Far Away From

The park…? Is there something important here?

Not really. My house actually used to be right here. You can’t really tell though.

Huh…? Really? Yeah, there aren’t any houses around here. There are shops and stuff though…

Hmmm, I dunno where to start… So, I haven’t really felt alive for the past three years.

……

It kinda felt like I was in a game. I was technically alive, but I didn’t feel like I was a part of this world… I just felt like I was drifting around.

But then Ev3ns was formed…and I met you…and Nayuki-san almost died in front of us…

It made me realize that people actually die in this world. I’m not in a video game.

Why did you feel that way? Is that okay to ask?

Yeah… I just… And I know that this is really unbelievable…

I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t believe me.

Mhm.

Like, this is really, really out there.

Okay.

Man, but you actually might start thinking that I’m crazy…

…Just say it already!

I told you that I’d believe you! I don’t care if you’re some alien from another galaxy or whatever, I’d still believe you! So tell me!

Ah, yes. I apologize. I’ll talk about it.

…I’m a time traveler, and I came here from 1999… I got here three years ago.

……

Does…anyone else know about this?

I dunno. I don’t have a family registry, so they questioned me on it when I went to jail…I managed to change the subject though.

But I think President Oguro knows that I don’t have one. Karigane-san probably knows too…

Ah…! W-Why are you taking your clothes off?!

I just wanted to show you this on my arm… This is a vaccine scar.

…It’s a buncha polka dots. Cute.

H-How is that cute? It’s a scar you get from an older vaccine. You can’t get these anymore.

Karigane-san saw it when he was taking my measurements. He didn’t push the subject, but you don’t see this kinda scar these days, so I feel like he might know something.

Sounds crazy, right?

……

Am I the…only person you’ve told this to?

Yeah.

……

That makes me happy. Thanks for telling me…!

…Wait, do you believe me?

Huh? I do. Why are you asking? I told you that I would.

Yeah, but… This is absolutely insane.

But I remember how you know about that niche 90s song. And you don’t really know anything about our world.

You’re pretty digilent, so I didn’t expect you to be so naive. You were surprised to see a delivery drone for the first time too.

I thought that it was kinda weird that you’ve never played a full-dive game before, even though you were so good at video games… So now I feel better about everything!

But I told you that I’m a time traveler. Most people wouldn’t believe me.

Huh? I don’t think it’s that weird.

I think people say that it’s more weird that we haven’t heard any news about time machines being invented, even though tech’s so advanced these days.

Oh, really?

Yeah. A lotta people think a time machine already exists and that some rich guy’s hiding it somewhere.

But I can’t believe they had them 60 years ago! That’s, like, supes amazing! Major respect to the 90s. ♪

Y-Yeah… I guess that makes sense.

…Did you come here alone? That…must’ve been really hard.

……

You…left your brother behind, right? I’m sure you felt…lonely.

…You know how my parents got involved with some weird thing and thought that I was the child of God, right?

Back then… There was a prophecy going around that said the world would end in 1999.

Oh, I know about that! The King of Angolmois prophecy,¹ right? I learned about it from an occult magazine. Raitin likes that kinda stuff too.

A lot of people believed in it… Well, my parents really did, at least.

So they put me in a time machine shaped like a coffin, and they sent me to the future. They had to, ‘cuz I was the child of God.

……

And then I woke up in this era, somewhere around this park. Now I was homeless, in the wrong era, and flat broke…

The people living on the streets helped me out a lot… I was homeless for three years, so I was actually kinda glad to be arrested, even if it was on a false charge. At least I had a roof over my head.

I managed to survive for so long, so I wanna thank the people who helped me when my life gets more stable.

Do you ever wonder what happened to your family? Like, especially your little brother…

My parents are definitely gone now. My brother might still be alive, but he’d probably be pretty spooked to see his long-lost 20-year-old brother out of nowhere….

If he’s dead, then…it’d be pretty hard for me. He’s the last thing I’m really connected to in this world.

…If you wanna look for him, then I’ll help you. And if you’re gonna go see him, I’ll go with you.

I know we’re not blood-related, but…me and everyone else in Ev3ns are…connected to you. We all wanna be connected to you.

Chihiro…

I’m always the life of the party, right? Things won’t be awkward with your brother if I’m there to keep the vibes up!

But you…might not trust me after I was so mean to you…

Dude, don’t worry about that. I told you that I’m not mad.

I’m sure you’ll be able to form a connection with lots of stuff in this world! I…wanna be a part of that.

Because…I’m your best friend, Tao. I think…

…Yeah.

I’d be pretty happy if we just started playing games together again…

Then let’s do it!

S-Sorry that I haven’t been around to play lately…

I’m holding you to that. Make sure you’re free on our next day off.

……

You’re the first person I’ve ever talked to about my family. I’ve always been scared to be myself in front of other people.

But no matter how many likes Chii gets, he’s not the real me…so I always felt like something was missing.

…I think Chii is still a part of you.

…You do?

You created Chii because you wanted to keep smiling, even in the face of pain, right? It was put together from both your competitive side and your kind side.

*gasp*

I really admire your Chii side, you know. Not everyone can do that kinda thing.

You can be yourself and still be Chii… Maybe both sides will mix together at some point, and you’ll become someone that you’re happy with.

…Yeah. You’re right. I’ll give that a try.

I hope our fans like plain-old Natsuyaki Chihiro just as much as they like Chii. Maybe that can be my big goal for the future!

Sounds good to me. Idols always need to aim for something.

I’m gonna keep working hard, so I can…feel even more alive.

And maybe I’ll form connections to more things in this world while I’m at it.

Yeah! We should make our first tour a really huge success so Nayuuki’s super shocked when he wakes up!

And we should do whatever we can to help Raito-san.

Sounds like we’re a perfect symme! ♪²

Symme…?

…Well, I’m glad I was able to talk to you.

…So we’re all good now?

As long as you don’t make me run errands again. I’m not gonna sprint to the store to get you the melon flavor or the strawberry flavor or whatever.

I-I’m not gonna do that anymore! God…

Ahaha!

Haha… Thanks, Tao.

Yeah. Thank you too, Chihiro. For believing me.