Chapter 121: Chapter 120 - Minami’s Impossible Answer

Minami stood with her arms folded in front of the VR Center .

"This is a pure research function."

Notably calm.

Only a little too calm.

She gave a slight adjustment to the glasses on her face as if it would somehow strengthen the meaning of the message.

"I’m testing the system because you want me to ."

There was a soft chuckle from Yui behind her.

She didn’t turn around.

"There is no self-interest involved in this exercise."

More silence.

She could feel the employees eyes staring at her.

" Why are you all not responding? "

"No one believes you," Yui said from the back.

Minami clicked her tongue.

"That is circumstantial."

"Hardly," Yui said.

Minami took a stride towards the module .

"I will be testing."

Minami took a seat and properly fitted the headset.

For half a moment, her fingers did not respond, but she brought them under control.

The system came online.

[DETECT USER]

[SIMULATION SELECTED: MARRIAGE]

Minami stayed perfectly still.

"I did not request that option."

[LOCKED CONFIGURATION]

"What do you mean, locked?"

[RECOMMENDED FOR CONTINUITY RELATIONSHIP MODEL]

"There is no such thing."

[ACTIVATE SIMULATION]

" No - "

Simulation completed<<<<<<

Minami opened her eyes.

She was standing in a normal house.

Nothing about this place was fancy, emotional and anything like the information she had gotten from report simulations, only had the feeling of someone who resided there.

The kitchen was so quiet.

The sunlight through the windows was so beautiful.

One of the shelves on the wall was tilted because it was put on wrong by someone and they had never fixed it.

As Minami was coming in; with each step she took, the footsteps were way too real, and she felt positioned on this planet.

"This is not research data," she said.

Then all of a sudden, a man walked into the side view of Minami.

It was Kuro.

He looked older, but he only looked a little older than the previous time they had seen each other.

He did not appear to have really changed except that he had mellowed, (a natural result of aging).

He appeared to be looking at her as though this was completely normal and like she belonged in his life.

He said, "Good Morning".

She could hardly look at him.

She could not understand that that image was real.

"This is a simulation," she just said to him.

He blinked.

"Minami , you haven’t even had time for a cup of coffee yet."

"Who says I need a cup of coffee?"

"You always say that," he argued.

"Actually, I don’t ’always’ say anything."

His smile was what was making the thing wrong: it wasn’t special; it was familiar to Minami (in fact, she followed him, without realizing she had done so). However, she stopped herself.

"I am in a controlled environment," she asserted.

Kuro did not look back.

"Breakfast will be ready soon," he stated.

"I’m not here for breakfast," she replied.

"You never are," Kuro responded.

Minami froze; it was an innocuous statement but struck her - not just innocuous but neutral. Yet it still betrayed her.

The scene changed unexpectedly - now, she was not in the kitchen anymore. She was outside the school . A lot of people were coming and going, phones were ringing, and papers were changing hands.

In addition to Minami, her "future" self was also present. She was carrying an absurdly large number of files.

Minami stood in silence watching, This is what the system believes my life will be like, overloaded, efficient, unstoppable, and alone.

Something tightened in her chest.

Her future self continued without hesitation, without feeling the weight of what had to be a lot of stress. No problems; just continual movement and forward progress.

Then, after a brief time, there was an unexpected change of scene.

Now she was at home, in the early evening.

As she entered her place of residence, her shoulders felt as though someone had tied about 100 lbs each. Her eyes are weary.

She wouldn’t say they were "dramatically" tired, they were old, accumulated over time until they finally feel like they are worn down.

Dinner had already been set on the table by the time she got to it.

She stopped.

There was Kuro again.

"You are late again," he said to her.

Minami’s future self let out a sigh. "I was working."

"I know," he said.

"I wasn’t able to make it to you," she said.

"I know that," he said.

There was a pause and then Kuro put a cup in front of Minami’s future self, with steam rising.

"Sit down," he said.

He didn’t say it like an order.

He didn’t say it with any pressure.

He simply suggested she sit down, and it was a suggestion Minami’s future self could not refuse.

Minami, watching from inside the simulation when this happened, felt a sense of recognition that she didn’t like.

Days passed and became less clear to her.

The system did not tell her what had happened on a particular day or even that it had happened.

It simply went on.

As if time did not require permission to continue.

She began to see her routines begin to develop.

They were not large routines.

They were small routines.

And they were consistent.

Such as Kuro putting her coat on when she forgot to wear it.

Kuro leaving her notes on the table.

Kuro reminding her about food without turning it into a lecture.

Kuro waiting.

And waiting always.

And Kuro did not wait for dramatic effect.

Kuro waited with quietness that felt heavy.

Minami became aware of something else as time went on.

Minami’s future self did not fight against this.

Minami’s future self did not resist this.

Minami’s future self simply allowed it to continue.

Minami’s future self found the lack of resistance and fighting against it more bothersome than anything else

At the end of one of the scenes, Minami’s future self was sitting at a desk.

The table is strewn with work.

Her shoulders are tense.

Her breathing is shallow.

She have too many things to do.

There are too many expectations to meet.

The room feels as if it is filled with pressure; like it has become air.

She is familiar with this feeling.

She has lived inside of it for a long time.

Then Kuro appeared.

There was no warning.

There was no announcement.

He simply placed his hand on the edge of the desk.

"Are you still working , Sensei ?" he asked.

"Yes." I answered.

"You said you would take some time off earlier." He said.

"I changed my schedule." I told him.

"That doesn’t count as taking time off." He said.

There was silence.

Her future self did not look up.

Kuro pulled out a chair, came over, and sat down next to my future self.

He did not touch her.

He was just close enough to her that she could not pretend that she was alone.

Minutes passed.

Nothing happened that would make you go, "Wow."

No confessions.

No arguments.

No resolutions.

Just a presence.

At some point, her future self let her breath out.

It was like she had cracked.

The simulation accelerated again.

The seasons changed.

Days piled on and on.

Life went on.

Minami realized something that she refused to acknowledge.

Nothing here was remarkable.

And that was the point.

It was not imaginary.

It was maintenance.

It was support.

It was someone noticing the things that she never asked anyone else to notice.

The way the machine had been able to understand Minami felt like the most invasive thing of all. It was far beyond any other understanding the machine had displayed before.

It understood her.

Perfectly.

Now, the last moment was at hand. It had been a long day and Minami did not need any further context to recognize what she was about to witness.

Committed.

Not in a physical way.

But in a deep-seated way.

Committed in the way a person is after months of chronic fatigue and lack of sleep.

As Minami crossed the threshold and opened the door, she could hear the front door of her home click as it closed behind her.

There was silence.

No immediate movement.

No immediate response.

It was the first time Minami noticed the uncertainty in her own posture as she had committed herself to the entryway.

As if she was entering into an environment that she didn’t know if she belonged in.

Then—

Kuro emerged from the kitchen and paused to look at her.

No questions.

No analysis.

No evaluations.

Only a recognition.

Then Kuro said, "Welcome Home."

Three words.

Simple.

Mundane.

Almost inconsequential.

But in that moment, Minami felt her throat constrict.

Her future self stood.

She had stopped.

It’s like those words had interfered with some deeper part of her.

After a moment, she finally responded.

Softly.

"I’m home."

Minami’s heart stopped.

That reaction was not forced.

That reaction was not calculated.

That reaction was normal.

Too normal.

Minami felt an unfamiliar sensation wash over her chest.

Not one of sadness.

Not one of happiness.

But of something that existed between both feelings.

That unfamiliar feeling was dangerously close to relief.

She ripped off the headset and stood up as quickly as possible so that she would be as far away as possible from the things that happened to her while she was in it.

Her face was beet red with embarrassment, although not entirely logical; there was something much more complicated going on inside her that she didn’t want to identify with.

"I understand," was the only thing she said loudly enough for the others to hear before they fell silent, with none of them responding to her.

Minami had composed herself, and she spoke firmly. "This system is no longer reliable."

No one responded.

Clearing her throat, she announced, "I’m not going to continue with testing."

Yui Kanzaki was the last to speak, saying from behind her, "What happened?"

"Nothing," Minami replied immediately.

"You have been in the system for a long time now."

"I was analyzing," Minami said.

"You look to have lost a battle with yourself," Yui told her.

Minami turned just a bit in the direction of Yui for consideration.

"I did not have any battle that I lost," Minami said.

"You are, therefore, quitting using the system completely?" Yui asked.

"Yes," Minami replied.

After a momentary pause, she went on smiling.

"Right," she said.

With that, Minami took off toward the exit of the building with all of the calmness, control, and professionalism she could muster.

Before she could reach the door.

Then she stopped.

She did not look back.

"Not fit for research," she said.

She walked away.

Laughter behind her grew slowly. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Minami was so lost in thoughts that only one phrase remained stuck in her head.

Not the Sim or System.

Just those 3 simple words.

Impossible, unfair, simple.

"Welcome Home!"