City Series:Volume7 Layer 11

Layer 11: Night

11/15/1998

8:45

Lady returned when Sensei left after morning homeroom. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and sat next to me.

“So how was work?” I asked her.

“Complicated. We ended up heading out to the city. I even looked at Kanda’s Sein Frau after the incident.”

She loosened her scarf and sighed before collapsing onto the desk and looking to me with her face resting on the wooden surface.

“You remember the time-telling Sein Frau from that job during that one summer night?”

Her glasses slipped off her ear and I heard the glass fall onto the desk.

“The old man who manages her said she’s going to be disposed of next August. He said she loves looking at the stars, but nothing can be done about it.”

I waited for her to say more and she finally did.

“I made an arrangement of her music from the day she broke. I created a 30-second taste of the song she sang when the stars were overhead at 8 PM. Any more than that and the song breaks.”

She shut her eyes and asked me if she was deceiving the Sein Frau. I thought about it before answering.

“The way I see it is…you gave her 30 seconds more time to see the stars. If you did that just to get her thanks, then maybe you were deceiving her. But if not…I guess it depends on the result.”

“I see.” She nodded. “But if she’s lost, we can never know the result.”

I said “sorry”, even though it was meaningless and she shut her eyes again.

“I’m going to sleep until Sensei’s class. Can you take notes for me?”

“I’ll try, but that too depends on the result. I might lose them.”

Author Comment:

I think Lady ends up with the most odd jobs.

This inconvenience hits her at day and night because her jobs are the hardest to pass onto someone else.

Also, this automaton is mentioned from time to time.

Record 12: It Appeared Before Me

04/29/1997

20:22

The trick to shopping at the supermarket was to stubbornly wait around until the day’s dinner ingredients were marked half off. I was on my way home with plastic bags packed full of stuff. I was about to turn the last corner before my apartment when I heard a female voice from the side.

“Excuse me.”

Afraid it was a solicitor or a monster, I kept my eyes dead ahead while asking what they wanted.

“Well, I am from the city hall and I was wondering if you had a screwdriver. I’m out of flatheads due to a mix up.”

“Yeah, I have one. And it’s just about at its expiration date, so hurry up and use it.”

I turned around to find a girl in a black work jumpsuit. She accepted the screwdriver with a half-off sticker I pulled from one of my bags and she started working on the gas lamp standing between two trees on the side of the road. After a while, she breathed a sigh of relief, I heard the sound of flowing gas, and a blue flame lit in the lamp.

“Good. That had been clogged up since last year. Oh, but I used up your screwdriver. Is there any other way I can thank you?”

“No need. I wouldn’t have even bought it if it wasn’t half off.”

“It must be difficult living on such a small budget you need to eat nearly-expired food.”

“Knowing someone from city hall cares is enough for me.”

“Of course we care. When you return to your apartment, step out onto the balcony. You will find my thanks there.”

I wondered how she knew I lived in an apartment and I stepped out onto the balcony when I got home. I found a bunch of out-of-season snow falling from the sky.

I looked around in awe and found a small glass bowl and a can of adzuki beans on the railing. Was this what city hall did?

Author Comment:

Does the cherry blossom front move because the cherry blossoms are blooming?

Or do the cherry blossoms bloom because the cherry blossom front is moving?

I think the snowfall front has a similar issue.

Record 29: Sometimes Scared

08:31/1997

22:51

I was going to the Mountain tomorrow. I considered leaving a note for my parents who were overseas neglecting their kid, but what was the point? I had to be on the 4:30 train tomorrow morning. Was that the first one of the day?

I decided to get to bed early and switched on the TV to check the forecast.

“A typhoon is landing?”

When I focused my ears, I could indeed hear booming footsteps and a thundering humming voice mixed in with the pouring rain and blowing wind.

I wanted to take a look outside, but you weren’t supposed to. Those were the rules.

A little peek wouldn’t hurt, right? No, I really shouldn’t. While I debated with myself, the footsteps outside stopped and I heard a loud “oops”.

Oops what?

“Eh, it’ll be fine.”

What’ll be fine? Don’t tempt me like this.

Before I could figure out whether to look or not, you called me.

“H-hey, a-aren’t you curious?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe, but if you look, it decides it has an audience and won’t move on until it does its full show. I guess that’s why they call it an enthusiastic high-pressure system.”

The footsteps and humming resumed outside, but it was gradually growing more distant.

“Didn’t someone fall for this feigned departure last year?”

“They did.” There was a smile in your voice. “But this means the weather will be good tomorrow, right?”

Author Comment:

Last year (’04) was a bad year for typhoon damage.

I tend to think of typhoons in an anthropomorphic way and most mythologies treat them similarly.

It really doesn’t matter, but the title of the song Giant Step came to mind while I was writing this. I’ve completely forgotten who sings it, though.

Record 87: Realizing the Answer

10/15/1998

21:28

The athletic festival was progressing smoothly, despite the injuries, destruction, and structural collapses. The ball-rolling event was looking like it would be a lot less devastating than last year since it was using soft balls now, but then a bunch of students decided to start throwing them as hard as they could, causing far more damage than before. Getting these things just right was difficult.

After completing my preparations for the final day tomorrow, I didn’t feel like getting changed or heading home, so I cut across the athletic ground to get some shuteye in the Officers’ living room.

On my way toward the school building, I noticed a light on in our classroom.

Wondering what that was about, I climbed the emergency stairs and entered the building. I peeked into the classroom to see Sensei and Lady inside.

They had a thick stack of documents on the teacher’s desk and they were discussing something while drawing diagrams and writing on the chalkboard.

My intuition told me they were trying to summon a spirit, so I threw open the door.

“Wait! Haven’t you ever heard of a Faustian bargain!?”

They only gave me a quick glance before turning back toward the chalkboard and resuming their writing.

“U-u-um, why are you ignoring me?”

“Because we always do? And why are you still in your track suit?”

“Change out of that dirty thing already.”

“You’re the boss,” I said, starting to change then and there, but a piece of chalk flew through the air and stabbed into the side of my head. I turned to see them both staring at the chalkboard.

“What are you two doing?”

Sensei turned toward me and held up one of the documents on her desk. It was a map.

“I’m having her tell me about the changes that have come about due to the reunification. There’s a lot most people don’t know about this.”

“Yeah, and that goes double for idiots like you- ow! Was that an eraser!?”

“There aren’t any obstacles like there are during class, so I don’t have to hold back.”

“Are the other students nothing but obstacles to you? Anyway, why are you asking Lady about this?”

“I can get the Emergency Teachers’ help with this too, but with the Chancellor’s Officers, I can get a picture from a student perspective.”

“Yeah, an adult perspective wouldn’t be a good fit for you- ow!”

“The red chalk is a curveball. The blue is a forkball, the black a knuckleball, and the clear one disappears.”

Sensei looked delighted and Lady looked impressed.

“You’re good at this, Sensei.”

“I am.” Sensei held chalk in both hands. “Because I practiced good and hard. I’ve been staying late every day recently honing my skills.”

“Is that why we keep finding pieces of chalk when we clean the classroom?”

“Y-you must be lying. I always cleaned up after myself.”

“You expect me to believe you know how to clean up properly?” I asked.

Lady lowered her head before Sensei could say anything to her.

Sensei looked her way for a moment.

“…”

Then she turned back toward me, thought for a bit, and finally pointed a piece of chalk at me.

“I-it’s the kids’ fault for not catching the chalk properly during training.”

“That’s the best excuse you could come up with after all that thinking!? And no one ever told me you practice throwing chalk with your students.”

“I-I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.”

“I didn’t want this surprise. And isn’t there anything more useful you could be practicing?”

“Eh? Ummm, like what?”

“Lady, you tell her what she needs.”

Lady quickly looked up and alternately between Sensei and me.

“Eh? N-no fair! Why do I have to say something so mean!?”

That’s pretty mean already.

Author Comment:

At my school, a group threw fastballs into the faculty tent during the ball-toss game and that game was canceled the following year. We did the game where you knock over poles every year, though.

This one also shows how great Sensei is at not thinking things through.

Record 62: But It’s So Simple

15/14/1998

20:05

I had a headache and I knew exactly why.

“That was too many movies. You definitely shouldn’t watch them at 16x speed even if your backlog is piling up. Those kiss scenes looked more like headbutting competitions.”

I concluded this was eyestrain and checked inside the first-aid kit.

“Hades A headache eliminator. The tagline for these are ‘half of Hades is hesitation’, right? Is the other half hard work or something?”

Who would take this stuff?

I walked through the chilly spring night to reach your pharmacy. Each step felt like it was shaking my head vigorously side to side, making me feel funny.

When I arrived at the pharmacy, I found it was already closed for the night.

I had no choice but to try ringing the residential doorbell.

“Excuse me, but I’m out of medicine.”

“Oh, you. You just bought some weird headache pills for a cold, didn’t you? Let me guess, you didn’t take them. You chicken.”

I smiled bitterly at your assessment.

“Be that as it may, I could really use something. I can’t go on like this.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“My head.”

“And water is wet.”

“Yeah, but it’s gotten way worse tonight.”

“I-it has? Now I’m a little afraid to be near you.”

“I think there’s been a miscommunication.”

“There probably has. Anyway, wait just a bit and I’ll grab something for you.”

“Sure, sure.”

I was left to wait all alone in the night.

I stared into the sky where the East Wind was floating by. That signaled the changing of the season. All of a sudden, someone was standing in front of me: the Professor. When he saw me, he pushed up his glasses.

“What brings you here? Sick? In pain? Then I have a piece of advice: serves you right. Or are you not here for that? This is an incredible discovery: an idiot who goes to pharmacies when he doesn’t need medicine.”

“What a coincidence. I’ve made a discover of my own: a previously reclusive baboon walking around the city on its hind legs.”

“Oh? Oh? Now you’ve said it. I’m not giving you any of this headache medicine anymore.”

“I didn’t want your defective drugs anyway. Wait, how did you know that’s what I’m here for?”

“You really are stupid. Think back on everything you walked by on the way here and the answer will reveal itself to you.”

“Huh, so did the Night Wind or something tell you?”

“No, I just have your room bugged.”

I jabbed him in the throat and then grabbed him by the collar.

“Tell me where this bug is located.”

“Oh? And what will you do once you find it?”

“Attach it to the end of a septic truck pump. I hope the extremely aggressive noises that provides traumatize you for life.”

“No, thanks. Now, try to calm down and drink the contents of this bottle. This is the latest headache medicine. I promise you your current headache will soon be a thing of the past.”

“Really?”

“Yes. As a headache medicine, it gives you such a powerful headache no ordinary one can ever compare.”

I punched the idiot until I was satisfied, but then the door opened behind me and you stepped out. You didn’t even glance over at the Professor.

“Here’s your medicine. It’s very effective.”

“What does it do? It doesn’t give me a headache, does it?”

“Why would it do that? But…it might make you a little more normal.”

The Professor looked up from where he lay flat on the ground.

“That would be a real shame.”

Author Comment:

A movie joke and some other stuff. A slice of life story.

My friend once played a septic truck pump sound over the school announcements. It didn’t end well for him, so I wouldn’t recommend trying it.

Record 34: I Don’t Really Know

10/01/1997

17:30

It was the day after the Mountain closing ceremony. We had stayed an extra day for the process of joining the Chancellor’s Officers. My instructor left the Mountain and went off somewhere the day I defeated Snowy, so I was stuck doing that process and all the other work on my own.

Once I was finally freed from it all that evening, the dorm manager gave me a handmade carving of a bear and I started home.

I walked between wooden buildings with the forest and mountains in the background. After passing through the dirt clearing, I found the mountain road. Two people were standing there already: you and Snowy.

Were you two waiting for me?

I adjusted the luggage on my back and picked up my pace to catch up.

Snowy turned around and walked on ahead without a word.

I exchanged a glance with you and then looked to Daitarou on your head.

He looked me in the eye and tilted his head while you smiled below him.

“This has gotten weird, hasn’t it?”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Maybe so. We still don’t have some officers, like the head of PR, so they say we’ll have some additions later on. Until then, all that extra work will be forced onto us.”

“We’ll manage.”

I started to walk and Snowy looked back when she heard my footsteps.

“Hard to believe.”

“That I became Vice Chancellor?”

“No.” She faced forward again. “That I became the Vice Chancellor’s aide.”

“You didn’t want to be?”

“It wasn’t my goal.”

She sure sets her sights high, I thought, but was that only because I had won? No, it wasn’t.

“If it were me, I’d be glad I got to be the aide at least. It’s better than nothing, right?”

“Do you feel the same way about your position as Vice Chancellor?”

I thought about that. And…

“Yeah, I do”

Snowy turned toward me again and smiled bitterly.

“You set your sights high, don’t you? People like that scare me most of all.”

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“My goal here was to be Vice Chancellor, but what about you? Were you okay with any role you got? Training with that mindset is the same as having no limit to your goals. And…” She took a breath. “It means you want to be anything and everything.”

She faced forward and resumed walking. I honestly didn’t think what she was saying fit me as I walked after her.

We reached the end of the forest and the city lights came into view in the distance. The sun had already set, so the western sky was simply colored red. You walked up next to me.

“The mountains are dangerous at night. Daitarou is nervous, so we need to hurry home.”

You passed me, tapped Snowy on the back and pushed her. She gave you a look of surprise, gave me the same, and smiled bitterly.

The wind blew as her bitter smile took off running.

It was the West Wind.

“So it is already autumn in the mountain,” noted Snowy while she ran.

Yes, we had been in the mountains for a long while. We had experienced a spring and summer so unlike what we knew from Tokyo.

We ran toward the lights visible in the distance. There was a train station there and a train there would take us to Tokyo.

If we hurried, we might make it in time to see the end of the Tokyo summer.

Author Comment:

Snowy doesn’t change her behavior much depending on whether she accepts you or not.

Maybe because her actions and her surroundings so rarely change.

Record 79: When the Dance Begins

08/23/1998

19:15

The city and the school worked together to hold an escape-the-heat bon festival. The cornerstone of the competition was the 130R corner on the west end of the schoolyard, but the ground collapsed there and the leading group crashed. An unpredictable chain reaction was beginning.

The signal atop the starting line festival tower was still red. The ref gave his ruling by forming an X with the drumsticks held over his head. Seeing that, all of the contestants came to a stop in their yukatas and geta.

A discussion was underway over whether the bon dance would resume, but the atmosphere was heavy.

We were on security duty and we had encountered another issue. Maybe it was due to the crash, but we received word of a hole in the small mountain behind the general school building.

The Boss called me there.

“They say it’s a bomb shelter. I hope it doesn’t collapse.”

We slipped between the yukata-wearing people to go check.

The representatives of the different groups were butting heads and arguing in front of the pit and a few groups were already starting to withdraw.

The broadcast committee had split into a few different teams with TV cameras to report on what was going on at each location.

“Yes.” The boss took a look around. “The night dew changes the road surface. If they start up again, they’ll need to swap out their normal geta for rain geta.”

“Yeah, our schoolyard is so old it has drainage issues.”

When we walked by the school building, we passed a pit crew carrying new geta just like the Boss had said. I felt a little bad after seeing how much of a rush they were in.

Back behind the school building was a small mountain covered in trees. I had thought it was only any useful when using the incinerator or cleaning, but…

“What took you?” asked Snowy and Lady who were in yukata and must have been waiting for us.

Lady must have been in a hurry because she had brought a melodica from the music room instead of her usual keyboard. We stopped in front of those two.

“Where are the others?”

“Taking over the security work. Senpai told us to handle this on our own.”

“I see,” I said while turning my attention to the square hole in the slope. The Boss viewed the edge of the hole.

“This is artificial. There’s cement or something down there.”

“It’s a secret base,” I said.

“If we can get in it,” added Snowy.

I asked her what she meant.

“The shadows are too dense for us to enter. I tried to use my Mobilized Writing and pull it out as a weapon, but it didn’t work.”

“I’ve managed to confirm it’s spreading into the space around here, but I don’t know how far it will spread,” said Lady.

I heard cheers from the school building, so the bon dance must have been back on.

“We need to deal with this quick if we don’t want to miss the festival.” I thought about the issue. “So Snowy couldn’t grab it and pull it out with her Mobilized Writing because the postwar shadows are packed in there too tight.”

“Could the air hole meant to let it out also be blocked up?”

Lady showed off the air hole on the bottom of the melodica and I nodded.

“So we just take the reverse route and break an air hole into the entrance.”

I readied my fist, took a breath, and swung it toward the shadows.

If you throw a punch with belief in your heart, all things will receive the blow in accordance with the conservation of energy.

I felt the blow land and the shadows were blown away like a gasping breath.

Then I heard an explosion and a wave of screams from near the school building.

“Huh?”

I pulled my fist back and looked over to see Lady’s exasperated face.

“The shadows must have erupted from the 130R corner.”

Author Comment:

The bon dance.

They search the bomb shelter later and then remodel it.

Lady is playing a melodica here, but her power actually works even without any music.

She just seems to like using a keyboard, so she doesn’t like using a flute or a guitar.

Record 32: Are There Other Great Powers?

09/21/1997

18:30

When my attack hit Snowy during our Mountain final exam, she collapsed and had to be carried to the medical building. I was celebrated as the winner and left all alone after the formalities were complete.

I had no idea what to do, so I tried and failed to find you or Snowy.

It was already dark by the time I washed my face and left the clearing. I found my instructor waiting for me. Holding a small backpack.

“Are you going somewhere?”

“I am,” he said, brushing a hand through his hair. I had heard he was already around 20 and he gave me the same bitter smile he always did. “I did some thinking and I’m going to take the exam for a special unit.”

Then I felt wind blowing on the side of my head.

I dodged the instant I realized that was a kick, but I also sensed him using his Mobilized Writing. I couldn’t make out what his Words were, but I sensed the power at work. The next thing I knew, the kick I could have sworn I dodged was about to reach my face.

If you throw a punch with belief in your heart, all things will receive the blow in accordance with the conservation of energy.

I punched my instructor’s Mobilized Writing.

I used the impact on my fist to move back and saw he was already walking toward the mountain road with the backpack on his back. He raised a hand my way.

“The girl you fought probably has a debilitating illness. I recommended her as your aide, so look after her to make up for defeating her like that. Also…”

He didn’t even look back.

“I hope you can become king too.”

Author Comment:

The result at the Mountain.

If you’ve read a lot of City, you might be able to guess what the special unit the instructor mentions is.

Note that the instructor says “too”.

Record 56: Countless Missteps

03/25/1998

19:23

Now I’ve done it.

I got carried away fighting a dumb student on top of a train and I fell off. Yes, I fell right into the Great Tokyo Fault.

I’m on the Tama slope of the great fault splitting Tokyo with only my fist jabbed into the slope to support me. What am I supposed to do now?

And let’s not forget that the Kantou loam layer that makes up Tokyo’s bedrock is made of volcanic ash and likes to collapse at the drop of a hat.

“Wait, I was just kidding! Don’t actually collapse!”

I watched the rock falling next to me and saw stars twinkling beyond the sea of clouds below. Leave it to Zenon City – Tokyo to not make any sense at all.

Then a larger shape fell from above. Thinking it was a boulder, I pressed against the slope to remain as small a target as possible, but then the shape stopped next to me.

I looked over to see a red Caddy. The giant American car clung to the edge of the fault with the Boss and Snowy inside.

“What are you doing? Get in already.”

“Y’know, I just have to ask: how is that thing driving on the wall?”

“Cars drive on roads and this one’s driving here, so it’s clearly a road, not a wall.”

Snowy looked exasperated with the Boss’s answer while she leaned out of the car and extended her hand. But after a moment of thought, she pulled her hand back.

“I might consider saving you if you promise to reform your indecent ways.”

“And I might consider telling you to go to hell because that’s not happening.”

The car started backing up, so I hurriedly leaped for the bumper.

Author Comment:

You’re doomed if you fall into the fault.

There’s probably some insurance for that. Hm.

Record 90: What are You So Afraid Of?

11/03/1998

14:42

The school festival was reaching its peak. Its peak what, you ask?

“Its peak noise, definitely.”

For whatever reason, I was wandering the general school building partway through the afternoon.

“Eek!”

I heard Sensei screaming, so I sighed and ran over. The scream had come from the supply room on the 2nd floor. I arrived to find her seated in front of the dark supply room with a blank look on her face. Was that a ghost house? She did have a knack for getting involved in the very things she would be best off avoiding.

“Hey, Sensei, you’ll get your butt dirty if you sit there.”

I successfully snapped her out of it with a slap on the cheek.

“Eh? Ah, wait, why are you hitting me?”

“Now that you mention it, I’m not sure. Just because, I guess.”

“D-don’t, um, hit people ‘just because’. A-and stop already.”

Oops. I’d forgotten to stop.

I quickly removed my hand from her cheek and she started crying, presumably out of relief. Everyone gave me icy stares, but in my defense, it was the supply room that made her cry, not me.

Then the supply room door opened behind me and the Professor emerged.

Before I could say anything to defend myself, he looked at me crouched in front of Sensei while she sobbed and held her red cheek.

“I see.” He took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs. “Rapist!!!”

I sent him flying with an uppercut. He bounced off the hallway ceiling and bounced off the floor, but he still sprang to his feet and looked to me.

“So what are you doing here? Doing to Sensei, I mean.”

“That’s my line. What were you doing in the dark there?”

“You will get no spoilers out of me. Step in and find out for yourself.”

I grabbed his head, spun him around 180 degrees, and shoved him into the dark supply room.

He screamed in a way I had never heard from him until the screaming abruptly stopped.

“I see. Whatever it is must be terrifying.”

I shut the door and locked it from the outside. I figured things would have settled down in there by tonight.

The people gathered outside left and I decided to continue my patrol. But just as I started to leave, I felt a tug at the hem of my shirt.

I looked back to see Sensei had stopped crying.

“What do you want now?”

“I dropped my wallet i-inside there. S-so…”

I unlocked the supply room door, picked her up by the collar like a kitten, and dropped her inside.

“Eek!”

I pulled my hand back to find her clinging to and dangling down from it. There was no way she could retrieve her wallet.

“Hey, what the hell do you think you’re doing!?”

I looked back to see Little Boy who had been on patrol just like me. I could think of only one reason he would take issue with my actions here.

“You want to help out Sensei, don’t you? Good luck.”

I kicked him into the supply room. I heard some noises inside for about 3 seconds before they abruptly stopped.

Not even Little Boy could handle it? This had to be scary indeed. I flicked Sensei on the forehead while she dangled from my hand.

“Ow! Wh-what was that for!?”

“It’s no use. We just have to abandon the room.”

“B-but there are still a few people in there.”

“And we will never forget their sacrifice. Now, I did make you cry, so I’ll treat you to something nice. Let’s visit the rumored butoh café called Thrill.”

Still dangling from my arm, she pointed toward the supply room.

“We can eat here. They say it’s the best anmitsu place in the country.”

I silently nodded and shoved her into the darkness.

Author Comment:

Sensei cries a lot, but I don’t think it only happens when the protagonist is around.

She just interacts with him more, so when she cries around someone, it ends up being him more often than anyone else. That was a bit of a complicated way of saying that.

I feel like the Professor is enjoying his school life more than anyone else. He only enjoys a narrow sliver of that life, but he seems the most stress free.

Record 116: Something of Great Importance

02/18/1999

22:52

On my way home, the Boss picked me up in his car to drive me the rest of the way.

I left his car without a word and arrived at the apartment entrance to find Lady standing there. She looked up at me and smiled with her eyebrows still drooping.

“She’s fine,” was all she said.

I nodded, rubbed her head, and entered the apartment. I used the elevator instead of the stairs. Once out in the hallway, I saw Snowy standing in front of my room. She looked up when she saw. She initially looked surprised, but then she smiled a little.

“You look like a real man now.”

Did she mean the cut on my cheek? I nodded, smiled a little, walked past her, and started to enter my room. She turned to face me again.

“It must have taken a lot out of her. She’s sleeping in your bed, but she hasn’t come to since saying something to you by phone.”

I didn’t nod as I opened the door and walked in.

It was dark inside. Of course it was. It was nighttime.

But I didn’t turn on the lights.

I shut the door as quietly as I could manage.

I removed my shoes and only then realized I wasn’t in the habit of saying “I’m home” when I got home.

I didn’t want to make this into anything special, so I started by going to the kitchen. I opened the fridge, pulled out some mineral water, and took a drink. Then I took a breath.

Now it really felt like I was back home.

Before that feeling similar to relief could fade, I made my way to my bedroom.

You were sleeping there.

You lay on my bed in a somewhat twisted position, breathing deeply in sleep. I noticed the two holes on your neck were no longer visible through your messy hair.

Was that a good thing or not? I wasn’t sure, but then I saw some movement next to you.

It was Daitarou.

The animal still didn’t understand human speech very well, so he looked up at me and tilted his head.

I smiled bitterly and noted his presence meant I had to be on my best behavior.

I wanted to say something.

There had to be something I could say while you were asleep.

Something I couldn’t say if you were awake.

“–––––”

Wouldn’t you know it? I tried to find the words, but I only found tears.

I sat next to the bed and leaned back against its side. Then I cried all on my own again. I had to get through this while you were still asleep. Because that way I could keep from crying when you cried.

But then I started wondering if you ever would wake up again.

I had already made up my mind. Come morning, I would call the Professor and have him ready some way of erasing my memories.

Would you wake up before I left tomorrow?

Something warm touched my tear-wet cheek

Daitarou was licking up the tears. He may have been hungry.

I smiled bitterly, held him in my arms, and rested my head on the bed. I realized the bed was rising and falling in time with your breaths.

I matched my own breathing to that rhythm and smiled even more bitterly at how easy it was to match. I started to call your name.

“…”

And then it hit me.

I knew your name.

My head sprang up, but you were still asleep. You were sleeping and breathing with the same rhythm as me.

Would you wake up or not?

Author Comment:

This was the final story when Tokyo was serialized in Dengeki hp.

The Boss, Lady, Snowy, you, and Daitarou are in it.

This leads to either an ending or a new beginning.

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