Behind the Door

The visions Echo gave him had not stopped. Since the early hours of that morning, they had seeped into Suguru Geto's consciousness drop by drop, like a tap that would not shut tight. While he ate, while he walked, while he talked to Haibara, even while he used the bathroom. The images would suddenly flash up. Some he understood, some he did not. But they all had one thing in common: they pointed to the same place.

That iron door.

The iron door in the Old Library's basement. He had gone down there twice, and both times he had stopped at the doorway. The first time, Echo had led him there. He had stood outside without opening it. The second time, he had gone with Masamichi Yaga. Yaga had opened the door, and he had seen the room inside: the iron beds, the enamel mug, the writing on the walls, the traces of whitewash. But he had not gone in. He had stood in the doorway, watching Yaga enter, watching Yaga crouch beside Ichiro Nakajima's bed, watching Yaga brush aside the hair covering Ichiro Nakajima's face. He himself had never crossed that threshold.

On Friday night, Suguru Geto went to the Old Library alone.

He told no one. After dinner, Suguru Geto put on his coat, pushed open the old building's door, and went inside.

The iron door was closed. The talisman paper was still on the bars, yellowed, its edges curled, the incantations faded almost beyond recognition. The lock was fastened. Yaga had locked it again after opening it last time. Yaga had the key. Suguru Geto did not.

He reached out and touched the lock. The rust scraped against his fingertips, ice-cold.

Echo, he said in his mind, you want me to go in.

Echo gave a twitch.

What's inside?

Echo did not answer. But it projected an image into his consciousness, one Suguru Geto had seen before. The iron door opened, and behind it, those things swarmed out through the gap like ants.

Suguru Geto withdrew his hand.

He did not open the door. He stood there for a long time, his flashlight beam trained on the iron door. Then he turned and went up the stairs.

By the time he left the Old Library, it was completely dark.

Echo, he said in his mind, there isn't a void behind that door. There's something else.

Echo did not answer.

It's that room. Ichiro Nakajima's room. You just made it look like a void.

Suguru Geto walked back to the dormitory. He did not ask Yaga for the key. He simply lay on his bed, looking at the patches of light on the ceiling and thinking about that door.

On Saturday, Kiryū knocked on his door half an hour earlier than usual.

Suguru Geto opened the door. Kiryū stood outside without a scanner or a clipboard. He wore a dark gray coat rather than his dark blue uniform. His face was expressionless, but Suguru Geto noticed that the dark circles beneath his eyes were deeper than usual.

"Mr. Geto, you went to the Old Library last night."

It was not a question.

Suguru Geto looked at him. "You were following me?"

"Not following. Monitoring. The Association's equipment can track your movements within Jujutsu High." Kiryū took a small notebook from his pocket and opened it. "You entered the Old Library at 9:15 last night. You left at 9:43. You spent twenty-eight minutes inside. What were you doing there?"

Suguru Geto was silent for a second. "Looking at a door."

"What door?"

"The basement door."

Kiryū's fingers tightened around his pen. His expression did not change, but Suguru Geto could feel a shift in the air around him.

"Mr. Geto, that basement is outside the areas you are permitted to access at Jujutsu High. You should not go there."

"Why not?"

"Because it is under the Association's jurisdiction."

Suguru Geto looked into Kiryū's eyes. "Mr. Kiryū, someone was locked in that basement. For forty years. His name was Ichiro Nakajima. He died there. You filed his case under 'Natural Collapse.' No one came to collect his belongings. No one came to clean out his room. Is he still there? Or have you already moved him?"

Kiryū did not answer that question. He closed the notebook and put it back in his pocket.

"Mr. Geto, I am not here to monitor you today. I am here to convey the Association's decision. You have five weeks left of your suspension. The Association believes that your movements during your stay at Jujutsu High have exceeded reasonable limits. Therefore, starting tomorrow, you must report to the Reception Room on the first floor of the Administration Building three times a day: morning, noon, and evening. Association personnel will be present to record your physical condition and mental state. You may remain in your dormitory at other times, but you may not leave the dormitory building."

Suguru Geto looked at Kiryū. "House arrest?"

"Not house arrest. Centralized supervision." Kiryū turned, took two steps, then stopped. "Mr. Geto, the Association is not targeting you. The Association is protecting you."

He left. His footsteps echoed down the corridor, growing fainter until they vanished at the stairwell.

Echo, he said in his mind, they say they're protecting me.

Echo did not answer.

They told Ichiro Nakajima the same thing when they locked him up.

On Sunday, Suguru Geto did not report to the Reception Room.

He got up at seven, washed, dressed, and sat on his bed. He did not go out. At half past seven, several sets of footsteps sounded in the corridor. They stopped outside his door. Someone knocked three times.

"Mr. Geto, you have not reported in. Please open the door."

Suguru Geto did not move.

Three more knocks sounded, harder this time. "Mr. Geto, please open the door."

Suguru Geto stood, walked over, and opened the door. Three people stood outside: Kiryū, Iguchi, and Tamura. Iguchi held the scanner, and Tamura held a folder. Kiryū stood between them, his arms at his sides, like a soldier awaiting orders.

"Mr. Geto, please come with us."

"Where?"

"The Reception Room. You have not reported in today."

Suguru Geto looked into Kiryū's eyes. "Mr. Kiryū, what if I don't go?"

Kiryū was silent for a second. "Mr. Geto, the Association's decision is not a suggestion. It is a requirement."

Suguru Geto leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms. "Mr. Kiryū, let me ask you something. When Ichiro Nakajima was locked in that basement, did anyone ask him whether he wanted to go in?"

Kiryū's jaw tightened. "Mr. Geto, Ichiro Nakajima's case was different from yours."

"How?"

"The foreign entity inside Ichiro Nakajima had already fused with him completely. Echo has not yet fused with you. That is the difference."

"So you're going to lock me up before Echo finishes fusing with me?"

Kiryū did not answer. He took the scanner from Iguchi and raised it in front of Suguru Geto. A string of numbers appeared on the screen. Kiryū glanced at them, then returned the scanner to Iguchi.

"Mr. Geto, your cursed energy fluctuations have increased by twelve percent since yesterday. That is a sign of emotional instability. I suggest you calm down and cooperate with us."

Suguru Geto looked at the scanner. The numbers on its screen were still shifting, green, row after row, like strings of code. Those numbers represented his body, his condition, his-he did not say it aloud. He simply straightened away from the doorframe and stepped out of his room.

"Let's go," he said.

Kiryū glanced at him. He did not thank him for cooperating or offer any approval. He turned and led the way with Iguchi and Tamura. Suguru Geto followed them down the corridor, down the stairs, and into the Administration Building. The Reception Room was the innermost room on the first floor. It was small, with one table, three chairs, and a clock on the wall. The clock had stopped, its hands pointing to ten past ten.

Suguru Geto sat down. Kiryū sat opposite him while Iguchi and Tamura stood by the door. Kiryū took a sheet of paper from the folder, placed it on the table, and slid it toward Suguru Geto.

"Mr. Geto, this is today's record form. Please confirm the information on it."

Suguru Geto glanced at it. It listed the date, the time, his name, his age, and his grade. Below was a blank space labeled "Subject's statement." He picked up the pen and wrote one line in the space.

"I am not Ichiro Nakajima."

He put down the pen and slid the paper back. Kiryū glanced at the line without any change in expression. He put the paper into the folder and stood.

"That will be all. Please report back at noon sharp."

Suguru Geto stood and left the Reception Room, then saw Satoru Gojo leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets and sunglasses perched on his nose. He wore a black Jujutsu High uniform, and his hair was a mess, as though he had just woken up.

"Geto, they made you report in?"

"Yeah."

Satoru Gojo took a piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth. He chewed a few times and swallowed.

"Kiryū told me. Starting today, you have to come here three times a day."

"He called it 'centralized supervision.'"

Satoru Gojo snorted. "House arrest is house arrest. They just gave it a nicer name."

He pushed away from the wall and walked up to Suguru Geto. "Geto, they won't keep you locked up for long."

"How do you know?"

"Because you have five weeks left of your suspension. In five weeks, if your reassessment comes back normal, they won't have a reason to keep you locked up." Satoru Gojo's voice was very low. "And if it doesn't..."

He paused.

"Then I'll show them what 'abnormal' really means."

"Satoru," Suguru Geto said, "I trust you."

The corner of Satoru Gojo's mouth twitched. Then he turned and left.

Suguru Geto stood at the end of the corridor, looking at the closed door. The clock on the Reception Room wall remained stopped, its hands pointing to ten past ten.

Echo, he said in his mind, in five weeks, we're leaving this place.

Suguru Geto started walking and returned to the dormitory.