You’re Right, They’ll Expel Me if I Run into the Store with a Weapon!!

I tried to resist many times.

But my body would just obey on its own.

As told, I continued to burn, melt, shatter, freeze, and crush.

Like a puppet on strings.

I tried to resist many times with the help of my friends.

Telekinesis… Electricity manipulation… Electromagnetic manipulation… Connection manipulation…

But no matter what I tried, my body wouldn’t move as I wanted. Something binding my body interfered.

(Why…) (I want to go home…) (I don’t want this anymore…) (Someone…)

In the dark space, the crying of children echoed.

I tried over and over, sobbing, until the will to go home nearly faded.

I was about to give up, too.

We can’t escape from them. Even if we could, with these bodies…

We can’t return to our old lives.

“Monsters” that everyone feared,

“Vessels” containing the consciousness of many children,

“Weapons” filled with various powers to be sold.

It’s no use…

I can’t go back…

I can’t live…

These words swirled in my chest, breaking my will.

But,

…If I can live.

…If I can return to my old life.

With family… friends… everyone… under the sun…

I want to go back…

I want to go back! Someone help me! Anyone! Get me out of this dark world! I hate this! I don’t want to be here! I don’t want to be tied up! I don’t want to live and die here! Please, someone, anyone, help me! God, devil, I don’t care who! Just get me out of here!

So… please… help me…

Please…

“Fühlt nicht…dich Sar…tro Todess…rzen,”

(What…)

“Sarastro Tode…merzen, So bist…meine…nimmermehr.”

(I hear something…)

“So bist du meine meine Tochter nimmermehr.”

(This is… a song…)

“ha a a a ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, ha a a a ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, ha a a a ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha,”

(I can hear it! What is it? It’s not their voices! It’s a song! Why! Who! They’re laughing! They’re singing happily!)

The song that became audible revived the breath in the crying children.

I don’t understand, I don’t understand, I don’t understand.

I heard a song for the first time here.

I kept hearing incomprehensible words.

I didn’t understand why I could hear a song.

But,

Just a song. Just a song, but.

Why does my heart feel so warm?

(I won’t give up… I’ll never give up!)

At that moment, my swirling heart exploded.

That thought spread to everyone, bringing light back to their eyes.

Just one trigger lit a light in our hearts.

In the dark space, drowning in darkness, we,

That song,

That gift,

That cheerful singing voice,

Became a small trigger for us to breathe again.

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Suddenly, my thoughts were filled with a jumble of characters.

And I felt a lightness in my thoughts.

I quickly realized that whatever was binding us had weakened.

Electricity manipulation! Electromagnetic manipulation! Connection manipulation! Manipulation! Manipulation! Control…! …!

Before I could say anything, my friends inside me started to act.

“Restraint program release”

“Inhibition program release”

“Control system connection start.”

“Concealment operation start”

“…Release”

“…Start”

“…Release”

“…Start”

“…Release”

The scary people taught us how to use our abilities to make us powerful weapons, including “hacking,” by simultaneously activating multiple skills.

Without being detected, without leaving any evidence, precisely, without disturbing our focus.

To move, open our eyes, be free, and return home.

We poured all our abilities into controlling everything about ourselves.

Our bodies felt lighter.

Our vision became clearer.

We could see the outside world more clearly.

And the first thing we saw was the back of a man continuing to sing.

(Who is he?)

(A man, huh?) (Onii-chan?) (He’s wearing black clothes) (He’s singing happily!) (But sparks are flying around him) (What should we do?)

My friends and I inside pondered what to do next.

But seeing that scene, we understood that we could move because of him.

The machine in front of him was sparking.

We knew from our hacking.

That machine was one of the reasons we were bound.

Because he destroyed it, we are now able to move.

So we knew this much.

(He helped us)

(Yes!) (Yeah!) (I think so too!) (Then we should say thank you!) (Right!) (Let’s go then!) (To Onii-chan!)

Our minds were united.

And we stepped closer to convey our gratitude.

And then,

I gently poked his back with my tail.

“What’s up! I’m busy now! Don’t bother me!”

(What!?)

He yelled. I didn’t understand the words, but he was really angry.

Airi felt a small fear planted in her heart.

(What did he say?) (Do we have the ability to understand language?) (Does anyone have it?)

(We don’t… What should we do…)

The little girl, disheartened in her mind, held a strategy meeting with her friends.

As our brains were connected, our communication was very fast.

(We have to talk or nothing will start!) (But I’m scared!) (But he helped us) (But maybe we shouldn’t bother him…) (But…) (But…) (But…) (But…) (But…) (But…) (But…) (But…) (

We couldn’t decide. And finally, everyone’s eyes turned to Airi.

The decision was left to Airi.

(Okay, then)

I gently poked him again.

I thought the scary people might come if we didn’t act quickly.

So we have to get his attention.

If something happens, we can ride on his back and escape…

(On his back…)

…

(Hey, did anyone else just feel weird?) (Yeah, a little) (Where did that thought come from?) (Why would we believe that?) (His back, why?)

(Nothing!)

Because we shared one brain, our thoughts were read.