Episode 1: The Vanishing Ones

  Akisumi

  “They say people are being swallowed into the underground.”

  My older brother, walking beside me, pressed his hand to his mouth, clearly trying to stifle a laugh.

  I had debated whether to say it or not. It had taken me forever to get the words out.

  “Don’t laugh! I really heard it—”

  Startled by my tone, my brother came to a halt. A warm early-summer breeze drifted over the cobblestone path, hazy in the twilight.

  “...Did you tell anyone else about this?”

  The smile vanished from his face, and I suddenly felt a twinge of unease.

  “No... I haven’t.”

  The way he reacted—it only confirmed my fears.

  ??

  It’s been over half a year since people started disappearing in our town.

  At first, they called it “missing persons.” There were official investigations and everything.

  But after a few months, everyone just started calling it “vanishing.”

  I didn’t think it had anything to do with me. Not until one of my classmates disappeared.

  I wasn’t particularly close to him. I was a new student who had transferred in that year, while he had come up through the school’s internal system. There was always a distance between us.

  But that wasn’t the only reason. He had a kind of aura that kept people at bay.

  I always felt that if I tried to talk to him, he’d ignore me. Or worse—he’d give me a cold, mocking smile and say, “You really think someone like you could be friends with me?”

  He never tried to stand out. And yet, I couldn’t help but watch him.

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  Even when I tried not to, my eyes would find him.

  And I had to make sure no one, especially not him, ever noticed.

  That’s why, on the morning he disappeared, I realized he was gone right away.

  Maybe he wasn’t feeling well. That was my first thought.

  He was never late, so when he didn’t show up by this time, I knew something was wrong.

  For the past few days, I’d seen him pressing his temples during class,

  even when he was with his friends—though I was never one of them. He looked like he was in pain.

  I wondered if it was something serious.

  His pale skin, his delicate features—I remembered how perfectly that black gown suited him.

  Watching him play the pipe organ at morning worship...

  That had been my reason for coming to school.

  Then the teacher walked in.

  He didn’t even go to the podium. He just stood by the door and said:

  “Tsurubami has vanished.”

  ??

  “Akisumi, come to my room later.”

  Before we went inside, my brother leaned over and whispered to me.

  Episode 2: Underground Self

  The headaches came in bursts, but aside from that, I could go about life as usual.

  No—if anything, I felt more energized than usual. That scared me.

  During dinner, I normally just give vague replies to Mom’s barrage of questions, but tonight I answered everything properly.

  What did they ask you at the hospital?

  What kind of tests did they do?

  Can you show us the medicine?

  Is there anything you want to eat...?

  Wait.

  Why does this dinner feel... special?

  It felt like they were assuming I was already going to vanish. Like a farewell meal. It gave me chills.

  I glanced at my older brother, who was usually the quiet one—unlike our emotional parents.

  He hadn’t said much since we got home and barely touched his food. His expression was tense.

  I trusted him more than anyone else.

  I wanted to finish eating quickly and talk to him.

  “Thanks for the meal,” I said, standing up with a bit of guilt toward my worried parents.

  ??

  I headed upstairs and went straight to his room.

  “So, you said you had something to tell me?”

  I flopped down onto his bed without asking.

  “Hold on. It’s kind of stuffy in here. I’ll open the window.”

  A perfectly chilled breeze drifted in.

  Our house was near the coast, so even in summer, the nighttime sea air cooled the heat of the day.

  My brother didn’t like using air conditioning—it felt too artificial to him. He often preferred to leave the window open.

  “At first, I thought what you said was just some dumb rumor going around your school,” he said, sitting down at his desk and crossing his legs.

  “But today... I saw something at work. Or rather, I heard something.”

  “At work?” I asked.

  That’s right—my brother works for the town’s Health and Sanitation Bureau, where all the headache reports are gathered.

  “There was a file. A patient record. It had an audio file attached.”

  “What did it say?” I asked, my voice rising.

  “It said, ‘I’m going to be killed by the underground version of me.’”

  “What... does that even mean?”

  Just as he opened his mouth to answer, something flashed outside the window.

  A blinding white light—from the direction of the sea.

  My brother stood up and looked out.

  “What's going on out there...?”

  “Who is it? Someone’s there?” I asked, moving next to him.

  “Ah... it’s...”

  He looked between me and whatever was outside, confused.

  “Do you know them?”

  “It’s Tsurubami-kun...

  The one who vanished.