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The silent Air Nagase, having lost the shackles of her physical body, is awakening like crazy. Letters, as I thought, are overflowing with hostility and hindering humanity's growth. I need to break free too. I'm not overflowing with hostility or anything; I'm just living each day seeking a peaceful, calm heart. Hmm, calm temperature? Serenity? No, I want both. Because I'm a cold-blooded animal. I've been made to stop being human, Air Nagase!
I stand up, my seat rattling. Sound. This isn't letters. The chair is fighting too. It's on my side. Yeah, I'll do my best! I replied with a super nice smile and bolted out of the classroom. While bitterly thinking that Air Nagase rampaging around, bouncing off walls, was a waste of her position, the me who advised her to take her textbooks home felt like an endlessly insignificant being. No wonder Original Mayumayu disappeared too! Ah, I wonder what Original Mayumayu is doing, where, under this rainy sky.

"Oh, are you done already?"
Yeah, feeling good! ...Hey, who are you? Don't mess with my wavelength!
Autumn! Heavy rain! Let's have an adventure with someone! Zabababa!
Zabababa! Cold! Bu-bebe-b! The stuff hitting my face is too much rain. I exposed only the waterproofed parts of me to the elements, avoiding the raindrops with the rest. I'd avoid the raindrops by slicing off flesh to make myself thinner, fitting into the gaps between the rain. Wriggling, writhing. Rusted. This is my punishment for skipping school and wandering the town in the daytime. Suffer, human, gugege. Whispers Air Nagase, steamed inside a devil costume. The reason Air Nagase's actions lack consistency is probably because only the part of her above the nose has declared independence. The erratic Air Nagase makes my body swell up bumpily from the inside. I feel like I'm going to explode. My body is going nuclear. I wonder if Air Nagase misunderstands me. Is she, in her clumsy way, trying to meddle by purifying my body, which is dominated by letters? I'm not subservient to anything. The me who used to bow his head under the domination of past common sense is nowhere to be found anymore. Just as Nagase evolved into Air Nagase, I too have finished my long apprenticeship and discovered the value of antibodies. Air Nagase's meddling continues, and my body, which should be wet from the rain, grows hot enough to scorch. My skin, caught in between, declares it can't take it anymore and resolves to escape. That's a problem. I'm about to go meet someone, and if I lose my epidermis, which is more important than clothes, I might be shunned. Humans, despite being dominated by letters, are creatures who can't quite discard the standard of judging people by their appearance, an inherently equipped value system. Babababa, the loud sound of something repelling the rain nearby made me close my eyes. Still, I felt like I could go anywhere right now, or rather, I thought I wouldn't mind going anywhere. Because I kept getting beaten by the rain, my stamina was depleted, I could no longer resist letters and words, and I muttered something. And then I received someone's voice. As if being led by the hand by that someone, I walked, heading somewhere. Was it the effect of taking in Air Nagase? The sensation of floating was so strong I couldn't even hear my footsteps. But this rain is unacceptable. It hadn't rained until now. A unifying mechanism to interfere with my "krube" must have been established. Damn it. But as long as my eyes are clouded, they won't be able to thrust reality upon me. Fuhahahaha!

I felt like someone said, "We've arrived at the designated place." I wind up my eyelids. The place I'd arrived at was Yuzuyuzu House. Yuzuyuzu House had 101 Yuzuyuzus, a Yuzuyuzu configuration overflowing with charm and danger, also serving as a large number of tools and traps, but it had mostly been destroyed. What's surviving now is the wild Yuzuyuru, designated as an endangered species. Yuzuyuzu is a child of letters and an enemy, but I think enemy reconnaissance is quite wonderful. That's why I have to meet Yuzuyuzu. I just thought of it now. I'd forgotten about Yuzuyuzu while walking. Has Yuzuyuzu not been plucked by anyone yet? The answer in a few seconds. Pipopipopinpon. I press the doorbell. Or rather, the two characters "Yuzuyuzu" are flooding everything. This page is a Yuzuyuzu study book. My love for Mayumayu and my love for Yuzuyuzu are of different systems. As different as baumkuchen and cream puffs. I really like Yuzuyuzu and Koibi-sensei and stuff. Mii-kun seems to like Mayumayu. I wonder if you get it? You probably don't. ...Ah? But Mayumayu isn't here, is she? I don't have a Mayumayu, do I? Illusion theory? Should I go with the hallucination theory? Should I give myself the "It Was All a Dream" award? So refreshing! Everything I was holding onto has been lost! In that case, there's no way I can let Yuzuyuzu get away! I'll try to directly pour my love into Yuzuyuzu by doing a "grizzly." "Grizzly" is my personal term, corresponding to what's colloquially called a kiss. At first, Yuzuyuzu stiffens as if she doesn't understand what's pressed against her lips. How should I put it... well... this is vulgar, but... fufu... she stiffened up. Me. My heart. It stopped from too much excitement. Gyoee! To keep Yuzuyuzu from escaping, I wrap my arm around the back of her head and gently embrace her. Yuzuyuzu's hair is soft. I want to bite it. I want to suck it. I want to lick it. I really want to lick her scalp. It must taste sweet. Yuzuyuzu seems sweet all over; she's a citrus fruit. Not sour. Probably sweet and sour. Yuzuyuzu, her eyes darting back and forth, "Nnnnngh," is flustered by the situation. Yuzuyuzu is cute. I understand how Mayumayu feels loving Mii-kun. No, rather, the current me is infinitely Mayumayu-like, so does that make the other person Mii-kun? A Yuzuyuzu-flavored Mii-kun? Is that it? Wait, that's not Mii-kun! Cursing, I slip my tongue into Yuzuyuzu. Yuzuyuzu, her cheeks, ears, and the space between her eyebrows burning an even deeper red, accepts my tongue. Or rather, she's defenseless. While putting my tongue in, I also lick Yuzuyuzu's lips. They're so soft. But her lower lip is a little chapped. "You mustn't." I lick it to prevent dryness. Then, a little teasingly, I give a light bite. It's fun because Yuzuyuzu's shoulders tremble nervously each time. Yuzuyuzu shows her true worth when bullied. Fully ripe Yuzuyuzu. I really want to drink Yuzuyuzu's squeezed juice. Let's drink it. I put my tongue in her mouth. Yuzuyuzu doesn't refuse. Should I bite? She doesn't get angry even if I lick her front teeth. Her arms hang limply, as if exhausted and resigned. Yuzuyuzu is Yuzuyuzuing. I'm Yuzuyuzuing too. I lick her saliva. Lick it many times. When I lick the top of her tongue, it's a little rough. And sweet saliva is spread thickly. Is it sweet? No, if I declare it sweet, there's no taking it back. Naga... Naga? It's different from Naga-something and O-something-san. Totally different. It's divine. Completely different. It's divine. Even comparing the right teeth and left teeth, the taste is different. This is leftover lunch. Girls get super angry if you point it out. But I get really happy when I'm scolded. So I want to act in a way that gets Yuzuyuzu to scold me too. Yuzuyuzu gets angry and relieves stress, I get scolded and relieve various things—killing two birds with one stone. Fisherman's... Wrong meaning. No sea. No relation. When I send a little of my saliva with my tongue, Yuzuyuzu collects it under her tongue or in her cheek. She keeps collecting more and more. She doesn't drink it, nor does she try to spit it out. Her eyes, as if entranced, are melting as she stares at me up close. She's collected too much, and saliva starts to drip a little from the corner of her mouth. I pull my mouth away once and lick around Yuzuyuzu's mouth. The dazed Yuzuyuzu reacts a little when my skin touches hers. I then lick her cheeks and the nape of her neck. Slimily licking. Melted. I tried to really melt with Yuzuyuzu. We rubbed our brains together. Licked her collarbone. I can't lick it unless I loosen her clothes a bit. Loosy-loos. Yuzuyuzu loosy-loos. Soba! How to boil soba! Yuzuyuzu's collarbones are so bony even a puppy would want to lick them. Isn't it natural for me to vulgarly bite down on them? Or rather, not biting them would be rude. Gabu-chomp. Yuzuyuzu writhes. Pinioning Yuzuyuzu from the front. Yuzuyuzu. I'll get through life limited to just Yuzuyuzu. Seems possible.

I could make a warm home with Yuzuyuzu. I might even propose. When I put my tongue back in Yuzuyuzu's mouth, the saliva has decreased. She drank the spit. She drank it? I'm super excited. My heart's pounding about seven hundred times more than before. I want to make her drink more. I want to feel her throat as she drinks. I send more saliva into Yuzuyuzu. Yuzuyuzu offers no resistance at all. As expected, I feel like a bully and am incredibly exhilarated. My Japanese is breaking. Ah, this means escape from letters is approaching. It's time for Yuzuyuzu's and my awakening. Messiah descending, smooch. Hey, um, am I super sexually harassing her? Am I doing it? From here on, Yuzuyuzu is even more of a delicacy. I'm saying and thinking things like I want to harvest Yuzuyuzu's fruits. Am I adding that I thought it after I said it? Is that bad? Yuzuyuzu doesn't answer. She's listening as if it's not the time for that. Now's my chance! I'll persistently Yuzuyuzu-ru her! Yuzuyuzu, first aboard! I push Yuzuyuzu down just like that. And then I did something very right with Yuzuyuzu. Justice! ...But too bad, that was a Yuzuyuzu illusion!
Everything up to now was my delusion!

"Getting all worked up exchanging passionate kisses with a wall, you're quite the amusing one, aren't you?"
Rich! No one from the Yuzuyuzu family is coming out! I see Yuzuyuzu has already solidified her stance as my enemy! No, that just now wasn't an illusion, it was a Yuzuyuzu copy! I can't possibly meet the original Yuzuyuzu! I have to protect the Yuzuyuzu that will be lost! I mustn't keep knocking on the door and calling for Yuzuyuzu! "I have yuzu juice, I'll give you some"—no, no, I said no, didn't I! I've become Romeo and Juliet with Yuzuyuzu! I'm Juli-Juli with Mayumayu too, and lately, I've been continuously isolated. Don't try to smooth it over with "it's always like this"! I'm fighting against domination! So hand over Yuzuyuzu! Knock, knock, knock, kno-! Having escaped from letters, this is the only way I can call you! Reach her, image so-ng!
"They don't have a car, so maybe the family's out. Hmm, come to think of it, I've never gone out by car. I've never ridden a bicycle either."
That's right! The Yuzuyuzu family is just out, and they still maintain their flesh somewhere on Earth! It must be so! Then it's fine! I'm not meeting anyone, so let's call off the plan! You could at least let me make a Yuzuyuzu copy! Stingy Yuzuyuzu, bully. A hidden bully, too. Only the role of the bullied suits me. That's right. Even though I'm currently being bullied and having many precious things taken from me, I'm doing this well. In fact, I'm even more energetic, so murder really is great. It's salvation. In that case, save me too. I yielded before, so this time I should be prioritized. That kind of absurdity, having to accept it is what's wrong with society. I learned long ago that if you give someone a winning lottery ticket, it doesn't mean you'll win next year, so you don't need to butt in every time!
I sulked, lay down with the Earth at my back, and slept. Justice, once again!
"You'll catch a cold."
Go for it, germs! Pierce the membrane!
"Excuse me for interrupting... So you really are sleeping on the road. When I first saw you, I doubted my own eyes."
"By the way, he's seriously fast asleep. Even when I kicked him earlier, he just rolled over."
"So, who are you? Wearing a yukata and looking suspicious."
"I am his substitute personality, hohoho."
"To me, it looks like that esteemed personality has splendidly materialized, changed gender, and is walking on two legs?"
"Please interpret it as one who stands with him, or one who stands by his side."
"Hmm... Are you on good terms with him?"
"Our relationship is reputed to be a bit genuinely bad, and incidentally, we're also reputed to look alike."
"You certainly look alike, and you seem to get along badly. You're the only one holding an umbrella, after all."
"When a gentleman lies down, he covers a wide area. Do you have some business with this young man here?"
"He seemed to be wandering the town without making any move to act, so I came to check on him."
"His condition is as you can see."
"He's sleeping soundly, next to a puddle. I'd be more convinced if you told me he was dead!"
"He's in the middle of independent research on waterproofing. Won't you observe with us?"
"No, I don't want to catch a cold, so I won't stay long. But what should I do!"
"What is troubling you?"
"The person next to me had become a corpse when I woke up... Still, I wonder if he'd find that amusing."
"Like when you're holding hands with the girl next to you in a movie theater, and when you turn around, only her hand is there!"
"Why are you getting so worked up, ssu?"
"There's no reason. If I had to say, I was just trying to imitate him, who's far too emotionally unstable."
"It seems this woman is a strange person, just as her appearance suggests."

"Are you a murderer or something?"
"I haven't killed enough to be called a demon. Kids these days kill far more people in games than in reality, you know."
"Oh, really? Then perhaps you're no match for my former housekeeper."
"It's troubling to be thought of as that harmless... So, what will you do? Will you let yourself be killed quietly?"
"What if I resist?"
"I'll kill you enjoyably."
"I'll give you three sugar cubes, so go home."
"She actually took them out. Carrying those around, are you a coffee shop pot or something?"
"How rude. If I had money to go to a coffee shop, I'd use it for our food expenses."
"...You're pretty composed, aren't you? You're not taking my words seriously?"
"No, I make it a point to interact with people believing there are no liars in this world."
"What a load of bull. Even I or that guy over there aren't that suspicious."
"Young people these days are so suspicious, I don't like it, grumble grumble."
"Besides, even if you try to deflect with rhetoric, it won't work."
"Hmm, it can't be helped then. All-out resistance, teke-te-ten, Akkyun Shield!"
"Whoa, she used a not-so-good citizen who's sleeping as a human shield!"
"(The shield's) Guts consumption is intense, but it almost certainly defends against the opponent's weapon attacks."
"Any guilt?"
"I left it in the triangular corner of the elementary school drinking fountain."
"You really are a strange person. I like you a lot."
"Kyaa, I've been added to the gentleman's favorites list. Chokku-chi shichou!"
"Give me you. A part that won't kill you is fine, I'll keep it as a memento."
"Wanna go, idiot?"
"That's too bad. Next time, I'll bring something I can exchange and come ask again."
"Oh, leaving already? Didn't you come because you had some business with him?"
"It's not so much that I came, but I confirmed the location of Fushimi Yuyu's house and just dropped by on the off chance... The other house is in a terrible state, what should I do... Well then, since there's no challenge, tell him to try a little harder."
"So-called tsundere encouragement from a rival, I see."
"Though, I'm the cause of it... And, what's your name?"
"Lately, I've been asked my name often. I am Isa Uchi no Kiri Senhachibi."
"...A fake name, or rather, I can't even tell if it's the name of a thing."
"The world has thus spoken: a woman is more bewitching and charming if she is enigmatic, suwa suwa."

The rainwater bath had ended at some point, and I was lying on the road. My whole body was soaked in moisture as if it were French toast being prepared, and my body felt about sixty percent heavier than usual. Even though I should have skipped breakfast and lunch, I wonder if this is what they call water weight. Huh? Where did my madness go? Splashing, I plunged my hand into a puddle, searching for that which should rightfully still be there today. I was doing fine since morning, so to return to normal here, that itself is strange, isn't it? It doesn't seem like I've misplaced it like a pair of glasses. Like a river after a muddy torrent has passed, the surface of my heart has become stable. This is bad. I fell asleep at this hour, and even though the date hasn't changed, the reset has happened earlier than "last time." I have to go mad, I have to go mad. It's still too early today. Because today is the day the screws in my head loosen to their peak, I have to quietly lose my sanity. If the calmness that should arrive tomorrow is already spreading, it's ruined. The cycle of my next "krube" will shorten too, and I refuse to let only these calm times increase. Dabada, dabada, I crawled on all fours on the road, struggling to escape from something, or perhaps to gather something up. Since I've only just lost it, I wonder if it's not rolling around somewhere nearby. I want to keep excavating it from my insides as a last resort. If I'm desperate enough to use up my reserves, then I'm finished. The "krube" will draw to a close. If that happens, reality will attack me from this defenseless back. I won't stand a chance. I'll be smashed to pieces and end up drifting in puddles like oil floating on soup. My basic principle for action up to now has been my latest promise with someone, "Don't kill yourself," so I can't give up here. I have to maintain myself with all my might. For that, going mad in sequence within the "krube" is the best way. My intuition and experience chose that. For me, a mistake at that point is impossible. This isn't the time to be in a place like this, kneeling with hands in a puddle, getting rained on so much my clothes are about to merge with my skin. Uh, it's almost night outside. It was evening when I was knocking at Fushimi Yuyu's gate, so it seems I slept for over an hour. Lying spread-eagled on a roofless road in the rain. Up to that point, I was crazy enough, so that's a pass. But, I ended up greeting the transition to 6 PM while falling asleep, and along with that fatal mistake, sanity has prematurely taken the stage.
Still too early. At this rate, my day won't end. If I were to explain it along the lines of the novelization phenomenon, I'm still short about five or six pages. Having lost Mayumayu, I've started to have trouble with the passage of time, and finally, it's become impossible to keep apologizing using the wreckage of failure as a foothold. The loss of not being able to meet Fushimi was painful. No, in the first place, the triple suffering of being without Mayumayu, and it being a holiday, are those the three pillars of the cause of failure?
Thoughts that have lost their escape route are attacked in a dead end.
The death of Nagase Tooru grabs me by the throat.
"Uwaaah, aaah, aaah, aaaaah," I scratch at my cheeks and cry out to the night sky.
Crying. I was crying. As if betraying the emotions I'd held for the corpses I'd passed by until now.
"Aaah, aaah," a slack, crazed cry flowed out with my tears.
At the end of life, there's no happy or bad. Without exception, it's a dead end.
Therefore, the line "In life, the process is more important than the result," which seems like it would be on page 45 of a collection of worldly platitudes, is correct if you look at life from a high perspective, looking down on it. Come to think of it, Nagase Tooru's seventeen... no, eighteen years old? When was her birthday? I'm such a heartless ex-boyfriend who never even gave her a gift, so my memory is bad. Well, birthdays are just an increase in numbers, so they don't mean much. Numbers are what represent human values, but once you die, you're no longer bound by such things, wasn't that what some former murderer denied?
Ufuwahaha.
Ah, right, right. That Nagase Tooru died. He killed her. She was died. She was made to die. She's dead dead. She's dead. Dead humanity. Dead happiness. Tooru is dead. Nagase's head too, from a dead blade. He made it into mincemeat.
I wonder if Nagase Tooru managed to become a proper ghost. An existence unseen by human eyes. If she's wandering this world as a corpse-person, wouldn't she be scolded by other dead people? I hope that Nagase, who was a plain girl but a show-off, isn't being scolded by those around her for being the nail that sticks out. It should be okay to pray for the repose of her soul like this, right? It's not? Is that so? But Nagase died. I hear it was a homicide. Brutally, gruesomely tormented, shaved off, torn apart, gouged out, toyed with, her eyeballs taken, her hair wrapped around her wrist, that right hand in a declaration of independence, her legs departed on a journey, her genitals a necklace, her tongue split into eight pieces, her fingers with the pinky where the thumb should be, the thumb where the middle finger should be, the middle finger where a finger should be, the index finger also a ring finger, like a tiered box, but that was all the right hand; only her left hand was without a single wound. As if seeking someone's help, as if continuing to seek a hand to grasp, only that hand, thrust out into the void, was set aside as the "hope" it should be.
Well, you could say it was a way of dying that often happens in this town. Even my former classmate S-kun could probably pull off something like that if he took his time. By the way, I wonder if he won't get the death penalty? That'd be a fleeting moment of happiness! And by the way, if you're wondering how I know these details about classmate N-san's murder, it's because the culprit who butchered Nagase Tooru told me over the phone, yo! For details, look back at the main story, okay! Look fooorward to it!! ...Gyahaha! Kyahaha!
I squeeze my eyelids shut, sealing off what oozes from my eyeballs. That which had escaped completely and was racing across my cheeks, likening them to a great grassy plain, mingled with the raindrops and was replaced by a different existence. I won't open my eyelids anymore.
I really wish there was a main story. This current life is like a prologue, or a story from a non-protagonist's point of view. A deceiving tale. From here, an orthodox story told by someone else begins, or something. In it, there's an upright and virtuous protagonist who solves murder cases, and he protects the heroine. But when he goes on a journey, people die, so readers think, "I'd never want to travel with this guy." How wonderful is that? I wonder if Nagase was like that too, perhaps? Her new boyfriend was "Kintogawa Konah," and when she went with him, it turned out Nagase wasn't the heroine, so she got killed? Or was it a development aiming for novelty where the heroine dies in the first episode? Hmm, was she a major pick, or a disposable pawn? Well, but in the end, it's a dead end, so!
Neither happy nor bad! It's a phrase like Darwin's theory of evolution!
That's a lie, though! Since there hasn't been a single lie up to this point, "that's a lie, though" is a lie, though, hmm? "That's a lie, though," "that's a lie, though," am I saying it twice? Since it's a series of negations, did it become true?
I did it! With this, Nagase Tooru's death has become the truth! Well, it was from the beginning, though!
No, no, wait a minute. I'm thinking these things, but I'm actually fine, right?
It's not painful, right? Not really.
True, right now it feels like I'm temporarily unable to breathe, but I'll get used to it soon.
Even if I'm crazy, I can go on living like this. It's too easy.
The constant pain will stop being agonizing, just like always.
After repeating my own loop just a few more times, eventually.
I've met corpses many, many times and repeatedly accepted it, so that's not a prediction, it's tantamount to history.
But what's wrong with that?
As long as pessimism is eternal, human sensitivity is not leaning towards extinction. Rather, the more 'Death' touches the sharp, exposed parts of a person, the faster they become numb to the pain and get used to it.
Conversely, don't say such unreasonable things like thoughts never ceasing for those who have distanced themselves from 'Death'.
To continue cherishing a human who doesn't die is terribly difficult.
Just as the pain of parting from a precious someone through death eventually fades.
So, if you have any intention of touching upon Nagase Tooru's death, even a little, it will surely become a test of will.

Ah, that's a relief.
Well then, let's part ways. Any further talk of separation ends here.
I can't afford to stop and hesitate. "She" always points out the main path.
No matter what else is whittled away, I can walk there.
I have to search for that her and run. Enough with the rainwater baths! Dash towards the wavering, shifting origin point! While I'm at it, shall I aim for the setting sun sinking beyond the rain clouds too?
Hoping the rugby ball tucked under my arm doesn't turn into someone's severed head!
Ah, Nagase wasn't separated from her torso, it seems, so it's alright!
So it's alright. Everything's alright. Because it's alright.
...But.
At the point where I'm continuing to chant it like a prayer, like an admonition to myself.
I might have already failed.
"...It's too late now, isn't it?"
All that's left is a life where I can only make mistakes according to society's common sense, a path I've been forced to walk all along.
I'll just keep standing stock-still on this road. Until tomorrow comes, I'll endlessly keep my eyes peeled. Unable to move to protect my daily life, with behavior less than that of a nearby puddle, I'll try to breathe.
Even someone like me will surely be able to worship the sun again when tomorrow comes.
To the settling resignation, I entrust my future.
I don't want to see the melted scenery of the town anymore.
The real reason I hate this town.
That's simple.
It's because it's a town where the people I like die so easily, obviously.
...And yet.
As if laughing at such a me and inviting me, a familiar voice sprouted from the sound of the pouring rain.
"Zameha! ...Was that the right answer, I wonder?"
A hand extending from the side pulls at my closed eyelids. Forcing me awake.
That hand, which put a stop to the reset, thrusts its nails strongly into my eyeball.
I flinch from the surprise welling up from the pit of my stomach, and also open my remaining eye on my own.
The one pinching my eye next to me is a similar yet different existence, one that even the novelization phenomenon couldn't seem to match.
Nancy Ooe was there.
At the same time she finished pulling my eyelid, the Mobius strip woven with red string snapped within me.

Chapter 5: "My Globe -revival-"
"My Future Self"
My future self is still poor as ever.
I think I'll be living in a rundown apartment with my little sister.
The neighbors' kids and stuff keep dying, so it's desolate and the rent is cheap.
But I think my little sister and I will somehow manage to survive.
I can't go to school, so I can't make friends, but
the animals living with us will keep increasing.
It's not like I particularly like animals, but for some reason, they increase.
The town I'll end up living in is no good, so only murder cases happen.
A man who comes by sometimes brings that kind of stuff and gets us involved.
The man is an insect-like man who resembles me, and he's like a god of pestilence.
Being stalked by such a guy, my future is poor, with no free time, and pitch black ahead. Yes, truly.
...Ah, excuse me, this isn't about the future, it's the story of my current self.

Nancy Ooe is an enemy of us who are dominated by letters. But for some reason, today, she's been with me ever since morning. Slipping into my blind spot, what on earth was Nancy Ooe plotting? I had been intentionally ignoring her, but this time, she finally initiated contact. What on earth will become of the Earth's future! With a cliffhanger worthy of a grand epic, to be continued in the next part—
"Bitter Melon Punch!" It was a kick.
Nancy Ooe's right tiptoe sharply kicks my inner thigh. The area around my eyeballs flares with heat, and a vivid pain shoots through to the sides of my ears. My legs can't support my body, and I collapse to the ground. The world before my eyes shone so brightly I could clearly see the shapes of thousands of passing raindrops, and the white snow was pierced in that instant and dissipated. Is it okay for it to disappear so easily? Hold on longer, my materialized trauma.
"Carrot Chop! Onion Headbutt! Leek Slicer! Punch Punch Kick!"
They were all kicks. Probably because using hands would mean sharing the pain. But as I was tilting my head in confusion and shock, wondering why all her special move names were vegetables,
"Ja ni ari!! Februaryaah!" An unprincipled special kick.
Moreover, the last one missed, and she landed on her butt in a puddle. Shouting the spectacularly broken end of her sentence towards the rain clouds, she soaks her crimson... no, madder red? yukata with rainwater. It doesn't really matter, but the color purple suits Nancy Ooe's image. Probably because she was wearing a wisteria-colored yukata when we first met. My sense of color only has origins of that level.
"Kuh... I'm soaking wet." Nancy Ooe grimaces as she looks at the sleeves and cuffs of her yukata, still exposed to the rain. As for me, the cold rainwater stings as it seeps into my new wounds, and my cheeks contort.
"Even though I went to the trouble of using an umbrella today as Akane told me, and avoided encountering Jeikomu."
Grumbling something to herself, she annoyedly plucks at a few strands of wet hair sticking to her face.
She sure enjoys kicking people with such delight. The cheerfulness of her expression is a world apart from my little sister's. Hah, could it be my sister was reluctantly kicking me... no way. In the first place, reluctantly, or my sister reluctantly kicking me... no way. There's no reason for it. That said, it doesn't seem like her motive is that I enjoy being kicked either.
"Honestly, my encounter rate with murderers is too high. I was super scared, yes, truly—"
She says, while swinging her umbrella around. The edge of the swung umbrella passes right in front of my eyes, scattering raindrops. Besha-gusha, rainwater flies into my eyeballs, and my vision blurs. This time, Nancy Ooe was holding a plastic umbrella, not a Japanese one. Apparently, Japanese umbrellas aren't suited for rainy weather. What on earth is the purpose of an umbrella made of Japanese paper with no UV protection?
"Akkyun's eccentric behavior is amusing and exhilarating to watch, but I'm getting tired of keeping up with it."
"I don't recall clinging to anyone asking them to keep up with me, though." While I'm sane, probably.
"Oh my, have we finally reached a point where conversation is possible?"
Nancy Ooe stands up before me and, while at it, kicks my forehead. It wasn't unexpected enough to be a surprise attack, but as expected, my consciousness does fly sideways. I experienced the feeling of a vertically placed konnyaku block being smacked sideways. In contrast, Yuna, her kicking leg still extended, looks quite pleased.
"What are you doing?" "The iron fist of XX!" You were kicking, though. Also, my eardrums hurt.
"Letters from fans have been pouring in, telling me to bring Akkyun back to his senses soon."
"I seem to recall it being written in a manga about mangaka not to incorporate too much fan feedback."
"In your case, wouldn't it be better to leave your life to others?" Point taken.
I still don't stand up, looking up at Yuna through my hanging bangs. Even the water droplets falling from Yuna's yukata and skin steal the dryness from somewhere on my body.
"Do you remember why I'm accompanying you?"
Yuna, as if testing me, mockingly eyes my brain. While feeling the taste of rainwater on my lips, I opened my mouth towards the heavens.
"Yeah, various things... It's hazy, but I remember." Yesterday, after escaping from the hospital and wandering the town, I was captured by Nancy Ooe and taken to her house. Then, I immediately fell asleep. On the dirt floor. On top of my shoes. Snoring away. After that, I went crazy in the morning and went to school even though it was a holiday. Alright, there are no vague parts in my memory. I was completely normal. Air Nagase isn't lingering anywhere anymore either. It's bizarre.
I was a little depressed that what I saw in the throes of madness was, after all, an illusion.
"Well done." A kick came flying. This time I'd sensed it beforehand, so I read it and took it. My head was struck as cleanly as the body of a daruma otoshi doll flying off. There was no pain, but a numbness ran down the back of my knees. The mechanisms and connections of the human body are like human relationships—
"But Akkyun, d-don't misunderstand, okay? I didn't do it because I wanted to help you or anything."
"You invited me in because it was amusing to laugh at me, right? I'm appropriately grateful for that."
"Ehem!" Nancy Ooe puffed out her chest.
"It was so perfectly flat that if an earthquake hit, I'd think of escaping there first."
A special edition of all her kicks so far was unleashed. Perhaps because my face was bloated from the water, I had no strength in my body at all, and couldn't manage to dodge even a single kick. My face bounced around freely in all directions. I assigned the role of a mat to a water bag less reliable than an airbag, colloquially known as a puddle, and collapsed onto the road. Blub-blub. "Thwack! Whump!" Gurgle-gurgle! My head was stepped on. Nancy Ooe didn't notice the rough feat of rainwater entering my nose and being expelled from my mouth, performed beneath the water's surface. I felt like I was going to die either way, so I decided to drink up the entire contents of the puddle. I could drink it surprisingly well. It didn't taste bad. However, I haven't considered the later effects on my health, so be prepared if you try to imitate this. Yuna's bare foot (it seems she took off her zori sandals when stepping on me, at least) left the back of my head, so I adjusted my position to lie on my back. Then, like a fountain, I spat out the remaining muddy water from my mouth.
"I'm glad Akkyun is pleased." What kind of eyesight does she have?
Far from just rinsing my mouth with muddy water, my face wash was complete, and I recovered to a brand-new feeling. Right now, I feel like I could even recall the dreams I purely envisioned in my childhood under this rainy sky. Let's see... The dream of becoming a baseball boy, and then... Ah, how admirable. For Dad to become kinder, you know.
Haha, sounds like a lie, right...? This is a lie, you know. In reality, I was thinking I wanted to eat more sweets. In a way, that might have been wishing for happiness the most.
"Well now, that the reunion greetings are mostly done, shall we get to the main topic?"
"Normally, I believe that's my line, suwa suwa."
"I've returned to my senses!"
"The most troublesome declaration has arrived."
"No, I've really calmed down a lot. Thanks to your doing too." ""That's a lie, though."" We praise each other's good fight.
"This was a rare case, so it took time to accept." I had taken the initiative to escape myself. The effect was quite good. At the stage where I lost Mayu, it had already half progressed even if I let go. Tumbling down a slope, leaping at a slight bump, clearing the guardrail, and diving into the sea.