Blue Archive story · Volume 3: Eden Treaty, Chapter 4, Episode 18
Vol. 3 Ch. 4 Ep. 18: Another Us
1 scenes, 246 lines
1. Part 1
246 lines
This way, Hiyori, Misaki. Let's hide here.
H-Hey...
Be quiet. Lower your head.
Who's the girl in the middle over there? Sh-She's wearing a really pretty dress...
I don't know... She must be super important.
That's Hime. She's of royal blood.
Really?! She's royalty?
Whoa! I didn't know we had royals! She must live a totally different life from people like us!
I bet she's never stolen food...or had frostbite...or slept on a cold floor...
A-Are you crying?!
In a world full of suffering...I didn't know such a beautiful person could exist... It's so heartwarming. *sob*
I don't care how heartwarming it is! You're gonna give us away!
Sorry, b-but... *sob*
...Even if she's royalty, her situation is likely even worse than ours now.
...?
They're escorting a captured hostage to the enemy. She's a prisoner of war.
She'll probably be locked away and never see the light of day, left alone to slowly starve.
Oh... Oh, no...
Stop, Misaki. You're scaring Hiyori.
...Sorry. So, what do we do? Just go back?
Of course not. Crowds like these are the perfect hunting grounds. Steal everything you can get your hands on.
Got it? Let's go.
Stop!
Get out of the way, eighth squad leader.
You're going to destroy her halo! Please!
Please... Please stop... *sob*
This is what resistance will get you. Move, if you don't want to suffer the same fate.
*cough* You haven't...broken...me...
The insolence!
Teach...?
...And here she goes again.
I-I'm good at teaching! Hiyori, Misaki, and Hime have all improved their grades since I started helping them.
I'll make sure she stays in line! So, please...!
...hurts.
Misaki, don't do this again. Please.
...Why not?
W-Why not...? B-Because...well...
Why should we have to go on struggling?
I'm cold, hungry, and sick. Every day is the same. Painful and unbearable.
Why do you force this meaningless pain on us? What can come from this?
...I knew it. You act like you know everything, but you're no better than us. You know nothing!
M-Misaki! No, wait!
Wait! I-I...
P-Please forgive me... I was wrong... I'm sorry...
I'm sorry...sorry...so sorry... I'll never...
I'll never disobey an adult's order...never ever... I'll let go of all hope... I won't rebel.
I will never pray for happiness... Never again... I'm sorry...
So, please...forgive...
Have mercy...please...
Mercy...
Why do you continue to resist, Azusa?
A symbol of reconciliation? It was a fool's dream. A lie. It's not like you to believe in lies.
Real truth lies in your training, in the lessons we have learned here.
Let go of all hope. Don't rebel. Don't pray for happiness. Everything is in vain.
Azusa! Are you listening?!
Wh-What? What did you say?
Where are you going? Come back... Azusa!
Tell me...please! What did you say? Don't... Don't leave us.
Azusa...
Have you...found your answer?
Please...what do you know? I...
What should I do?
Azusa...
...Azusa?
You can't move with those wounds, Saori.
What, exactly, is fine?
My ending. I ran out of pages a long time ago.
I kept running forward, believing with all my heart I was doing what I had to do. But that didn't make it right.
Azusa...
...?
You called out for Azusa. Why?
...You heard that?
Azusa of the Make-Up Work Club...a spy chosen to aide my coup.
If it weren't for Sensei, she would've remained what she was supposed to be: a mindless chess piece.
What?
Reconciliation for Trinity and Arius... That was your idea, Mika.
I mean, yeah. But I just made it up to trick Sensei...
No. You don't remember? You said it when you first approached us.
Before Seia's attack. Before the Eden Treaty, before the coup... Before the lies and schemes.
......
When we first met, you only spoke of peace.
Hi there! Are you an Arius student? What's your name?
It's such a nice day out! I love the feel of the sun on my skin.
Get to the point, Trinity.
Whoa, there. Not very into casual conversation, huh?
Okay, okay. I'd like for Trinity and Arius to reconcile.
...What?
I know. It's super crazy, huh?
I'm guessing you guys still hate us.
And I'd also say that's probably why you stay hidden in this isolated district, and refuse any outside help. All because of some feud from years and years ago.
......
Don't look at me like that. I know how much anger and hatred from that feud pours into the present day. No one's gonna want to compromise.
I mean, Nagi and Seia are still super against it. And I get it.
But at the same time, I don't really understand. Would it be so bad for us to try to be nice to each other? Little by little, we could chip away at that hatred.
I really think it's possible. That's why I came out here to meet you guys. To try, little by little.
...Do you expect me to trust you?
I really don't. So, how about this?
What if you transfer an Arius student to Trinity without telling anyone?
I could make it happen with a snap of my fingers. Being in the Tea Party has its benefits.
......
If an Arius student can assimilate into Trinity, we can prove that we're not so different.
She'll be like...a symbol of reconciliation! Aren't I a genius?
You're insane. Your plan is insanity.
I know, right? But if we pull it off, Seia and Nagi would finally listen!
W-Wait! Does that mean you're considering it? Do you have someone in mind?
...A mission?
Reconciliation? Your naivety astounds me. You're walking into a trap with your eyes wide open.
Although...this could work to our advantage. Observe her. See if she's truly an artless child or a sly snake.
Reject it for now, but maintain the relationship. Milk her for as much information as you can.
You don't want to...try?
Silly child. A symbol of reconciliation? If I scoffed any harder, I'd be able to spit on the Trinity girl.
......
I sense discontent, Saori. You couldn't possibly have been thinking of acquiescing to Trinity, have you?
...Of course not, Madame.
Tell me. Who taught you what it means to go hungry? Who stole the very roof from over your head?
...Trinity.
Good girl. There is no reconciliation. They have taken everything from you, except your hatred. Do not lose it.
Yes, Madame. I will not.
I don't know what it was about her...but I thought Azusa...
I thought she could be that symbol for the academies.
......
But we'll never know what could've become of that future.
Seia's just through here.
You'll send her on a little extended vacation to the hospital, and I'll be next in line to become host!
What fun! Aren't you excited?
...
Madame wanted Seia gone, and the opportunity presented itself.
You only thought of us as disposable foot soldiers, didn't you? Why else would you have revealed Seia's location?
But we weren't some petty thieves you could manipulate.
We're murderers. Day in and day out, we trained to destroy halos.
And then we received a mission... Shatter Seia's halo.
And Azusa...she was assigned to the mission because she'd already studied and prepared to be our symbol of reconciliation.
...Nagi's planning something weird.
......
A peace agreement with Gehenna? She's gone totally crazy since Seia died.
Considering the situation, we should revisit our plan.
Plant a spy in Trinity, more carefully than last time.
You...
I didn't understand what you wanted or what principles you upheld. I still don't.
I could've just brushed you off as a foolish, naive girl. But I know you better than that.
I thought your dreams of reconciliation were inconceivable, but...
But what if it wasn't? What if we could emerge from the shadows?
Even now, I can't erase the thoughts from my head.
......
......
You came to us with the best intentions, but I deceived you and dragged you into hell.
You couldn't accept it...the hell that erupted from your hopeful dreams. So, you locked away your memories and embraced the darkness you believed lived inside you.
And you're not the only one.
Hiyori and Misaki were dragged into Squad, and Hime...she never should have had to fight here.
Azusa was forced to return to Trinity, not as the symbol of reconciliation we'd hoped for, but as a murderer and spy.
All this, because of me. Because of my weakness.
What do you always call me? A hound...
Yes. A rabid hound. One that infects everyone around it.
...
Why did I call out for Azusa? I have...so many questions for her.
Azusa was a victim of circumstance. She suffered the most in some ways, and yet...
...she seemed happy.
Azusa was always closed-off. She accepted our presence, but never our friendship.
Her loneliness was palpable.
But then she actually went to Trinity. She went and made friends, met a nice adult...
Azusa overcame all her hardships and suffering with a smile.
She seemed content, in that world beneath a blue sky I could never reach.
It's a lie. Don't you understand? There can be no peace.
Your hope? It's an illusion! It'll disappear with the setting sun!!
I've prayed! I've dreamed and hoped! I've cried and begged, and nothing has ever changed!
Everything is in vain, Azusa! Everything!
But in the end...
She was right, in the end.
Everything I believed in...my hatred, my resolve...
It was all a lie. Everything isn't in vain.
My weakness was everyone's undoing.
It was all my fault, Mika.
Azusa couldn't find happiness until she finally escaped...me.
You know the lengths I went to deny that simple fact.
I want to know...what Azusa has learned. The answers she found at Trinity.
I have so many questions for her.
...Can I be happy too, one day?
How do I find peace? Will I ever have the chance? Or more aptly...do I deserve the chance?
What if...
What if I had met Sensei first? Instead of Madame?
How would the trajectory of my life have changed?
Maybe I wouldn't have hurt everyone I love.
If I had...the chance to be good...
I want to understand those words you said to me, Azusa.
I want...
It doesn't matter anymore... Mika.
Take your revenge. Claim as much as you've lost.
You were never a witch. I was the one who injected my hate into your veins.
I took so much from everyone around me. This ending is only fitting.
Well... I always thought it would be Azusa, but it's for the best if it's you, Mika.
......
I-I...
I...can't... I can't do it...
I can't...because...
I...
...wanted that, too...
I wanted to be happy!
I've wondered that again and again too! What if I had met Sensei earlier? Sensei could've helped me fix my mistakes!
I didn't think it was fair! I messed up... I really did. But I lost everything dear to me. I prayed for some form of mercy.
But...it never came. Not for me.
And now it's too late. I don't think there's anything I could ever do to make up for the horrible things I've done.
A second chance...?
I wanted it so badly. And when Sensei came to my cell and told me all my friends would come to my hearing, I thought I could have it. But...even that slipped away.
...Everything is in vain, right? There was nothing left for me to do but to suffer...and to hate.
You and I...are twin flames, Saori.
Inexplicably linked, cursed to never find happiness.
We can't turn back time, and we can't change the future.
I think that's why I fixated on you. Revenge felt like the only thing I could control.
You didn't turn me into a witch. I took the poison myself.
Even when Sensei tried to give me the antidote, I spit it out.
Like Seia always says, I really am hopeless.
Mika...
Why haven't you shattered my halo yet?
...!
I know you have the bomb. I've given you plenty of chances to use it.
If you did...then at least I... I wouldn't have to...
Hm?
Confiscated it?
Seriously? Confiscated a deadly weapon like it was some weird magazine or alcohol?
"It's a teacher's duty to confiscate dangerous items."
?!
Sensei...?!
What are you doing here, Sensei?!