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Chapter 32 - Chapter 32: A Meseta for your Thoughts

Everyone gulps and stays silent, looking at Chisaki intently.

"Answer me, senpai." Alya asked Chisaki, still pushing her rifle's end at her head.

"Are you still in cahoots with your evil boyfriend? Is the masked man really Kenzaki Touya?"

"I don't know!" Chisaki shouted.

"Touya… He is not that kind of person!"

"There must be an explanation to this!"

"Blackmail, brainwashing, experimentation, cloning…"

"A3 leaders… maybe have done something to him!"

"You all saw his bizarre powers! Maybe he has powers to mimic someone's appearance too!"

"Touya wouldn't ever dream of doing something like the masked man has done!"

"I… I know Touya!"

"I refuse to believe my Touya did all those evils!"

"I can't believe he would murder my entire family without a good reason!!"

"Why does he even wear a mask?!"

"Shouldn't he reveal his face to me if he wants my support!?"

However, Yuki, as a deranged and obsessed woman who craves her brother's love, finally realized…

The masked man is definitely Kenzaki Touya.

After all, she would probably do the same as him, given the right circumstances.

Yuki only got one thing from all this: Touya has hurt her brother and caused everyone in the Quarantine Zone to suffer.

"His reaction back when we took Sarashina-senpai hostage in New Yoshiwara… checks out…"

"So it was that bastard Kenzaki Touya!"

"He is the one who hurt my big bro!"

"Unforgivable… I loathe that I once called him a friend…"

"… Screw him. I'll let big bro claim her as revenge."

"She's too good to be wasted on him, anyway."

Yuki's sight then slowly diverts towards Chisaki, planning to use her to hurt Touya.

"He once took my love away…"

"It's just fair if I took his…"

"First… I must convince everyone he's dead, and then convince them he's evil."

"Then Sarashina-senpai will be free from him."

Yuki then speaks up, telling everyone her thoughts about Alya's findings.

"If the masked man is really Kenzaki-senpai…"

"It actually explains why he is so hellbent on getting you back."

"He did say he had a lover already, too."

"And that video he played at our last meeting… Highly likely to be bogus then."

"It's all just to get your support."

"… Yeah, it checks out." Sayaka added to support Yuki's claims.

"It also explains why he immediately trusts us to be Central Cabinet members…" Nonoa commented.

"And maybe he wears a mask to avoid having you being targeted…"

"… Or maybe he's ashamed and doesn't want you to hate him."

"That's bullshit!! Touya… Touya is not that kind of guy…" Chisaki shouted angrily in response, looking down due to her wavering faith.

"I know him…"

John and Roberta try not to meddle, keeping their silence.

Chelsea then speaks up her mind about all this.

"There are times you think you know about someone, until they prove you wrong."

"Like how I feel about my husband and my previous employer…"

"Or how you looked at the masked man."

"I can recognize a man being protective over their beloved woman since my husband did it all the time."

"Some people lie, and some people change all the time."

"I believe that Mr. Touya is not exempt from that."

Hearing that, Yuki cheers happily from within her mind.

"Yes… Even Chelsea is helping me out now!!" She thought to herself. "Things has gone smoother than planned!"

"And this just strengthens my statement. Way to go, Chelsea!!"

Chisaki gets angry and shouts, "Why are all of you suspecting him!? Aren't you all his friends!?"

"Friends don't do shit like he did, Chisa-chi." Nonoa said to her.

Ayano then speaks her piece of mind.

"Back when we confronted him in New Yoshiwara…"

"Masachika-sama was trying to make him talk about his location."

"None of us suspected him."

"We only suspect him now because Alya brought us this evidence."

Sayaka then gives her thoughts about this topic.

"Well… I also feel that it's kind of odd that he acts so familiar with us, like he has known us for so long."

"He only acts formally occasionally."

"And every time we had a meeting, I always felt like it brought me back to our time in high school."

"You know… like our days at the student council meetings…"

Masachika stayed silent. He doesn't want to suspect one of his friends…

But with so much evidence in front of him, he can't deny that it is highly likely for Alya's accusation to be correct.

"Kenzaki-senpai… are you really our enemy?"

"Were you really trying to kill me and harm us?"

"Anyway… Does this mean you are single now, senpai?" Yuki asked Chisaki, trying to bait her anger.

"Ayy~" Nonoa added maliciously, angry that Chisaki would still stand by Touya.

"Hoey, Ywuki!" Masachika sternly reprimands her rudeness despite his currently impaired nerves.

Yuki then replies, "What, Kenzaki Touya is dead now, big bro."

"Alya vaporized him."

"There's no way he could survive those fusion reactors and a giant sword exploding at once."

"Even New Tokyo is thoroughly ruined!"

"Doesn't matter if he's evil or under someone's influence now."

"If the former, then we did him justice by giving him what he deserved."

"If the latter, we have freed him by giving him a mercy kill."

Chisaki grips her fist angrily and challenges Yuki,

"Say that again, you incestuous whore!"

"I don't care even if you are pregnant Yuki! I will-"

Alya swiftly jabs Chisaki's head using the end of her rifle before Chisaki could move from her seat.

"Don't you dare move, senpai." Alya warned her.

"That's enough, all of you." The Dealer said to them through the call.

"I'm sorry to say this, Ms. Chisaki."

"But they made valid points."

"The evidence supports the idea that Mr. Touya is the masked man."

"There is no way he could have survived that, whether he is Mr. Touya or not."

"And even in the small chance he's not, I bet A3 might no longer see any use of him and… dispose of him."

Chisaki whimpers sadly after hearing that no one is supporting Touya at all. "Damn it… So either way… Touya is really dead now…"

"Good riddance, I dare say." Chelsea said. "Forget about that bastardi and get yourself a better man, Mademoiselle."

Chisaki shouts angrily, "Touya may just died!! Do you all have no-"

But before she could finish her sentence, Yuki rudely cuts her sentence by slamming her hand to the wall, her eyes staring sternly at Chisaki's eyes directly.

She then ruthlessly speaks the cold hard truth to her.

"Nope, not even a single bit."

"Just shut up and face reality already, senpai."

"He's A3 lapdog that enabled them to do these horrors to the Quarantine Zone."

"He almost killed Masachika."

"He made Alya lose most of her body parts."

"He made Masha-san a lunatic."

"He made us approve those evil policies."

"He locked whatever remains from our families up, taking them hostage."

"He forced Ayano to assassinate people."

"He made Sayaka addicted to VR."

"He initiated the ONA project."

"He has killed or at least attempted to kill our family members AND ALMOST EVERY SINGLE PEOPLE IN THE QUARANTINE ZONE!"

"He is the source of all our problems!"

"Look at me!! At Nonoa!! At Ayano! At Sayaka! At Masachika! At Alya!! At John and Roberta!!"

"At the streets of Japan!"

"AT YOUR OWN FUCKING FAMILY IF YOU STILL HAVE ONE!!"

"Look at those body bags! They were Nonoa's siblings!!"

"That bastard Kenzaki Touya did this to us!!"

Yuki then points at the monitor display.

"Just look at that! It's Kenzaki Touya!!"

"Billions have suffered because of him!!"

"Are you fucking dumb, blind, deaf, or all of them!?"

"He enabled those fucking Muslims and foul foreigners to take over Japan from us!"

"And his power was fucking insane… I don't think it's out of line to say he got it from Satan himself."

Chisaki shouts angrily at Yuki's accusation, saying loudly, "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!"

"Touya… I still… trust him…" She said while sniffling.

"You guys are the ones who set New Tokyo ablaze…"

"Hey, you are the one who justified ONA project as necessary evil." Ayano retorted.

"Enough, Chisa-chi. We know you loved him, but you have to face reality."

"Just shut up, sit down and stay still." Sayaka said to her.

"Fuck this, let's just let Nagisa convince her." Yuki added.

Chisaki angrily complies, sobbing while hoping that someone else will stand up for her boyfriend.

"Pastor, you know about Kenzaki Touya?" Ayano asked him.

"Yeah…" John replied. "I never thought the person I saw when I was in A3's army would turn out to be… that."

"… Why does it have to be this way?" Roberta said.

John and Roberta look at New Tokyo from the display monitor after they got far enough.

Smokes, fire, and raining sulfur overwhelmed the sunset on the horizon.

"There's really no rest for the wicked…" Roberta said.

"… Holy, this amount of sulfur is… Biblical…" John commented with sheer awe, his eyes widened at the calamity happening in front of him.

"It reminds me of Sodom and Gomorrah… Cities so wicked and full of sin that God had to erase them from the face of the Earth with a hail of fiery brimstone in Genesis 19."

"Over and over, it becomes a byword for destruction and desolation."

"Those lands… were never inhabited again."

"Yeah, it really is devastating in biblical proportion." Alya commented.

"… Divine judgment, huh?" Nonoa thought to herself.

After that commentary, everyone in the Landhawk stays silent until they arrive in New Kashima, the demolished Port Uotsurien. 

As soon as they arrived, the Dealer quickly opened a portal into Nagisa's room.

"Alya, Yuki, please escort him to meet Nagisa. The rest of you, stay here." The Dealer said to them.

"Now rush him to meet her so she can separate him from the parasite!" He urged Alya and Yuki.

And soon after stepping into the light, they rush into Nagisa's office, the gate already wide open.

"I have heard the story from the Dealer." Nagisa said while sitting in her chair, facing away from them.

Yuki replies, "Yes! Please help big bro, he really-"

Yuki's sentence is cut short when Nagisa spins her chair facing them.

Nagisa looks at Masachika with extreme disdain while holding a huge white curved scabbard.

Yuki's eyes widened in horror, imagining what she would do to him with that.

"… Aida, hold Mr. Masachika up." Nagisa ordered Aida.

"Understood." Alya, or rather, Aida said to Nagisa as she held Masachika up.

"… Walya? Nyaghisa?" Masachika asked, wondering why she is being ordered to hold him up

Yuki shivers with fear, already imagining the worst thing that she's going to do with her brother.

"Miss… Miss Nagisa… wh- wha… what are you going to do?" Yuki asked Nagisa while shivering.

"Purifying him with this sword." Nagisa said sternly while unsheathing the sword she is holding, revealing its crimson blade.

"Once, there is a young mother that"

"No wait, you can't do this Ms. Nagisa… my brother-"

"Out of my way, Ms. Yuki." Nagisa said while slowly shoving her away.

"FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK WHAT HAS TOUYA INFECTED MY BROTHER WITH!?" Yuki thought to herself.

"IS SHE GOING TO KILL HIM!? IS THIS WHAT THEY MEANT BY SEPARATING!?"

Nagisa stands in front of Masachika and talks with him briefly.

"This will be over soon, Mr. Masachika. Stay still or it will hurt."

"Now… do you trust me?"

Masachika gulps and nods.

"Thank you. You don't know how dangerous that parasite inside your body is."

Yuki quickly speaks up, trying to buy some time for him.

"WAIT!!! HE IS NOT-"

But Nagisa had already moved her blade.

Alya, or rather, Aida, slowly rests the unconscious and unmoving Masachika on the floor.

Yuki gulps and pants nervously as she asks Nagisa "… Wha- What… did you… just do?"

Nagisa replies, "Like I said, purifying him from the infestation plaguing him."

"Just look at that black mess on the floor."

Yuki diverts her gaze and sees a slithering tar-like creature writhing on the ground.

"… What is that?" Yuki asked.

"Something disgusting and evil." Nagisa replied as she put the creature into a jar.

"… I see, were you concerned over your brother?"

"I should have read your mind before. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Mr. Masachika will be fine, although…"

"… We will have to give his body some modification due to the damage that creature has caused."

"Can't you just heal him?" Yuki asked her.

"No, our recovery items and technics are not absolute." Nagisa answered.

"The user must be alive and cannot sustain too many injuries."

"Infection by a dark advanced creature such as this is also not easily treatable."

"Else, Ms. Alisa would not be a sexbot like she is now."

"In any case, please leave him to us."

"Please, take your friends with you to have a rest."

"We can talk about this further tomorrow with all of your friends."

"Oh, and please call Ms. Chisaki to meet me."

Yuki nods in understanding and leaves her office, relieved that her brother is not going to die but still worried about his condition.

Everyone quickly surrounds Yuki as soon she appears on the portal at the demolished Port Uotsurien.

"How's Masachika-sama!?" Ayano asked her worriedly.

"He's doing fine." Yuki replied while smiling at her. "Nagisa told us to just rest now."

"Though… she wants to meet you, Sarashina-senpai."

Chisaki nods and looks down as she walks on to the portal before stopping briefly.

Chisaki mumbles "Hey… about earlier…"

"No need to explain yourself, senpai." Yuki replied before Chisaki can elaborate.

"I can understand your bias and stubbornness."

"I also have fallen deeply in love with a man."

"Just don't delude yourself and start lying to yourself."

"… Yeah. Else you might end up like me, addicted to fantasy." Sayaka added, alluding to her previous addiction to VR.

"… I'll keep that in mind." Chisaki said before stepping into the portal.

After stepping into her office, Chisaki finally meets face to face with Nagisa.

She sweats profusely, knowing that this is someone that Yuki and Masachika could not handle.

Sensing her fear and awkwardness, Nagisa begins the conversation first.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Nagisa L. Adelheid." Nagisa said, greeting her.

"Sarashina Chisaki. The pleasure is mine." Chisaki replied politely.

"I am sure they have told you about me."

"Yes. I'm just really afraid to meet my former enemy."

"I have analyzed your profile and mind."

"… And I'm glad you are not doing it by harvesting my brain like in the movies."

"Be not afraid. Such a thing as an eternal enemy is not applicable to beings capable of change."

"Enemy…"

"I welcome you. Thank you for changing your mind."

Chisaki takes a seat on the sofa and wastes no time in asking about her boyfriend.

"Can I ask about my boyfriend… uh… Kenzaki Touya?"

"Kill him on sight."

"… What? But you said-"

"Yes. He is no longer capable of change."

"… Why do you say so?"

Nagisa then hands Chisaki a regular USB thumb drive.

She then grips her shoulders, looks at him in the eyes, and warns her.

"Young lady…"

"This file is the whole truth we think you should know."

"It is highly likely to ruin your image of Kenzaki Touya forever."

"You will loathe every affection you ever showed him."

"You will regret ever falling for him."

"You will hate him more than everyone you have ever hated in your life combined."

"I will let you decide yourself."

"Just know that he lied to you about us."

"Kenzaki Touya never entered his or others' cryopod again after he is released from his first cryostasis."

Chisaki puts the thumb drive into her pocket and grips her clothes tightly in fear of seeing the monster Touya really is.

"Why would Touya do this...?" Chisaki asked herself in her thoughts.

"That… you better see it for yourself. You won't believe me if I tell you." Nagisa replied to her question after reading her mind.

"Damn it." Chisaki said angrily at her. "You really can read mind. I thought she was talking figuratively."

Nagisa giggles gently before saying, "Pardon me. This is not something I can really control."

"Anyway, please tell everyone there that they did great in New Yoshiwara."

"Tell them to take a rest as well."

"You included, of course."

"And… if possible, please use this chance to reproduce as much as you can."

"… Pardon me?" Chisaki asked her, shocked by her question.

"Get pregnant a lot." Nagisa explained.

"Right now, including you all, only 98 Japanese are left in the Quarantine Zone."

"… Fuck." Chisaki cursed.

"… Nevermind, a Muslim just beheaded a Japanese man in New Sendai. Make it 97." Nagisa added.

"If there's nothing else, you can leave my office now."

"… I'll tell them about this." Chisaki said before leaving her office. "Thank you for having me."

Chisaki steps into the portal again, returning to Earth.

"… How the hell could a Starless still be alive here?" Nagisa thought to herself while holding and staring at the jar containing the slithering black creature.

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