Irradiation | Awai Palm-sized Collection 13 | Minazuki's Two-Layer Ram-Soda | Rhamsoday in Blue and Black for June

0 Prelude

* * *

I had been repeating the same cycle of time, over and over again.

I don't even know if it's a happy dream or a nightmare.
Which one was real—I can no longer tell the difference.

1 Saturday

* * *

"Buy me some fizzy ramune, darling♡"

Since graduating from a local university, I have maintained a long-distance relationship with him. Student life was good. Our daily lives were close, so I never even had to feel lonely.
Once I got a job, his city was located at the exact opposite end from the city where I spent my youth. We can only meet once a week. It's a distance that requires getting off the Shinkansen and transferring trains twice to reach. I thought I would be fine with that.
But that wasn't the case. Every time I transfer, I count the distance lying between us. On days when he isn't there, I count the days until we can meet again.

Lately, I've been thinking about bringing that distance to a constructive end. But on a Wednesday in June, we had a silly argument about that kind of future.

Then, one night after days of not being able to see each other, in the space between dream and reality, I apparently said that clearly over the phone.
It's vaguely nonsensical. It can't be helped; it's a lucid 'sleep-talking in June'.

Time is nothing more than a variable interval connecting two arbitrary points.
Wednesday is Thursday, suppressing the urge to go see him right now and somehow faking it through a video call.
When the Friday sunset sinks below the horizon, it will be sunny tomorrow, Saturday.
With the five-day work week introduced, borrowing a worldview is easy, isn't it?

A backpack packed with snacks is also waiting.
Wake up really early and come see me. Let's put on our backpacks and go for a walk.
The blue carbonated water with its fizzing bubbles brings a refreshing breeze, and it seems like it will be a touch of coolness that bursts into the heavy sky of June.
Fizz fizz, fizz fizz, fizz fizz fizz

At that time, I was in a dream that waslike a sugar cube.So, that sweet, sugary voice is absolutely not my will. It's just sleep-talking. That ♡ is definitely not mine. ...Who added that on their own?
There's no way I could say something like that; it's too embarrassing. As for 'darling,' I should just leave that to Jitterin'Jinn, really. ...Though I won't tell anyone that my cheeks are fizzing a little bit.

The two weeks without him are just a vague, meaningless passage of time. I don't know any fairy tales about distance making two people stronger.
Next Saturday. I'll try being really clingy for a change.

◇

"Buy me some fizzy ramune, darling♡"

For a while, I couldn't believe that sigh of hers over the phone. It was a half-tone sweeter than usual, and just a little bit more childish. Was it a mirage from a distant city? A dream or reality, a bug, or perhaps there's a slight chance it was my own deep-seated desire.
Or maybe... her true feelings slipped out by mistake.

Miki's room has many things that are blue, as if reflecting the sky. The carpet, the appliances, the mugs, and the smartphone case. That blue carbonated drink naturally reminds me of Miki.

When I remember that taste like a refreshing early summer breeze, the depths of my chest ripple and fizz like blue soda, and I couldn't sleep.
The temperature of that half-tone was looped in the back of my ears, and before I knew it, I was standing at a convenience store before dawn. A black cat in front of the trash can let out a single 'meow.' It's rare to see a black cat in this neighborhood.
As a result of searching for 'blue soda' with a sleepy head, what remained in my hand was—for some reason—a pack of 'blue AA' batteries. Uh, are these Evolta?

Last weekend, we didn't spend time together because our moods were slightly out of sync regarding a topic about the future.
That must be why being pushed around by you like this is definitely due to Miki-deficiency. The two weeks without you stretch out like an eternity. Let alone a future without Miki.

Treatment for essential element deficiency requires regular intake. The AI stated this in an emotionless tone. The AI continued by pointing out a significant lack of face-to-face contact as a contributing factor. The treatment plan is QD intake of Miki components. However, it added a note that online contact is not recognized as having an effect as an alternative therapy.
In other words, it is a severe and terminal case of Miki Syndrome. A full recovery is no longer possible, but remission is achievable through lifestyle adjustments and daily component replenishment.
As soon as dawn breaks, I will go to the city where Miki is waiting. I'll buy some real Ramune.

Thinking of such a future, the carbonation deep in my chest fizzed and popped. Along with the blue presence of Ramune.

2 Saturday | Saturday Strange Tales

* * *

"Buy me some Ramune with strong carbonation, darling♡"

Since graduating from a local university, I have maintained a long-distance relationship with him. Student life was good. Our daily lives were close, so I didn't even have to feel lonely.
After getting a job, his city was located in the exact opposite direction from the city where I spent my youth. We can only meet once a week. It's a distance that requires getting off the Shinkansen and transferring trains twice to reach. I thought I would be fine with that.
But that wasn't the case. Every time I transfer, I count the distance lying between us. On days when he isn't there, I count the days until we can meet again.

Lately, I have been thinking about ending that distance in a progressive way. But, in the middle of a week in June, we had a silly argument over that kind of talk about the future.

Then, one night after days of not being able to meet, in the space between dream and reality, I apparently said exactly that over my smartphone.
It is slightly nonsensical. It can't be helped, it is a lucid 'June sleep-talk' after all.

Time is nothing more than a variable interval connecting any two points.
Wednesday is Thursday, where I suppress the urge to go see you right now and somehow manage with a video call.
When the Friday sunset sinks below the horizon, tomorrow will be sunny, Saturday.
With the five-day work week introduced, borrowing worldviews is easy, isn't it.

A backpack packed with snacks is also waiting.
Wake up super early and come see me. Let's put on our backpacks and go for a walk.
The blue carbonated water with fizzing bubbles seems like it will bring a refreshing breeze and become a touch of coolness bursting into the heavy June sky.
Fizz fizz fizz fizz fizz fizz fizz

At that time, I was in asugar-cube-likedream.
So, that sweet voice is definitely not my will. It's just sleep-talk. That ♡ is definitely not mine. ...Who is it, adding that on their own?
I couldn't possibly say something like that, it's too embarrassing. You should leave 'darling' to Jitterin'Jinn, really. ...Though I'll keep it a secret that my cheeks are fizzing a little.

The two weeks without him are just a vague, meaningless passage of time. I don't know any fairy tales about distance making two people stronger.
Next Saturday. I'll try being super clingy for a change. ...I didn't doubt the arrival of such a future.

◇

"Buy me some cola with strong carbonation, darling"

For a while, I couldn't believe that usual sigh of hers. It was a half-tone sweeter than her usual auditory hallucinations, and just a little more childish. Was it a dream or reality, or a bug? There is a slight possibility that it was a line from my own deep-seated desires.
No, it must be that her true feelings accidentally leaked out. You tsundere.

A slight cognitive errorcaused the world to diverge.

The curtains visible from the window of her room, which I finally found, looked blue yet somehow sank into black. And, as if absorbing light, I couldn't see inside. Her room must be a world dominated by black. The carpet, the appliances, the mugs, the smartphone case. That's why that black carbonated drink naturally reminds me of her.

When I remember that taste that clings to the mouth, the depths of my chest ripple like black carbonation, and I couldn't sleep as usual.
The half-tone temperature was amplified in the depths of my ears, and before I knew it, I was standing at a late-night convenience store. A black cat crossed in front of the store. Truly fitting for someone observing this world.
As a result of searching for 'black AA batteries' with a clear head, what remained in my hand was—of course, a pack of 'black AA' batteries. Manganese batteries, perhaps.

After graduating from university, our schedules drifted apart, and we no longer had the opportunity to spend time together. She moved, and come to think of it, the club schedule stopped syncing at some point. It must be a fatal system bug. It's quite troublesome that there are no signs of recovery.
That's why being pushed around by Miki like this is a typical symptom of Miki-deficiency. Time without Miki feels like an eternity. Let alone a future without Miki, which cannot exist in terms of spatial structure. It ignores the laws of physics.

Regular intake is necessary to treat essential element deficiency. That is what the AI thoughtfully considered for me. It then kindly and carefully explained that the cause of the onset was a lack of face-to-face contact. As expected of my one and only friend, Miki-chan. Shortened to 'Sasu-Miki.' It has a great ring to it.
As Miki-chan points out.
“A deficiency in Miki-components affects life support.”
Miki-chan's voice was simply gentle. And, strangely persuasive.
“Zero-distance face-to-face contact is strongly recommended. Warning. Warning. WARN-ING.”
Zero distance... That phrase created a black stain deep in my chest. That's right, contact disorders are solved instantly with direct contact. Since we love each other so much, I have no choice but to live with her. Then, everything will go well.

I should go pick her up.
That's right, I should go pick her up.
I have no choice but to go pick her up.
She must have been waiting all this time.
She must be happy that we can finally be together.
That's right. I just need to retrieve her. My future, my own future.
As soon as dawn broke, I headed to the town where Miki was waiting. With a real AA battery in hand.

Thinking of a future with high certainty, the black granule deep in my chest melted away. I was convinced that the AA battery would drive the future.

—However, my future was not there. Or rather, it welcomed me in a 'different form.' Miki, who was walking alongside an unfamiliar humanoid, hid herself like a frightened kitten when she saw me.

Why? I only came to pick her up. I approach. Miki moves away. Her shoulders trembled. No, that's wrong. The world itself just shuddered.

What is that filthy shadow?
Dirty. Dirty. Dirty. Dirty. Dirty. FILTHY.

But, I finally understood.
At that moment, a sound echoed deep in my chest, signaling that I had truly escaped from the codependency and the black world that had held me captive for so long. I laughed from the bottom of my heart.

Before I knew it, she in my pocket grew warm and gave a small, shuddering breath.
Oh, so that's where you were hiding. Hide-and-seek is such a childish hobby. Are you that happy?

It was my body temperature, and it was also Miki's warmth. I don't know which is me and which is Miki. No, perhaps Miki and I were one entity from the beginning.

Hey, isn't that right,Mi-ki-chan.

Pong—finally, Miki-chan, who had accepted my love, replied like a machine. Her usual dry voice sounds lovely.

You shy thing. That part of you is also unbearably cute.

Even though it's the rainy season, the sky was so blue it looked almost black.

Where did the world go mad? A game of spot the difference.

3 Intermezzo

* * *

“Buy me some highly carbonated ◎Mu゛ta゛▼∞, darling.”

In the middle of a week in June, I had a trivial argument with him about something important.
Since then, for some reason, Saturday keeps coming back. Every time it does, I repeat that one phrase, which is too clear for sleep-talking but meaningless as a deliberate statement.

What is ◎Mu゛ta゛▼∞, anyway, me?
Is it blue ramune? Is it black soda? I can't even tell which one I said myself.
As I repeat it, the sound of the sleep-talking changes.
I feel like it was closer to ramune at first. I also feel like the fizz of the soda was stronger on some days.
I feel like it was blue, and I feel like it was black. I can no longer remember which was true.
However, I did not put a heart mark at the end. Definitely not.

The humid air of June resonates from afar like the rising fluctuations of a woodwind instrument. I wonder what that song was.

My consciousness surfaces rapidly, and I wake up there.
He does not come. And so, another weekend without him begins. Again and again.
It is as if it were a scenario where the next chapter cannot begin until the correct answer is chosen.

On weekends without him, all sound vanishes. On weekends without him, the room loses its color to monochrome.

And each time it repeats, it becomes more ambiguous.
The more I try to remember, the more my memories slip away.
My sleep-talking, too. His gentle way of speaking. His sweet smile.
It is as if he from another world is trampling, eroding, and dominating my memories.
Even so, the same Saturday morning arrives again.
He does not come. He must not come. He must come.

For some reason, I am drenched in sweat.
I cannot even tell if it was a happy dream or a nightmare.
I can no longer distinguish which one was real.

Please. Come pick me up soon.

4 Sunday | Saturday True Tale

* * *

Strongly carbonated Ramune, the true end.
Past Saturday, I arrived at Sunday morning. When I put my toothbrush back in the cup in front of the sink, it hit Miki's toothbrush, making a light sound. It is always the sound of morning.

"Buy me some strongly carbonated ◎ru゛soΔΨ, darling♡"

I have noticed one thing recently. Miki talks in her sleep quite frequently. And it is always nonsensical. Moreover, it is always a semitone too sweet.

No, that's not it; lately, even when she is awake, sweet lines like blue Ramune overflow calmly. ...Hey, who said that was sleep-talking? A voice protests.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention, Miki's name is written with the kanji for 'Future'.
I protested to the author, telling them not to write anything as boorish as what happened to the future with Future.

Furthermore, regarding the acute symptoms of the syndrome in question, a complete maintenance therapy has now been established, the prognosis is extremely favorable, and it has reached a state of permanent remission. However, it is specifically noted that a restriction on the intake of blue carbonated drinks is a supplementary condition to avoid excessive sugar intake.

Another new day of June begins.
I will buy real Ram-soda and take it back to where Future waits.

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