They're Talking About You, Boy

**They're Talking About You, Boy** is the name of Kinosuke Fukuoka's execution, as featured in Cornucopia of Hope.

## Sequence

*Excerpt taken from Chapter 61 of Cornucopia of Hope*

A metal claw falls out of the ceiling and grabs Kinosuke around the neck, dragging him up past it.

As he goes, he looks at me.

No words.

A single look.

There’s a mixture of anger, of fear, of vindication in that look. But there’s also a request.

I don’t know, maybe I’m reading into a final look as the best friend I’ve had for years is ripped away to his death.

But I think I know what he wants me to do.

[ They’re Talking About You, Boy ]

When the screen turns on, The Fey returns to her throne, apparently satisfied with her work. We’re helpless, with no choice but to watch whatever torment she’s planned for my friend.

Kinosuke is dropped unceremoniously into a messy white room. The walls are pristinely clean, blindingly white, but there are a variety of objects all around him. There seems to be no immediate danger, but we all know better by now.

He looks around, his knees bent in an active stance as if he’s ready to leap or run at any provocation. His eyes are squinted, and his fingers seem to flex in his gloves, ready for anything.

It doesn’t take long for the danger to make itself clear. As he stands, peering for a clue, something greenish yellow appears at the tops of the four walls, cascading down onto the white carpet. Anything it touches smokes. A lot. As the cascade pours, it moves forward, inch by inch impossibly slowly, and walls left in its wake are melted goop.

Kinosuke sees the cause and effect of the acid and decides to act. He casts about, and finds something that looks like a remote with a single button. From the downward camera angle, I can see that it says OFF, as clear as day. He reaches for it, touches it with his fingers to pick it up, and--

SPLAT!

A gob of acid falls directly onto it, melting it into useless slime right before him. He staggers back, but does not seem to be harmed.

He looks at his hands, brows furrowed, and then looks at his surroundings more closely. I do as well.

At his feet are items, all of which initially seemed random, but it becomes clear what they represent at a moment’s thought.

He picks up a hawaiian shirt that looks similar to Kenichi’s experimentally.

SPLAT!

Again, the item in his hands melts into goo before he can fully grasp it.

He grabs at a laptop; SPLAT!

He grabs at a long necklace with a gem at the end; SPLAT!

He quizzically attempts to pick up a black beanie; SPLAT!

The waterfalls of acid are getting close, now. Nothing around him looks like it could solve this problem.

He picks up a yellow turtleneck sweater. It’s melted into sludge, but he doesn’t drop it as he’s dropped the other items. The acid burns at his gloves, and then at his hands, sizzling his flesh.

Kinosuke looks up, his face so neutral I almost don’t notice the tears pouring down his face.

He takes his still burning, melting hands, and presses them both to his face in a slow, deliberate motion.

SPLAT!

We’re forced to watch as his face and hair burns, melts, and strips away from his head, leaving only bone.

Kinosuke Fukuoka, the Super High School Level Penetration Tester, is dead.