Rodeo gripped Chalice’s chin — buried in the mattress — and lifted it, biting down on the back of his neck.
Chalice’s lips, which had been pressed shut as he tried to pull away, parted, his waist flinched, and the two fists that had been clenched and trembling went slack.
Rodeo’s gaze fell to Chalice’s palms, marked with nail imprints.
The fingers that had gone limp began to flutter and clutch at the blanket.
Rodeo felt Chalice climax against the hand that had slipped inside his pants — and as he looked at Chalice’s trembling hand, nails gone white, and let out a quiet laugh, his movements suddenly stopped.
A Decorker was strapped to the wrist where veins stood prominent.
In an instant, Chalice’s clothing changed and his face shifted.
The man in his early thirties that Rodeo remembered had somewhere along the way become a man with a tired face, jaw clenched tight.
[Drug injection in progress]
Five characters blinked on Chalice’s Decorker.
Rodeo’s body went rigid.
Chalice, who had been catching his breath beneath Rodeo, opened his mouth.
“…You think there’s never been an Esper like you before?”
Still face-down, body unmoving, only his voice rang through Rodeo’s head.
“This is—”
“…Go ahead. Do it.”
“I didn’t — it wasn’t me. I didn’t use something like this…”
As Rodeo hesitated and tried to get up, Chalice’s hand seized Rodeo’s wrist.
On Rodeo’s Decorker too, a light was blinking.
[In use – Chalice]
Through the tangle of hair soaked in tears and sweat, Chalice’s deep blue eyes turned toward Rodeo at some point.
As his own reflection appeared clearly within them, Rodeo’s eyes snapped open.
An unfamiliar ceiling. Beside an unfamiliar bed, two irises stood keeping watch.
Outside the window, a predawn darkness lay spread — the same color as Chalice’s eyes.
“What the hell…”
Rodeo shoved his hands through his own hair and let out a long breath.
6:37 AM.
After tossing his pants and underwear into the washing machine, Rodeo pulled on fresh underwear and workout clothes from the wardrobe and left the apartment.
He couldn’t sleep and figured he’d at least exercise.
He tucked a single card from his wallet and his phone into his pocket, grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, and headed for the first floor where the concierge directed him to the fitness facilities.
But luck was not on his side.
“……This is a disaster.”
Beyond the people already working out, he could see Chalice on a rowing machine.
Fortunately it was far from the wall where the treadmills were lined up, so he headed that way — when a familiar voice reached him from a corner.
“…That’s it.”
“I think I’ve given you more than enough chances.”
“At least if you came to love me, you wouldn’t do this anymore — hah…”
It was Turner.
Given the nature of the call, he had turned to face the wall beside the treadmill farthest in the corner, speaking quietly — but Rodeo, who had been moving without looking around as if fleeing to somewhere he couldn’t be seen, ended up in the unfortunate position of overhearing the call at precisely the wrong moment.
Rodeo couldn’t bring himself to take a single step further and stood frozen on the spot.
“That’s enough. You never loved me to begin with. You were only ever waiting for a chance to use me.”
“If anything, it’s for the best. It’s time I graduated from you anyway.”
“…Take care of yourself. And don’t think the facility doesn’t know. The surveillance and restrictions are going to get worse from here, so please, watch yourself.”
“…….”
“I’m hanging up.”
Turner ended the call — the parting words an admonishment or a warning threaded with concern for the other person — and stood blankly for a moment before turning around.
Rodeo, standing frozen in place, was caught in the act of having unintentionally overheard the call with no way to cover for it.
“…Ah, Turner. So, um—”
“…….”
“Uh… that is—”
“Rodeo, are you working out first thing after moving in?”
Turner greeted him with a shadowed expression, forcing it as best he could, but Rodeo was busy forcing a small awkward smile while glancing sideways in Chalice’s direction from afar.
Whether Chalice hadn’t heard Rodeo’s name or was simply ignoring it, he continued his workout without pause.
Only then did Rodeo relax, and this time he studied Turner’s expression carefully as he changed the subject, pretending he hadn’t heard anything.
“Do you live here too?”
“Ah, I was originally a researcher so I stayed in the in-facility housing… but the case was closed when Rodeo came back.”
Turner scratched the back of his head and smiled — it looked bittersweet.
Rodeo figured that the person referred to as “teacher” likely played a significant part in the reason for the sudden move, and smiled.
“Then it’s thanks to me. You moved somewhere better.”
“That’s true. Still, it was a project I’d been working on for nearly ten years, so I’m a bit worried about what I’ll do from here on.”
“Why would an Esper worry about having things to do? The facility gives you work and you do it.”
A silence fell at Rodeo’s words.
Turner rubbed the back of his neck and rolled his eyes.
“…Espers don’t work anymore either?”
“Work is… they do give it, but except for a small number, it’s very infrequent. Only to those who are qualified and want it. Many people even live keeping the fact that they’re Espers a secret. You saw yesterday’s educational material, didn’t you?”
“I did. The Decorker business… I’d heard they were living outside, but I didn’t realize it was that free.”
“There’s no separate material for day-to-day things like this… you must have been surprised. The truth is, while it’s correct that the Rampage rate dropped sharply with the Decorker’s commercial rollout, the reason recent Rampage numbers are close to zero is more because there’s less need for missions than before. As you saw, Esper status has risen, so things have improved a lot.”
Turner shrugged and smiled, and Rodeo followed with a crooked smile — but then immediately grabbed his head.
“It’s a shock, and on top of that I’m worried…”
“Pardon?”
“Then what am I supposed to do with myself… I was planning to return to duty right away.”
Turner laughed out loud — not at all like someone who had just ended a relationship moments ago.
“You should have plenty of money, though. I told you before. Since you’re a victim of an Esper-related incident, you won’t have to worry about getting by going forward.”
“It’s not about the money… I don’t know how to do anything other than go on missions.”
At that, Turner gradually let the smile drop and wore a look of concern.
“Hmm… I don’t know how you’ll feel about this, but the facility has a counseling program. There used to be a lot of Espers like that. There’s a social adjustment program too, so if you’re open to it, please give it a try.”
“Oh? There’s even something like that…”
“Try everything available, and if you still find missions more comfortable, you can formally apply to be a facility agent.”
The sincerity in Turner’s expression pulled Rodeo along with it, and he listened with a growing seriousness before letting out an embarrassed smile.
“Right. I’ll think about it. For now I’ll try adjusting here on my own for a bit.”
“Please do. There’ll be a lot to try. This is a facility-affiliated officetel, so if it’s uncomfortable you can move to a house — really, you can do anything. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!”
“…Ten years and you’re still younger than me — you’d make a good teacher though.”
Turner’s face went red at that, and Rodeo laughed loudly.
He was simply glad that even for just a moment, the pained expression that didn’t suit that young face had been lifted.
“You really haven’t changed much. Though you do seem more grown up.”
With the atmosphere having grown lively before he knew it, Rodeo briefly forgot that Chalice was in the same space — and whether it was a misfortune or a blessing, he didn’t notice Chalice’s gaze watching from afar.
After Turner shared his phone number and unit number and headed off, Rodeo finished his workout alone.
Fortunately, the worries about the future seemed to be burying the dream from last night.
“…I thought you’d been listed as missing.”
Or so he thought — until he came face to face with Chalice in front of the elevator.
“…….”
“…….”
“That wasn’t something you were hoping for, was it?”
The surprise on his face lasted only a moment before Rodeo made no effort to hide his foul mood, face twisting instantly, and continued what barely passed for a conversation without so much as glancing in Chalice’s direction — eyes fixed only on the elevator floor numbers.
“Or was it? Ah — were you perhaps hoping the facility had slipped something in to kill me off and was pretending it was a disappearance to cover it up?”
“…….”
“Not even a flicker of expression. So it’s true.”
The sound of Rodeo crushing the empty plastic bottle rang out loudly, and Chalice let out a deep sigh.
“Why would I think something like — back around that time there weren’t even any seizures—”
Beep—
It happened then.
Cutting through Chalice’s voice amid the tension, a sudden, crisp mechanical tone sounded.
It was the Decorker strapped to Chalice’s wrist.
“Ugh…”
Chalice lurched and caught himself against the wall with his arm, moving in slow motion before Rodeo’s eyes.
In an instant it was as though scenes from the dream were flashing past — Rodeo’s body froze for a moment — and then Chalice bit down on his lip, let out a sharp exhale, and barely managed to pull in a breath, and only then did Rodeo’s arm move toward him.
But the hand that stopped short without reaching him pressed the elevator button instead of reaching for Chalice.
“…Do you need support?”
“…….”
