hierophany | INBOX (noctium)

It was very frustrating. The screaming, that is.

...

I don't remember us wearing uniforms. I...

No, I think we must not have had that type of dress code.

Oh. I would have expected a school that's so selective about its students to have one.

Would you have wanted to be a member of any particular clubs?

My year consisted of a roster of sixteen, all students recognized as world-class in their field of choice. Those arts ranged from traditional things like swimming and wrestling to the more unorthodox, like gambling or being heir to a business conglomerate.

Or lucky.

That was the "talent" of the boy I'll spend the rest of my life protecting. He won a lottery to be admitted and was given the distinction of possessing world-class luck.

...Oh! Athletics. That's right. I like basketball, so I suppose I would've...done that.

I would balk at the idea of luck being a talent, but instead I am balking at it apparently being a talent that is entirely separate from being an heir.

But I see. Perhaps that would explain it. If the purpose of a uniform is to encourage students to think of themselves as an extension of their school and encourage collaboration, one probably would not fit the goals of an institution dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in very specific, unique fields.

I recall I've asked you before if you've met Rohan Kishibe. A significant portion of my relationship with him is rooted in the fact that his personality is almost identical to that of the Ultimate Heir. It's not a compliment.

You're right, though. Conformity would be slightly counterproductive when in fact we were all assembled because of our tendency to stand out.

Ah, so being an Ultimate Heir is not merely an objective measure of being the person who inherits the most. It's a contest of who is the most insufferable about it. That at least adds some element of skill.

[ Is this 'dunking on a guy he doesn't know' time? Always. ]

To be honest, I can't imagine a group learning environment that would be able to nurture world-class talent in a field in one student while also remaining accessible to the others. It sounds less like a school and more like a collection.

Something like that. His family's practice is for the male head of the family to have a dozen or so children with different women and then pit all the half-siblings against each other, with the victor becoming the next family head. Togami-kun defeated his brothers and sisters for that distinction, which was the feat that qualified him for his title.

...

It's interesting you put it that way, because you're not wrong. We were, in fact, "collected".

Ah, I see. So he genuinely was the best of the group at
wait
pit them against each other at what

He never specified, but given the unlikelihood of Togami-kun defeating fifteen of his siblings at any competition that hinged on physical prowess, I assume it was something grounded in intellect or cunning.

[EAT SHIT, TOGAMI]

The successor becomes head of a conglomerate that plays a role in controlling the various financial activities of the world from the shadows. The defeated lose all rights to their family name and are forced to live as commoners.

To be honest.

That sounds like an elaborate excuse to not pay child support for 15 children.

I appreciate your commitment to criticizing Togami-kun's existence from every available angle.

I would feel honor-bound to keep him alive and unharmed if he ever came here, I suppose.

I'm delighted that you dislike someone so intensely. It's only natural to want to make the most of it.

...And I'm a monumentally petty person who has in the last few minutes discovered that he dislikes the idea of inheritance being considered an academic achievement.

Yes, well. He decided to behave as though he was better than me at what I do best. It also bothered him that he was incapable of coercing my behavior.

A girl in our class slapped him once. I'll admit to a little envy of her for that.

and at least 'luck' refers to one's own luck.

[ Yes he has been continuing to complain about being an heir not being an academic achievement this whole time. ]

A collection, though. So the facility was gathering you as a set of living trophies?

More like a zoo than like trophies.

Let's see if you can guess what criteria is my cause for distinction.

Well, if this guy is there then I doubt you're getting anywhere for most fucked up childhood.

If you needed to be observed to attend, probably your work. The solving murders thing. Or talent at navigating text adventures.

Detective work. I suppose it's not that difficult of a guess, when it's the only thing I've ever demonstrated any particular skill at.

Most people attend my school because graduating from that institution is supposed to guarantee a student success in life, based purely on the school's reputation and renown. My motives for enrolling were more personal.

The man who threw me away was the headmaster. I wanted to confront him.

I see.

I think that perhaps I know how this ends. Did you manage to confront him, before that?

I don't remember. But I assume I must've, given what I ultimately agreed to.

It's irrelevant, now. Whatever I did or didn't say will have to suffice, as there's no opportunity for anything more now.

What you agreed to. I imagine that was remaining after you achieved your goal. Being part of this 'zoo'.

Remaining following the destruction of civilization worldwide, technically. But yes, that's one of the purposes of a zoo, isn't it? Conservation of a species in a controlled, secure environment.

Our pact was to stay there forever. And survive.

I see.

Well. That is a grim thought. That would be a grim thought even if all had gone to plan.

Yes. But by now we've abandoned that plan.

That's what I was doing just before I found myself in the Burnished Crater. Walking outside into what remains of the world.

Which would be why you were interested in how viable it would be to bring survivors here.

I don't intend to waste your time saying that I'm sorry things turned out so dreadfully. But what the fuck.

Congratulations on surviving the end of the world, I suppose.

Correct. Of the sixteen of us that were sealed into the figurative zoo, six survived. The rest died.

I was framed for murder and slated to be executed myself. I hadn't done much to give my classmates reason to trust me, so when a scenario was arranged that I had no alibi for, there wasn't much chance of persuading them otherwise.

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