Chapter 3: Meltdown
"Wait, wait a minute! We"re going to meet your friend, Hinata?"
The next morning, at the start of the first cla.s.s, I caught Ooyama"s hand, and walked into the quiet hallway.
"Yes we are, so what?"
This response from me was like a mix of Yurippe"s catchphrases. d.a.m.n, I"m probably completely brainwashed.
"That"s too violent!! No way no way no way!! Forget about me!"
"Do you know anything about this world? Our bodies can"t be killed."
"Even if that"s so, if I"ll have my eyes poked out by chopsticks, be shot by a gun, or whatever, I don"t want to have anything to do with people like that!"
"Are you a human? Then it"s impossible for you to avoid being wrapped up in this. Sorry."
"Save me----!!"
I dragged him along.
"Who"s this guy?",
Yurippe asked me after she glanced at Ooyama.
"He"s an ally that I found. My roommate is a human."
"Is that so? Well, being afraid to this extent really isn"t normal. He"s definitely human then."
Ooyama crouched on the floor, and shivered like a newborn fawn.
"He"s really quite frightened, how pitiable.... He must be having flashbacks of memories of his death. Did he just arrive here.....?"
"Actually, it"s a bit difficult for me to say, but...."
"What is it?"
"He"s afraid of you."
After a kung fu move in the blink of an eye,
"Are you joking?"
"No, I"m serious."
"Hey, hey!? Does facing me really turn people into such wrecks? This shivering isn"t like needing a trip to the toilet!! What does it take to make a person like this!?"
"All I did was tell him everything that"s happened in full detail."
"Huhh--------!?"
"No, um, it might be from a tiny bit of exaggeration...."
Bam!
A fist landed in the pit of my stomach.
"This is all your fault..."
Yurippe stepped over my fallen body, and walked over to the similarly crouched Ooyama.
"I don"t know what c.r.a.p that moron put in your head, but relax. I"m your ally."
"Wahhhhhhhh----!!"
Ooyama covered his hands with his eyes, and tried to roll away from her.
Yurippe gave me a dirty look.
It"s over.... well, I was already beaten down on the ground anyways.
Yurippe inch by inch moved over to me.
Is she going to beat my corpse?
Yurippe grabbed the lapel of my uniform and lifted me up.....
Bam!
"Uwah! Hinata---!!"
The last thing I heard was Ooyama"s sad cries.
A white ceiling.
"Hey, your roommate ran away."
"...... of course!!"
I jumped up in bed and b.u.t.ted in.
"Why though?",
she asked with a lame voice.
"Seeing your roommate be kicked from the rooftop!?"
"But I already said you won"t die ~",
Once again, she posed her hand and laughed.
"Don"t tell me that."
"I know. Just go and find him and say: Look, I"m perfectly fine, in this world you can"t die. Why not say, my body feels even more relaxed and comfortable! I feel refreshed!"
"I think with that kind of talk, his mental trauma will be incurable even with the help of medication..."
"From what?"
"Your terrifying nature."
"Huh? My terrifying nature? What"s that? But I"m so gentle and cool. Didn"t I turn you into my ally in our vengeance against G.o.d just like this?"
Ugh.... she"s definitely missing something deep inside her....
Aside from her immediately goal, she was completely blind. The details that should have concerned her were completely put out of her mind, truly....
But, what"s the best way to explain this....
If this was a dialogue in a game, I"d get to choose an option here.
- Give an explanation to Yurippe.
- Do whatever Yurippe wants.
- Sneakily hug Yurippe tightly.
Ignore the last one! No way no way no way!!
In that case, there are two choices....
Should I try to explain to Yurippe, or should I just go along with her...
But if this goes on, Ooyama will be too pitiable.
In this world, up until now, he"s always been alone.
"What are you doing? If you can get up, hurry and find him",
Our dictator spoke urgently.
"Gee, Yurippe."
"What."
..... this face that she"s giving me is not to my liking at all. It"s like a snake staring down a frog.
"You....",
I said while avoiding eye contact.
"With this kind of talk, n.o.body"s going to want to follow you."
"What? Are you going to preach at me now?"
In that instant, her tone changed just like that.
Uh oh....
She was completely enraged by that last statement....
But I can"t back down now.
I once again looked into Yurippe"s eyes.
"Vengeance against G.o.d. I know that"s the most important point. But think about the method. One person is definitely not enough. The boy in the princ.i.p.al"s office was like that. So it"s essential to collect allies."
"So haven"t we been looking for them?"
"Well, you .... you"re too rough. There"s no nice way of putting it, you"re too rough, way too rough."
"Well, as this is the afterlife, what"s wrong with that?"
"I just said it, with that kind of talk, n.o.body will want to follow you!"
"And I"ve said, I don"t mind if I"m all alone!"
No... this I can believe. One person can"t manage it. What I"m saying to this chick is a necessity. Without me at her side, she won"t be able to accomplish anything. No matter where, she"s always just charging through, no matter whose hand, she"ll always shake it away.
"Yurippe, you... you"re not as capable as you think you are."
"I can"t believe I"m being called an idiot by an idiot!"
"Yes, that"s how it is. You can"t do anything if you act alone. So allies are essential. The way things are now is impossible. Allies won"t join you. You haven"t been thinking about anything but your own goals, but now you must consider how to gather some allies."
"..... Hey."
"What?"
"Can we disband now?"
"No."
"I said I didn"t want to be your partner anymore. Do you understand?"
"No way. I"ve decided to follow you forever."
"Stalker?"
"Go ahead and think what you want."
"But I"m not OK with this."
"It"s because they still follow people around when they"re hated that makes them stalkers, right?"
"Didn"t I say I didn"t want to have perverts like this around me....?"
Yurippe eyed me with contempt. This was actually the first time I got this kind of look from her.
That is to say, she was serious.
The pit of my stomach felt as if it was being crushed.
I ... was just speaking the truth, right?
Can I believe in myself?
Even if I"m really hated by her ....
That"s fine with me.
I unwittingly thought this way.
"Yo, Ooyama."
I found him sitting on the net of a deserted tennis court. He was staring off into s.p.a.ce, so I patted him on the shoulders.
"Whoa, Hinata!"
Ooyama jumped up in surprise from the net.
"Are you OK!?"
"I"m totally fine, after all, I was already dead. In this world, no matter how grave your injury, you"ll always get right back up."
"You"re dead too, Hinata.... How sad...."
"You know, you"re a pretty cool guy."
I began to think very carefully. Before, I thought he wasn"t a human, so he made me pretty uncomfortable. But thinking back on his previous conversations with me, I could only now interpret them from a human standpoint.
"No no, don"t flatter me. You"re the cool guy, Hinata, you sacrificed your life to let me escape.... Wait, you"re still friends with that person, that"s truly impressive."
"No, sadly we"re not friends anymore."
"Huh? You and her had a falling out?"
"Instead of saying that we had a falling out, it"d be better to say that she"s discarded me....."
"Ah. So that"s why you"re sporting the long face."
So what...? Isn"t this just like telling someone how your love life has failed?
"I"m sure you"ll reconcile after a bit of time."
This b.a.s.t.a.r.d has no right to be comforting me.
"I... now I"m all alone again...."
Back to the situation I was in when I first got to this world.
"Don"t you still have me?"
"Right, so I do.... Sorry, I forgot."
"I"m right in front of you, this is unforgivable!"
Saying this, Ooyama was the very picture of laughter.
What a cute b.a.s.t.a.r.d.
However, what"s my objective from now on?
What should I do in this world?
Continuing this line of thought, there is something I"m supposed to do.
That is, of course, to sort out my thoughts. [tl note 1]
If I complete this task, then I can leave this world, and be reincarnated. That"s what Yurippe said.
Is that really true?
If that"s the case, shouldn"t I pour myself body and soul into this task?
But I wasn"t too clear on the method.
At this moment, I suddenly thought of something.
Isn"t there an angel? If she is an emissary of G.o.d, then her duty must be to safeguard the purpose of this world, right? If I just go ask that person it"ll be fine.
"Ooyama, what are you going to do now?"
"Well, seeing as you"re fine, I"m going back to the dorm to sleep. Are you coming too, Hinata?"
"I don"t just mean today and tomorrow, I"m asking about your plans for the future, starting now."
"I guess I"ll just keep on going to cla.s.s as usual."
"Is this how you"re going to straighten out your feelings?"
"The physiology of feelings? Feelings have a physiology too?" [original tl note 1]
"Not physiology, straighten out as in clean up and make clear."
"Oh man, what an embarra.s.sing mistake."
"If somebody wanted to write your biography, they might never make it as a professional author."
"What"s that? Making fun of me?"
"I"m just telling the truth. No, probably the opposite. It"s too fake. No, that"s still not right. Hey, Ooyama, what kind of a character are you?"
"Don"t ask me such incomprehensible questions so earnestly..."
"Haha, that"s not a bad reaction."
"Conversely, dealing with you has completely confused me...."
"Then, back to the original topic, how"s straightening out your feelings coming along? Making any progress?"
"What"s that? I guess I don"t quite understand..."
"Man, you really don"t know anything, do you."
I then told him what I had learned from Yurippe. That I"d gotten it from her was self-evident.
"So this world exists for that purpose! I had no idea!"
He was as surprised as I thought he would be.
"Straightening out my inner heart, huh. I"ve never even thought about that sort of thing before."
"Now that you mention it, is your life even complicated enough as to need any straightening out?",
I asked rudely without thinking.
But Ooyama, at this time....
"Straightening out, ah... heh...."
He laughed while gazing off into the distance.
"Hold on a sec! You"re playing a character like this!? Take it easy!! Where"d the real Ooyama go!? Give me back Ooyama, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d----!!"
"I -- don"t -- under-- stand -- what -- you"re-- saying-- at-- all-- Hinata ---"
I desperately shook him by his shoulders, and I couldn"t hear what he was saying.
"In brief, first chill out, Hinata."
"I never thought the day that you"d say that would ever come... But, what were you laughing and staring at just now?"
"Even someone like me will become like that when he reflect back on his life."
"Really..."
So even this guy had experienced a confusing life when he lived.
"Straightening out one"s feelings, huh. I don"t even feel like doing it."
"Why?"
"Living was just filled with hardship, wasn"t it?"
"Is that so...."
I asked myself the same question.
"Then, Hinata, why don"t you prepare to achieve your goal?"
"Me? Don"t mind me. My business... well, whatever...."
"Then my affairs don"t matter either."
"That"s no good."
"Why not?"
"That"s just my nature. I won"t let people who get involved with me act as if it doesn"t matter. I"m worried for you. Especially because you"re usually so carefree, but now you seem to be carrying some heavy emotions around."
"You really are like the protagonist of a game, Hinata."
"What"s that about?"
"Trying to solve everyone"s problems by yourself. If I had had this kind of a friend.... it would have been great."
"You"ve got one now."
".... eh?"
"Aren"t we friends?"
"Haha... it really feels like I"ve entered the world of a game. Hinata is the main character, and I"m the troubled... villager A, right?"
"Moron, we should be allies. We"re a party, exploring this world together."
"What cla.s.s am I? Monk?"
"There you go picking such an ordinary cla.s.s. Isn"t a knight fine? Wouldn"t rushing headlong into battle be more cool?"
"Nah, that "Hundred Man Beheading" technique is already someone else"s, granted it doesn"t fit exactly, but nothing else seems as suitable."
"A knight with a "Hundred Man Beheading" technique? Who are you talking about?"
" "Hundred Man Kick"? Or perhaps just "One Hundred Kicks"? In short, a very brave and powerful knight."
"Surely that girl is in the party too, right?"
"Though she"s tormented by some pretty serious worries, and sometimes will ruin the friendly atmosphere.... even so, you"ll still be with her, right Hinata? You"ll still continue to slowly explore the world together from now on, right?"
"She"s definitely all by herself right now."
"She"s still your ally, right?"
"..... Of course.",
I let out a long sigh as I answered.
Extremely seriously, but also very naturally.
Yes. I can"t not chase her down.
That chick is a very lonely person.
If I don"t reach out for her then.....
But would she reach out and grab my hand anymore......?
"Hey Ooyama you monk. Can you buff my defense with some spells..... something so I won"t surrender no matter how much I"m scolded or what kind of violence I"m faced with?"
"Haha, that looks like exactly what you need! OK, Magical Cure! Is this gonna be OK!"
Ooyama raised his arm and formed a fist, and pointed his thumb towards the sunny, cloudless sky.
"Although that just felt like recovery magic, thanks anyways!"
I also gave a thumbs up, and started back.
I went to find her, the most powerful ally, Yurippe.
I ran up the stairs to the roof.
The bright sky opened up before me.
But n.o.body was there.
".... Yurippe."
I lightly said her name once, then returned to my senses.
I had to search every nook and cranny of this school.
That chick has definitely not weakly faded from this world.
That lively girl.
She"s definitely somewhere inciting a riot and causing trouble.
Finding her will be as easy as picking out a beautiful shiny gla.s.s bead from a beach of sand.
I was running in the school building.
"Hahaha."
I actually laughed.
I had heard a loud clamor.
And in its center, of course, was none other than the abusive voice of Yurippe that I had long grown accustomed to hearing.
As I dashed into the riotous cla.s.sroom, I saw a crowd of people encircling Yurippe, who was riding on the back of someone like a horse.
The person beneath her was the student council president.
"So, hurry and answer. In this world, where is the secret to the conspiracy hidden? Where are we being observed from?" [tl note 2]
"I don"t know."
"If you don"t say, I"m not coming off, and this trouble isn"t going to end."
"That"s not what"s going to happen."
"What, are you going to stab me with that blade of yours!? What do you think that kind of violent repression will solve?"
"Shouldn"t you be asking yourself that?"
" ! How about I have you taste the flavor of death... ?"
Yurippe grabbed the student council president"s head with both her hands.
She"d completely lost it.
Was it because I had left her side?
Was that what set her off?
Well, now was not the time to think about that. I had to go stop her.
I parted the crowd and entered the circle. But just as I was about to reach her with my hands, she was dragged away.
A very st.u.r.dy-looking teacher lifted Yurippe up with both hands from behind.
"Don"t get in my way, I"m talking to this b.i.t.c.h right now!"
"All I see is some rather evil-hearted bullying."
"She"s not a human, though! She"s an angel with special powers! Don"t you see that if I don"t do this, then we"re not on an equal level?"
"What you"re saying makes no sense.... You can explain all this in the student guidance office, but right now, you"d better behave."
I suddenly heard the sound of something breaking.
"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d..."
As Yurippe"s head hung down...
She lifted her head up again with incredible energy.
"DO YOU THINK I CAN JUST BEHAVE NOW, YOU MORON ---?! WHAT KIND OF GUIDANCE COULD I GET FROM INHUMAN b.a.s.t.a.r.dS, YOU IDIOT-----?! DO YOU UNDERSTAND MY EMOTIONS, STUPID ----?! I"ve been tempered by this environment that turns highly capable people abnormal and unreasonable, could you understand that, you idiot---?! LET ME GO, HEY---!! DISAPPEAR, BEAT IT, GET OUT OF MY FACE, AHHHHHHHHH----!!"
Yurippe spit as she cursed.
But even faced with this, the teacher continued to restrain Yurippe"s body.
However, the melting [tl note 3] of Yurippe"s icy heart had ignited within me a burning flame. My body began to move on its own.
Pow!
My vertical punch connected directly with the teacher"s lower jaw.
His body toppled to the ground.
With all my strength I hugged Yurippe to put a stop to her.
"What are you doing, why have you appeared again, you stalker!"
Yurippe twisted and writhed to try to escape.
"I"m not like that."
"What?"
"I understand what you"re trying to say; I understand your feelings."
"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, don"t oversimplify me! AHHH!"
Bam!
I absorbed a headb.u.t.t.
This blow was so strong that I nearly blacked out for an instant.
But it was not effective. I had Ooyama"s cure magic!
"It"s going to be OK. I"m your ally. I won"t let you become all alone."
"Who the f.u.c.k do you think you are? AHHH!"
Pow!
I was struck right in the face.
A thick and sticky but warm substance flowed out from my nose.
It was blood. Not only had it gotten all over my jaw and throat,
but my nose was probably broken too.
But, had I not had Ooyama"s cure magic, I"m sure my face would have already become concave. Her attack power had been reduced by this much.
"It"s going to be OK."
I let go of Yurippe"s body. Then I faced her and let a smile sneak onto my face.
"First worry about your own body, idiot---!!"
This time it was an uppercut.
Blood sprayed out of my nose.
Ha, I"m still holding onto my consciousness.
If I pa.s.s out, Yurippe would be all alone again.
I don"t want to see that happen anymore.
That"s the way I am, and isn"t that how you are?
So, you can hit me as much as you like.
The number of times I"ve been hit says that I"m still fine.
I kept my unsightly smile on my blood-drenched face.
"What"s this!? Do you think you"re cool!? You suck, you suck!! There"s no one in this world that sucks more than you!!"
Yurippe"s fist was also covered in so much blood that it was dyed red.
But she still used that fist to pummel my stomach as she yelled.
"It"s about time you let him go."
Yurippe"s fist was grabbed.
By the student council president.
".... Let him go? What?",
Yurippe asked limply, as her momentum suddenly weakened.
"What are you furious about? Taking your anger out on other humans like you is a very cruel thing to do. You"re just causing trouble for him."
Then, the student council president turned towards my pathetic-looking face.
"Sorry about that, I"ve let you be my scapegoat."
"It"s nothing....."
"What are you going on about? I"m angry? That"s not possible. How could I possibly express that kind of emotion or att.i.tude in front of you?"
"Why?"
"Because I"m the captain."
"What of?"
"Troops who are rebelling against G.o.d."
"Is there such a thing?"
"Yes. Aside from this, you"ve just unwittingly admitted that you"re a piece of this world."
"When?"
"Didn"t you just explain simply the meaning of my behavior in this world?"
"This is what you"re calling evidence?"
"That"s something that none of these could ever do",
Yurippe said as she scanned the crowd, which had suddenly gotten much larger.
"These artificial villagers could never speak about the settings of this world. This is a high-level configuration that only an existence like you can speak of."
"What you"re saying sounds interesting."
"Then, won"t you laugh for me?"
"......"
"Can"t do it? Then, you"re not human."
"You"re misunderstanding something."
"Say something then, Angel."
"Angel?"
Yurippe lightly struck my stomach. By this point, that was more than I could take. I staggered and released Yurippe.
Yurippe then stood up right in front of me.
"We hereby dub thee Angel. Let"s go, Hinata."
"Mm, nn...."
"I will definitely ferret out G.o.d from you."
Yurippe stepped ahead of me to leave, and the crowd parted for her.
For the strongest warrior.
I followed Yurippe out to the hallway, where Ooyama was waiting.
When he saw the condition I was in, Ooyama became agitated.
"Ahhhhhhhh, this is terrible!! Magic, mystical shield!"
"Is this really the right time to use something like that....?"
"However, it looks like you"ve smoothly reconciled. That"s great!"
"Reconciled? What?",
Yurippe addressed Ooyama with that 100% natural, innocent phrase.
"Huh? Didn"t you two have a falling out?"
"Eh----, what"s your name?"
"Ooyama...."
"Ooyama, I"m sorry that you were startled, but that was a staged act to draw you out."
"That"s bulls.h.i.t, right?"
Yeah, bulls.h.i.t.
"It"s because there was no way to recruit you under those circ.u.mstances. You have been drawn out by this person, right?"
"This... maybe that"s so.... "
"That"s right. That is to say, all has gone according to my plan."
Yurippe crossed her arms as she said this proudly.
Gee, she really is lost in her happiness.
"That"s the situation, so you should sincerely join us, worthy Ooyama."
Under these circ.u.mstances, I began to play along too.
"Hey, you can"t turn down an invitation from the main character."
"What are you saying? Aren"t I just the captain here? So aren"t you supposed to be obeying my orders? "
"Why do I have the feeling I"m going to die in our first battle....."
"Ahaha, haven"t I said that you can"t die in this world!"
She looked like the usual laughing Yurippe, and for a moment I felt a bit terrified.
Other than the recruitment of Ooyama..... had anything else changed?
What the heck was the flame that had engulfed my heart?
Don"t tell me that even I was deceived.... no way, right?
No, no. I should just believe this. Otherwise, there"s no way to turn the party over this captain.
"Then, what"s your name?",
Ooyama asked.
"Yuri."
"But her allies have given her the friendly nickname "Yurippe" ",
I added.
"I told you not to act on your own."
"Yurippe, huh? That"s a really charming name. Hm, I"ll call you Yurippe too then."
"Ugh...."
This is my tiny counterattack.
What"s the matter, got a headache?
"Huh? Rebelling against G.o.d?"
Pah----!
"Yes, Ooyama, when you joined us, you also gained this privilege!"
Pah----!
"But, won"t this incite retribution!? Will I really be fine if I do this?"
Pah----!
"How could there be retribution? Using that kind of thing to cause people to serve Him would be too strange! What would He be then!?"
Pah----!
"Isn"t He our creator?"
Pah----!
"If we were born in this world just for Him to give and take and play around with us, then wouldn"t that be even more weird? We"ve got to denounce such unreasonable conduct, with our own power!"
Pah----!
"So that"s how it is! Ah!"
The ball flew out off the tip of Ooyama"s racket.
"14 - 0" [tl note 4]
The two of them were playing tennis, and I was the referee.
Why? Why this state of affairs?
According to Yurippe, exercising the body is a very important part of preparing to battle G.o.d, but in this world where our bodies cannot die, I think it"s questionable whether our fitness and strength really could be improved.
I bet this was simply a way for Yurippe to blow off some steam.
However, the fact that the considerable distance makes conversing difficult was unavoidable.
"Then ----, how do we actually go about doing this ---- ?"
Look, Ooyama has to yell.
"Regarding that point...."
On the other side, Yurippe let the ball and racket bounce a few times, then tossed the ball skywards.
"Destroying the order in this world that Angel is protecting!"
Yurippe suddenly swung her racket and served.
Pow--------!
The ball went whizzing out.
"Wow, what brute strength!"
"No, that"s not it",
Yurippe replied, then threw down her racket.
"The final chess piece has come here on his own",
she said as she turned to one side.
No, not to the side, but rather truly gazing at one particular point.
When did that man start standing over there?
"I"m starting to get interested. You lot sure are an intriguing bunch, huh?"
It was That man. The male student that single-handedly took the princ.i.p.al hostage and barricaded himself in the princ.i.p.al"s office.
"If you don"t want your head to go flying out like that tennis ball just did, you should behave and obey my orders."
The man let out an evil laugh and pointed a gun directly at Yurippe.
"That"s an interesting thing you"re holding. Wasn"t it destroyed already?"
"Don"t ask such unnecessary questions."
The mystery didn"t stop there. The gun was loaded well with bullets. Where did he acquire these things?
"Uh.... oh no.... what should we do?"
Ooyama"s voice trembled.
"How about you stop posing like you"re about to receive a serve?"
"Umm, sorry.... I"m too tense to do that....."
Ooyama continued to hold a stance as if he would counter the man"s gun with a service return.
Oh boy.... I let out a sigh.
Just what path will our party take now?
I held the scoreboard and lifted my head.
The sky was still sunny and blue.
----Continued in Chapter 4-----
TL note:
0) 消融 in the Chinese translation (which means "melt"), but according to the j.a.panese wikipedia, the t.i.tle of this chapter is actually メルトダウン (Meltdown). See note 3, also.
1) 整理 = "straightening out", 内心 = "feelings", or "inner heart", Sub Smith translated this as "sort out your thoughts", I"ve chosen "straighten out your feelings" after this occurrence.
2) 这个世界的黑幕到底存在在什么地方，在哪里旁观着 Not sure I got the idiomatic meaning here completely correctly...
3) Another occurrence of 消融, so this might actually be "meltdown", not "melt" here.
4) shouldn"t this be 15-0, since it"s tennis? I just copied the number from the Chinese though...
Original TL note:
1) 日语里整理和生理同音 . In j.a.panese, "straightening out" and "physiology" are h.o.m.ophones. [ It sort of works in Chinese, too.]
Random notes:
吐槽 = "b.u.t.ted in", apparently refers to tsukkomi
家伙 = "chick", "b.i.t.c.h", "b.a.s.t.a.r.d", "girl", or "guy" depending on gender of character and how I judged the intensity of the conversation to be.
领队 = "captain". It could also be "group leader" or just "leader".
天使 = "Angel". I"ve chosen to translate this literally instead of calling her Tenshi like we all do because of the way that she got the name. See chapter 2, too. Eh, whatever.
团队 = "party". Could also mean "team", but I chose to go with the MMORPG a.n.a.logy (not that I"ve ever really played one).