Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item Chapter3 (section)

===Part 5===

A quiet scraping sound filled the room.

Silver-haired art club girl Inoue Laspezia sat on the sofa engrossed in her work. She used the kind of work magnifying glass that attached to the forehead and wore an apron over her summer uniform. Some might have thought she looked like a cute squirrel, but no one would be smiling when they learned she was working on creating a bloody ashtray as counterfeit evidence.

(I need as many cards in my deck as possible so I can help Kaede.)

She had always been good at lying.

Her adorable appearance, trouble making jokes, and plain whispery voice had helped make people trust her. Everyone had looked down on her and assumed “that boring girl” couldn’t lie and would be easy to manipulate. None of this had been intentional on her part; it had all been a miraculous combination of factors.

What would have happened to the boy who cried wolf if he fooled everyone to the very end? Inoue Laspezia was the answer.

Her parents.

Her teachers.

All of the adults.

It had been like a magic spell from a picture book that let her bend them all to her will. When the young girl had learned to use it, no one had ever scolded her for it, so her malice had only grown. It had been all the worse for how pure and innocent she was. When she shouted “a wolf is coming”, it was enough to send a silly adult to their doom.

She hadn’t wanted money.

She hadn’t resented anyone.

Inoue Laspezia had simply enjoyed the looks on their faces when a single silly false accusation against an adult so much stronger and older than her would cause everything they had built up over their lifetime to come crashing down.

It was such a common desire that it was found in a fable from more than 2000 years ago.

But it was also a villainous act that no one should have been allowed to actually commit.

(Phew.)

Maybe that was why she loved figurines. She also liked the works they were based on. In other words, she was an otaku. The residents of the 2D world never changed no matter how much she lied. They never got mad and they were never deceived. She could never be so open with anyone else. If it weren’t so easy to buy life-size body pillow covers of her favorite characters from the internet, she figured she would probably have kept a corpse in cold storage instead. …The only problem was how bulky those covers were even when rolled up like a scroll. Especially when she inevitably found a new favorite character each new season.

As anyone who had folded a 1000-yen note to play with the famous person’s face can likely imagine, one’s love can be shaken if their body pillow cover gets a crease in it. But if you carelessly iron it, things can get even worse. They fade, twist, and wrinkle so easily. They required a lot more delicate care than a resilient pet.

The pillows had a life of their own.

(Hmm. I know Kaede doesn’t like how much space they take up, so maybe I should finally switch over to VR. Then you just need the one blank body pillow you can touch and hug and the VR adds in whatever image you want. The data won’t deteriorate or take up extra space. On the other hand, you need the equipment, the hookups, enough space to move around in, and the initial setup sounds like a pain.)

“Hey.”

Waniguchi was back.

Inoue chose that as a good time to remove the magnifying glass from her forehead.

The 12-year-old executioner felt a need to resupply at the convenience store once every three hours. Inoue felt that was only the result of Ibotanokikouji spoiling the girl. What she wanted changed based on her mood, so she couldn’t just buy it all at once.

Waniguchi was supposedly an MMA fighter who wasn’t satisfied with the official matches and joined the deadly underground fights…so it was strange how dependent she was on the chips and sodas sold at the convenience store. Meatheads usually only ate protein, chicken tenders, egg whites, and raw vegetables.

“Don’t keep the refrigerator open too long. My jellied broth is setting in there.”

“Oh, you mean the stuff that’s way too bland?”

“Keep saying that and Kyoto will eventually fight back.”

"Does Kyoto transform or something?”

Waniguchi pulled a giant cup of blue condensed milk flavor shaved ice from the bag. You apparently heated it for ten seconds in the microwave to melt it just enough. Then she pointed at Inoue’s forehead.

“You’ve got paint on your face.”

Despite the warning, Inoue did not reach up to touch her face. She couldn’t let her guard down just because she was wearing thin gloves. If she got some ''red AB-type iron paint'' on her fingers, it could get all over her. She stopped working and made a mental note to use her small bottle of turpentine later on.

Waniguchi cackled.

“You’re a mess. This is the problem with you indoorsy art club types. How is it you have such a great eye for aesthetics and are so obsessive over making your artwork perfect, but you don’t give a single thought to your clothing or even your posture. Keep stooping over and whispering all the time and the Chief will lose interest in you.”

“Is that so, Aiyose Hiyoko-chan?”

“S-stop! I’ve thrown out that name! I have a much cooler ring name now!! Even the Chief said she loves it!!”

Waniguchi Nokoba quickly held her arms up in an X-shaped defensive stance.

That name apparently qualified as a counterattack.

The mood of the room changed drastically when Ibotanokikouji wasn’t around. These two were all over her, but wanted nothing to do with each other.

The nature of relationships differed depending on who they were with.

“Anyway, where’s the can opener?” asked Waniguchi. “Hello? The can opener? The thing you use to open cans?”

“How stupid do you think I am? I know what a can opener is.”

Inoue set down the small metal file in her right hand, grabbed another tool from the table, and tossed it over.

It was an enormous knife in a synthetic leather sheath. The end of the guard had a claw-like protrusion that could be used as a can opener. Of course, it could also be used to split open an enemy’s forehead in close combat.

Waniguchi caught it one-handed, but then she noticed something.

“Wait. Isn’t this the Chief’s knife?”

“…”

“You swiped one of her things and took it to your room ''again'', didn’t you!? You always do this. Whenever she gives you the opening, you sneak off with her underwear or handkerchief or something.”

2D was the best, but it had no scent or warmth.

And if the pillow smelled like Ibotanokikouji, then whatever Inoue did with the 2D character didn’t count as cheating.

“Say what you like, but I always clean up the evidence, leave it as good as new, and return it before Kaede notices, so you have no proof of anything.”

“What the hell!? And all I ever do is sneak into her bed when she’s away!!”

“…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Are you going to fess up, or do I have to call Anti-Skill on you?”

The arguing continued.

Maybe she wanted to get in the way of Inoue’s work, but Waniguchi stuck around while she drew the large single-edge knife from the synthetic leather sheath and pressed the guard against the edge of the can. She easily got the lid open. She wasn’t just accustomed to doing this. She worked as fast as a sewing machine.

“Didn’t you go to the convenience store?” Inoue sounded a bit exasperated. “And do they even still sell cans you need an opener for?”

“The discount mackerel cans tend to need an opener. And the entire stock has a tendency to just vanish, so they’re weirdly in demand. Also, these old-fashioned canned fruits are the best toppings for shaved ice. The Chief told me about these mandarin oranges soaking in this toxically thick syrup!”

Young Waniguchi brutally licked her lips.

After opening the can, she flipped it upside down and shook it to add her own extra topping to the convenience store shaved ice. Then she added some highly carbonated cider. It was a brute force strategy where she used her youth to protect her against all the sugar. And what had happened to melting it a bit in the microwave?

Waniguchi began mixing the giant shaved ice using the thick plastic straw and spoon the store had provided.

“So how is that girl doing?”

“She’s stopped making any noise, but I think she’s still alive. I removed anything she could use to kill herself.”

“Are you sure? Did you remove her teeth? She could bite her tongue or tear out a thick artery with those.”

“Didn’t we have this discussion already? Just like sticking her head in the sink to drown herself, the odds of her trying it are too low to worry about.”

But she still did go check on Ibotanokikouji’s new friend.

Inoue set her incomplete artwork down on the newspaper laid out on the table, removed her gloves, and rubbed moisturizer on her fingers. The way she scowled at the sound of crunching shaved ice, she may have been concerned some water droplets would end up on her art.

But Inoue’s silent glare only motivated Waniguchi to pour even more cider on and gulp down the half-liquefied shaved ice. She must have forgotten all about the canned mandarin oranges because she started choking, earning her an even harsher glare from the art club girl.

The two of them walked down the long hallway.

The mood changed the instant they opened the door.

Inoue frowned a bit at the hot, humid air that wafted out. It was like arriving in a stranger’s room. And that wasn’t entirely inaccurate. A certain girl had been trapped in there for a week now, so her scent would naturally have started to take over.

A weak groan came from the room.

In a girl’s voice.

“Uh…”

That was Hanano Choubi.

The room was structured like a prefabricated bath, but it had no window, the shower hose had been removed along with any other equipment that could be used for suicide, and the faucet had been wrapped tight with wire to keep it from turning. The tile floor was damp from the humidity and the long-unused electrical outlet was covered in dust. Her hand was handcuffed to the pipe on the wall.

Waniguchi put a hand on her hip.

“Why are we going easy on her? If we really want to lay on the pressure, we should shut off water to the toilet too.”

“Do you want to clean up after that? When we’re having so much trouble with corpse disposal already?”

Violence was not the only card capable of tearing down someone’s psyche and making them obey you like a robot. Pain was just one of the cards that made people’s circumstances impossible to bear. If you dumped them in an environment their sensibilities refused to accept and removed all avenues of escape, their internal logic would easily collapse.

For example…

A week had passed since July 7. For that entire time, she hadn’t been able to take a bath, change her clothes, or even change her underwear. For a teenage girl, that alone would feel impossible to bear.

They didn’t need to torture her or even lay a finger on her.

In these circumstances, keeping her clothes on actually increased the discomfort.

Those two had caused more than their fair share of suffering on the dark side, so they understood this well.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice that perfume you sprayed yourself with back there,” said Inoue.

Hanano groaned and her shoulders shook.

“But it was really obvious because it didn’t fit your plain look at all. That stuff was too grownup and expensive for you. Just so you know, I broke it all down with a special biological solvent I have, so not even a trained dog could have followed your trail.”

“And that goes for those toys the Hound Dogs use too,” added Waniguchi with a “kee hee hee” of laughter.

Her expression said she loved shattering people’s hopes.

“That was the only trick she tried,” whispered Inoue. “Kaede said she might make for a teammate with some interesting skills, but what do you think?”

“Who can say. I bet she wasn’t looking past the girl’s appearance. She can’t get enough of the terrified mouse type. But it’s not my decision. And I never said I would always obey every one of the Chief’s orders.”

There was no panic or irritation in Inoue and Waniguchi’s voices.

They didn’t think Hanano would really be their teammate.

If they could win her over before the support organization was back, then she would be. If that didn’t work, they would kill her. They were assuming they would end up killing her and they could just stop working if a miracle did occur.

They had no real pressing reason to keep Hanano alive.

Nor would they gain anything by cruelling torturing her.

They didn’t even need to attack Mugino to eliminate that threat – going into hiding would work just as well. Then they could add onto the frozen bank account to gradually tighten their grip around Mugino’s throat. If the others on the dark side realized they had a chance to attack, those others would do the dirty work for them. They didn’t even need to get Hanano to reveal any of Mugino’s personal information or the location of her hideouts.

In fact, they were hoping to kill her and throw her out as soon as possible, so any excess injuries to the future corpse could turn into unwanted evidence.

But all of that was based on a logical analysis of the situation.

None of that meant much when to someone with a short temper who wouldn’t want to leave an enemy prisoner alone after one of their own was killed. Plus, what if they spared Hanano now and she betrayed Kaede?

“If she won’t listen, why not just strangle her?”

Chained Hanano’s shoulders jumped.

The 12-year-old girl may have been enjoying the effect her words were having on the older girl. She smiled belligerently and kept going.

“Constrict her carotid artery and she’ll be out in less than 10 seconds, but get the windpipe and she’ll suffer a lot longer. You can make her experience the fear of drowning. Do it just right and her stomach will go nuts too.”

“No. You’d enjoy it too much and end up crushing her neckbone.”

“I mean, yeah, but you’re pissed too, aren’t you?”

“Kaede does not want revenge.”

“Again with the Chief.”

“You say that, but you will obey her here, won’t you?”

Hanano’s gaze bounced back and forth like a tennis umpire. Probably because her life was on the line here. She looked truly pitiful.

Then again, this conversation was primarily being used to lay the pressure on her.

This Item had its own support organization, but those convenient workers had been called away for an emergency task. That meant they could not be relied on to dispose of a body, so killing was best avoided.

Kaede had gone out of her way to supply this secret hideout. Think of it like an article of clothing their sweetheart bought them. These girls wanted to avoid stinking up the place with a corpse.

“When do you think those underlings will be back?” asked Waniguchi.

“Who knows.”

“God, a hostage that doesn’t make us a single yen is such a waste of space. How long are we going to keep feeding her? I guess this demonstrates how necessary the support organization is.”

“Are they all that necessary, though?” Inoue rejected that conclusion while whispering down toward the floor. “You say we can’t kill her because you don’t want the stench and rotten corpse juices all over our hideout, right? I can’t stop the actual progression of decomposition, but none of the particles that cause the smell can escape if I strip her corpse naked and coat her in a thick layer of varnish or paint. It’s like packing food in rubber or plastic. We can leave the solidified paint doll in a corner of the room and wait until either the support organization returns or we have the money to pay an expert in cleaning up decomposing corpses.”

A few concerned noises escaped Hanano’s mouth. She had thought the humiliation would at least end when she died, but apparently not.

But she could not bring herself to speak in full words.

Whatever she said, she feared expressing any kind of clear will would send her in an even more devastating direction.

“Can you do that, art club?” asked Waniguchi.

“With Kaede’s permission.”

“If this girl poses any threat at all to the Chief, we should do it right away.”

“It might sadden Kaede, so we should wait for now.”

That was the line between them.

Inoue and Waniguchi glanced toward the door at the same moment.

Ibotanokikouji was not there. She was meditating like she always did. Which in her case meant holding a selfie photoshoot in front of the large mirror while using herself as a dress up doll. It sounded silly, but she had slipped out of Tokiwadai’s strict student dorm for this. She was very serious about it. If she was ever interrupted, she would get after them quite severely, so they had to be careful.

Finally, Waniguchi cracked her neck.

“Chief doesn’t seem too interested in what we’re up to.”

“I do not want to do anything without her express permission. I do not want her mad at me.”

“Yeah, your crocodile tears never work on her for some reason. Even though they’re so shocking even I’ll stop my fist when I see them.”

“Hee hee. That’s what makes her so interesting. She is the only person in the 3D world I can’t fool.”

Of course, violence was Waniguchi’s job. She would clench her fist and destroy someone’s joints in the same way some people would grab the vacuum after spotting some dust or a stain on the floor.

That said…

(The quality of an artist’s work depends on their motivation and mood. It’s so much easier with us athletic types because we’ll do what you say as long as you punch us and give us an order.)

“Hm,” groaned Waniguchi.

She stared at Hanano.

Smiling to try and smooth over an awkward silence was said to be a reflex for the Japanese. Hanano was no exception. It had nothing to do with whether or not she was happy and, in this case, it may have been more of a defense mechanism to avoid angering her captors.

The Colosseum executioner nodded.

Inoue didn’t even have time to stop her.

The little executioner needlessly slammed her fist into the center of the hostage’s face.

Hanano’s choking and sobbing sounded somehow wet. Her breathing may have been clogged by her own blood.

“Are you trying to anger me?” asked Inoue.

“My bad. That ‘you don’t dare touch me’ look of hers pissed me off☆ Does she think she’s some VIP just cause the Chief likes her?”

“Did it have to be her nose? The blood splattered on the wall and the floor. This is going to be a pain to clean up.”

“That’s your main issue? I get the feeling you’re even more pissed off than I am. Cause she’s stealing time you could’ve spent with the Chief.”

Waniguchi casually apologized while leaving the room being used as a cell.

Inoue put her hands on her hips.

“You just returned from the convenience store, right? Did you do a check around the entrance?”

“Just because there are only so many ways in doesn’t mean they’re going to go for the front door. Not even I want to be anywhere near all those traps.”

“Kaede put together those traps, but I worked hard to hide them. Hee hee. Which means it was a joint effort, doesn’t it? In an old war, they apparently painted explosives to look just like coal or rubble and placed them around enemy territory to incite a panic.”

“Damn perfectionist.”

“I guarantee you that no one will notice the high-low mix Kaede and I made.”

“So will they go for the rear entrance? Or they might look for another path we didn’t even consider. Or dig their own hole, I suppose.”