Prologue: Nanase Tsubasa’s Monologue
“How could this happen…?”
In the hospital room, as he was laying unconscious, I murmured quietly.
“He's been diagnosed with a prolonged disorder of consciousness, hasn’t he?”
The voice was devoid of emotion, stating the fact with clinical detachment. As the words hung in the air, the man gently brushed his fingers across the nameplate affixed to the bed with Matsuo Eiichiro written on its surface.
A prolonged disorder of consciousness. In simpler terms, a vegetative state.
His eyes may open. He may breathe on his own. But there is no awareness, no recognition of the world around him, no response.
Doctors said it is possible he would regain consciousness within a few weeks or months, but... but even so, that hope was faint.
“I heard Matsuo-kun was a very kind-hearted man.”
“Yes.. If I.. If only I had noticed something was wrong, none of this would've happened to Eiichiro-kun. No... I never would've let it happen...”
Overwhelmed by regret and sorrow, tears kept streaming endlessly.
“Kindness alone isn't enough to survive in this world. Rather it will make you prey to the most evil, unforgivable of demons...” The man murmured those words, then turned to me with a faint smile.
“This world is built on give-and-take. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. I appreciate your generous protection.”
After being turned away from one hospital after another, this man was the one who eventually found somewhere for him to be treated. Had we been even thirty minutes late, Eiichiro-kun’s life could have been lost.
“What is it you want from me?”
“I have brought you an opportunity to settle your grudge.”
“An opportunity…?”
“I will tell you how to get close to the person you want to take revenge on.”
As he said this, the man placed an enrollment form and a photo on the table
“What is..”
“Enrolling in the Advanced Nurturing High School is the only way to get close to your target—”
“…Before that, I just realized I never asked your name… Who are you?”
“Pardon me. My name is Tsukishiro. I've known you and Matsuo-kun since you were both little.”
“I’ve seen plenty of adults who pretend they know everything about us but truly don’t.”
“Is Shirogane-san doing well?”
Just hearing that name made my body tense despite my attempt to remain calm. I tried to keep my composure, but the reaction was instinctive.
He did know us.
And in that moment, I realized that he wasn’t lying.
“So you are an acquaintance of Shirogane-sensei?”
“Back in my younger days, I was deeply indebted to Shirogane-san.”
He looks to be about the same age as Shirogane-sensei. If that’s the case then that debt must mean something very different from what it means for us.
“You are not evil. But in the world I live in, no matter where I look, it’s filled with nothing but evil. Either doing evil deeds under the pretense of justice, or not even pretending at all. But you, Nanase Tsubasa-san, are different. Ordinary, yet capable. Ordinary, yet unpolished. Ordinary, yet talented. Sometimes this is what can defeat evil. That is my belief, born from living in this world.”
“Tsukishiro-san, right? Is this boy connected to the evil you spoke of?”
In the photo before me was a boy about the same age as me.
“He is Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. A key link to the one you seek revenge on. As of now, he is enrolled in Advanced Nurturing High School one year ahead of you and is living his life among the ordinary students.”
“So you want me to get close to him?”
“Yes. I’ll give you instructions along the way. Everything is in service of your revenge. We’ll adapt as the situation demands, but be careful. That boy may seem emotionless, but he’s sharp, his instincts are refined. If you approach him carelessly, he’ll see right through you.”
“Then, what should I do?”
“You have to weave lies with truth. It is a fact that you adore Matsuo Eiichiro-kun and your desire to avenge him is genuine. You should create a new identity using that as a foundation, and act accordingly so he cannot grasp your true intentions. Naturally, he will doubt you, but he won’t dig too deep. He’ll dismiss you as insignificant.”
“Let me ask you one last question. Why me?”
“Because you are in just the right position. Neither left nor right, it's unclear which way you'll fall, So, I judged you to be the ideal person to send.”
“And.. what if I side with Ayanokoji?..”
“I will think about that when it comes to it.”
'You’ll do it, right?' being asked that, I nodded without hesitation.
Sometimes I still remember this exchange as if it was just a dream. At that time in the hospital, my mind was made up on taking revenge. I was set on Ayanokoji Atsuomi, the man who drove Eiichiro-kun to this state.
But now, things have changed.
I want to help Ayanokoji-senpai.
I wish to do so from my heart.
If he graduates from Advanced Nurturing High School as he is now, he will tread a path of pure evil. More victims, like Eiichiro-kun, may be created by his hand.
I don’t want that to happen.
I, who knows about the danger, have to be the one to keep it from happening.
For this, even today, I continue to search for that small key, deep within the forest.
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