６．Ｓａｔｕｒｄａｙ Ｍａｒｃｈ ２， ２０１９
文字数 5,363文字
I can't imagine a better way to kill time.
Maruta, half at a loss, began scrolling through the browser screen at random. Thinking about Kira, who has yet to show up, he let out the breath in his lungs with gusto.
Maruta had lost all interest in watching the video, but the following statement gave an unexpected lift to his stagnant mood.
'Unfortunate news. NSFW! Choice's head, it's crazy.'
〈Choice〉? Who is it?
As in the case of 〈Milley〉, this video data was uploaded as a related one to the 〈Tokyo Spread〉's that was played immediately before.
The thumbnail shows a nearly nude female figure against the night sky. Maruta tapped it without hesitation.
Her pale skin contrasts with the dark night. It appears clearly as if it is luminous. The reason why her skin stands out is that the woman is wearing nothing but her underwear.
She is pedaling a swing alone in what appears to be a park somewhere on a street corner. The camera is probably just sitting on the ground. There is no sign of anyone else taking the video. The woman suddenly slowed down on the swing, stood up, and approached the camera with unsteady steps.
As facial features became clearer, their details and characteristics were carefully observed. The face, with its prominent dark eyes, follows a contemporary proportion. Quite young in terms of skin texture. She may be barely reaching 20 years old, or a minor.
Maruta was calmly proceeding with such analytical thinking, but at some point, he could not help but feel the toxic negativity that pervades the video.
"I hope," Now the woman's face fills the frame of the screen. "I hope there are no more men in this world. I know you all think so. What should I do? I have no intention of living with this suffering for the rest of my life. I want to take this pain out on someone else. Everyone in the world should feel the same way. Then everyone all kills ourself, and I, alone, die laughing. At the top of a mountain of carcasses, as high as Mount Everest. That's good. People who have never been hurt more than I have can't understand my pain. It's impossible for those who are living in a world of luxury to try to imagine it. I'm sure. Hey. What should I"
Video ends here. Maruta can't find the rest of it on any of the links.
The curse.
After watching the video, these words were the first to pop into Maruta's head. This has a posting date of June 11, 2018, but no other information is available. Therefore, it is not clear when it was actually taken.
Is this really 'related' even indirectly to the case Maruta is now interested in? There is of course the possibility that this may not be related at all.
Maruta tried to find a connection between the current video and the incident by mobilizing all the knowledge he had gathered about the case. However, the task quickly ran into a deadlock because, after all, he did not know the identity of the woman appearing in this video, which is like an introductory course on ghosts.
It was as if a piece of the puzzle had been added unexpectedly.
Maruta opened the channel of the user who gave the video from the screen that was still displayed. Then, as expected, only thumbnails of miscellaneous unrelated videos appeared. He found that the pages were not at all helpful in furthering his knowledge of that woman in her underwear.
Who is 〈Choice〉?
Maruta was about to move his hand to search for the word when he realized that his bladder was sending a signal that it was about to burst, so he had no choice but to stand up.
There was still the female in front of the restroom, whom he saw when he looked up earlier. She is clearly frustrated that the restroom is not readily available, looking at the smartphone in the palm of her hand.
Maruta felt a mild sense of despair, wondering if he would be able to urinate, if at all, after this woman. As he contemplated these different futures - whether to run to the nearest department store for another restroom, or to expose his soaking wet chinos to Shinjuku public - the door to the restroom suddenly slammed open.
It was Yuya Kira who came out.
"Hey, Kira-san." Maruta approached Kira as he was passing by. Kira looing up, and seemed surprised.
"Oh, is that Mr. Maruta?"
"Yes, I am Maruta. It's been a while."
The two shared a smile at their unexpected reunion.
"I'm taking a seat right there." Maruta pointed to the seat he had been sitting in. "Kira-san, please have a seat. Sorry, I'm a little close to the restroom."
Kira smiled again upon hearing this, walking honestly to the seat Maruta had designated for him. Looking at Kira's back, he felt an incredible rush of joy, anticipation, and other positive emotions that should greet him. At the same time, it became a driving force to lighten that leaden body of his when he spends his holidays doing nothing. Even the urge to urinate through the bladder seems to have eased somewhat.
Maruta chuckled a little inwardly at the thought of his own naivete in changing his mood so dramatically with the appearance of a guest.
Chronology of Chapter 1
April 2017 〈Tokyo Spread〉 joined the offline gathering of 〈Milley〉.
May 2017 〈Milley〉 injured.
June 2017 〈Milley〉 died.
August 2018 〈Silva〉's body was found.
Maruta, half at a loss, began scrolling through the browser screen at random. Thinking about Kira, who has yet to show up, he let out the breath in his lungs with gusto.
Maruta had lost all interest in watching the video, but the following statement gave an unexpected lift to his stagnant mood.
'Unfortunate news. NSFW! Choice's head, it's crazy.'
〈Choice〉? Who is it?
As in the case of 〈Milley〉, this video data was uploaded as a related one to the 〈Tokyo Spread〉's that was played immediately before.
The thumbnail shows a nearly nude female figure against the night sky. Maruta tapped it without hesitation.
Her pale skin contrasts with the dark night. It appears clearly as if it is luminous. The reason why her skin stands out is that the woman is wearing nothing but her underwear.
She is pedaling a swing alone in what appears to be a park somewhere on a street corner. The camera is probably just sitting on the ground. There is no sign of anyone else taking the video. The woman suddenly slowed down on the swing, stood up, and approached the camera with unsteady steps.
As facial features became clearer, their details and characteristics were carefully observed. The face, with its prominent dark eyes, follows a contemporary proportion. Quite young in terms of skin texture. She may be barely reaching 20 years old, or a minor.
Maruta was calmly proceeding with such analytical thinking, but at some point, he could not help but feel the toxic negativity that pervades the video.
"I hope," Now the woman's face fills the frame of the screen. "I hope there are no more men in this world. I know you all think so. What should I do? I have no intention of living with this suffering for the rest of my life. I want to take this pain out on someone else. Everyone in the world should feel the same way. Then everyone all kills ourself, and I, alone, die laughing. At the top of a mountain of carcasses, as high as Mount Everest. That's good. People who have never been hurt more than I have can't understand my pain. It's impossible for those who are living in a world of luxury to try to imagine it. I'm sure. Hey. What should I"
Video ends here. Maruta can't find the rest of it on any of the links.
The curse.
After watching the video, these words were the first to pop into Maruta's head. This has a posting date of June 11, 2018, but no other information is available. Therefore, it is not clear when it was actually taken.
Is this really 'related' even indirectly to the case Maruta is now interested in? There is of course the possibility that this may not be related at all.
Maruta tried to find a connection between the current video and the incident by mobilizing all the knowledge he had gathered about the case. However, the task quickly ran into a deadlock because, after all, he did not know the identity of the woman appearing in this video, which is like an introductory course on ghosts.
It was as if a piece of the puzzle had been added unexpectedly.
Maruta opened the channel of the user who gave the video from the screen that was still displayed. Then, as expected, only thumbnails of miscellaneous unrelated videos appeared. He found that the pages were not at all helpful in furthering his knowledge of that woman in her underwear.
Who is 〈Choice〉?
Maruta was about to move his hand to search for the word when he realized that his bladder was sending a signal that it was about to burst, so he had no choice but to stand up.
There was still the female in front of the restroom, whom he saw when he looked up earlier. She is clearly frustrated that the restroom is not readily available, looking at the smartphone in the palm of her hand.
Maruta felt a mild sense of despair, wondering if he would be able to urinate, if at all, after this woman. As he contemplated these different futures - whether to run to the nearest department store for another restroom, or to expose his soaking wet chinos to Shinjuku public - the door to the restroom suddenly slammed open.
It was Yuya Kira who came out.
"Hey, Kira-san." Maruta approached Kira as he was passing by. Kira looing up, and seemed surprised.
"Oh, is that Mr. Maruta?"
"Yes, I am Maruta. It's been a while."
The two shared a smile at their unexpected reunion.
"I'm taking a seat right there." Maruta pointed to the seat he had been sitting in. "Kira-san, please have a seat. Sorry, I'm a little close to the restroom."
Kira smiled again upon hearing this, walking honestly to the seat Maruta had designated for him. Looking at Kira's back, he felt an incredible rush of joy, anticipation, and other positive emotions that should greet him. At the same time, it became a driving force to lighten that leaden body of his when he spends his holidays doing nothing. Even the urge to urinate through the bladder seems to have eased somewhat.
Maruta chuckled a little inwardly at the thought of his own naivete in changing his mood so dramatically with the appearance of a guest.
Chronology of Chapter 1
April 2017 〈Tokyo Spread〉 joined the offline gathering of 〈Milley〉.
May 2017 〈Milley〉 injured.
June 2017 〈Milley〉 died.
August 2018 〈Silva〉's body was found.
