Part 2

"There are seven billion philosophies working across the globe. And each of them is correct. If one ever stumbles upon an incorrect philosophy, it is not actually incorrect, it is just incompatible with one's own."

-Shiroyama Seniichi, The AoF storyteller

[22nd December,1997; 15:27 hrs]

[Private Orphanage "Children's Hope", Taketomi, Okinawa Prefecture]

I am standing in a corner right now, an aloof corner in the packed hall of the orphanage, which is currently filled with people, of all ages – young children, those belonging to the orphanage and those from outside, adults, and senior citizens. Also, I can see the head of the Taketomi administration standing at the front. But I am not in the front. I am in the corner. In that corner, where any eye cannot reach. All of them standing here, other than me, have something in common – all their eyes are wet. Wet with despair, wet with loneliness, wet with helplessness. Their eyes are like that rabbit which has been struck between two paths, one leading to the lion, other gong to the wolf.

Not like I blame them. They have lost rather important people to them. This is the final funeral ceremony of the Kogasaki after all.

That said, humans grieve only when they loose something that it exclusively important for their own existence or it makes their living easier in some way. This situation is a fine example of this philosophical theory. The kids are crying because they have lost their future lodging, in case something unlikely happens, and the adults are lamenting because of the others around them. They don't feel anything for the Kogasaki siblings, they are crying because if they don't, they might get a tag of being heartless. At least, that is my understanding, and my philosophy.

I cannot move to the front though, you ask why? Because if one person moves to the front of a weeping mob, only to burst out in laughter, would it not be strange?

Yeah, today is the day of celebration! I am on the peak of happiness right this instant, the feeling of rage inside of me has perished, with satisfaction taking its place. The fire of revenge has been put out, the results I dreamt for have been met! You fucking pedophiles in hell, can you see this??!! Look at what has come to pass! You seedlings are gone, just like you! Your generation has vanished from the face of earth!

You good for nothing bastards defiled me! You defiled me, you defiled all the other kids! You crushed their dignity, you feasted upon their personalities, you plunged them into despair, you destroyed their consciousness. You played in a calculative manner, you chose weaker opponents, who would not be able to oppose you, who would not be able to break your limbs, who would not be able to block your advances. But you forgot, you forgot that a trampled snake bites even more ferociously. You left me alive, thinking that I was the same as the other kids of my age, who will forget about your atrocities, once I turn into a money-earner. Too bad! Too bad! Too bad! Too bad! Too bad!

"Marika-sensei, you're smirking......control yourself......"

I notice the blond girl standing beside me, the so called "shy beauty" of the orphanage. Honestly, when did she come and stand here?

"Yui, when did you come here? The funeral is going on."

"When I saw that you were about to burst out in laughter. Not only me, all the other kids have noticed it too. You were the one who killed Shiori-sensei, right?"

"Of course! And it is kind of obvious that you people know that I was directly involved in Shiori-san's demise. But do they know about that? I wonder...."

"K-know ab-about w-w-what?"

Oho! Looks like I got you. I see that Yuika has lines of tension on her face. For a moment, she displayed a face which was rather contrary to her usual shy and conservative facial expression. But then again, even that conservative facial expression is forced.

"Did you forget? I mean you putting Shishio-san to unconsciousness."

"I-I did that because you threatened me!!!"

"Now now....it's not good to speak lies, you know? My threats might have played a part, but your greed was the major reason, right?"

The seven sins of humanity – Greed, Lust, Gluttony, Pride, Wrath, Sloth and Envy, are rather well thought of. Greed is a sin, but Fear is not. Fear may be a path which leads to these sins, but in no way it is a sin in itself. Fear does not make anyone do wrong, but fear may lead to the sin that forced them to do that act. Yuika did what she did because of greed, because of the hefty and bright future I personally assured her to make use of her, when she first became able to understand things.

Yeah, I manipulated her.

I manipulated her extroverted personality into an introverted one, just to make use of her to carry out my plan, to put out my raging fire of revenge.

And not just her.

I have made allies out of all the kids other than Kazuya and Kirika. And I have given all of them the exact same assurance – the assurance of a bright future. If a hyena has to hunt a sheep, it has to go mingle with the herd, disguising itself as a sheep. But how would that same hyena feel, if it finds out, that the other sheep were also hyenas in disguise! These kids are doing the same thing – they are deceiving each other, they are making plans behind each other backs, without realizing that they are getting deceived themselves, that there are other plans working behind their very backs.

The death of Kogasaki siblings was no simple affair. A straightforward and direct murder would not have cooled down my rage, and would involve high risk of getting caught. I planned this for three years! Three years of calculations, three years of effort, three years of intelligence, three years of perfection. This plan of mine proved the gravity of my sufferings and the wrath of my being. In these three years, I spent hours working on it, with every second improving it more and more. This is what my plan was.

On the night of 18th December, the frost had already made the world appear blurred, when we were all gathered in the kitchen, to decide the night's dinner. Though this "all" included me, Shiori-san, Shishio-san, Tomoya, Yui and Misaki. The other kids were in the bed room, "playing".

"Sis, we are out of onions....and carrots too.....and chicken....." Shishio-san voiced out from his head inside the fridge.

"Shiori-sensei, I want apples."

"And I want to have takoyaki..."

"I want some ramen.....actually curry would be okay too..."

"Wait, Wait! Speak one at a time, you all.", Shiori-san said with confusion.

"Sis, I will ask them and make a list of all the items. Then you can go for shopping. Ah! Take someone with you, as the list would be long....."

He made my job easier with this unexpected proposition. If he had not advised this, I would have made the kids do it themselves. They are all potent murderers after all.

"Hmm...thanks. Then, you all prepare for dinner. I will go with the other kids."

"Then, I will get them."

"Thank you, Marika-san, I will be waiting at the gate."

I moved towards the bedroom, where my dolls were getting ready. These dolls would give me the medicine I desire, the wonder drug I had been questing for since ages. The night would complete my objectives, and a crucial role would belong to these kids.

I opened the door to the bedroom, and as the three elder kids saw me, their eyes lit with a sudden jolt, with a mixed feeling of fear and nervousness inside of them, so much, that they could not even notice that each of them was showing similar symptoms. They were like that kid of a butcher, who has just been ordered by it's parent to slice a struggling chicken. It is scared to kill the chicken, it is scared to move the knife, but still, looks forward to the dish that it will get in dinner. These kids are the same. They are indeed terrified to do what they are about to do, but will do it nevertheless. They will do it out of greed. Sins make you do miracles. And greed is a sin.

I had made my plan to target two people- Kogasaki Shiori who would be murdered in three consecutive steps, with three people playing these three steps, each one of them unaware of the identity of the people who carry out the other two steps. I had made each of them believe that I had given them one job, one step of the plan, and that is all they had to do, in order to gain my favor "over" the other kids. I convinced them, that other than them and me, there was no one in the plan, and that all the other steps of this plan as well as the other one will be carried out by me myself. This was our contract.

Pfft.

And I made SIX such contracts, with six kids – Kakeru, Aoi, Makoto being on the Shiori murder plan, and Tomoya, Yui and Misaki on the Shishio murder plan.

All of them were under the thought that only they and me were involved, that only two people were involved in the future Kogasaki siblings' murder. Of course, the truth is clearly different. All six of them were involved, except me. Except me!!! Except me!!! Except me!!! Except me!!!

Puhahahaha!!!!

Morons! Degenerates! Greedy brats!

To think I was able to manipulate them into killing the people who gave them life, itself is a proof, how much of rotten bastards these twerps are!! Humans are truly nature's scum........Even a filthy wolf does not vow for the blood of its own family....Even a dog protects its relationships....humans are probably the only ones who have changed from wilderness to depravity, and still have the nerve to call this change as "evolution". What a completely pathetic joke humanity is! It is filled with darkness, it is brimming with contempt! It is infested with creatures who cut off the same arms, which once held them from falling into the abyss. How can one describe humans in one sentence- Betrayal without hesitation, at the slightest of provocation.

Makoto would be the one carrying out the first step of the first part of the plan, whose job was to make sure to accidentally "bump" into Shiori, while carrying a pointed pencil. The plan was to make Shiori get a little cut, a really little one, just enough to convince herself that it is no bid deal and can be taken care of "after she returns" from shopping. I did not really mind if the cut went unnoticed by her as well as the other kids, what was my objective was to make Makoto carry out the "bump" in such a way that the cut went uncared by her, and the location of the cut. It had to be made on the index or the middle finger, and nowhere else.

The next step, was to be tackled by Aoi, its main detail being, for her to carry Shiori's shopping bag with the money inside. I gave this step to her by noticing her short height. The height difference between her and Shiori was enough to make sure that Shiori could not make out what she was doing without bending down in this heavy fog around. Of course, she would walk a little ahead of Shiori to avoid any errors in the step. That would make her work obstacle free. The fog would become quite thin as they cross the residential areas and enter into the marketplace. That meant Aoi had to complete her job before entering into the markets. Her job, was to grease the money bills with a grease stick covered in Batrachotoxin, a deadly poison found in the skin of South-American mini frogs. It has a very short action time, specially deadly when in contact with skin cuts. Hampering with the central nervous system, it can bring about death in a matter of minutes. This would get into Shiori through the little finger cut, killing her on the spot.

But this had problems. A lot of them. Getting the cut on her finger was okay and easily doable, but what if she wore gloves while being out? It was not unnatural for her to put them on in this chilling cold. What if she just used coins instead of bills? What would happen to that poison smeared bill once it will be in the hands of the shopkeeper? What if that bill got discovered by the authorities? Would it not be a case deciding clue if the bill was detected to be smeared in deadly poison?

To handle all of this was the prime objective of the third and the final step – Kakeru's job. Everyone is aware of Kakeru's bold nature. He is thought of as a mischievous kid. He would be the one to "accidentally" wet Shiori's gloves, once they have walked a fair distance from home, so that she would not return to get an exchange, and be forced to walk with naked hands. This "accidental" water splash should by no means, happen in a residential area, as it might lead her to borrow some gloves from neighboring houses. T

Kakeru would also be responsible to plead Shiori to buy sweets for him on the way, before reaching the market. He would have to buy as much as to take out all the coins from her bag. But, I left this decision to Shiori herself. If she used the coins, she would live for a few minutes more, but if she was unlucky enough to use the bills, which would already be smeared with death till then, she would fall asleep. As for the reactions from the kids she gets to see right before her death, I did not care about them at all.

This was the first part of the plan – the three steps, to be carried out by three people, none of them being me.

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Chapter 2, Part 2 extra(A): Kogasaki Shishio's monologue

I see a dream. And I see it frequently. It is a dream for which my inner self constantly curses my brain. It is a shameful dream. It has a disgusting plot. I am very little in that dream, and as the dream begins, I find myself staring at my little hands. Then there is a little jolt, as I suddenly notice a whimper coming from the room on whose door I am standing. The whimpers belong to a boy. It seems they belong to a boy who lived in our orphanage when I was a kid. But I am a kid in that dream. Talking about those whimpers, I can hear them coming from the closed room. Those whimpers are filled with fear and helplessness. I hear them everyday. But everyday the voices are different, whimpers being the exact same.

I open the door, probably to know the reason. I witness mom and dad inside the room. I witness them in a very filthy situation. They suddenly look at my direction and run towards me. Faster they come as they approach me, and with great agility, dad grabs me.

My dream breaks. What a pathetic dream I keep having about my god like parents. There is no way they would do something like that. Marika-san is an example of their kindness, who is living in front of me everyday, with happiness and comfort.

As I wake up, I look at my hands. They are not little anymore. They have certainly grown bigger.

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