The Boy With The Blank Stare: The Promise

Chapter Forty Eight: Unnamed

Aito's POV:

I rechecked the shopping list and the email I had sent to the local park manager, so far there didn't seem to be much problems except for the last event, which had been banned.

But I was kind of expecting that, who would let there be fire in a highly flammable area?, so instead I started shifting focus to the docks for the last event. It seemed to just be a short walk away and hopefully enough the flat terrain would make it wheelchair friendly.

I stretched back on the cold mattress as I glanced at the clock, at least another ten minutes till someone started screaming or went to go yell at him.

Again.

This laptop had ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me, Seiko had gotten me a bunch of stickers for the back of it and despite some missing keys it still ran well.

Well, good enough.

...I turned over to the encrypted files, almost all were unlocked now. I had even considered working on downloading an AI to make it work faster but the AI would just kill the old model so I decided against it.

Most of the files weren't anything that interesting, except maybe the one with a detailed meal plan apparently for Takura made by his...friend that happened to be male.

Partner.
Dirty blonde hobo look alike.
Confusing enigma.

Is it strange to think the more I look at his files, all these plans and ideas...that this laptop didn't belong to the same person who flung himself into the ocean. Someone who thought no one probably would've cared.

He just didn't seem the type, does anyone seem like the type though...?

Maybe not.

Still...my eyes widened when that file was shown to me, not even a bit of security left to clear to access it.

The only unnamed files among the hundreds of joke named ones.

It seemed to be a video file, and from the thumbnail it seemed innocent, my brother was smiling even and it seemed genuine as I clicked on it.

The framing as really small, and seemed to have been recorded with a phone or maybe an ipad as Takura started hesitantly backing from whatever was recording before smiling.

"IT WORKS!" He screamed excitedly to someone behind him, "r-really?" A girl's voice asked as Takura nodded excited looking at the camera.

"Yup! The tech guy said everything recorded would be on my laptop back home! Isn't this cool!?" He asked to some congrats in the busy room.

"Hello future me and classmates! Welcome to the great prank but not really a prank totally family friendly end of the year don't beat me up finals party!" He said with pride.

"That names to long" someone responded with snark, "I like it! My party remember" he shouted back annoyed as he adjusted the camera.

"Ok...so future me editing this remember to add confetti and filters and all the fun stuff so this looks better than it really was ok?" He asked.

"Ok current plan, hey Tsuki can you set up the popcorn machine?" He screamed and I guess someone responded with a yes as Takura rubbed his hands together excited...

I looked over at the date of the video...

No...no way....

It was taken the day he died. I felt like screaming as I could barely contain my nausea, what the hell is this?! How was he smiling when it might've been hours before he died?!

Hell before all those people died?!

Takura just rambled about his plans and notes for his future self editing...

A large boom could be heard and knocked the phone off center. Screams echoed and the sounds of the door opening as Takura coughed out smoke as he forgot all about his phone.

Finally his partner screamed and rushed over and helped drag him out of the room, the chaos was full of people yelling for each other and dragging each other out.

"THE OIL! SOMEONE-"

Another explosion was set off and I could see the fire that had spread across the room ensnaring it.

...this is the fire.

I held my breath, this...

They said it was on purpose.
They said Takura burned down the school out of spite, that he hated this world that had broken him so much...

But this clearly wasn't planned, nothing of their actions even hinted at the malice I had been told of. This was...this was an accident...

But if it was an accident, if all of this was an accident then why...someone said they saw them it was in the report...

But...that person must've lied.

Anger boiled inside of me, and I was ready to shut off the video there and send it to Saihara so he could set the record straight when...

A figure approached the phone, and despite the faze of the fire they seened to inspect the damage and then they reached over to the phone. They didn't seem to notice it was recording as it fell into a bag with a bunch of other cellphones it seemed, my heart was racing with fear as a tiny hole in the bag...

I nearly threw up.

Inside of a van, there was all of DICE. Tied up and gagged, passed out in the back as the man with the bag set it down, I could see his scarred face clear for one second before he dragged out a hammer and smashed it down and the feed cut off.

...

He was...he wasn't...

I clicked off the video and closed the laptop and held my face in my hands trying to process what I watched...

Hidden in a laptop for half of a decade...long after funeral services had been held, and long after slander had followed the sole survivor for years...all for a crime he didn't intend to commit...

My brother didn't jump off a bridge.

My brother, and all those other people, had been murdered.

I couldn't help but sob.