9

“Come with me,” was all Murase said.

First there was the cat, then Minami’s death, and now Murase was showing up. She was such a wild card that Kei didn’t want to take any chances with her, so he decided to go along with her demands.

They followed her down the street, across a bridge, and down some steps to the riverbed. No one spoke a word the entire way.

Murase stopped in front of the river, and turned towards Haruki and Kei. With a look that said she was running out of patience, she swiftly brushed her hair to the side. “I’ve been giving everything a lot of thought,” she said.

She glared at the pair from behind her glasses. At first, Kei thought it was the same sharp glare he had been used to. But no, something was different. Kei compared her face now to the other ones he had seen her making. The girl facing him now was distinctly more serious than any other iteration of Murase in his head. Her glare was almost stabbing into him.

“I guess I really do have to kill you two after all.”

Kill. The word felt so detached from reality. Perhaps he was closer than he thought when he imagined her glare stabbing him. It was like some kind of twisted joke.

Murase’s expression remained unchanged. Anger, frustration, and who knew what else lay behind the mask of her glare. She was so serious in her expression and tone that Kei almost nodded along reflexively, but he didn’t want to let everything slip by without saying anything back.

“Well, that puts me in an awkward spot. Why would you want to kill me?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

“Well, I’ve hardly consented to it.”

“I don’t think anyone’s ever consented to their own murder,” Murase declared. Kei couldn’t tell if she meant what she said or was lying. Perhaps she was simply losing it.

Kei took another step towards Murase. Even a single step would put Haruki that much farther away from her. As long as Haruki was safe, the crisis could be temporarily averted.

He could have reset right away, but chose not to. It was worth the effort to gather what information he could. Otherwise, she could just kill him after the reset, which would really put him in a bind. Besides, he still hadn’t gotten anything from Tsushima about The Operator’s address.

He was about fifteen feet away from Murase. The riverbank was made up of pebbles, so he didn’t have the best of footing to try and escape. Things really weren’t working in his favor. Then again, with someone trying to kill him, favorability was already out the window. “Well, can’t you just tell me a few details? What are you going for here? Maybe there’s a better way to get what you want than killing us.”

“Shut up. I already told you I don’t have to explain anything. You can’t argue with that.”

Kei very much wanted to argue with that.

Murase walked casually towards Kei. She stomped on the stones, and the muddy ground beneath squelched. Kei figured it was best to stay away from the person who wanted him dead.

“Haruki, get back,” Kei whispered, and began backing away. Murase quietly spoke three simple words.

“Both feet, stone.”

Immediately, her footsteps changed. The sound of shifting pebbles had disappeared. Kei dropped his eyes down, and saw that the stone beneath her feet had disappeared, taking the shape of footprints.

Her ability could erase whatever she said out loud. Kei was reminded of certain holes in walls. Those holes filled up, so how long would these holes take? Unfortunately, he had no way of knowing for certain at present.

As Murase slowly approached Kei, she spoke again.

“Right hand, human body.”

Chills ran down Kei’s spine. Suddenly, her death threat was beginning to feel a little more attached to reality. Her hand was now no different from a knife blade, and needed to be treated as such.

Managing to force his eyes up to stare at Murase Youka, who was close at hand, Kei tried kicking a few stones at her. He didn’t expect much, but a few of them managed to make their way towards her face.

“Whole body, stone.”

As she made yet another callout, Murase held out her right hand towards the stones flying her way. Every stone that touched her disappeared soundlessly, like a magic trick. Unfortunately, this trick wasn’t staged.

Kei made a break for it, pulling out his phone and checking the display. Still nothing from Tsushima. He looked towards Haruki and found she was already almost 70 feet away. In that case, if Murase tried targeting Haruki, he would very likely get a reset order out before Haruki was in any danger.

But why were they in danger? What was with this whole wanting-to-kill-them shtick? Where was any of this coming from?

As Kei ran around, he picked up as many stones from the ground as he could manage without losing his balance. Once he had four, he launched his next plan.

Kei screeched to a halt, throwing three of the stones at Murase. He wasn’t too confident in his pitching, but he was aiming for her midsection. One flew way over her head, but the other two were more or less headed towards her.

Murase completely ignored the projectiles. The stones that touched her vanished instantly, while one of them flew far away behind her.

“Give it up already. My ability is peerless. There’s no way I can lose to some guy who can remember stuff, and turning back time won’t help you.”

Keeping his eyes on Murase, Kei took another step back. “So you can erase stuff. You call out a body part, then what you wanna erase. After that, whatever you touch with that part disappears.”

It was a simple, yet very versatile ability. If she could erase other people’s abilities, it was very possible she had avoided being affected by the reset. Not to mention how Kei had watched her fly off into the sky on Friday. Could she even erase concepts, like the effect of gravity? If that was on the table, was there anything she couldn’t erase?

“My ability has no weaknesses.” Murase began walking towards Kei once more. “All I have to do is touch you, and I can will you away into nothingness.”

Kei looked at the bare ground poking through her footprints. “So, it even works through your shoes?”

“I don’t have to tell you anything.”

“Man, that’s super convenient. Could you say to erase hearing and touch your ear to stop yourself from hearing sound?”

“That hardly matters. You’re about to die.”

“Ooh, how about this? You could make your hand erase liars, then shake hands with someone, and ask a question, and if they lie, their hand will disappear!”

“Wanna try it?”

“Oh, for sure.” Kei smiled. “Y’know, you might find it better for you to keep me alive than not.”

“What are you on about?”

“Do you know about the MacGuffin?”

For just a split second, Murase made a face. He got her.

Honestly, he hadn’t been too confident in the question. It was less that he made a deduction, and more that he made a random guess supported by the fact that nothing else made sense. After all, the MacGuffin was the only missing piece of this puzzle, so it had to fit somewhere. Tsushima was smart enough not to just tell him about it for no reason, and since Kei had decided to trust Tsushima, the only issue now was how to proceed.

Murase Youka slowly approached Kei. “What do you know about it?”

“Why don’t we talk it out?” Kei suggested, holding out his right hand.

Murase whispered, “Left hand, anyone who lies to me.” Then, she grabbed Kei’s right hand with her left.

Kei used his own left hand to cover Murase’s, holding her hand between both of his. “Y’know, you’re supposed to shake hands with your right.” He had hidden a pebble in his left hand, and as soon as it touched Murase, he felt it vanish. So even when she applies a new effect, the old one remains. Good to know.

“Let me go. Don’t confuse this with us getting along.”

“Bummer.” Kei removed his left hand, leaving his right in Murase’s grip.

“Where is the MacGuffin?”

“Can’t say I know. I know who has it, though.” Of course, Kei remembered the message that he was given two weeks ago.

The MacGuffin is going to be stolen. That clearly implied that the MacGuffin had an owner. Since Tsushima gave him the message, then logically either he or one of his acquaintances had it.

“Obviously, Tsushima has it. I know that much. I want to know where he keeps it,” Murase replied placidly.

“You mean you don’t know?”

“It was in the staff room two weeks ago. Then, all of a sudden, he moved it somewhere else. It must have been planned.”

“Well, I kinda helped with that one.” So Murase had gotten her hands on the MacGuffin after all. No wonder Tsushima had sent that message.

“A reset?”

“You got me.”

“You’re such a hindrance.”

“But at least I’m a well-constructed hindrance. Me aside, you would find that Haruki’s ability is extremely powerful. So much so that even the Administration Bureau puts a muzzle on it.”

“Then I’ll just have to control her. You’re unnecessary.”

“If you want her, then it’d be best to be on good terms with me, too.”

“You’ve got quite the ego.”

Kei smiled. He wished it was ego. It was more like guilt. “What do you want the MacGuffin for, Murase-san?”

The MacGuffin was a plot device. It related characters to the story. What would the real life equivalent be?

“I want to control Sakurada,” Murase answered.

What a roundabout answer. “You really believe those rumors?” Of course, Kei was talking about the rumor that Minami told him. Whoever holds the MacGuffin can control all the abilities in Sakurada.

“What’s it to you?” Murase smiled. At least, Kei thought she did. Her expression was so stiff, it was hard to tell for sure. “Tsushima works for the Bureau. If he’s trying so hard to hide it, then it must be of at least some value.”

Kei actually thought it was quite the opposite. If the MacGuffin was so valuable, why would it be kept in a school staff room, in the possession of one random Bureau worker? The more likely reality was that the Bureau didn’t hold any stock in the MacGuffin.

From an outsider perspective, the Bureau was just another public organization. You had the police, city hall, the Administration Bureau, and other executive departments. But the Bureau’s jurisdictions had deep roots. They controlled several powerful abilities, and had detailed information on many more. They were a constant presence, so innate that they were taken for granted. To live in Sakurada was to live under the Administration Bureau.

A small thunk rang out. Kei looked towards the sound.

“What’re you looking at?” Murase challenged.

“No, I, uh…”

There went the same sound, again. Then again, and again, it continued. They were the stones that Murase interacted with. Her ability had worn off, and they were reappearing in the air. Kei took out his phone with his left hand and checked the time. Just about five minutes had passed. No doubt about it, time was the limiting factor of her ability.

“Why not tell me a story? What are you doing here, and why do you want to control Sakurada?”

“No more time for chatting. I’m done. It’s time for you to die. I’ll obtain the MacGuffin myself.” Murase repeated her earlier callout, “Right hand, human body.” She slowly brought her hand towards Kei’s face.

If she touched him, he would die. As threatening as that was, Kei figured there were worse ways to go. Better to die by a girl’s touch than the cold steel of a knife.

Murase stared directly into Kei’s eyes. “Where would you like me to touch to kill you?”

Kei stared right back at her. “Whaddaya know, I was just thinking about that.”

Suddenly, in his left hand, his phone vibrated. Perfect timing.

Kei took a deep breath, steeled his resolve, and spoke. “I’m the one with the MacGuffin.”

Suddenly, a searing pain inflamed his right hand, the hand that Murase had previously been holding. Kei fell down on the spot. The pain was overwhelming. How could it be possible to erase something as abstract as a liar? What an absurd ability. There’s too much leeway in its application.

But now was no time to be distracted by pain. Kei glanced at his phone. He needed to meet The Operator, and to do that, he needed the address. He pulled up his new notification. Even if he was in no state to read it at present, he could recall the image later.

One moment was all it took. He glanced over the text, then looked towards Haruki. Haruki had her eyes glued onto Kei. All she needed was one word. So Kei gave it to her.

“Reset.”

He wasn’t able to squeeze it out very loudly, but nothing got past Haruki. As he spoke, he heard Murase’s voice overlap with his.

“Whole body, abilities.”

But he also heard the discernable quiver of hesitation in her voice.

End of Chapter 2