/
Title: Dyed in Black
“I’m back.”
“Welcome back, Imouto.”
I was lying in the living room and kept receiving images from the TV to my brain. I just mindlessly receive and sense information. I felt like my body was gone. I want to rot like this forever.
It was my sister’s voice that freed me from this narcotic sensation.
“Mom, Nii-chan[1] died.”
“I’m alive. I was just synchronizing my body with the TV.”
“It’s no use, his heart isn’t coming back…”
My sister makes the same jokes I do because of our blood connection. Maybe it wasn’t genetic and instead just me. I see and talk to my sister 365 days a year, so it’s no wonder she’s dyed my color.
While my sister was eating my mother’s food, I kept watching the TV.
I was watching a program that summarized the news that happened during the week. I nodded and almost muttered, “If there’s an owl in my room, I’ll have to ask dad to get rid of it,” but I decided to remain silent. Arina would probably hit me with a crowbar.
I just kept lying there like a seal. I listened and watched the whole time as the TV reported everything one should know about the situation in the Middle East, fires, internet fires, disasters, and international affairs.
I had heard that if you kept watching the TV, you would become an idiot. I’m now just a clown being controlled by a machine. I don’t want to move anymore.
“Nii-chan, do you know a guy named Nakatsu?”
My sister asked me that while playing with her phone. So she also seems to be one of those people being controlled by a machine.
The world in increasingly outsourcing it’s will to machines. Air conditioning to control body temperature, smartphones to pass the times, systems for traffic management networks, and computers as the basis for business continuity. We live in a society that is based on all of these things. We are replacing human hands with machines and automating in the name of “efficiency”.
It’s great, but one day it’ll all collapse. Large numbers of jobless people will suffer looking for jobs. Someday artificial intelligence will overtake the world and humans will lose their nerve in the face of their perfection. Their technology will be so superior that their efforts will be shallow. It will be similar to the fact that aliens will not appear before us.
“You’re dying, Nii-chan.”
“No. I’m close to gaining access to the Akashic Records.” [2]
“What’s that? So, do you know this Nakatsu guy?”
“We met today if they have the same last name.”
“I heard that my classmate’s brother goes to the same high school as Nii-chan. So I just contacted him, and he said his brother came home with a despairing look on his face. He didn’t say anything at all, so I got worried and asked you.”
“Because I go to the same high school with him.”
“Yes, yes. His name is Hitaki. Do you know him?”
So it was Stalker-kun.
“I got acquainted with him today. Don’t mess with them.”
“Is there a reason for that?”
“Well, if I had to put it some way, it would be ‘twisted love’. You shouldn’t tell that classmate of yours. They’ll be disillusioned.”
“I don’t really get what’s going on…”
“Yep, same here.”
How desperate are you, Stalker-kun?
If you were that shocked by Arina’s threats, it must have been a pretty strong love. Or maybe the coach said something to you. Either way, there are some lines you shouldn’t cross.[3] That was a crime.
You should be punished accordingly.
For what it’s worth, Arina is a girl, too. Terrorizing a girl can’t be considered good.
Well, whatever. It’s Saturday tomorrow. I don’t care.
I woke up at 8 am.
This sucks. I woke up in the morning when I tried to get 10 hours of sleep on my days off. I need 10 hours to feel refreshed. Even so, I accumulate sleep debt every weekday, so I have to pay it off on the weekends. [4]
It was an incoming call on my phone that cut through my sleep. Who was that guy who didn’t sleep in silent mode?
It was me.
“Sakaki here.”
‘So you’re fine.’
I couldn’t recognized them while sleepy.
“Excuse me, who are you?”
‘Are you kidding me?’
“No, really. I don’t know who you are…”
As I gradually woke up, I had an idea of who the voice belonged to.
“Could it be Arina?”
‘Yes.’
“……Whaa!?”
I don’t have Arina’s number or email address. I didn’t tell her mine, and I couldn’t think of anyone who would relay Arina to me. However, there must be someone.
“–How the hell did you get my number…? No way, a credit card bureau––”
‘From Akakusa-sensei.’
Sensei… at least protect my personal information… I don’t even know your number to begin with… I’m sure you gave Arina a document like a contact list…
“Well… what can I do for you, then?”
‘She wants us to come to school to help out. Come on, get your ass over here.’
“Eeehh~, I’m, not, list, en, ing~”
Pfft.
She cut me off so I had no choice but to go. I don’t want to get killed after the weekend.
I called out to my sister who was having breakfast in the living room.
“I’m off to school.”
“Nii-chan, it’s Saturday. Are you still sleepy?”
“I know it is. I’m helping out at school.”
“Eh!? Can I go too?”
“For what?”
“As a rehearsal for open campus!”
“You don’t need to rehearse for open campus…”
“Also, I want to see who Arina-san is!”
“No, Arina isn’t there. She doesn’t have club activities.”
I didn’t want any hassle, so I brushed her off.
“Then why are you going to school, Nii-chan? You’re not in a club either, are you, Nii-chan?”
“The Going-Home club doesn’t equal weekends off.”
“But you’ve been home on weekends all this time, haven’t you?”
“….Yes.”
“Arina-san is definitely involved, right?”
“….Yes.”
This was going to get messy. I’m sure of it.
Notes:
[1] ‘Nii-chan’ is an informal way to refer to an older brother, and implies a close relationship between the brother and younger sibling (it can also be used by older family members to address younger males, but you don’t see it often in anime/manga/webnovels/light novels).
[2] The Akashic Records would be a pain to explain. If you’re interested, click this link.
[3] The raws said: “Either way, there are some things you shouldn’t do.”
[4] For anyone that’s confused here, Sui is talking about how he misses sleep on the weekdays, so he needs to make up for it by sleeping more on weekends.