18-Dyeed in black....




I'm home.
'Welcome home, little sister.

I'm lying in the living room, a machine that keeps sending images from the TV to my brain. I just mindlessly receive and sense the light information. I feel as if my body is gone. I want to rot forever.
It was my sister's voice that released me from this narcotic sensation.

'Mom, you're dead.
He's alive. I was just synchronizing my body with the TV.'
'No, my mind hasn't come back ......'

My sister makes jokes like me because of our blood relationship. Maybe it's not genetics, maybe it's my language. I see and talk with my sister almost everyday, 365 days a year, so it's not surprising that she is a little bit my color.

While my sister was eating my mother's food, I continued to watch TV.
I was watching a program that summarized the news of the week. As I nodded my head and watched the program, she muttered, "There's an owl in my room, I'll ask my father to kill it. Alina would have hit me with a crowbar.
The reason why I'm so depraved is because it's 7 p.m. on a Friday. It's the best time of the day when you don't have to think about anything and you can face tomorrow. People who are involved in extracurricular activities will go to school tomorrow or Sunday. It's black. If they want to do it, fine. I can't think about it because rest is my first priority.
I just lay there like a seal. I kept listening and watching the TV, which was full of common sense stuff that I should know about the Middle East, fires, internet flare-ups, disasters, international affairs, and so on.
I've heard that if you watch TV too long, you become an idiot. I'm a clown controlled by a machine. I don't want to move anymore.

Do you know a man named Nakatsu?

My sister asked me this while playing with her phone. It seems that she is one of those who are controlled by machines.
The world is increasingly outsourcing its will to machines. Air conditioners to regulate body temperature, smartphones to pass the time, traffic management systems, computers that are the basis of business continuity. We live in a society that is based on all of these. Replacing human hands with machines, we strive for automation in the name of 'efficiency.
It is a wonderful thing, but one day it will collapse. Many jobless people will suffer in search of work. Someday, artificial intelligence will take over the world and humans will lose their will before their perfection. Their technology will be so good that our efforts will be in vain. I guess it is similar to the reason why aliens do not appear before us.

'You're dying, brother.
No, it's not. I'm almost ready to access the akashic records.
What's that? So, do you know a man named Nakatsu?
'If we have the same last name, I met him today.
'I heard that my classmate's brother goes to the same high school as my brother. And I just got a call that he came home with a despairing look on his face. He didn't say anything, so he got worried and asked me about it.
'You mean because I went to high school with him?
'Yes, yes. His first name is Hitaki. Hinomaru-no-Hitaki. Do you know him?

You're Mr. Stalker.

'You made my acquaintance today. Leave him alone.
''Is there a reason for that?''
'Well, if I had to guess, I'd say it's "twisted love". Don't tell your classmate. You'll be disillusioned.
'Super stupid ......'
'Oh. Me too.'

How desperate are you, Mr. Stalker?
If you were shocked that Alina threatened you, then you must have loved her very much. Or maybe the director said something to you. Either way, there are some things you shouldn't do. It's a crime.
And you should be punished accordingly.
After all, Alina is a girl. Terrorizing a girl is not a good deed.
Well, it doesn't matter. Tomorrow is Saturday. I don't care.



I woke up at 8:00 a.m.
That sucks. I try to sleep 10 hours on weekends, so why am I waking up in the morning? I need 10 hours of sleep to feel refreshed. I'm in a sleep debt every weekday, and if I don't pay it off on my days off, my body won't be able to handle it.
My sleep was interrupted by an incoming call on my cell phone. Who's the guy who didn't go to sleep with his phone on silent mode?
It's me.

It's me.
"It's you, isn't it?"

I woke up and didn't know who it was.

'Excuse me, who is this?
Are you kidding me?
Oh, no. I really don't know who you are. ......'

As I became more and more awake, I had an idea about the owner of the voice.

'Could it be Alina?
'Yes.
'...... ha!

I don't have Alina's number or address. I never gave them to her, and I can't think of anyone who could relay between her and me. But there must be a relay.

'How the hell did you get my number, ......? I don't think it's a credit agency or--''
'It's Dr. Akakusa.



Sir,......, you are not protecting my privacy. ......I don't know your number in the first place, sir... I'm sure you gave Alina a document like a contact list.... ...

'Well, ......, what can I do for you?'
'I have to help out at school,' he said. Come quickly.
I don't want to come.

Boom.

He cut me off. ...... I had no choice but to go. I didn't want to get killed after the holiday.
I say to my sister who was having breakfast in the living room.

I'm off to school.
'Brother, it's Saturday. Are you sleepy?
'I know. I'm helping out at school.
'What? Can I go with you?
'Why would you do that?
'As a preliminary for the open campus!
'You don't need to prep for open campus. ......'
'Also, I want to see this Alina person!
No, Alina's not here. She's not in the club.

I knew it was going to be trouble, so I brushed it off.

Then why are you going to school, brother? You're not in a club either, are you?
'Going home doesn't mean you're off on weekends.
But you've been home on weekends all this time, right?'
'...... yes'
'You're definitely involved, aren't you, Alina?'
'...... yes'

I was convinced it was going to be trouble.