembered about Boxes. After all—”

She grabs on to my sleeve with her shaky strength.

“—I remembered I gave up on you.”

“Huh?”

That was not what I expected her to say.

Given that she’s a Subject, I had thought she had been ordered by Daiya to attack me.

But when I really, really think about it, using Mogi for that would be more trouble than it was worth for Daiya. So the reason why Mogi is being so uncomfortable is…

“I remembered the Rejecting Classroom,” Mogi tells me sadly.

Yes, because I found out she recalled those days of hopelessness.

“That said, my memories of what actually happened aren’t clear at all. I think it’s because my memory was a foggy mess from the time I was in the Rejecting Classroom.”

That’s a small mercy, at least. If she had remembered everything, she might not have even been able to speak with me as she is now.

“I’m positive I caused you and Otonashi a lot of trouble, though. I get that feeling. And—”

Mogi lets go of my arm and says, with a smile that takes all her effort, “The memory of you dumping me is crystal clear.”

Yeah, our romantic relationship…ended back then.

It was over.

We spent a life’s worth of time putting an end to it.

There is no undoing that, not ever.

And yet, in my regret, I saved the photo of Mogi’s sunflower smile. That was a mistake. I was just unable to take responsibility for my actions.

“But that doesn’t change anything, see? You always have been, and always will be, my hope. That’s still the same,” she tells me.

The look on Mogi’s face seems cheerful.

Does she accept it? But even if she does, that doesn’t mean I can keep my mouth shut. There are so many things I need to tell her.

But Mogi being Mogi, she doesn’t give me that chance.

“Okay. Let’s not talk about me now. Let’s talk about what happens next.”

“Hold on; it’s just—”

“Oomine intends to make Otonashi lose her memory.”

“...!!”

Everything I was going to say to Mogi is scattered to the wind.

I’m so sorry, but you’re right. That’s the top priority; we have to talk about it.

After all—that would be the final nail in my coffin.

What I’m trying to do here isn’t just to destroy Maria’s Misbegotten Happiness. It’s to convince Maria to give up the Misbegotten Happiness herself.

If Maria’s memory is taken away, though, I’ll never be able to get through to her. For Maria, I might as well be a stranger if she can’t remember. To make matters worse, she’s so stubborn. She’ll never listen to me if I’m a stranger.

Losing all recollection of me—would pretty much render me powerless.

But how would she do it? …No, that’s easy. Just use the Misbegotten Happiness on someone I know. Maria’s said before that that would erase her memory.

“Grr, Daiya…!”

I should’ve expected as much. Even when he’s on his last leg, he can still hit me right where it hurts.

“Mogi.” I’m grinding my teeth, but the conversation still needs to move forward. “How did you get this information?” I ask.

“You know I received Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I got an Order a little while ago.”

“What was it?”

“It said I should brace myself because a fanatic might be coming for me. Also that I should get in touch with you.”

So Mogi had been packing a stun gun because she knew an attack was on the way. I guess the reason she didn’t use it earlier was because she realized the attacker was taking her phone to make contact with me, so she just let it all unfold.

“And you were trying to get ahold of me so you could tell me Daiya was going to make Maria lose her memories?”

“That’s right.”

That made sense. I understood that part, but…

“Hold on a second. Why would Daiya do that? Why would he have to reveal his plans?”

“Huh?”

Mogi’s reaction alerts me to something.

That’s it. Of course it is. There is no reason Daiya would do that.

So the one who made that Order—is another Ruler.

But the only person besides Daiya with the abilities of a Ruler was Iroha. I can’t imagine him yielding that kind of power to anyone other than her. Iroha said she was the only one, too.

“—Still.”

Still, if it’s Iroha we’re dealing with, there is one person she might have passed along that power to in secret.

A person she can trust, who would use that ability skillfully and who possessed the good judgment to stop her if it came down to it.

I say her name: “Yuri.”

Mogi looks confused. “…Um?”

I was pretty confident in my reasoning, but I must have made an error along the way.

“Oh…guess not.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“Hmm?”

“But why do you call me by my last name ‘Mogi’ and Yanagi by ‘Yuri’?”

“……”

Huh?

“Does that bug you?”

“O-of course it does!” Mogi retorts, blushing.

I guess my only error was assuming I made an error.

“…Um.”

At any rate, it really was Yuri who sent Mogi that Order. Her intent was to let me know what’s happening on her end through Mogi.

Sending her to Daiya is turning out to be a very good choice.

But…

…at the same time, her presence could create a problem.

Daiya could use Yuri to remove all traces of me from Maria’s mind.

“Hosshi, what should we do? The game has changed a lot. My plan to hide won’t do us much good now, will it?” Haruaki says.

I nod. “Even if we do lie low, there’s no avoiding ultimatums from Daiya anymore.”

“Right.”

“Daiya will probably be pulling out all the stops with his Orders, too. He can even use mass media, after all.”

Haruaki goes quiet, maybe envisioning the dog-woman on TV.

“We managed to escape earlier, but his crazed followers are also a danger. I never would have thought people would have so much blind faith in him. If these fanatics learn that Daiya will lose the power of Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime, they may do something crazy even without an Order.”

“Ngh. So what do we do?”

There’s one answer.

“I have to go into the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes.”

If possible, I had wanted to wait it out and let it end that way.

If I go into the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes, it means I’ll be using the power of the Empty Box on Daiya and obliterating Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime. In short, exercising the power to crush a Box in front of Maria.

Truth be told, I want to avoid showing my ability to her.

Let’s be real—can I actually talk her into casting aside her Box when she knows I’m capable of smashing it? It’d be like trying to persuade her while making a threat at the same time. Like clutching a knife and saying, I’m not going to do anything, so you stab yourself.

Maria and I have parted ways completely, I know. But if I do this, it would only make the situation even worse.

Nevertheless, I have no other choice.

If I tough it out in the real world without going into the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes, and Maria’s memory gets wiped using Yuri, then it’ll be game over.

I stare angrily into the palms of my hands.

No matter many times I look, my palms are completely unremarkable, much smaller than Haruaki’s.

But they hold the power, the hubris to crush wishes.

“I’ll defeat Daiya with these hands.”

I clench my fists.

Haruaki watches me and gives a small nod. “I see—so you’re going to him,” he says, then focuses on some point in the distance. It’s as if he’s mulling over something, or he’s unsure of something. “I wanna make a request.”

The far-off gaze shifts steadily to me.

“Take me and Kiri with you.”

Haruaki lowers his head.

And that’s not all he’s doing, I soon find out, as he falls to his knees and bows on the ground in front of me.

“H-Haruaki!”

“Please!” he shouts, head pressed to the ground. “I want to save Daiyan. And if it’s even possible, I think Kiri is the only one who can do it. Their relationship is broken beyond repair, and it’ll hurt both of them, I know. But… But I think Kiri’s the only one who can do something for Daiyan.”

He lifts his head. Haruaki’s eyes are slightly moist with tears.

“I want to help them work it out somehow! Even if it doesn’t go well, I know I want to be there with them at the end.”

Anyone could tell that it’s a sincere request.

All the same, I can’t answer right away.

After all, I have to consider the complications it might bring. When it comes down to it, my top priority is Maria.

My lack of sympathy does bother me. But I’m Maria’s knight.

“Hoshino…”

For that reason, when Mogi says my name, I expect an accusation.

She doesn’t look accusatory, though. Her face has gone white.

“…What’s wrong?”

“U-um, I got an Order from Yuri.”

Then Mogi tells me:

“She says Otonashi became a Subject.”