The vehicle, charging diagonally from the lane and aiming for the gap in the guardrail, was not even three meters away from him. Roughly calculating the speed that allowed it to keep moving forward, however gradually, he realized they would come into contact in less than ten minutes, even in this accelerated world.
This is—Why?! Confused, Haruyuki tried desperately to think.
Normally, a car could not leave its lane. The second an abnormal route was detected, the AI controlling the vehicle would take control from the driver and automatically correct the vehicle’s course, decelerate, and stop.
Which meant either the control AI in this car was broken or that it had been temporarily turned off by the driver.
He quickly deduced that it was most likely the latter, because he had heard nothing like the screeching of tires skidding against the road surface during full braking. The driver wasn’t stepping on the brakes. On the contrary, he was pushing forward with the accelerator all the way to the floor.
This was deliberate. It was the attack by a Burst Linker on the real side that Kuroyukihime had hinted at before.
Coming to these conclusions more or less instantaneously, Haruyuki took another few steps forward and tried to make out the face of the driver behind the windscreen. Was their assailant an unknown Burst Linker belonging to one of the king’s Legions? Or Cyan Pile, possibly someone at Umesato?
The majority of the social cameras in the area were apparently not capturing images from inside the car as he couldn’t really see through the window. Haruyuki changed his angle, strained his eyes, and finally found a position that allowed him to see inside. Stretching out his short pig avatar as far as possible to finally reach up over the hood, he saw the driver—
“Wha…?!” Haruyuki let slip another surprised, scream-like cry the moment he saw the driver. It was the face of a classmate he was utterly familiar with, a face he had hoped never to see again.
“A…Araya…?! Wh…why…”
Why is he here?
Hadn’t he just been arrested—no question, no fight—after hurting us at school? And then they found out pretty quickly from his Neurolinker that he had the social camera evasion app installed, along with a bunch of illegally copied games and images, and then on top of that, digital drugs? He should’ve been tossed in juvie or reform school. For the time being, at least—he shouldn’t be back at school while I’m still there!
Unable to believe his own eyes, Haruyuki blinked over and over, staring at the face of the icy blue driver. But the hair pointed straight up like the needles on a flower-arranging stand; the thin, arched eyebrows; the pinhole pupils; the lips twisted in cruel excitement; the feeling of terror these features elicited in Haruyuki whether he liked it or not, all these things told him that the boy in front of his eyes was Araya in the flesh.
“He was bailed out this morning,” a grave voice noted beside him abruptly, and Haruyuki quickly whirled around.
Standing there was Kuroyukihime, wrapped in her black swallowtail, fairy-princess avatar, biting hard on her lip. “I heard he was sentenced in family court at the beginning of the week and that he’d be locked up for at least a year. So I thought there was no need to trouble myself about him anymore. But…I can’t believe he’d…” Having murmured this much in a strangled voice, Kuroyukihime lowered her eyelashes and shook her head slowly. “No, I should’ve had an idea, been on guard. For one person to assault another, you don’t need the power of acceleration, after all. I thought I knew that as long as you have a knife, a car, it’s more than enough, but it seems that I hadn’t truly understood.”
As she related this information in her usual tone, Haruyuki could see no trace of the childlike weeping from moments ago. No, that’s just what I want to think, Haruyuki immediately corrected himself. He could clearly see the keen regret and something like resolve in eyes that should have been nothing more than a creation of the avatar.
Kuroyukihime slowly closed those eyes, took a deep breath, and said in a near whisper, “This…this is payback, then. For me. Not knowing how people might feel, not even trying to know, and yet, I play with those feelings however I want.”
“Wh-what…what are you talking about?” Haruyuki finally managed.
Not responding immediately, Kuroyukihime turned to Haruyuki and had her avatar, nearly twice as tall as his, kneel down soundlessly. The black dress spread out, and the eyes, lowered to the same height as Haruyuki’s, met his straight on. “Arita…Haruyuki.”
This voice calling to him caressed his ears more gently, more calmly than any other sound in his memory.
“I’m sorry. I’m the one who brought this on. But I won’t let you get hurt. I will do whatever it takes to protect you.”
“Huh? Wh-what—” Dumbfounded, Haruyuki could only repeat himself.
There was nothing they could at this point do once the acceleration was released. The moment they returned to reality, the sedan in front of them would cover the remaining distance at an incredible speed and send first Haruyuki himself and then Kuroyukihime behind him flying.
He was glad it would be in that order. If he acted as a cushion, there was a chance, although slight, that Kuroyukihime would get out of this without major injuries. This thought had already occurred to Haruyuki earlier.
However, Kuroyukihime surprised him, declaring in a tone that hid a strong resolve, “I will save you at least. I still haven’t told you about it: Brain Burst’s…the best and final power of acceleration.”
“Huh?!”
Save…? You, the hero; me, nothing more than a tool…?
Haruyuki swallowed hard and shook his head violently from side to side. “N-no!! You can’t do that! If that kind of power exists, I should be the one to use it! And then I can protect you! I’m your servant, after all. I’m the one who has to protect you!!” he shouted desperately, stretching both of his short arms out. “Please tell me! What is this final power? What command do I need to use it?!”
“Impossible. You can’t use the command unless you’re at least level nine, and it uses ninety-nine percent of your accumulated points. And more importantly, I’m your ‘parent.’ And what would the world be like if parents didn’t protect their children?”
“B-b-b-but!!”
“Don’t make that face. I…In this situation, there’s only one saving grace.”
“S-saving grace?”
“Mm. Given that these are my last words to you, you’ll believe me, won’t you?”
Kuroyukihime raised both hands gently and placed her open palms against each other, bringing them to her chest. Her eyes closed, and a smile like flowers blooming appeared on her lips. “Haruyuki. I like you.” From below the raised eyebrows, her black eyes stared at Haruyuki, concealing an infinite radiance. “This is the first time in my life I’ve felt like this. Unable to control it, totally confused. At school, at home in bed, I’m always thinking of you, and I’m happy and I’m sad. So this is love…It’s wonderful. It’s a miracle.” She gripped her hands together tightly in front of her chest and grinned.
That smile was warm, gentle, good. But it pierced Haruyuki’s chest as if ripping him apart. I want to believe. I want to believe.
I want to believe—
The effect of the tears welling up in his avatar’s eyes was too strong, distorting Haruyuki’s vision. Wiping them away roughly, he stared back at her eyes so close to his own and asked hoarsely, “Why…? Why me? Me…A guy like me, why?”
“Mm. The reason? I can’t even count all the reasons. But, no, I don’t think love needs a reason. So I’ll just tell how it happened.” Smiling, Kuroyukihime stretched out her hands and placed them on Haruyuki’s shoulders. “Haruyuki. Do you remember the first time we met?”
“Yeah. Of course, of course I remember. On the local net…you said to me in the virtual squash room, ‘Don’t you want to go further?’ ”
“I did. The high score I got in that game…” Her smile changed into something slightly mischievous. “I used a
cceleration.”
“Wh-what?!”
“I could never have gotten a score like that if I hadn’t. I thought it would pique your interest and make it easier to persuade you; I felt like I had to beat your score. I—” Kuroyukihime cut herself off and turned her gaze up to the sky of the accelerated world. “I became a Burst Linker six years ago, when I was just eight. Ever since then, I’ve craved nothing but strength and speed, cutting down countless enemies to become level nine, and still not satisfied with that—these hands are stained with the blood of friends. Even someone like me couldn’t possibly beat that high score you recorded.”
She recomposed her expression and directed her strong eyes straight at Haruyuki before continuing. “Listen, Haruyuki. You’re fast. You can become faster than anyone else. Faster even than me, faster than the other kings. And speed is a Burst Linker’s greatest strength. One day, your name will be known far and wide as the fastest Linker in the accelerated world. You’ll defeat the kings, beat the other levels, and reach the source of Brain Burst. Then you’ll know. The ultimate potential hidden in a person’s…in our brains and souls.”
Nodding slowly, Kuroyukihime went on. “I…I shook when I saw you playing that game. I shivered in a way I never had before. I was moved. At the fact that a person could become that fast. In my heart, I shouted, ‘Eureka! I finally found him, the true king to accelerate against a stagnant world.’ ”
Haruyuki was so dumbfounded all he could do was let her words wash over him. Me, faster than anyone…?
It was too incredible all of a sudden. But given the situation, Kuroyukihime’s words did not permit even a shred of doubt. He could not doubt her; that was the one thing he couldn’t do.
“But although you conceal such strength and potential, in reality, you are very fragile…so pitiful it’s sad. It was like my heart was being ripped apart. I want to kneel before the future king. But at the same time, I want to protect you, wrap you up and keep you safe. These conflicting feelings rapidly swelled up in me, and before I knew it, you were the only thing I could see. I fell in love with you. I finally realized it yesterday.”
“Yesterday?”
“Mm. When you were talking about Kurashima. How can I say it? It was the first time in my life I had ever been jealous; I couldn’t control myself. Which is why I took that attitude with you. And this morning as well. I was too slow to realize it…Well, I was slow, but not too slow, I suppose. Here, like this.”
Tightening her grip on Haruyuki’s shoulders ever so slightly, Kuroyukihime brought her face closer and smiled broadly. “I got to tell you everything. Although if I had had my way, I would’ve liked to have faced you properly and told you in the real world.” Tears like jewels welled up in her sparkling jet-black eyes, forming drops and collecting in the corners of her eyes. “So…it’s about time to say good-bye.”
“Wh-what are you going to do? I don’t—Good-bye, it’s not…”
Facing Haruyuki, swallowing hard and shaking his head, Kuroyukihime spoke her final words like a warning. “Please. Become strong. And become fast. Defeat the kings on my behalf, climb to the top, and see for me what I wanted to see.”
“No…no!!” Haruyuki shouted in a voice that resembled a wail. “That’s not how it is! That’s—You can’t be the only one to go!! I’ll protect you! And if I can’t, we’ll both go together! Please don’t leave me…I—I still haven’t…For you…I…”
A voice mixed with sobs surged out of Haruyuki’s open mouth.
Leaning in softly, Kuroyukihime’s lips closed it.
Even though they were both virtual avatars, the sensation was softer than anything, warmer than anything, gentler than anything.
After a kiss lasting a few thousandths of a second in the real world, and essentially an eternity from Haruyuki’s perspective, Kuroyukihime slowly pulled her lips away and whispered, “Another time…We’ll definitely meet again.” Her tears falling joined together in a silver radiance following the lines of her body as she stood up.
There was an almost-terrifying purpose in Kuroyukihime’s back as she faced the approaching car with her legs out resolutely, and Haruyuki couldn’t even speak, much less move.
Spreading her arms out wide, she straightened her back with a snap and called out in a clear voice: “Physical Full Burst!!”
Kuroyukihime’s avatar disappeared, enveloped in a blinding white light.
What the—? What happened?
Caught in an explosion of confusion and uneasiness and an emotion overwhelming both of these he couldn’t put a name to, Haruyuki screamed at the top of his lungs. “Kuroyukihime!!” His tears spilled over onto his cheeks, distorting his vision, and he lost his sense of balance, staggering a few steps backward.
And then Haruyuki saw something incredible.
Kuroyukihime—the body of Kuroyukihime in the real world, transparent and blue—was moving.
Kuroyukihime, who should’ve been standing back, with Haruyuki wedged in between her and the passenger vehicle barreling down on them, was definitely moving in the real world, albeit at a speed about one-tenth that of the car, successively putting one foot in front of the other, kicking the ground and moving forward.
This can’t—There’s no way this can be happening!!
The Brain Burst program overclocked the quantum signal generated by the heart rate a thousand times and accelerated only the user’s consciousness. In other words, the process had absolutely no effect on the physical body. Thus, even accelerated, the body was unable to even shift its gaze. That was why the program sent the user’s consciousness into a full dive at the same time as it accelerated, cutting it off from the physical body and connecting it to a copy of reality produced by the social cameras.
And yet, right now, the real-life Kuroyukihime was moving her physical body at a speed that accelerated Haruyuki could clearly see. Was the occasional blurring here and there on her ice-blue body because she was exceeding the filming speed of the social cameras? Which meant she was dashing around in the real world at the super speed of more than a hundred times that of a normal person!
Was this the best and final power of Brain Burst? A forbidden command to overclock not just the consciousness but the entire body?
There was no way the body could come out of something like that okay.
As she charged ahead, Kuroyukihime’s expression was full of firm determination and something else, a stiffness like she was enduring something with every fiber of her being.
A something that was probably intense pain. She would no doubt have been unable to stop the screaming of muscles and joints being driven at a speed that was essentially impossible. But she herself did not stop. In one, two, three steps, she was standing to the left of the real-world Haruyuki.
The front bumper of the car Araya was driving was already a scant eighty centimeters from Haruyuki.
Kuroyukihime raised both hands and placed them gently on Haruyuki’s body, as if she were about to embrace him. She applied the smallest amount of force onto his side, and his body began to move.
At the same time, he felt an incredible impact in every part of his body, and his vision faded to black.
Kuroyukihime had been gentle, but her push was equivalent to being slammed into at high speed in the real world. The impact activated the safety on his Neurolinker, which automatically canceled the full dive. As the center of his vision sank into darkness, the original colors of the real world stretched out radially.
Instantly, Haruyuki returned from his avatar to his flesh-and-blood body. He hit the pavement with his back and started choking. Forgetting to even breathe again, he opened his eyes and saw in front of him Kuroyukihime, both hands still stretched out, smiling somehow.
Immediately, the white car plunging savagely onto the sidewalk caught Kuroyukihime’s slim body, lifting her up onto the hood, both legs flying up as if saved somehow by the bumper. She hit the front windscreen and flew even higher.
Her long black hair flowed through the
air, tracing an arc.
Shining orange in the evening sun.
On one side, the disconnected direct cable danced whitely.
7
In Haruyuki’s fragmented consciousness, his memories of the events that followed existed only as three-color images.
Black—the slender figure twisted unnaturally on the paving stones of the sidewalk.
Red—the terrifyingly large amount of blood spreading out underneath her.
White—closed eyelids, cheeks that had lost all color.
In the blink of an eye, his own hands and the necktie he used to stop the bleeding were also dyed red.
Araya’s clothing was red too as he crawled, laughing loudly, out from the driver’s seat of the white car, which had smashed into the wall of a shop.
Police cars rushed to the scene, red lights flashing, and someone shoved the still-laughing Araya into a backseat.
Then the white ambulance arrived, rotating light on top the same bright red, and the men in white who got out fixed Kuroyukihime to a stretcher. Haruyuki also got in the ambulance at their prompting, and the vehicle started moving at high speed.
And now, he was staring up at the ER’s red surgery lamp in the corner of an entirely white hallway.
He had no room in his brain to think about what was going to happen now. He could only replay every single moment of the last four days since he’d met Kuroyukihime.
That time. And that time, that time, too…Haruyuki should’ve done something different. If he had, then they wouldn’t be here now.
Why couldn’t he just trust the hand Kuroyukihime offered him, the feelings she had for him? If he had just accepted it, if he hadn’t fought it, if he hadn’t so obstinately turned his face away, they wouldn’t have had a quarrel like that on the road, and they would’ve noticed the car approaching.
Of all the many mistakes I’ve made in my life up to now, this is the biggest one of all, and I can’t ever take it back.