Starting from the day after Masaya killed himself, I hid in my room.
I left my room several times, explaining the situation to the visiting Toguchi-sensei and various people. I did explain, but all I could only say was basically "I don't know." And continue to act. I had to keep up the arrogant impression, and did to go all out. "I was watched. There's no way I have anything to do with the suicide." I said, and got punched by my dad, the blood in my mouth spreading.
However, it was indisputable that there was no proof.
I might as well reveal everything now, I guess? Show my hand with regards to the revolution.
A few times I had such a thought, but the answer was always "No". I didn't think the people around me would trust me.
Thus, I could not do anything, and kept hiding in my room unless necessary. I sealed my window sills tight, but I still couldn't calm down, and sealed up the gaps with tape, ducking under my blanket.
I could only shiver.
It was hell.
My parents were yelling at each other, quarrelling downstairs.
The TV in my room showed the news, describing me as the 'demonic middle school boy', who dominated four people, and while being watched, one of them was driven to despair.
"No…I'm just some worthless trash."
There seemed to be a group of media personnel gathered before my house. I peeled the tape slightly, poked my head out from the window, and shivered when it seemed I met them in the eyes. Ah, speaking of which, the aunts living nearby seemed to be saying on TV, "He's a gloomy one. I can't tell what he's thinking." Enough with that nonsense. How is anyone living nearby able to understand me?
They knew nothing of the Human Power Test, Masaya's talents, and my revolution.
"Damn it. I need to keep on living…I will be mocked by anonymous, but I'm going to be a gleeful trash…"
I couldn't admit defeat. Didn't I already decide that no matter the sacrifices, I'm going to keep on going and became real trash?
However, the last punishment Masaya dealt to me was way too heavy.
All of Japan had been cursing me to "Die".
I panted heavily on the bed, and at this moment, the smartphone on the table rang. That smartphone would only be used to contact my parents, so I was wondering who it was. I leaned forward, and picked it up.
The sender was Sou. Ah, right, I did send him my email address.
"I was worried as you weren't online. Eh, is this the revolution you wish of?"
"NO!"
I yelled. I tapped hard at the keys, and sent him a message,
"This isn't the revolution I wanted. I wanted a different outcome. I never expected Masaya to kill himself."
And he immediately messaged me back, as though on a chat.
"…I suppose. I know you aren't the type who will really wish for others to do. However, you are the one who caused this. Do you understand?"
"Shut up."
"To be honest, I am disappointed. I had hopes for you, hoping that you will discuss this with me one day, but it ended up this way. You made the prodigy Masaya Kishitani kill himself, and that Kotomi Ishikawa you like is in a coma."
"I said to shut up."
"Hey, Sugawara, as you said, you aren't the last in the Human Power Test, right? In other words, someone voted for you. Do you know that person might be Kotomi Ishikawa? Do you have anyone else who voted for you?"
"Shut up, shut up. Stop talking like you understand my predicament."
"She's bound by the Human Power Test, and really envied you for not caring about others. She worshipped you, had hopes for you. You betrayed her, and she fell into a coma."
Sou continued to send messages,
"You disappoint me, Sugawara."
I threw my phone to the wall, and it let out a weak thud, with a little dent on the wall as it bounced back. The battery slipped out, and landed on the floor, but other than that, the phone remained undamaged. It's due to me being weak.
I took a few breaths, and took out two bubble gums from the can on the table, popping them into my mouth. I leaned on the table, closed my eyes, found the scattered phone and battery, reassembled them, and sent a message to Sou.
"You know something, don't you? Why did Masaya die? Say something. Who are you? Answer me? What did you do to Masaya? Did you kill him?"
Ever since I started interacting with this guy, everything changed. Surely he knew something.
But his reply was aloof,
"You seem to be mistaken. I have nothing to do with this. Even if you do shift the blame to me, the situation will not change for the better."
And the message ended off with these,
"But I do suppose my interaction with you shall come to an end, Sugawara. I do apologize, I never had any intention of breaking up your peaceful lifestyle, and it is my fault for being unable to build up trust with you. Farewell. The interaction till this point had been enjoyable."
After I saw the message, I sent a few more back, but there was no response.
Sou left me.
That night, the house was really noisy, and later on, I realized my parents left in the night.
It was only the following morning that I realized they abandoned their son and ran away. There was a letter with printed words on the table, and I spent a lot of time to realize this. Like dinner, I was in charge of preparing breakfast, so the first thing I did was to head to the kitchen. I popped the bread into the toast, mixed eggs and bacon on a frying pan, and brewed some red tea. My parents still did not wake up, and I was skeptical, until I found that letter.
The content of the letter was simple.
They took leave from their companies, and left this house. There's a week of household fees for me, and they hoped I wouldn't leave the house, and not contact their companies.
"…They abandoned me."
I muttered. It seemed they wanted to leave everything to me. I caused it all, so I could understand their pain. But they left without saying a word; would parents do this?
Even my parents abandoned me.
"Those two wouldn't listen to me in the end…"
And the empty house was like a prison.
Other than Katou's house, I would head out alone.
I couldn't eat at all in the day, and after sunset, I felt really hungry. During such moments, I would head out. My own deduction was that "young man lack calcium intake", "lack of iron", and various things that resulted in excessive stress, so I went out to the convenience store, and match with some Kanto food or simple dishes. Most of the time, I would eat by the road, for whenever I went home to eat, I would end up puking.
The one place I really liked to be at was the top of the overhead bridge.
This road is basically the pulse of our city, and even at midnight, several cars were passing through. Eating hot food on this overhead bridge was unique, to say the least.
I looked afar at the long road my eyes couldn't see, and prayed that I could escape everything. For I didn't have the courage to kill myself.
Alone in the darkness, I stared at the headlights of the cars, and filled my stomach.
The cold of December left me thoroughly shivering to the bone.
That was a painful choice.
A single middle schooler couldn't do much.
At this point, my plans were all ruined by Masaya, or rather, they were overturned on me. My words would only be empty excuses, and most importantly, the one I intended to take action against vanished, greatly affecting the revolution.
Masaya Kishitani's plan was more perfect than before.
Over these three days, I drank 56 cups of red tea, and chewed on 53 bubble gums. I didn't try to act cool and learn smoking, only because I'm trash with insufficient guts.
I boiled hot water to brew the 57th cup of red tea, and slowly repeated my thoughts.
As I had not been cleaning up very day, the rubbish in my room was all scattered as I kept writing with a ballpoint pen.
I kept revising the plan and reflecting on it, thinking.
But in such a precarious predicament, I couldn't do anything, and at most, I could only send a cat carcass and a strange prelude in Masaya's mailbox. I didn't want to meet Masaya's mother again, but without eliminating 'her' as the great threat, the plan probably wouldn't succeed.
And so, about two weeks after Masaya killed himself, there was a great chance in the second revolution.
It was when I was eating potato chips on the bridge at night.
A lanky woman appeared before me again.
The next day, I was on the bench.
I gave Sayo two conditions.
Once, she had to keep this a secret until I met her.
Second, I would decide the time and place.
So, around 4pm, I went to a park a 5 minute walk away from Masaya's house. If there were no hiccups, Sanae should be here.
"She might be the last puzzle."
I fiddled with my earphones as I pondered. Unlike the event at the bridge on the prior day, my thoughts had calmed down greatly.
I couldn't embarrass myself again. I had to face this calmly.
And then, let the second revolution succeed.
"And there's something I want to ask her."
There was just one doubt I had.
There was something Ishikawa said that I couldn't figure out. I thought it was Katou, but it seemed I was wrong.
In September, Masaya's gym clothes were slashed.
Of course, that wasn't me, and that wasn't Ishikawa.
According to what I heard from Toguchi-sensei, before the 5th period, Masaya took out his gym clothes, and found that they were slashed by something sharp. I was at the library, so I wasn't a witness. I could determine however that there were only a few people who could take out Masaya's gym clothes from his bag, cut it up, and put it back. It's completely different from spilling ink onto a notebook.
College students were still on summer vacation in September, and many returned home.
Sayo said that she was hiding something.
So I had to get this clear.
Was the one who cut up Masaya's gym clothes Sanae?
There were footsteps behind me.
And this was the final step.