10 Red Strings At Your Service

I was dreaming. At least, I think I am. But for some reason… why does this one feel so real?

I find myself standing in a field that doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. The grass stretches endlessly in all directions. Tall green grass swaying. A breeze, cool and gentle, brushes against my skin.

I can feel it. That alone should’ve been enough to tell me this dream was different.

Strange flowers blooming everywhere. Their petals shimmer faintly with colors that defy logic. Above, the sky is vast blue and soft, with streaks of white cloud drifting.

And then, there’s them.

Ten figures stand before me—girls, all of them. Dressed in ornate clothes like they stepped straight out of a fantasy story, or maybe an isekai. Each one of them is so distinct, so full of character… yet I can’t recall ever meeting them.

Their faces are partially obscured—fog covering their eyes, but leaving their mouths visible. Still, somehow… I know they’re beautiful. This things I just understand without needing proof.

They’re speaking. Or at least, that’s what it looks like. Their mouths are moving, forming words but it’s a language I don’t know.

I can’t understand them. And yet… I feel something.

It stirs within my chest—an ache. A warmth. A quiet, aching conviction of wanting to protect them. That thought plants itself in my heart like it’s always been there, waiting to be remembered.

Even though I don’t know their names.
Even though I can’t see their eyes.
Even though I have no idea why I’m here…

Mustering all of my mental energy to control this dream. I slowly walked towards the girls happily waiting for me…

❀

“Onii-cha-”

I hear a voice.

“ONnnii-Chha-”

But this time, clearly. Not like that strange language in my dream.

“ONII-CHAN!!”

These words explode like a thunderbolt in my ears, and before I can even react, the world shifts violently, to be exact, the world inside my body. A sharp pain slams into my stomach.

“Urk!”
I received a punch in my stomach. I let out a groan and causing my body to jerks upwards forcing me to wake up whether I like it or not. Actually, calling this a punch is a understatement, this one is a death blow.

“How long do you plan on sleeping!? I’m gonna be late from my club activities and Mom said I should wake you up, but you took ages to wake up which is why I took the matter in my hands and deal with it like how I should be!”

While my hand with string strap on each fingers still rubbing my tummy trying to ease it from the pain, my little sister’s doesn’t seem to care and continue nagging, enough to echo through the room like she’s using a megaphone or something.

“Now that you’re awake, I’m heading off to school, okay!? You better get moving too! Just because you don’t have any club activities doesn’t mean you can be late all the time!”

What are you, my Mom?—Is what I wanted to say, but I didn’t want to receive another death blow early in the morning, so I kept my mouth shut letting my survival instincts kicked in.

Looking at my little sister that stood before me, she’s already dressed in her middle school uniform and her hands were placed on her hips, her gaze sharp and unwavering. Looking very intimidating like she was about to sprout horns any second now.

I feel conflicted as a big brother. While I’m happy she grew to become active like this, I still miss those times where she’d fawn over her brother, me, doing absolutely anyone can do. Everything was simpler. She’d fawn over the smallest things, as if I was some kind of sentai hero. She would say with a charming innocent smile, “Wow! You’re amazing, Onii-chan!” Or “When I grow up, I’m going to marry Onii-chan!” and such.

Well I guess I should be grateful she still calls me Onii-chan. I’ve heard of rebellious phase stories where they just call you “Hey” or “You”. Uugh… I don’t think I can handle that. At least, call me by my name.

“Are you even listening? You’re spacing out again!”

I jolted back to reality and nod. “Yeah, Thank you Akari for waking me up. You can go now. Good luck on your club activities”

Oops, looks like my useless monologuing got longer again.

“Hmph, as long as you understand.”
She huffed, and turned on her heel and headed for the door.

“Just don’t be late again, okay?” she said softly over her shoulder, I can feel the concern in her voice.

As the door closed behind her, I let out a sigh of relief. Living with a little sister who’s stricter than my Mom now is no easy task… But well deep down, I know she only nagged because she cared. My little sister is cute isn’t she? As long as you ignore her violent acts…

—❀—❀—❀—❀—❀—❀—

Fixing my school uniform’s necktie, I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. As expected, the red strings tied around my fingers were still there, stubbornly clinging, as if mocking my attempts to ignore their presence.

It had been a week since these mysterious red strings appeared out of nowhere, looping tightly around my fingers like some ring too tight to remove. At first, of course I freaked out. My mind raced with wild theories. Was this some bizarre disease? Could it be contagious? What if it triggered a worldwide lockdown? Okay, that last part might’ve been a stretch, but the anxiety was real ok.

I remember sitting on my bed, staring at my hands with my heart pounding to the point I feel like I could hear them. Was I hallucinating? Had I finally cracked under the pressure of mundane school life? Should I go see a doctor? The questions swirled in my head the whole day, leaving me restless.

Normally, I’d be the one joking around online, telling my friends to take their meds or see a doctor whenever they got too worked up over something trivial. It was all fun and jokes, of course. But now? I was the one seriously considering making a trip to the clinic. The irony.

I let out a bitter chuckle. Was I really that desperate for a harem? The classic trope of red strings of fate connecting soulmates was something I would only see in romance manga and anime. Yet, here I was, standing in my room, staring at literal red strings on my fingers. The only difference is it’s not one
but 9 strings though.

“If this is some twisted manifestation of my subconscious desire for romance, then I’m seriously done for” I muttered to myself, shaking my head.

But no matter how much I tried to rationalize it, the strings remained. They didn’t feel like an invention of my imagination. They were real—too real even… But ain’t all schizophrenia says the same thing?
W-well, in my case I actually have some proof that they are real!

For example, these strings seem to follow the basic laws of physics. They don’t pass through walls or float around defying gravity, at least, not as far as I’ve observed. I glanced at my room’s closed door, and sure enough, all the strings leading toward it were bunched up at the corners, trapped. It made sense, I suppose. The door was the only exit they could use. The windows were shut tight, and like I said the strings didn’t seem capable of passing through solid objects.

What’s more, they were tangible. I reached out one of the strings letting it rest on my pointer finger. It was incredibly light—lighter than a feather, even. The texture was something else entirely, soft and delicate, almost like the finest silk.

Recently, I’ve developed a weird habit of wrapping myself in these strings. There was something oddly comforting about their warmth and softness. It was like being in a gentle embrace. Of course, if anyone ever saw me like this, they’d probably think I was engaging in some solo S&M roleplay. Actually, just this morning when Akari came to wake me up, I was completely wrapped up in the strings. Thank god she couldn’t see them. Otherwise, I’d have to endure yet another entry on her growing list of disappointments about her dear Onii-chan.

I can’t help it ok. The strings were warm and soft, practically begging me to get spoiled in their comfort. It wasn’t like I was doing anything weird… or at least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

But the most intriguing discovery I’d made about these red strings was their ability to turn objects—invisible.

∞✧∞✧∞✧∞✧∞✧∞✧∞

It was a trick I stumbled upon by accident. A day had passed since I started seeing these strange red strings, With this much time, I finally calmed down enough to approach the situation seriously. I’m pretty proud of my nerd knowledge and consume enough fiction to prepare myself for this kind of situation so the anxiety had turned into curiosity. If these strings were going to be a part of my life, I figured might as well try to understand them.

One afternoon, while idly fiddling with the strings, I got an idea. I picked up a pen from my desk and carefully wrapped and tied the string around it. The string clung tightly, securing the pen in place. I decided to test its strength by swinging the pen around. To my surprise, the string held firm, no matter how much I throw or shook the pen. It only came loose when I deliberately untied it myself.

That’s when a light bulb went off in my head.
Other people can’t see these strings right? What if… What if, I can do a magic tricks using this.

I know you’re thinking: “Really? After all that thinking this is the best thing you could come up?” Oh shut it, I’m enjoying my life.

Of course, who’s the lucky person to witness my first attempt in magic trick? Surprise, surprise, it’s none other than my beloved little sister—Akari!

I went and found my sister fidgeting her phone in the living room probably watching some short videos or chatting with her friends. I don’t care either way, I’m still gonna bother her.

“Akari! Akari!” I called out, intentionally making my voice sound annoying and playful.

“What?” she replied flatly, not even bothering to look up from her phone.

“I’m going to show you something cool. Look!” I said, holding up the pen tied with the red string in my hand.

“Huh? What are you on about now?” she muttered, still not sparring me a glance.

“Just watch!” I let go of the pen. As expected, it stopped a few inches below my palm, suspended in mid-air by the string. I wiggled my fingers, copying the typical gestures of a magician performing a levitation trick.

Akari finally sighed and looked up, clearly annoyed. “Ugh, fine. So, what is it?”

“Ta-da! Magic!” I exclaimed, adding exaggerated hand movements for dramatic effect.

She blinked, her face change from mild annoyance to confusion. “Huh…?”

Fumu, fumu. Her reaction wasn’t quite what I had expected. I was expecting a wide eyes and an awestruck gasp, followed by something along the lines of, “Wow, Onii-chan, that’s amazing! I knew you could do it if you put your mind to it! As expected of my Onii-chan!” But instead, she just looked… exasperated.

“Look, the pen is levitating!” I said, tugging lightly on the strings to make the pen move.

Akari narrowed her eyes, her expression shows a mix of disbelief and concern. “…There’s nothing there.”

That’s when it hit me. Hmmm… Yup, I think I understand what’s happening here now. I see… So it functions like that huh. Interesting.

“Don’t tell me, Onii-chan… Have you finally lost it?” Akari asked, her tone is a mixture of disappointment and pity, her face also clearly shows concern and disappointment.

B-but hey, at least I learned something valuable today… right…? Uuuu…

∞✧∞✧∞✧∞✧∞✧∞✧∞

Anyway, enough with the flashbacks, or we’ll end up in a full-blown shounen anime situation, where 5 episodes worth are dedicated to remembering the importance of friendship.

But hold on—we’re not done yet. There’s another peculiar aspect of these strings that I’ve noticed.
They seem to be tied to emotions or mental states of the person on the other end. Now, let me be clear—this is all based on my observations over the past week. So, don’t take it as a face value just yet.

These strings… they move on their own. And not randomly—they move emotionally. What do I mean by that? Instead of bombarding you with word by word explanation, Let me just introduce you to—Left Pinky-chan.

Left Pinky-chan, say hello!

Left Pinky-chan: *bow, bow*

That’s right, my left pinky finger, or as I affectionately named it, Left Pinky-chan. The red string attached to this finger is by far the most unstable. Okay, maybe calling it unstable is a bit harsh. Let’s just say it has lots of mood swings.

“Oh, here we go again.” I muttered as I watched Left Pinky-chan spring into action.

The string began with a slow, wavy motion, gently swaying as if riding a calm breeze. But just as I thought it was settling down, it suddenly started swinging back and forth, faster and more aggressively. A few seconds later, it went completely limp, dangling lifelessly. Then, without warning, it snapped into a zigzag pattern, almost like static electricity crackling in the air.

“Seriously, what’s this person going through.” I sighed, shaking my head.

While all the other strings showed a similar movements from time to time, none of them were as intense or unpredictable as Left Pinky-chan. Take, for example, the other day when the string on my right index finger and middle finger or so I called it Right Peace Fingers. It suddenly appeared wet and limp. It was weird. I touched it, and sure enough, it felt damp.

Now, mind you, I’ve been bathing every day since these strings appeared, and not once had they shown any signs of getting wet. Yet, that day, Right Peace Fingers was distinctly damp.

After some thought, I came up with a theory: the movements, wetness and such might have been their emotions. Perhaps the person on the other end of the string, whoever they were, had been crying. If these strings really do reflect emotions, then it wasn’t too far-fetched to think they could also manifest physical signs of those emotions.

It’s all just speculation at this point, but the idea that these strings are somehow connected to the feelings of others… It’s both fascinating and a little terrifying.

—❀—❀—❀—❀—❀—❀—

Checking the time, I realized it was slightly earlier than my usual time to go to school. Thanks to my little sister’s really peaceful wake-up call, I’m now wide awake. Might as well take the opportunity and be a diligent student for once and head to school early.

Just as I was about to leave my room, I remember something important that I absolutely couldn’t forget, or else I wouldn’t be able to enter the school. I paused, turning back towards my desk, and opened the top drawer. There it was—my student booklet.

I pulled it out and flipped it open to double-check. Inside was my student ID, the small card confirming my identity and information about me.

Yubitsuyu High School

Student Name: Ito, Akai
Birthdate: March 8th
Year: 2nd Year
Class: 2-C

Ah, have I introduced myself yet? Sorry, looks like I got too overboard and just monologue the whole chapter. Well, there you have it. My name is Ito, Akai. Pretty normal as far as Japanese names order go, right?

But wait, lemme just rearrange it into the English order. Ok. This and that… Done
Akai Ito. Does that ring any bells?

Yes. Seriously, what an absolute joke.

I let out a dry chuckle. Who would’ve thought my own name would be so… prophetic?