by Sekina Mayu
Chapter 3
After our last meeting with Ms. Shoko, I begin to wonder if mom also had a microchip implant as well. None of them had mentioned anything about her, so I didn’t feel like bringing this up. Mom was also one of the key researchers in Transhuman Development Project. It didn’t matter whether she wanted it or not, she still needed to have a microchip implant. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to access the research facility.
I can’t seem to recall any of mom’s behaviors that felt odd to me. I don’t think that will help me with anything. After all, anyone with a microchip implant will behave like they normally would. Dr. Hayama is living proof that the microchip implant doesn’t hinder any of his normal behavior. So, I can only assume that mom did have a microchip implant. But it was already gone at some point. It’s just that, I don’t know when.
If she still had one, why didn’t Satoru Yuuya killed her just like the other researchers? Why did he send skilled assassins just to kill her? I know that he did it just to capture us. He already expected that we wouldn’t listen to him. So, sending skilled assassins to kill mom and dad was meant to be a warning sign for us to follow with his demand.
I can only conclude that mom no longer had the microchip implant at that time. Otherwise, he wouldn’t need to send skilled assassins just to kill her. I still have the diary that mom left for us. We had finished reading the diary, but I feel like rereading the diary again. Maybe I can find the answers I’ve been searching for and other clues on what Satoru Yuuya is planning to do next.
“You’re reading it again?” Yuuto asks me. He notices that I’m holding the diary as he enters my room. I nod at him. “I was just curious if mom still had a microchip implant with her when she wrote the diary. From the look of it, she didn’t seem to have one. But who knows?” Yuuto sits on the floor before he begins to talk to me. “I think mom no longer had a microchip implant within her. If she did, they didn’t have to come all the way to Tochigi just to kill her.”
It looks like Yuuto and I are on the same page about this. We firmly believe that mom didn’t have the microchip implant within her. But the question is, how did she manage to remove it from her arm? Ms. Shoko did say that it was impossible to remove the microchip implant by force. It may become even worse than triggering the suicide mode.
“Did you ask dad about this?” Yuuto asks me. I sigh when I recall dad’s answer when I was asking him about this. “For some reason, dad seems reluctant to tell me anything about mom. He only said that mom was just like the other researchers. But that was just about it. He even told me to go and ask Ms. Shoko about this.” Yuuto doesn’t even look surprised at all with dad’s answer. He may have known this that dad won’t tell us anything.
“I guess that we need to see Ms. Shoko. But I do hope that Ms. Shoko is willing to tell us. I’m just worried that she doesn’t want to tell us anything,” Yuuto says to me. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that,” I say to him, “I’ve already told Ms. Shoko that we want to see her. And she’s okay with that.” Yuuto looks surprised that Ms. Shoko agreed to see us. “Did you tell her why we want to see her?” He asks me again.
“No, but I think she knows why we want to see her. I think dad must have told her that we will come to see her and ask her about mom,” I say to him. Dad can be a jerk sometimes. I wish that he can be honest with us about issues like this. But he’d rather pass it to someone else. It’s heartbreaking for us that dad doesn’t want to tell us personally. But since he already knows that we’re going to see Ms. Shoko, he seems to be okay with us asking her about this.
The next day, we’ve decided to meet with Ms. Shoko after school. We also have told dad that we’ll be late to come home because we’ll be seeing her today. Dad doesn’t seem to oppose us seeing her, so I guess dad is okay with it, as long as we tell him where we’re going. Even though we can always protect ourselves, dad can still be a worry-wart sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with his reaction, anyway. He’s doing what a father will do.
We’ve decided to meet Ms. Shoko in a café which is not far from the school. The café is also not far from Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Besides, she also loves to frequent this café too, which is why she wants us to see her there. She also comes to our coffee shop once in a while, but only when she has a free time, though. As an inspector, having a free time is a blessing to her.
As we enter the café, Ms. Shoko is already there. She takes a sip from her coffee while waiting for us. “We’re sorry that we’re late,” I say to her as both of us are taking a seat. Ms. Shoko smiles when she sees us. “That’s okay. I’ve just gotten here anyway.” She then starts to look at us. Even though this is the second time we meet, I’ve never imagined that she has a keen interest in us, especially me.
“You look exactly like your mom. Even your expression is the same as her. I still remember the day when your mom came to see me. That was the day she asked me to do something that sounded crazy to me. I thought that she was fooling around because she looked so frazzled. It was hard for me to take her seriously when she looked so…unkempt,” she says to us.
She then sighs before she continues talking to us. “Minoru already expected that you guys would want to see me and asks me about your mom. I just don’t understand why he doesn’t want to be the person to tell you this. He had involved in dozens of dirty jobs which were even worse than this. And yet, he doesn’t want to tell you about a crucial thing like this. I really don’t get why Sayuri loves someone like him.”
We feel awkward when she openly criticizing dad in front of us. But then again, we can tell that she must be close with mom just by noticing how much she cares about her. I don’t think she can be this blunt if she doesn’t know much about mom. “How long you’ve known mom? You look like you’ve known her for a long time,” I ask her.
She smiles when I ask her this question. “Well, she’s my childhood friend. We even went to the same university. Thank goodness that we didn’t fall in love with the same guy. Otherwise, I have no idea what’s going to happen to our friendship.” Yuuto chuckles when he hears her answer. “But you don’t look like you approve their relationship. You seem to hate dad so much.” Wow, Yuuto. You can be a bastard sometimes.
Ms. Shoko only laughs out loud in response to Yuuto’s answer. “Yeah, it sounds like I do oppose their relationship. It’s because I’m worried that she’ll be lonely if something bad happened to him.” She sighs after that. “In the end, it’s the opposite. Now, it’s Minoru who feels lonely. Come to think of it, I think I know the reason why he wants me to tell you about your mom instead. He can’t bear the sadness of losing your mom.”
We understand the feeling of losing mom. But we know that there’s nothing much we can do other than moving forward. We thought that dad is already moving forward, but it doesn’t look that way when Ms. Shoko tells us. That just shows how much mom means to him. Now, we look like we’re being insensitive. We never consider how he feels when we ask him about mom. We’re sorry for what we’ve done to you, dad.
“To be honest,” Ms. Shoko says to us, “I know that the microchip implant was a bad idea, no matter how small it was. Minoru and I were against it. Both of us even against with her taking part in this project. It didn’t matter how noble it sounded. It’s against the human nature. I’m fine with using technology to treat incurable diseases or curing physical disabilities. But making a human with a god-like feature? That’s just no.”
Ms. Shoko resents the idea of transforming human into something that no longer defines us as a human. Well, both Yuuto and I agree with her. Sure, we’re fortunate that we’re born with high IQ and with no physical disabilities. Even if we’re born with the average IQ, we only need to count our blessing. What makes us human is we can still go beyond our limit even if our physique constraints us. It’s our mind that makes us achieve what seems like an impossible feat.
So, do we need to have something like this to enhance our physical abilities and intelligence? Well, some
people think they need it. It’s just like having plastic surgery to look as pretty as a celebrity. But for most people, they don’t need to have that. They’re fine with what they have. They don’t even need it in the first place. I’m pretty sure that Hayato feels the same way.
“No matter what we said, we couldn’t stop her. Minoru knew that she wouldn’t budge no matter what. So, he could only promise her that he would do what he could to save her if she was in a pinch. I could tell that Minoru didn’t want that day to come. But it was too bad that the day when he had to save her had come. That day was like a test between the two of them,” Ms. Shoko continues with her story.
Ms. Shoko takes another sip before she continues. “That was the day when your mom found out that both of you would become the test subject for the project. She didn’t want to turn you kids into a test subject, but she couldn’t run away just like that. That was when she realized that the microchip implant in her arm was a hindrance to her. Satoru Yuuya would be able to capture you kids no matter where she was. And she could get herself killed at any time because of that.”
“So, this is when she decided to discard the microchip implant?” I ask her. Ms. Shoko nods. “Yup, but she knew that she couldn’t remove the microchip implant just like that. At that time, she already suspected that something was not right with the project. So, she already knew the circumstances if she went against them. That was the time she called me to discuss her method to remove the microchip implant. Minoru was there as well.”
My heart races after listening to Ms. Shoko’s story. I have never thought that something severe had already happened to us at that time. Yuuto looks calm when he hears the story, but I can sense that his emotion is in turmoil as well. Seeing how I’m about to have a panic attack, Yuuto holds my hand tightly. At least I feel much better when he does that.
“What she wanted to do?” Yuuto asks her. Ms. Shoko seems reluctant to tell us, but she knows that she has to. “She had to fake her death. We’re not talking about using a body double here. She needed to commit suicide just to fool the program. If the suicide attempt were successful, the microchip implant would no longer be usable. At that time, she didn’t know that it would disappear when she committed suicide.”
Yuuto holds my hand even tighter than before when he notices my reaction. I can’t even look straight at Ms. Shoko right now. It feels too much for me to handle. I feel grateful that Yuuto is here with me. I don’t know what’s going to happen to me if it’s not because of him. Whatever it is, our support to each other means a lot in this situation.
“So, I presume that the plan succeeded at that time, right?” Yuuto asks Ms. Shoko. She nods as she takes another sip. “It was, but at that time, we weren’t even sure. It was such a risky approach. Even Minoru was against it. Despite that, Minoru was there to witness everything. It wasn’t easy to fake her death for 1 second just to fool the microchip. Any longer than that, she would die for good.”
She breathes a sign of relief after that. “We were glad that the attempt was a success. After double-checking everything, we’ve confirmed that the microchip was no longer inside her body. And I guess you know the drill after that. The rest of you immediately left Tokyo and disappeared off the grid.”
None of us are saying anything after the conversation is over. Without realizing, two hours have passed since then. I have never imagined that the conversation takes a lot of time. I’m pretty sure that she has a lot of things to do in her office. “Just let me know if you need anything. I’ll do my best to help you out,” Ms. Shoko says to us before we leave.
We part our way after that. “I’ve never thought that mom was bold enough to do something so risky. I doubt that I’ll do the same if I were her,” I say to Yuuto. I feel like wanting to break this awkward silence. “I’m glad to know that you’re alright. You looked like you were about to have a panic attack just now,” Yuuto says to me. I smile at him. “Yes, I was anxious for an unknown reason. I guess that it must have something to do with mom faking her death.”
I know that Yuuto looks surprised about that as well. But at least, he doesn’t feel as anxious as I am. “I guess that we should go home and have a cup of coffee. You barely drank any when we were there.” I nod at him, agreeing with his suggestion. Maybe we should go home and have a cup of coffee instead if it will make us feel better.
“Welcome home,” dad greets us when we reach home. He’s already done with cleaning up the coffee shop by the time we come back. “We’re home.” Dad begins to serve us a cup of coffee while Hayato continues with cleaning the coffee shop. “I’m sorry that you have to see Shoko just to know about your mom. I can’t bring myself to tell you about your mom no matter how hard I try. It was too painful for me, even though it was already in the distant past,” dad says to us.
Both of us look down. We feel guilty for being insensitive. We should have known how painful it is for dad to talk about mom. He even felt guilty that he couldn’t attend mom’s cremation at that time. But at least, he was able to say goodbye to mom before we moved back to Tokyo. “It’s okay. We’re sorry for not considering how you feel. We’re grateful that you don’t try to hide the facts from us,” I say to dad.
Dad feels relieved when he hears that we’re not blaming him. We don’t feel like blaming him because we’re also at fault as well. So, there’s no reason for us to blame him. He doesn’t do anything wrong to us. None of us are saying anything after that. So, I begin to ask him about letting us go to Shiori’s live performance. “Dad, I know this seems like out of nowhere, but can we go and see Shiori’s live performance this weekend? This is her last performance at the live house. So, we want to see her one last time.”
Dad chuckles when I ask him about this. “Well, why not? It’s true that we have a lot of customers during weekend. But I think that we can do just fine with Hayato and me.” Hayato also nods when he’s done with the cleaning. “Yup, don’t worry about us. You should go and see her while you still have the chance,” Hayato says to us. I can’t help but feel happy that dad allows us to see Shiori this weekend. “Thanks, dad,” I say to him.
On Saturday, we head to Ebisu where Machina Twist will have their live performance. As we reach the area, there are so many people who are already waiting in front of the live house. I can tell that these people are here to watch the live performance by judging the way they dress. It’s easy to tell, though, with some of them are wearing a headband on their forehead. The headband clearly says ‘I love Momoko’ or ‘I love Shiori’. They must be the idol otaku.
Most people who are attending the live are men, with majority of them are the idol otaku. As expected for a live performance like this. But there are also women who are attending the live performance too. I can hear them whispering that today is Shiori’s last performance with Machina Twist. From now onward, Shiori is no longer performing with them. She’s officially become a talent, just like Momoko Sugita.
By being a talent, she can now pursue another career path such as acting, singing and even modeling. She will also begin to appear on the variety TV show because this is where the talents will appear most of the time. Seeing that there are so many people who are cheering for her, I can’t help but feel like supporting her as much as I can. I’m proud of what she has accomplished while she was still with Machina Twist.
Once the door has opened, everyone is rushing in so then they can get the best place to see their favorite idols. Speaking about the idol otaku, they seem to be divided into many factions. After all, while they love the idol group as a whole, they usually root for a specific person in the group. Just like most idols, Shiori has a huge number of following. So, it makes sense why her talent agency has decided to make a major debut for her.
The live house is packed than usual because of Momoko Sugita’s performance with Shiori. Well, it’s not that I’ve seen her live performance that frequently. This is what people who are here have been saying. I’m glad that the person next to me is nice enough to tell me. Sh
e’s also a fan of Shiori because of her bubbly personality.
I have to admit that she’s right about Shiori’s personality. But at the same time, she can be an airhead sometimes. And she can be so naïve too. This is the part that I don’t dare to tell her fans, though. Perhaps, I’m the only one who thinks that she’s an airhead because of my high intelligence.
Everybody shouts in unison, chanting their favorite member’s name when they appear on stage. The cheer is getting louder when Shiori appears on the stage. Shiori looks happy when she sees that there are so many people who are here to cheer for her. She feels even happier when she sees us. She waves at us when she notices us, but a group of guys thinks that she’s waving at them. They even argue about that. This is the first time I’ve seen grown-up men quarreling for something silly like this.
“How are you today, everyone?” Shiori shouts at the crowd. The crowd riles up even with a simple greeting from Shiori. Everyone shouts in unison when answering Shiori’s question. I’ve known Shiori since the middle school. But I’ve never seen her being so energetic on stage. It’s because she always feels shy whenever she’s with strangers. I guess that she needs to become a different persona when she’s on stage. No one will ever believe that the shy Shiori is now an idol who has a lot of raving fans.
The performance itself is fantastic. That maybe has something to do with me who rarely seeing a live performance. I admit that I am enjoying myself throughout the live. But I still can’t stop complaining about a bunch of guys who are in front of me. I’m not sure how old they are, but they seem like they’re in the mid-20s. It grosses me out when I see how obsessive they are with the idols.
If I were an idol, I’m happy to have fans who have been supporting me throughout my journey. But I still find it creepy to have people like them to worship their favorite idols like a temple. Thank goodness that I’m not a part of the idol scene. Otherwise, I would have quit the next day only because I have a bunch of creepy old men worshipping me. I guess the world of assassination fits me better than the idol world.
After Machina Twist’s performance, Momoko Sugita performs next. The scream is even louder when Momoko Sugita appears on the stage. Well, she used to be a member of Machina Twist before. So, it feels nostalgic when they see her on the stage where she used to perform as a Machina Twist member back then.
Yuuto seems to be mesmerized by her. He looks like he can’t keep his eyes away from her. Momoko Sugita sure knows how to charm her fans, even to the first-timer like Yuuto. Maybe Yuuto is not lying about him being a fan of Momoko Sugita. Or maybe he just pretends to be her fan. I don’t see him putting Momoko Sugita’s poster in his room. So, I bet that he’s doing it out of fitting in with the crowd. Only Yuuto is able to pull off an act like this.
The live continues with Shiori’s solo performance. After that, it’s her duet performance with Momoko Sugita. Shiori looks happy when she’s performing alongside her. Even her fans are tearing up when they see how splendid their performance together. The live performance ends with Shiori expresses her gratitude to her fans. She’s hoping that they will support her from now onward as a talent.
After the live is over, someone is calling for us. “You’re Touka and Yuuto, right?” He whispers to us. Both of us nod at him. He feels relieved that he gets the right person. “We have so many people who are attending the live more than usual. I’m just worried that I’ll get the wrong person. Thank goodness that I get it right,” he says to us.
Both of us follow him to the backstage while avoiding the crowd. “How do you know about us?” Yuuto asks him. “Shiori has been telling me about you guys. She also showed me your photos so then it’ll be easier for me to recognize you. She’s been showing your pics to me countless time. At this point, I don’t think that I can ever forget how you look like that easily,” he replies.
“I’m sorry for being rude,” I say to him, “But, who are you? Why do you know so many things about us?” He only smiles at me. “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Keiji Ayatsuji. I’m Shiori’s manager from now onward.” We’re glad to know that Mr. Ayatsuji doesn’t look like a bad person. I always assume that an idol manager can be a pain to deal with. But it doesn’t look that way with Mr. Ayatsuji.
Once we’re at the backstage, Shiori jumps and start to hug me. “Touka, I’m so happy that you’re here. I’m glad that you’ve made it this time,” Shiori says to me in tears. I can’t help but tear up too. “Congratulations, Shiori. Your performance just now was splendid. I enjoyed it so much,” I praise her. Mr. Ayatsuji leaves after that. He smiles when he sees how close we are with Shiori.
She then looks at Yuuto. “Yuuto, you’re popular among my group members. Initially, they thought that you’re Touka’s boyfriend. But when I told them that you’re her twin brother, they felt like they may have a chance to hit on you,” Shiori says to him. Yuuto looks so proud and boastful when he knows that he’s also popular among the idols.
“Stop praising him. He can be annoying when things like this get into his head,” I say to Shiori in anger. Yuuto only laughs, saying that I’m just jealous that he’s popular among the girls. It’s not that I care about it, anyway. While we’re busy talking, Momoko Sugita walks passing us. Rather than welcoming us, she stares at us instead. She looks unhappy when she sees us. In her eyes, we look more like a nuisance to her.
“Who are they?” She asks Shiori. Shiori seems to take aback when she sees Momoko Sugita’s expression. “We’re her friends from the high school,” I say to Momoko Sugita. Before Shiori is able to introduce us properly, Momoko Sugita suddenly snaps at her. “Who do you think you are? Just because you’re an idol, that doesn’t mean you can simply just bring anyone here. Bring your friends elsewhere. Otherwise, just leave this place.”
Momoko Sugita leaves after she scolds her. Shiori then starts to cry. She has never been this terrified. “Why she suddenly scolds me? Wasn’t she the one who said that it was okay for me to bring my friends to the backstage? I can’t believe with what she did to me.” Shiori just runs off to her dressing room, leaving us dumbfounded. The situation in the backstage becomes so awkward that Mr. Ayatsuji is asking us to leave.
On our way out, we ask him if we did something wrong that makes Momoko Sugita angry at us. Even he also seems confused with Momoko Sugita’s odd behavior. “She is a nice person. But she suddenly acts strange after the live is over. Not only that, her voice sounds a lot different than usual. It feels like it’s not even Momoko at all,” Mr. Ayatsuji says to us.
“Maybe she has a sore throat. That’s why she sounds different,” Yuuto says to him jokingly. “No, that’s not it. I’ve been working together with Momoko since she was still a member of Machina Twist. And I know her personality well enough. She would never act like that even if she were under the pressure. Even if she couldn’t take it, she would never blow up just like that,” he says to us.
Once we’re already outside of the live house, Mr. Ayatsuji apologizes to us on her behalf. Maybe Momoko Sugita does have a bad day. But he still thinks that she’s not the person he used to know. His gut feeling is saying that she’s not even the real Momoko Sugita. There must be some kind of other personality that has taken over her.
To be honest, we don’t know much about her since none of us are interested in the idol stuff. Even if we don’t know her much, we still find that her behavior is rather strange. Does the idol always act like this all the time? Maybe there IS something wrong with her. And I’m pretty sure that it’s far more complicated than we thought.