Chapter 11.1: Not Suicidal
[Dear Little<em>i</em>Sister. Trantor: Madhatter
Apparently, one<em>i</em>of my foolish acquaintances has been stranded in the sea of trees, so<em>i</em>your brother valiantly sets off by himself to look for<em>i</em>them. I am notmitting suicide, so please<em>i</em>dont be mistaken and make a fuss about<em>i</em>it.
If you<em>i</em>dont hear from me by the time you read this letter, please, I beg you, file<em>i</em>a missing persons report with the police.
Once<em>i</em>again, please dont make a fuss when you read this.
And<em>i</em>no, its not a prank, Im serious.
Dont<em>i</em>throw it in the trash halfway through reading the letter. Because if something happens to me, it will all depend on your cool-headed discretion.
Seriously, please.
P.S.
Its<em>i</em>not suicide, its really not suicide.
From<em>i</em>your brother.]
As<em>i</em>for the cause and effect of this, I<em>i</em>had no idea, but I, a 25-year-old freeter, was going to step into the sea of trees where suicidal people were found lying around as corpses year<em>i</em>after year
In<em>i</em>case<em>i</em>of emergency, I left a note to my sister, who would probably visit around midday today, containing a clear exnation of why I was<em>i</em>going there.
Determined, I left my<em>i</em>house. Not shared on aggregator sites
Should<em>i</em>the worst-case scenario unfurl, it<em>i</em>would impose immense hardships on my family, including my sister.
I<em>i</em>would absolutely endeavor with all my efforts to refrain from such a situation.
Besides<em>i</em>When I was writing this, I was wondering if this might be a kind of suicide note. This note would function as a suicide note unless I returned unscathed, despite I shook my head and felt it was an omen. It was terrifying.
Speaking<em>i</em>of terrifying, what I found most disconcerting at this point was that I was unable to predict my sisters response after reading<em>i</em>it.
Hopefully, she<em>i</em>would stick to the letters directions, but given that my younger sister was a highly entric second-year junior high school student, it seemed more likely that she would be distraught or throw it in the trash instead of believing in<em>i</em>it.
I<em>i</em>beg<em>i</em>you not to let thetter happen. Even worse, she could be too engrossed in the Inte to notice this note.
That<em>i</em>was<em>i</em>possible
Please,e<em>i</em>on my little sister, saying<em>i</em>that everything hanging by a thread on me depended on you was not an overstatement.
With<em>i</em>my bag over my shoulder, I headed for the convenience store on my<em>i</em>motorcycle.
Yakumo, the<em>i</em>young man, had apparently gone<em>i</em>to the convenience store earlier; whether<em>i</em>by flying or by instantaneous movement was uncertain, but a short while ago, he vanished right before my<em>i</em>eyes.
Right<em>i</em>after that, I<em>i</em>searched everywhere in the room for a shlight but was unsessful. Without any other choice, I decided to get one at the convenience store where I<em>i</em>worked. Cell phone shlights werent that reliable and I knew I needed<em>i</em>a proper one.
Ah that<em>i</em>was fine. I hoped<em>i</em>the night shift workers wouldnt be suspicious of me.
While<em>i</em>worrying about that, I parked<em>i</em>my bike in a corner of the convenience store parking lot.
There<em>i</em>was no trace of Yakumo. Hadnt he arrived<em>i</em>yet? Well, whatever, I had something to do before he<em>i</em>arrived.
I<em>i</em>peeked into the store from outside. Of course, discreetly, so as not to draw too much attention.
O-Ohhh Oh.
For<em>i</em>real?
To<em>i</em>my bad luck, these were the people I least wanted to see right now. Along with other customers inside the store, Takenaka and Hirai, who were standing at the cash register, seemed bored. They<em>i</em>were the strongest spiritual duo I had ever met.
To<em>i</em>avoid being discovered, I hid in the corner of the store.
Ugh, of all people, it<em>i</em>was those two.
What<em>i</em>should I do Would<em>i</em>they think nothing of me showing up at this hour and going out of my way to buy a shlight at a ce like this?
Although<em>i</em>they may not be able to figure out that I was going to head into the sea of trees, they struck at the heart of the matter in a strange way, even though they<em>i</em>were different types of people
I<em>i</em>pulled up the hood of the hoodie I had worn to ward off insects, looked down, knowing it was suspicious, and decided to enter the store without looking at them if at<em>i</em>all possible.
I<em>i</em>mean
Suspicious, suspicious, suspicious! I<em>i</em>was too suspicious!
This<em>i</em>was not a good idea at all, they<em>i</em>were totally suspicious! Not<em>i</em>only the two of them but even the customers in the store were ncing at me! Even<em>i</em>if I told myself to avoid contact with them at all costs, they<em>i</em>would have recognized me!
Inwardly<em>i</em>impatient, I<em>i</em>came to the shelf in front of the store where batteries and chargers were lined up.
There<em>i</em>it wasa decent-sized shlight. What? Batteries were sold separately? The<em>i</em>convenience store quality was so stingy, making me buy not only the shlight but the batteries<em>i</em>as well
While I didnt have time toin about<em>i</em>it, the price of this cheap light, which could be sold even at a hundred-yen store Once this case was over, I would confront that man about<em>i</em>the bill.
Um, Hakamada?2ws
Owapu!?21ews
The<em>i</em>hood fell off in<em>i</em>reaction to the idiotic voice I made as I jumped back. Before<em>i</em>me was Takenaka with a slightly troubled look on his face.
Ah, I knew<em>i</em>it.
<em>Its you, Hakamada.</em>
When<em>i</em>Takenaka<em>i</em>said that, I eximed internally.
I-I have been exposeddddddddddd.
That<em>i</em>was<em>i</em>way too fast! Not<em>i</em>even three minutes had gone by!
To<em>i</em>my<em>i</em>stiffening, Takenaka made an ufortable face and awkwardly greeted me with a Good evening.
Well, of course I<em>i</em>said Good evening in return.
Even I was ufortable meeting this person because Takenaka probably saw the previous hellscape that Hirai had<em>i</em>shown me In<em>i</em>short.
Ughhhhhhhhhh!!
I<em>i</em>wanted to get out of the store right now!
Hirai<em>i</em>was<em>i</em>at<em>i</em>the cash register behind the shelf, saying, Oh, Hakamada! and waving her hand.
Even<em>i</em>Hirai<em>i</em>spotted<em>i</em>me.
Previous
Next
Content