The Devil Inside My Heart
"Hey, you."
"What is it?"
When I first saw him, I thought he was some kind of Yankee.
"You are smart, right?"
But he was actually just an idiot.
"Huh? Linear equations are something you learn in middle school."
"Well, I don’t like studying. I don’t remember anything about that something equation."
"Okay. But surely the math is difficult. You have to memorize a lot of stuff. Are you more of a liberal arts person?"
"I’m not liberal arts or science person. I told you. I don’t like studying. My name is Shōta Sano. Nice to meet you."
Shōta gave me a big smile.
That was the first encounter between me and Shōta.
"Shōta…"
What I see in front of me now is a bloody Shōta with a kitchen knife stuck in his neck.
"Hey, Shōta!"
I shook Shōta's shoulder, but he showed no reaction whatsoever.
"Heh...I meant to take down the other team, but I hit an ally. But, well, this gives you a better chance to survive. You should be thanks… to me…."
Okisada gave a drunken, scornful like smile and got down on the floor.
I ignored Okisada and picked up Shōta, who was lying on his face. When I looked into his face.
"Why are you laughing? Are you so happy that you were able to protect me? Are you feeling proud of that? Both you and Keisuke act too cool. You fool."
"When this experiment is over and we're alive, lets bury him somewhere…"
Before I knew it, Kazuhiro was quietly standing next to me, looking down at Shōta's corpse.
His expression looked the same as usual, but for some reason his clenched fist was trembling slightly.
"Shōta, I'm going to survive. So watch me."
I laid Shota on his back on the floor as if handling a fragile pottery, then left the staff room.
"Hey, we will go now."
Kazuhiro having said that, took Hiroto, Kurumi, and his clone and went away.
"Why. Why this happened…"
I knelt down on the spot.
"How powerless I am. I cannot even save my friend."
I threw myself into yet another lament.
"I’m sorry Risa, Keisuke, Kazuhiro, Minami, Shōta. I’m…"
"Aaaaah!"
That scream brought me back to reality.
"That voice…"
It’s Minami!
"Up stairs!"
I ran.
Not quite Melos, but I ran as fast as I could.
As Okisada said, I'm done pretending to be a saint. For the comrades who died, I've resolved to survive—no matter who else I have to sacrifice. If it means saving my comrades, I'll gladly stain these hands with blood. This isn't punishment for my own inadequacy. It's the least I can do to atone for Keisuke and Shōta.
"It’s the rooftop!"
I push open the heavy rooftop door. The glaring sunlight takes away my vision for a moment.
"Shūhei!"
Gradually, the view became clearer.
"Help!"
I looked over and saw Minami and Ms. Shinjō at the edge of the rooftop.
In front of them, two, no, three clones were about to attack the two. Each of them had a stone, a shard of glass, and a cutter knife in their hands.
"Minami…Ms. Shinjō!"
The clone with the stone was about to close in on them before my halted foot could move forward.
"Nooo!"
I jumped in and reached out with all my might.
Just before the floor loomed in front of me, the palms of my hands pushed on the clone's back.
"Aaaaaah!"
A clone, Minami, and Ms. Shinjō disappeared from the roof of the school…
"Become a demon, Shūhei."
Kazuhiro's voice roared in my mind.
