Delivery Person Roruko No. 2, Episode 7: 'Kororukkuru, Missing'

Episode 7: 'Kororukkuru, Missing'

It's not... it's not here!

The lunch rush is over, and I'm taking a breather in my usual park.
I sit down on the bench and unconsciously glance at my delivery bag. That's when I noticed it.

“...It's gone!”

The black bag I'm so used to seeing.
On the top left, where it should be—the Kororukkuru keychain—it's... not there.

For a moment, my mind goes blank.
But then, memories come flashing back.

The end of the lunch rush.
I had made a reckless crossing—trying to dash straight across a three-lane road where there were no traffic lights or crosswalks.
The moment I gasped, nearly getting hit by a car—
I had fallen over, bike and all.

—Maybe that's when the Kororukkuru keychain...
fell off.

No. 2 helped me right away, though...

“Risking your life for a few hundred yen is seriously stupid.”

—I remember being scolded back then.
How long has it been since someone was genuinely angry at me like that...

Suddenly, I hear the sound of a motorcycle from the back of the park.
I turn around and see No. 2 walking toward me.

“Oh, No. 2... thank you for earlier.”

No. 2 snorts, sits down on the bench in silence, and takes out their smartphone.
While staring at the screen, their fingers move quietly.

Are they still mad, I wonder... about what happened back then...

“U-um...”

Looking at No. 2's profile, the words just slipped out.

No. 2 slowly turns to face Roruko.

“Um... thank you so much for earlier.
I felt like I had to properly thank you...”

“I'm just glad you weren't hurt.”

It was that usual low voice.
But, it was somehow soft.
To Roruko, it even looked—just a little bit—like he was smiling.

For a moment, Roruko almost forgot to answer.

“...Oh, yes!”

No. 2 said nothing.

“...Um, the Kororukkuru keychain...”
“It’s an anime character, but do you know if it was attached to my bag?”

Roruko lowered her gaze.

“It went missing when I fell, but...”
“I was wondering if maybe it took my place...”

Roruko glanced softly at No. 2’s profile.
However, No. 2 did not move his eyes.

Just like that, time passed quietly.

Before long, No. 2 stood up slowly.
Without a word, he left the bench and straddled his bike.

Roruko followed his back with her eyes.

The next day. The end of the lunch rush.
Roruko was at that park again.

The same bench as yesterday.
There was still nothing attached to the top left of her bag.

From afar, the sound of a bike approached.
This sound—there’s no mistake, it’s No. 2.

When Roruko looked up, No. 2 was approaching in silence.

Without a word, he took something out of his pocket and held it out to Roruko.

Roruko accepted it, feeling bewildered.

A small weight rested in her palm.

It was Kororukkuru.
Perhaps from when it fell, there was a faint smudge of dirt left on the surface.

“...Eh, did you look for it for me?”

No. 2 did not reply to the words that had slipped out.

Roruko took the keychain and gently wrapped it in her palm.

She stared at Kororukkuru's face once more.
She said in a small, murmuring voice.

"......I wonder if it protected me..."

She was silent for a while.
Her fingertips gently traced the keychain.
Then—she let out a small sigh and turned toward No. 2.

Roruko held out Kororukkuru.

"Ah... here, I'll give this to you, No. 2."
It's a little dirty, but...
maybe it'll protect you this time... perhaps..."

No. 2 stared at it in silence.

Kororukkuru swayed slightly.

"Oh, I actually wanted a Nigo-ru keychain... but it was sold out."

No. 2 rolled the keychain in his hand just once—
and then put it straight into his pocket.

"See ya."

He said only that, briefly, and straddled his bike.

Roruko watched his back as he left.

"......He accepted it."

Afterword

How did you like episode 7?

The story has reached its halfway point, and the production team is honestly happy to feel that "the story has finally started to move."
—Oh, don't worry, that's not a spoiler.

Actually, "Roruko and No. 2" is a story that was originallyplanned with a rough theme and structure in the form of a Part 1 and Part 2.
Part 1 consists of 12 episodes in total. The plot up to the final episode was, for the most part, already finished.

......However, stories change more and more as you write them.
"I want to include that episode too," "Maybe the emotions won't connect unless I depict this event"—as a result of things expanding like that, it often takes a different form than the development originally planned.

For example, the previous episode, Episode 6, was not originally part of the plan.
I created it based on a request from a reader, but once it was finished, it became an important episode that brought a small change to the relationship between Roruko and No. 2.

As I wrote in the afterword of Episode 1, this story has a clear 'image of the goal'.
For example, something like this—

But even when I tried to move the story forward, there was absolutely no change in their relationship...!
'I really don't see a future where No. 2 develops romantic feelings,' I often talked about this with Roru-san.

'Unless Roruko falls in love first and goes on the offensive, No. 2 will probably never be conscious of Roruko in that way,' we said.

But even that 'event where Roruko falls in love' wouldn't happen.
—I even had a period where I was a bit worried about the progression of the story, wondering, 'Could this be...?'

Just then, Roruko was helped by No. 2 and lost her keychain.
When No. 2 heard that, he went to find it and brought it back without saying a word—!

Although this is a Note series that anyone could write, it was the first time I truly felt, So this is what it means for characters to start moving on their own....

Actually, this Episode 7 was originally conceived as a continuation of Episode 2.5, 'Nigoru and Rorukkuru'.
It was intended to be a 'sub-episode' depicting their relationship with a soft, picture-book-like touch.
A story in 0.5-episode increments, so to speak, drawn only when their relationship progressed.

Originally, if the episode of Episode 6 hadn't existed, Roruko would never have been helped by No. 2, nor would she have lost her keychain.
Therefore, the beginning and the end of the story took a different shape than what I had originally thought.

But that is precisely why I feel so strongly about this finished Episode 7.
Now that it's complete, it has become an episode where I can truly say, 'I'm glad I made it, even while I was lost at the time.'

※This work is fiction.

The characters, organizations, place names, and events that appear are unrelated to any real ones. Additionally, while some descriptions are inspired by the posts and activities of real X (formerly Twitter) users, there is no connection to any specific individual or organization, and the content is constructed based on creative fiction.