LET'S PLAY HURTFUL BOYFRIEND - BBL ROUTE CLASS 4

[playerprophet]

 

Hiyoko's corpse, delivered without warning throughout the school.

The students, gathered without explanation in the gym.
The headmaster, appearing on screen to announce an emergency situation, and then turning up dead.
The grey dome, enclosing the school.

The scarecrow, appearing for no apparent reason in the sealed-off building.

And now-

The students, shot dead if they try to escape.

"What is going on outside...?"

"How humiliating. It would seem that things are worse than we ever expected."

"If only I'd stopped him..."

"There was nothing we could do that we didn't, Kawara. The last thing you need to do now is start mourning what we've lost."

"You don't intend to give up now, do you?"

"...no, I'm fine.
We have to keep going."

"I think we should keep quiet about this to everyone in the gym.
We can explain to them after we've figured out what to do.."

"Yeah, that's probably the best way to do it."

 

Our one chance at escape turns out to be a one-way ticket across the Styx.

There's nothing we can do but search for clues inside the school...

"Where shall we go next?"

"Let's go back to the maintenance office.
Mister One might have that file open."

"Very well." 

_______________________________________________________________

 

We return to the maintenance office and explain what happened outside to Mister One.

"I see... it seems that our worst predictions have come to bear their evil fruit."

"Our worst predictions?
Do you know something?"

"We can predict things without knowing that they will happen.
Confusing predictions with reality can be fatal, young one."

 

I've been wondering for a while...

 

"Umm, Mister One... are you really just a maintenance worker?"

The music stops.

"Hmm. An innocent student was shot. I suppose it's time I introduced myself properly."

With an echoing gunshot sound effect, Mister One reveals...

"I am Leone JB.
One of the great 'Soaring Wings' of the Dove Party. S-class agent. Pleased to meet you."

"Th-the Dove Party...?"

 

He looks like a cockatiel to me.

"I have heard of this Dove Party. The secret organization that advocates living in harmony with humans, correct?"

"You are well-informed, young one."

"Hmph. It is a noble's duty to be well-informed."

"I feel like I must have missed something..."

"There are two schools of thought driving the politics of today.
The Dove Party, who believe we should live peacefully with humans, and the Hawk Party, who believe we should exterminate them."

"Exterminate?! But I thought wars with humans were over!"

"Do you really believe that everyone just decided to live happily together?"

"Sadly, that is not how the world works.
There are still many disagreements between birds and humans, and so the Hawks and the Doves have come to the fore."

"We discovered Hawk activity at this school, and so I was dispatched to investigate.
And, what we feared would happen... has happened."

 

"W-wait a minute, are you saying the Hawk Party has something to do with St. Pigeonation's?!"

"It seems hard to believe... this school is known for its tolerant policies toward humans.
It even welcomed Tosaka as a representative."

"I cannot confirm or deny it...
But there are a growing number of Hawk operatives attached to the school."

"The headmaster's secret file will probably answer some of your questions."

"Oh, you got it open!
Thank you!"

"That should speed things up a little. Let's look inside."

 

The Human Representative.

To help humans and birds advance hand-in-feather towards a bright and happy future, we have decided to enroll one human in the school starting in the year 2187.

They will be the Human Representative.
The pandemic has long since ended, but we must nonetheless be cautious of the risk of infection with Sumatera Influenza when making our selection.

We will pick a strong, healthy fifteen-year-old human who displays hereditary resistance to Sumatera influenza.

"The Human Representative... this is talking about Tosaka, no matter how we look at it."

"2187... that's when we enrolled here."

"Come on, let's read the rest."

 

The chosen individual will be a symbol of human concession, to wit, a hostage for birds.
If the representative is to die in the school, the entire campus will be sealed off, and all the birds inside will be given to the humans as prisoners.

The seal will be lifted twelve hours after the death is confirmed, and the birds will be delivered to the humans.
The school will be declared an extraterritorial zone, and avian protests of any human reprisal will not be tolerated.

"If Hiyoko is to die...?"

 

So her death was connected to the dome, after all.

And-

"The most important part is this final, gruesome exchange."

"Basically, if anything happens to Hiyoko, the representative of humanity, then... the entire school takes the blame."

"So it would seem.
They trap us in here to give the humans time to arm themselves."

"The dome opens in a few hours, but what awaits us outside is a horde of bloodthirsty monkeys... how humorous."

The screen shakes.

"It's not humorous at all!"

"So, this was the true face of her enrollment here... I rather think that this whole thing was arranged to widen the divide between humans and birds from the start."

"Indeed. Things here go deeper than we ever realized."

"As you know, this school's public stance is very liberal on the human cohabitation issue."

"In fact, the school's principal financer, the Ichijou group, has been heavily involved in human charities for the past twenty years."

"I have investigated the history of St. Pigeonation's extensively, and I can confirm that it was founded with the ideal of coexistence with humans."

"But the Hawk Party has been sending agents here for a long time, eating away at the system, like a dreadful virus."

"We have had information about this document for some time.
It is real."

"It's kind of hard to take this all in at once... just to make sure-"

"For twelve hours, the dome will remain closed.
During that time, humans will gather to take revenge.
And then-"

"When the dome opens, they will kill every bird in sight."

"And with that, another era of war between birds and humans will begin."

 

That student that got shot when he flew out of the hatch...
There are already humans waiting out there with guns.

"She was discovered this morning, and the dome was raised soon after.
So the time is not from when she died, but from when her death was confirmed."

"The evacuation was about... two hours ago?"

"Yeah. It was right at the start of second period.
Around 10 o'clock."

"And so we have until 10pm until we're all killed."

 

"...you seem awfully calm, Sakuya. Even after watching somebirdie get shot."

"Remain calm, Kawara.
Do nothing but worry about what's gone wrong and you'll be next."

"I do not know who did this, but they will rue the day they decided to tangle with a Le Bel...!"

"What time is it, Mister Leone?"

"Just past two."

"We have only eight hours, then."

"Eight hours..."

 

We have to find an escape route within eight hours, or we'll be killed.
But if we go outside, we'll be killed, anyway.

"Just getting outside isn't enough... there has to be another way!"

"My dictionary does not contain the word 'impossible'. We shall continue the investigation!"

Aww it's that Napoleon quote he left on his Tanabata wish. Good writing A++

"You're very decisive, Sakuya.
I'm glad you're here."

"Hmph! Do not attempt to flatter me, Kawara."

"I'm not. I mean it."

(I ship it.)
The screen fades.

 

We've found the connection between Hiyoko's death and the dome.
There is clearly some sort of intrigue behind it all.

I don't want to die without knowing the truth.

 

_______________________________________________________________

"We'd better go now. We have to solve this before we run out of time."

"You are a promising lad.
If I were to give you a piece of advice, well... don't miss the forest for the trees."

"Don't miss the forest for the trees...?"

"!"

"Sakuya, there's one more file!"

"Umm..."

"Operation Hatoful...?"

"What is that?"

"I don't know. That's what it says on here..."

"The bottom half is torn off... we can't read it, at any rate."

"I don't feel like it has anything hopeful, anyway...
That's an awfully friendly name for a confidential document, though."

"Stupid Japanese... look, it's spelled 'hurtful'."

"W-woah, it is!"

 

I thought 'hatoful' just meant 'heartful'!

"I suspect that we will find many of the things to come quite hurtful."

"R...right..."

"It was probably something important, given that it was in the locked file."

"Indeed.
I hadn't heard of this hurtful thing before, but... you might want to look into the school's history."

 

"The school's history?"

"At any rate, the headmaster must have known what would happen after Tosaka died."

"The escape hatch was no doubt put in place to allow him alone to escape."

"Which means that maybe he had a guarantee of safety for himself...?"

 

I don't want to suspect an elder, but... it does look that way.

Ryouta, you're such a good boy.

"Everything going on here is connected.
We may well find something of use in the records."

"Right. Let's go look at the school documents, then."

"I'm not the only Dove agent in this school.
I'm sure the other will help you as well.
Good luck, gentlemen.

 

Time to go look for more clues.

...maybe we should write in the notes, first.

We save our game before embarking.

 

_______________________________________________________________

"Mister Leone said to investigate the school's history, but... how? Where do we look?"

"The headmaster's office, or the library, perhaps."

"We already looked through the headmaster's office... did you see anything like school records?"

"I would have thought they would be there, but I don't recall seeing any..."

"The library it is, then."

"And the mystery we have left to solve, is..."

"The blood-stained stranger Oko saw going into the infirmary yesterday."

 

Exactly.
What with the headmaster dying, an army of gun-toting bipeds showing up to turn us all into jerk chicken, I almost forgot about it.

"And the scarecrow. We still don't know where he came from..."

"He appeared along with the dome, and no doubt is connected to it.
If we continue to investigate, I am sure his origins will become clear."

"...and Tosaka's gruesome end is the best clue we have.
For now, we should forget the puppet, and chase after the blood-stained bird."

"Right."

 

That's that decided, then.
We'll go to the library to read up on the school's history, and... we'll look for that bird.
It probably doesn't matter, but which should we do first?

The music stops for us to make our decision. I don't know about you guys but I'm still curious about the school. I'm not quite ready to switch gears yet!

"The library... I wonder if Nageki's in the gym yet."

"Nageki?
Who?"

"I met him in the library earlier."

"He stayed behind?
An unusually dense individual, to be sure."

 

The library's a little ways away from here.

We spend some time jogging through the hallways.

 

_______________________________________________________________

"I've been trying to ignore it, but the dim light makes the library even creepier than the rest of the school."

"Getting hung up on little things at a time like this is a sign of weak nerves."

"Really...?"

"Well, then. Where are the school documents?"

"Hmm... probably not where just anybirdie can look at them."

"They are probably somewhere in the back, then. How dull.
Come, let us search."

"Right."

 

Books, books, and none of them what we're looking for.
I was hoping it would be in this corner, but apparently not...

And here, a line of incredibly dusty encyclo-

?

That's odd, there are nine of them.

"Volume six is missing... huh, that's weird.
Did somebirdie misfile them?"

"...anyway, St. Pigeonation's history. It's not back here with the largest volumes, so maybe it's a smaller book...?"

The music stops.

"It's not here."

"!"

"You never left?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Well, not really, but... I told you earlier, there's an emergency going on!"

"Hmm..."

 

"Hmm"?
I can't tell if he doesn't realize what's going on, or just doesn't care.

"The records."

"Huh?"

"Keep looking there and you'll never find them."

"So... you know where they are?"

"Yup."

 

Well, since he's here even now, I imagine he basically lives in here... so it's hardly surprising that he knows where to find things.

"I don't have much time. Could you tell me where to find them?"

"By request."

"R-request...?"

"...you don't know what that is?"

 

He gazes at me with eyes like black holes of cosmic disdain.

"You can only get them by request.
They're not kept out here."

"Then... where are they kept?"

"Behind the reception desk, in the back.
It's not locked, so go ahead."

 

There are a number of bookshelves behind the desk, it's true.

"Thank you, Nageki! Really!"

"Don't worry about it."

The music stops.

"You've been mumbling to yourself ever since we split up.
Please, try to remain in charge of your faculties, Kawara."

"Oh, sorry. I was talking to him."

"Talking? To the bookshelves?
Surely there are better uses for your energy."

"No, Nageki was telling me where to find the-"

"...there's no one else here.
Cease this bizarre monodrama."

"..."

"...u-ummm..."

 

What is he talking about?
Nageki is standing right next to me.
It's not like he's behind a shelf, or something...

I was worried he was a figment of my imagination for a minute, but he just told me where to find the records.
But Sakuya...

Let's find out.

"Can I ask you something, Nageki?"

"Yes?"

"Are you... a hallucination?"

"..."

"If I was, that would mean you're asking a hallucination whether or not he's a hallucination."

"Y-yeah... that's right."

 

It does seem a little weird.

"Does it matter?
Maybe I am, or maybe I'm not."

 

That doesn't answer anything!

"...this doesn't usually happen.
I've never been able to talk to a bird I've just met, before..."

"I think I will remember everything, soon."

"What about you? Have you found the thing you forgot, yet?"

"!"

"N-Nageki, do you know something about that?!"

 

Huh...?

"He disappeared..."

 

The thing I forgot...
That's exactly what the Doctor said, too.
Why did Nageki know about that? It wasn't just a coincidence, was it...?

Am I forgetting something important about all this?
I don't think I can dismiss him as just a hallucination.

 

"Request-only books... this shelf?"

"Looks like it. I see a lot of the same books as were in the headmaster's office..."

"Chronology of St. Pigeonation's... this?"

 

Let's see...

 

2180 Founding of the school.
Same year: Ichijou Kitsugu inaugurated as headmaster.

"2180? Much more recent than I had thought."

"Only eight years... I hadn't known, either."

"Aside from that, it's all transfer student records and sports scores. Is there really a clue in here?"

"Wait, Sakuya! Look at this!"

 

2183 Medical centre shut down due to fire.

"Medical centre?
Does this school have something like that?"

"I... don't think so."

"There was no mention of it in the student guide.
I suppose it was never reopened... does it say anything else?"

"Umm... right here..."

"Damage from the fire-"

"...!"

The music stops.

 

The book presents us with a new mystery, as if to taunt our inability to hold all those we already have.

A new sort of mystery.

 

2183 Medical Centre shut down due to fire.

Freshman Fujishiro Nageki died in the basement, where the fire started.

"...didn't I just hear that name?"

"The exact same... but that's..."

 

Nageki... died five years ago...?

Then what is the Nageki I keep meeting today?

He didn't deny that he was a hallucination.
Sakuya couldn't see him.
Which means he's-

"A ghost..."

"D-don't say such dreadful things! It's unscientific!"

"Tu dis des balivernes! We're betting our lives on this search, you know.
I won't have any occult rubbish brought into it."

"But I think he knew something!
If he is the same bird, then he could be the key to solving this mystery."

"So you intend to rely on some invisible ghost? There are limits, Kawara!"

We fade to black.

 

I spent some time looking for him in the library, but couldn't find him.

He's always found me, rather than the other way around.
I'll just have to wait for him to show up again...

 

_______________________________________________________________

 

"The blood-stained bird... Hmm."

 

"Do you have an idea?"

"I... feel like I should..."

It's not something I'd encounter normally, but for some reason...
Don't I know somebirdie like that?

"Vague, as always. We do have a time limit, here.
We must not fall behind!"

"I know, I know. If I remember what it is I'll say it right away."

"Maybe Yuuya was still in there?
Let's go ask him again."

"...he did say he was in there until he returned home.
If anyone went in, he should have seen them. However-"

"He said he saw nothing out of the ordinary.
If what he said is true, then he was lying."

"Which would mean that the Doctor was lying, too."

"..."

"...hmph. Very well."

 

_______________________________________________________________

"Yuuya!"

"Salut! How goes the investigation?"

"Well. Just who do you think I am?!"

"Yeah, yeah. Unlike me, you're a very capable bird."

"Yuuya, we wanted to ask you something."

"Oh?
I'll answer anything that doesn't violate my privacy, so ask away."

"Did you really not see anything yesterday after school?"

"...I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"I thought the Doctor and I already verified each other's innocence?
We were in the infirmary the entire time."

"We talked to San earlier.
He said that he saw a blood-stained stranger going to the infirmary yesterday."

"Did you see anything like that?"

"Um... nope, sorry."

"Could you be the blood-stained bird yourself?"

"Yikes! No, as you can see, I'm not hurt anywhere at all."

"Besides, he said he saw this bird going to the infirmary, not going into the infirmary, right?"

"...yeah, he did."

"Anyway, I didn't see anything.
There's not much more I can say.
Right, Doctor?"

"...yes, that's right.
No one came yesterday."

"I don't think we'll find anything more here, Sakuya.
Let's move on."

"...indeed."

The music stops.

 

Did those two really not see anything yesterday?
If there actually had been some blood-stained stranger, then...

That would mean that... Yuuya and the Doctor are hiding something.

_______________________________________________________________

 

"Where do we... hmm, the medical centre seems like a good place to go now."

 

"Indeed. Where is it?"

"That's the problem... I'd never heard of it before, either."

"It sounds rather large. I wouldn't expect it to be that hard to find."

"The record book said the fire broke out in the basement... and if the building was burned to the ground, it would have said so."

"It should still be here, then."

"Assuming it wasn't demolished.
Are there any unused buildings on the campus?"

"Unused buildings...? Hmm.."

"Oh yeah, that old hall!"

"Old hall?!"

"That's what we call it. It's by the back gate, and it's not used for... what's wrong?"

"The school hasn't even been around for ten years! What reason does it have for having an old hall?!"

"!"

"Now that you mention it, that is kind of strange."

"Come on, guide me there!"

"This is it."

"It doesn't really look like a medical centre..."

"It's pretty much the same as the main building, yeah.
Looks like the door's locked."

"Then we shall break it down."

"You're starting to sound like a delinquent, Sakuya."

"What? What did I say?"

"Don't worry about it."

We'll probably be suspended for breaking in here, but... this is an emergency.
We don't have a choice.

There's the sound of shattering glass.

 

"-cough- -cough-
It's awfully dusty in here..."

"It has been left unused for five years.
Hmm... it appears that they didn't leave much behind."

"Everything's empty... I wonder if they cleared everything out when they sealed off the building?"

"...this all looks pretty much the same as the main building."

"Bah! Did we come here for nothing?!"

"Let's look around a little more."

"...look, this door still has a sign on it. I guess this was the reference room."

"I do not relish the prospect of wandering about this mausoleum of schoolrooms, but very well."

"It's even dustier in here..."

"The shelves are marked with dates... perhaps they once held medical records.
There's nothing left now, though."

"And... Operation Hatoful?"

"Huh?!"

Among the rows of dates, sure enough, there's a shelf labeled Operation Hatoful.

"Empty, as well.
It would have been asking too much to hope to find anything, anyway."

"Operation Hatoful... I wonder what it is?"

"Who knows?
Something put in place along with the human representative business, so no doubt it was nothing good."

Is Operation Hatoful connected to this medical centre? What if it's the source of the mystery we're tangled in now?

...my head hurts.

"The only things left are... hmph, archaic medical journals."

...huh?

"It's the encyclopaedia..."

"An odd place to keep one."

"Wait, look at the volume numbers!"

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12.

"What? Does this unpleasant arrangement hold some meaning?"

"I saw them like this in the library, too.

"A bunch of old encyclopaedias?"

"Yeah.
Can I look at these for a bit?"

"Do as you please."

The ones in the library had the same binding.
And in the place of volume nine, there was an extra copy of volume six...

"Look! This copy of volume six has a library sticker on it."

"Perhaps it came from the library, then?"

"Someone must have brought it here when the medical centre was still open... they probably switched it with volume nine."

"An unpleasant piece of mischief, to be sure."

Sakuya isn't following. Come on, noblebird! Haven't you ever played a survival horror game?!

"Yeah."

The other volumes all seem like they should.

There probably isn't anything in the extra copy of volume nine, but maybe we should go see if it came from here.

"When we get back to the main building, let's go back to check the library."

"Provided it isn't a mere waste of time."

We leave the reference room and continue our investigation of the medical centre.

 

"We've searched the entire first floor and have yet to find what we're after."

"The stairs into the basement?"

Apparently the fire that closed this building five years ago started in the basement.
But we haven't found it yet...

"The elevator doesn't have a button for it, either.
How do we get in...?"

"Perhaps we can't, anymore."

"Huh?"

"Look at that wall."

"The wall?"

 

It looks like a normal concrete wall, to me.

"Don't you see it?
Stupid peasant..."

"What about it?"

"Think back to the buildings' exterior, and the second floor.
There shouldn't be a wall here.
It's small, but there's a space behind there."

"It must have been sealed off after the fire."

Now that he mentions it, this wall is a slightly different colour than the rest.
Which would make sense if it had been put in later.

"So the stairs are beyond here?"

"It seems likely.
Isn't this a bit much for cleanup of some fire?"

"We probably won't be able to break this down..."

"If we can't get in there, I doubt we'll find anything more of use in here."

"At least we found that thing from the headmasters' documents again."

"Yeah, let's head ba-"

There's the distant sound of breaking glass.

"?!
Did you hear something?!"

 

"Yes.
Someone else just broke in here."

This could be bad.
We're in a dead end, with concrete all around...

We need to go somewhere with a window, fast!

"Run!"

"Yes!"

We fade to black and the music stops.

???

"Stop!

"Aaaaagh it's heeeere!"

"W-wait! Calm down, Kawara!
It's small!"

So it is.
Too small to be the scarecrow.

"...huh?
Aren't you from 2-2-"

"I am the Crimson Fallen Angel, Anghel."

I knew it.
The manga club boy from the class next door.

He's famous around the school for being a nutcase, but what is he doing here...?

"...I think I'm going to have a headache."

"Textoris Melodia Funeris!"

"Who, me?"

"Good for you, Kawara.
He came all this way to give you a title."

"It's not good at all!
Nothing but trouble will come of it!"

"I don't know why you came here, Anghel, but it's dangerous.
We're supposed to be in the gym with everybirdie else, so come on, let's go back."

"I am not allowed rest... not until I have fulfilled my duty!"

"In accordance with the Pact of Old, I must seal you here now, Textoris Melodia Funeris, Undertaker!"

"U-undertaker?!
If that's it, then, umm..."

"So the time has come at last...
I will not be stopped now, Crimson Angel of Judecca! Come!"

Here we go again...
 

Anghel uses Dark Void Shockwave!

Ryouta takes 24 Damage!

 

Ryouta unleashes Blue Moon Slash!

Anghel takes 78 damage!

"Cease this jack-acting, you wretched imbeciles!"

Sakuya attacks!

Ryouta takes 260 damage!
Ryouta returns to his senses!

Anghel takes 295 damage!!!
Anghel is shaken!

The music stops.

"H-huh...?"

"I am shocked, Kawara. To think that even you would go along with this farce!"

"What...? He disrupted my territory?!"

I got carried away by Anghel before I even noticed!
Influencing the very reality of his surroundings is a frightful power indeed.

 

"You, Luzon!
What did you come here to do? After what you just did, I think you may be our prime suspect!"

"I came here... to do but one thing!"

 

"I must follow the Demon Spores!"

"A whole new variety of what the heck are you talking about!"

"Perhaps you could explain in normal Japanese.
Your dialect is somewhat opaque."

"I don't think it's just his dialect, Sakuya..."

"The End is calling me.
...that is all. That is the Cross I must bear."

He stares off into space, as if gazing at something far away.

"Maybe that basically means he's a thrill-seeker?"

"So you are a moth, allured by a candle's light, Luzon?"

"No! I am Stained in Crimson, Clad in Night, Unforgiven.
My Eternal Blood Seal calls me to Purgatory!"

Aah, more crazy talk... it's not exactly a 'blood seal', that blood-stained chest is just the way Bleeding-Hearts' plumage looks!

"...oh."

"What is it, Kawara?"

"Blood-stained chest..."

"Uhh, Sakuya, do you think maybe the blood-stained stranger San saw was...?"

"...!"

"Anghel, where were you yesterday after school? What were you doing?"

"Battling Minor Demons of Baal, and following the Demon Spores."

"Could you rephrase that...?"

"Rufa, the Tree of Blight, called out to me!"

"He's asking you to say it using words we'd understand."

"Hallowed Magician of White, your anger now... it is the power of the Demon Spores!"

"I think it's the power of you, Anghel..."

"Bah...! I must compromise.
I was in the place that the ignorant many refer to as the infirmary!"

I knew it!

"I think we need to talk to you. Come!"

And so we left the medical centre, Sakuya dragging Anghel behind him.

_______________________________________________________________

 

 

"Coo, coo!"
(This one! This is the blood-stained stranger Okosan saw!)

"That's that, then."

"We need to know what you did yesterday.
Did you go into the infirmary?"

"If I could... I would have.
But only the Chosen One can stop the Demon Spores."

"In other words, he didn't."

"Useless!"

"The gate was sealed with the Power of Darkness!
However, Edel Blau did venture within."

"Edel Blau? Who is that?
Explain in terms known to sane individuals, please."

"The Apostle of the Blue Sky, Edel Blau. She also goes by Tosaka Hiyoko."

The music stops.

"Hiyoko went into...?!"

"What...?"

Hiyoko was in the infirmary yesterday, after school.

But the Doctor and Yuuya said that no one came, and nothing happened.
They're lying!

________________________________________________________________

Return to Gateway - To BBL Class 5

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