The Puppeteers

Chapter 11: Placebo Effect

As Mafuyu's stares drifted off into the screen showing Nene's cruel demise, a blue haired figure popped up infront of them once again, clearly agitated about something.

"Miku! What are you doing here?" Emu asked the girl.

"Ahhh, I'm so annoyed!" The figure stomped her foot, "You all think you can just make some dumb plan and expect it to immediately work out?!"

"Huh?" Mizuki tilted her head, "Ofcourse we're going to make a plan immediately, we can't just let our friend--"

"No, not that, dumbass! There's no way you all just sent her to Nene's execution place like it was nothing. And plus, I was having my sweet little fun with Nene...!"

"Sweet little fun?" Rui deadpanned, "You almost killed her."

"#£#$[[]$$#½½£${[½[[½[½[>>#£$}\\"

"And there she goes again." Ena walked up to Miku angrily, "Give us Nene back. And Kanade, too."

"Huh? #£½½#½[[$${½${ I thought you all sent Kanade yourselves. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"We sent her so she could save Nene from you!" Tsukasa raised his voice, "Give back our friends and let us out of here!"

Seeing their furious faces, the once angry Miku turned her face back to her usual uncanny smile."I won't stop something you did yourself." She said boldly.

"Ahh! You!" Tsukasa walked closer to Miku aswell, "Won't you get this inside that dumb brain of yours?! Give. Back. Nene!"

"We won't stop until you do what we tell you to do!" Ena shouted.

The figure stared at them, still smiling.

"Puhuhu...Aha..Haah..."

The two took a few steps back out of surprise. Miku's cold eyes stared into their soul as her mouth let out another laugh.

"Haha...Hahahaha!"

"Huh?!" Rui and Emu jumped out of fear.

Miku lowered her gaze.

"I can't believe you'd all be so gullible."

She stared back at them.

"Even Mafuyu, who I thought would be smarter than that, didn't catch on to what was happening."

"What...What's happening?" Mafuyu questioned, frightened.

"...This whole voting thing didn't exist until Nene's disappearance."

"What?! What do you mean?!" Tsukasa shouted again.

"Didn't you notice?" Miku asked, "None of you actually 'voted out' Nene."

"Oh...I thought I was the only one who didn't." Mizuki held their arm.

"But then, what happened with Kanade?" Ena wanted to know.

"That's simple. I'm sure you've heard of the term, 'Placebo Effect'."

"...!"

"It's when you believe in something so much that it actually happens." She explained, "It usually happens when you drink medicine: if you truly believe that you'll heal after taking it, it might actually happen."

They stood quiet.

"And what does this have to do with your situation?" Miku continued, "There was no voting at all, I simply took Nene for an execution as a result of the 'voting', and since nobody questioned it, I didn't undo anything."

"...What?!" Mafuyu stared in disbelief.

"What's wrong, Mafuyu? Didn't you believe that Nene was the anomaly you had to get rid of? Why're you so sad now?"

"No...I did think she might be, but...but...!" She shook her head crying.

"I'm sorry!" She ran away.

"Mafuyu!" Mizuki ran after the girl.

"You motherfucker!" Ena slapped her, "How could you?!"

"You have only yourself to blame. I just did a trick I thought you wouldn't fall for." Miku replied cheerfully.

"And you think you're not the asshole for doing that 'trick'?" Rui yelled.

"Guys...!" Emu wailed, "Please, stop."

Tsukasa slowly walked away from the situation as he sank inside his thoughts.

(What would Nene or Mafuyu do in this situation?)

His friends and Miku kept arguing infront of him.

(It doesn't seem like it'll do much if we keep this up. Nene and Kanade could still be in danger.)

He stared at his hand.

(But, how can I even go to help them or anything? If the whole voting process wasn't real, the only way to exit and leave those Fragment SEKAI's are through Miku's permission.)

(And we don't even know where Kanade could've gone.)

(Oh, right. Miku's permission?)

(I wonder if my note's still there. The one I wrote to Nene through my feelings.)

"Save yourself." Tsukasa mumbled.

...

Nene woke up again. It felt like her bleeding and pain had stopped.

Opening her eyes, she wondered how she had survived all of that while not dying from something like blood loss.

But now wasn't quite the time to question.

She slowly sat up. Her hand and leg looked perfectly fine as if nothing had happened.

Perhaps it was all a dream? But that couldn't be true since she was still inside one of those shops in her Fragment SEKAI.

So, why was she healed now? Through someones feelings, maybe?

She recognized something on the floor. It was a note.

As she picked it up, a memory flashed through her mind.

This was the last thing she saw before passed out completely. The note with the familiar handwriting.

Despite it being only 2 words, it had still managed to give Nene the courage she needed.

And now that she was okay again, she could inspect the piece of paper further.

This writing...Had to be...

Tsukasa's handwriting?

"Nene! Nene!" A voice started calling out.

A lot of footsteps were heard. It was like this person was running around this place, in need of something urgent.

Thinking that it was another trick from Miku, Nene quickly ran into one of the dressing rooms inside the store and hid.

But that voice...It did sound a bit like someone, didn't it?

Not some stranger. It couldn't be her parents either.

The voice slowly came closer. It was more clear now who it was.

But out of fear, the girl couldn't bring herself to go out of her hiding spot.

"Nene, it's Kanade! Are you there?" The girl kept walking around and shouting in all sorts of places.

Kanade starting opening the curtains to the changing rooms and looking inside them.

Nene sat down on the cold floor. She accepted her fate.

Right as Kanade opened the curtain to hers, she saw...

"Tsukasa?!"

Authors note: this chapter sucks im sorry idk if i should continue this anymore its like i shat on it or smth wtf