This is not reality, this should not be happening. Robbing ability, this kind of unreasonable special skill should not be allowed in the system. This is... this is ——
“Unfair, cheat, you are thinking like that?”
With ‘Kusu kusu’ kind of throaty laughter, Noumi continued with relentless words.
“But, isn’t that what everyone who dueled senpai up till now felt? Flight is unreasonable, is that even real, like that. Well... then, I will take this week’s payment. Please stay still there... no, you can no longer move right?”
With sinister wing flapping sounds, he sensed that Noumi landed close by. However, Haruyuki no longer had a single shred of fighting spirit left.
With a work like feel, the large cutter closed on his left arm. The metallic cutting sound and sparks, the sharp pain conveyed by the nerves, Haruyuki faintly felt them like they were happening in some different world.
When the «duel» finished, and they returned to the real world, Noumi’s foot left Haruyuki’s back. While coiling the cable pulled from both Neuro Linkers, the small build first year student brightly said.
“Good work, Arita-senpai. With this, the rating in both the real world and accelerated world is finished. You at the lowest end, could only be used by me who is far above, right. ...Since this is the case, excuse me but for two years, please take care of me.”
He lightly turned around, and continued after looking at Chiyuri who was still fallen down after being pushed.
“I am tired after that serious duel, so I will leave the show of Kurashima-senpai’s avatar till next time. Please remember it, the promise of becoming my pet. That and... it need not be said, but this incident, please keep it secret from Mayuzumi-senpai and your boss, if you want your wings returned. I still need some preparation before settling with them. Then, excuse me.”
A bowing farewell.
Noumi Seiji, with unruffled steps like when he appeared, left the central courtyard.
Haruyuki who was on all fours, pushed his body up with difficulty using shaking arms, and sat there heavily.
In this world, it was less than one minute after being punched and kicked by Noumi, but he could not feel much of his body’s pain. His whole body was soaked with sweat, but as if it became empty inside his body, he could only feel hollow coldness. With his teeth chattering, he could not even take a deep breath.
Chiyuri’s shoulders were also shaking, but she eventually moved to the front of Haruyuki using her knees, and let out a raspy sound.
“...Haru... Why..., how come, it became, something like this... Why those... cruel things, had to be said...”
‘It’s only a game. Something for enjoyment.’ The wide open eyes said that.
Haruyuki deeply hung his head, and pushed out a sound that was not a voice from his throat.
“Sorry, Chiyu. I am sorry to get you involved in this. Sorry for your scary memory. But, already, I... can’t do anything. My wings, was taken by that guy. I, can no longer, fight. I no longer, have anything, nothing.”
While muttering, drops leaked from both of his eyes, and flowed down his cheeks.
‘I —— Arita Haruyuki / Silver Crow lost to Noumi Seiji / Dusk Taker in many ways. The information battle in the real world, the flesh body fist fight, and even the duel in the accelerated world, I was defeated to smithereens. And then —— robbed. Of everything.’
In the view where his tears fell in drops, two white kneecaps slowly approached.
‘Will I be hit?’, he momentary thought. ‘Like usual, get rough with the shiftless, pathetic me, and be yelled at?’
However.
Suddenly, Chiyuri hugged Haruyuki’s head close, and also buried her face in Haruyuki’s shoulder.
“No... no, I don’t like it, this... Broken... the hard, hard, work... returned to normal... all that effort...!”
The faint sobbing with painful sounds mixed in, towards Haruyuki’s chest, clamped way deeper than the pain of a fist.
Chapter 9
That day, Haruyuki mostly could not remember how he got through his remaining classes, what he ate for lunch, or what path he took to return home.
When he became aware, he was laying on the bed in his own room in school uniform, staring at the ceiling in a daze.
His whole day of memories, were all covered with transparent cushioning material, and tumbled silently into darkness. As if wanting to say that everything was a dream.
‘—— That’s right, it was a dream. It could not be real.’ He whispered that without making a sound.
Of course, if he accelerate right now, pick any opponent from the matching list for a duel, then the truth of the situation would be clear. Whether there are wings on his back, he would know without looking.
However, he could not make himself actually confirm it.
He rolled onto his back, pulled the blanket from near his feet up to his shoulders, and thought to skip his usual special training at this time and sleep, at that moment.
Directly from his hearing, a light visitor chime sound echoed.
It was probably some package delivery for his mother, so he planned to ignore it, but inevitably a visitor picture displayed in a small window in his view. That it was the severe face of his best friend —— Takumu’s shape that he saw there, made Haruyuki suddenly cover his head with the blanket.
Today, Takumu asked Haruyuki what happened at lunch and after school. What showed him that something happened, was the bruise at Haruyuki’s mouth, and looking at Chiyuri’s appearance should be more than clear enough.
Chiyuri seemed to have replied with just “Ask Haru”, and then Haruyuki could only respond with “Nothing”. He thought that telling him the truth or not would betray Takumu, and gave himself the excuse that he needed to think about it, thus kept running away all the way back home like that.
However it seem like Takumu did not want to back down. The again echoing chime seem to say, ‘I will wait for hours till you come out’, that stubborn intent was sent.
Haruyuki took a deep breath, raised his hand in half desperation mood, then push the open door button on the holo dialogue.
After he got up and stumbled out to the hallway, he was faced with Takumu who had just opened the door and arrived at the entrance. He prompted him to enter with his eyes.
The two of them silently went into the living room, and sat opposite each other at the table.
The silence continued for about another three minutes.
“...If you say that you can’t talk about it no matter what, then I will no longer ask what happened.”
After looking at the faint bruise remaining on the edge of Haruyuki’s mouth, Takumu suddenly said so quietly.
He took off the smooth blue glasses, and looked Haruyuki straight in the eye.
“But, tell me just this one thing. Haru... what is Chi-chan to you. Why did she make that painful face, no, why did you leave the crying Chi-chan alone. No matter what happened, she is our... friend, best friend right, Haru.”
Not being able to look at Takumu’s eyes, Haruyuki swung his view to the lower left side.
‘...Leave her alone? No!’
He shouted that inside his chest.
However, to resolve this situation where Chiyuri would also be arrested, he would have to totally conquer the existence known as Noumi Seiji. If he could not make him erase the video of the intrusion into the female shower room, and also defeat him in the accelerated world to make him return the wings, then not only would Haruyuki have to forever follow Noumi’s command, Chiyuri would also have to as well with Haruyuki taken as hostage.
If he had calm judgement, then even if Noumi said not to, he should explain the whole incident.
However for Haruyuki, that he thoroughly stepped into Noumi’s view masking program trap, rushed into the female shower room, and finally involved Chiyuri in it, he could not tell that to Takumu no matter what.
‘—— Anyway, that program was put in the photograph you sent. If you had
noticed that the file size was strange, then this would not have happened.’
Putting aside the fact that he also did not noticed it, he muttered that in his mind.
That was clearly shift the responsibility feeling but something Haruyuki did not want to say spit out from his mouth.
“Y... you too, what do you think of Chiyu. If you say that, then wouldn’t it be better if you do something first?”
“...Want to. Want to, but... I.”
‘—— I, betrayed Chi-chan once.’
At the moment that he felt he heard words that did not become voice, Haruyuki hit the table with both hands with all his strength.
“Ta, Taku... you also, are the same!”
He roared with the sudden overwhelming feeling.
“Everytime, everytime, p, pulling back like that! Always dragging out old things, swallowing everything you want to say! You, do you like Chiyu at all! Do you want to date her once more, Taku!!”
“Aa, that’s right, I like her! I think of her more than anyone else!!”
With a clanking chair groan, Takumu also shouted back.
“Because I like her, I want to let Chi-chan do as she desires! Until Chi-chan answer the girlfriend question, I will wait forever!”
“Wait!? Then, what will you do if Chiyu’s answer isn’t you!? What will you do if she pick someone other than you!?”
“That’s all right, even that is fine!!”
With teeth grinding, while Takumu’s two hands that were grabbing the edge of the table gave out screeching sounds, the continuing words from inside his throat came out shredded.
“If that, will make, Chi-chan happy. That opponent, even if it is... Haru, even you. I, with that, will be satisfied.”
“...Are you seriously saying that, Taku.”
With even to himself strangely flat voice leaking out, Haruyuki asked.
“Then... what? You mean to, give Chiyu, to me? Ah... or was it.”
‘No. No. I don’t want to say it. I don’t want to say something like this. I too, I too always, want you and Chiyu to go back to normal, just that,’
“Or was it, you, this time started to like senpai? So, if I and Chiyu got together, you can get senpai, that kind of scheme?”
—— Always, hoped.
The heat and impact that appeared on his right cheek, Haruyuki accepted it half naturally.
After being hit by Takumu’s left fist that reached over the table, Haruyuki was blown back with his chair, and fell down to the floor.
In his view that was twice covered by tears today, on the standing Takumu’s face, Haruyuki saw that there were thread fine tears there.
“Haru... Haru.”
Takumu’s sound was cracked, and shaking.
“Haru, we no longer, have anything hidden right? Why... why did you not tell me. Why, did you not tell me the truth. I am... I am, that, untrustworthy a person?”
“Ta... Wr...”
Taku, Wrong.
However, any kind of sound beyond that, did not come out from Haruyuki’s throat.
Could not say it.
If everything was cleared up, then Takumu would probably immediately have a direct conflict with Noumi. Then he would know. That Haruyuki, Silver Crow lost his wings. That he would not fly again.
No, that alone should be cleared up. For partners. For best friends.
However, Haruyuki could not say it. That he became far weaker than he was at level 1, that he no longer has the qualification to serve as Cyan Pile’s partner, he could not confess that no matter what.
Takumu waited more than ten seconds for Haruyuki’s words, but eventually his shoulders sagged, and he wiped his eyes with his right sleeve, then turned around behind.
“...The punch, sorry.”
Quietly leaving those words behind, the tall best friend, slowly left the living room. After one echo of the door opening and closing sound, only silence remained afterwards.
How long had he been laying on the cold flooring?
When he realized it, the outside of the south facing window had already changed to a night scene.
While stopping all thought, Haruyuki slowly stood up, changed to suitable clothes in his room, then left from the entranceway. He used the elevator to go down to the first floor, and quickly walked through the entrance.
At the apartment site, it was bustling with families visiting the nearby shopping mall. After seeing one child tightly holding a game shop bag at chest level with face shining, he remembered that today a famous RPG series new game was put on sale.
‘...Should I buy one too?’
Buy a package, rush back home and put it in the Neuro Linker, then intensely play it. But, current sales that use media, the size would be huge. Probably his local memory would not have enough empty space. Then, he could just erase another game. Something big, like that program... «Brain Burst».
That’s right, it should be fine to quit that. Since eventually he will get bored of that game. Thinking back, he had been engrossed by that continually for half year already.
If he step down from the accelerated world, and was no longer a Burst Linker, then Noumi’s interest in him would also disappear. The evidence video that he held would become worthless. Using Haruyuki as a hostage to threaten Chiyuri would no longer be possible.
At this point, isn’t that the best choice? Of course, he would no longer able to help that person aiming for level 10, but, the avatar that could not fly anymore would no longer drag her down, or disappoint her.
‘—— It would just return to what it was. Something that once obtained became lost, just that.’
‘—— Is there any other reason for not stepping down, that still remain in me?’
A little girl that was passing by, looked up at Haruyuki with a mystified face.
It was there that Haruyuki first realized, while he was walking in the crowd of people, his face was soggy from crying.
Hurriedly using the parka sleeves to wipe his face, Haruyuki aimed for the apartment gate and started running.
To «duel» someone, somehow win, and earn enough points to pay Noumi. Meet the quota that was told, and one day have his wings returned.
If he fight in Suginami, then there was a chance that Takumu’s spectator wait might be set to ON, and he might be called to the field in the gallery, so to change area, Haruyuki walked to the Seven Ring road.
At the Kouenji overpass intersection bus stop, he thought a bit about taking the inside or outside circle bus, then went to wait at the one going to Shibuya. To the north, Nakano and Nerima was the Red legion, «Prominence»’s territory, and he did not feel like facing its leader, Scarlet Rain.
A spherical EV bus with lots of wheels stopped, and Haruyuki stepped onto the boarding ramp. At the edge of his view, his electronic money balance was lowered by the bus fare with a clinking sound.
He pushed his body into an empty seat at the side, then while looking at the night scene, absent mindedly thought.
—— The total number of Burst Linkers is about 1000 people. Most of them is in this Tokyo area, Haruyuki was told that.
However, the total number of people —— that means from when the «Brain Burst» program appeared on the network till today, in the seven and half years, the total number of people that obtained acceleration ability, and how many lost it, he did not know that much.
Those who used to be Burst Linkers, what would they be feeling now. Biting their lip in regret, or just fond memories —— or maybe shaking their body in resentment?
‘If it was me’, Haruyuki imagined it.
‘If I lost all the points, and was caught by forced uninstall, would I be able to think of it as just a «Game Ending»? Even though my wings that could be said to be my proof of existence was robbed, I am still hanging on to being a Burst Linker like this.’
No, he would absolutely not be able to forget it soon. He would probably struggle here and there trying to obtain Brain Burst once again.
And then —— th
ere would for sure be people who think about «after that». With high anger and disappointment, there should be someone who thought of bringing the accelerated world itself down with them. Kuroyukihime had explained to him that, as children with no physical evidence, they would not be believed, but was it really like that? If the mass media and police received many of that kind of report, even adults would begin an investigation?
How did «Brain Burst», for over seven years, continued to be this perfectly concealed...? And then, what would be the intent of the program creator for making this kind of situation...?
While thinking about those in half escapist way, the bus took a left on Koushu Road and entered Shibuya, the Green legion’s territory.
Not being able to be challenged while in the legion control territory, that privilege should have been canceled at this time. Haruyuki —— Silver Crow’s name will be recorded on the matching list, and could be intruded upon anytime.
...Anyone is fine.
Haruyuki closed his eyes, and leaned his body deeply back on the seat to wait for that moment. Silver Crow was already just a «Weak to beating close range type». Ranged, Contact, Indirect, with not a single opponent he had advantage against.
8pm at night, even though it was a weekday, this was a busy «duel» time range, so just 30 seconds later, the thunder like acceleration sound echoed in his hearing.
Haruyuki who was put into the darkness, transformed into his duel avatar and dropped a short distance down, then stepped onto the ground.
After all the first thing he checked was his back, but there was not a shadow or shape of the metallic wings. After closing his eyes tight once, he started looking around.
It was the same Koushu Road, but the cars that lined the street, including the bus he rode on, had disappeared. The road surface was cracked, collapsed, and there were rubble mountains here and there.
While he thought that this was the «End of Century» stage, Haruyuki avoided the look from the ranks of gallery on top of the surrounding ruin buildings, and looked downwards without even seeing his duel opponent’s name. Just like that, he waited in the middle of the wide road. The guide cursor that showed the enemy direction, shook while pointing east.
Accel World: Dusk Robber Page 11