Call Girl (3)
I'm having the same dream. I hear sounds. Cicadas chirping, bells tinkling, festival drums pounding...
And from the deepest part of the mist, a voice calling to me. I have to go to that village.
A call from Mary. Her voice was much brighter and cheerier.
She's here! Mary! I said into my phone.
"This is Natsunashi Yuuki. I'll open the door. Just wait a sec, Mary!"
I hustled around. A bit of tension was unavoidable.
'A gal-only-in-dating-sims event is about to happen.'
Inviting a girl into the house. Reika, Guki-san, even Tsurugi only made it to the doorstep.
A girl coming into a guy's house isn't easy in real life;;
I hurriedly set up the low Japanese dining table that drunk deadbeat dads always flip. Poured oolong tea into two teacups and placed them up there.
And snacks... 'Reika-san, why do you only have old-fart snacks prepped?'
Senbei rice crackers, monaka wafers, kelp jelly, etc. Ah. Of course, they taste good once you eat 'em, and beggars can't be choosers.
I put some green-powdered senbei in a dish. Then shook out the futon, spread it, and tossed two pillows on.
Can't rule out a bed-sharing event!
"Kept you waiting, Mary?"
Come on in, you stalking-obsessive yandere! Heart pounding with excitement at the thought of aggressively conquering a cutie, I flung open the door—but there was only darkness.
No Mary.
More betrayal than confusion.
'A lie? Did she bail after the bell?'
You weren't serious? After we clashed souls...?
Would a prank-caller girl bail, or rather, phone-bail? Was all this Mary's buildup? Just to hollow out my heart?
I trudged back inside.
Nina nina gorilla~♪
Für Elise rang from Yuuki-kun's phone.
[I am Mary.]
Mary's detestable voice. She must've called to savor my reaction after baiting me.
"Damn it! Mary! I trusted you. I'll never, ever forgive you!!!"
Jet ta i ni yu ru se na i-!!!
Eyeroll. If the protagonist says that, it's game over!
I hoped for a mocking "Try it if you dare," but an unexpected reply came.
Right behind me? No presence felt. Pro stalkers master stealth skills sometimes.
I turned around.
It was a grubby doll. French doll, she said. Overall Western girl vibe. Holding a smartphone. Unlike Yuuki-kun's crappy old flip phone.
Hmm. Barely qualifies as a bishoujo... What the!!??
'The doll moved!!!???'
My eyes bugged out like they might pop. Mary, who'd been talking to me this whole time, was the doll!?
A resentful voice. Thrown away by Yuuki-kun? Or someone else? Unclear, but she's wronged. Somehow, a small kitchen knife in her hand. Tiny, but wrapped in black aura.
[Horrific shriek from Mary's phone]
She's dead set on carving me up. Gotta block it. I grabbed the Japanese dining table I'd humbly prepped as a welcome spread.
"No bishoujo shows up when you call for one!!!"
Table flip! Oolong tea spilled, snacks rained down.
Seizing the opening from the disruption, I snatched the plastic sword. Shouted at the charging Mary.
"If you wanna play knife games, bring it!!!"
Akame. Lend me your power! Real or not, like how I half-sliced the Beheaded Jizo.
The doll leaped. Toy sword vs. kitchen knife. Our blades crossed.
Sliced like paper—was Mary's kitchen knife!
"You could've just had some tea and gone home. I would've pampered you tons."
I licked my lips and aimed Akame at Mary. No knife, and a doll's nothing to fear. Time to indulge my darkest fetish. Might even make it come alive~.
"Useless. Gonna half-slice you?"
Mary smacked my sword with her fist. Thwack!
"No way? Akame!"
Akame's blade bent. The cutting power vanished again, back to a normal toy sword.
Oh! Finally got it.
'Sheath and draw to restore the cutting power. Only one perfect cut per draw!'
Not a tsundere sword spirit. Just a simple sheath-and-draw mechanic!
But with the bent blade, can't sheath it over there.
While I blinked, Mary pulled out her smartphone.
Nina nina gorilla~♪
The ringtone Für Elise echoed in my ear. Like when I ignored her earlier call, it warped into something eerie.
I reflexively plugged my ears, but the melody pierced through.
Nina nina gorilla~♪
Agony. My mind's fraying.
The persistent song shredded my mental defenses. Mary reached for a shard of the kitchen knife. Halved, but still sharp enough.
This leads to a bad end. If I can just shake this nagging tune... Nagging tune...?
'That's it!'
No choice. Time to unleash the songs I'd buried deep.
I murmured the lyrics softly.
"All my loviiiing~♪ Da-da-da-daaa~♪"
The infectious melody pushed back the horrific Für Elise.
College entrance exam banned songs!!! All out!!!!!
"Ding dong ding dong~♪ Baby gator too-roo-roo-roo~♪ From toes to head, oronami de~♪ Whee-ri, whee-ri~♪ Snake slithers down~♪ Red bean porridge, red bean~♪ Jin-jun-jwa-ra jun-jun-jwa~♪"
An orchestra of exam-banned earworms exploded in my brain. My head cleared.
Now Für Elise was small fry.
"Killer slide—!!!"
Whoosh fwip fwip fwip—!!!
Freed from the bind, I slid-tackled Mary right before she grabbed the shard, kicking it under the floor mat too.
Enraged by my interference, Mary charged. I dodged her attacks with flashy footwork.
Her attacks grew fiercer in fury. Shouts blared from the smartphone.
"I didn't throw you away!!!!! You bitch!!!!"
I bellowed back.
That moment. Mary's charge toppled a shelf. A bamboo tube up there. Where my pet larva Kaguya-chan lives.
Only thinking of fleeing the rampaging Mary, my eyes snapped wide.
Baby animals are fragile anyway. But soft-bodied larvae even more so. From that height? Fatal for sure.
Cute Kaguya dying before becoming a pretty butterfly? Too cruel!
"No."
The bamboo tube tumbled with junk. I dove desperately. Caught it barely—but exposed to Mary defenselessly.
Deep shadow over the doll's face. Among the spilled junk with the tube: a fire poker.
"Guh."
Mary grabbed the poker. The instant she swung for my head.
'What?'
The poker vanished from Mary's hand. Whoooosh—flew off elsewhere.
Neither I nor Mary saw it coming. Not just flying. A translucent thread attached to the poker. Silken thread from the bamboo tube.
The tube opened, and a cute jade-green larva wriggled out onto my palm.
"Kaguya-chan? You spun the thread?"
I asked blankly. She nodded like she understood. Wiggled her butt like trust me.
"Right! Let's fight Mary together! Kaguya-chan."
( ˘▽˘)っ🐛 I placed her on my hand-back. Fusion!
Shhwick—threads wrapped, securing Kaguya.
Mary's voice pitched up in confusion. Can't blame her. JoJo pose ain't easy.
"I am Natsunashi Yuuki!!!!"
I clenched my fist, posed, aimed at Mary.
"And the lion spider from hell... no. Spider-Maaaan!"
Clear fluid gathered at Kaguya's mouth—spurt! Thread shot out. I aimed dead at Mary.
Doll ensnared. Strong adhesive; she thrashed. Tried for her smartphone.
"Nuh-uh."
I struck first. Hand into her skirt, snatched the smartphone.
"Nice phone."
Her voice leaked from the smartphone. Somehow embarrassed. Whatever, doll.
Jealous? MeToo it.
"Go back to France where you came from!!! Mary!!!!!"
I grabbed Kaguya's thread, crocheted my masterpiece: a 5-tier Eiffel Tower. Hooked Mary on, let go.
Spin spin spin spiiiin—
Crashed. Mary, a total wreck, plummeted down!