breaks_destiny | 009th Shattering * Audio

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009th Shattering * Audio

[Filtered to: Minato, Minako Arisato, Hanyuu, Ami, Hughes, Elicia, Winry, Adell, Patchouli, Bernkastel, SOS Brigade members, Shiki, Neku, Grell. || Unhackable ~~70%~~ 100%]

[Actually the Arisatos and Hanyuu are a bit of an overkill to add to that filter since they should know already but just in case...]

Just a small heads up to the lot of you, not that it has happened that I can remember but... I won't be answering to any call through the journals unless it's filtered as high as you can.

Which means that, Elicia, you tell your dad beforehand if you want to call me for something.

[A pause.]

Actually if any of you have problems with filters or something just call for Souji instead, I'll answer if it's any of you calling.

[That sounded casual enough, right? Let's hope no one goes into too much of a question mode as to why he suddenly wants to be so secretive with the journals.]

[Filtered to Ami || ~~70%~~ 100% Unhackable]

Are you free to meet up and talk? [The library would sound good but he can almost imagine Takano there looking for information so... And the medical center at the battledome is as out of the question as anything that is related to medicine.] Does the lake sound all right with you?

[Filtered to Hughes || ~~70%~~ 100% Unhackable]

Hughes-san, where could we meet to talk? Alone if possible as I told you.

[Hopefully it won't be a place where Keiichi can imagine Takano around easily. Though maybe he's just being a bit paranoid.]

[Filtered to Adell || ~~70%~~ 100% Unhackable]

Oi, Adell, I think I heard around that you knew about one of those groups, Blue Rogues, I think? Can I ask you a few questions?

[Filtered to the Malnosso || ~~70%~~ 100% Unhackable]

I... I'm not entirely sure how to do this... Can I talk with... Catherine, I think it was?

[Sincerely he has not much hope, he has been out of things for a while and who knows if that guy hasn't been changed or whatever. But he won't lose anything for trying, right?]

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Okay! Have a good day at school!

[And later, at the given time, Keiichi will be at the lake waiting for her while skipping stones across the water. He seems a bit lost in thought as he does it.]

[Ami comes right on time, directly after school, after sending a message ahead that she'll be on her way.]

I came like you said.

[He heard the message and waited patiently, smiling at her when she arrived.]

I can see that. Thank you for taking your time to talk with me, Ami.

[He sighs.]

Well, where should I start from? [Oh, wait, first he just wants to make sure of something.] Ah, before that, Ami, I remember hearing you once talk about the medical center at the battle-dome, right? Do you have medical knowledge?

I want to become a doctor, so I've studied as much of it as I can.

That's awesome, and pretty impressive. I don't know yet what I want to be when I become older... Except that I want a family, that is.

[It's a rather lame dream for many, but not for him. Anyway, Keiichi will get serious now.]

I won't hold my hopes high in that you have ever heard about an illness called the "Hinamizawa Syndrome", right?

[Ami thinks for a moment, but shakes her head.]

What is it?

[Yeah, he supposed so.]

It's a kind of a disease. Hinamizawa is a small village in my world, a bit secluded and almost forgotten and unknown. It's quite a nice place except for a small problem with a small parasite that only lives in that area and takes home in the brains of the people.

It's what creates the "Hinamizawa Syndrome", normally it's a harmless situation, the parasite stays mostly dormant or at least doesn't affect anyone. One could basically live their whole lives without knowing it's there. Unfortunately, when it 'activates' per say, it affects people's behavior... Do you remember how many people were the last week of October? With hallucinations that had everyone on their toes?

It was a hard time. Everyone was having trouble.

[Keiichi scratches his head.]

Yeah, it was, some had more trouble than others with the hallucinations though.

Anyway, the syndrome causes a similar reaction. At the lowest levels of infection is harmless but as the levels raise the person infected begins to suffer hallucinations. At first they just overlap with reality, like seeing someone show an evil smile when they aren't smiling at all, but at the highest levels one basically sees things that aren't there and not even your other senses serve to see that it's fake because even those are completely fooled by the hallucination.

The levels raise mostly due stress, the feeling of being chased or of having someone after your life. It may begin from something minor, like discovering a secret a friend had been hiding, normally you would brush it off or get angry at not having been trusted and move on. But with the syndrome that starts to cause you to not trust your friends, questions as to why they hide it from you and what else they may be hiding raise in your head and suddenly everything they do is to keep you in the dark about something and they are out to hurt you for asking about it. It's an extreme case of paranoia and in the best scenarios it concludes with the infected person tearing their own throat apart as a result of a nervous reaction. In the worst scenarios, besides the suicide the infected person may commit murder as a result of believing their life in danger, a kill before get killed situation.

Except that there was no one out to kill them.

[He pauses and looks at Ami with a worried expression regarding how she would take the information.]

I see, but, is something happening about this here?

... Everyone from Hinamizawa has the syndrome, even if it's not contagious as things stand... And I'm from Hinamizawa.

[Another pause.]

I have the syndrome. I've been quite fine so far but due recent events... I can't keep going on as I am. There's a medicine for it, thought, and a treatment that ensures that the syndrome won't go out of control if the doses of the medicine are taken regularly. But I... Don't deal well with needless, and I don't trust just anyone to give me the medicine.

So... I was wondering if you could do it for me, inject me the doses and such. I would be the one keeping track of the times and bring in the medicine, you wouldn't have to worry about anything.

[As a future doctor, this is exactly the sort of thing she'd like to be able to do for people. On the other hand...]

I don't really have experience as a doctor, yet.

[He supposed that much, after all she's probably even a bit younger than him, but...]

I imagined but I know even less of medicine than what you probably know. Are shots that hard to give? Or hard to learn how to?

Not really, I guess. Certain people even give them to themselves, like diabetics. I can try to do it. But if I do it, I want to know the schedule and everything.

[A nod, of course, she needs to at least now that. Keiichi doesn't answer inmediately though, instead focusing in recovering a memory, to be sure of it. It's a distant memory, though not as distant as others. Rika and him talking... The first time she told him about the syndrome... Only to him, yes, Satoko had been in danger back then. And Rika mentioned the schedule... To lead a normal life one...]

The injections have to be taken twice everyday, once the treatment starts to miss an injection may be dangerous and cause the syndrome to raise faster. But other than that it has no other special indication that I'm aware of, but the medicine will probably have instructions for it in case I forgot something.

I understand. I'd like to read the instructions.

I will get them for you then.

[A pause.]

There's something else though. I would like you to be careful regarding one person who has recently arrived to town.

Did something happen?

Well... The Hinamizawa Syndrome I just told you about isn't of public knowledge in my world. In fact it's basically still being studying. There was a research group in Hinamizawa that aimed to study the syndrome, what causes it, how the infection happens, how to heal it...

Unfortunately, the person behind the research also got infected with the syndrome. And she's the kind of person who won't stop at anything to prove her research... It all came down to that she aimed to kill one of my friends, Rika, because she is the 'Queen Carrier' and supposedly her death will trigger the syndrome in everyone in the village.

I see. It's not an easy situation. Could it be you're afraid something like that will also happen here?

Quite, but I'm also worried of her own safety. I mean, she did many things that I can't forgive and tried to do something... She was ready to kill anyone at one point. But it's hard to say what was because of the syndrome and what was because she just is a dangerous person like that.

The problem is that she's naturally a manipulative person, so she can easily deceive anyone... She had deceived many people back home. So I would like you to be careful around her if you ever meet her... And to not mention that you're helping me with the medicine, if possible.

I understand. That will be our secret for now.

Thanks, Ami.

Her name's Miyo Takano, she's older than us and blonde... I can't really describe her ver-... Oh! Right.

[Brb, taking out the journal and opening it to show Ami, Takano's entry so she can see more or less how the woman looks.]

This is her. Just be careful, no need to be extremely wary or anything.

I'm always careful here.

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009th Shattering * Audio

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