Volume 9 Chapter 3 No Way, It Must Be A Flag
In a modern room decorated in white and navy, a man was sprawled over a low table.
On the TV screen, a footage that he couldn't remember how many times he had seen was playing, accompanied by the dubious commentary of the commentators.
[That's why we can say that this incident is not just a mass hypnosis, but a genuine paranormal phenomenon.]
[Like magic or superpowers? Isn't it just a fairy tale?]
[No, this event is not some outdated fiction. It's about the boundary of the Internet, the other world that humanity has created, about to be lost.]
The words spoken sounded like something that would be aired on a late-night radio show or a Halloween special, but they were being uttered earnestly by adults dressed in formal suits.
It had the quality of a poorly-made science fiction or horror movie, lacking realism.
However, he couldn't find it in himself to laugh at it anymore.
"They're airing that again, huh?"
From the Kitchen, a man appeared, calling out. His red hair was down, which was different from usual, and combined with his sweatshirt attire, it was clear that he was off-duty.
Kongou Souji placed two cups of black coffee that he was holding on the desk.
"It's all the same kind of content everywhere. Or maybe you should watch a travel show where they just edit together recorded footage?"
"The TV stations were hit hard too, so it's only natural that there would be a lot of recorded content."
"Rather than watching something like this, it might be slightly better."
Matsuda Munenori, who was lying face down on the desk, said that and operated the remote control, connecting it to the streaming service. Then he randomly played an anime that caught his eye.
Cute anime voices echoed in the room.
"Hey, don't we have any sugar or milk? I'm in the mood for a sweet cafe au lait right now."
"If you want it, bring it yourself. Am I your maid or something?"
"If you were my maid, you would bring it for me. Souji, despite your tough-guy attitude, you're surprisingly attentive. You're a machine for creating hopeless women."
"Did you come all the way here to pick a fight with the townspeople?"
Seeing Souji cracking his knuckles, Matsuda shrugged and muttered, "I can't believe it."
It's no joke to fight a man who lives on the border between a gorilla and a human. However, just because he's a masochist doesn't mean he enjoys getting beaten up in a fight.
As Matsuda watched Souji head to the kitchen, he let out a sigh and sat down on the sofa behind him.
This is Souji's house where he lives alone. Due to a certain incident, the university has closed for the second time, and Matsuda, who was bored, came over like this.
That incident happened about a month ago, on November 27th, and it has become a global hot topic known as the "Tokyo Crisis."
Someone started calling it that, and now the name "Tokyo Crisis" is firmly established. Not a day goes by without seeing this word in the media and on social media.
You see, the center of Tokyo has been cut off from the outside world due to an unknown phenomenon, and all communication has been completely severed.
And to make matters worse, some of the people who were trapped are in a state of suspended animation, with nearly two thousand victims still not waking up.
In an unprecedented disaster in modern history, the "Tokyo Crisis" possessed unique characteristics unlike any other calamity, even though there have been larger disasters such as earthquakes and infectious diseases.
The majority of the victims unanimously claimed that they had been attacked by monsters. The words overflowed with creatures like goblins, orcs, and even words heard only in works of fiction, such as dogs larger than buses and snakes coiling around buildings.
This alone was an absurd story, but what made it even more unbelievable was that many people claimed to have witnessed humans with extraordinary powers fighting against these monsters, just like in manga or games, and helping them.
It was a story that defied all logic, with middle schoolers' fantasies appearing more realistic. However, the impossible was happening in reality. The world was trembling between fiction and reality.
If there had been any footage, the story would have become definitive. But strangely enough, apart from cases of people entering a state of suspended animation, the "Tokyo Crisis" had no other impact.
The building was unharmed, and there was not a single scratch on their clothing. In short, the footage and audio that should have been taken had completely disappeared.
This was the reason behind the phenomenon known as "Tokyo Crisis," also referred to as collective hallucination.
Matsuda and Souji were not affected by the disaster, and fortunately, no one close to them was involved. Except for some lingering concerns.
"...Yuusuke and the others, I wonder how they're doing."
Matsuda, sitting again on the carpet, murmured while swirling his spoon in the coffee.
"...We've received messages, so they're probably doing fine."
After a short pause, Souji replied.
Their classmates, Yamamoto Yuusuke, had not been seen since the cultural festival more than two months ago. And it wasn't just Yuusuke. Lisha, Kanami, and Isumi Tsukiko had also disappeared around the same time.
"We haven't seen their faces in a while."
"They must be in a place we can't meet or have some circumstances."
"Isumi-san and Hinata-chan too?"
"Isumi is probably with Yuusuke. As for Hinata... I don't know."
Souji said so while swallowing coffee. If he didn't do that, he felt like he would only speak of unpleasant premonitions.
Hinata Yukari is a junior to the two, and even after the cultural festival, she continued to come to school as usual. Suddenly, due to family circumstances, she had to take a break from school, just like Yuusuke and the others, and they haven't been able to meet.
Not wanting to force conspiracy theories or the occult onto everything like TV commentators, but when things overlap to this extent, it's impossible to dismiss it with just a casual word of coincidence.
"Can't she consult with us?"
"I don't know. Wasn't playing idle your favorite?"
"Favorites and friends are different, right?"
"That's true."
Souji shrugged. If Yuusuke saw Matsuda speaking so quietly about common sense or pretending, he would probably have difficulty breathing from laughter.
While casually gazing at characters fighting in anime, Matsuda spoke.
“I'm, you know, actually an otaku.”
“Whichever way you look at it, you're definitely an otaku.”
“So, I've been thinking about it for a while.”
Ignoring Souji's sarcastic comments, Matsuda continued.
The contents swirling in the rotating cup had a milk chocolate-like color, with white and black mixed together.
“I want a world like anime and games to become a reality someday.”
“Yeah, right? Any guy must have thought about it at some point.”
“Like being reincarnated in another world. I remember binge-watching it when it was trending.”
Surely, everyone is like that.
There's no painless reality, and somewhere in their hearts, they wish to go to a place other than here.
“But you know, when it actually happened, I didn't think it would be this tough. I thought it would be a thrilling action fantasy, but it felt like a horror death game.”
“Reality is not sweet.”
“I guess it's better to be sweet than bitter after all. Anyone who drinks that is a masochist.”
Seeing Matsuda smiling as he drank his cafe au lait, Souji kicked him in the side. Matsuda fell with a disgusted sound, 'ofun.'
Normally, Yuusuke would retort here, Tsukiko would give a cold stare, and Hinata would laugh. Surely, those days will return soon. Souji couldn't think of anything else.
"By the way..."
"What is it?"
As if suddenly remembering, Matsuda, who was still lying down, turned his face towards Souji. His movement was eerie, like that of a youkai.
"It's the 20th today, right?"
"Yeah, but so what?"
"Christmas is coming soon!"
Indeed, in four more days it will be Christmas Eve, and the following day will be Christmas. It is a big event, although it is unclear how much it will be celebrated in the gloomy atmosphere that prevails in the world.
However, that is a story for those who have a family or a partner.
"Do you have someone to spend it with?"
"You shouldn't underestimate me. If I feel like it, I can choose who to spend Christmas with."
"Hmm, I didn't think you were the type to get excited about Christmas like that."
Matsuda's social circle is so mysterious that it wouldn't be strange to count him among the seven wonders of the university. So, Souji wasn't really surprised by that anymore.
But when it comes to Matsuda, he's always in a high-spirited mood, like combining Christmas, New Year's, and Halloween together. It was surprising to find out that he had a normal sense of excitement for Christmas.
Matsuda lightly waved his finger to the side. If Yuusuke were here, he would have probably bent it in the opposite direction for the time being.
"I'm fine with my Christmas. It's only natural to have fun when Santa wears a red suit, you know?"
"Stop with that fake American way of talking."
"But more importantly! The problem is Yuusuke!"
Matsuda said with genuine excitement.
"What's with his Christmas... Oh, I see."
Souji also said that while understanding what Matsuda was trying to say.
"Now, it's certain that around Yuusuke, there's not only Lisha-chan and Kanami-san, but also Isumi-san. And then, there's a mysterious beautiful woman, although it's just her voice. It wouldn't be strange if Hinata-chan were there too."
"Is it enough to judge someone as a beautiful woman just based on their voice? Besides, we don't know about Hinata."
"No, she's there. My intuition is telling me that. It's been accurate in the past."
"..."
As Souji tried to deny it, he realized that he himself had also been thinking the same thing, somewhat unconsciously.
In reality, his prediction was correct.
"For Lisha-chan and the others, it's their first Christmas. Maybe it's the second time for Isumi-san. I wonder what kind of chaos it'll turn into... Ah, I wish I could see it firsthand."
"It's not like it'll turn into chaos. They're not enemies or anything."
"Souji doesn't understand. When a girl's favorite guy gets involved, they become completely different beings. And Lisha-chan and the others aren't exceptions to that."
"It's not like Lisha and the others have decided that they like Yuusuke, right?"
At the very least, one thing was certain—Hinata and Tsukiko still seemed to have feelings for Yuusuke.
"Lisha-chan, for instance, seemed clueless about love, right? But because of that, aren't you curious to see how it'll turn out?"
Certainly, saying that one didn't want to see would be a lie.
Either way, it seemed like Yuusuke wouldn't find solace this Christmas.
"Well, when he comes back, how about we drink to that?"
"I'm definitely looking forward to that!"
"What will you do if another girl shows up?"
"Even I would get angry if something like that happened at this point. Even the Buddha-like Matsuda has things he can't forgive."
"So, besides being a pervert, you have another alias?"
Well, despite saying that himself, Souji nodded in agreement.
Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable.
Unaware of the intensely crimson lightning that would tear through the thick winter clouds, the two continued laughing.
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