Sliding,
Sliding, sliding --
Dragging one leg along, Veronica simply kept moving forward.
"Ha, ha ... ngh, ha, ... ha"
Each time she swayed her body, she dropped red drops of life onto the corridor where the moonlight
shone diagonally.
He exposed his vulnerable back, breathed heavily, and pressed hard on his wound.
It was a small back.
I walk slowly, too, so as not to catch up with their slow pace.
She doesn't turn around. But she knows I'm behind her. Knowing this, she still chooses to move
forward in the darkness, her shoulders rising and falling.
That's why I can't catch up.
Sliding,
Veronica shuffled forward.
Walking down the empty corridor, past countless empty classrooms, she reached a hollow staircase
and chose to ascend. Leaning against the railing, she climbed one step at a time. Each time she
exerted herself, a gasp escaped her lips.
She did not choose the path that led down.
Don't stop moving.
They never complain or show weakness.
That's why I decided I wouldn't catch up.
We reached the third floor.
Veronica continues to ascend higher.
I stepped onto the last step, turned the doorknob, and stepped out onto the roof.
A humid breeze wafts through the air. I slip through the door, leaving bloody footprints on the bare
concrete. Looking up, countless natural stars twinkle, too numerous to fit into my field of vision.
Veronica continues onward.
We kept going and finally hit a fence.
A loud crash echoed through the deserted school.
Veronica intertwined her fingers with the wire mesh and gazed at what was on the other side.
I also stood beside it and peered in.
Looking down, I saw a large white van.
The car the guinea pigs arrived in has now become a coffin
Veronica remained in that position for a while, breathing heavily.
"Heh, heh heh heh ... This is the kind of person I am ... This is the kind of life I've lived ... "
He lost his money, his home, his family, his name, his family register, his hometown, and even his
own face. He set his sights on one thing, his pride, and forced sacrifices upon everyone else, even
killing his own kind if they got in his way.
"Hahaha, haha"
There's nowhere left to run.
Leaning against the rooftop fence, Veronica finally turned to face me.
"Is it okay to laugh ...? I finally ... feel like I've seen the light of day ... "
think.
She's beyond saving.
It'll last three minutes, no, maybe two.
As she enjoyed the sea breeze, she slowly gazed up at the starry sky.
Veronica, who had decided never to believe in words, ultimately chose to talk.
"Well ... what should I do now ...? I can't go back to my homeland ... For now, I'll go into hiding ... and get
some blood from the local people ... to heal my wounds ... and then ... and then ... Somewhere ... yes,
somewhere warm would be nice ... I'll go south ... Maybe I'll start a barber shop ..
With her white, paper-like skin turned towards the air, Veronica gazed into the distance, looking towards a place tens of thousands of light-years away.
I will one day make a wish upan a star.
I woke up and was looking down at the clouds
All worries tum into lemon drops
It melts and falls onto the roof.
I'm going there.
My breath dissolves into the air.
He made eye contact with me, who was standing beside him, and managed a strained, forced smile.
"That's a lie ... of course it is. ... It's too late now ... "
Veronica's breathing was about to stop.
It's become too faint to hear.
The blood drains out, the flesh freezes, and it becomes solid and immobile.
I knew all too well the process of gradually losing that faint warmth that was there before.
She just stared at me. Just as I began to lose track of the boundary between life and death, she finally spoke.
"Let's have a competition."
In this world riddled with lies, it was the most hollow lie of all.
Okay."
Extend all five fingers and make a piercing hand.
A deadly thrusting sword forged with the power of a weaponized human.
Veronica remained motionless, leaning against the fence.
It penetrated deep into my heart.
Veronica let out a deep, deep sigh, as if expelling stagnation from the very core of her being.
He collapsed and leaned on my shoulder.
I could feel the coldness of their body temperature.
We were pressed close together, touching in many places, but I just couldn't bring myself to push
him away.
I said.
It's not like it can't be helped, but it can't be helped."
Veronica felt her heart skip a beat.
.. Those are just words I heard from someone else.
I think Veronica figured it out right away.
These words would never come from us.
That's why it reaches right to the core.
"That's cowardly, isn't it ... "
know.
For us, there is no more potent medicine than this.
I'd been wishing for this for so long. I'd been hoping that someone, somewhere, would say something
like that to me.
"Oh, I see ... It was him ... "
Yeah
Denji said so.
That's what I was told at that time. That's why I was swayed.
Veronica spoke in a voice so faint it was almost inaudible.
'Make me ... a little smarter ... you ... "
I know.
That's way too dangerous. Because anyone who says something like that is bound to attract
dangerous people. Demons, sorcerers, weaponized humans, warriors, guinea pigs ...
So I'll stay by your side and make sure you don't die. Absolutely.
"Huuuh. "
Veronica leaned back and let out a soft sigh near my ear.
"See ya."
Veronica is dead.
It has become the real thing.
The night never ends.
Public security officials swarmed the school, the scene of the incident, and the place became
chaotic with investigations, cleaning, explanations to school officials, and various other post-incident
procedures. We, the people directly involved, couldn't go home right away and ended up spending the
night in a large public security vehicle parked on the school grounds.
The ability to sleep anywhere, anytime is a must-have skill for any professional, so of course I've
mastered it. I washed off the dirt in the shower set up by the pool, devoured the convenience store
bento box that someone brought, and lay down under the blanket. Denji looked like he wanted to say
something, but I pretended to be asleep to interrupt him.
I went to sleep.
I slept like a log.
I didn't have any dreams.
I woke up.
I gently pull back the small curtain. The sea is still dim, and the sun hasn't shown its face yet.
Looking inside the car, it seemed that Denji and Nayuta were still in the dream world.
I borrowed the coat that was hanging on the back of the chair and went outside.
Looking up at the school in the early morning, it was nothing special, just an ordinary, cheap-looking
building. I looked around while listening to the sound of the waves, but I was only disgusted by this
desolate port town. I wanted to see the horizon far in the distance. I decided to climb to a high place.
I entered the school, went up the stairs, and came out onto the rooftop.
I take one step at a time across the exposed concrete. Looking up, the cloudless gray sky
stretches out so far that it can't be fully captured in my field of vision.
move on.
Traffic cones were set up along the fence, and yellow tape stretched taut between them deterred intruders. I climbed over them with a grunt and stood next to the dark, ominous stain.
I intertwine my fingers with the wire mesh. I gaze at the scenery on the other side.
The sun was peeking out from the horizon.
A broad, platinum-like light spread across the sky, and in the stillness, the sky turned blue. I
watched the clear gradation shift with a sense of blissful tranquility.
The wind, carrying the scent of the sea, was cold.
After a while of spacing out, I heard the sound of the door behind me opening.
There's no need to look back.
I can tell by the sound of his footsteps and his presence. It's Denji.
The sound of shoes scraping against concrete grew closer with each step, and then they stepped
over the no-entry tape. They stopped right behind me.
Arms wrapped around my shoulders from behind, and I was held tightly.
'Stay here, stay by my side."
That's unfair.
I wanted to laugh, but I couldn't.
Damn it.
I did say to do it, but it wasn't directed at me, was it?
Or is it this? Denji, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?
" ... What's that? I'm not going anywhere in particular."
"Hey, you know? Doing things like this is really not okay."
"It's no good."
"ah"
"I told you, didn't I? That kind of guy is a jerk."
Denji pulled me closer as if to chase away the cold air. I could feel his warmth on my back through
my coat, and then his arms crossed in front of my body, his fingertips touching my stomach. It
seemed he had no intention of letting me go.
"You bastard"
...
"You bastard!"
"Okay. You can be a bastard."
.. That's unfair.
Denji is just too unfair.
" ... Hey"
"yeah"
"Hey, say that again."
"What's that?"
'What do you think of me?"
"like"
I burst out laughing. I managed to laugh it off just barely. But it was still a tightrope walk. The words
were exactly what I expected, yet they slowly seeped into my heart. My body felt warmer than it
should have.
"Haaah! ... Seriously, what the hell!"
I leaned back just a little. I rested my back on Denji and enjoyed the feeling of the cool breeze
caressing my forehead.
"It feels so good to be told 'I love you.' I feel like I've always wanted to be told that."
"I'll tell you as many times as you need to.
"Oh no, no! It's fine if you say it occasionally. But if you say it too many times, it's a bit much."
"a little bit?"
"Yeah. A little ... It'll go wrong, won't it?"
"Hmmmm?"
Achoo"
Ouch. I just sneezed.
Damn it. What a blunder.
Then Denji released his arm. The warmth faded away.
I wanted to say, "What ?! That's a demerit!" but I held back and pouted.
When I turned around, Denji rummaged through his pocket, pulled out a can of coffee, and shoved it in my face.
"Hmm, it's warm "
It was so hot it was almost too hot for my freezing fingertips, which surprised me. I rolled it between
my hands, and with a feeling that it was somehow dangerous, I opened the pull tab. I took a sip. This time, it warmed me from the inside out.
Hmmm.
I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.
My heart is beating steadily.
I think this is bad. Denji, are you really doing this on purpose?
The only option is to cover your mouth with a can.
Oh no, what should I do?
Last time, on the beach, I managed to get away with it by putting on a grown-up agent face. But now we're allies, so there's no need to hold back. Anything can happen. It's okay to let things happen.
No, but, but!
But if Denji says so now-
"Hey Reze, listen. "
yeah.
Straighten your back.
My guard is down. I'm confident I can change as instructed. If I'm told again, I'm sure I'll be in
trouble.
'I'm thinking of starting my own company."
yeah?
A private devil-hunting company. I'm the president, and I only do what I like. Eat good food, have fun,
and when I run out of money, I'll kill demons. Sounds good?"
Hmm?
Hmmmm ...?
I couldn't believe my ears.
Wait, isn't something off?
"What is a company?"
"So, I'll be the president, Nayuta will be the vice president, and I'd like Reze to be the secretary or
something. What do you think?"
Okay, let's organize the information first.
Denji asked me to stay with him, told me he loved me, and now he wants me to be his secretary Hmm, I don't quite understand this.
"Wait ... a private company? You're going to create one? What will the current Public Security Bureau
do about that?"
"I quit!"
"how?"
"Huh? How?"
"Denji is an extremely important person to Japan, right? And so is Nayuta, so there's no way they can
just quit, right?"
'Really? I think if you try hard enough, you can manage it somehow."
'Well, if you become more competent, you'll be even less likely to be let go, or rather ... "
I mean, you know?
I'm starting to understand a little bit.
Denji didn't do it on purpose.
I was an idiot.
Just an idiot. A total idiot
"What ?! You're saying that after all this ?! "
"Huh? What? What do you mean, 'flow'?"
I look up to the sky.
It roared like an anti-aircraft gun, directed towards the endless, blue-tinged sky.
"You've got to be kidding me !!! "
terrible.
That's terrible.
I suffered a humiliation that will haunt me for the rest of my life.
With a sulky expression that was barely convincing, he delivered a left punch.
"Hey, what's up? I'm starting a really awesome company. Wanna join me?"
"You idiot, you stupid!"
I puffed out my cheeks as much as I could and stepped over the "No Entry" tape. As I was about to
leave, my shoulders hunched in anger, Denji's desperate voice called out to me from behind, clinging
to me.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
pp
This time it really burst out.
The fact that they say they didn't do it on purpose makes it even funnier. There's no way that's
true. It was so ridiculous I couldn't help but laugh.
I turned around, clutching my stomach.
'So, Denji, are you going to become the president?"
"Yes!"
"How ... well, never mind that for now. You see, a CEO needs to have charisma, you know?"
"Characterize ..? "
"If you can't even drink black coffee, then it's hopeless."
When I shrugged my shoulders, Denji seemed visibly annoyed.
"I can drink now!"
"Oh really? You said it tasted like a sewer before?"
I hand him my half-finished can of coffee. It's black, too. There's still half left.
"I wonder if it's really drinkable?"
" ... drink!"
Gently and forcefully churn it up.
Then.
In no time at all, his brow furrowed, his face contorted, and his tongue stuck out.
"I-I'm finel"
"Hahaha! He's still just a kid, a kid!"
"You drank it, didn't you ?! "
This is no good.
I laughed so hard I started crying.
Denji is really just a kid, stupid, and useless. So I, a grown-up, will train him. I'll train him to become
the kind of man I like: reliable, stylish, considerate, kind, and not a womanizer!
If that were to happen, well, yeah ... I'd do anything, even be your secretary.
Light my fire. The end.
The late Veronica said, "Don't flirt in a place where someone has died."
I wrote quite a bit more about the continuation of this story, but I wonder if there's any demand for
it
Anyway, thank you for reading the Lite my fire chapter to the end.
If you haven't read the previous work, please do so if you have the time.
The themes are "lies and truth, meaning of existence, sincerity, and drinking parties."
The atmosphere is different from the previous work, so some people may not like it.
In this work, I prioritized pacing above all else and reduced the amount of explanation. Especially in
this 8th chapter, I've cut a lot out, so I think you'll be wondering, "Why? What does that mean?" If so,
just ask and I'll answer.
About Reze.
It's hard to emulate this person!
That's because there's so little interpersonal portrayal that can be gleaned from the manga.
-When she's deceiving (almost exclusively with Denji)
-When she's found out and goes into work mode (almost exclusively with Denji)
.. So what is she like with other people? What is she like when work isn't involved? I don't know!
Anyway, this is the image of Reze that I imagined. What did you think of the inconsistencies?
About Veronica,
an original character. For now, let me just write one thing.
- The reason why her ability is scissors.
It's not for any meta reason like contrasting her with Bomb, but because I wanted to make her
ability weaker than Bomb's, and also because the author likes the novel "The Scissors Man".
Please give me your thoughts and ratings.
Insults and low ratings are fine! The more there are, the more energized I'll be.
Finally.
I'm looking forward to the Chainsaw Man anime! I'm also eagerly awaiting the second part of the
manga!