“If I am mad, it is mercy! May the gods pity the man who in his callousness can remain sane to the hideous end!”
― H.P. Lovecraft, The Temple
In this update, why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why oh god why.
: I...-- like you, sir.
: Is that so?
He... likes me? Is that good, or bad? My heart's racing, but I can't tell if it's love or fear for my life!
ED: It's love. Definitely love.
I wonder where Yuuya went..?
: RK47!
: Sir!
: You're getting better. Keep it up!
: Yes, sir!
Huh? There's someone at the door.
: Howdy! Pelican express here with a package for a miss RK47! Sign here, please.
: Oh! Thank you!
: Thankee, little girl! Have a good one!
I wonder what it is? I don't think I've ordered anything recently...
It's from doctor Iwamine. Woah, there's even a letter! Hmm,...
ED:
He sent you a Christmas present RK47! He really does like you!
He has really nice handwriting... Let's see, what's in here? There's a big box, and a small one...
Inside the small box is... a quill pen. It's beautiful! Real, pure, white... is he really giving this to me? It looks pricey! The big one is... huh? It looks like... a roast chicken? Or maybe a turkey? I'm not sure what people eat on Christmas. It's still warm! He must have had it delivered in a hurry.
ED: It's a pity we can't share this lovely Christmas dinner with the Doctor...
: Thank you, doctor! Yum!
: ...but it's raining!
Oh, well. I'd go to the shrine, but this weather makes the wilderness dangerous. I think I'll sleep in like a good girl instead. I won't be able to send out cards in this rain, either! Fiddlesticks.
: I hope you all had good vacations? I hibernated.
: What a shocker.
: ...zzz...
: You're still hibernatING! Sir, wake up!
: Oh! Umm, I've said this before, but your junior year will be over before you know it. Let's enjoy this time while it lasts!
There's nothing special this semester... Nothing to worry about!
Oh! Tomorrow's Legumentine's! I think I'll buy some beans. Today, Legumentine's is a holiday where you give beans to the boy you like, but apparently it used to involve throwing them at pigeons. Disgraceful!
: Yes. Is there a kind that you think is particularly good?
: This year's trend is towards these bean medleys for racers, but they are a little pricey. It's hard to say without knowing the bird in question, really.
: Hmm... that's true. And sometimes the cheap ramen tastes better than the expensive stuff.
ED: We pick the expensive racing blend. The doctor is a classy bird, he deserves nothing but the best.
: I'll take these!
: Thank you miss. Here you are.
Today's the day. The preparations are complete! Time to give the beans to that special somebirdie.
Music:
Love Doctor
The doctor seems to be engaged in sweet embrace with a stack of papers at his desk. He didn't even look at me, and from his voice, he wants me to leave.
: Do you know what day it is, doctor?
: ...February third.
He glances at the calendar above his desk, and then returns to his papers.
: The anniversary of the first successful human embryo transfer.
: Really!?
: Of course, test tube babies had been successfully grown before then... So, what did you want? Were you hoping I would transfer you an avian ovum?
ED:
Did he just offer to impregnate RK47-chan with some of his bird seed?
: N-no! I'd have to be a really sad girl to be fantasizing about bird eggs in the school infirmary! It's Legumentine's, sir. You give beans to the boy you like. So, h-here!
ED: Don't lie, RK47. You know you fantasize daily about popping out some partridge eggs and nurturing them until they hatch. (Hey kids! For some extra
despair in humanity fun, google "Egg laying fetish" and click the first result! RK47-chan is not alone in her vile predilections.)
: You're giving these to me?
: Yes!
He finally looks over at me. But his expression is still... no, it's changed to something else.
: These are quite elegantly packaged.
: Yes! I got the most expensive ones for you, sir!
: So these were sold to you as some sort of luxury item. I see. Such a thing would never have occurred to us, if we had lived long ago. To think that we live in a society where price is completely disconnected from amount and nutritional value.
Is this a roundabout way of saying that the beans aren't worth their pricetag...?
: The value comes from the fact that they are expensive alone... Fascinating. I shall experiment on them later.
: No, you're supposed to eat them! The nutritional value and appearance aren't important... the important part is the fact that I gave them to you, today!
: You gave me beans that anyone could get, with the money. ...worthless.
ED: And so the LP stars align, a Word's Worth reference in Hatoful Boyfriend.
: In that case, I'll bring you beans that I grew myself, next year! Just you wait!
This is the last day I have infirmary duty, as well.
The infirmary is quiet and peaceful as always. The orderly rows of medicines, the neatly-made be--
: ...huh?
Something stinks in here. It's coming from the bed behind the curtains... I'm scared.
ED: I am too RK-chan. Just leave. Now.
: !
Music:
Revelation
At the foot of the bed sits a washbasin, its liquid pink, with a stack of scissors coated in blood and feathers in the bottom. The blood on the bed is still wet...
ED:
: Th-this is...
The students who disappeared after going to the infirmary.
Yuuya.
That mysterious smile the doctor gave when I asked him...
: I... I have to get out of here... I have to tell someone...!
I need to report it. To the police? Anyway, I need to get away. I need to get out before he--
: You're early today, miss RK47.
ED:
: !
: D-doctor... this... blood...
He didn't even try to deny it! He... he...
: ......
The-- the door's locked...!?
: Going home so soon?
: It won't... open...
: Indeed, it won't. After all, there are so many bad little boys and girls who try to leave before their examinations are over... like you.
: D-doctor, you... You really have been... cutting people up and using them for your experiments...?
: Do you really need to ask that? After all, you even helped me!
: Helped you...? I... I would never...!
: Don't tell me you've forgotten already? Just at the start of this semester you helped me destroy a little evidence. You brought back the ID card of one of my guinea pigs. I suppose I dropped it by accident. You really helped me out, then. We can't leave things like that lying around, now can we?
: Then... Yuuya? What did you do to Yuuya!?
: Oh? I thought you'd figured that out already.
: He's in here, miss RK47... In here.
ED:
: The...
Flashback: The big one is... It looks like... a roast chicken? Or maybe a turkey? I'm not sure what people eat on Christmas. It's still warm! He must have had it delivered in a hurry.
: That... you can't be... no... no..!
: How did he taste? I was worried he might be a little tough... I did so regret not having a better bird to send you. It simply wouldn't do to have you throw him out.
That... that was Yuuya...?
: Aah! Aaaaahh... that's a beautiful face, miss RK47. I have longed so dearly to see that face. You could tell from the start that I was dangerous, couldn't you? And yet you came to see me, again and again. Very... assertively.
: No... I just... had to come for infirmary duties...
: Was that really it? You knew I planned to kill you, and yet you came anyway... are you sure you didn't... have feelings for me, perhaps?
No! ...I want to say, but my tongue is like lead in my mouth. Maybe it's true. Maybe, somewhere deep inside, I love the doctor...
ED: Perhaps you still love the doctor, RK47-chan. Why should a little thing like this get in the way?
: I am afraid that I have room for only one love in my life, and that is my research-- but it would be cruel to ignore your earnestness. And so I put much thought into how I might reward you.
ED: I do not like where this is going.
He's going to kill me. I know he's going to kill me. So why can't I move? Why don't I want to?
ED: Oh fuck no.
Why can't I pull my eyes from his?
ED:
He's saying he's going to
tastefully rape our guts, RK47-chan, isn't he?
: You have chased after death's allure most diligently. I suppose you're too afraid to speak, now...?
[slashing noises]
ED: OH GOD FUCK YOU FAT DOCTOR, FUCK YOU GAME, FUCK YOU CODEX FOR LEADING RK47-CHAN AND I TO THIS END FUCK YOU FUCK YOU I HATE YOU ALL
And the credits begin to roll.
Music:
This story is not an end yet. Because only you are in the infinity loop.
...
...I'm up for another route. After all, it can't get worse than this, I'm sure. Maybe the Doctor has a 'good end', though I suspect he might not. Perhaps I'll start by seeing what happens if we don't confess to the Doctor.
But first, I need some rest. On the up-side, dating pigeons seems totally normal to me now, compared to all the worse shit that just happened.