Vol 1 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Chapter 2

However, I was still a an; that was because Ayaka captured me after school every day for club activities Why htto burst open

As I did not have any knowledge about gardening, I still had to stick to the railings while blankly looking at the streets as usual That day, the brilliant blue skies trailed across the horizon There were only two or three clouds in the skies like stickers stuck onto the sky, dazzling anyone who dared to stare at it for a long period of time

I had alanted to ask Ayaka: ”Why did you say all that on the day ere on the way home from the ramen shop?” However, since I could not think of a suitable question to ask, I could only continue looking at the view opposite to the railings

“Seriously, you should really give me a hand!”

Ayaka said while puffing out her cheeks and holding a pair of scissors used for pruning

“…… I don’t even knohat to do, and the flowers have already been watered”

“Then help me use the ampoule on the trees, one for each plant”

Ayaka handed the ampoule fertilizer to me The ampoule was like a small bottle of soy sauce that comes with a sumptuous bento, just that there weren't soy sauce inside, but a yellowish-green liquid

“Opening an a, the fertilizer would spill out too quickly; the ones that I open are actually done with professional-level skill”

Ayaka said triu her scissors to cut off a little of the the tip of the ampoule

“I’ll be in charge of cutting, while you just stick them into the pot”

“I hate work”

Ithe ampoule over to stick it into the pot

“You probably don’t hate work, just that you can’t i!”

“Hiot flustered and accidentally blurted out honorifics

“Because s before He said that he doesn’t knoe h high school He didn’t even find a job, and just went here and there without an objective”

Don’t knoe have to work if ant to live… Indeed, I feel so too If such a day would come upon me, would I really accept the fact that I need to work in order to continue living? Or would I becouys behind Hanamaru Ramen?

I shuddered, denying the horrendous iination ofthe a season; round Now is the ti season

“If I ize now to you first But I think that you andwork”

“Eh?” So this is an illness?

“For instance, some people hate to eat carrots or celery when they are little, but they eat them as adults! But if I tell you to eat boots or diamonds, that can’t be achieved for eternity This isn’t a proble: they cannot be eaten even as an adult”

“Do youcarrots or celery,’ huh?”

“Exactly”

“Your analogy makes me feel down”

“Cheer up!” Ayaka patted my back Oh please, the person who made me feel doas you in the first place!

“The people at ‘Hanamaru’ seeuys give off the saain”

“I had already decided to never go there again” If I continue to go, I would definitely become one of them sooner or later

“Please go! Everyone’s waiting for you!”

Which quality in ly, so my social skills are quite poor!

“You are not as introverted as an arht!”

“Really?” I didn’t say that I’m like an armadillidium

“That’s right, and you keep talking to yourself”

I accidentally stuck the ampoule onto my shoes

“Do…… Do I often talk to myself?”

“Oh yes, I think that’s why you could communicate with them Are you okay? You look terrible!”

I probably couldn’t function anymore

“But if you don’t speak your mind, nobody would understand you!”

“I always forget how to communicate” I answered randos are indeed so Ayaka stared at hed

“Then you should practice! Right?”

In the end, I still couldn't refuse her, and could only follow Ayaka to the ramen shop That day, there wasn’t anyone behind ”Hana, there weren’t any customers there

“So you’re here again, Narumi?”

A surprised expression appeared on Min-san’s face, and she said so while cutting cabbages, glaring at me as well As I saw before this, she wore a vest while her breast was covered up with a sarashi+, her appearance looked as if people could easily take advantage of her

“Forget it, I thought that you would turn out like that the last time we met”

“Turn out how?”

“It’s still not too late!” Min-san said just that What does she mean by not too late?

“If you just practice your communication skills, you probably would not become a NEET”

After saying that, Ayaka went into the kitchen and put on an apron I sighed, and sat down on a gas tank Say whatever you want!

“Oh yeah, do you want to work part time here too, Fujishi+ma-kun?”

Min-san replied immediately: “Naru, the shop doesn’t need these type of people”

Discouraged, I took a spoon and stirred my coffee ice cream Min-san took a bowl and poked her head out of the kitchen

“That’s right, there’s still so that you can do”

“What is it?”

“Take this to Alice”

It was japanese styled Dan Dan Noodles filled with vegetables, but this tietables

“The last time you delivered it, Alice ate them all Before that, she usually doesn’t finish the left in the bowl, I’ll beat you up!”

“What is this? I ordered Dan Dan Noodles, but without noodles, carrots, mushrooms or meat”

Alice puffed out her cheeks, eyeing the food in the bowl in displeasure

That day, the air-conditioning in the detective agency was still very cold, but Alice was just wearing pajamas with teddy bears on it Won’t she be cold like this?

“But there are obviously noodles, meat and other stuff in it! Please tell me a reason for me to eat this”

“Min-san is worried that you will have malnutrition”

“Oh, so there’s a standard for hten me about this standard of yours Letlived for over ten years on only Dr Pepper, I will not listen to unreasonable excuses, and don’t try to use a bad excuse to convince uments completely”

I sighed Although I wasn’t sure if Alice was a detective or not, but this little girl really had a lot to say I’ve already known that I couldn’t convince her, so I quickly used the secret technique that Min-san taught me

“Min-san said that you can’t have ice cream if you don’t finish them”

Alice’s froze, and her lips started to tremble

“…… So-so despicable…… According to Act 222 of the penal code, this can already be count as a threat, and violates the Co to sell as well”

The teary-eyed Alice waved her hands, listing out one suspicious law after another As I found it interesting, I watched Alice’s actions silently temporarily

She probably gave up, huh? Alice picked up her chopsticks while pouting

“Get me some Dr Pepper! Three cans of them!”

“Do you want to drink the?”

“I want to eat while drinking! How can carrots and meat be eaten directly?”

Alice, as holding a dark red can in one hand while eating Dan Dan Noodles teary-eyed, was really worth watching

“Stop scrutinizing me!”

Alice swiftly finished her first can of Dr Pepper, picked up the empty can and threw it atmy back on her But Alice really is a picky eater! Is she really from Earth?

“What do you do when eating nutrition lunch at school? Didn’t you get scolded?”

I suddenly thought about that and asked Alice

Alice was silent for awhile, and then she answered me:

“I have never been to a school”

“Eh?”

”Although I knohat a nutrition lunch is, I have never entered any educational institutions from birth”

I didn’t think that Alice had a norht that she haven’t even went to primary school

“According to Tetsu, the NEETs who haven’t even graduated frohest level of thes”

Even so, I have this faint feeling that if Alice went to school like other people do, she would think that a nor as well

“No such thing, I will not look down on nors”

I was startled and turned my head over It looks like I accidentally spoke ain

“I was really deterh I hate ignorance, it is co to school is an experience that I never had, and that is also oing for ?”

Alice paused to put a piece of noodle in her ulped it doith so for my opinion

“Learning how to be a good wife?”

Alice nearly spat the food out of her mouth

“…… Your sense of hu, it’s no wonder that you are excluded from other people I pity you very much”

I’m now pitied, but what Alice said was the truth

“So what’s the correct answer?”

“Eh? Ah, the answer is as you see——opening s in the netorld, observing the limited and twisted world”

Alice’s gaze fell on the black machines that covered up the whole wall behind her

“…… Every day?”

“The ‘every day’ that I ine My life consisted of only saving infor awayfor theof my existence Do you know this? On Earth, a child dies because of poverty every 36 seconds, and actually all of this is ‘my fault’”

“…… Ah?”

I couldn’t help but exclai?

“This is purely a hypothetical probleh resources and ways to produce food, I can save the starving children I am not worried about poverty, and I am not a holy person I repeat, this is purely a hypothetical probleradually dying, so the death of the children is due to the fact that I do not have enough power to save thee by terrorists and hits a building, it is because I do not have the power to stop it; The harm that is caused due to earthquakes or tsunamis is because I do not have the power to predict them”

Purely a hypothetical problem

But in that case, wouldn’t thatthat happened is Alice’s fault?

“That is how I passedmy time to confirht years or so, huh? I want to knohat a powerless person likefor the people who died hopelessly, or I cannot do anything for them at all”

Using eight years It's just too stupid

“Because I felt some limitations, I ran away from home I sealed myself in a new fortress, and continued to open s in this world Hehe, actually I’m now in pursuit by my family, so I have no choice but to open ain the real world”

Alice laugh self-deprecatingly, and looked at the countless cubical h the monitors were small, I could not see what it was It was not until the curtains of ‘Hanamura’ appeared on the monitor that I realized that it was the view of the surroundings of the building There were six live videos that were taken fro the space between this building and the next, and also their interiors

“Being pursued…?

“As the people inalready This is just as a precaution for the unorthodoxaway froradually lost because of my powerlessness…… But even so I couldn’t find the answer to that, so……”

I looked at Alice’s face, taken aback

This girl is serious, although I thought that the things that she said was just a joke

“So I chose to become a detective”

“…… Sorry, your words confuse et it”

“You don’t understand? In this world, there are only two jobs that can help those who are dead or have lost so, a novelist and a detective: A novelist can revive thee froion, a politician, a burial agency or the firefighters can’t do”

I could not say anything thather chopsticks to swirl the food in her bowl

“But sometimes I still feel sos that have already been lost, right? They cannot solve the things that have not happened, or dig a grave that has not been ht be hurt in the future, I am still powerless”

After that, Alice became silent and shi+fted her attention to the food left in her bowl Ashaain The sound of Alice chewing the cabbage sounded sorrowful, for some reason

After a very long time, Alice finally cleared away the food in the bowl I silently handed her the vanilla ice cream that I kept hidden for some ti it, but raised her head to look at my face

“Eh…… Is there so?”

“Nothing, I just felt inconceivable, to why I would tell you so much”

I felt ht that Alice would tellirl—— even though I am absolutely not qualified to be worried for other people

“You can just tell me what you think! I don’t mind”

“Okay” Although I hesitated, I still spoke my mind honestly, because I kno hurtful a white lie can be “What you said was too abstract, I have absolutely no idea what you said”

I thought Alice would throw a second ehed out loud Alice, with her long, black hair that has beco away the tears at the corner of her eyes:

“What an interesting fellow you are Just listening to Ayaka’s description of you, I thought that you were a hopeless person! It seems that it is not so”

“Ayaka…… said so about me to you?”

“Hht you have absolutely no interest in other people”

Alice started to laugh mischievously

“Of course I don’t mind” I couldn’t help but retort

“Really? Then I don’t have any reason to tell you”

I bit et restless Of course I hts, Alice finally answered

“…… Ayaka said that you are similar to Toshi+”

“Toshi+? Who is that?”

“He’s Ayaka’s brother! He’s also a drop out who always hangs out with Tetsu and the others, but he’s not here lately Which reminds me, useless, doesn’t speak when he’s in a badtrouble to Ayaka, these qualities of his are extremely similar to you”

What Alice said is really too over When I thought about the situation when Ayaka was describing her brother, a co came upon me So it was because Ayaka orried of me, who is similar to her brother, which co Club? I couldn’t help but think that the things that I think about is quite silly

“You don’t need to worry, you’re not that much alike, and also you’re not a NEET” Alice said to me, as silent “Toshi+ is not as stubborn as you, at least……”

Alice suddenly stopped talking, her eyes glued to the monitor beside her bed

“…… Is so the matter?”

“Well, speak of the devil Here’s Toshi+”

“Eh?”

“Why did he come out from inside?”

Following Alice’s lead, I stared at thea skinny silhouette at the third box froas tanks that could be seen at the bottom left corner of the screen was filather The silhouette wearing a dark blue hoodie was standing at the gap between the buildings, not evenan inch

“Naruo back like this”

“Why……”

“Because Ayaka is worried about him Don’t ask anymore, just hurry!”

When I walked down the ladder, the silhouette alking further into the gap with his back totowards him

“Hey!”

The silhouette donning a sports jacket shook for a moment, and then turned his head over He had a thin, pale face, and had a nervous expression behind his spectacles that wandered here and there It was obvious that he was Ayaka’s brother, as their eyes were identical Seeing as he was so nervous, I, who originally wanted to talk to hi to say

“Onii-chan?”

Ayaka’s voice rang in the alley I turned around, and saw Ayaka, earing an apron, poke half of her body out of the kitchen

Ayaka’s brother —— Toshi+ sighed, as if he has given up on so

“You could just give us a call before you come here”

“My phone service has been cancelled, because I didn’t pay up”

Ayaka dragged Toshi+ out of the gap between the buildings, and stealthily took some cash out of her wallet and handed it to him Whoa, there’s actually such a useless brother, I could only pretend not to see anything

Toshi+, ent back to the ramen shop, sat on the ladders and said towards the kitchen: “Min-san, give me an ice cream! I’m parched” Min-san, alked out of the kitchen, knitted her brows, peered at Toshi+ and said: “You probably ate sos you’ll throw up” She returned to the kitchen after saying that

Ayaka said: “ Onii-chan, wait forhot for you to eat” And she returned to the kitchen after saying that too

Toshi+ s out of his pockets, broke the pills in the plastic bag into half, crushed them, sed it doithout even a drink of water, and then stared atthe medicine

“Ayaka told o, so you’re in the same club?”

Toshi+ finally said to me, and I nodded a bit nervously

“Oh really, so you’re Narumi”

I thought to myself, what did Ayaka say to Toshi+?

“She’s very duether with her is hard, isn’t it?”

I shook my head Toshi+ looked at the winter sky that was full of clouds and gave a hollow laugh, his laughter felt like so a cold metal stick to scratch his back

After that our conversation came to a stop Toshi+ hunched his back, and then stuck his hands into the pockets of his sports jacket His eyes wandered while starting to shake his legs I secretly observed Toshi+ from the side

Is he really that similar to me?

I dunno, maybe it really is that similar? He was older than me by about one or two years, but his skin looked dry, coarse and pale No wonder Ayaka would be worried about him

“Oh? How rare for you to turn up here!”

A voice suddenly sounded behind us I turneda short-sleeved T-shi+rt as usual, Hiro-san earing a leather jacket, while Major hat seearrisons The three walked into the gap between the buildings together

“Toshi+, ere you doing before this?”

“Nothing, I’s”

Facing Tetsu-senpai’s questions, Toshi+ averted his gaze and answered mysteriously

Tetsu-senpai looked at ain! That way, the three drop outs are all here, NEETs who graduated from middle school are truly the best!”

“I haven’t dropped out yet, don’t group uys!”

My objections were conored

“It’s because Tetsu-san say things like this, NEETs-in-waiting would increase! We can’t wait until he drops out, we ly!” “The one who graduated froht?” Major and Tetsu-senpai started to argue for some reason

“It’s rare that Toshi+ is here, since we haven’t gone to the arcade for a long tiested “I learnt a new chain technique, and can use a new killer technique, so I can defeat Toshi+ now!”

“Eh, I don’t want to, aiyo!”

Toshi+ was unwilling to go, but his arms were held by Tetsu-senpai, and was forced to stand up

“Will you come with us, Narumi?”

“To where?” Ayaka flew out of the kitchen in a hurry

Hiro-san smiled and said: “The arcade”

“Is Onii-chan going too?”

“Let’s go quickly!”

As if he found the situation hassling, Toshi+ looked at Ayaka for a moment and then quickly walked to the main streets

I was brought to the arcade at the shopping center of the station The first floor was filled with crane ga e aames were all squeezed in a corner

Toshi+ was really good in fighting gaed him in turn, but still couldn’t defeat him

Major dragged Toshi+ to a Gunda confidence, but was also co Sac II, had superhu people think that he had another pair of eyes behind his back Toshi+ did not want to play at the start, but his eyes beca a fewa six tiht that Toshi+ would again reen, said ‘I’a halfway

“…… That guy, seeain” Tetsu-senpai said worriedly

“In trouble?”

“He once bought legal s Is not legal at all, and is said to be legal by the sellers who are doing promotions)”

I recalled the pills that Toshi+ sed just noould that be the legal et a bit worried

“I’ll go check out Toshi+’s condition”

Toshi+ walked out of the washroom with a sickly expression on his face, the corner of his lips et, and smelled somewhat sour He probably threw up

Toshi+ said: “I’ll go outside to get some fresh air” I was still worried, so I followed him out

Under the setting sun, the road was full of cars, Bing Crosby’s Christhts of the decoration could be seen and heard in the sidewalk that was full of people Toshi+ sat down on the stone steps outside the arcade, and drank the Fanta carbonated water that he bought froain,people feel queasy

“…… Are you okay?”

“They look as if they’re not ”

“Eh?”

“The people look as if they’re notIt’s true, I can even see the movement of a dot Even if I close my eyes, and just listen to the noise, I could win”

After saying that, he laughed, giving no thought to the people walking around

“Do you always hang out with Tetsu and the guys?”

Toshi+ said while having hiccups

“No…… I only came to know them recently”

“But you look like you’re very close to them”

Toshi+ laughed again Do I look like I’m very close to them?

“…… It was because I often skip school to go to the arcades, then I gradually becas, so why don’t you go play fighting games too! I can teach you the next time”

I felt a bit shy, and dropped aze to look at my knees If I can play like this everyday, even if I’m kicked out of school, even if I beco

“Toshi+, would you still come to ‘Hanamaru’ after this?”

“Eh? Ah… Hht, I’ve already……”

Facingfar away

“Forgot, because I didn’ttime already……”

Toshi+ suddenly stopped talking, and started to cough violently After he stopped coughing, he was still breathing heavily, his hunched back rocking up and down I didn’t knohat to do, and can only rub his back covered by the sports jacket

Toshi+ used his tre froulp of Fanta I tried to stop him, but it was too late The carbonated drink spilled onto Toshi+’s jeans, but he doesn’t see by stared at us

Toshi+’s body finally stopped tre

“…… Angel Fix”

“What is that?”

“This! Great nas you to heaven”

Toshi+ pressed the re to s and the letters AF engraved on the small pink pills

“Do you want it? I could sell it to you for a discount”

“No thanks…… That isn’t normal medication, is it?”

“That doesn’tfuss out of nothing, this is just a legal medication”

I sed uish

“Why? This type of medicine……”

“You ask et muddled up “Why do you think humans live in this world?”

I don’t knohat Toshi+this, so I could only remain silent

“In a hu called the compensation nervous system, which is e call the A10 nervous system When we eat tasty stuff, we are praised by other people or have bought so that ant, the systenals so that ould have a blissful feeling In contrast, schizophrenia or depression is usually caused by a decrease in dopamine In short, no matter how hard we try to pursue happiness, if the brain does not synthesize neurotransmitters properly, ould not feel happy, so the reason we continue to live is to stimulate the A10 nervous system”

I didn't say anything, but only stared at Toshi+’s face I could see that Toshi+ was not focused onto? It was as if he was a different person froarrulous

“That is e could just depend on htforward, easy and you could feel pleasure straightaway You don’t need to work hard to earn irls toon the medication But The process is not the sa Medication is perfect For instance, people like raduated from middle school and could not find any work, but I don’t really feel like looking for a job anyway Only angels would not look down on me, that’s what this is all about”

Toshi+ raised the plastic bag containing the pink pills to cover the glaring streetlights in the night I couldn’t help but take hold of his shoulders and start to shake him

“I’ me”

I’, Toshi+ kept repeating this sentence

“That’s right, I have so to ask you, did you see soe as us at the ramen shop recently?”

“…… Do you mean Yondaime?”

I told Toshi+ about Yondai Alice’s room

“What the heck, so you even know about Yondaiood, I just wanted to know about this thing Hahaha, you’ve completely become one of them now!”

Toshi+ strolled towards the sidewalk, laughingby knitted their brows and walked far away fro a space shaped like a half circle

“Does Ayaka get along with the others?”

I nodded