Phantom Opera: White Soliloquy

"Oi! Kiyotaka, you comin'? There's something I wanted to show ya' today." Sakamoto or I guess Ryuji now, stood at the entrance of the classroom just a moment after the bell rang.

"Yeah, I don't have club today." I said as I finished gathering the last of my things, preparing to depart from the school with my first friend in tow. Or at least I hope it looked like that.

We walked out of the class whilst exchanging random words, mostly me just responding to whatever Sakamoto said next. We continued like that until we exited the school, walking towards the railway service connecting to the Ginza line.

"You ready for this today?" He managed to whisper through his excitement.

"Yeah, after today we'll have the necessary supplies. We'll have to take care of this stuff; I don't have the money for replacing it. I take it you don't have a job either?" If he had money, then he better cough it up now. It would be incredibly convenient, and wrong, if he thought that I'd always be footing the bill.

"...You're right. But I hate that you just assumed." If I told him that he looked like the type no-one would hire he'd probably just throw a fit. Honestly, it was more his attitude that was a dead giveaway. He was stubborn and didn't like taking instruction especially if the words following it were harsh. Exactly like Sudou. Except. With our current relationship, he didn't have much of a choice but to listen to me.

"It doesn't matter. For what I have in mind it'll do the job." Sooner or later, I'm going to have to worry about expenses. Most of the allowance I was given has been used up, or at least will be after I make the purchases today.

"...Are you really sure this is gonna work?" Sakamoto asked me incredulously.

"What, do you not trust my judgement?" I was utterly hurt. My heart may never recover.

"As much as I'd like to say no, it's clear you have something going on in your head. I was half expecting you to say we were just gonna stick him up. At least this is a better idea than that..." If I didn't know any better that may have actually been one of his plans going forward, at least if he didn't meet me. I could only shiver in worry if he was in charge of planning any facet of this.

"I'm pretty sure you're the only idiot that would think of that. Never mind if it worked, we'd be convicted immediately. That isn't some silly prank, no matter what you might've seen online." Even if the tools used were just props, the mere threat alone would get me an express one-way ticket straight to juvie.

"Hey! I know that at least. I'm not that dumb. I'm just making sure you know what you're doing."

"Answer me this. Which is harder to believe; that my plan will in fact work or that you can summon thunder in a different world that mirrors our own?" I was grateful I could always fall back on the ridiculousness of our situation to convince him. Admittedly, Kamoshida actually being a considerate teacher was more likely in anyone's eyes than the existence of an alternate reality.

"...Whatever let's just get this over with. Make sure you at least buy me something cool, don't want to blast those things away with some peashooter." I don't think I'll be able to do that with the meagre savings I have.

"Considering I'm the one buying, that's a pretty selfish request."

"..."

"Also, I'm not the one with magic powers, so it'd make more sense for me to be better equipped right?" At least common sense would dictate that. I did still have the sword and lance, but I could use a bit more firepower.

"Hah! Jealous of my epic powers now?" He said whilst flexing his bicep.

"...Considering those 'epic powers' couldn't even take out the guard captain, I should be alright." Effectively taking the wind out of his sails.

"I hate you." He was a far cry from my most ideal ally, but I could easily think of more annoying companions.

"Mhm." I know.

In relative silence we boarded the next train to Central Street, packed into the cramped train car like sardines in a tin. Other people suffocatingly close, much closer than I would've appreciated.

Students and office workers made up most of the crowd, no doubt in a hurry to escape from their responsibilities. To get whatever semblance of rest they can for the next day. I couldn't help nut see the resemblance. Indeed, it was like a well-oiled machine, on the surface at the least. If you looked hard enough, you could see the machine, its' cogs everything was slowly being worn down. No amount of oil or repair can fix the worn-down elements. Eventually the faulty parts would be scrapped and replaced, that was all that could be done. The office workers falling asleep from exhaustion on the train, students forsaking education for delinquency, politicians embezzling funds whilst preaching about change.

The machine; it's mechanism remained the same, the parts merely changed over time. If you replaced each plank of a ship one at a time, until none of the original planks remained, would it become a different ship? It was a philosophical question about identity. Personally, I didn't think much of the question. Things are just that, things. Whether it was the original or a mere copy didn't matter. Did it serve the same purpose? Did it have a similar efficacy in that pursuit? Those were the only questions I really cared about. In which case, Japanese society hasn't and won't change for a long time. The same tired old cycle of nepotism and corruption would continue. Because that was the most convenient and profitable way forward.

Was I worse because I noticed it, discussed and fundamentally dismissed it? The change that was needed to alter these things was systematic, it wasn't in the hands of one person, unless that person stood at the height of all authority. Of course, even now people got convicted for their wrongdoings; just the other day a politician came forward with an apology for wrongly consolidating funds which were supposed to be used for relief aid. The fact that he came forward himself was seen as a last-ditch effort to regain some public approval. No doubt the evidence would've come forward at another point if he didn't take the opportunity. In which case it wasn't the truthful pursuit of justice which he exclaimed it was. It was no more than the devoid ramblings of a lost man attempting to save the last vestiges of his publicity, his security, his life.

I was reminded of that situation when my ears picked up the ramblings of two nearby students.

"Hey, you seen that panel on the other day as well, didn't you?" A small chubby boy was making conversation with a taller boy currently staring at his phone whilst talking.

"...Oh, yeah that politician. It was all over the news yesterday, guy looked pathetic crying like that. Begging in front of the camera after what he did... Must've been desperate." Despite answering like that, he didn't seem all that sympathetic.

"Taking funds and then crying after being caught, what a child. I swear, and we get called children..." The smaller boy scoffed.

"It's the same no matter who you back, eventually a story comes out about all of them." The taller boy's apathy was evident

"You aren't wrong... Still, I had my hopes out for that guy, he was gonna decrease the tuition prices for university students." For those without scholarships, you'd either have to pay for tuition by your own hand or have your family foot the bill. I suppose loans were also an avenue for that, but that would be the least satisfactory option.

"With your dogshit grades, paying's about the only way you're getting in anywhere. My condolences friend." He said with a smarmy attitude.

"As if yours are much better..."

"Whatever you say, dumbass."

"..." The rotund boy was looking at the taller one, his hands wiggling and waving as if he were casting a spell.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Wishing a mental shutdown on you and your family..." I'm not superstitious, but that guy needs a new friend.

"Whoa! Chill dude, I was just kidding. The hell am I supposed to do if they have one now?!" The taller boy finally stopped looking at his phone to address the smaller boy.

"Give me your math homework answers, or you'll get 10 years bad luck..." Still speaking in a creepy low-pitched voice.

"Fine! Fine! Just stop joking with that shit. That stuff's happening way too frequently it's freaking me out..."

"...You have been spared."

Judging that the conversation had devolved past anything interesting, I stopped tuning in.

I wasn't sure why I was so concentrated on this. This is just the way things are. It's comfortable, for the most part. That should be all I concern myself with. I didn't plan on changing things, I couldn't even if I wanted to...

So why does it stick in my head so much?

Mental shutdowns... Sudden confessions... I'm overthinking it. There's enough on my plate.

"Stopping. Teikyuu building. Shibuya, central street. Please ensure you exit the vehicle in a timely fashion without disrupting others." The sliding doors opened, a slight hiss accompanying the motion. Sakamoto was already making his way to the exit, I quickly followed.

"I can't believe you didn't know about this place earlier; I mean we ate right next to it just the other day!" It was quite the coincidence, but I suppose it's away from the main street, a suitable place to have such a shop.

"I'm new to the city, I've only been here a few days. It's natural that I didn't know about it. Plus, it's not exactly a common hobby to have."

"Just count yourself lucky, you've got good ol' reliable Ryuji here!" Reliable, huh?

"Referring to yourself in the third person is weird..." I was reminded of the professor's odd speech preferences... Were they completely solved at the camp?

Not important.

"Haah. Man, you're no fun, lighten up a bit. Let's just buy the stuff, lighting up that castle should get even you to stop brooding..." If he keeps talking about lighting up and castles, other people are going to assume we're buying something very different. And I'm not sure if that's better or worse... Would you rather explain that you were buying drugs or weapons?

"A word boys'?" Oh, for goodness sake. This is what happens when you let Sakamoto speak freely. Not even an hour out of school and we've already acquired the police's attention.

"Wassup?" Thoroughly resisting the immediate reaction of facepalming I stand and wait for the officer to reply to my friend's terrible greeting. Should I just leave him? No that'd probably turn out worse. Explaining to Sojiro that I spent the day getting a friend out of the slammer would be a pain.

"...What was this I heard you two discussing? Lighting up? Castles? You guys aren't on drugs, are you?" The officer was rather diligent looking as he immediately grabbed a notepad and pen as he began questioning us. I could only assume he was a newbie, from his attitude. He was a bit too enthusiastic, that and he wasn't much older than us, at least it seemed to me.

"Hah?! As if dumbass-" This idiot.

"Sorry about my friend, officer. We were excited about a game at the arcade. We were on our way there just now." I gestured with a small bow to the uniformed man.

"That's all it is. Sigh. Kid's with their games... Alright, keep moving. But don't get up to any trouble, I'll have my eye on you two." Lazily waving his arm as if to shoo us away.

Bowing once again I walk without waiting for Sakamoto. Despite looking frustrated he quickly follows. Why did he refer to us as kids? He wasn't much older than us. After moving a distance away down the street, nearing the destination. Sakamoto once again exploded with displeasure.

"Seriously, what the fuck was that about?!" At least the officer couldn't hear him anymore, other passersby would just assume he's an unruly kid. Which they aren't wrong about.

"Come on." I continued walking in the direction of the airsoft shop.

"I know but- Tch, pisses me off." I was having trouble finding stuff that didn't quote 'piss' him off.

"If you want it to change anytime soon, you'd be better off changing your appearance." I'd also change the attitude as well, but Rome wasn't built in a day.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He spread his arms out wide as if to say, 'what's the problem?'

"The dyed hair, loud shirts, loudmouth. All of it attracts way too much attention, add what you were saying on to it. It's no wonder the guy stopped us." He was just doing his job, it's literally what he's paid to do.

"I could've been talking about anything, that was profiling. PROFILING." You could say his choice words for Kamoshida were the same. Even if he was right, he had absolutely no physical or tangible evidence for his own claims.

"Yeah, in case you couldn't realise that's basically his job. He picks any people that stand out in a crowd and ensures public safety. He's a police officer." The word had a negative connotation, but there's no doubt that was a huge part of his job.

"...Now that you say that... Does that make all police bad?" Before he could disappear and return with a shirt that touted some profanity about the police, getting us into more trouble. I dragged him towards the gun store... Not the greatest sentence ever, but it's in my head, so no worries.

I opened the door quickly and escaped inside with him, before he could cause more trouble.

An older man with grey hair in a buzzcut sat at the desk. His steel toe-capped boots resting on the desk as he read a magazine, quietly awaiting the next customer. I noticed the industrial soundproofing headphones resting atop his cap. Likely used when he tested the merchandise. They weren't that loud, were they? Maybe they mimicked the real thing a bit too closely, in which case that gave me slightly more to worry about for the time being.

"Welcome..." He had a gruff, no nonsense tolerated sort of voice. I was reminded of Sojiro for a second, so obviously that made me feel immediately at home in this unfamiliar store.

I could only assume someone that ran a store like this was either involved with weaponry or the armed forces at some point or held a deep fascination in those tools. Which of those he was, I wasn't sure of yet. But the look in his eyes screamed of self-assurance. I would wager on the former being true to an extent.

"I have, my friend hasn't visited before though." Sakamoto replied without missing a beat. The shopkeepers eyebrow raised and his gaze closed in on me again. Before once again flicking to the magazine in his hand.

"Whatcha' lookin' for?" He was still leant back in his chair with his feet resting on the desk. Barely lifting his eyes off of the magazine in his hand.

"Do you have a catalogue, I'm on a budget." We just needed some insurance for now, I wasn't planning on taking on the entire military of that castle.

"If you came to window shop, take it to another store. Don't have time for random kids to come disrupting business." He ruffled his magazine, once again not bothering to look at us.

"Hey man, I bought shit from here a couple weeks ago." Sakamoto leaned over the display case with his hand on the glass. He didn't look so happy about that. It wasn't particularly clean in the shop. I assumed he just didn't appreciate Sakamoto's aggression.

"Well, I don't remember you. I can barely believe I'd even sell to you; look like you'd wave it around in the street." While his attitude was hardly amicable, he wasn't wrong. But before this could devolve any further, I'd just have to give him an estimate.

"Do you have two pieces for around 10,000 yen?" They'd probably be the lowest quality he has.

"Wow you really did come on a budget; I know you guys are students but that isn't gonna go very far y'know? You're probably better off taking that to get some food and studying, exams are coming up, aren't they?" His concern was appreciated but completely unwarranted. I'd rather he just hand over the goods, that's what I expect of a business.

"Ryuji was telling me about it, and I got interested. From the models I can tell you take some serious pride in your work; it seems I was wrong to have my hopes up. We'll leave, c'mon." I didn't have time to negotiate all day. If need be, I'd manage without them.

"Huh? Wait a sec-" Sakamoto might've had the intention of bartering here all day, but to me the less time I spent here the better.

"Hold on. You guys should've said you were enthusiasts, I would've given you a hand. So long as I know you won't be doing something stupid with them, I can sell to you." I can't exactly say that firing them against soldiers in a medieval castle is an appropriate use.

"Do you have anything in our price range then?"

"Not exactly, but I think we can work something out..." Bartering? This wasn't that kind of shop; I couldn't help but immediately feel uneasy.

"Sorry I don't swing that way, Ryuji you do it." Before Sakamoto could respond to my joke, the shopkeeper cut straight to the chase. Placing a paper bag on the table.

"I ain't interested in that." A serious glint in his eye.

"And I'm not stupid enough to take that without knowing what's inside." I was glad I came with Sakamoto. Although I wasn't entirely glad, I had him with me now. If I knew that the shopkeeper was like this, I would've avoided coming here altogether.

"Take that off my hands for now. Return with it in a few days, up front I'll give you two guns of your choice in the shop, under a maximum price of 15,000 yen each. Deal?" It's unquestionable. He could offer the entire stock of the shop, and I still wouldn't take him up on it.

"You still haven't answered my question, so I take it part of the deal is not looking in that bag?" Whatever deal he was striking wouldn't put him out of pocket, he didn't seem like the type to make such a rookie error.

"Good. You're sharp. That's the case, what do you say?" My resolution hadn't changed, I have absolutely no intention of taking that.

"No thanks. Ryuji, we need to get going."

"Not the right answer kid... Shit, they're here." He looked out of the window, two men in uniform were approaching the building.

"Listen quickly, take that bag or I'll get you involved with this right now. All you need to do is return in a few days, that's all. Here, take these with you as well. I'll give you choice of one more piece when you come back, you hear me?" He placed two other bags on the counter, clearly whatever guns he had decided we would get in compensation. My gaze remained fixed on the first bag he placed. Whatever it was, it was trouble. Trouble which I really didn't want.

"What do we do, Kiyotaka?" Out of time. The jingle of the bell by the door broke my concentration.

"Iwai Munehisa. We have a few questions." The suited men entered the building, with little regard for other customers. Well, it was only us two anyway.

"Thanks for your business lads. Get running along back home now." My eyes met Iwai's. I don't like this, not one bit. But standing here would just get us involved. If you thought this would end as you expect, I would think again. I grabbed the bags for our things, attempting to leave the most troublesome one on the counter.

"Ahem. You forgot one of them." Don't pick it up Sakamo-... Why do I even bother, he's already done it.

"Who are these brats?" The taller of the two men was rather aggressive. He was taking the good cop bad cop routine a little too seriously.

"Customers. I'd appreciate it if you didn't scare off business." Iwai attempted to take the attention off of us for a speedy retreat.

"You. Show us what's in your bags now." Those words were aimed at me, probably because I was holding the bulk of the merchandise. I was glad he didn't decide to ask Sakamoto, no doubt he'd fumble his way through that ordeal. That being said, he has it in his hands now. I can't exactly feign ignorance. What a pain.

"None of your business officers. We'll be leaving then." Being agreeable at this juncture would just cause more trouble. It wasn't as if he had the right to search my belongings at the moment.

"Hey! I said show us what's in the bag!" The shorter officer was a bit older and looked to be fighting back the urge to face palm. You and me both, buddy.

"Oi! Knock it off. You can ask your questions but try and ruin my business and I'll chase you out of this shop right now!" Iwai quickly raised his voice to interrupt the larger officer. Causing him to look away from us.

"Calm yourself. Apologies for my colleague. Run along kids, we have a few questions for the shop owner. Or would you prefer to be caught up in this?" I have absolutely no intention of getting involved, whether I'd even bring the package back was up for debate.

Without another word I exited the shop expecting Sakamoto to quickly follow behind, which he did.

Walking a few strides from the shop, not in too much of a hurry but also not dawdling. I didn't want to stay in this area for much longer, we've already attracted enough attention for a day. If those same officers found us again, it might get more troublesome. Especially when we have to consider that extra baggage thrust upon us. We need to get rid of it somewhere...

"What the hell do you reckon they wanted with him?" Sakamoto asked whilst loftily swinging the paper bag in his hand. "Should we have a look-see?" A grin appeared on his face as he attempted to unfurl the bag and look inside. My hand immediately snatched the bag out of his. Before he could form an argument, I cut him off.

"Not here." I felt like I was babysitting, it did not feel good. "Whatever it is, it's no doubt troublesome... C'mon, we need to get started." We've delayed it long enough; this should be all we need.

"Finally! I've been waiting for this! Let's get this show on the road." His dejected look immediately took the shape of a grin at my words.

We made our way back towards the school once more, taking detours and alleyways until we were within range. To enter that world once again. This will be the second time. But this feeling of excitement, I can't shake it. I wonder how I'll change this time.

---

Word count: 3957

Hopefully the chapter taking place in the palace makes up for the rather slow, dialogue driven chapters right now. Not every chapter can raise the stakes, unfortunately build-up like this has to take place for those exciting chapters to come to fruition. That being said, hopefully it was still enjoyable.

As always feel free to share any thoughts and feelings about the story so far.

P.S. Those who understand the title are just like Ayanokouji frfr.

Until next time.