[Novel: Venus Syndrome] (961) Trauma of Reporting

A coffee shop in the suburbs of Tokyo.
A peaceful time was flowing through the shop in the evening.

Riko Takekuma and Natsu Sonoda were sipping coffee leisurely, enjoying the lingering feeling of the sweat they had shed on the futsal court just moments ago.

Riko, a 'Venus child' born without arms, is a fitting model for the Akasaka dress brand 'Felice,' commonly known as 'Torso-san.'
Natsu, who was Riko's teammate on the girls' soccer team in junior high, had worked at a major newspaper company after graduating from Higo Jishukan High School and Waseda University, but she suffered a breakdown due to a toxic work environment and 'mass media' bashing from the general public, eventually resigning after taking a leave of absence.
She now works as a sales clerk at a US military base PX.

After finishing futsal practice and moving their bodies for the first time in a while, a comfortable silence drifted between the two.

'...As I thought, soccer was fun, wasn't it?'
At Riko's words, Natsu shook her bleached blonde hair and narrowed her eyes just a little.
Outside the shop, the flow of people never ceased.

Suddenly, the screen of the television hanging on the wall of the coffee shop changed.
'In the disaster-stricken areas of Kyushu, recovery from the earthquake is progressing. The victims who were forced to live in temporary housing are also gradually regaining their smiles...'

Along with the announcer's calm voice, the screen showed the state of recovery in the disaster area as time had passed since the earthquake.
Riko immediately noticed something wrong with Natsu.

'Natsu-chan...?'

Natsu was covering both ears, trembling slightly while looking down.
Her face was pale, and her lips were moving faintly.

'Back when I was a newspaper reporter... I had a flashback...'

Natsu's voice was trembling violently.
The trauma of being exposed to intense online bashing and prejudice as 'mass media' when she went to cover a disaster area during heavy rains in the Hokuriku region, and being kicked out of the area after stones were thrown at her. (Main Story387Episode)

'They ate up all the food at the evacuation center.'
'They're making money off the victims.'
'When we argued about whether or not to release the names of the victims, even when I said I wanted to leave behind proof that they lived, no one would listen...'
'A reporter from the Kanazawa branch was almost attacked, and there were people watching it and laughing, saying 'serves you right'...'

Those days of that summer were vividly reviving in Natsu's mind.

'This is no good. Let's get out of here.'

Riko immediately decided to take her away from that place.
While making her thin, inorganic prosthetic arms creak faintly, Riko gently leaned against Natsu's shoulder.

Natsu's trauma, wounded by excessive words and malice, did not end even in this quiet evening city.

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