4 — You Reap What You Sow (04)

"Briiiiing! Wake up, Haruki! Wake up, Haruki! How long are you planning to stay in bed?! Today is Wednesday, September 29th, 2027! It is exactly 9:30 AM. The weather today, in the city of Tokyo, will be cloudy with strong winds. It is advisable to take a jacket if you plan on going out. Briiiiing! Wake up, Haruki! Wake up, Haruki! Today is Wednesday, September 29th—!"

Pak!

"Shut up already! I get it!!!"

With a punch, I silenced the alarm and dragged myself out of bed. The moment I opened my eyes, a stabbing pain shot through my head.

"Ugh, my head. Why the hell does it feel like I got run over by a bullet train?"

While massaging my temples, I tried to understand why my pants were scattered across the apartment. In the trash can, my favorite dress shirt was stained pink. I had no idea how it ended up there, but that could wait until later.

Right now…

Why was I only wearing boxer briefs and one sock?

"Shit, did I drink again?"

I took a step forward and almost lost my balance. 

Everything around me started to spin. 

There was a really strong smell hanging in the air.

 If this kept up, I—

"Ugggh—"

I bolted to the bathroom.

I lifted the toilet lid and… well, let's spare the details. It wasn't pretty.

"Urgh! Yeah, all the symptoms line up: I'm hungover."

At this point it was obvious, but I still thought about checking the mirror just to confirm.

On second thought, that didn't sound like a good idea.

If I went there now, I'd probably scare myself, so instead I jumped into the shower and turned on the water to try and wash away at least some of last night's drunkenness.

"Damn it, I can't remember anything."

Apparently, I overdid it again. Huge chunks of my memory were missing…

Even so, it didn't take long for reality to hit me and remind me just how screwed I was.

"Ah, what am I gonna do now?! As soon as they upload my grades to the system, he's gonna find out! Aaaah!"

Long story short:

I, Kobami Haruki, am a neural connections student at Tokyo University. The most sought-after place among the country's elite.

At first glance, it might sound impressive, but… no.

It's not.

On top of hating everything related to that field, the only reason I managed to get into the program was pure luck. And the reason I even chose this stupid course in the first place was because my dad pressured me.

"Haruki, since you just finished high school and spend your days without doing anything productive, your mother and I came up with a proposal for you. You're going to work in the same field as me. Forget this game stuff and think about your future. I know a lot of young people like you believe that because they're still young, they don't need to worry about it yet. But you should take advantage of the opportunities that are—"

"Boooring."

Of course I turned him down.

Even though my dad made a lot of money at his job, that life wasn't for me.

Dealing with things like dissonance and brain cells sounded like hell. And I don't even need to say I had no intention of wasting my youth on that.

However…

"Can you stop acting like that for one second and listen to your father?"

"T-thank you, dear… Ahem, as I was saying: Haruki, I understand you have zero interest in this field, and that if it stays like this you'll just reject the idea. So I thought about what you told me last week…"

"O-oi, oi! Are you serious? Like… is this what I think it is?"

"Fufu. Since you're so desperate to live on your own and start your own life, I thought I'd give you a little push. I talked to a friend who works with real estate and got you a good location. You won't have to worry about your living expenses."

"Ah!!! Dad! Did I tell you how much I love you today?!"

"Ugh! Cut it out, Haruki. Hugging me won't change anything. I'm not finished yet. And don't look at me like that. You know me well enough to realize it wouldn't be that easy, right? Listen carefully: I'm giving you this chance, but under one condition: you have to pass the entrance exam for the neural connections program at Tokyo University. On top of that, I want results. Keep in mind that if your grades fall below average for even a single semester, you're on your own!"

"I accept!"

What kind of idiot would refuse that?

It was a tempting offer.

On top of not having to worry about bills, I'd get to live alone in my own apartment? Haha! That was perfect for me. My college life was going to be fantastic. I mean, if I really put in the effort, staying around the average shouldn't be that hard, right?

—Wrong.

Yesterday, I failed two classes.

"Aaaah! My dad is gonna kill me!"

◈ ━━━━━━━ ◆ ━━━━━━━ ◈

After drying off, I threw on some clean clothes.

Even after the shower, I could still smell alcohol all over the place. As soon as I had the energy, I'd have to work up the courage to open the windows and deep-clean the apartment. Considering my dad could check my grades on the school portal, it was only a matter of time before he found out what happened.

"Well, there's nothing I can do now. If we sit down and talk it through, I'm sure he'll understand, ha…ha."

(To be fair, not even I believed that lie.)

I filled a mug with leftover drip coffee (from yesterday) and heated it up in the microwave. Then I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV.

"I wonder what's on today?"

I took a sip and nearly spat it onto the floor. Reheated coffee was disgusting. But even with that awful taste, I drank it all. A long stretch of hardship was about to start in my life. I couldn't afford to waste anything.

"Try Armageddon Pills for incredible results— Honey, do you really love m— Shoot! Shoot if you have the guts, if you think you ca— Ah! Not so hard—"

I switched channels several times and didn't find a single decent thing. Maybe it was the hangover, but nothing seemed interesting.

I figured instead of wasting my time with this crap, it'd be better to come up with a plan. I needed to start thinking about what excuse I'd give my parents…

Suddenly, just as I was about to turn the TV off, something caught my attention.

"It's a day of mourning for Japanese citizens. Yesterday, after a terrorist attack, licensed mage Lakas lost his life while protecting hostages at the Okiyama Bar. In a desperate attempt to save the civilians, Lakas activated his famous mass teleportation magic, taking the terrorists to the top of the Massugu Sky Tower, where he unfortunately met his end. Reporter Nagasawa-san is on site with footage and more information. Nagasawa-san, what's the situation over there?"

W-what is this?

Lakas died?

I turned the volume up.

"Good morning, Sakamoto-san. Things are not looking good here. The security team and firefighters are still trying to assess the damage, but from what we can tell so far, a major repair effort will be needed. The building's structure was drastically compromised when a powerful ice magic was used on site. Everything within a thirty-meter radius of the body was frozen solid and, as we already know, the most affected was Lakas himself, who took the attack head-on."

My stomach twisted.

I couldn't take my eyes off the TV.

The footage they were showing on the news… why did it look so familiar?

"It's a tragedy, Nagasawa-san… Lakas's death is an immeasurable loss for Japan… whoever did this is a cold-blooded criminal and must be stopped. Do we have any information on the terrorists or on the status of the hostages?"

"All images of the terrorists were either deleted or altered. Based on the patterns found in the ice, it is estimated that the attack may have been carried out by a group that appeared recently in Tokyo, but nothing is certain. The little we know about them comes from hostage testimony, but since they were all drugged with a suspicious liquid, we can't say how reliable that information is. So far, what we can say from the reports, is that two of the hostages were teleported along with Lakas. However, their whereabouts remain unknown. Either way, the attack does not appear to have been a simple kidnapping. The police are already investigating the case, and we should be getting an official statement from the national security team soon. — Reporter Nagasawa, TK-News."

"..."

I started hyperventilating.

Cold sweat ran down my temples.

As I listened to the sound of the helicopter circling overhead and watched the footage of the frozen rooftop of the Massugu Sky Tower, I finally remembered what had happened last night…