V1C1

Translated by Lemon Edited by Lemon

Chapter 1: Tabata Station

Tokyo, North District. It was around 8:00 p.m. when I arrived at JR Tabata Station.

The area in front of the station was desolate as it is one of the Yamanote Line’s minor stations. The first thing I did was withdraw all of my savings from the ATM located directly in front of the ticket gate.

In addition to my New Year’s gift savings account that my parents handle, I created an online bank account without telling my parents.

My funds, which I got by uploading videos on Youtube, were quite big.

I shoved three ten thousand bills in my wallet and the rest in my backpack, feeling a bizarre sense of invincibility.

My steps were light as I moved from the ticket gate to the platform, my heart leaping with excitement and joy.

So, where should I go first? Let’s go to the terminal station in Ueno for the time being.

I wanted to stay as far away from Tokyo as possible from there until the last train…

“…Eh?”

I stepped onto the platform and came to a halt. I saw a familiar girl standing there out of the corner of my eye.

I wondered if she was on her way home from cram school. It was already dark, and she was still clothed in her uniform.

A blazer with an eye-catching blue ribbon. It’s from Kaibou High School, which I attend.

“Nanase…?”

I mumbled her last name. Riho Nanase. She’s a classmate and a beautiful girl.

There appears to be more details to be presented before the beautiful lady, but one glance at her will persuade you that this introduction is correct. Her sculpted face was defined by piercing twin eyes filled with resolve and cherry-red lips twisted in a sullen manner. She is rather tall for a girl, standing at a little more than 160 cm. Her breasts’ fullness, which was not unduly apparent, drew a beautiful curve that complemented her slim physique.

Her long black hair, which reached her waist, reflected even the smallest amount of light that shined on the platform. It seemed as though everything around her was meant to complement the beautiful girl name Riho Nanase. I was savoring the scenery when I heard an announcement that the train would be arriving soon. My thoughts returned to reality, and I felt uneasy.

[“…is dangerous”]

Nanase’s feet were on the outside of the yellow braille blocks, despite the announcer’s warning to move back within. Besides, Nanase’s profile appeared unusually lonely. Lifeless, I guess. I felt as if she might fall over if she pushed it too hard.

And then the expression “throw yourself” springs to my mind. It’s not unusual among city dwellers, but when you think how it may apply to someone you know, it loses its sense of reality.

… What on earth am I thinking? I shook my head. This is not a good omen.

A train going for Tokyo on the Keihin-Tohoku Line was fast approaching. The bright blue train glided onto the platform a split second later.

Nanase’s body slumped forward——

“Hey, that’s dangerous!”

I was running and yelling at the same time. I leaped onto Nanase’s body, as though hugging her.

“Kya…”

A short scream, the sound of wheels piercing my ears. My vision wobbled and gravity reversed.

For a little minute, my thoughts went blank, only to be brought back by a dull pain on the right side of my body.

“Kuhh…”

Like a frog being squashed, a sound came out of my mouth. The train comes to a halt, and the doors swoosh open.

The stares from the disembarking passengers were piercing and terrible.

“Hey, you guys!”

I noticed a station attendant rushing towards us. My blood quickly drained from my veins.

The current situation, a boy hugging a girl and pushing her down, is a pretty bad one.

The process of interviewing and contacting my parents comes to my mind.

Bad, the journey is over before I’ve even taken the first step!

“… Can you just let me go?”

She said in a reproachful voice. The blood in my veins froze as a piercing gaze poured out from in front of me.

“Ah, sorry!”

I hurriedly let go of her body, and Nanase stood up quickly and flipped off her blazer.

I felt embarrassed that I was the only one tempered enough to handle a little fall.

“A-are you okay, you guys?”

Nanase says to the station attendant who asks her, without showing any signs of agitation.

“I’m very sorry, I was in a bit of a daze, and someone I knew tried to support me… And then I collapsed.”

“U-uh? Is that so?”

The station attendant turns his gaze to me. Nanase’s mouth moved, saying, “Make up.”

“Y-yes! She is a classmate of mine, I was just wandering around, so…”

“I’m fine now. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

Nanase followed up on my sluggishness with a well-behaved bow.

“I-I see… It’s getting late, so be careful on your way home.”

The station attendant returns to check the safety of the trains. I pat my chest, relieved that the problem was gone.

“So, what’s your intention?”

It hadn’t left. Nanase, with an expression of maximum caution, asked me a question.

“Ah, no, that…”

When the door closed with a pssst and the train drove away, I was unable to reply.

My simple “being-bad-at-communication” got switched on.

First and foremost, the person I’m talking to is a beautiful girl who is the most popular girl in her grade.

By all rights, I’m at the bottom of my class’s caste, so this isn’t someone I can have words with.

The shame of having embraced such a girl was interfering with my verbal functions.

“No way, did you just push me over the edge because of lust?”

Nanase takes out her phone and tries to make a call. I saw “110.” Oh no!

“Wait, wait! It’s a misunderstanding! I just thought that you were going to jump in the train…”

“Jump in…?”

Nanase’s movements stopped.

“Is that what… it looks like to you?”

“A-ah…”

Huh, this reaction… by any chance, a misunderstanding? The worst-case scenario appeared. Think about it calmly.

Riho Nanase, a perfect person, blessed with good looks, abilities, and social status. In such a state of life, would she throw her life away? Normally, NO.

“(Oh no… this, did I do this?)”

It’s a bad habit of mine to act on assumptions and momentum. I’ve failed so many times before.

The only way to get this done is to get down on my knees so hard that my head is stuck on the platform…!

“It’s become so bothersome.”

“… Eh?”

Nanase said, as if giving up.

“Life has become so bothersome. So I thought… I’d let it go.”

I knew she was going to die!

“No, you can’t die!”

The words came out of reflex.

“I don’t know what happened to you, but you must not die, no matter what!”

Grabbing Nanase by the shoulders, I forcefully hurled my words at her.

“E-e-ehhhh?”

A clear confusion comes over Nanase’s face. A look I’ve never seen before.

“But, you have no idea what I’m going through.”

I released her arm and her strong eyes turned toward me.

“It is not right for a third party to force a person who is having a hard time living and would rather die to still live, isn’t it?”

“T-that may well be true, but…”

“By nature, people should not be forced to live or die. I don’t deserve to have my will to die denied by you, who knows nothing about it.”

The agitation of earlier was nowhere to be seen. Nanase spoke quietly, and calmly in a voice with no inflection.

I’ve witnessed her reasoning like this many times at school.

There are countless people who have been defeated by Nanase’s rational logic that eliminates emotion.

But, I can’t just say, “Well, good luck in the next life!” and just adieu her.

If I let Nanase go here and she becomes a minced meat, I will regret it until the next life. I was certain of that.

Nevertheless, what do I do? …Right, I have a secret plan.

For the past year, I’ve been uploading videos on YouTube. I’ve seen the comment section go up in flames countless times in such context. This is where I was exposed to the culture of wrestling. I’ve learnt a lot from people who have earned the title “debunker” through their rambling, shifting points of view, and inconsequential mountebank battles.

The important thing in persuading others is not whether the logic is correct or incorrect. It’s about whether you can say something that sounds right and sway them! (Gorging on momentum.)

Use your head in full operation. Any good quibbles that sound like that…found it!

“Go on a trip!”

“… Ha?”

Nanase frowns with all her might, but I continued with my momentum.

“I don’t know what happened to you, but I bet you’re tired! So go somewhere far away, eat good food, see beautiful scenery, and refresh yourself! Then, instead of feeling like you want to die, you will feel like you are having fun!”

The way I spread my arms out grandly and wields my eloquence is like that of a guru of a questionable cult.

“… Are you aware that you are talking nonsense right now?”

“I am very serious.”

I lied. I am aware that I am really talking nonsense.

But I can’t back out here. People’s lives are at stake. I breathed heavily. My face was sweating.

My heart was on the verge of bursting, but I tried to keep a serious expression on my face and waited for Nanase’s reaction.

“ Pfft. ”

She laughed. Why?

“You say some pretty interesting things.”

“Ah, yes, thanks…”

“But travel, huh… I never thought of that.”

I didn’t have any either. Perhaps it was linked to the fact that I was in the midst of a critically acclaimed trip. I say to Nanase, who crosses her arms, puts her fingers to her chin and nods.

“R-right? Take a trip once, just to see if you’ve been fooled! And then maybe you won’t even feel like dying…”

“Okay, I understand.”

“Eh?”

“I’ll stop my decision to die for once.”

Yeahhhhhhhh, I did it! I overcame it!

“I don’t know if traveling, as you say, will change my mind, but…it seems like a good distraction before I die.”

“Ah… you still have this feeling of wanting to die…”

“It’s not natural. I’m not going to die…ready to disappear at this level.”

Nanase’s eyes, as she said this, seemed to be swirling with emotions deeper than darkness.

I gulped. What on earth could have made Nanase like this?

I didn’t dare to ask now.

“Now then, where should we go?”

“Eh?”

“Don’t eh me. You’re going too, aren’t you? I don’t think you’re going to suggest and then tell me to go it alone, do you?”

You are absolutely right. And if I think about it calmly, if I left her here, she might try to jump onto the train again in a huff. We should travel together and somehow make Nanase lose her desire to die.

Although I would say I thought it was the best thing to do…

“N-now, I was already thinking of going.”

“H-ha…?”

Nanase’s eyes widened when she noticed the pampered backpack I was carrying.

“Were you planning to travel now? Alone?”

“Yeah, right, alone!”

“What’s with the bravado? Or rather, why? We have school tomorrow, right?”

“Well, actually, I had a fight with my parents…earlier, and I just ran away.”

“Ran away?”

“Call it the first step toward self-reliance.”

“I suggest you do a search for the meaning of ‘self-reliance.’”

“The details don’t matter.”

After a pause of several seconds, Nanase opens her mouth.

“Okay, I understand. Then, let’s go now.”

“… Seriously?”

“I’m serious. I was going to die anyway, and besides…”

“Besides?”

There was a short pause. Nanase then clenched her fists.

“Because I don’t want to go home, ever.”

Nanase’s expression, as she muttered this was obscured by the lights of the train coming onto the platform.

Read only at Travis Translations