Chapter 4 (2/2)
“It’ll be fine. It’s cheap of the other side to take video of my Celty unaware, so if it
comes down to it we can start the conversation there.”
“Hey, you, don’t go around saying ‘my Celty’ so nonchalantly.”
“Ooh, forget that, I found the person who took the video!” s.h.i.+nra announced in an
unnecessarily loud voice as he pointed a finger at the screen.
“Look, that kid there. …Huh? I’ve seen them somewhere before…”
“Let me see…? AH!?” Reflected on the screen was a young boy, turned towards the
smartphone camera mounted on the bike. His face was one Celty recognized.
“Isn’t that…Kuronuma Aoba!”
“…Ah that kid who came to our place once before.” A strange, cold light glittered in
s.h.i.+nra’s eyes.
“To take secret video of Celty while she’s frightened and expose her to public
humiliation, all the while saying he wants to be friends…Maybe I should have cut his
carotid artery after all at that time…?”
“Don’t say such dangerous things!” But even as she continued to calm s.h.i.+nra down,
she couldn’t help but think herself.
——But, that really is Aoba-kun.
——So a.s.suming they’re friends…does that mean Blizzard la Blizzadia is a Blue
Square?
——No, Blizzard la Blizzadia is a very feminine name.
——Which reminds me, I haven’t really watched her videos.
As that occurred to her, Celty searched the tags on Niconico and began to watch the
masked rival of Karisawa Erika’s “Eternal de Charmant” as she began to sing.
——……
——This…she’s obviously very good at singing and dancing.
——But…
On screen was a young woman with a charming style, wearing a mask and dancing
while she sang a song. It wasn’t the idol kind of dance, but one that gave the impression
that it came from an act of a dark musical.
——Somehow, I get the feeling I’ve seen this somewhere before…
At that moment, s.h.i.+nra opened his mouth from where he had been peering over her
should.
“Huh, is that…”
“Do you know her s.h.i.+nra?”
“Yeah. You know her, too, Celty.” Rather readily, s.h.i.+nra spoke the name of the girl on
screen.
“That’s Izaya’s younger sister, Kururi-chan.”
♂♀
The Next Day - A Certain Parking Lot in Ikebukuro
“…Good grief, seriously, just because you quarreled with someone that doesn’t mean
you should go dragging others into it.” Kadota Kyouhei said as he let out a sigh, while
Karisawa and Kururi, who were standing in front of him, bowed their heads despondently.
“Ehehe…Sorry, Dotachin.”
“…Apology (I apologize)…”
The two had been called out by Kadota, since he was an acquaintance of both, to make
a truce to end the quarrel Celty had been caught up in.
Actually, once Celty learned the truth, she had asked Kadota to act as a go-between for
the two, and had schemed to end the video compet.i.tion.”
“Sorry, Kururi-chan. I was being childish.”
“…Same (I’m sorry too)…”
Thus, the two joined hands, and mutually decided to do a live broadcast collaboration
event on Niconico.
And, more importantly, Celty was released from her duty as a video creator.
♂♀
Several Days Later - s.h.i.+nra’s Apartment
“Hey, the usual Niconico Live Broadcast is starting~.”
At s.h.i.+nra’s call, Celty moved herself in front of the computer.
There, on the Niconico Broadcast screen, seated around a strangely elaborate table and
all wearing masks, were Karisawa and the Orihara twins.
【“O~KAY, I’m Eternal de Charmant!”
“……”
“I’ll be speaking for my older sister who’s not very good at it! h.e.l.lo~! I’m Blizzard
La Blizzadia’s younger sister, Homura-chan!” 】
“Mairu’s stage name is very simple compared to the other two…”
Celty typed out to s.h.i.+nra as she watched the broadcast.
“But, I was also very careless...I remember now that the other day when I met
them, I mentioned that I had to make a video…”
“I read the ‘Blizzard la Blizzadia’ entry in Niconico Pedia and it was really written
there that she ‘has a lot of extreme dances, and in the past she made a video with her
sister that got deleted.’”
“Really, there’s a limit to how much trouble you can cause.” Still, now that she was
relieved of the pressure of having to make her own video, Celty could watch the
broadcast with relief.
“But, how should I say this…I’m really surprised that such a quiet and taciturn
child, whose voice I can barely hear most of the time, can sing and dance like
that.”
“Kururi-chan becomes very talkative and lascivious on the internet.” As s.h.i.+nra nodded
his head and hummed thoughtfully, Celty continued to speak.
“Well, on places like Niconico Douga and such, you can reveal a side of yourself that
you usually don’t show the world. Sometimes the self we reveal in videos is our ideal
dream self, you know.”
“Oh I see.”
“But there are also lots of young, pa.s.sionate fans. So for popular singers and dancers,
if they want be themselves and live normally, they probably have to maintain a certain
distance with their fans.”
“What are you getting at?” s.h.i.+nra laughed as he answered Celty’s question.
“I was just thinking that you work as a courier for the underworld, and keep a distance
from other people because you can’t be the same as them, but I don’t want you to be a
video idol, just my idol.”
Celty’s shoulders went up and down, as if she had just taken a deep breath, and then
her fingers slid across her tablet.
“Those should be my words, Mr. Back Alley Doctor.” The two of them rubbed their
shoulders together, and a good atmosphere settled between them——
But the group of masked girls on screen destroyed that atmosphere with what they said
next.
【“So, uuuuuuuh, today, to celebrate our reconciliation, the three of us decided to do
a live Let’s Play.”
“……”
“Yup! So I brought a game that almost n.o.body else knows about!” 】
The masked Mairu held up a CD. Written in magic marker on the front was the t.i.tle
“Danger, Izaya’s Castle [rest omitted]”.
【“This is a game our older brother made a long time ago! So today, we’re going to
do a Let’s Play of it!” 】
——That’s…
As she screamed loudly in her mind, Celty leaned forward and began pounding words
into the comment section, vigorously clicking the submit b.u.t.ton over and over again.
“DON’T PLAY THAT GAME!”
To other people, such words were really ambiguous but——For the first time her life,
she desperately sent messages to the Niconico broadcast, and they were filled with
nothing but that memorable comment.
This is a story about comments.
A story about twisted comments.
♂♀
After a several such ordinary events——
Celty and s.h.i.+nra disappeared from Ikebukuro for a while in order to take a trip all
around j.a.pan.
At the end of the long, long journey half a year later, how will Celty have changed, or
possibly not changed? She herself does not even know the answer to that.
Also, when they come back half a year later, just what are they coming back to?
Will the Headless Rider be able to continue smiling in her heart from now on or
perhaps not——?
For those answers, you must wait a little longer.
Nicococo!! The End
To be continued in Durarara!!SH
<script>