Chapter 14: The Loser
I was pretending to think hard about it, but the truth is I did have a pretty good guess about what that reason was. Still just a guess though.
Big.
Little Big.
My little Big.
The tiny girl walking ahead of me, not saying a word.
I call out to her nonchalantly.
"So Big…when we get back from this trip, it'll be time for you to graduate, huh."
"Why are you bringing that up all of the sudden?" she shoots back.
"No reason," I say. "It just popped into my head."
"The graduation ceremony. It makes me depressed just thinking about it. You sure know how to put someone in a crappy mood, don't you."
"Don't you want to graduate?" I ask her.
"Nope."
She says it completely offhandedly, as if it hardly matters at all.
"I'm terrified of going to college. Once I leave there, I'll have to enter the hell of everyday adult life. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it so much I can't stand it! I'm so depressed, pessimistic, and scared that I feel like I'm drowning in darkness. My mind feels like it's going to be blown apart with the pain, the uncertainty, and the pointlessness of it all. I'm scared of college, I'm scared of the real world, and I'm scared of anything and anyone that might be waiting for me in my future life."
"But Big," I reassure her, "you don't have to work if you don't want to."
I know this, because she's the "Little Princess," and her family is loaded. She could easily live off their money for the rest of her life.
In fact, she never really had to go to high school…much less college.
"You know something? I hate it when things are just handed to me. And these days, women have to work too in order to support a family. We sure as hell won't be able to make it on your salary."
She's talking like we're already engaged.
She lets out a little sigh and goes on.
"You want to know the truth? I wish I could stay in high school with you forever and just get carried away in romantic adventures."
That's it, then. I knew it.
AKIBA. Where some go in and never come out.
And here's my Big, talking as if she doesn't want to get out at all.
Saying she wants to keep everything just the way it is.
That's it then. I know why we're here now.
This has to be the reason we were led into AKIBA in the first place.
But I say nothing. I keep my thoughts to myself.
Even if it is though, I can't blame her for it. All of us get afraid of the future at some point in our lives.
And, if her desire to stay with me is what got us into this mess, I don't regret it at all.
There is still no question that I'll follow her no matter what. That's just my fate.
Of course, just knowing what caused our situation doesn't help us win this game Katie forced us into. The quest to find the thing we're looking for.
Both little Big and I have been charged with solving this riddle. The biggest challenge is figuring out what we're looking for in the first place…not to mention actually finding those things.
We've been roaming around AKIBA for a good while now, but we still have no idea what they even are.
We're totally clueless.
"Hey Big," I call out. "We've been wandering around for half an hour now. What do you think we should do? Are you getting any ideas?"
"Nope. Nothing."
She replies so offhandedly that I wonder if she's even making an effort to think about it seriously. This is why I'm getting so worried.
"What if we just bring her some random thing?" I suggest.
"Humph," Big replies, "I guess we forgot to ask if we were allowed to use the trial-and-error method."
"Trial and error method?"
"I mean just keep trying things until we find the right answer," she explains. "Or is this game a one-shot deal?"
"Ah…that's definitely one worth asking about. I bet she'll answer it too, since it's a question about the rules. I'll call Katie then, OK?"
"Whatever, go ahead."
Clearly, Big doesn't want to have anything to do with the cat-eared girl.
Although, she's always been shy around people she doesn't know well. Maybe it's only natural.
Or she may just be jealous of Katie's enormous chest and avoids her because of that.
"Miss Kaa-tiee," I call out.
She doesn't show up. I guess I just yelled out for nothing.
That's strange…it's not working…
"Katie-chaaan," I try again.
"Yes, Masterrr!"
Katie shows up with radiant smile, flashing us the peace sign at her cheek.
Come to think of it, she's kind of a pain in the ass.
"Yeah," I begin, "I have a question. Is it OK to ask you something?"
"I will answer mew if it is something I can answer," she replies.
Katie sticks out her tongue and gives us a wink.
"Can we keep showing you things we find until we get the right answer?" I ask.
"Ah, Master, mew cannot! You can only show me once…no more and no less. Purr-ease be very careful about what you select, so that mew won't regret it later…"
All of a sudden, a deep voice comes out of nowhere.
"Heeeey! Katie-chaaan!!"
When I turn around to see where it's coming from, I see a young man galloping toward us.
He's not that tall, and seems kind of lanky.
His hair is cut short and he's wearing silver-framed glasses. There's a scruffy five-o'clock shadow on his face.
He runs towards Katie, gasping for breath.
"Oh Master, mew are so out of breath," Katie purrs. "Easy now, easy. Take a deep breath. He-he-he. Meow-ha-ha…"
I'm about to make some snide comment about the guy, but then he starts this weird Lamaze breathing thing with Katie. I miss my chance.
"Phew! Thanks, Katie," he says. "So here you go, I found it! The thing I was looking for!"
The man produces a sheet of paper and presents it to Katie as if he's made the find of a lifetime.
He must have been one of the customers in the cafe when we were there. Katie has wrapped him up in her game too.
"So? What do you think?" he asks. "I've been looking for this forever! It's a real treasure! Ta-da!! The complete collection of every Chiyoko-tan candy wrapper design ever made…still sealed in the original packaging! Isn't it great?!"
Chiyoko-tan Chocolate is a candy company that was founded around the turn of the century…but that's hardly the point.
Katie stares intently at the sheet.
Her expression is so grave and unreadable that it's hard to believe she wore a dazzling smile just a few seconds ago.
"Meow-ha-ha-ha," she chuckles.
Her face slowly breaks into a smile again.
But this time, its clearly different.
Her eyes are dead serious.
It's an eerie smile.
A bone-chilling, stone-cold smile.
"So sorry, Master," she purrs ominously, "It's the wrong thing."
"What?! The wrong answer?!" he shouts. "No, it can't be! Why, Katie?" he stammers. "Wha…why?"
"What's wrong is wrong, Master. And wrong answers must purr-ay a penalty!!"
Katie raises her right palm and loads it up to hit the man.
"Master must be slapped for his punishment neow!"
...SMACK!!
The man's head flies off, cleanly severed at the neck.