Tale Of Origin

PART ONE

Ahhh, I’m in a pipupepopanic~!

I found myself at the site of Emu’s parents’ house, in front of the coin parking lot.

I tried to remember what had happened so far in order to clear my mind.

First. Emu and I had tried the Mighty Novel X event together.

Then. The special space was Emu’s old house, and I met him as a child.

Then. At a fork in the novel game, the adult Emu answered.

And then I heard “Game Over” and I thought the adult Emu disappeared.

And then, and then, I was the only one who came back from the special space to the original place.

That’s what happened… right?

I looked around to make sure, but Emu was nowhere to be found.

“Emu? Emu! Where are you!? Answer me if you’re here!”

No matter how many times I called out to him, I couldn’t see him… does that mean the game is over and he has disappeared!?

No, no. That’s crazy. I can’t imagine how he could have disappeared when we didn’t fight anyone in the special space. Ahhh, I don’t understand what’s going on here!

At that moment, I felt a presence behind me. When I turned around to see if it was Emu, I saw Kurotopi standing there.

“Kukuku… hahahaha! At last, I was victorious. I’ve defeated the Genius Gamer M!”

“What do you mean!?”

“Exactly what I said. The best game ever created by me, the game master, Mighty Novel X, has defeated Hojo Emu and made him get a game over!”

“How! You didn’t fight!”

“Poppy, you’re misunderstanding one thing. Mighty Novel X is not a game where battles are the only way to win or lose. Hojo Emu made a wrong choice at a turning point in the story and he got a game over.”

“Then… Emu has really disappeared…?”

“Yes. And he was imprisoned in the world of Mighty Novel X. Forever.”

“You… give Emu back!”

“You should know by now. What has been the fate of every player who has gotten a game over so far?”

I know. But I don’t want to know.

I can’t believe Emu is gone.

“The only way to save him is to clear Mighty Novel X. Of course, I don’t think any player is capable of doing that.”

“Why are you doing this? What do you want!?”

“As a game master, I provided the game to the players. That’s all.”

“That’s a lie! You’ve been after Emu since the beginning! That’s why you sent Mighty Novel X to him!”

“It all began with me and Hojo Emu. This is our inevitable destiny. Bwhahahaha!”

Kurotopi disappeared from in front of me with an unpleasant laugh.

“…This is bad… I have to inform everyone!”

Seito University Hospital. CR.

When I came to the hospital room, I explained the situation to Piiro and Piriya, who were standing close to the unconscious Parad.

…No, no, Hiiro and Kiriya!

I have a habit of going papipupepo when I get upset.

But in contrast to me, both Hiiro and Kiriya seemed to be taking the situation very calmly. At first I wondered how they could be so calm, but then I realized that they were doctors, so they couldn’t get distraught so easily. I felt a little calmer now that they have listened to me.

“But that’s unexpected. I can’t believe that Emu’s got a game over.”

I really agree with Kiriya. I thought there was no way Emu would make a mistake in the game.

That’s why they entrusted the operation to Emu alone, right?

“I understand the situation. Then there’s only one thing to do. We have to clear Mighty Novel X and save the pediatrician and Parad.”

“But, genius surgeon, this is going to be one hell of an operation, isn’t it?”

“Yes. To be honest, I have no experience in this kind of case.”

After that conversation, Hiiro and Kiriya fell silent.

“Why!? You’ve been operating on patients until now! There’s nothing you can’t cut, Hiiro!”

“As much as I’d like to say so… this isn’t like any other operation I’ve ever done before. Mighty Novel X is a novel game that tells the story of the pediatrician’s life so far. In other words, it’s deeply related to the pediatrician’s life. I never thought I’d be challenging myself in game medical treatment like this…”

I didn’t want to hear those squeamish words from the mouth of a genius surgeon.

Because it’s not like him.

“Yeah. To be honest, this is not his area of expertise or mine.”

Kiriya’s tone was about an octave lower than usual.

Normally, Kiriya was the kind of person who could immediately find a solution with his natural intelligence.

Why? Both of you. It’s not like you.

“What’s wrong with you two!? It’s the usual game medical treatment!”

“No, it’s not.”

Hiiro snapped out of it and began to diagnose the problem with a scarier look than ever.

“First of all, what makes this case different is that the pediatrician and Parad contracted the bugster virus at the same time.”

True. That’s never happened before…

“At that time, Parad was separated from Emu’s body. Physically speaking, it should be impossible for them to be infected at the same time. It’s a big mystery,” Kiriya added.

“But… if my guess is correct, there is only one possibility for such a thing to occur.”

“What is it, Hiiro!?”

“Even if their bodies are separated, there is something that the pediatrician and Parad still share.”

What Emu and Parad share… It can’t be.

“The mind.”

“I see. As expected of the genius surgeon, your theory makes sense. In other words, Mighty Novel X’s bugster virus infected not Emu’s body, but his mind. So it infected Parad’s mind as well.”

“Infected their minds… can that happen!?”

“Yes. There are many mental illnesses in modern society. In other words, this game disease is psychogenic. In that case, what is needed for this operation is psychosomatic medicine skills.”

Psychosomatic medicine…?

After hearing the diagnosis up to that point, I realized why they both looked troubled by the treatment method.

Emu and I had been fighting side by side for a long time now. We were friends who shared our hearts. But when I thought about it again, there was so much I didn’t know about Emu.

What kind of family was Emu born into and how did he grow up?

What kind of father and mother did he have, and what kind of siblings did he have?

What kind of friends did he have and what did he do on his days off?

He was always kind and patient, and his personality only changed when he played games, but… how did Emu feel in his heart…?

I was so frustrated and angry with myself that I gripped my skirt tightly.

I should have been more friendly with Emu and chatted with him a lot more before this happened. Not only at work, but also in our personal life. Not with Emu as a doctor, but with Emu as a human being.

Hiiro and Kiriya must be thinking the same thing as me.

“I guess we’ll have to get a helper to back us up.”

“Who’s the helper, Kiriya!?”

“Someone who probably knows more about Emu’s past than we do… Nico-chan. She knows about Emu’s high school days. There’s a good chance she’ll be able to help us clear Mighty Novel X.”

“Indeed. It’s a good idea to have her come over right away. It depends on the condition of her cold, but if the practitioner is by her side, she should have already recovered completely. I’m sure she’ll be able to help us if we explain the situation to her. I’ll contact the practitioner myself.”

Yes, if Nico-chan is here, I’m sure she’ll be able to help us.

But still…

“I’m going to try to clear Mighty Novel X on my own!”

“Hey, Poppy. It’s not safe for you to take on this challenge alone,” Kiriya tried to stop me.

“But it will take time for Nico-chan to join us from America. I can’t just sit around and wait until then…”

“Calm down, Poppy Pipopapo. Mental illness requires extremely delicate treatment. It should only be done after careful preparation.”

“Of course I know that. That’s why I have to do what only I can do.”

“You look like you have a lead,” Kiriya said, using his keen intuition.

Yes. We bugsters inherit the memories of our hosts. I’m sure that the memories of my host, Dan Sakurako-san, will be an important clue for Emu’s medical treatment.

“Because I have Sakurako-san’s… Kuroto’s mother’s memories. I might be able to learn something about Kuroto’s childhood.”

“God’s childhood? Right, because it’s a point of contact between Emu and God,” Kiriya said with his best guess.

“Yes. Kuroto read the fan letters that Emu sent to Genm Corp when he was a child. If we can trace back Kuroto’s childhood, it might give us some clues.”

Perhaps realizing that my determination was unwavering, neither Hiiro nor Kiriya tried to stop me anymore.

Emu… I want to save Emu no matter what.

Originally, as a bugster, I was not meant to be with humans.

Emu was the first person who accepted me. Emu was the first person who told me that it was okay to be with everyone. It was Emu who made my wish to play DoReMiFa Beat with everyone come true.

If it weren’t for Emu, I wouldn’t have a place in CR, or anywhere else in this world.

I am here today because of Emu.

So… I can’t imagine a world without Emu in it.

I felt like Hiiro and Kiriya were giving me some advice. Maybe it was something like, “Don’t be reckless on your own,” or “If something happens, call us right away,” or something like that. But my mind was so occupied with Emu that I barely heard what they said.

I just made a goodbye gesture and disappeared from the CR medical office.

I never thought that I would be visiting this place again.

It was the former office building of Genm Corp, the hideout that Kuroto had been using since he left the position of president of Genm Corp.

The unpopulated office floor was much more spacious than the actual floor plan, and there were still some of Kuroto’s belongings left behind that had not been confiscated by the Ministry of Health.

Pieces of parts needed to make a gashat. A desk and a chair. A flattened soccer ball. All of them were covered with a thick layer of dust and cobwebs in some places. I couldn’t help coughing twice at the dustiness of the room.

This is the second time I’ve been here…

The first time was just when Emu was in big trouble after being taken over by Parad, when I discovered the Proto Mighty Action X Gashat Origin through Sakurako-san’s memories.

This place is full of memories of Sakurako-san.

The scene of Genm Corp when it was still a healthy game company. Kuroto as a child.

Dan Masamune, her husband. And Emu’s fan letter.

I slowly closed my eyes and faced my heart. I faced the memories of Sakurako-san in my heart.

Even though I have inherited the memories of my host, it doesn’t mean that I can freely recall all of Sakurako-san’s memories. Just as people’s memories fade with the passage of time, my memories of Sakurako-san are also fading.

In order to recall memories, I need a trigger. A word. A place. A sound. A smell. Something that links to what Sakurako-san was experiencing before she died.

I tried to keep my eyes shut for a while and concentrate on my consciousness, but I couldn’t easily access Sakurako-san’s memories.

I opened my eyes and took a deep breath, my mind rushing and my concentration broken.

Suddenly, what came to mind was Emu. Not the usual gentle Emu, but the slightly lonely Emu.

When I first met Emu, there was a time when I thought he might be a little dangerous, because his personality changed when he played games. The reason for this was that Emu the doctor and M the gamer were two different people, as if he had dual personalities. I remember when I learned that the reason for this was actually Parad, and that M’s egotistical personality grew out of the effects of being infected by Parad for a long time since childhood.

…But that’s not all.

I’ve never been able to say this to anyone before, but Emu the doctor felt distant at times. In particular, I felt it the most when Emu used Muteki’s power to beat up Parad in a one-sided battle.

Emu is very kind to his patients. His gentle heart is so clean, like a freshly washed white coat, but he’s also a little stubborn at times.

Of course, I understand that as a doctor, he works very hard to save his patients, and I’m sure he has to think about, worry about, and make decisions about a billion times more than I can imagine to face his patients every day. But I think he is too single-minded in his approach to medicine. Once he decides to do something, he just does it by himself without consulting others.

At times like that, I feel a little lonely.

It would have been nice if he could have asked me for advice, even if it was just a word. I wondered if he didn’t trust me as a friend.

As I was thinking about such trivial things, my head started to buzz.

I came back to myself and pinched both of my cheeks to shake off the buzzing in my head.

No, no. There’s nothing wrong with Emu.

It’s just something I want. I want to help Emu more. I want to be there for Emu more.

I was a little disgusted with myself for being so selfish.

As I was thinking about this, the buzzing in my head earlier now began to appear deep in my chest.

What is this feeling? I’ve never felt anything like it before. A pitter-patter in my heart.

Then, without warning, it came.

The scene of the former Genm Corp began to spread out in my mind.

I don’t know why.

Yes, I do. I shouldn’t know, but… somehow I do.

The pitter-patter in my mind was linked to Sakurako-san’s memories…

I slowly closed my eyelids, concentrating on my feelings so that the budding feeling in my mind would not disappear.

“Please, Sakurako-san. Take me back to that time.”

It was clearly a different feeling than before. Something more than just a memory ran through my body. It was a feeling that seemed to encompass everything about my identity.

I’ve felt this feeling before.

Yes. It was when I was made the test subject for a simulation game called “Let’s Make a Bugster!”. It was an experiment to restore Sakurako-san’s genes from my body. It felt like that time. No, it was stronger than that time.

I felt what it was. I felt the answer not in my head, but in my heart.

All of Sakurako’s memories were being awakened in me. I can feel it. That person’s thoughts. Everything about her.

At that moment, the journey of the unknown memories of the past began.

My world changed when Kuroto was born.

My alter ego. One half of my soul.

It was a miracle that such a beloved existence was born safely into this world.

Because when he was born, he didn’t make a sound.

Originally, I had been told that if a newborn baby did not scream, it meant that it was in danger of not being able to breathe through its lungs. However, according to the nurse who witnessed the birth, the baby was breathing properly and there was nothing wrong with it.

Kuroto was born into this world in an unprecedented condition.

Kuroto was really a very easy child to take care of.

As an only child, he was always quiet at home and took the initiative to study hard without anyone telling him to do so. He was an intellectually curious boy.

By the time he was in elementary school, he had the academic ability to take college entrance exams and had an unbelievable IQ. He was so good that I began to wonder if he was really my child.

He must have inherited a lot of Masamune-san’s genes. The genes of a man who was able to grow Genm Corporation into a game company with the largest market share in Japan in just one generation have been passed on to that child’s body.

When Kuroto became a junior high school student, he began to help his father, Masamune-san, with his work.

Originally, Masamune-san was busy with his work and left childcare to me. The only thing he did for my son was to give him games made by Genm. Thanks in part to this, Kuroto quickly became immersed in the field of game development.

I enjoyed seeing him like that. I was proud of him.

It was around the time Kuroto was entering the second semester of his first year of junior high school that I first began to notice something strange.

Life in junior high school seemed to be almost meaningless for Kuroto, and what the teachers taught him was just knowledge that he had already mastered on his own, and he didn’t seem to have any friends.

“Everyone is so boring and conventional. There is nothing that interests me.”

I was a little surprised when I heard Kuroto say that, but I didn’t try to lecture him.

Every day after school, he would go to Genm Corporation and devote himself to game development. Whenever Kuroto came up with a great idea for a game that no one else had thought of, Masamune-san and I would raise our hands in joy and praise him.

As far as I know, Kuroto had never been scolded or lectured by anyone. He had grown up with constant praise from those around him. Because of this, he became a child with a terribly high self-esteem.

Gradually, he became less and less pleased with compliments from Masamune-san and me. At first, I thought he had just gotten used to being praised, but by the time I realized that the problem was more serious than I had imagined, it was too late.

It wasn’t that he had become accustomed to being praised, but that he no longer saw any intrinsic value in the evaluations of others.

Eventually, Kuroto began to look down on all people and spent his days only confronting his own talents. He began to waste time and devoted everything but the bare minimum of his life to game development. There was hardly any time left to even spend together with his parents.

Even so, Masamune-san never gave Kuroto a second thought and let him be free to do as he pleased. He bought him whatever equipment he needed to develop games, and assigned a number of subordinates to take care of Kuroto so that he could concentrate on the development in a perfect environment.

Kuroto created a number of hit games and became an indispensable game creator for Genm Corporation.

Perhaps it was around that time that. Masamune-san and I gradually began to clash over Kuroto’s education policy. Of course, I was still proud of Kuroto’s excellence. However, life is not always smooth sailing.

I feared that if he were to hit a wall and experience a major failure or setback, it would destroy him. To prevent that from happening, I wanted him to broaden his horizons to include things other than game development.

I wanted him to have the same experiences as other children of his generation. Making friends. Learning the importance of group activities in club activities. Getting in touch with nature.

But Masamune-san never changed his mind.

One day, I couldn’t take it anymore, so I appealed to Masamune-san only once.

“Aren’t you just using Kuroto’s talent to benefit the company?”

Masamune-san did not admit it.

At that time, Masamune-san had a saying that had become a habit of his.

“Crushing the buds of Kuroto’s talent would be more sinful than anything else.”

Of course, I was also responsible. I could have changed the course of Kuroto’s life before he became such a child. But as an ordinary person, I could not guide Kuroto. I couldn’t even interfere with Masamune-san’s management policy.

In the end, the only thing I could do for Kuroto was to listen to what he said with pride and just nod my head.

Then one day, what I had feared came true.

A fan letter that arrived at Genm Corporation changed Kuroto’s fate.

The sender was “Hojo Emu”.

It was Masamune-san who read the letter first.

The night he read it, Masamune-san told me about the contents of the fan letter.

It seemed that an idea for a new game was drawn up along with a fan message to Genm Corporation. Masamune-san was impressed by the rich creativity of the boy named “Emu”, who didn’t even know how to write his name in kanji.

“I’ll have Kuroto read this letter. It will be just the right stimulus for him now that he’s so smug about his talent. It will further increase his commercial value.”

“Masamune-san, Kuroto is our precious child! He’s not a company product!”

“Sakurako. How many times do I have to tell you? We’re different from the ordinary families around us. We’re a chosen family. Kuroto is our pride. If we polish him up, he will shine even brighter. With Kuroto’s talent, Genm Corporation can become even bigger and better.”

At that moment, I realized. Masamune-san only sees Kuroto as the president. He doesn’t see him as a father sees his son. I knew that. However, I could not correct the distortion that had been created between them. I could only pretend not to see it.

Masamune-san’s management supports the livelihood of hundreds of employees of Genm Corporation and their families.

Masamune-san has done nothing wrong. Except for one thing, Kuroto’s education.

The next day, Masamune-san instructed his subordinate to show Kuroto the fan letter.

Worried, I visited the office and watched Kuroto from the shadows.

When Kuroto read the letter, he gradually began to tremble. At that time, Kuroto’s face was filled with emotions I had never seen before.

Jealousy for the talent of a stranger named “Emu”. Humiliation he experienced for the first time in his life. Anger at his own inadequate talent. A sense of frustration that this boy “Emu”‘s talent might eventually become a threat. A sense of danger. A sense of fear.

Kuroto’s heart, which had been in a high state of excitement, was torn apart and trampled on, and in a fit of rage, he tore up the fan letter with all his might.

I couldn’t stand to see Kuroto like that.

As a mother, I wanted to say something to him if I could. I wanted to gently wrap my arms around Kuroto’s heart. But I couldn’t. I was not qualified to do so.

I had noticed the changes in Kuroto, but I had turned away from him, and now I didn’t know what face to make or what words to say to him.

But at the same time, I felt the other me whispering in my heart.

“Maybe this was for the best. Maybe Kuroto can change.”

Kuroto, who no longer found value in the evaluations of others, was shaken by the ideas of others. He was experiencing a kind of defeat.

If only knowing the feelings of the defeated could make him a more compassionate person towards others…

This was the biggest test of his life, given to him by a fan letter.

I was sure that Kuroto would be able to overcome it. I wanted to believe that.

After Kuroto left, I gathered up the torn pieces of the fan letter. I wanted to see with my own eyes what the letter that had fascinated Masamune-san and defeated Kuroto was all about.

I put the pieces of paper back together with tape like a jigsaw puzzle.

Several sheets of paper were filled with the dreams of an innocent boy.

The next thing I knew, a single tear was spilling from my eye and running down my cheek.

I didn’t know why I was crying. But they were not tears of emotion. I knew that much. I didn’t know how talented the content of this letter was, because I am an ordinary person. I can’t really put it into words, but I guess they were more like tears of regret for a time gone by.

I thought about the strange boy who wrote this letter.

I wondered if he had grown up with the love of his parents. I wondered if he was living a life free from the adult circumstances of running a company. I wondered if he was living a bright life filled with hope for the future. I wondered if this boy had everything that Kuroto did not have.

As I finished reading through the last page of the letter, I wiped the tears from my cheeks.

No, no. This boy is this boy. Kuroto is Kuroto. That’s all there is to it.

Kuroto created a game that made this boy want to send him a fan letter.

Even though he didn’t have any friends. Even though he had a few personality problems. Kuroto managed to touch the heart of someone far away.

He made a game that made a strange boy dream. It’s such a wonderful thing.

What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t believe in him? If I didn’t love him?

Kuroto is my pride.

It’s a miracle that he was born into this world.

I came back to myself with a start.

The next thing I knew, I was in the old empty office building of Genm Corp.

I see. I’ve been feeling Sakurako-san’s heart for a long time.

It was like I was having a long dream.

Suddenly, I felt a single tear flowing from my cheek.

A single tear. It fell to the ground with a plop.

Then, Sakurako-san’s heart overflowed into me.

I felt like it was about to spill out of my heart.

Sakurako-san’s single-minded love for Kuroto.

The difference between her and Dan Masamune.

Emu’s fan letter that changed Kuroto’s fate.

A lot of feelings got mixed up and I started to have a pipupepopanic.

Among them, there was one thing that left a strong impression on me.

Sakurako-san’s thought that “Kuroto’s talent made Emu dream”.

Yes, at the time he was drawing the fan letter, Emu had not been infected with Parad yet. In other words, he hadn’t been in a traffic accident, and he hadn’t met Deputy Director General Hinata – or Kyotaro-sensei, as Emu calls – yet. He didn’t want to be a doctor at that time yet.

Wait. If that was the case, Emu would have known about that better than anyone else.

I don’t know why he answered that his dream for the future was to be a doctor… Maybe he misunderstood his childhood memories…

No, now is not the time to be thinking about such things.

I’ve got all the clues to clear Mighty Novel X.

I’m sure I can do it now.

⇦ NOVEL FROM BEYOND (PART TWO) | CHAPTER INDEX | TALE OF ORIGIN (PART TWO) ⇨