Whirlpool Of Sorrow

12th June 2064

I woke up to the sound of my alarm. 

Ahh... Just a few more minutes.

"Dear!"

Mom walked into my room.

"Get up, you sleepyhead! You're going to be late for school!"

"Huh?!"

When I looked at the alarm, it read 7:12 AM.

"Oh no! Miss Reiko is going to get mad at me again!"

Rushing around my room, I somehow managed to get dressed as mom put holobooks in my bag.

"Have a great day!"

"I'll try!"

Running down the sidewalk, my mind thinks about the summer break.

We're going to have so much fun!

After getting to the transport point, I say:

"Isueka Elementary!"

Suddenly, my surroundings changed, and I was in front of the school. My brain felt dizzy.

"Argh! I'll never get used to this!"

Hoping I'm not too late, I continue running towards my first class.

"Noboru... I see we're late again?"

Miss Reiko was thankfully an understanding teacher, but she wouldn't let you go off without any consequences.

"Sorry, miss! I was up late at night helping my dad."

Her stern gaze softened.

"Well, that's nice of you. Just try to remember that school is important too."

I nod and sit down in my seat.

Today's class was particularly boring, since I wanted to get over with school and have fun. Plus, I didn't have friends since I was shy and didn't need any if I had mom and dad.

With classes over, I bounced my way back home.

"Welcome back! How was school?"

Dad greeted me with a smile.

"Ah... Boring..."

"I assume you're excited for summer break to begin?"

"Yeah!"

"Me too, buddy! We're going to be flying all across the sky!"

He lifted me over his head and ran around.

"Stop it!"

I laughed at his goofiness.

"I'm not a kid anymore!"

"Of course you are!"

He joined in on the laughing.

With mom at work, me and dad spent the rest of the day planning our yearly family vacation.

"So, it's Oirase then?"

Dad was looking at the route on the holographic map.

"Yeah! Everyone says it's pretty!"

"I'll have to ask mom, but I don't see why not. It is 45 minutes from our city, Morioka, by flying car."

"Why don't we use transport points?"

Jumping out of his chair, dad turns towards me hastily.

"Because we want to enjoy our trip! We want to see the beautiful landscape!"

"Hehe! Okay!"

When mom got back home, we had dinner.

"I'm going to play Bugzee before bed!"

Bugzee was a video game about bug fights, and I found it interesting because I love the beauty of nature.

After dinner, I head upstairs to my bedroom, put on my headset, and turn the device on.

"Now, which bug should I choose today?"

As I couldn't choose, I picked a random one and started fighting.

I played for 2 hours when I beat a player named the_22nd. He sent me a message after the battle.

The_22nd: "Nice moves! Could we be friends? I want to learn from you!

"Huh? Really?!"

I was excited that someone was impressed by me.

No_UrobXD: "Sure! I would love to!"

A friend request popped up. I clicked Accept.

The_22nd: "Cool! Can we meet up, maybe? I would like to see you in action!"

This message made me a little nervous, but I still responded.

No_UrobXD: "Of course."

Without knowing it, I spent 3 more hours chatting with him. I told him where I lived, thinking that person wouldn't do anything.

After logging out, I dressed in my pajamas and prepared for bed. Now lying under covers, I closed my eyes, thinking about the next day.

...

It was 4 AM when I woke up from a loud noise of glass breaking. 

Huh? Did mom or dad drop something? Why are they up this late?

A loud bang made me jump. I knew it was someone else.

"Who is there?!"

Dad could be heard yelling.

Another round of bangs echoed. Grunts could be heard outside my room.

What is happening?! What should I do!? 

My heart began racing.

"S-STOP IT!"

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Then, a loud thud.

"DEAR!"

Mom screamed.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Another loud thud.

What is happening?! WHAT IS GOING ON?! WHY ARE THEY QUIET?!

Footsteps headed towards my door. I was scared, beyond frightened.

The door slid slowly. 

WHAT?! AM I?! AHH!

Before it could fully slide open, sirens appeared outside. The door stopped.

"Thank you for letting me learn about you, Sako."

The voice of an old man spoke. He ran down the hallway, probably trying to escape. I only got a glimpse of his jetpack model I100 on his back.

When police found me in my bed, they immediately escorted me out of the house. While I walked down the hallway, I saw two people lying on the floor with white blankets over them.

"Are they mom and dad?"

I asked the officer.

"Eh... They're just taking a nap. They're exhausted."

Memories of dad fighting the guy made me anxious.

"Are they okay?!"

"Yeah, they-"

"Stop it, Masaki."

Another officer cut him off.

"Captain Yasushi!"

"There's no need to lie. He'll discover it in a few hours."

"But still!"

Yasushi gave a stern look. Masaki just sighed and looked at me.

"You see kid, you're parents... They're... dead..."

Everything around me seemed to disappear. It felt like my heart and mind broke into a million pieces.

Bang.

I flinched at the memory of it.

Bang.

It kept on going.

"You're all lying, right?"

The officers just looked back at each other. Masaki seemed to be brought to tears.

"No... We-"

"YOU'RE LYING!"

I screamed at them. My vision blurred.

"WE'RE GOING ON OUR TRIP TOGETHER! ISN'T THAT RIGHT?!"

"...kid."

"MOM! DAD! SAY SOMETHING! TELL THEM THEY'RE WRONG!

Turning around toward my parents, I get nothing but silence.

"...kid, we should go now."

"...w-where?"

I could barely speak through tears.

"Police station. We'll ask you some questions and make sure you get to your relatives."

Nothing came out. Everything I believed in, thought of, and loved, disappeared. A light nod was all that I could do.

Thank you for letting me learn about you, Noboru.

My eyes went wide as I remembered that.

No, that guy couldn't... Was that him? But that means...

"I killed them..."

Masaki shook.

"No! You didn't!

"I killed them."

"Kid!"

"I killed them."

"Look at what you've done, Yasushi!"

"I KILLED THEM!"

That was the last thing I said, before collapsing out of tiredness.