Headphone Actor (12 page)

REMINISCENCE FOREST

(translated by Miss-Simplicity
)

August 15
^th
, a midsummer day. 

On the street a short distance away from the urban area, the sounds of people and cars grew distant and quiet, and in their place, the cries of cicadas rang out noisily.

Only rusty street signs and small, private homes dotted the seemingly endless street.

And as if it wasn’t already enough that the pavement was full of noticeable cracks, the side of the sidewalk was overgrown with weeds.

It was most likely already past noon. Although it felt like I’d been walking on this road for hours, the fact was that only a few minutes had passed.

In my previous experiences with stressful situations that I often found myself in, I knew for a fact that time seemed to stretch out longer than it really did.

—It all began yesterday.

I, Kisaragi Shintaro, after living the life of a shut-in for nearly two years, was suddenly thrust into the outside world.

If you were to ask why, the reason was quite simple: the malicious virus, Ene, and broken some parts for my computer in an act of violence, and I had gone to a nearby department store to buy replacements.

However, with the probability of one in several thousand chances, I encountered a “terrorist attack” at that department store, was held hostage, and on top of all that, shot with a gun.

… If you don’t even believe my story up until this point, it might be dangerous to go on, but from here it’s the main plot. Allow me to continue.

After being shot by a gun, I was saved by a strange group that was there at the crime scene.

An invisible person, a Medusa, and even a chameleon boy that belonged to a group called “Mekakushi Dan.”

…. Clearly, this organization was even more suspicious than the terrorists, but since they had tended to my injury and taken care of me while I was unconscious, they didn’t seem to be bad people.

—Up until this point, it was still fine.

While suppressing various emotions the best I could, and parting ways with a “Thank you very much, I’ll be going now,” I fully intended to go back home and indulge in a hikineet lifestyle once more, and in doing so, forget about all the questions that I had.

However, the boy named Kano began casually talking on his own, and when I went along with the flow, and said, “Oh, I see, so that’s how it is,” he told me, “We can’t allow you to leave now that you’ve learned our secret.” It was as if this had all been according to his plan.

—Naturally, I objected.

I was thankful to them for taking care of while I’d been unconscious overnight.

But obviously, I didn’t plan to be so compliant, and both my psyche and body felt tattered and ill from the shock of leaving my room for the first time in so long.

But if I were to tell anyone about that kind of crazy thing, there was no mistake that I would be told, “You’re the one that’s crazy.”

That’s why there was no way I could reveal it to anyone. Absolutely not.

….  However, my pest of a virus, Ene responded in an easy-to-understand way, saying, “This has turned into a very interesting development, Master!” and together with my confidential information, joined Mekakushi Dan.

With my desperate protests being in vain, I also very reluctantly forced to join Mekakushi Dan, and had now obtained the position of Mekakushi Dan No. 7, Shintaro.

“Mom, I made friends! I joined something called Mekakushi Dan! I’m No. 7! …. Eh? How old am I? Oh Mom, did you forget? I’m eighteen!”

—I wanted to die. I really wanted to die. There was no way I would say that.

“Hey, Onii-chan, just from the looks of it, you seem like you’re boiling …. And those clothes don’t look good on you at all, either.”

As I was engaging in my solo monologue inside of my head, my little sister, Momo, who had been walking beside me, started nagging me.

This year, my little sister, who was younger than me by two years, turned sixteen. A long time ago …. No, it was really only just a few years ago at this point, she used to be my cute little sister that would sweetly call me, “Onii-chan, Onii-chan.”

Just as she entered high school, her attitude towards me went through an abrupt change.

She began to take on that overbearing attitude that was common amongst high school girls.

Furthermore, although I thought that it had to be some kind of mistake, she had become an idol, and had gained considerable popularity, enough that there were posters of her posted up around the city.

I’d been happy about my sister’s breakthrough, but as the gap between us widened, recently we’d lost the chance to talk much.

However, her idol activities seemed to have been rather stressful for her, and after having a talk with her agency yesterday, she’d been let on vacation for the time being.

Although she didn’t have many friends, she had made some new ones within Mekakushi Dan, and as an older brother, I found myself feeling a bit worried.

“—I said hey. It’s already soaked in sweat, so just take it off. I’m not trying to compete with you with who can hold out longer.”

It was true that with this heat, and this amount of sweat, the inside of my jersey had become like a sauna.

It might have been a good idea to take it off but I had delicate skin, so I didn’t want to get sunburned. Also, for me, who was captivated by this supremely fashionably item known as a “jersey” in clothing culture, I couldn’t possibly do such a thing.

The reason I was so attached to it was because a friend of mine (female) had once complimented me, saying, “Shintaro-kun, that jersey really suits you,” but right now, that compliment might actually be some kind of curse.

“He~eey~ …. Onii-chan! Are you listening!? You look like you’re boiling, I said!”

Listening to her relentlessly throwing complaints at me, she was using it as a way to vent her frustration towards the heat and her own fatigue.

I understood how she felt, because I was in the exact same position. I was soon growing annoyed, so I went along with my sister’s provocations.

“It’s not even bothering me much, anyway. Anyway, you’re one to talk, with those clothes …. It looks you’re taking part in some punishment game for a variety show.”

The parka that Momo was wearing had the words, “national isolation” printed in large font across her chest, and was so unfashionable that not even an entertainer would wear it.

If other people saw it, they’d most likely misunderstand, thinking, “Ah, this person has committed a rather serious crime …”

“
What
? Not being able to see the cuteness of this shirt …. As I thought, Onii-chan has no sense at all! Anyway, what about you with your jersey? Do you plan to do a hitchhiker project as a comedian? Like going to some farm somewhere, and crying over the deliciousness of vegetables.”

It was apparent that Momo liked that shirt to considerable degree, judging from the sharpness of her retort. However, in order to defend the dignity of this jersey, I couldn’t lose here.

I would have to use my trump card: Momo’s weakness.

“Shut up. I know about how you watch video gameplay videos by yourself every night. That’s really gross. Eating fried squid, and with the lights in your room turned off. Are you some old man?”

Not expecting me to use this as a retort, Momo began to show an even greater impatience.

“How …. How!? How do you know about that!?”

Momo’s confident expression faded away in a moment, and her pale face was now gradually becoming redder.

As if to deepen the wound, I continued.

“Nah, it’s just that when I was going to going to the bathroom, I passed by your room and heard a weird laugh, like ‘Heh ….. heheh …..’ Your door was halfway open, too, so I could see inside.”

When I finished talking, Momo had taken a silent stance.

I had won. After all, she was my little sister. She was no match for her older brother.

“You’re … you’re the 
worst
!! I can’t believe you!! Anyway, Onii-chan, you’re the one that watches dirty videos all the time, don’t you!? Ene-chan told me!! “Master’s libido doesn’t seem to have any limits,” she said! Isn’t that embarrassing!?”

In just one turn, I fell from my elation of winning the battle into the deepest abyss. The sweat from the heat was quickly replaced by a rush of cold sweat.

“Wh-wh-what are you saying …..!?”

“It’s all true though, isn’t it!?”

“Wh-what do you mean it’s all— ….!? Oh, ohhh~ I see. You mean that time I accidentally clicked that weird ad, right!? Everyone makes that kind of mistake at least once!”

“Oh? And just how many times do you make that mistake in a day? Ene-chan told me, “Master leaves his room looking nervous quite often” ……”

An emergency alarm started going off full blast in my head.

There was no mistake that the life of I, Kisaragi Shintaro, was in grave danger! I wanted to take out the phone that was in my pocket and throw it into the gutter as soon as possible, but what mattered most now was changing the subject. Momo was looking at me as if I were a piece of trash right now, but there had to still be a chance somewhere.

There must be something …..!

“Seems like you’re having a really interesting conversation!! As expected of brother and sister, you two get along great!”

“Ouch!”

Suddenly, someone slapped my back and I jumped in surprise.

Turning around quickly, a well-built young man, wearing green overalls and carrying something white and fluffy on his back, was facing this way with a crisp smile on his face.

This young man belonged to the Mekakushi Dan that I had joined.

Come to think of, this guy had been walking behind us the whole time. Which meant that he should have been able to hear what our conversation was really about …. Could it be that he was trying to rescue me from being accused by my sister?

“…. You’re …. Uh, was it Zetto-san?”

My attempt to spark up a conversation by saying the name I remembered was a failure. It didn’t sound right, and as if to confirm that, Momo’s elbow jutted into my side.

Accompanied with a groan, the wind was knocked right out of me.

“He’s Setto-san! Weren’t we just introduced this morning!? Geez, Onii-chan, you’re really bad at remembering peoples’ names …!”

Momo glared at me for my rudeness. However, just as she was about to continue lecturing, we heard a discontent voice from the white, fluffy thing on the overall-guy’s back.

“…. That’s wrong too, it’s Seto ….”

Over the shoulder of the boy named Seto, only a pair of pink eyes peeked out.

The owner of the fluffy and white long hair, Mary, continued the correction with a scowl.

“It’s Seto …. How would you feel … if someone called you by the wrong name?”

Being subjected to Mary’s intense stare, Momo took on a startled expression.

I saw her glance over at me for a moment.

“Hahahaha! It’s fine, Mary! Doesn’t Setto sound cool?”

Seto comforted her with a completely carefree attitude.

Still pouting, Mary buried her face in Seto’s shoulder and fell silent once more.

A moment of silence passed …. Ignoring that, Momo tried to increase her walking speed, but I wouldn’t allow it.

“….. Oi.”

With an annoyed air, I drew closer to Momo. It was only natural. After even being elbowed, the name she had corrected me with had been completely off. Anyone would be mad.

“What was up with that, huh?”

“Y-you’re the one that messed up! At least I was a little closer ….”

“It’s not about who was closer or not!! What was that, huh!? 
Setto
?”

Watching us having this petty argument, Seto burst into hearty laughter.

Although I’d only met him this morning, he didn’t seem to have a bad side, or rather, he seemed to have a generosity that allowed him to simply accept anything that came his way.

Once Seto started laughing it off, we realized what a meaningless argument we were having, and a great embarrassment swept over us.