An untrustworthy deal - Dead Logic

Behind the school's main building, the school's medical section was located. Students usually come here to get treatment for wounds from playing or any small accident. There were also events of a fight breaking out between the students which caused a lot of harm to them. That's why a medical bay was a must.

Akari was slowly moving in the hallway of the bay, trying to find a specific room. After looking for a while, he found his destination. He quickly knocked the door but he got zero response. He entered anyway.

The room was almost closed from inside with fewer windows. A few empty beds were aligned back and forth. There laid Haruto on a white bed. His eyes were open, staring at the sealing, whole body shaking. His mouth was moving a little as if he was trying to say something but words couldn't come out of his mouth.

Seeing Haruto in this condition reminded Akari of Rina's anger towards him. "What the hell did you do to him?!" she'd yelled. "He was spitting formulas like a lunatic! And you literally sent him to the hospital. This is too much!"

Her voice still rang in his head. He wanted to ignore it, but the truth was, it hurt. Maybe he really had pushed too far. Still, he kept telling himself, "It's his fault. If he'd just gone along, none of this would've happened."

Of course this was just self counseling to suppress his emotions so that it doesn't distract him from his goals.

Akari dragged a chair over, legs scraping the floor, and sat down next to Haruto. He leaned in. "Hey, can you talk?"

No answer. Just a weak, broken sound from Haruto — "Uaa…" His eyes drifted toward Akari, then lost focus again.

Suddenly, the door opened and a nurse entered. She was holding a clipboard in her hand. Seeing Akari, she sighed.

"Oh, are you his friend? Poor kid…" She checked Haruto's pulse. "What happened to him? I mean even seeing a ghost wouldn't shake someone this badly."

Akari gave a small laugh. "Don't worry. I've got just the thing."

He closed his eyes and focused, replaying his old memories inside his mind. Blue walls. Rows of identical uniforms. The smell of metal, chalk. A classroom where everyone had a code number, not a name.

Haruto twitched, fingers moving. Suddenly, he gasped, eyes snapping open like he'd just surfaced from deep water.

The nurse jumped back, startled. "Wha—!? He—he woke up?! How did you—what did you do?!"

Akari just smiled. "Told you," he said, opening his eyes. "Just needed to give his brain the right input."

The nurse blinked, completely thrown. "Input? What does that even mean? What are you, a therapist?"

Akari stood up and straightened Haruto's sheets. "Something like that," he said quietly. "Let's just say, we went to the same school."

Before she could ask anything else, Haruto pushed himself up, shaky and sweating, breath ragged. But he was awake now.

The nurse pulled herself together, muttering, "I… I'll get the doctor," and hurried out. The door clicked shut.

Akari leaned back in his chair, watching him. His eyes looked calm again, but his mind was somewhere else.

He muttered, barely above a whisper, "Guess I went too far this time…"

Haruto blinked, meeting his gaze with tired, empty eyes. No words. Just confusion.

Akari looked away, his voice even softer now. "It's his fault anyway…" he thought, trying to give himself counseling again. But he didn't sound convinced. Not even to himself.

Akari moved to lean against the wall by the window, arms crossed. He kept his eyes on Haruto.

"You really don't waste time, do you…" Haruto muttered, voice shaky, pressing his fingers to his temple like he was trying to hold his thoughts together.

Akari pushed off the wall, came closer. "Now I am aware how your mind reading works. Although," he said, voice flat, "Your mind reading means nothing to me."

Haruto frowned, anger flickering in his eyes.

Akari's tone stayed steady. "But it's useful. I need it for my plan. So use it."

For a moment, Haruto just stared at him, mind still foggy, fists clenched tight.

"The plan you're thinking of…" Haruto said, voice trembling, "It won't work against her. You know that, right?"

Akari didn't flinch. He just looked at Haruto, blank.

Haruto took a shaky breath, voice dropping. "And even if it did… how does your plan bring her back?"

For the first time, something shifted in Akari's face — not emotion, exactly, just a slight tilt of his head. "Who said I care about that?"

His voice sounded cold, stripped of everything human. "I told you before. The mission means nothing to me. I want to be on top — to be the smartest person the organization's ever made. And for that…"

He looked down at Haruto, eyes narrowing. "I have to surpass her!"

Haruto's mouth went dry. He swallowed, forcing himself to speak. "And if I refuse to help you?" His voice cracked, caught between fear and defiance.

Akari let out a small sigh, almost bored. "Well," he said, moving closer to the bed, "I could fry your mind again. Flood you with equations and numbers and this torture will continue till you agree to cooperate. He stopped, a faint smirk flickering across his face. "But I won't."

Haruto looked up, clearly lost.

"Think about it my friend," Akari said, his voice softer now. "Do you two really think you can bring her back alone? When I'm finished with what I need…" He leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper. "…I'll figure something out to bring her back."

Haruto just stared at him, silent for a while. He tried to steady his breathing, but his heart kept thudding. Finally, and not without a trace of dread, he asked, "So, is that a deal?"

Akari held out his hand, expression flat. "Deal."

Haruto waited, then finally took it. Their hands gripped tight—an uneasy agreement, built on nothing but distrust and desperation.

Akari got up from his chair. "Can you walk?" he said softly, "Be careful, rest properly if needed."

Before Haruto could answer, a doctor walked in, clipboard tucked under one arm.

"Let the doctors treat you, no need to mention me." he said, smoothing out his uniform as he moved toward the door.

Haruto watched him go, exhaustion and doubt written all over his face. He didn't know if he'd just found an ally or made a deal with the devil.

Out of the room was Rina, standing patiently for Akari to get out.

"Was it really a good idea to let him go? Though he promised that he would do nothing to him. How would Haruto even react after seeing him?" She narrated in her mind.

Then the door opened and Akari came outside. Rina quickly approached Akari for answers.

"He is awake now." Akari said.

Rina let out a shaky breath, but before she could say anything else, Akari cut her off, voice suddenly cold. "You can see him if you want but his condition isn't so good. He needs rest."

He went past her through the corridor, hands in his pockets.

Rina turned to the hospital door, she was thinking if she would pay a visit to him or not. There was something in Akari's voice that unsettled her. It didn't sound like a friend leaving a hospital room but more like someone who'd just picked up another weapon.

Inside the room, Haruto was served a glass of water. He slowly drank it, sitting on the bed. While thinking of the last thought he heard from Akari's head.

"He told me to find as much information as possible from every student of the school. Starting with their…dark thoughts?"

Chapter 36 - An untrustworthy deal