Children Reason (8 page)

To recall again, it feels like today is not just one day, but a very very very long day.

I just met the Mekakushidan members like, this morning……… no, to be precise I met them at the shopping mall, but they are such people, that can easily hang along with me within such a short time. To think about it carefully it really is the first time for this to happen.

Being invited by friends to their house, eat together, talking about each other’s stories, while discussing for tomorrow’s plan.

Just by hearing this, it’s just like hanging out with normal friends in daily life.

Although it’s quite strange, I had never thought that this chance will be given to me.

………… is this really good. Really.

Feels like the more I meet, the more the fun, the more it gradually becomes thinner.

Still, still at least at this time, at least during this hols, letting me to understand the feels of meeting these guys, is acceptable right.

In the dark, I asked some certain person, who didn’t exist but wasn’t myself.

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"Hey, Shintaro."

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”………..What”

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"You have made so many friends, isn’t that great. Together with them, are you happy?"

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"Impossible. I have never thought of that"

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"Liar. Because Shintaro today seems to be very happy. It is my first time seeing Shintaro smiling so happily"

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"Told you there is no such thing. I’m just being led by the nose. I’m pretty tired here"

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"Hey, Shintaro. Do you remember me?"

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"What are you saying, of course I remember?"

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"Then, why don’t you call my name?"

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"eh…….. what’s with the sudden, what’s the matter"

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"Hey, Shintaro. Why don’t you call my name?"

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"S-STOP……….. please stop it………….."

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"Of course……… you can’t? About me, you can’t remember?"

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"enough………. stop. Please, I’m begging you"

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"HEY, SHINTARO."

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"U, AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"UWAAAAAAHHH!!??"

"U, AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!"

"UWAAAAAAAAAHHH???!!!"

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"y-y-y-y-you scared me to death! What’s wrong?!"

My vision suddenly became bright, the basement view I saw back then, showed out without any changes.

As I turned my head, I saw Momo looking at me with a worried face, with her hand on the dartboard-shaped switch.

"Ahh, it’s you. N-nothing. Just had a nightmare"

"w-what kind of dream…… you don’t look well you know?"

Momo worriedly ran towards me, and stared at my face.

"I told you it’s nothing. Anyway what about you, what’s wrong? I thought you slept"

"Eh? Nothing, just kinda woke up…….. so I thought maybe I can check out that kid’s condition or whatever~ like that"

Momo laughed in such a manner like she was sorry for waking me up.

"……. I see. But I didn’t wake up because of you so don’t worry"

"uu~mm. But we had a lot of activities yesterday and today, so Brother is pretty tired right. Take a good rest okay?"

"I will…… ahh, anyway"

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As I said I stood up from the sofa, and looked down and directly into Momo, who was blushing.

"w-what……? What’s the matter Brother……."

"Why, are you doing this?"

Facing my question, Momo gave an anxious and scared look.

"e-eehhh………. i don’t know what do you mean………"

Forming a clear difference with me who didn’t move my sight, Momo couldn’t resist to move her sight towards the floor.

"Once Momo sleeps even if you use an iron to pry her she’ll not wake up. So it’s pretty tiresome. Also, Momo had an argument with Hibiya. I don’t think she’ll be worried about him that she’ll check out on him. Plus….."

When I said till here, Momo was completely speechless. Perhaps because she was staring at the floor, I couldn’t look at her expression.

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"Momo calls me ‘onii-chan’, KANO"

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(((((6010: the “Brother” that fake Momo calls here is Nii-chan, but real Momo calls Shintaro Onii-chan)))))

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Just a moment the air wobbled, and the next moment Kano stood there, with his silly smile that was always same as day, looked at me.

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"………iyaa~, you’re really interesting, Shintaro-kun. Fantastic"

"Thank you. Now, let’s hear from you. Why did you purposely disguised as Momo during such midnight"

With such attitude that he wouldn’t take a step back even facing me, Kano’s expression didn’t change at all, and he still had his sly grin on his face.

"Haha, I’m kinda being hated huh. But there’s no way you won’t, after all it was your very important little sister being disguised……… right?"

Kano blinked his eyes, with such a manner as if he thinks I’m stupid.

It wasn’t just a prank that Ene will usually do to me, but it was like, molesting the most sensitive part of a person that no one will ever want to touch it, filled with such ugly attitude.

"Not really because of that. Why did you disguised as someone else when you are at YOUR home. I want you to clearly explain that reason"

"Mm~ hmm. Of course I was doing something that benefits me. However, what will happen if I say out the reason? After knowing the reason, what will Shintaro-kun do huh"

Kano suddenly swiftly turned his body, facing his back to me, with his hands wide opened.

"Because isn’t this strange. I’ll only become energetic at this kind of time. Am I forgetting some, IMPORTANT THINGS~ as I was thinking about that"

As Kano remained his pose I couldn’t read his expression.

However, the difference is, those words were like looking deeply through my heart, tightly reined my chest.

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"…….. what do you wanna say"

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"Mmm~? oh nope nope, I mean it literally. Shintaro-kun you arr~ee, showing a face that you almost forgot about something important you know"

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Suddenly the bulb above Kano started to flicker.

And every time it flickered it was like a flash, as it flickered at Kano’s back.

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT……!"

"Ah~ bingo? How frustrating, this is getting exciting. Seems that you really forgot about that, Shintaro-kun"

Facing Kano’s manner, my anger reached the boiling point.

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"I SAID I DIDN’T FORGET ABOUT ANYTHING!!!!!!"

As I said that I grabbed Kano, forcing him to turn towards me, just at that moment the bulb fiercely flashed a while.

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The next moment, my loud-thumping heart, was crushed into dust.

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"THEN, WHY, DIDN’T YOU SAVE ME?"

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Shoulder-length black hair, with red scarf like it was burning.

With a smile that I will never mistaken it, Ayano appeared right there.

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"a- AAHH…………."

My legs started to tremble, as if I was going to fall.

My mind gave up comprehending the situation, and my mouth spilled out sounds that couldn’t form a sentence.

"Hey. Answer me Shintaro. Or is it that, you forgot about me?" 

Ayano’s face suddenly approached with a lifeless smile, her eyes staring at me like artifacts without gloss, I couldn’t even breathe at all.

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"n-NO…….. I……………"

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Till now, those thoughts that I was thinking for years were trying to spill out, but I couldn’t turn them into words, in the end I couldn’t say anything.

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Ayano, didn’t wait for me. Just like that day, I couldn’t tell her anything.

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"Fine. Goodbye, Shintaro. Be happy"

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The next moment all the bulbs in the room went off, after a moment of darkness, when it became bright again Ayano disappeared in front of me.

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My legs suddenly became unstable, and I kneel on the ground.

Supporting my body with my trembling hands on the floor, as if something had burst out, big teardrops spilled out and fell.

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As if induced, my refrained feeling one by one spilled out, my body couldn’t move at all.

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………… is this a punishment. Is this a punishment for me, who didn’t listen to that person and couldn’t lend a hand.

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"I’m sorry…………. i’m sorry………………………"

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That word that I finally spoke out, quietly echoed in the room, and unknowingly, quietly disappeared.

KAGEROU DAZE PART THREE

(translated by Diagonal
)

Sounds of cicadas were slowly echoing.

Even in a city like this there’s also cicadas huh, I thought as I looked at a tree along the roadside, but there weren’t any cicadas to be found.

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I always heard that cicadas only have one week of life, but in actual fact when they were still larvae, they hide themselves in the ground for years and years, so actually their lives are pretty long.

If that’s the case those sounds, perhaps they had used up their energy saved for years in the ground, and did their utmost to release out.

Even if they hide in the ground for years saving their energy, one day when they come out from the ground they will still be crushed, from my point of view, cicadas have a beautiful posture, and they make me completely envy.

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"Look, we’re here"

Hiyori put down her shopping bags and pointed, at the opposite of the slightly low brick wall, our destination that is the graveyard was broaden out.

"By the way you look really pale, are you okay?"

"Eh? I am?"

"Yeah. Firstly your eye bags are really heavy, and also you look very gaunt"

The main reason behind my failure look pointed out by Hiyori was, to say about it was this person who was the one questioning, but it seemed that she didn’t notice about that.

No matter what, facing the things that happened yesterday, my pressure was already beyond the range where this body could hold on.

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Firstly, since we arrived here Hiyori was completely in love with Konoha, and her interest towards me reduced a whole lot than before, and that made me being treated like I was getting in her way.

And also yesterday was supposed to be the day to “buy a phone”, but after I begged so much Hiyori only said “I’m lazy to go”, although I still tried many ways to bring her out, eventually the shopping mall kinda closed down temporarily because of some incident or something, facing this really really unhappy thing, we could only return.

I could just go to some other phone stores to buy one, but it seems that children cannot sign the registration without an adult as companion. 

And so at first I wanted to use such reliable and marvelous plan “The manager of the shopping mall has a deep friendship with Hiyori’s father” to get a phone, but now it gracefully turned into bubbles.

"Well then, we’ll procrastinate about the phone", Hiyori immediately made the conclusion, in the end for the whole yesterday, I was in the house forcing myself to see something that I wasn’t even willing to see at all.

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However why must we live with THAT guy.

At first, because Hiyori’s brother-in-law is currently staying in another house so he allowed both of us to freely stay in this house. It should be like that…………

Looks like that brother-in-law is a pretty casual  person. From what Konoha said “I’ve been staying here since before” “I’m taken care by Teacher”, I’m afraid that is lodging.

Since his letting his student to stay, he should at least tell us  about it.

No, there’s a possibility that Hiyori was actually told about him but she didn’t tell me at all.

No matter what, my plan to enjoy the city life with only both of us had completely screwed up.

As expected, I couldn’t swallow my dinner, and because my jealousy was burning vigorously that I couldn’t sleep, so now my face had became like, what Hiyori had just pointed out.

"Hey, Hiyori. Why are we visiting the graveyard suddenly? I thought you were energetic today and wanted to go for shopping….."

"Hmm~ Unconsciously…….. I guess. Yesterday when I entered my sister’s room, I suddenly felt like ‘I need to visit her’ or so"

Today’s my second day here in the city.

It’s also the day that back then Hiyori told me “this day we’re going for shopping, so you need to accompany me”, but Hiyori this morning suddenly said “Quit the shopping. Let’s go to the graveyard”

That thorn in my eye, Konoha, didn’t seem to want to wake up, so he isn’t here. Hiyori even said “actually I want him to come along too” and was sad for a while, but for me it was something I’d ever wish for.

By the way, Konoha didn’t come along when we went to the shopping mall yesterday, because of his extremely childish reason “Teacher said that I cannot go out when I’m suppose to guard the house”. So even if he woke up, he will still not come along.

"I see……….. Come to think of it today’s the Obon"

In the graveyard that was located not far from our house, there were a few visitors here and there, but because the proportion was pretty small so it didn’t seem to be packed with people.

"That’s also right, today is also my sister’s death anniversary. Although my family seldom mention about it. Well it can’t be blamed. Even about my birth, perhaps my sister doesn’t know about that too"

Hiyori’s sister kinda was a very unique person since young, seems that one day she suddenly said “I WANNA GO LOOK AT THE WORLD OUTSIDE” and just ran out from the house.

Ever since then she lost relationship with her family, and when Hiyori first saw her face she was in the coffin.

"During the funeral, brother-in-law seemed sorry. I don’t know why but I clearly remember about that very much"

She looked at the names of the tombs one by one, while slowly walking on the long narrow pathway.

Among the new offerings besides flowers and Japanese desserts, there were also toy cars and others placed at there, and made me lowered my sight as I couldn’t look straight into it.

"He just lowered his head in front of my parents, and said nothing at all. Actually he was always there for my sister who always go out by her own decision. At that time I was thinking ‘Adults are really troublesome huh’ "

Hiyori was poker faced as usual, she wasn’t angry, nor sad, she just said it softly.

To Hiyori at that time, her parents perhaps looked stubborn.

However, for that irreparable thing, for that anger that had nowhere to be released, Hiyori’s parents couldn’t find anywhere to pour out their feelings, when I thought until here, I became speechless.

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Suddenly, Hiyori stopped down.

And right in front of her sight, was a teenage guy wearing a black half-sleeved parka, standing in front of a tomb while praying with his palms together.

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"That, is my sister’s tomb"

Hiyori said and stepped forward again.

As I quickly followed her, the teenage guy seemed to notice us, and he suddenly turned his head.

Tea-colored hair, with big eyes which gave people a deep impression, that guy kept staring at us.

"That tomb, is my sister’s. I’m very grateful, that you can visit her."

Hiyori lowered her head and bowed to the guy, after a moment, the guy suddenly looked at Hiyori with a surprised look.

"e-EH! EEHHH??!! YOUR SISTER!?"

"Yes. That, did you take care of my sister when she was alive….?"

The guy suddenly looked bright, and excitedly replied with an innocent smile.

"Uwahh, you really really look like her! Eh? no no, how can I even take care! Instead of that I was taken a llloooooott of care by you sister!"

The guy innocently smiled as he roughly said, suddenly “ah…….” as he realized something, he put his hand on his lips and coughed a bit on purpose, and straighten his body.

"Uhm, I accidentally became excited I’m sorry I’m sorry. Hmm, is this kid your partner?"

The guy asked as he turned to look at me.

"Ah, yes. Should I say partner, or worker…… haha"

After I said I blushed a bit, moved my sight, and scratched  my face to hide my blush.

"Worker…….. mhmm……. it’s really hard right"

Towards this unexpected reply I turned to look at the guy again, as if he took my words as his matters, the guy sympathized.

"It’s troublesome right? Nah, I understand that pretty~ much too. I kinda always get simply assigned by a scary person everyday. Everyday I get punched and kicked………."

The guy gave a helpless look and spread out both his hands, showing that he felt troubled.

"T-that is really some hardships…… we are living hard…….!!"

"Mhmm……. we must live strong………"

We said as we clenched our hands, looks like we are pretty similar.

I thought I heard Hiyori saying “what is this”, but who cares.

"Well~ then. Goodbye, I need to go right now, sorry for my discourtesy. You two, are you busy after this today?"

"Eh? No, we aren’t busy, but we need to go home by afternoon…….."

"I see……"

Suddenly, after hearing what Hiyori said, the guy who used to have a smile suddenly turned gloomy.

But once I looked carefully again, the guy still had his smile like before. “Because I was so depressed since yesterday, so now I have the power to influence the others to become negative”, my worry for that, seemed to be another illusion.

Or to say that I will not want such non-constructive power. If I can gain a power, I’ll strongly choose the power to make my body invisible.

"Today is such a good day, it’d be nice to play outside for a while~. What a waste!"

The guy said and crossed his arms at the back of his head, and pout his mouth.

"Ahaha… that’s right too. If I play outside for a while, it’d be nice too"

Hiyori softly smiled, and replied the guy.

"Well, take care then! I’m going now. byebye"

The guy smiled at us again, turned his back and quickly paced away.

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"Seems like he’s a pretty good person~ Hiyori"

"Yeah, but it’s still suspicious….. My sister is pretty old by right, what’s with her and such a young guy…………"

Hiyori made a serious look, and started to think about something incredible. And she was just in front of her sister’s tomb, that  was a bit over-doing.

"You’re pretty capable huh!"

This time she looked at the tombstone and energetically said. I wonder how does her sister look at her. If I could ask I’d really want to. 

While saying that, Hiyori started to placed the snacks that she bought in front of the tomb.

Never meet before. That means, Hiyori shouldn’t know what kind of food her sister likes. 

That’s right, the food that Hiyori placed there, was all her favorites.

Such manner to give someone something that you think it’s tasty. For me I could understand, that for Hiyori it was the best pleasure she could ever give.

After placing the things, Hiyori faced the tomb, clasped her hands and closed her eyes.

What kind of person was she. That guy just now said to Hiyori that she “really looked like her”, then was she as harsh as Hiyori.

"When do you wanna pray until. Hey"

When I heard Hiyori’s voice I suddenly opened my eyes.

"Don’t tell me you’re thinking of asking my sister some weird questions?"

"H-how can it be! No, I’m just thinking what kind of person was she~ or something"

I wasn’t thinking about that kind of stuff, but I suddenly rushed when I got thrust.

Hiyori from suspicious eyes, became expressionless again, and mumbled “she’s a normal person, definitely”.

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The sunlight increased its heat, burning with power quietly.

It was already far away from the time of the appointment with Hiyori.

"Well then, shall we go back? Although that guy just now said "it’s better to play outside for a while" or something……"

"M~hmm, Today is a good day so if we go back now I’d be angry. So isn’t it better to go buy some stuffs first"

As Hiyori said that she started to mumble “I wanna go to that shoe store…… no, I should go to merchandise store in front of the station first………”.

"e-EEHH!? We don’t have much time left isn’t it!? I think we should go meet with your brother-in-law first, get the idol’s autograph and go later………"

"…….. no, seems that there’s only one place to go. Follow me"

After Hiyori said that she quickly paced away.

Ah, there’s no choice if it’s like that. No matter what I couldn’t stop her. Or to say that I’m already very happy when she asked me to follow her.

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Out of the graveyard, after walking on the streets Hiyori swiftly turned right.

I had a new discovery, that was Hiyori’s sense of direction was very good. Yesterday and today, it was as if she lived right here, always undoubtedly pacing towards her destination quickly.

Even those roads that even if I read the map I could still get lost, she could still walk forward without any difficulties, that’s really awesome.

Not thinking about anything, nor ask about anything, and i just followed Hiyori’s steps for 15 minutes.