*Weeeeee*

“Hyaaah!”

The sound of steam escaping the kettle signaled that the tea was ready. Shiraishi was desperately gasping for air, her eyes felt so heavy that she couldn`t lift them off the table.

Not giving her a moment to spare, Ichiko went on talking:

“As a woman, I applaud your calm judgment. Even though he suicided right in front of you, you were able to keep it toghether. In fact, I think I should be grateful to you.”

“Grateful?” All of them widened their eyes.

“Because you made me realize…” She looked down on her cup of tea “How this world works.”

“The years after my brother`s death were nothing short of hell. My grandparents died soon after, and my father was laid off from work. My mother was neurotic from all the stress and slowly becomes a burden. Finally, we lost our house to a fire. And my father left my sick mother behind, going who knows where. Right now, my mother can`t even get out of the futon. To call it bad luck would be an understatement. It was almost as if my brother`s death caused all of our happiness to run off somewhere far far, away.”

“But what about you, Shiraishi-senpai? That incident was unfortunate, indeed. But after I entered NK high and saw you, I was shocked. You were the student council, loved by everyone, and your academics were excellent. Even though my brother is dead, you were blessed with happiness. While I was in the abyss of misfortune, you were shining brightly.”

“Will… Will it be enough if I apologized? It`s true that I betrayed Yamato! It was my fault! But..But… I didn`t think that he would kill himself!” her pupils were gaping frantically.

“That won`t be necessary. You just need to return it to me…”

Ichiko proceed to open the door to her bedroom. The pungent smell of rotting meat instantly filled the room, as flies came out in swarms. All but her covered their nose, with Shiraishi falling on her knees and vomiting on the floor.

“Looks like I made a miscalculation. I still don`t have enough happiness points. My mom is still sick.”

She nonchalantly pulled out a knife from the counter, and approached the kneeling Shiraishi.

Shiraishi turned around, sitting on her own puke. She didn`t even notice when the yellowish liquid soaked through her panties, probably staining them. All she saw was that knife in Ichiko`s hand.

“Please! Don`t kill me!”

“Hey now, don`t say that. I`m not a murderer. You just need to return the happiness points you took from me.”

“How!?”

“It`s simple, just destroy your happiness. And it should flow to the closest person, which is me.” She stabbed the knife on the wooden floor “Now, why don`t you do it yourself, Shiraishi-senpai? Start by cutting off your ear or something.”

“Please! Forgive me!”

“If you return the happiness points, my mother will be well again. Maybe my father will come back. And somehow my brother could be alive again too!”

“Please! Please! I beg you!”

On the table, no one was able to move a single muscle. Takumi held his face, covering his eyes.

(Think!)

“Hey, please do it, OK? I really want to be happy.”

“Nooo! Please forgive me” Shiraishi struggled.

“Shut the fuck up and fucking do it! Do it you fucking bitch! Do it!”

(Think!!)

“Then, where should I cut you then? How about some flesh here on your face?” Her voice was calm again.

(Think!!!)

“And your fingers would be great too! But if you die, it`d be troublesome to dispose your corpse, so please be careful~”

(Goddammit think!)

At that moment, Takumi was hyperventilating. His brain went on overdrive searching for a solution. Every single fiber of muscle in his body was tensed, and yet he could not think of anything.

Somehow, in the midst of crisis, the brain decided to rewind his memories. It was not long until the color of pink overwhelmed the background.

“You are my champion...” The voice echoed.

Gradually, Takumi was able to calm down. And then, the sharp voice inside his brain kicked back in.

(Small animals behave the same. All of them.)

(With the information I have right now... I need to figure out... No, not that... I can`t confirm if their parents ever had any trouble... But if they didn`t, as Ichiko said, then the trouble would be kept secret by their son... Is he the type to keep everything to himself? Then, Shiraishi must be where he unload his pent up stress... So it would make sense to really love her... But... Loving someone so much as dying for them...)

(What world are you living in, Takumi?) His brain asked him

(Right! It is impossible! How stupid of me! No way... No way someone would dare to die for a lover... Love doesn`t work that way here! Then it is all clear... I just need to convince her... Using her own language!)

“Hey Ichiko-senpai!” He called loudly.

“Can`t you see I`m busy right now?”

“I just want to talk to you about something... I find it very weird... Shiraishi-senpai, that Kuraki-san, he killed himself in front of you didn`t he? He said he was willing to die for you, and he did. Tell me, what was the expression on his face back then when he died?”

“He was smiling.”

“Happily?”

“Yes... He was smiling happily. I don`t know why but he was smiling!”

“Nishimura-kun, what are you trying to say?”

“Are you that slow? Shiraishi wasn`t the one who took all the happiness from your family.”

“That can`t be. Because when my brother died...” Her confident expression imediately changed 180 degree.

“Do you get it now? To put it in your words, the one who took all the happiness points from your family was none other than your brother. Using his own death, he destroyed the happiness of your family. At the same time, he recieved all those points of happiness. He died bathing in the pinacle of his life`s happiness.”

“Are you saying that my brother know about this universal truth…”

“You said it. People are doing it subconsciously. And your brother yearned for the happiness so much that he was willing to take all the points from his own family. Whether he wanted to destroy your family or not, he still wanted happiness.”

Ichiko crashed onto the floor under her feet. Her body titled to the side, slamming her head against the wall. She didn`t feel it, and kept mumbling.

Takumi grabbed her collar and jerked Ichiko up straight. Staring into her teary eyes, he roared:

“And do you think it is fucking funny to encourage pranks? To encourage terrorism? Do you fucking want to go to fucking jail or what? My father got killed by terrorist, and here you are in a peaceful country, trying to become Al Queda or ISIS? The fuck is wrong with you? Why don’t you join an actual terrorist organization! And then your members will gang rape you!”

Everyone in that room was terrified of what they saw. Takumi, at that moment, was burning with fury.

“And why are you so dumb? Even your theory is bullshit! Can`t you see that no one is bothered by your shitty pranks? They mostly get annoyed, and that`s fucking it! Many people from your club was extremely happy because they survived, and they couldn`t thank us enough! You hear that? People are becoming happier from your tricks! What a fucking loser! You can`t even follow your own bullshit ideas!”

She was crying.

“My happiness points… they were…false? I…”

“You are still taking that bullshit crap you think is right? Mother fucker how utterly stupid can a homosapien get?!”

He shoved her into the wall, before stepping backwards.

“Fucking grow up, you`re older than me already! This world isn`t only black and white like you think it is! You know why?! Because there is ever only fucking black! Happiness isn`t even a thing! It doesn`t fucking exists don`t your motha fucking brain get it!?”

She stopped at once and stared at Takumi with her blurry eyes. He mouth was moving, but nothing came out. She was shivering uncontrollably.

“Need proof? Fine!” He grabbed the knife on the floor ”I remember your face. You came to every single soccer game I play! You were there in a corner, drowning in jealousy when I was surrounded by girls. That`s why you sent those girls after me. That`s why you can`t stand me. Am I right?! I`m handsome, popular, good at sports, have many friends, and thousand of times happier than you are! Kill me! With that much happiness, your whole family should come back! You can even get away with the crime! C`mon, KILL ME!”

“Uwaaaaah!! Uhuhhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu…”

Ichiko burst in tears. She was crying so loud that the neighbors decided to call the police. Takumi successfully explained everything, and they brought Ichiko mother`s corpse away. She followed the police to give more details.

All of them went into a public bath afterwards. Shiraishi didn`t say anything. They finished bathing, and walked with eachother. The wind gently caressed them as they waited at the train station. Shiraishi was the first to break the ice:

“Nishimura-kun… How did you know… That Yamato was smiling?”

Without looking back, he answered briefly:

“It wasn`t happiness. Or love.”

“Eh?”

“*Sigh* I have already said it, no? The world isn`t black and white, it`s entirely black. The guy resented you for betraying him. However, there was nothing he could`ve done. So, that combination of despair and hatred made him desire revenge greatly. He wanted to screw your life up. And he literally spent his own life to do that. That smile… It was the disgusting satisfaction on the face of a total piece of trash when he realized he had managed to scar you forever.” He paused “So it wasn`t your fault.”

Shiraishi started crying again. Endou and Kirishima looked at it.

“Still, that moment when you actually give Ichiko the knife…” said Kirishima

“It means that you are either very dumb or terrifyingly smart. I dislike either. But you are kind. Very kind. I don`t hate that.” Endou followed up.

“Eh…? That`s all I get?” Takumi cringed.

Both of the girls smiled, and the train arrived.