Part 46: Jessica and Kanon

October 5th, 1986, 6:43 AM

BGM: Requiem


Jessica never stopped moving. Gohda and Kanon chased after her, doing their best to convince her, but Jessica never lent them an ear. Eventually, the 'honored guest room of the witch' came into view.
The honored guest room that was forbidden and never used. No matter what kind of guest came, Kinzo wouldn't let them in this room. And yet, the servants were always made to clean this room, so that it could be used at any time. So the servants had started calling this room the 'honored guest room of the witch', their other shapeless master. Jessica also knew this. And she couldn't forgive the arrogance of the one who called herself a witch and stayed in that room.

Question them, make them give painful excuses, spit it out painfully, breathe painfully. No matter how hard she pretends to be a witch, I'll teach her that she's just a stinking, sweaty human!!
As Jessica yelled with all of her strength, she hit the door to the honored guest's room. It definitely wasn't a knock. That sound was the beating of her anger's hammer, as though she was saying that if they didn't open the door, she'd break it down.

There was no answer. Jessica grabbed the doorknob without any reservation, but she felt the resistance of the lock. Jessica turned around to look at the two servants, and spoke.


Although Gohda was flustered, he still tried to somehow calm Jessica's anger.




Jessica snatched the master key from Kanon's hand, and violently shoved it into the keyhole. Immediately, there was a light sound and she felt the lock open. And without excusing herself, she flung open the door.

Jessica rudely stepped into the room. The witch wasn't anywhere to be seen.


Jessica, thinking that she might be hiding somewhere inside the room, peeked behind the curtains and under the bed, but she couldn't to find anyone. However, there definitely were signs that the bed had been used... it's an odd way to say it, but the atmosphere in the room grew a little softer. It wasn't the hard atmosphere of a place normally devoid of people, like the chapel. You could definitely tell that someone had spent the night in this room. But she could not be seen.
In reality, neither Jessica nor Gohda had met Beatrice. They had only been told by those who had met her that she looked like a double of the character in that portrait. So they were doubtful about what her face really looked like. However, Kanon alone had met her. And he understood what kind of being that witch was, and what kind of character she had. So he knew that if they were to force their way in here searching for her, she wouldn't let things go as they planned.
She must be watching us bitterly flail about in vain from somewhere, sneering at us. She's that kind of person. Because he was looking at things that way, Kanon was the first to find it. The other two were concentrating on finding the shadow of a person, so they hadn't noticed.

Kanon understood the witch. The witch would definitely scoff at them, as they found the bodies, forced their way in here in rage, and were unable to find her. Scorn cannot be fulfilled unless it is communicated.
So in other words... this was definitely, that...!


After Jessica quickly dashed over, she violently stole the piece of paper. She probably wasn't trying to be violent. She just couldn't control her strength now.

As soon as she read the message, Jessica went into a wild rage, crumpled the paper up, and threw it. Then, she grabbed an interior stand by the bedside and violently swung it around, mercilessly hitting the walls and furniture with it. The lightbulbs all shattered at once, and the fragments were scattered across the room.


This was written on the paper...

Because the text on some of the letters is small enough to be a pain to read at this resolution:
ツ優id you think I'd waste my time waiting comfortably in this place for you to barge in here?
You're too wild to be suitable for this intellectual night.
What kind of faces must your parents have had after raising you to be such a hapless fool?
Yeah, I saw them, they had perfectly stupid faces just like you.
Now they are in Candyland with their bellies all full!
...It sounded like something that witch would write... It meant that she had predicted that one of the children who had lost their parents would come running in here. If she was hiding somewhere in this room, she would surely be rolling around with laughter... The witch was that kind of person. She sneered at people's misfortune, using it to stave off the boredom of a thousand years...!


Gohda grabbed the interior stand Jessica had been swinging around. Because if she kept swinging it around, she might hit something and get injured. To Gohda's eyes, Jessica probably looked mad with rage, burning with the flames of anger... But Kanon's eyes saw it differently. Those were probably, tears of sadness, hidden by rage... Therefore...
At the moment the interior stand was taken from her, when Jessica started crying on the floor, scratching at the carpet almost as though she was groveling... Gohda was surprised, but Kanon was not. Her way of crying by brandishing her anger, had been stolen from her, so this was inevitable.

...Considering that she was a daughter of the Ushiromiya family, she was in a very shabby state. She scratched at the carpet with her fingernails, and even her feet were scratching. Jessica cried very, very hard... Because if she didn't, her rage would start building up again, and swallow her up.
But over and over again, she remembered that humiliating message... What kind of faces did your parents, who raised you to be so stupid, make?



As Jessica cried and screamed, she triggered an asthma attack... The servants watching over her hurriedly ran up to her and rubbed her back, but that only provoked Jessica's wrath...

Jessica got up unsteadily, and as her asthma continued, she went out into the hallway...


Kanon had noticed. Gohda, who was much older, probably couldn't feel the tears in Jessica's heart. Kanon, who had noticed that himself, had to support her.



Gohda also understood. And he also knew of the vague relationship that Jessica and Kanon shared. So he understood everything, and left it to Kanon.


Kanon's voice was frail, but he nodded forcefully. After looking at his eyes, Gohda also nodded forcefully.
...Gohda was a veteran with many years behind him. He had seen a great number of people in his life. So he knew of the vigorous sparkle that could be found in the eyes of those who had self-control. He had surely seen that in Kanon's eyes. Therefore, he would leave this to Kanon. When you think about it, maybe this was the first moment that Gohda had trusted Kanon and relied on him for a job...

...Kanon chased after her wordlessly. If she had asked for a hand, he would have jumped over and supported her. But as long as Jessica didn't ask for that, he hid himself, watching over her from a distance where he could come to her rescue at any time. As Kanon remained in that spot where ten billion people would want someone else to be when their hearts felt like they would explode from sadness, he silently watched Jessica's back...
Then, finally, she was crouching in front of the door to her own room. The asthma attack had stolen all of her strength. And her thoughts had gotten hazy from the lack of oxygen, so that she could no longer stand up. But right now, Jessica wasn't thinking that she wanted someone to lend a hand. Because she still hadn't been able to overcome the flames of anger. Because even if someone had offered her a hand with good intentions, right now, Jessica would start wanting to tear it off... And she understood how unreasonable that would be. Until she could overcome the flames of her anger, she definitely wouldn't ask for help. Probably, Jessica no longer had the willpower to call for help.
But Kanon heard it. He definitely heard it. Kanon definitely heard that voiceless call for help, which is shared by those from across the world who are grieving, and which cannot be heard by anyone even though they scream and scream.

...Even though Jessica kept coughing painfully, she accepted it, opened the lock to her room, and entered...


Jessica had often said that when her asthma got serious enough, it hurt so bad that it felt like she would vomit her whole stomach. Her face was pale, and her gaze wavered. And yet, the coughing continued... Even so, her sadness was probably even stronger...
After having her kneel by the bed, Kanon took a bronchodilator from a cute basket on a side table by the bed, and handed it to her. Jessica sometimes forgot to walk around with her medicine. When it seemed that this was the case, Kanon would take notice and secretly carry around the inhaler from the first-aid kit in the servants' room, but he hadn't done so today. He scolded himself, as though wondering how he could call himself furniture after failing to bring it with him on a day like this.
Then he remembered the day when he had said that, and somehow betrayed Jessica's feelings, which jarred Kanon's heart... but he thought that compared to Jessica's sadness now, that would be a very indiscreet emotion, and he suppressed it to the depths of his heart...

When she inhaled her medicine, Jessica's wild breathing calmed down bit by bit, and she was finally able to regain her composure. But the strength and willpower she had lost wouldn't allow her to rise up from the bed.



Kanon regretted misspeaking. He had said "Are you alright", to her? Was he really unable to notice the pain in her heart? Therefore, he was furniture after all. Therefore he couldn't become human...

BGM: Moon
Kanon understood that she still needed some time to cry alone. He told her to call him at any time, bowed, and tried to leave the room.


Jessica had spoken as though she wanted him to stop, so Kanon had stopped. If she asks it, I'll do anything to help her.
If it could heal the pain in her heart, right now, I would even become a cane or a chair. If by doing that, I can repair the pain in her heart I gave her that day...

...For a while, Jessica stared into Kanon's eyes. As though she couldn't put into words her reason for stopping him.


For a while, neither spoke. Jessica broke that silence. With a small voice.




For just an instant, it looked like some kind of hope flew to Jessica's eyes. But it was very faint, and disappeared like the first snow does on the surface of a river.


Kanon bowed once again, and closed the door...

...Why? He didn't know. Surely, that was because... he was furniture. So even now, he couldn't grasp human sadness.


It was still pouring outside, a dark, gray world. Even on days like this, Shannon would surely see the ocean and know it was blue.
...But to my eyes, even if it cleared up, I would only see gray... As long as I cannot understand the blue of the ocean, I am nothing but furniture imitating a person...

BGM: Organ Short #600 Million in C Minor

There shouldn't have been a trace of anyone in this corridor. It had been empty and cold. But those scoffing words approached Kanon from behind.









Part 47: Jessica and Kanon II









BGM: Life's End
In the instant he looked down the corridor, the witch, who had been making a perfectly ordinary face until a second ago, had disappeared. Right now, it was just him, standing alone in the corridor. And the person he wanted to protect was asking for help, and was right over there.
It was obvious what he should do. It wasn't logical. It was an electric reaction. Without a trace of hesitation or idle thoughts. The person he wanted to protect was there, and asking for help. Therefore, in that moment, he genuinely felt that he wanted to be the person who was there with her.

Video: Strike at the Moon
The room was a fantastical world, where a blizzard of gold-colored specks danced, almost as though gold leaf had been scattered inside a snow globe...
No, that's not it. I've seen this spectacle before. This isn't gold leaf. Countless gold butterflies, Beatrice's family!! Jessica was surrounded by countless butterflies, and was waving her hands around, trying frantically to swat them.


Kanon rushed towards Jessica, and violently brushed the group of butterflies away. The butterflies, which were both beautiful and filthy, surrounded Jessica's face, trying to crawl in through her mouth and nose. Jessica gagged violently. Almost as though the butterflies were triggering her asthma attack, sneering at her.
But when Kanon ran towards Jessica as she choked, the butterflies stopped attacking her, and this time, they began to elegantly dance a rondo around the two.



As he guarded Jessica, who was in pain and using her inhaler, Kanon yelled into the empty air. When he did, the empty air definitely laughed back, satisfied. Then, she showed herself.
It wasn't in response to Kanon's demand. It was obviously because appearing and sneering humiliated them even more, and was more fun!





She snapped her fingers and there was a piercing sound. When she did, a blizzard of gold butterflies started up, and they began to form a small mountain as they whirled around in a circle.
...Just like how a cold, wintry wind swirls and creates a mountain of leaves.


Jessica couldn't comprehend what she was seeing right now, and her mouth kept flapping open and closed... It was the bite of wisdom, which came from trying to understand something incomprehensible.

It appeared to be wearing a uniform following the pattern of those who serve. But its face was different. It was, strange-looking... It was covered with pitch-black hair, breathed rotten breath, and its eyes were filled with the same strange subterranean glow as lava. And, as a symbol that is was not human, it had two horns... It was the figure of a goat-faced attendant who served the witch...

Jessica could no longer decide what to say. All this happening in front of her couldn't be explained with common sense, and she couldn't do anything except open and close her mouth.
Jessica hadn't noticed. This island had already been cut off from the rules of this world. But even so, she could understand. This goat attendant was the witch's familiar, and it was after her life. And it seemed that the witch had already ordered that.
She faced Kanon with an expectant gaze. She faced him with a provocative gaze filled with expectation, as though asking him how he planned to protect this maiden!

And you could tell that it was overflowing with the joy of furniture wanting to meet its master's expectations.

The goat attendant made a gesture as though bowing silently. Was that in response to its master, or was it offered to Kanon, who opposed it?
Then, on the attendant's hand, ...a blade of wicked malice appeared...


Jessica had been unable to understand what was happening before her eyes for a while now. All she understood was that this thing was being waved around to threaten her own life. And right now, that was enough.
Kanon spoke quietly to Jessica, who was hiding behind his back.




BGM: Where








If you throw a rock at the surface of the water, you might be able to disturb the moon for some time. But that doesn't mean the moon has been smashed.






The witch's words of admiration broke the silence, and for just an instant, broke Jessica's paralysis.











...Kanon, wasn't there.
He was behind it.


If this battle of drawing sparkling trails was chess... Then Kanon coming from behind was check. And press, and press, and press, and press. Use seven moves, and make it mate...!
...Had the goat attendant even been given the ability to go into death throes? As its knees buckled and it fell over, it broke into a bunch of gold butterflies with a pop... So there was no sound of it hitting the ground. Even the person who couldn't understand this battle... definitely at least realized that Kanon had been magnificent.


In the instant that Kanon's blade sliced diagonally through the witch's form like a knife through butter, she turned gold and burst. She scattered into several thousand gold butterflies, and for just an instant, the room was filled with the color of twilight.
...It was just as Kanon himself had said. Even slicing Beatrice was just the same as slicing the surface of the water where the moon was reflected. The witch's form was there, with an ordinary expression on her face, as though she had been there the whole time... behind Kanon.




BGM: Requiem










BGM: Organ Short #600 Million in C Minor
The witch summoned her own furniture with a mixture of laughter and anger on her face.






It took Kanon less than an instant to understand. That goat-face from a second ago had been nothing more than a pawn to the witch. However, there was a remarkable difference in the value of this piece, of this furniture that had been newly summoned.







SFX



BGM: Requiem
Kanon's back had been the target... But Jessica had predicted it. She had predicted that the witch's target would be the complete opposite of fair and honest... his back. But she had no way to block it.
...She had no intention of sacrificing herself. She thought that there was no way other than this to protect Kanon's back. So, she could do nothing but block it with her own back.
The furniture of the witch, which had changed its form into a demon's stake, was stuck deep into Jessica's back. It was an obviously fatal wound that reached as far as her lungs.
When she saw this, the witch let out a loud, evil laugh. Because it had hit 'where the witch had predicted'. ...Everything, everything, was as the witch had predicted!












SFX
There was no way to block it. The sound of a woodpecker filled the entire room, and before he could blink, it was already right in the center of his chest...
When you take a piece in chess, according to the rules, it's impossible for your opponent's piece to defend. So this was an obvious result, following the rules.
Kanon landed on his knees... And, he apologized. Not to the witch. And not to 'Milady'... He apologized, to Jessica.


Kanon finally fell over. He landed next to Jessica, and the two lay there like the constellation Gemini.




In his last moments, Kanon wanted to tell her his real name. But, Jessica had already fallen into a sleep from which she would never wake... So, Kanon's real name, which he had protected until today... in the end, he couldn't... tell it to Jessica...

Those were, ...the last words Kanon left behind.



After taking a puff from her pipe, the witch breathed the smoke at Kanon's corpse...

The witch played dirty until the very end. The corpses of the two who had been able to understand each other in the end, were not even permitted to be close to each other... If someone had been watching, they would probably mourn that this was indeed a disgrace to the dead.

