Chapter 4
After the Yachiyo Cup ended, our surroundings changed drastically.
The drastic increase in the number of fans due to winning while unknown, the rise in attention, the requests for projects and collaborations that arrive daily, regardless of various things like that,
“Well then, see you later. I will arrive in about fifteen minutes.”
“Yes, there is one more person over there, so I’m counting on you.”
It was simply because we moved.
The property was the top floor of that tower mansion at the real estate agent's that Kaguya led me to with a skip some time ago. When I revealed the move, Kaguya’s surprise was such that,
“Eh, is it okay!? Yaay!”
Thinking I should have kept the video rolling, maybe I’ve been next to a streamer too much.
“Why! Why! What brought this on?”
Kaguya asked persistently.
It wasn't my true intention, but considering Kaguya keeps increasing her belongings and her face has been revealed, the security of the previous apartment was worrisome…… that was the official reason, combined with the top-secret reason that Kaguya would simply be happy, and the administrative reason that a guarantor was found, leading to the decision.
“By guarantor, you don’t mean……?”
Yes, that "don't mean".
“It’s Mikado Akira!”
It’s Sakayori Asahi. My big brother agreed immediately. However, he seemed to have one misunderstanding; when I went to meet him to get his seal,
“What, guarantor? Not buy the whole building?”
He seriously rounded his eyes saying that. Would he have bought it if I asked, this nouveau riche? I won't do it though.
“Uooooooo, amazing amazing amazing!”
Stepping into the new home, Kaguya kicked aside the cardboard boxes and rushed to the balcony with the momentum to break through the window.
“Hey, don’t fall off!”
“The view is insane! Awe-some”
Kaguya enjoying the superb view from the top floor of the tower mansion; the building wind played with her golden hair as if welcoming her.
“I feel like I’ve become the strongest……”
I had the same opinion. I don't know why, but Kaguya is probably the strongest.
Honestly, I can’t settle down at all though…….
“Well then, I’m going shopping for a bit.”
“It’s lone~ly so I’ll go with you!”
“No, there’s a deadly amount of unpacking to do, right. Tidy up properly.”
I pinned the reluctant Kaguya down with my index finger and went down the mansion. The reason I went out to buy miscellaneous goods that I didn't particularly need to rush for might be because I wanted to set foot on the ground once.
The rent and altitude increased dramatically, but the nearest station hasn't changed, so I know the area. My destination is the super cheap supermarket in front of the station.
“Things like this are easy money, things like this are easy money, things like this are easy money……”
Repeating it like a spell, I passed through the automatic door. What I have to buy is Kaguya’s shampoo and Kaguya’s conditioner and Kaguya’s lotion and…… it’s just Kaguya’s stuff.
“Somehow, it’s like a child-centered mother.”
Although I tried muttering to myself, what caught my eye was the pancake mix Kaguya likes.
“Should I buy it for her…… no no, what am I thinking.”
“I-ro-ha!”
“Whoa, where did you come from!”
As if she had slipped out of my head, Kaguya hugged me from behind.
“It’s boooo-riiiing without Iroha—”
Kaguya spins around dancing and strikes a pose at the end. She hit her hand on the shelf in the momentum of spinning, but she seems intent on pretending it didn't happen. It was funny seeing Kaguya making a smile with guts while enduring the pain, so I laughed a lot.
“Kaguya will do that too!”
“Hey, it’s dangerous I said. You’re in the way—”
For the first lunch after moving, at Kaguya’s strong request, the two of us decided to make pasta. That said, since there isn't much I can do, I was appointed to the role of turning the handle gori gori like an old-type shaved ice machine to turn the dough sheet into noodles—is it called a noodle maker? This is quite interesting. So,
“Let Kaguya do it too!”
Immediately, it’s this mess. Since it’s fun, we took turns turning the handle, and for the last turn, we turned it together. Which couple channel is this? There is no need to roll a video here.
The pasta was ready quickly. Even at the point of smell, it’s already delicious; once plated, it’s even more delicious. As if for the finishing touch, Kaguya held two cheese graters in both hands, struck a pose like Kung Fu, and,
“Hai!”
Since we don’t need two, she switched her left hand to cheese and kosu kosu scattered it on the pasta.
“Itadakimasu”
Facing each other, we put our hands together, and brought it to our mouths together. The taste was, of course,
“Deliii~~~cious♡”
It was.
It was so delicious that Kaguya stood up, and a "pasta too delicious dance" popped out.
“Number one, Kaguya! The be~st in the last ten years!”
I know it’s a loss if I retort "You’ve only been born for a month, right!", but.
“You’ve only been born for a month, right!”
I retorted with full energy, and again the two of us laughed like crazy.
However, we can’t just be laughing. After all, I have studies, I have a part-time job, and once summer vacation ends, there’s school. I have clearly stated that I will help Kaguya’s streaming activities only while I have time. Practically, until the end of summer vacation.
I am strictly a high school girl, not a streamer, not a pro gamer, and certainly not a musician. Therefore,
“Yabai, I’m too scared to sleep……”
When night comes, I can’t help being scared of the live with Yachiyo.
I mean, me? With that Yachiyo? A collab live? Impossible impossible impossible. It’s so awe-inspiring I could vomit. It’s not so bad when I spend time with Kaguya during the day, but the moment I get into the futon alone at night, the area around my ribs starts to buzz. Will I wake up jumping from a dream where I fail spectacularly at the live again tonight?
“Maybe I should practice just one more time.”
No, no good. Practicing late at night on the day before the live won't do any good, I have to sleep early. But, I can’t sleep. Someone help me.
“Iroha!”
As if responding to my call for help, the bedroom door opened without a knock.
“Iroha, help me—”
Ah, I was wrong. The other side was asking for help too.
“What is this? How do I open it?”
“Eh? Ah, don’t look without asking.”
What are you doing the day before the live. What Kaguya was peeking at as if it were natural was my laptop. How did she reach it? What was displayed on the screen was in the lowest layer, going down from “Documents” to “Family” → “Sorting” → “Music”──.
“……Ah.”
For a moment, I couldn't move.
It was something I had forgotten for a long time. Something I had convinced myself I had forgotten. But, something that continued to exist deep in my heart all along. Right in the middle of my heart, my precious, precious memory.
“Did you…… listen to this?”
“Yeah, it was an incredibly wonderful song.”
“I see.”
“It’s kind of cut off midway though—, where is the rest?”
“There isn't any…… I can’t make it anymore.”
The first sentence was impossible, but from the second sentence, I think I was able to fake a smile.
The file name is, “Untitled (Co-production with Iroha)”.
It’s a song Dad and my young self made together.
I don’t even remember what kind of song it is anymore. But,
──Iroha, what do we do next?
──Next is this! Theeen, this!
──Nice, isn't it exciting?
I can still clearly recall the feelings from that time.
My fingers back then didn't know fear. Because Dad accepted me. Because I believed he would accept me. When Dad was around, everyone was laughing. Everyone believed in Dad.
Probably, it wasn't just the family. Everyone involved with Dad probably believed in Dad. Dad is that kind of person. He accepts everyone’s feelings and doesn't neglect anyone. Then, who accepted Dad’s feelings?
“Do you want to listen?”
“Okay. Since I’ve forgotten what kind of melody it was anyway.”
“Iroha?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Tomorrow is the real thing, let’s sleep already.”
“That’s right. Haa—, the live songs are damn difficult though.”
When I closed the laptop, Kaguya switched the topic easily. Even though she must have been curious enough to rush into the bedroom without waiting for morning, late at night on the day before the live. Perhaps, she might have been being considerate.
“Just because Yachiyo is an AI right—”
“You haven't mastered it yet? Will you practice?”
“Nope, it’ll work out somehow!”
Striking her specialty weird pose, Kaguya laughed. Not acting tough or anything, a smile that genuinely thinks it will work out somehow. As expected, Kaguya was amazingly strongest. Amazingly strong, amazingly cute, and,
“Zzzz…… munya munya……”
Amazingly good at falling asleep.
Hey, why are you sleeping on my futon. What was the meaning of moving to a spacious room.
“Geez, no meaning in separating bedrooms.”
When I reluctantly lay down on the same futon, Kaguya’s shampoo smelled faintly. Kaguya’s favorite scent blended with three types of natural essential oils. If I recall, rose and orange and…… what was the third one? Before I could list two candidates, deep sleep arrived.
※
On the day of the live, thanks to that, I slept soundly.
Not too much, not too little; the best sleep where my head and body felt light from the moment I woke up. Since I was allowed to take a break from my part-time job, there is leeway in today’s schedule. I have piled up enough practice. The progression is perfectly in my head, and the equipment check is flawless. I was able to welcome this day having crushed all anxiety factors.
“Yabai yabai, scary scary.”
Even so, I’m totally nervous. In the waiting room of the Tsukuyomi internal live stage, I was desperately soothing my heart which felt like it would break through my ribs.
“Darararara, crab! Darararara, rabbit!”
By the way, Kaguya has been showing me a mysterious imitation roulette the whole time. What kind of reaction is she expecting from the current me?
“Yes yes, cute cute.”
Since it couldn't be helped, I was handling it appropriately when,
“Darararara, loach!”
Yachiyo appeared pon in the waiting room with a loach pose.
“Whoa, you startled me!”
“Ah, it’s Yachiyo. Otsu—”
Hey, use proper language, seriously.
“Ottsu~~~☆”
Sorry, seems like it’s fine. I was worrying too much.
“Hey— hey—, Iroha. I practiced too much and got hungry—. Let’s eat pancakes when it’s over?”
Talking about after it’s over before it even starts; how big a shot is she, this child. Even though I couldn't eat because of nervousness…….
“Pancakes are nice—. Yachiyo wants to eat too—”
Yachiyo, floating fluffily in the air, spins around thinking of pancakes.
“Want to eat together?”
“Yo yo yo, Yachiyo is a diva of the electronic sea so I cannot eat.”
“Eh—, what kind of torture is that? If it were Kaguya, absolutely impossible!”
Certainly. For Kaguya who loves eating and cooking, a life of fasting could even be said to have no meaning in living.
“Yachiyo is pitiable, can’t we do something for her—”
“Yo yo yo, you say things that make me cry, missy. But, it’s okay. Instead, Yachiyo lives by eating kirakira (sparkles).”
Kirakira?
“Yes, the kirakira of everyone who gathered in Tsukuyomi. Seeing that is Yachiyo’s favorite food above all else.”
“Is that so. Then, I’ll give you this.”
Saying that, what Kaguya held out was the gold bracelet that had decorated Kaguya’s wrist ever since she was born.
“Now now. Things like this are meant to be given to someone more precious ☆”
“Hmm……?”
“All locations, preparations OK.”
A message from the stage director was displayed in the space.
Right on time, finally, it’s time to head out.
“Now, shall we go.”
Yachiyo’s face, which stopped spinning, had switched to that of a diva.
“Enter, enter.”
Led by Yachiyo, we stepped onto the boarded floor set up in a corner of the waiting room. Fluffily and soundlessly the floor lifted, and started ascending smoothly. That is the elevator carrying us to the stage; the moment it finishes ascending is the time the live begins.
“Wow—, amazi—ng.”
Like a child riding a see-through elevator for the first time, Kaguya raised a cheer and looked around. I tried to suppress my heart, which started rampaging again, somehow with deep breaths. Yachiyo stood by my side and murmured, not to anyone in particular.
“It’s tingling every time, you know, this atmosphere.”
“Even for Yachiyo, is it like that?”
“O-f cou-rse. Wondering if everyone will enjoy it~, Yachiyo is always shaking in her boots.”
Is that so, even Yachiyo. Thinking that, my breathing became just a little easier.
“Hey, Yachiyo?”
“What is it, what is it?”
When I took the plunge and spoke to her, Yachiyo gave me a friendly smile. A smile like gentle rain soaking deeply into dry earth.
……She’s beautiful. Even at this late stage, I still can’t believe it. I am about to stand on the same stage as my fave who could be called a god who saved me.
I thought about declining, but I am here now like this. Because I thought, if I can be of help to someone like Yachiyo was.
“Are you not singing Yachiyo’s debut song anymore?”
──“Remember”.
Yachiyo’s debut song that delivered a lump of air to me who was drowning at the bottom of the sea. Yachiyo hasn't sung that song for a long time. Of course, it was excluded from today’s setlist too.
“That has already reached, so duty comple~te ☆”
“Eh? What does that……”
“Look, it’s time.”
Before I could ask the meaning, the elevator had finished ascending.
At that moment, I felt like I was going to be crushed by overwhelming pressure. That was the cheers and frenzy emitted by the packed fans. The raging excitement slapped the skin all over my body from all directions bashi bashi as if it had form. Goosebumps like electric shocks ran through my whole body.
It was like being in the middle of a galaxy.
Stars that seemed infinite filled the audience seats and illuminated us.
Tens of thousands of stars filled with dazzling, hot, intensely shining power.
Until yesterday, I was one of those lights too. Gripping a cyalume, looking up at the star on the stage. But today, standing here, I knew for the first time.
“Yaoyoro~~☆ How is everyone finding living? Did something good happen? Or do you feel like crying? There there, everything is okay. No matter how lonely the path, the memory that it was fun will light up your feet. Since I want to make this time an unforgettable memory too…… will you please dance with me?”
That the performers were also looking up at the audience seats.
※
“Yachiyo, the best!”
“Yachiyooo!”
“Kaguya, marry meee!”
“Kaguya, I love youuu!”
The cheers still won’t stop ringing. A heat quantity too intense to call an afterglow was still swirling in the venue.
It was surprisingly instant, but surprisingly hot, and surprisingly exhausting,
“……Iroha.”
……Kaguya.
“It was suuuuuper, fun!”
It was such an hour.
Kaguya looked around the audience seats with eyes moist from excitement,
“Iroha, love you.”
“Me?”
Finally staring at me beside her, she said that.
Wait, why me.
“Ah—, jeez—, maybe I should marry Iroha—”
Like I said, not me. Even though fans whose heat hasn't cooled down yet are shouting their love in the audience seats.
“No good?”
Stop that face. Even if you say it with a strangely sexy face filled with post-live excitement, saying no good, or impossible, or the law……
“Well, if you split the living expenses, living together is fine though.”
“Eh, really?”
……Until someone comes to pick you up though.
My one word to hide my embarrassment was drowned out by the cheers of the fans whose excitement still hadn't cooled. The heat of the venue was like a group of volcanoes that didn't know how to cool down. Excitement births shouts, and shouts fan the excitement again.
One of such shouts,
“Kagu... ya—! N... huh? Somehow, just now, did the audio distort?”
Noticed a small dissonance.
That, was the beginning.
Abnormalities were occurring in a chain reaction all over Tokyo. Each one was a small dissonance. However, by gathering together, they eroded reality and virtual space one after another like mold consuming tiles.
One dissonance soaked into the monitor in the plaza inside Tsukuyomi, and indicated its origin on the screen as if greeting.
“What, is that…… the moon?”
Another dissonance entered the Smart Con of a salaryman at work, leaving footprints in the electronic data as it passed.
“Uwah, what is it!”
Another dissonance tripped up the wireless LAN, causing sudden disconnections in many devices.
“The net cut out……”
Another dissonance stuck to the external monitor of the live stage, and wrote a message filling the screen.
“What, is that? A malfunction?”
And another different dissonance.
“The display, what’s happening to it?”
And another different dissonance.
“What’s happening to the monitor?”
And another different dissonance and another different dissonance and another different dissonance and another different dissonance.
“This…… what number is this?”
“2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12 2030/09/12”
The gathered dissonances birth a different kind of buzz in the venue.
Taking advantage of the buzz, the dissonances possessed avatars inside Tsukuyomi, hijacked them, and gained human forms. One after another, the dissonances acquire human shapes.
“Nn? I wonder what it is.”
The first one to notice was Kaguya. Sensing something, she peeks into the audience seats.
What’s wrong? Beside me as I tried to ask,
“──”
Something passed by.
It’s a white arm. A dissonance that gained human form had grabbed Kaguya’s arm from behind.
“Kaguya!”
Before I could call out, Kaguya collapsed. She crumbled down from her knees gakuri as if her power was cut.
What are these guys? Since when were they here.
We were already surrounded. White dissonances like inorganic matter taking human form. Again, arms stretch out.
“Don’t come!”
When I instinctively brushed it away with the keyboard, it broke easily leaving an unpleasant sensation. The arm falling botori, but it only fell. The human form doesn't seem to mind. From the cut end, not flower petals, but a dark black liquid flowed out and stained the floor.
What are these guys? They are clearly outside the rules of Tsukuyomi.
Terrifying. The humanoid figures multiply using that emotion as a seedbed. I want to log out and run away, but,
“Get a hold of yourself, Kaguya!”
Kaguya still can't move. Though her eyelids are open, her gaze captures nothing, merely letting the encroaching humanoid forms pass right through.
And again, a white arm stretches out.
“Kaguya!”
However, this time, the arm was blown away along with the body just before it touched Kaguya. One after another, the humanoid forms are blown away. As if being flicked away by something invisible.
“Naughty behavior is a no-no~”
It was Yachiyo.
Every time she wielded her index finger, decorated with sea-colored nails, like a conductor's baton, the humanoid forms were blown away as if she were flicking eraser dust. The remaining humanoid forms stepped back a few paces, and then,
“I AM TERRIBLY SORRY.”
What did it say just now? Did a humanoid form speak Japanese?
And then, one after another, the humanoid forms vanish. Rather than being erased by someone, they fade away as if choosing to withdraw themselves. Was it just my imagination that the last one remaining looked like it bowed respectfully toward Yachiyo?
In any case, the intruders that appeared suddenly vanished like smoke, leaving behind a sense of dissonance and fear.
……What are these guys.
“Yachiyo, what was that just now?”
“……”
Why won't she say anything?
“What on earth was that just now? What is going to happen? Wait for further news!”
Without answering my question, Yachiyo raised her voice loudly toward the audience seats where the murmurs still remained.
“What, what?”
“Yachiyo likes this kind of thing, you know~”
“Is it a performance?”
She intends to end it as a performance.
“Everyone, thank you so truly much for today~~☆”
The curtain fell quickly. Communication was cut urgently, completely separating the audience seats and the stage.
“Yachiyo, what was that...”
When I asked again, Yachiyo made a show of thinking for a few seconds, and then,
“Hmm, it doesn't seem like a bug, maybe it's a naughty kitty's prank meow~~, I'll look into it ☆”
She tilted her head at a cute angle. Placing the index finger that had just flicked away the intruders against her chin.
She is lying. I was intuitively convinced.
Kaguya remains kneeling on the stage, staring at a single point.
As if she is peeking into another world from there.
※
﹃Around 10 PM today, an unexplained communication failure occurred throughout Tachikawa City, Tokyo. It appears to have occurred simultaneously over a wide area, affecting communication devices, TV monitors, and digital signage in public facilities within the city. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the possibility of it being a PR stunt by a specific group or company is low──﹄
“Hey, Kaguya......”
The TV news left on in the living room was drowned out by the sound of the hair dryer and could hardly be heard.
While drying the golden hair of Kaguya, who was hugging her knees on the sofa like a doll, I couldn't spin the words to follow “Hey, Kaguya”.
Although Kaguya regained consciousness after returning from Tsukuyomi, she seemed to still be wrapped in a thin film and wouldn't try to speak on her own.
“The collab live ended, huh.”
When I said that, forcing myself to sound cheerful,
“Yeah. But—, there are still tons of things I want to do—. Ingredients are arriving tomorrow too ♪”
“Greedy monster Kaguya.”
“Gaoo—”
She responded, but I felt something plastered over both the monster pose and the shout. It seemed she knew it too,
“Are you still feeling unwell?”
When I asked that,
“Hmm, maybe I'm a little tired. I'm sleeeeping~”
She stood up obediently from the sofa.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Iroha. Love you.”
“Yeah.”
Kaguya walking up the spiral staircase with her hand raised straight up. She is acting as energetic as possible, but saying she's going to sleep before me, and using the handrail to climb the stairs, were both firsts for today.
Kaguya is acting strange.
As I thought, is it because she was touched by that mysterious humanoid form?
What on earth was that? The white arm that stretched out as if poking through a gap in consciousness, the sensation of knocking it down still remains in my palm. Normally, a damaged Tsukuyomi avatar should scatter as cherry blossoms. It wouldn't fall to the floor like that and leak something eerie like blood.
What was its purpose? Judging by the timing, it is safe to assume it was the cause of the communication failure throughout the city. That group of humanoid forms invaded the Smart Cons of passersby, disrupted smartphone operations, and cut PC connections. And, they displayed mysterious numbers on monitors everywhere.
﹃2030/09/12﹄
Is it natural to think of it as a date?
Today is August 30th. If so, what is going to happen in thirteen days?
For the time being, I dragged my smartphone out from under the cushion to search the date,
“Ugh......”
I was fed up with the display on the screen.
﹃Mom Missed Calls (10)﹄
I wonder why, her bad mood is already transmitting from the text.
“I guess there's a limit to keeping ignoring her soon......”
I feel it's wrong to worry Grandpa and Big Brother any further.
I know that, but the reason I don't feel like answering the phone is that I can see the development ahead. First, I'll be blamed for being late to answer, and blamed for not calling back. From there, a status report will be demanded, and a detailed criticism will begin. Because no matter what results I leave, Mom will never be satisfied.
Even if I graduated high school at the top of my class, even if I entered the University of Tokyo at the top, even if I went to graduate school, even if I got a job at a top-tier company──wait, what is this.
“......Is this what I want to do?”
I said it out loud, and felt a chill.
And, I was surprised that I felt a chill. Because it was my goal that I had ruminated on many times until now and chosen without a doubt.
﹃Why does Iroha have to work so hard all alone like that?﹄
Kaguya's words from some time ago circulated in my head.
Is something inside me changing from before? Then, for whose sake am I......
“No good. It's different now.”
I shook my head and drove out the black fog covering the inside of my head.
I shouldn't. If Kaguya isn't here, I always end up thinking about Mom. But, it's different now. There are things I have to do now.
With a single swipe, I flicked the history and thoughts off the screen and opened the search form. I carefully input the numbers I memorized.
﹃2030/09/12﹄
I flicked the magnifying glass mark with my thumb and waited a moment──
“It appeared......”
Lined up on the screen are,
﹃September 2030 Calendar﹄
﹃What day is September 12, 2030?﹄
﹃Calendar and Date Information for September 12, 2030﹄
﹃September 12, 2030 The next full moon is──﹄
“The next full moon?”
My finger stopped at the fourth search result. That's right, it wasn't just the mysterious numbers that were displayed on the hijacked monitors.
“An image of the moon too......”
Again, Kaguya's words from some time ago circulated in my head.
﹃Someone might come to pick me up~!﹄
No way, surely not......
The image from after the live revives in my head again. The humanoid forms disappearing one after another, the last one bowing respectfully. Was that opponent really Yachiyo?
Kaguya should have been sitting right next to her.
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