Marionette

Oceans, Chapter Forty Two - Bochi [墓地]

The situation involving the Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery had apparently blown over uneventfully, with the girl in the box being downgraded by her owners overnight. However, she'd resisted her owners intentions and hidden her important programming she'd gotten from Koro-sensei in another part of her memory mixed with original programming, thus retaining her current state of self.

She'd apparently proven that she retained a personality and a will of her own, thus fully earning the name Ritsu from their peers. Amaya learned about this not from being present in the class, but rather, an email from Isogai updating her on class developments that particular afternoon.

She'd instead chosen not to attend classes that day, in preparation for the 1st of June, which happened to be the very next morning.

Amaya had decided after Karma had pinned her down to demand an explanation into her current hangups that she'd be best to leave earlier than she had intended. Therefore instead of leaving on Friday like she'd originally planned, she was leaving first thing Wednesday morning.

She reasoned that since the twins had lasted two nights without Amaya just last week, so they could easily last a single night before they left to stay at Makos place.

It was 4am by the time Amaya had left the apartment Wednesday morning.

Dressing so that she would be easily overlooked, Amaya was clad in her boots, a grey and white tartan skirt, a long-sleeved black shirt with a grey hoodie left unzipped, and her hair tucked neatly in her black paperboy cap. If anybody she knew saw here in this set of clothes, they'd either burst out in a fit of laughter, or they'd thing she was down with some terminal illness.

After carefully retrieving a carefully hidden box from up on top of the bookshelf in the living room, Amaya checked on her siblings one last time, before she left and locked the door behind her.

At 4am, Amaya knew for a fact that she wouldn't run into anyone she knew, and in fact, she was pretty certain she wouldn't run into anyone.

And she was proven correct as she boarded the train to head towards Tokyo Station.

There was nobody her own age anywhere, and even at such a time, there were only the scarce couple of early-morning commuters around. No delinquents either, who were all probably still asleep in their nice, comfy beds.

The security guards at the station gave her a particularly scrupulous check over, including her large messenger bag and the question of whether her ticket to Osaka was genuine before they left her alone to board her particular train.

So she sat in silence, her music playing through her headphones over her ears and an empty notebook sitting in her lap.

By 4.53am, the train left the station, leaving Amaya to while away the five hours until the train reached Osaka.

As she remained lost in thought, absent-mindedly drawing music-notes over the notebook she had brought, the odd email or two reached her phone every hour. Peculiar, since Amaya honestly couldn't recall a time she'd ever been this popular when it came to exchanging emails. Nor had she realized so many people had her contact information.

She responded as necessary, making a point of being as clear and non-committal she could manage, while making it rather obvious that she was going to be without a phone for a while.

[5.49am, Yuta O_o - Good morning. Stay safe, Amay.]

[5.57am, Isogai-kun ^_^ - Amaya-san, are you attending class, today?]

[6.35am, Koro-sensei @_@ - Amaya-san, Sensei has been informed by Isogai-kun that you are not coming to class today. Is everything okay?]