Prologue

The ant told me that the frog is bad. 
The frog told me that the cat is bad. 
The cat told me, “No, the rabbit’s the worst of all!” 
So I… 

…My ears rang. Yet I could also hear it as a voice, trying to tell me something. 

Slumping down in the chair, I looked up. The ceiling began to warp into whiteness. Wanting to check the time, I looked to where the clock should have been, but the numbers were black blots, squirming around like bugs; it wouldn’t tell me anything useful. 

I knew this scene well. I could still never forget that day. 

“…I will end this,” I muttered to no one in particular, shutting my eyes. 

There was no end in sight to the ringing. The voice seemed to get increasingly louder. 

“You want to be XXXXed? Then you just need to XXXX.” 
“What should I XXXX?” 
“Let’s see now… You should XXXX bad people. Then you’ll be XXXXed, too.” 

That was what the cat told me. …No, actually, I couldn’t quite remember if it was the cat who said it. 

But I always wanted someone to XXXX me. It had been the only thing on my mind for a long time. That’s why I was observing the children at the facility and continuing to research - in hopes of finding an answer. 

“Ah, my head hurts…” 

I tried to lift myself up and head for the bed. But instead, I powerlessly fell onto the desk. I tried several times, but the worsening ringing in my ears and headache sapped my will. 

“…Oh well,” I mumbled, and lay my head down on the desk. 

As I drifted off, amid the clamor of metallic sounds, I felt like I heard her voice.