“O-okay. If you insist…” It should be alright to accompany a young girl to the washroom, especially if you are asked to do so, right? You are only being polite by acquiescing to her request.
Mitsuki smiles wanly at your agreement. “Thank you. I’m sorry to ask this of you, Shinoseki-san…” Being tugged along, you take the first step into a world you have never explored (as far as you know).
The fabled girls’ toilet!
It… looks much the same as its male counterpart, except for the lack of urinals. There are five cubicles lined up in a row. Some of them are closed; the doors are shut and the lock indicator red to imply occupancy. You do not feel that there is anyone behind those closed cubicles, however. There is a mop and a bucket at the corner of the toilet. Thankfully, the bucket appears to be empty.
Mitsuki hurries along into one of the open cubicles and shuts the door behind her, though there is a lack of a click as it swings backwards just slightly – she has not locked it. “I-I’ll be done quickly, Shinoseki-san! Just don’t leave the toilet, please!”
You should probably look anywhere except through the cubicle door that she has left slightly ajar. Turning away, you glance at the mirrors along the sinks. They are well-polished; under the gentle lighting of the washroom, you can spot no blemishes at all. You move closer to one of the mirrors – this is the first time you have gotten the chance to examine your features. Your black hair is wild, messy and would do better with a good trim. Your spectacles are slightly skewed – that you fix quickly. Strangely enough, the colour of your eyes are closer to being a dark green than they are brown… are you mixed? There are noticeable dark bags under your eyes too. You do not look particularly well-fed; at least, your cheeks are more angular than round. You suppose your features wouldn’t be considered terribly unpleasant by the standards of the day… well, whatever standards you can recall, at least.
Hey, I still have all my teeth, you note with a small sense of satisfaction. Despite your unkempt looks, it appears that oral hygiene has not been forsaken.
I’ll take the small victories.
All in all, it is an unfamiliar face that you see staring back at you from the mirror, though no doubt you will have time to get used to it. Still, given that you do not really remember your past, this comes as no surprise to you.
You turn the tap and are surprised to find that it works. The running water is cool to the touch. Lowering your head, you splash some of it onto your cheeks to freshen up.
Track: victim
A burst of static crackles through your mind, causing you to inhale some of the water in surprise. You choke and sputter. As you raise your face from the sink, you hear a strange mumbling from the cubicles behind you.
Mitsuki? No… it doesn’t sound like her.
There are some coughs, followed by more groans. The voice is that of a man. In the mirror, you can see the door to Mitsuki’s cubicle swinging open.
There is someone in there with her.
You whirl around, attempting to confirm it with your own eyes. The lights begin to behave erratically.
There he is. In between the flickering lights, you catch glimpses of the man behind the door.
When did he come in? You shudder involuntarily.
The man is portly and dressed like a doctor. His white coat sways gently as his breathing grows in volume, huffing and puffing through his bizarre lowing. Half hunched over – his head shakes and jitters from side to side, almost as if he is on drugs. His fat body heaves to and fro as he jerks, his wide hips twitching back and forth. There is a wet
splat as something falls in front of the man and onto the floor. It is red, but you cannot make out the details from here. Mitsuki is on the floor of the cubicle, slumped against the porcelain toilet bowl with her legs splayed out and her underwear around her ankles. Her face is devoid of all expression; she looks like a broken doll waiting for its owner, with nothing but vacant acceptance in her heart.
Could this be the disease that she was talking about?
The fat man slowly lowers himself closer to her prone body, moaning and jerking disturbingly. His heavy breathing seems loud enough to fill the entire toilet.
Your limbs are stiff. For some reason, you
know that this man, whoever – or whatever – he is, does not harbour any good intentions.
Malice. Yes… that is a good term for what you are feeling. You know that you should act – that you should
move – but yet that malice has entangled your heart and frozen your body. Fear of the man roots you to the spot. If you try to save Mitsuki, you will attract his attention. Just the thought of that happening weighs you down with even more dread.
What else can I do?
A quiet voice whispers in your head, slyly, confidently:
You do nothing. Once he has satisfied himself with her, he will move on and leave you unmolested.
***
00:12
A. You move. You run at the man and grab him, pulling him away from Mitsuki.
B. You move. You grab the mop and smash it over the fat man’s head until he moves away from Mitsuki.
C. You move. You call out to taunt the man, hoping to draw his attention away from Mitsuki.
D. You move. You try to get Mitsuki to wake up by shouting her name so that she can run to you.
E. You move. There is nothing to do now but
run! You can’t be expected to deal with this! You flee from the toilet.
F. You do not move. There is no need to do anything.
G. You pray.