City Series:Volume7 Layer 8

Layer 8: Flower

11/15/1998

10:30

I stepped out onto the emergency stairs during the break between 2nd and 3rd period.

People were still cleaning up outside after the school festival. Autumn colors were blowing into the sky while the leaves distributed by the city hall were falling like flower petals.

I saw a familiar face descending from the roof carrying wood. It was Little Boy. The boy with sharp black hair did not look happy to see me.

“Oh, it’s you. Don’t just stand there. You’re in the way.”

“Am I?” I asked before attacking that Vice Chancellor’s aide who didn’t know how to show respect to his upperclassmen.

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

He tried to activate his Mobilized Writing in a hurry, but it was too late. First, I punched his rationality. Once the fear hit him, I punched his patience. Once he screamed, I punched his endurance. Once his scream reached its climax, I punched his willpower. Once he passed out, I punched his shame and his reputation, stripped him naked, and strapped him to the wood with a belt. I showed mercy by having him face the wood he was strapped too. The other way around would have affected his future. I couldn’t let such a young blossoming flower wither away so soon.

Once it was all done, I admired my handiwork and felt a blow from behind. I looked back to find Sensei there.

“What are you doing here? Your next class is starting soon. And that’s my class.” Then she saw my naked underclassman propped up on the emergency stairs. “Eh? Wait, what? Um, is this rated 18+? Or maybe 64+!?”

I had no idea what she meant, so I tried to calm her down while we returned to the classroom. This is what I said to put her mind at ease: “Don’t worry. This probably happens to him all the time.”

Author Comment:

Now all the characters have been introduced. Little Boy is little more than a side character, though.

Record 85: Like Always

10/09/1998

22:48

We had been called to the Chancellor’s Officers living room even though the athletic festival started tomorrow.

I was standing in front of the room’s entrance in the modified bomb shelter when I saw an idiot among the white and red colors. I stared at him.

“What are you doing here, Professor?”

He pushed up his glasses to stare back at me.

“Oh, and who might you be? That is a very unfortunate shape for a face, I must say.”

I went ahead and punched him.

“Ow ow ow. You sure are a violent child. Why do you throw hands at the drop of a hat?”

“In order to cure your memory disorder, obviously. You see, there’s this new treatment where I punch you straight in the head at a rate of three times a second. The effectiveness differs between people, but it apparently works for around 70% of people.”

“I am going to ignore that. No objections? Then let’s gather up these ashes on the floor.”

I looked down to see white ashes piled up on the concrete floor. I tilted my head.

“What’s all this?”

“Ashes.”

“I can tell.”

“Interesting. You could tell what it was and asked anyway, yet you show no shame. Is there any way of fixing that brain of yours?”

I strayed from my usual methods and put him in a headlock. He tapped out after 3 seconds.

“Fine. I will explain. You know the tissue paper flowers used for opening ceremonies and the like? I made a large quantity of those, but carrying that back out would have been so inconvenient. So I burned them.”

“And that’s where these ashes came from?”

“Yes. They have been oxidized, but if I scatter them around, the oxygen will dissolve into the air and the original flowers will return. If I scatter them from the rooftop, I can carpet bomb the plebes below with colorful flowers.”

“Huh, so even you can do useful things sometimes.”

“Ho ho? Have you never heard of doing one good deed a day? I follow the church of the one good deed. And after that one good deed, do whatever you want for the rest of the day.”

I quickly checked the clock to make sure it wasn’t tomorrow yet. Having his one good deed done that early in the day would be dangerous in the extreme.

It was still shortly before 11 at night, so I breathed a sigh of relief just as Lady walked out of the living room carrying a carboard box full of paper flowers.

“Okay, I have more for you to burn.”

“I see.” The Professor pulled a lighter from his pocket. “That’s 6 boxes today. A good pace. Who made all of them anyway?”

“Hm? There’s a lot of stuff in here.”

I listened to their conversation and the term “6 boxes” caught my attention. Before I could figure out why, you walked in from the direction of the school building.

“Excuse me. Did you see a pile of programs for the athletic festival around here? They’re for the students in the school buildings.”

“Eh?” said Lady just before Snowy stepped out from the living room.

“Come to think of it, I left the Officers’ photo album and a nap room blanket in here, but they have disappeared.”

“Huh?” you said just before Sensei approached from the direction of the school building.

“Um, uh, did I leave a pile of ungraded tests around here? I was thinking of grading them outside for a change of pace.”

Snowy gave her a “why would you do that?” look just before a red Caddy stopped in front of us and the Boss hopped out.

“Oh, no! I left my secret porn stash hidden in the trash when I was cleaning up the living room!”

Sensei scolded him, but the rest of us were looking at the ashes at our feet.

Then our gazes gathered on the Professor standing in the middle of those ashes and staring up into the sky.

“I said one good deed a day. Not six.”

Author Comment:

I remember Lady’s “okay, I have more for you to burn” originally being “burn everything in here” while towing in a bicycle trailer. I was right to change my mind about that.

Record 5: He Tells Me Something

03/04/1997

18:56

I ran into Senpai on the way back from school and we stopped by our usual ramen place. He was in high school and already the Chancellor. I was still in middle school. We were only one year apart, but we lived in completely different worlds. I tried various tricks to try and get him to pay, but nothing worked.

Anyway, a classmate’s family ran this ramen place. It wasn’t deserted, but it was pretty quiet.

We slurped our ramen at the counter while we chatted.

“The daughter of this ramen shop is the one from that accident, isn’t she?” he asked.

I made sure the mustache man behind the counter was chatting with another customer before answering.

“Yeah. She was caught in the mess with the rest of us when I punched that auto three wheeler. She used to help out here, but now she’s in Kansai. They have better tech for prosthetic eyes there.”

Senpai paused his eating, nodded, and muttered “Kansai”.

More than a year had passed since the east and west were unified. I had even heard our middle school would be going to Nara, Kyoto, and Osaka for their school trips.

But even a middle schooler like me heard the concerning rumors.

Senpai led the Chancellor’s Officers, so he had to hear even more than me. So I asked about it.

“Is something worrying you?”

“Yes,” he honestly replied. “For example…”

He looked to me, smiled bitterly, and said “never mind”.

“The most important worries are best kept a secret.”

Author Comment:

Again with the ramen.

In my day, we would generally stop at ramen shops on the way home from school, but do kids go to convenience stores now?

I feel like there are a lot of those small differences, but I still think a restaurant like this suits the sunset mood better.

Record 59: That’s All

04/12/1998

5:28

With the entrance ceremony on the 10th and the opening ceremony on the 11th, the Chancellor’s Officers had been extremely busy for the past two days. We had basically spent the night in the rundown living room on the main school building’s 2nd floor. When I heard the sounds of the girls on breakfast duty in the spare room next door, I forced my sleepy head awake and began patrolling (and taking a stroll around) the building.

My new class was Class 2-…oh, there it was. The classroom was located at the very end of the building. The emergency exit was nearby, which was great if I needed to make a quick escape. I looked out the window and noticed the cherry trees at the end of the schoolyard were in full bloom and then checked inside the classroom to see Sensei there.

“What are you doing here so early, Sensei?”

She had been sleeping sprawled out on her desk, but she partially got up when she heard my voice.

“Hwee?”

“What does ‘hwee’ mean? And why are you here?”

“Because I’m this class’s homeroom teacher.”

That was just about the scariest thing I had ever heard. And besides…

“Being the homeroom teacher doesn’t mean you can just sleep here.”

I started feeling really sleepy as soon as I said that. The next thing I knew, the spring air blew in through the open window. Was this what they called the deep sleep of spring?

“Well, this ain’t good. I don’t even remember the dawn.”

“Right? This desk is upwind, so the effect is really powerful.”

We both rested our heads on the desk, shut our eyes, and dozed off until Lady opened the door and walked in.

“Oh, I’m in your class,” she said when she saw us. “And what are you doing?”

“Hweh?” I replied.

Before the danger could really sink in, I was already drifting off to sleep.

I had a feeling we would see more and more victims every time someone else walked in. How would we ever fix this?

Author Comment:

I don’t think Sensei is there so early because she’s passionate about her work. I think she gets there early and takes a nap at school so she isn’t late.

Record 10: But Things Change

04/15/1997

22:47

We apparently had a test so soon after the school year began, so I stayed up late studying and now I wanted to grab a drink and watch a movie on TV until I fell asleep.

So I went out to stop by the convenience store.

On the way, I looked up into the sky to see a group of Night Winds in black swinging brooms around. They were sweeping along an indistinct, light pink cloud.

That was the cherry blossom front. What looked like a cloud was actually cherry blossom petals taken from the south.

I admired the unusual sight and then saw a familiar face below the cherry tree in front of the convenience store. What was she called again? Oh, right. Snowy.

She was seated with a wooden sword in her arms and lots of stray cats around her.

I considered calling out to the cat-covered girl, but she spoke first even though she was still staring up at the cherry tree’s blossomless branches.

“What are you doing out so late?”

“I could ask you the same question.”

“I am training to prepare for the Mountain, so-”

She stopped midsentence and I stared at her face.

“You don’t look too good. Are you alright?”

“I am fine,” she insisted with sweat dripping down her brow. She also shut her eyes.

I decided to buy a few snacks and two drinks in the convenience store.

When I emerged, Snowy was gone. So were the cats.

I wondered what that was about with the two drinks in hand and I noticed the cherry tree was now in full bloom.

Author Comment:

A Night Wind group.

There isn’t just one.

The cardinal winds are the representatives that lead all the others and it’s the representatives of each type that go out where people can see them. I think they have lineages too. I think the Night Winds are divided into different groups and the one seen in the illustrations is in charge of the protagonists’ region.

Record 98: What He Doesn’t Know Either

12/20/1998

6:19

Maybe it was the conversation with myself last night and maybe it was thinking too much about you and Senpai, but I had barely gotten any sleep when the dawn arrived.

Maybe there’s nothing I can do about this, I thought without much confidence. I decided to settle things inside me once and for all and stepped outside.

It was past 6 in the morning and I made my way to the road alongside the railroad we had walked down last night.

Senpai would be running there early in the morning.

I wanted to be there.

The needle ice flowers blossoming in the area would make any footprints really stand out.

When Senpai found me, he would slow his pace, approach me, and ask me to walk with him like usual. Then I could ask him what was worrying him. I wanted to know what was most weighing on that worrier’s mind at the moment.

I recalled him once saying that the most important worries are best kept a secret.

So would he tell me his most important worry?

Part of me wanted to know and part of me didn’t.

I picked up my pace on the way toward the railroad.

Only after I got my body moving did I realize how much I cared for you. You had once worried for the boy who came in 2nd place, but would you one day be able to share that worrier’s worries?

Make sure to stand up for yourself more, I silently told myself and you.

It was time for the current me to go to where my future self and past self had been. That was where I would meet Senpai who was such a worrier he never stood up for himself.

I would meet him and receive an answer that I both wanted to hear and didn’t want to hear.

Author Comment:

This story is continued in Record 99.

By gathering and reading these memories, I think you can get a picture of the protagonist, You, and Senpai’s positions from the protagonist’s point of view.

Record 105: Even If It Means Being Alone

01/20/1999

17:46

One evening, Lady and I went to the supermarket to buy some supplies.

She found something promising in the snack section.

It was supposed to snow tonight, but it wasn’t yet. I wanted to get our shopping done quick and return to the Officers’ living room. There was something we were all going to watch on TV together.

“Stars of the New Year Hidden Camera Athletic Festival w/ Wardrobe Malfunctions – Pure Version, huh?”

“Everyone’s waiting for us, so we need to hurry,” said Lady.

She was stuffing the supermarket basket full of nothing but snacks, but I sensed a lack of cooperation in how they were all the kind that came in small boxes. Apparently, I was in charge of the ones in big bags. I grabbed some things from the shelves hanging upside-down from the ceiling and covered them with the basket to make sure they didn’t fall up.

“We should probably buy some alcoholic drinks too. I know everyone will want some.”

I smiled bitterly and she smiled bitterly back.

“We went a little nuts last month, didn’t we? I normally only drink aperitifs and maybe a nightcap on wintery days like this.”

“You heavenly people know how to drink in ways the lowly commoners like me could never even imagine.”

“You’re not making any sense. But were we really that bad last month? I was so drunk I don’t remember any of it.”

“Don’t worry. I remember every second of it. Like that you were blue and white.”

She frowned, wondering what I meant by that, but I opted not to answer. She tilted her head before asking me about Little Boy.

“Why does he butt heads with you like that?”

“Probably because our Mobilized Writings are similar. Its his legs and my arms, but mine is stronger since I realized what it was sooner. Also…” I scratched my head. “He always blushes when he sees Sensei.”

“Well, you did make Sensei cry when you brought him to meet her.”

“All I did was say I was going to show off my special skill and then quick-removed her bra. What kind of adult cries just because something startled her?”

We were interrupted by a sneeze from behind.

We looked back to see Sensei there. She stared at us with a basket in one hand, started to say something, and blushed after seeing what we were carrying.

“Wh-what is this about? Y-you two are out together at this hour, and, um, buying food back in an out-of-the-way aisle? Oh, how indecent! You have my support, but I also can’t let this continue!”

Could someone please do something very direct about this idiot? But I was also curious about what I had just said to Lady, so I asked about it.

“Hey, Sensei? This is a difficult question, so I’ll try to be as indirect as possible: what would you do if I said my underclassman wants to marry you?”

“Wow,” said Lady just before Sensei placed a hand on her cheek.

“Eh? No, no. That would never work. He would be a 1st year, right? And I’m 24, so that’s a…8-year age gap? That’s too much…i-isn’t it?”

“What, you aren’t sure?”

“So, um, he’s just going to have to limit himself to being around me at school and maybe bringing me food and maybe more if he wants, right? So, um, uh.”

She continued stammering, so Lady used her finger to write “stop her” on my back.

“I see. I read you loud and clear, Sensei. As his upperclassman, I will tell him to cheer up because you are green. I already checked during the day.”

“Oh, but that’s no longer accurate. I tripped in the snow earlier and changed, so now they’re white.”

“White!?” I shouted on reflex. “Wait, do you always carry a change of underwear with you!?”

“You’re supposed to make fun of her for the tripping in the snow part!” insisted Lady before gasping and holding her butt. “Is the blue and white you mentioned before, um, the same thing as Sensei’s green and white?”

“Yes. When you took a tumble in the milk bar, they were blue and white.”

That explanation made Lady crouch on the ground, hang her head, and mutter to herself.

“Maybe underage drinking is a bad idea after all.”

Author Comment:

There hasn’t been much snow in Tokyo lately.

I think it’s been 20 years since it got knee high.

The protagonists are heading out to go shopping pretty casually, but it appears to be more of a change of pace than an actual job.

Record 49: How Can I Laugh at That?

01/22/1998

23:59

A week had passed since our coming-of-age ceremony and I was patrolling the city with Snowy. There was a simple reason for that:

“Remnants of dreams have been wandering the city of late,” she said with her katana on her shoulder.

We were near the civic center a short distance from the city hall. It sounded like wandering around this area had a higher chance of encountering the dreams.

I kept my hands in my jacket’s pockets.

“Dreams, huh? Could this be a side effect of the coming-of-age ceremony? I really hope they don’t do any harm to young people like us.”

My breath came out white and Snowy looked in my direction. It was a casual thing, but her eyes were fixated on a spot behind me and she drew her katana.

“Do not move.”

“Wh-why? What are you going to do?”

“I can see a dream behind you. I will cut it down, so do not move.”

“Okay, but what happens to me while I stand in front of this dream?”

“You will be a noble sacrifice. Although how noble you are is up for debate.”

“Generally, people leave that last part unsaid, you idiot. Whose dream is it anyway? You can’t just cut it down without checking, can you?”

She narrowed her eyes toward the dream behind me.

“I see a steaming bowl, a long plate with something on it, and a rice bowl dancing together.”

“Oh, that’s probably a ramen rice gyoza set. I was just thinking I wanted one of those.”

“So this is your dream? Then I will cut you down along with kit.”

“You’re going to cut down my ramen rice and my gyoza!?”

“They are a set, so what choice do I- oh.”

I looked back to see my dream vanishing. She clicked her tongue in disappointment and glanced to the side while I tilted my head.

“I don’t think this is just dreams wandering around. I think our own dreams are being dragged out to the surface too.”

“But why did it disappear?”

“When you notice a dream, you have two options: try to make it real or give up on it. Either way, the dream ceases to be a dream once you’re aware of it.”

“You think that line makes you sound cool, don’t you?”

She sighed and resumed walking. I followed after her and changed the subject.

“To change the subject, is it true the Kansai students are at it again?”

“Yes. I often encounter them and rumors of them. Our new special duty officer coming next month will apparently be a former Kansai student, which I imagine is meant as a response to this.”

“Huh. I’d heard some weird students who were accepted in last summer had gone to the Mountain partway through the training period, but does this mean one of them made it to the end?”

“Personally, I would prefer a successor to the Vice Chancellor’s Aide role instead of a special duty officer.”

The Vice Chancellor generally had two aides. Snowy and the other one were both 3rd years, so they were trying not to get involved in our generation’s issues.

I walked up next to her and asked a question.

“Is it hard being the only aide who can actually fight?”

“Yes, because it means protecting an idiot all on my own.”

She had to say that with a straight face, didn’t she?

Then she looked to me. No, behind me.

“…”

She silently faced forward again and walked on ahead.

“What? Was there a dream back there again?”

“Do not turn around.”

Her words were sharp but not cruel. I obeyed them and let my dream remain a dream.

I did look behind Snowy as she walked ahead and saw someone there.

A grownup version of her was smiling up into the sky while looking the picture of health. I started to raise my fist but stopped myself.

I looked up in the sky and saw some snow falling.

I noted how much it looked like flowers as I caught up with Snowy again.

Author Comment:

I feel like this is getting off topic, but I think it’s worth asking whether a dream is something out in front of you that you pursue or something you create behind you that pushes you onward.

Also, this layer feels like it has more snow than flowers.

Record 20: Would I Be Helpful?

06/15/1997

12:11

The Mountain had us running a morning mountain marathon.

Why did we have to do this? I stayed in the lead most of the way.

Some dropped out almost immediately, others got worn out once their stamina was drained, and others were stopped at the checkpoints because they couldn’t answer the questions asked by the instructors. Very few of us did any real running.

I was currently running up – well, climbing up really – a cliff face with a 70 degree angle. Doing that for 100 meters was a real workout.

I had to wonder what I was doing. I still didn’t know what my Mobilized Writing was and the instructors kept asking me questions along the way.

“Checkpoint 1: How many times has the earth rotated as of today?”

“Checkpoint 2: Go back and retrieve the flower growing at the starting point.”

“Checkpoint 3: There is a dolphin here. Now…what will you do about it?”

I punched them all and kept going. Yes, I punched them hard.

But did I really intend to see this through to the end? Checkpoint 4 was at the top of this slope. My instructor would be there. That young one with spiky hair who mainly uses kicks. He wouldn’t tell me his name. He said my punching-centric fighting style reminded him of someone. He could be a pain, so I knew I would just end up punching him and keep going. Looking back on the day, I couldn’t figure out what any of the instructors had been thinking. They were all a bunch of losers.

I found myself out of breath.

I was currently 90m up when the exhaustion hit me along with a sudden breeze.

Whoops. I came back to my senses just in time to stop myself from falling backwards. If that had happened, I would’ve needed some pretty extreme reconstructive surgery for my face and body.

“Kh.”

I had to stay calm. My instructor knew my fighting method in and out. He had taught it to me, so of course he did. Could I really punch him and keep going?

If I didn’t win this, I would end up stopping.

That might be fine sometimes, but not this time.

No, wait. This mountain marathon up a steep slope was just one event in our Mountain training. Losing this didn’t mean anything in the long run.

But I didn’t want to stop. Because surely…

This was bad. What was bad? That I was starting to realize something weird. If I kept on in this direction, I was certain it would greatly influence the rest of my life.

I didn’t want to stop even though it didn’t really matter?

I suddenly recalled when I had gotten 2nd place on the track team.

Did I want to be #1?

But just when I decided that choice wasn’t for me, I heard my instructor’s voice from the peak above. He was apparently talking to someone.

I climbed the stone and poked my head up to see my monk-robed instructor speaking with a young man in a suit and glasses. My instructor scratched his head.

“I’ve calmed down some. I don’t think I’m the same as that kid who wanted to scatter in the wind like a flower. And didn’t you marry your wife when you were still students?”

The other man nodded and my instructor smiled bitterly.

“Graduating didn’t stop any of us. I’m thinking of joining the GASAS after spending a while longer here. Your old man won’t stop asking me to join.”

And…

“We’re the same as these kids. We doubt ourselves and eventually make up our minds. I still believe that I’ll become king one day.”

I didn’t know what any of that meant, but I could tell he was walking a similar path to my own.

What was that about them all being losers? Did I think I was #1 or something? I wanted to become #1, but that wasn’t the same thing. So…

“You can do it!”

It doesn’t help much when you have to say it yourself, does it? But I still crawled up onto the peak and readied my fist without any self-restraint. While wondering what was with me today.

Yeah, what was I doing today?

I looked past my clenched fist to see a smile on my instructor’s lips.

Author Comment:

This has some interesting information for anyone who read Osaka, but I won’t be revealing anything here.

During a school trip to Nikko, I nearly fell off a cliff. I just barely saved myself by grabbing onto a tree at the last second. I slipped on some mud and slid right under the fence.

Record 66: I Will Wait for Them

06/09/1998

4:46

The morning was fairly chilly for June and I could see my deeper breaths. I breathed those visible breaths in every direction in front of Takao Station on the Chuo Line.

“Why are you spreading your bad breath around?” you asked, hitting me from behind.

I looked back to see everyone lowering a large megaphone-like device from the Boss’s Caddy.

Lady attached her keyboard to the megaphone and started tuning.

“The heck is that?”

I was answered by the Boss who walked up next to me with his part of the job complete.

“That idiot professor said it would push back the rain front. You see, one of the school’s washing machines broke and then they all broke in a resonance phenomenon. The repairs only finished yesterday.”

“They couldn’t get enough driers ready,” you added. “The Professor asked for our help because we can operate on emergency funding, but we didn’t bring him with us due to his extensive list of past offenses.”

That was the smart decision. I saw the South Wind and West Wind had arrived and were drawing various lines on their map of Japan.

“So how does that thing stop the rain front?” I asked.

The Boss unfolded a report everyone had been given a copy of.

“Simply put, enjoyable music draws in the cherry blossom front to push back the rain front.”

“That certainly is simple. But isn’t it a bit late for cherry blossoms?”

“To quote that idiot, ‘how can it be late for something that happens every year?’ So Lady just has to play music with the appropriate DC symbols, I think he called it.”

“I see,” I said before realizing something. “So why am I here?”

“That’s quite the philosophical question.”

“No, it isn’t. My violent aide isn’t here, nor is anyone else who we bring along when we need muscle. Except for me, that is. My rightful place is back in my bed!”

You slapped me on the shoulder.

“Senpai said to bring you just in case.”

Damn, that explained it. It seemed to violate the principle of division of labor, but if the guy in charge demanded it, then we had to do it.

I really, truly had nothing to do, so I started watching Lady.

She was humming the music in front of her and viewing the weather map the winds were drawing out. She looked deadly serious and occasionally shook her head. She was definitely nervous.

“Oh,” she said when she noticed me and raised her head. “H-hey, how long should I delay the rain front?”

“Until the washing machines have been run to death and the dryers have been worked to tears.”

“Um,” she muttered, looking close to tears herself. “I have a rather fundamental question about all this. Do you promise not to laugh?”

“I do.”

“I’ve never done laundry.”

I thought about that for a moment, recalled my promise to her, and suppressed my reflexive response. I put on a serious face and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“That is a serious problem. Oh, you poor soul. You have been deprived of so much. I truly pity you.”

“I get the feeling it would have hurt less if you just laughed.”

“Don’t let it bother you. Push it back for three days and everything will be fine.”

She grabbed the headphones hanging around her neck and put them on her ears. She didn’t look nervous anymore, which told me I really didn’t have anything to do anymore.

“Hey, there’s this weird black bus driving up! It’s an advertisement bus!”

I turned toward your voice to see the black bus entering the traffic circle. It said “Committee for Stopping Kantou Students from Making us Feel Bad by Going on Dates in Public” on the side.

“They sure are up front about what they’re about.”

Students in combat uniforms left the bus and used megaphones to express their firm support of the coming rain. I readied my fist and walked toward them.

I took a breath and looked up into the sky to see the winds carrying in the cherry blossom front.

Author Comment:

This was originally about holding the cherry blossom front in place so it didn’t move on, but that didn’t fit the time of year this was being published and I ended up changing it to rain instead.

There are always groups out there making weird claims. Until a few years ago, there was a propaganda truck that often parked itself near my home. The river bank was opened up at the time, and I remember I would often see the guys who operated the truck driving it in the river and washing it while saying things like “Hey, quit splashing water on me.” and “Yikes, that’s cold. Downright freezing. Ah ha ha!”

Record 113: I Want to Forget Even if That Means Losing It

02/17/1999

18:15

I entered the used bookstore. It was a small space only about 10m across.

Was this where it all ended, or where it would all begin?

No, those were the same thing. I knew this wouldn’t continue.

I searched for Senpai among the bookcases that came up to my shoulders.

There he was. He was on the next row over, putting one bookcase in between. He was reading a book. I couldn’t see his face with the paperback in the way.

I stood directly in front of him with the bookcase between us. And…

“How about we step outside and go for a walk?”

“Could you wait a moment? I am nearly done.”

He immediately responded. I let out a single breath and tried to tell myself that all my fears had been misplaced.

But then I noticed he had already flipped to the last page of the book.

Oh, I realized before asking a question.

“Why? Aren’t some Kantou or Kansai corporations using Kansai students to start a largescale riot?”

“I cannot answer that. Only I need to know the truth. Not even she knows everything that happened on the battlefield since she escaped before it was complete. Do you understand now?”

“But you cut down all of the evidence there, didn’t you?”

“Other than myself.”

“Does it worry you that you’re still here?”

He did not answer and searched for something to say instead.

“The east and west’s actions this time were meant to split Japan into two halves once more.”

“And all you did was try to stop them!”

“All I did? No. I sucked her blood. That is what matters most, is it not? That is something only I could do to her.”

It was true I couldn’t do it. And he kept talking.

“Someone knows the full story of what happened. His presence means there is a way to investigate what happened. Do you see what I mean?”

“No, I don’t see.”

“I must go missing just like the others did. It is a simple matter. Once that happens, this conflict will have no winner and no loser.”

“Then flee the country and go into hiding overseas!”

He lowered the book when I said that.

I saw his usual face there. His mouth looked a little twisted, so his nonhuman fangs were probably fully grown. He opened those lips.

“If you do not kill me, she will become my kind in a few days’ time.”

“If that’s what she wants, it isn’t our place to stop it.”

“But she chose to kill me just as I instructed her to.”

“I don’t believe that. It’s not fair to act like what you wanted was actually what we wanted. How can you be so sure?”

“So that you can claim what you have been avoiding by resigning yourself to 2nd place.” He smiled a little and kept smiling as he continued. “If you do not stop me, it all falls apart. I am worried about myself. Worried that I will suck up all the blood – my own included – and cut everything down.”

“Are you worried about her too? You said before you didn’t want to, but are you now?”

“Yes, I am worried about her too. Worried that I would cut down anyone who looks after her the way you do.”

I gasped and looked up to find him looking me in the eye.

“Once, when I was speaking to the only person who can stop me, I believe I said that the most important worries are best kept a secret.”

“But…”

He opened his mouth with his smile intact.

“I can say now that I am worried about him. Worried that I will cut him down if he chooses to live a life without regret.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Senpai drew his sword.

Author Comment:

The used bookstore area in Kanda is pretty well known, but as someone who went to Akihabara once a week since elementary school, I remember never realizing how famous it is until someone mentioned it in high school.

Although one of my friends said they even had “bookcases lined up in the sewers” there, which didn’t match what I had seen. The fiction sounded a lot more interesting.

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