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theairlock2017-02-13 10:34 am
airlockedmods) wrote in theairlock2017-02-13 10:34 am
week 1
[After the initial introduction of the Overseers on Sunday, the Champions were left to their own devices in investigating the part of the ship they have access to to their hearts' content. However, the doors that Jamie and Bolton came through are locked tight and cannot be unlocked via PIP.
On Monday morning, the same voice that awakened them the previous morning chirps at them again from their PIPs at 7 am on the dot. There's also a pop-up message waiting for them: a notice announcing "office hours" for Bolton in the library and Jamie in the art room every day from here on out.
Enjoy your week, Champions.]
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[ How did she not think of that?! ]
I was the one who asked you to tell me, though. I...have a commitment to the truth.
[ That's what Oreki-san would say. She knows it. She takes a bit of a breath, and looks right at Jane when she continues. ]
After he vanished, I became a bit fixated on remembering what he told me, and why it had made me cry. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get a firm grasp on any leads. I had no one to ask, and nothing to go off of, and not even the slightest clue where to begin, except, of course, the Classics Club itself. So, when I started high school, with the time before he was declared legally dead running short, I joined the club, and became the president. I needed to know what was so important here that it affected my uncle in such a way. And, well, that's where I met Oreki-san.
[ A blush hits her cheeks when she says his name, but, it's not enough of a stumbling block that it screeches her story to a halt. ]
It took me a month to work up the courage to ask for his help. But I had seen him, in that month, solve some mysteries that had stumped me so thoroughly, create these theories that were so spot-on...to listen to him work out a problem is amazing, Crocker-san. It's not like anything I've ever seen before. He had claimed he was just lucky, but...he needs to give himself far more credit than he does. He's incredible. B-but, anyway, I told him everything I just told you, and he agreed to help me. And the place we decided to start was with Hyouka. That was the name of the anthology that the club published every year, and we decided to look for the one from the year my uncle was in the club, the one that Sekitani Jun wrote.
And, curiously enough, when we found the anthologies, that one was nowhere to be found.
[ The plot thickens... ]
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So - was there nothing published that year? Or was it taken, or destroyed...? What happened next?
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As it turns out, that particular anthology, the one from my uncle's class, was actually the first one to ever be called Hyouka. After that, it seems as though it started a trend, and every subsequent issue was to be named that, but, the fact of the matter stood that the first Hyouka, which my uncle had a hand in writing, was nowhere to be found. I was about ready to give up hope, at that point, but Oreki-san had suggested getting the other two members of the Classics Club involved, my friends Mayaka-chan and Fukube-san. I was a little...well, not apprehensive, but, it was more like I didn't want to trouble them at the time, but, in actuality, they were very understanding, and we had all gotten together to discuss our theories of what had happened to him, based on our research of the school, and that time period...
As I expected, though, Oreki-san's theory had completely trumped all of ours. It was brilliant. He even managed to track down the person who wrote the second Hyouka, which was published the next year, to corroborate his theory, but, that wasn't necessary in the slightest. He had the whole case open and shut before we knew it.
[ And now, she's about to pass it on. The story of her uncle, the reluctant martyr, is one she'll never forget again. She'll carry it with her forever, and drag it out into the light for the world to see, to make sure he knows, somehow, someway, that his sacrifice wasn't in vain. Her way of saying goodbye, of giving him his last rites, is to share the story in his stead, now that she's strong enough to do so.
Starting with Jane. ]
The first Hyouka, my uncle's work, had been removed from circulation because he was expelled from Kamiyama High. Back when he had attended the school, there had been talks amongst the school board, a plan to shorten the school festival from five days down to two. ...As you can imagine, the students at the time didn't take kindly to this idea. The festival was an important part of their school year, and they felt as though they were being cheated out of something that was rightfully theirs. And so, they began to protest. They refused to attend classes, would stand outside the building, day in and day out...but, it never gained the traction it needed until it eventually got out of hand.
[ Her whole body tenses up, but, she continues, not much caring if she tumbles over her words. ]
During one of the protests, the Martial Arts Center caught fire. The building burned to the ground, and that was the last straw for the faculty. The students would have their festival, it was decided, but, someone would have to take responsibility for the blaze. They waited four months, long after the festival had ended, before they decided to apprehend the person responsible.
According to the preface of the second Hyouka, Sekitani Jun was a hero, who had gotten them back their beloved festival. But that...to call him a hero isn't the right word. It's more like he was a...
[ She gulps, and then nods, as if to reassure herself. ]
If you were to ask him, he would call himself a sacrifice.
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Ah, but that's her own musing. As Chitanda continues, a quiet, mounting worry prickles at the back of her neck, and - she has to catch herself from interrupting the other girl when she reaches the part about the fire, noticing how she'd tensed. Jane's own brow furrows, until Chitanda mentions the apprehending - and then her eyes go wide.
No - no, but - that would imply - but what proof was there, to base such an accusation on someone, to completely remove them from a school's history? She's put it together just before Chitanda lays it out, but she lets the other girl drive in that final word before speaking up.]
That's...but why? What proof did the school have of his guilt? He couldn't have...he didn't take the blame on himself, did he?!
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I didn't want to believe it, myself, of course, that such a cruel thing could happen...until Oreki-san made me remember what his message was. I had forgotten it before, but now, I never will: I had asked my uncle what Hyouka had meant, and that was when he told me the story. And he said to me, "Chitanda, you have to become stronger. If you're too weak, there may be a time where you aren't even able to scream." And that's what made me cry. I had this idea in my head, of a brutal killing, one where the victim was both alive and dead all at once, where he cried in anguish, but no one cared or even heard...and I simply couldn't handle it. I was too young, I couldn't understand, but...
I get it, now. I should have explained it earlier, but, Hyouka is a Japanese word; it means "frozen dessert," but, in English, you'd call it "ice cream". But Sekitani Jun wasn't trying to write about ice cream. Instead, Hyouka meant I scream. The scream that no one wanted to listen to, the scream that he wanted other people to hear.
Well, I heard it, Crocker-san. And I want other people to hear it, too. ...And I'll make sure that what happened to my uncle doesn't happen to anyone else. Not if I can help it.
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...That shouldn't have happened to him. I...I'm so sorry, I...[She looks up sharply.] I'm glad - I'm glad you've let me hear his scream, Chitanda, even if it's got to be difficult to share. Thank you.
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[ So it had ultimately been a sacrifice without much gain. But, in the moment, people do insane things... ]
He wanted other people to hear it, I'm certain. He wouldn't have called his anthology Hyouka if he didn't. But, thankfully, we've published the story in our anthology, the 45th Hyouka...so, his story is going to be heard. I think that will make him happy; it's not quite the same as actually saying goodbye to him, but, it's better than letting his legacy fade away.
[ She bows, though, grateful that she had lended her an ear like this; it had been a long story, one that filled her with a bit of a mish-mash of emotion, but, it's one that should be told. And one with a message that she can take away and carry with her. ]
The image on the cover of Hyouka, though; it's a rabbit, being attacked by a wolf, while the other rabbits all stand by in a circle. Kuchiki-san may like the style of it...but the rabbit in the center, it's fighting back, attacking the wolf in return with everything it has. And I...I think we have to be like that rabbit, right now.
you're evil but at least Jane heard the story
[How terrible. To ruin someone's life to save one's own skin, only to have all those feelings and all that work mean nothing? How terrible.
But...that's so very important, that you've done that back home. People...shouldn't forget their past, I think. Especially when it can be learned from. [She reaches out, offering a hand to Chitanda to hold, if she needs it.] I think I would like us to be like that rabbit, too.