“…”
Kaguya, of course, continued to sleep. Haru felt indescribably sad.
She was sitting in the hospital room, staring at a single photograph. She had gotten her hands on it after Mari had told her about it.
This photograph was exactly what she had been seeking for so long. However, she had too many questions now to feel happy that she had found it.
The date displayed in the photograph was April 6, 2030. Thirty years ago—it was a marvel that a paper photograph from that time still remained. But the real issue was with what the photograph displayed.
“A hero…”
A hero, one of those creatures that Haru knew so well, standing majestically in the middle of an urban neighborhood, just existing. As if it belonged there. There was no sign in the photograph of the hostility and destructive behavior she was used to seeing in heroes.
She flipped the photograph over. The words Technical Research Lab No. 1 were written on the back. Meaning this photograph had likely been in Technical No. 1’s possession.
Then what was it doing in the archives at Headquarters of all places? Since Mari had found it, it must have been somewhere fairly easy to discover. That was just one of the questions Haru now harbored.
“Hmm… It seems like answers only bring more questions…”
The whole reason that Haru had gone rogue, operating separately from the other members of Charon, was to uncover the truth. Both because she was originally from Inspection and because she felt like she was in Charon’s debt. She had originally come to Charon to betray Kaguya, after all.
“Based on this thirty-year-old photograph, however, something clearly must have occurred to change things over the following twenty-five years.”
There were no documents or records from that period, unfortunately.
Haru decided to start by investigating the katana that had been left behind at the scene of the Director’s murder instead. With a little bit of scavenging, it hadn’t taken her long to uncover more details about the sword.
She had also learned a certain piece of information about the Chronoses. Something she wanted to let everyone know.
Just then, the sliding door rattled opened. Haru, whose back had been facing the door, turned around in surprise.
“Umm…?”
“You’re…Warrant Officer Mari Ezakura, correct?”
The girl’s golden eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected anyone to be there. This was Haru’s first time finding herself alone, one-on-one, with Warrant Officer Ezakura. Haru could not help but feel awkward. Warrant Officer Ezakura was hardly someone she would have gone out of her way to spend time with.
“U-umm… What are you doing here…? Isn’t Charon on a mission…?”
“Yes… I had something else to deal with. Did you come to visit Kaguya?”
Mari didn’t answer. Like a wary cat, she kept her distant eyes fixed on Haru.
“What are you so afraid of? It’s not like I’m going to bite.”
“Who said I was afraid…? I’m not. And I don’t have anything against you personally.”
Mari slowly settled into the other chair in the room. She had a clear view of Kaguya from her new position.
“So why are you keeping at arm’s length like that?” Haru asked.
Mari, who barely took up a corner of her chair, answered curtly in a voice that could barely be heard.
“Because I hate you…”
Haru Takanashi. The young woman who had only just recently joined Charon. Mari knew she was being harsh, but she didn’t apologize.
Naturally, Mari had barely ever interacted with her before. Never, really, unless you counted simply being in the same room together.
Haru seemed more than a little offended by Mari’s words.
“You hate me? I don’t see what I’ve done to deserve being spoken to like that, considering as I’ve barely said two words to you before.”
“Not you, specifically… Charon.”
Mari’s voice came out surprisingly barbed. She knew she was just lashing out at this point.
“I’ve been by Kaguya’s side since the beginning. It was Charon. They’re the ones who put her in this state. That’s why…that’s why I hate them all.”
“Oh, is that all?” Haru said, sounding surprisingly indifferent. Or even as if she was laughing at Mari a little. “In other words, you just want someone to blame so that you don’t have to face up to how unfair reality is.”
“…!”
“If you really need someone to blame, it should be the heroes, not us. But I suspect you already know that.”
Mari did. She understood it very well. Which is why she remained silent now. She wasn’t about to apologize, though. She was still simmering quietly when…
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that.”
Haru apologized first, taking Mari by surprise.
“We all understand how you feel. We just haven’t said anything about it… It was obvious you never approved of Lieutenant Shinohara working at Charon.”
“Well…I didn’t exactly hide it.”
In fact, she had consciously chosen not to hide it. She thought that if she made her feelings obvious, there was a slim chance Kaguya might have changed her mind. Although that didn’t pay off in the end.
“So if you hate us, I guess that’s just the way things are. Although you should probably keep that information to yourself.”
Mari wasn’t sure if Haru was being philosophical or just didn’t care. It was hard to get a read on someone like her. But Mari could tell that Haru wasn’t a bad person.
“Umm…,” Mari ventured timidly. “Second Lieutenant Takanashi? What are you actually here for?”
“I learned something about the Chronoses and wanted to let everyone else know.”
“Something about the Chronoses…?”
Mari was also harboring a secret about the Chronoses. She braced herself, worried about what might be coming.
“I uncovered some records at Inspection… Records related to Technical.”
“Records related to Technical…?! What kind of records?”
“I learned some details about how Chronoses are created.”
Haru visibly hesitated for a moment. It didn’t seem like she was hesitating over whether or not to tell Mari what she had learned, so much as she was actually afraid to put the truth into words.
“It’s related to the Director’s death as well.”
“What?” Mari leaned forward impulsively. “Wh-what do you mean, related? What does this have to do with the Director?”
“There was something that was bothering me. That Chronos that was apparently found by the Director’s body? It shouldn’t have existed, but there it was after the Director died, just lying there. I think the Director’s death may have been the trigger for it.”
Mari could only open and shut her mouth reflexively. This was too much to hear.
“And…you’re going to tell them that? You’re going to tell the other members of Charon?”
“Yes… Is there a problem with that?”
“But if you tell them the truth, won’t they stop fighting?”
Haru looked Mari straight in the eyes for the first time since arriving.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, that would mean that someone needs to die in order for a Chronos to be made. If Charon were to hear about that, they might not be able to bring themselves to wield the things anymore.”
Haru stared at Mari silently. The lack of expression on her face made it impossible to tell what she was thinking. Mari felt more and more uncomfortable with each passing second.
“S-so wouldn’t it be better, maybe, not to say anything?”
“Warrant Officer Ezakura,” Haru said, a reprimand in her voice. “Don’t you think that’s being disrespectful to them?”
“Disrespectful…?”
“Charon have kept fighting all this time, regardless of whatever obstacles they had to face. They’re hardly soft enough to throw in the towel over something like this.”
“H-how?” Mari rose to her feet involuntarily. “How can you be so sure?! If…if Captain Azuma decided he couldn’t bring himself to use that sword anymore…”
“If he did decide something like that, then he was obviously never cut out to be the squad’s captain in the first place.”
Cold—Haru seemed as cold as ice to Mari at that moment. But beneath that coldness, Mari also sensed burning passion. Mari wasn’t sure how to respond.
“You’ve got a secret of your own, don’t you?” Haru asked as if she could see straight through Mari. “Something you’re keeping to yourself. Whatever that secret is, I’m guessing that it’s something that would be difficult for Charon to hear.”
Mari was mortified that Haru had caught on to her so easily. But Haru was right. Regardless of the outcome, Mari was fairly sure that her secret would hit Charon like a ton of bricks.
“I don’t know what your secret is. It’s up to you to decide whether or not to share it in the end. However…”
The only other sound in the hospital room was the measured noise of Kaguya’s breathing. Haru’s voice hung deliberately in the air as if she had a point that needed to be made.
“In my opinion, they have a right to know.”
“A…right to know?”
Mari considered this. What Haru was preparing to tell everyone was indeed shocking news, but it was hardly crucial information. Mari doubted that anyone would get hurt if Haru just kept that information to herself.
Mari’s secret, however, was like a lit grenade. Something inside Mari was screaming at her not to let it out.
“B-but—”
“What do you think she would do?” Haru said, directing her eyes toward Kaguya. Mari followed her gaze. “What would Lieutenant Shinohara think about all this? Do you think she would choose to stay quiet out of consideration for Captain Azuma’s feelings?”
Mari’s thoughts ran to Kaguya and to everything she knew about her.
Kaguya would tell them.
The answer came to Mari more quickly than she had expected.
Kaguya would never act so fainthearted. Even if that meant causing Azuma pain. Even if that meant Charon would stop fighting. She would just laugh and say, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
Kaguya was Mari’s mentor, an object of love and respect. And whether Mari liked it or not, Kaguya believed in the other members of Charon. Mari doubted Kaguya could be so wrong about something like that.
“Kaguya would tell them…”
Mari made up her mind. She decided to follow her heart.
“I know she would. She would do it for Charon’s sake… You’re right. She would consider it disrespectful not to tell them the truth, just because it might hurt them.”
“I agree. But what about you?” Haru asked, turning her gaze toward Mari in expectation. Mari answered her gaze head-on.
“I’m going to tell them. I’m going to tell them what I know.”
“Good. Then we can both tell everyone what we know once they get back.”
Although Mari couldn’t see it, she could sense Haru’s bemused smile.
“So do you still hate me now?”
“Absolutely.”
That remained the same, but…
“However…Kaguya trusted you.”
“You really do think the world of Lieutenant Shinohara, don’t you?” Haru said, shrugging her shoulders in an exaggerated fashion like a character from a movie.
Watching her out of the corners of her eyes, Mari steeled her nerves. Charon was ready—ready to hear the awful truth.