The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria
Book 5: Chapter 4

Breaking of Close Ties, SCENE 1

1. EXT. HOTEL – NIGHT

The exterior of a relatively large business hotel. It’s night, yet there is still a bit of light left.

2. HOTEL ROOM

The hotel looks clean with sparse furniture. The room is on the large side. Having been left there by second-year middle school student Koudai Kamiuchi, Miyuki Karino is terrified, face pale as she is surrounded by several men of clearly low standards. There is a double bed behind the men.

MIYUKI

K-Kou!

Koudai Kamiuchi ignores the voice calling out to him and closes the door. Miyuki sees this and tries to escape, but one of the men plants himself in front of the exit. Miyuki searches for somewhere to run to, then quickly darts into the bathroom. The bathroom just so happens to have a lock. Putting the latch in place, Miyuki sits down against the door, her breathing ragged. The silhouettes of the men can be seen through the semitransparent door.

Come on out, Miyuki!

We won’t treat you bad. It’ll feel good.

We paid a lot of money for this.

At the sound of the men hitting the door, Miyuki wraps her arms around herself, her lips trembling. She hurriedly tries to open her school bag (but struggles to do so). Getting the zipper undone, she pulls out a mobile phone with many charms and decorations attached to it. She begins to enter text with shaky fingers.

3. SCREEN OF A MOBILE PHONE

Help me! At this rate a bunch of weird men are going to… Miyuki’s hands stop as she enters the message, her face white. The screen has halted on Come save me.

4. FLASHBACK—RINO’S HOME

An elementary school–aged Daiya Oomine pats little Miyuki’s head. It seems to tickle her. Next to them, an elementary school–aged Kokone Kirino hovers over Daiya with an uneasy look on her face.

5. BATHROOM

Miyuki continues entering text, nearly in tears. The phone screen displays “Come save me, Dai!” She presses the SEND button. The screen says “Your message has been received.”

Daiya Oomine 09/09 SUN 6:10 PM

If someone were to make my life into a movie, there probably wouldn’t be a need for a new script at this point. The tale of my struggles to transcend humanity from here on out might be unique, but it won’t be popular. O and the Boxes and all that are just too ridiculous.

Yeah, the stories of my past romances would still probably make for a film that would attract a way larger audience. Ah, but it’d probably be a no-go unless we tacked on a false epilogue suggesting a happy ending. Let’s say I’m actually afflicted with an incurable disease and die. Then for the ending, how about Kiri moves on from my death and grows as a person? It would’ve been a huge hit in a different era.

Unfortunately, though, I’m actually alive, real life carries on even after the tragedy ends, and now we’ve passed the point of no return.

The tale of Daiya Oomine is already over.

It’s time to finish filming, because no more is needed.

I need to bring an end to all that’s left of Daiya Oomine’s humanity.

That’s why I’ve come back to school.

“Oh, come on, Kazu. If you’re awestruck by my beauty, you should just come out and admit it.”

“I think you’d better speak up soon, Hosshi. Tell her she’s got it all wrong. Say, ‘That’s not it. I couldn’t help but stare because I was wondering why this giant fruit fly was here.’”

Kiri and Haruaki are going back and forth like this before school in the classroom.

Sitting in my chair, I figure I might as well join in the conversation.

“Y’know, I used to talk about wanting to kill someone without really appreciating what it meant, but watching you, Kiri, I finally understand the concept. I think I can use it properly from here on out. I should be grateful.”

“Huh? Oh, do you mean toward yourself, now that you’ve seen how brightly I shine and you can’t stand how dull you are? It’s inevitable!”

This is a sham of a conversation, all about just trying to keep up appearances. No different from reading the music to cover a popular song on guitar.

It’s all so hollow. Worse than hollow—it’s pathetic.

I was missing for an extended time. Not only that, I got ahold of a Box. I’ve changed. Some of the people here have probably seen that video of people bowing in Shinjuku and noticed I was at the center of it. After returning out of the blue at the end of summer vacation, I shouldn’t be able to slide smoothly back into the normal routine after only one day. No way.

The easygoing atmosphere Kiri tried to create is no more. Some of the girls in class are avoiding her, which proves it.

The normal flow was likely already shattered, whether I came back or not. When Maria Otonashi showed up, when Kazuki Hoshino was affected by Box after Box, normality started to crack. Kazu could probably maintain the mood here if he worked to sustain it, but the Kazu who overcame the Game of Indolence would never do something so ineffectual.

This transient routine will end.

And I’ll apply the finishing blow myself.

I spent all day yesterday placing several dozen students at our school under my rule. School will be the starting point for my plans.

If a world under the influence of a Box is “abnormal,” then I’ll slather everything in that abnormality.

I pull out my phone and send an e-mail to the address of a certain murderer, one of the students who are now my Subjects.

It’s Daiya Oomine.

I need to talk to you, so come to the roof during lunch. I’ll leave it unlocked.

“It’s been a while, Oomine. Hmm? No, that isn’t right. I guess this is the first time we’ve spoken in the technical sense.”

The student council president, Iroha Shindo, shows up to my summons as requested on the roof during lunchtime.

“If you’re going to confess your love for me, I wish you’d picked a slightly nicer place to do it. It’s way too freaking hot up here.”

I thought the events of the Game of Indolence might still be affecting her, but…this girl has guts. Even when a fellow participant in a killing game calls her aside, she’s completely casual. That’s Iroha Shindo for you.

And that’s why it’s worth it to have her come meet me.

“You remember killing me, huh?”

Shindo’s eyes go wide for the briefest moment at my unflinching remark. But she quickly brushes it off with a forced smile. “Well, you’re alive now, aren’t you?”

“It seems you do. Murderer.”

Shindo pouts her lips and scratches her head at my words. She seems composed, but I know she isn’t. This is her putting on a calm facade.

“Now then, I’m going to fill in the gaps in your memory. As sharp as you are, I’m sure you’ve surmised that those events weren’t a dream or fantasy. But your recollection is probably still vague in places. Do you know the culprit responsible for the situation?”

Shindo appears to hesitate for a second, then answers, “…That bastard Kamiuchi.”

“That’s right. If you know that, then naturally, you must have wondered something. How was Koudai Kamiuchi able to pull such a thing off?”

After a moment’s thought, I tell her.

“It’s because he had a Box.”

Shindo waits for my next words. I don’t say anything further, though. I’m sure I’ve said enough.

When I don’t continue, Shindo scratches her head, perplexed.

“Uh…don’t you think you’re cutting your explanation a bit short there?”

“I’m think it’s enough for you to get the gist.”

“You overestimate me. I’m not too good at guessing… A Box, huh? From the way you phrased it, I’d say it’s like the tool that forced us into that killing game? Or maybe I should think of it as a tool that has the power to make things happen, including the game.”

I was right about Shindo; that explanation alone was enough for her to figure that out.

And she even takes it one step further:

“You wouldn’t happen to be implying you have that Box, would you?”

I thought you said you weren’t good at guessing. “That’s right. I have a Box now, though it doesn’t really do killing games. You could probably figure that out, since I went to the trouble of calling you here and telling you, right?”

“It’s not so much that I know, but, well, something has changed about you. I figured something must have happened.”

I’ve changed, have I? After becoming an owner and doing the things I have, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

“So what are these Boxes anyway?”

“They can grant any wish.”

“Any wish? That’s crazy. But I’m sure it doesn’t work out that way most of the time. There has to be some sort of curse, right? Like those ones in our national RPGs that make it so you can’t take off your equipment. Um, I should warn you that I’m a commonsense type of person. I’m not going to buy into all this talk of Boxes just like that. But I’m willing to grant that they exist for the sake of keeping the conversation rolling.”

Shindo continues, still astride her high horse.

“So, what did you wish for? Romantic fulfillment? Oh, that’s so cute of you.”

“To transform the world.”

She goes quiet for a moment. “…Are you serious?”

“Yeah.”

Shindo responds with a blank look on her face, as if at a loss as to how she should be reacting.

“Oh boy… Fine. I’ll take you at your word. So what you’re saying is that you’re going to use that power to put yourself at the top so you can change the world. But I don’t think you’re capable of it, much less the right sort of person for it, you know?”

She doesn’t mince words.

But her evaluation is fair. She knows me only up until the Game of Indolence.

All my NPC did in the Game of Indolence was reject everyone else. He didn’t burden himself with others. If you wanted someone suitable to take a stand at the top, it would probably have to be someone like Shindo, who feels obligated to protect others.

If you put the two of us as we were back then side by side and asked which was more qualified to be a leader, anyone would choose her.

And so I must surpass Iroha Shindo.

That’s why I called her here.

Here, on the roof, where the sun is shining so brilliantly—where she will make a nice, dark shadow.

“I’ll explain how I’m trying to change the world.”

Shindo sighs without enthusiasm. “I’m not all that interested, though. I don’t mind hearing you out, but it’s hot. Can we maybe do this in the cafeteria?”

“That won’t work.”

“I see. Then I’m leaving. You tracked down my e-mail address, so shoot me a message there. Subject: ‘My plan to transform the world.’ You watch too much anime, Oomine. If a message with that title showed up in my in-box, I wouldn’t even open it, much less reply.”

And with that, Shindo turns her back on me. I quickly step around in front of her.

“Come on. I get that you don’t want to let me go, charming as I am, but girls aren’t gonna like you if you can’t read the situation. If I were Yuri, I would go crying to some dude from the Self-Defense Forces and tell him about the creepy guy who won’t leave me alone so he would come beat you up.”

Shindo steps to the side of me where I’m blocking the way and slips by.

But it doesn’t matter that she’s trying to force her way past me. I’ve already completed my mission.

Shindo has already stepped on my shadow.

And thus—

—the crime of murder enters me.

“……”

It’s another intense one…

The shock of it is almost enough to drive me to my knees.

That middle schooler from before also created a powerful sense of revulsion, but this sin has a bite to it like a sharp blade. It’s a stimulant. Her sin is like swallowing a bunch of nails; if I’m not careful, it won’t think twice about shredding me from the inside out.

All the same, I bring it into me.

“Shindo.”

I address her back as she makes to get away without even turning around.

“Drown in the depth of your own misdeeds.”

I pluck out the shadow of those crimes I have processed within me, and—

“—!!”

—I swallow them.

“Ungh… Ah… Ah!”

Shindo shouts just before she puts her hand on the door of the roof. A pained look, as if someone had squeezed her naked heart, appears on her face, and she sinks to the ground, sweating profusely. Shindo’s feeling the same cutting pain as I am now.

Suffer. It’s yours to begin with.

I look down at the crouching girl. She is glaring up at me.

“What did you…do?!”

“You seemed all calm and collected, but it would appear that it still bothers you. You’re just good at hiding it, huh?”

“I asked you what you did!”

“I merely helped you remember your crimes.”

“…What?”

“Looks like I’ve got no choice. Let me explain about my Box. It’s called Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime, and it allows me to rule over people and control them as I please. When I have swallowed someone’s shadow of a crime, they’ll remember the event that gives them the greatest sense of wrongdoing. To be precise, they recall how they felt when it happened. In your case, it was your murders in the Game of Indolence.”

“…Th-this feeling…is from back then…? No—no wonder it felt familiar,” she says, her eyes filling with tears.

“You are under my Rule. I can make you do whatever I want now.”

Shindo stands up, pressing her chest with her hands, openly hostile.

“So now that you’re convinced your ‘Rule’ means you’ve beaten me, you think you’re better than me or something?”

“And what would be the point of that?”

Shindo furrows her brow.

“…Then—then what’s this about?”

“Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime takes the form of a shadow, which serves as its vehicle for exercising its power. This shadow has been stained a purer shade of black than anything else by layer upon layer of sins. This is my Box. However, it isn’t just mine alone. It’s shared by everyone whose sins I have embraced.”

“…And…?”

“That means you, too, can use Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime.”

Shindo’s eyes go as round as circles.

“Wait. If so, then are you saying that’s why you asked me to come meet you?”

She really is quick on the uptake. Shindo cuts ahead to the next step in my explanation and lays it out for me.

“You’re saying you want me to work with you?”

I lift the corners of my mouth in an audacious grin. The answer is yes.

I want to increase my chances of winning the battle with Kazuki and his team, so I need Iroha Shindo and her unshakable strength of will.

“That said, if you don’t agree with my plan, then you probably aren’t going to cooperate. Which is why I’m going to fill you in on what it is I hope to do.”

“…Fine, whatever, I get it! Just do something about this pain!”

“I can’t. That’s something that was in you from the get-go. All I did was stir it up and call it out. Take care of it yourself. If you don’t, I’ll judge you as unworthy of receiving any power and simply use you as a pawn under my control.”

“You visual-kei wannabe piece of…! Damn, fine, fine, I understand! Don’t take me lightly, got it? Once I pinpoint where the feeling is coming from, I can control it. Just wait a bit until I calm down. I need only words to take your plan apart!” Shindo spits. She inhales deeply and blows it out slowly a few times, like she’s doing a breathing exercise. As she does, her face returns to normal.

“Okay, go ahead.”

Once she’s completely recovered, Shindo urges me to continue. I have to hand it to her—she really did get herself together right away, just as she claimed.

“Here’s your answers. What I’m trying to do is strengthen everyone’s sense of individual ethics by creating a heavenly presence watching them.”

“Okay… Yeah, I don’t really get it, but continue.”

“For example, some people think of a Jizo as just a stone statue, but they’re still resistant to the idea of breaking one. Even atheists have a compulsive sensitivity toward the Shinto and Buddhist deities that gives them a fear of punishment.”

“Yeah, I can see that. I’m the same way.”

“Be it because of kami or gods or society, people find it hard to do wrong if there’s someone watching over them. I’m going to provide that sense with Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime.”

“How?”

“Have you heard about the dog-people?”

“Of course… Oh, so that was you, huh? But why be so roundabout when you have a Box that’s supposed to be able to do anything? You could just wish for everyone to have better ethics from the get-go.”

“I’m a realist, so this is the most I can do.”

“Hmph, poor you. You know, if you share this power to control someone with other people, someone’s gonna abuse it.”

“I’m sure they will, but it’s not a big problem.”

“You sure of that?”

“I won’t make a Ruler of just anybody. My Box’s power of control can’t be exercised without the permission of someone who is already a Ruler. At present, the only Ruler is me. I haven’t even told anyone before this that Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime is shared. You’re the first.”

“Oh, I’m so honored,” Shindo replies mockingly, then continues, “But if I become a Ruler, that means I can make other Rulers, too, right? Wouldn’t you lose track of things if the number of people with the ability grew exponentially?”

“Rulers won’t grant this power willy-nilly. I’m sure you’ll realize this if you actually obtain the power.”

“I will, huh? …Well, even if I do, I still don’t think it will keep people from misusing it, you know?”

“Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime connects us to others through guilt. If someone is conscious of abusing the power, it will lead to guilt. That guilt will then be conveyed to others with the ability. Especially for Rulers.”

“Hmm. So it’s like being observed, eh?”

Shindo purses her lips again. Now that I think about it, I suppose that’s a habit of hers.

“Anyway, I get what you’re saying. Still, why did you want the Box to do all that? It seems to me you’d be happier if you were more honest about your desires.”

“……”

I didn’t want to talk about this if possible, but if I don’t, she most likely won’t cooperate.

Touching my earrings, I open my mouth to speak.

“I hate people who lack imagination.”

“That goes for me, too. Pretty much all smart people, I think.”

“Up until a certain point in time, I thought ruining the lives of others was clearly the work of someone evil. I thought bad people destroyed good people. But I was wrong. The ones who ruin lives and rob others of their happiness are idiots with no imagination. They aren’t evil—they’re fools. Scum incapable of considering how much their own selfish actions harm other people.

“Take a serial shoplifter. The damage caused by their thefts could cause a business to go under. That might put the employees of said shop on the street. Without income, the households of these employees might fall apart. If a shoplifter continues to steal, with malicious intent, in the full knowledge of these possibilities, then they are a villain. I’m pretty sure the majority of them aren’t, though. They may have some vague notion that shoplifting is wrong, but they’re stealing to satisfy some desire without thinking about the significance of their actions. And they completely destroy lives without even realizing that’s what they’re doing.”

“Oomine…”

Shindo’s face has grown uncharacteristically solemn.

“Someone like that took away your happiness, didn’t they?”

I have no intention of answering that question.

“However, if Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime is in operation, people will be keenly aware of their misdeeds,” I continue. “That’s why I’m drawing attention to the dog-people. If each of us begins to consider what constitutes a crime, we will have a heightened sense of ethics. We’ll think about what our actions mean from an objective viewpoint. We won’t do wrong for ambiguous reasons anymore. This will result in fewer tragedies.”

“You think it’ll be that easy?”

“I’ve already thrown the dice. I have no choice but to follow through,” I reply.

Shindo peers intently at me, as if trying to size me up.

“Hey… If that really is your…” She stops there. “…No, never mind. Um, I think you’ve put a lot of thought into Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime, and that what you’re doing is interesting. But as I said before, I don’t feel you’re up to this.”

“Then how about evaluating me?”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to give you the power of a Ruler now. In order to Control the Subjects, you must bear the full weight of their crimes. Including your classmates… Okay, I’ll give you the sins of ten people.”

“You mean you’re going to give me the ability to control those ten? But how would that allow me to judge you?”

“You’ll understand if you try.”

“…Hmph. Are you sure? I still haven’t agreed to go along with you, so I may not cooperate even when you give me the power, you know?”

“I’m fine with that, if you don’t feel I’m worth your cooperation once you’ve finished your evaluation. But if you do accept me, then I need you to work with me whether you like it or not.”

Shindo nods with an irritating smile, like she’s humoring a selfish child.

“Okay, fine. I’m prepared for that. If I find you worthy, then I’m with you.”

“Don’t forget those words.”

“Hey, I don’t mean with you, like a boyfriend and girlfriend. It might be surprising coming from a girl like me, but I’ve got someone I kinda like.”

I find myself laughing at Shindo’s ability to crack jokes at a time like this.

She’s so confident, even though this is another Box like the one that made her into a murderer.

Shindo is most likely certain she won’t find me worthy. She probably thinks she couldn’t possibly lose to my Box.

“…Hmph.”

Don’t get a big head, Shindo.

I’ll make you regret your conceit in accepting my proposal. I’ll win and show just which of us is better. I’ll place you under my control and make you lick my boots.

A thin smile appears on my face, and I close my eyes.

At the same time, I close myself.

I sink into my own depths, searching through the mass of thoughts.

The shadows of others’ crimes thrash about, threatening to rend me limb from limb. Becoming a Ruler means taming these monsters.

Shindo, do you think you’re up to it?

“Shindo.”

“What?”

“Don’t lose your trust in people.”

I then grab ahold of Shindo’s head, and with my pointer and middle fingers, I poke the shadow of a crime into her mouth.

Swallowing a crime is the same as imbibing the foulest part of that person.

The first time I took in the sins of someone else, I wondered if it was going to turn my blood green and putrid. If that tainted blood was going to course through my veins to my entire body and rot my cells. I had a waking vision that I was melting like a zombie. My nails smelled like piss and shit, and I started wondering if I was going to attract flies. That’s how much I suffered.

However, it’s possible Iroha Shindo could have no trouble whatsoever swallowing this sin.

This suffering is unique to the weak. It might be nothing to someone strong like her.

If so, then I lose. I’ll have to give up on joining forces with Shindo.

My plan would still most likely go on as before, but the defeat would have a lingering effect. The failure to acquire a strategic resource like Shindo would be painful, but even more so would be the knowledge that I am unsuitable as a Ruler.

That’s why—

“Ugh, ah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

—her deafening scream fills me with relief.

“Ah, uh, aaaah! N-no! Stop, what is this? Don’t do this to me! It’s gross, so gross it hurts hurts hurts hurts hurts ugh I can’t stand it I hate it die die what the hell?! They don’t deserve to live!”

Actually, the despair is greater than the disgust.

“But! But! …They’re people. Just a normal…person…”

The ones harboring such hatefulness are simply those around us. Not criminals, not villains or anything else—just regular folk you wouldn’t be surprised to find smiling beside you.

People commit crimes simply by living.

Most become used to them without even knowing they’re doing it. They pardon themselves according to their selfish values. Their actions may elicit this disgust from someone else, but the filth itself is so familiar that they accept it without a second thought. In short, people are always easy on themselves.

Humans are so ugly.

That’s why they ruin others simply by living.

Looking askance at Shindo in her despair, I whisper, “Nine more to go.”

I grab her head again and start to put another shadow in her throat. But Shindo, her face bright red, clutches my hair.

“Don’t be stupid. What… What’re you doing to me?”

“Do you want me to stop?”

Shindo glares at me, tears falling from her eyes.

“Of course I do! Nine? There’s no way I could handle even one more of those!”

“But I’ve got 967.”

Her eyes go round at the sudden revelation of the number.

“I said that I already bear the sins of 967 people.”

Shindo is at a loss for words.

“Y—” She coughs as the word begins to leave her mouth, but her hostility does not abate when she continues, “You’ve got 967 of these in you?”

Shindo laughs and shakes her head.

“Ah-ha, no way! Your mind could never take it! There’s no way you could do that unless you were prepared for it to destroy you!”

“That’s true. You’re right about that.”

“Huh?”

“I know it’s going to destroy me. I could very well go insane, bite off my own tongue while I’m thrashing around, and bleed to death. I’m doing this while fully prepared for that.”

I’m sure my end won’t be pleasant. No one will celebrate me or pay me honors; I will be mocked, others will be too ashamed to look at one in such an abject state, the stench will make them plug their noses, and someone will eventually kick my body into a canal or something. That’s all there is to it.

But I knew all that going into this.

Even if it comes to that, I will rid us all of these fools.

Shindo’s grip on my hair weakens.

“I don’t mind dying as long as I’m able to set the stage a bit. My supporters will take up the baton from there. That’s why I share my rule with them—to ensure that Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime will live on. As long as I don’t relinquish my Box, its system will continue. If this system can run smoothly without me one day, then I’m okay with dying at any time.”

“What’re you saying…?”

“So how about it?”

I say it as if spitting out the words.

“Am I up to it? Have I won you over?”

Shindo gives me a serious look, then releases my hair.

She then forcefully wipes away her tears with her arm, takes a few more deep breaths, and calms her emotions.

That sharp light is back in her eyes, and the corners of her mouth twitch upward.

“…I’ll take the remaining nine. I promised, after all.”

“You’re fine with that?”

“Of course I’m not. But my word is my bond, and I don’t think there’s anything I can’t do.”

At those words, she flashes a bold smile.

“You have my respect, Daiya Oomine. I’ll stick with you until you come crashing down.”