by Sato Tsutomu
"…What do you mean?"
Kanon was the one who voiced the blunt question, but she was not the only one thinking it.
"The Parasite is under the influence of Honoka-san's thought waves."
Confronted with natural surprise and natural doubt, Mizuki answered in a rare unambiguous tone of voice.
"Umm, you mean that it is under Mitsui-san's control?"
"No, I don't think there's that kind of link."
Mizuki shook her head at Isori's query.
"There's no link connecting Honoka-san and the parasite; I feel that the Parasite is taking and duplicating Honoka-san's thoughts. Perhaps, Honoka-san's 'thought' being baked into the Parasite is the proper way to put it."
"I am not doing that!"
"She is not saying that you are doing it deliberately, Honoka."
Tatsuya comforted the panicking Honoka.
"Is that right, Mizuki?"
"Ah, yes. It's not a conscious thing, I think it's closer to receiving the impression of past thoughts."
The outbreak of panic was averted.
However, the matter of doubt had not completely evaporated.
"Impressions of past thoughts… In short, things Mitsui-san thinks strongly about are being taken and copied by a Parasite casually floating nearby? And afterward, it possessed Pixie? Or was a Parasite inserted into Pixie and Mitsui-san's thoughts got cooked into…?"
Mikihiko's remarks were meant to collect his own thoughts; in essence, it was a monologue.
However, a moment after his remarks, Honoka suddenly hung her head in shame.
Concealing her face with both hands.
From what little that could be seen, her face was much redder than usual.
Apparently, she had some idea of how it happened.
Before anyone could cross-examine her,
[That's correct.]
The person, herself — no, in this case, 'itself' should be used — gave out the answer.
[I have been awakened by the strong, distinctive thoughts she has about him.]
Pixie's lips made a movement that a human could follow when the words poured out.
However, those 'words' reverberated not in their ears but in their minds.
"A working form of telepathy?"
"It seems that the Psions were a psychic residue, not a magic residue."
Tatsuya answered Azusa's murmur in that fashion and proceeded to stand in front of Pixie.
"Is voice communication possible?"
[Understanding voice is possible. However, manipulating this body's vocal organs is difficult; please use this intentional transmission called telepathy.]
"Because they're not vocal organs; it is a mechanism. That being said, it seems that you comprehend our words quite well; how did you learn to do this?"
[The knowledge was inherited from the previous host.]
"So you are the Parasite from that time."
[Parasite — something that lives in another being. Yes, I am something like that.]
"Your kind can change your hosts this way. How many people have you sacrificed until now."
[Sacrifice — there are objections to that concept. The question of how many is one I can't answer. I cannot remember that.]
No one tried to interrupt the conversation between Tatsuya and Pixie.
Everyone was anxiously focused on them.
"You say that you don't remember most things?"
[Wrong. When we move to a new host, what can be inherited is only knowledge that separates with the parasite. Memories connected to the personality are lost when we transfer.]
"I see, so you don't know what kind of person the previous host was, and you say you can't remember if it was one person, two people or even a multitude."
[That is right. Your understanding is correct.]
"Aside from the answers to my questions, can you relate impressions that you had. Does even your kind have emotions?"
[Even we desire to survive.]
"In short, you want to say that the existence of your likes and dislikes is derived from what you have decided is beneficial or harmful to your survival."
Tatsuya temporarily stopped speaking,
"However, I do not intend to discuss the origins of emotions right now."
He quickly returned to asking questions.
"What should I call you?"
[We do not have names, so please call me this individual's nickname, Pixie.]
"Did you draw that knowledge from the electronic brain?"
[That became possible when I acquired this body. But regarding the individual's nickname, it is because until now, that is what you have been calling me.]
"Well then, Pixie. Are you an existence hostile to us?"
[I am your underling.]
"Mine? Why?"
[I want to become yours.]
The parasite housed within Pixie directed a noticeably passionate gaze in Tatsuya's direction.
[I was awakened from my sleeping state by the thoughts of that girl — her individual name is 'Mitsui Honoka.']
After a cut off shriek, a groan that leaked out of a blocked mouth reached Tatsuya's ears.
When he quickly looked behind him, he saw Miyuki and Erika, restraining Honoka's mouth together.
[We are drawn to strong thoughts; those thoughts mold the nucleus of 'self.']
"Strong thoughts? Are all types of thoughts alright?"
[No. Only highly pure thoughts can give birth to a self of our kind.]
"By highly pure, do you mean deeply buried thoughts of simple desires?"
[That's correct. I think the closest concept in your human words is 'prayer.']
'What kind of 'prayer' awakened you?' was not asked by Tatsuya. He already had that answer and because he understood that, asking more questions about that was nothing but suicidal. Nonetheless, although Tatsuya didn't ask, Pixie started to passionately state her own origin.
[I want to devote myself to you.]
Behind Tatsuya's back, the moan did not intensify.
[I want to be useful to you.]
There were indications of a struggle behind him.
[I want to serve you.]
It might be a powerful struggle, the people restraining her seemed to have started erratically panting.
[I want to become yours. I want to dedicate all of me to you. That is the prayer that awakened me.]
If her mouth wasn't being blocked, Honoka would probably be screaming.
[As I have already stated, because the previous host's 'memories' are erased, I do not know what kind of thought drew 'me' into this world. And now, the core of my structure is the desire 'to belong to you.' I am already an underling to you.]
A thump, the sound of three people hitting the floor could be heard; Honoka had probably reached her limit, was no longer capable of standing, and had taken down Miyuki and Erika as she fell.
However, Tatsuya showed no response to Honoka's shyness.
"An extremely intriguing story."
Tatsuya's consciousness was occupied not by 'emotion' but by 'knowledge.'
"If the fact that your kind has an ego is unexpected, then the fact that your kind is persistently passive is also unexpected. Essentially, you are claiming that your kind did not wish to come to this world."
[Originally, we just existed; 'desire' is manifested according to the host.]
"That struck home. Well, there will be another opportunity to ascertain responsibility… Pixie, you said it was alright for you to be commanded by me."
[That is my 'desire.']
"So then, obey my command. From now on, using psychic power without my permission is forbidden. This changing of the expression is a type of psychokinesis, right? That is also forbidden."
"As you have commanded."
As her own proof of her words, Pixie replied in an awkward voice.
The smile disappeared from that face. The mechanism's structure changed back to the former synthetic face.
Nonetheless,
it seemed like a strange smile could be seen in that synthetic face.
Chapter 12
"I did not think an apparition could possess a robot."
"Probably because it’s a humanoid type, or something like that. An artifact spirit, unbelievable."
Tatsuya replied to Miyuki, who had a look on her face that said she still didn’t really believe it, in a manner that said he didn’t want to believe it.
The siblings were not talking in their living room, but in their personal car. This car was not a commuter that they shared with the public, but Tatsuya’s personal property. The name on the form said it belonged to his father, but the money for the purchase had come from his earnings as Taurus Silver.
As for why they were not using a commuter that was as cheap to use as a bus was half a century earlier, Tatsuya had a personal car in order to deliver Miyuki to places in a secure and prestigious manner.
Not many people were aware of it, but Miyuki was the daughter of a good family, in other words an ‘Ojou-sama.’ And a very high class one.
As part of her training for her position, she underwent studies in addition to her schoolwork.
Thanks to the special circumstances of the Yotsuba, she never went anywhere that might cause her to encounter Mayumi, but she still received private tutoring in order to hold her own at the highest levels of society, so she had to go to them in style.
Of course, there was a Driving Control Artificial Intelligence, and the luxury car was built to be bulletproof, heat resistant and had an anti-impact system installed; Miyuki continued to speak inside it while wearing a gloomy expression that did not suit the gorgeous clothing she was all dressed up in.
"And so Onii-sama… what do you intend to do?"
"By what, do you mean how I’m going to deal with Pixie?"
On the other hand, the dark jacket he wore couldn't be called formal, exactly; it could be said that Tatsuya was dressed more like a high school student while making a face that failed to become a wry smile, as it was more of a halfway expression.
"Because, there is no way I can take it home with us. Perhaps I’ll just have to come up with a proper excuse that I can give to the school."
"…You can’t take it home? Pixie wanted you to do that…"
Miyuki asked in a voice that had some fear mixed in it.
"There is no way it can enter the house."
This time Tatsuya’s face was smiling as he replied.
"We know very little about the biology or nature of Parasites. There’s no guarantee that the Parasite was not lying."
According to folklore, youkai did not lie; only humans that lied had been Ama no Jyaku’s weakness as a youkai.
Despite the fact that youkai who could not lie and youkai who did lie only existed in stories, at the time, no one there had doubted the words of the Parasite that claimed to possess Pixie, but it was something unbelievable to Tatsuya.
"Its claim that it was created from Honoka’s thoughts is not without proof. Since Mizuki saw the ‘traces’ that had been left behind. But other than that, we only have its word for it. Since we don’t have any way to know what kind of abilities it has, there is no way I’m going to keep it close to us. What if Pixie has some way to communicate with other parasites, calling them closer to it while we are sleeping? It would be the absolute worst situation. At least until I can confirm that it has no means to contact the other organisms, I will not hear of such foolishness."
When she heard him state his decision in a bland tone, the shadow disappeared from Miyuki’s face in the twinkling of an eye. "But if that’s so, how can you trust the answers you get from cross-examining it; is there no way you can know?"
"That is the same condition that applies to interrogating human prisoners of war. The authenticity of the extracted information is something that can be decided only from our side."
Some stiffness still remaining in her face, Miyuki was erasing the traces of happiness on her face through her willpower.
◊ ◊ ◊
It was not all that big and not all that removed from common sensibilities; at the entrance to the elegant, western style house, Tatsuya handed off his role of guard.
Even though it was called a hand-off, it was nothing more than verifying the person’s face.
The classroom where Miyuki took piano and etiquette lessons (it might be better to call it a school) was prohibited to men. Even bodyguards, the accessory of the rich and powerful, were not allowed to enter.
"As usual, when the time comes, I will come to get you."
"Yes, I will wait for you to come."
Therefore inevitably, they would have this conversation at the time of the exchange.
By the way, the time he would come to pick her up was in two hours. Because he would have to use half that time if he returned home, it was normal for him to pass the time in a neighborhood food shop.
Tatsuya entered the name of the family oriented restaurant he had chosen into the GPS system. If he went into an alcohol-oriented shop dressed in more adult clothes, he would not be sent away, but he did not feel like doing that today.
He would have his evening meal at home, so he only ordered a drink. Normally, a customer who stayed for two hours and only bought a drink would be a problem for the shop, but whenever he was waiting for Miyuki, he ordered something expensive no matter what kind of shop it was. So it was alright not to worry about unintentionally causing harm.
Even if he got a dirty look, all he did was pretend he did not see it.
Tatsuya took up position in a vacant seat and did not open up a publication website, but just gazed out the window.
He looked like he was just daydreaming.
Tatsuya, himself, was not concentrating on anything.
Nonetheless, what he was doing was the complete opposite of the usual meaning of ‘daydreaming.’
He was not focusing his mind, but diffusing it.
Wider and wider, with Miyuki and himself as the two focal points, he laid his perceptions over every nook and cranny in the area.
This was not looking down from a bird’s eye view, but looking at things from the point of view of the information dimension.
It was not an elliptical sphere around the double focal points, as it had nothing to do with physical distance; Tatsuya fixedly concentrated his ‘eye,’ intensifying his contact with the law of cause and effect within Link space.
So that he wouldn’t miss even one thing that could harm Miyuki.
Because he had this ‘eye’, he overcame the barrier of his gender and could be employed as his sister’s only guard.
To be correct, he did not normally use this ‘observation field.’ Normally, he operated this unconsciously; right now he was consciously using it and even intensifying it.
Suddenly invoking his vision of the relationship of cause and effect left him open to ‘accidents;’ namely leaving his body behind in the physical dimension by incessantly using it; when he was in link space, any wound he suffered wouldn’t heal. Becoming engrossed in ‘observation’ was a situation that could indeed make him switch his mind to that side.
Even if he called it Link space, the dimension did not really have that kind of meaning.
The ways you were able to see something formed part of a framework of recognition.
Also, even if he called it Links, it did not mean he saw red strings or black chains connecting people; he could read no more than the information related to cause and effect. Perhaps someone else would be able to see red strings or black chains if they used those symbols; the images Tatsuya used pointed out the existence of what he realized were focal points jutting out behind the scene indicating the existence of cause and effect and events, etc.
In theory, the way he did things could be used to predict events; however, Tatsuya still could only read information on the ‘present’ and twenty four hours of the ‘past.’ As a result, it was extraordinarily effective at searching for enemies. It was probably equal to having an innate
skill at remote viewing, though it was better than that because it had the potential to distinguish enemies with precision and range.
Within that observation field, the information about the looming adversaries was displayed.
They were not after his sister; he, himself, was the one they were coming after.
(I am a failure as a guard.)
Since he, himself, had become a target, he was exposing the person under his protection to danger. Calling himself a failure as a guard was not an insult he usually inflicted on himself.
However, he was not able to lose himself to the whispers of despair or remorse that were never quite voiced.
◊ ◊ ◊
Lt. Colonel Virginia Barans made a slight nod when she heard the report that the troop emplacement was complete.
Prior to the current operation, they had analyzed the target’s daily habits and the fact that there were so few opportunities to attack had shocked her.
Moreover, the target almost never played at night like a child(?).
The target trained every morning before his morning commute at the Ninja Dojo where they could not interfere with the target at a moment’s notice.
(There were many americans who would have made this type of mistake as she did just now.)
He had gone somewhere on his bike the past two Sundays but he had quickly lost his tail and even using the observation satellite, they still had absolutely no idea where he went.
The only thing they understood from two weeks of observation was that he was no ordinary high school student. They had just about concluded that he was an agent of a special ops group. They had doubts because the target did not have any special connections (to be correct, they assumed he didn’t) but their investigation was not quite futile.
Lt. Sirius had already established the degree of difficulty of getting to him when he was with his younger sister. The target did not spend much time alone, much less, in places where the potential to escape was slight — this evening was one of those few chances.
"Lt. Sirius, can you hear me?"
When Barans spoke to the dedicated radio device, she immediately received a reply from Lina. The girl was standing by in a nearby park as planned.