Chapter 36: “Repair of Solitude The Union of Day 2”
“—Momiji-chan! Can you hear me!? We finally made it to the station platform!!”
I gripped the steel rack frame so tightly that the fingers of my right hand turned white‚ and shouted toward the massive cylindrical shadow in front of me—the observation tower of Sector 14.
The plastic bottle buffers (fenders) fixed to the four corners of our raft‚ “Extra-Large Serving: Muddy Water Float‚” were pressed against the tower’s concrete wall‚ creaking in time with the waves—
“Gishh… Gishh…”
—letting out heavy groaning sounds.
The rain‚ as always‚ poured down with a coldness that felt like it could melt the world.
But even that cold felt pleasant now.
What came from beyond the door‚ separated by a thick iron wall‚ wasn’t the electronic remnants I had heard through that soot-stained radio.
It trembled through a few centimeters of air‚ directly shaking my heartbeat—
Trembling‚
On the verge of fading away‚
Yet unmistakably carrying the “taste of being alive”—Momiji-chan’s real voice.
“She answered…! Momiji-chan‚ it’s us! We got all muddy‚ but we really made it all the way here!!”
I lifted my unmoving left arm (marshmallow-like) with my right hand‚ took off my hover shoes‚ and braced my defenseless feet against the cold metal frame of the raft‚ leaning my whole heavy body against the iron door.
My soaked uniform clung to the cold metal‚ gradually stealing my body heat.
But wanting to feel even a little closer to the “pulse” of someone on the other side‚ I pressed my ear against the wall.
“Nagisa‚ don’t make noise… Don’t waste oxygen…”
A low‚ heated voice echoed from behind.
When I turned around‚ there stood Rin-chan—our “main engine”—with her sleeveless jacket revealing her white shoulders.
From both of her shoulders‚ splashed with spray‚ white steam continued to rise without weakening even in the cold rain.
Even through her black jacket soaked and clinging to her skin‚ I could see the fine trembling from her limit-drive (overheat)‚ burning vividly into my vision.
Rin-chan stepped beside me‚ hooked her fingers onto the iron door handle‚ and pulled with her full body weight.
But the massive slab of iron remained silent‚ as if rejecting our survival.
“…The calculations don’t match. The external magnetic lock should have been released with the compass pulse.”
“…Rin-san‚ that is not the only cause.”
Haru-kun leaned forward while gripping the raft’s metal frame‚ holding the waterproof “Day 2” notebook in one hand‚ observing the base of the door.
His pale gray eyes coldly pierced the “bugs” of this world.
“The external water pressure is currently 1.8 atmospheres. Approximately two tons of load are pressing the frame inward relative to the door’s surface area.
Additionally‚ structural distortion from the building’s own weight…
With our current strength‚ the probability of opening it is below 0.001%.”
“0.001%! That’s harder than missing the ‘highest rarity’ a hundred times in a gacha! This isn’t a door that won’t open—it’s ‘the world’s hardest cookie tin’!!”
When I jokingly banged on the iron door‚ violent coughing came from the other side.
“Cough… cough‚ cough…! …No… it won’t… open… from the inside either…”
Momiji-chan’s voice leaked between coughs.
Hearing that painful sound‚ my “excitement gauge” plummeted‚ replaced by a cold tightening deep in my chest.
“…We’ll fix it.”
Rin-chan pulled pliers from her tool pouch at her waist and cracked her trembling fingers.
Steam rising from her shoulders cut through the cold rain and brushed against my cheek.
In her eyes was not despair‚ but a sharp light befitting our king—the will to “repair the impossible.”
“If the door won’t open because it’s being pressed by water pressure… then we’ll force it open with the opposite ‘pressure.’”
“Force it open…? Rin-chan‚ don’t tell me you’re planning to dent this ‘world’s hardest cookie tin’ from the outside and pop it open!?”
I widened my eyes as I saw what Rin-chan pulled from her tool pouch‚ bracing my bare toes—freed from my hover shoes—into the cold muddy water.
It was a piece of steel rack support (iron pipe) cut from the raft‚ leftover lighter fuel from repairing the compass‚ and—my “mirror fragment.”
“…We’ll make an improvised directional charge. Haru‚ apply the ‘check valve’ design from your notebook. If pulling doesn’t work‚ we’ll ‘push’ for just an instant—forcing the structure to repair itself.”
Rin-chan knelt beside me and brought her face close enough that the heat of her bare shoulder touched my arm.
Even through her torn-sleeve black jacket‚ I could feel her intense body heat evaporating the spray.
That overwhelming heat made my heart’s drill spin wildly for reasons unrelated to oxygen deprivation.
“…I see. Inject high-pressure gas into the door gap and balance it with the external water pressure.”
Haru-kun placed the waterproof notebook on his knee and scribbled equations rapidly with trembling fingers.
“If the door is warped inward‚ applying localized pressure from the outside will make the steel attempt to return to a ‘straight state’ for a brief moment.
We exploit that 0.1-second gap and slide the door.
…Recalculating. Success probability rises to 65%.”
“65%! For Haru-kun’s numbers‚ that’s today’s most ‘luxurious extra-large menu’!”
“…However‚ if we fail‚ the door will ‘explode inward.’ We must ensure Momiji-san’s safety.”
As if overlapping Haru-kun’s flat declaration‚ violent coughing echoed from beyond the door.
Through the steel wall I leaned against‚ I could feel Momiji-chan’s trembling body directly in my heartbeat.
“…Try it… I’ll hide… under a sturdy control panel…” (violent coughing)
“Momiji-chan‚ trust us! Rin-chan’s repairs are more precise than topping a parfait!”
I tilted my body slightly to protect my unmoving left arm and pressed my face against the iron door.
The cold metal and Rin-chan’s intense heat beside me.
Those opposing sensations sharpened my sensitivity as a “single entity (structure).”
“Nagisa‚ the lighter. Haru‚ make a ‘packing’ to keep the pipe’s pressure from escaping.”
“Understood. I’ll cut and reuse leftover material from Nagisa-san’s ‘hover (plastic bottle shoes)’ used as raft fenders.”
Our three sets of fingers overlapped on the narrow raft.
The moment Rin-chan’s hot fingers pulled the lighter from my pocket‚ her bare shoulder brushed my chest.
“…Nagisa. Don’t stick so close. You’ll throw off my hands.”
“It’s fine—this is just warm-up for ‘explosive repair’…”
I stole a glance at Rin-chan’s profile as she packed the explosive.
In her eyes‚ wet with dripping spray‚ there was neither anger at the door nor fear—
Only a single line of light toward Momiji-chan‚ quietly but fiercely burning.
“…Alright. Final step. Nagisa—your ‘body weight’ will serve as my anchor.”
Rin-chan crouched with her back to the door‚ her sleeveless black jacket further soaked in muddy water.
“I’m the anchor? Don’t tell me you’re going to carry me again!? My right leg is basically ‘closed for business‚’ so balancing is hard!”
“…There’s no time to carry you. The three of us will become ‘one wedge.’”
Saying that‚ Rin-chan wrapped one end of a nylon rope around her waist and the other around my slender waist without hesitation.
Her fingers tightened the rope over my hoodie‚ pulling my body forward.
Then she bound Haru-kun—who clung to the raft frame—into the rope as well‚ physically tying us into one.
“Hyah…! Rin-chan‚ this is way too connected! My ‘embarrassment gauge’ is overflowing MAX!”
In front of the narrow iron door‚
Our three bodies were packed tightly together in a dense vertical line with no escape.
I pressed my chest against Rin-chan’s hot back as she prepared the detonation.
Behind me‚ Haru-kun crouched‚ desperately holding my waist with trembling arms.
His slightly lower body temperature and Rin-chan’s near-overheating heat mixed intensely through my body.
My soaked uniform‚ sandwiched between them‚ gradually warmed.
Through the fabric clinging to my skin‚ I could feel our heartbeats synchronizing like one large drum.
Raindrops from Rin-chan’s black hair slid down my collarbone‚ gliding over my heated skin.
“…Nagisa-san. Your heart rate… exceeds 150. …Panic?”
From behind‚ Haru-kun’s flat yet slightly strained voice came from near my waist.
“No! This is just my ‘pre-explosion excitement boost’! Come on‚ Haru-kun—hold on tight so you don’t drop your notebook!”
“…Silence. Pressure will begin. Nagisa‚ wedge your legs between mine. Haru‚ the same. We become ‘one mass’ to avoid being blown away.”
At Rin-chan’s command‚ I dragged my numb right leg and twisted it inside her thighs.
The bare skin of my foot—freed from the hover shoes—felt the firmness and heat of her tightened muscles directly.
The tourniquet bit into my flesh with sharp pain‚ but right now‚ her body heat and this absolute sense of “connection” were the only things anchoring me to this world.
“…13 seconds until structural critical point.”
Haru-kun read the seconds while pressing his face against my back‚ peering at the waxed waterproof notebook near his knees.
“Directional blast fixed at 92%. Packing airtightness maintained. Rin-san—now!”
“—Gooooo!!”
At my shout‚ Rin-chan’s trembling yet heated fingers—
Guided the lighter’s flame quietly to the fuse.
“—Repair‚ begin!!”
At Rin-chan’s sharp cry‚ an orange flash streaked across our vision.
The improvised directional charge—amplified by my mirror fragment—caused the steel pipe to explode at the door gap under extreme internal pressure.
DOOOOOOOOM!!
It wasn’t the sound of destruction.
It was the violent sound of “repair”—forcing the warped iron door back into place through intense localized pressure.
“H-hyaaaah!? The world’s flipping over!!”
The shockwave shook our three connected bodies as a single entity.
I clung desperately to Rin-chan’s slender waist with my one working arm‚ pressing my numb left arm against her back to endure.
Behind me‚ Haru-kun held my waist like a vise without even screaming.
Sweat blasted from Rin-chan’s exposed shoulders struck my cheek as spray.
From her back‚ I felt overwhelming heat like an engine trying to overpower the world.
GAKON! GIGIGII!!
The heavy iron door slid inward a few centimeters with eerie metallic groans‚ as if yielding to the mass of our “single entity” and hacked physics.
Water pressure and magnetic lock—
The bug called “rejection” imposed by the world was now forcibly rewritten by the heat of the three of us.
“…Door distortion below 0.2 millimeters. Balance point reached!”
Haru-kun’s trembling voice cut through the fading roar.
Clutching his waxed notebook to his chest‚ he clung to my back despite the shock tossing his body.
“Nagisa! Pull!!”
At the front‚ Rin-chan grabbed the handle and pulled with all her strength.
“Roger!!”
I poured all my strength into my right arm around her waist‚ sliding my numb bare foot against the raft frame‚ using the tourniquet’s pain as a “final sprint booster‚” and threw my full weight backward.
ZZZZ… ZUGAAAAAAAN!!
With a storm of metallic friction sparks‚ the heavy iron door that had trapped solitude for so long finally opened its “mouth.”
What burst out wasn’t the stench of seawater—
But a nostalgic‚ bittersweet scent like an old hospital—disinfectant and traces of someone’s life.
“…Ah.”
White steam poured from the gap.
The nylon rope that had bound us fell loose‚ its role complete.
Muddy water rushed in through the open door.
Without the rope’s support‚ the three of us were swept off our feet and tumbled together like a tangled “single entity” onto the tower’s hard concrete floor.
“Hyau… th-thud! That landing scores minus 100 on my ‘defense rating’…”
I brushed my mud-stiffened hair aside with my right hand and lifted my face.
It was a completely different world from the muddy ruins and moldy library we’d seen before.
Inorganic concrete walls.
Old‚ yet clearly well-maintained precision equipment.
And at the center of the room—
Bathed in the faint orange glow of backup batteries‚ she was there.
“…Momiji…-chan?”
My voice dropped into the silent room.
She wasn’t some “giant administrator” guiding us through radio.
Translucent white skin.
Slightly wavy hair tinged with sunset red.
At her feet‚ remnants of electronic circuits‚ and monitors coldly tracking our vitals.
In her eyes reflecting that inorganic light—
The sharpness of someone controlling tens of thousands of data points‚
And the fragility of glass about to shatter—
Coexisted in miraculous balance.
She sat at the edge of a simple medical bed‚ her thin shoulders shaking with violent coughs as she stared at us.
“…You really… came…”
Momiji-chan’s voice trembled.
All alone‚ she had been observing the “end” of the world in this tower‚
Praying that we—the “bug of hope”—would not disappear.
“…Momiji. Your breathing cycle is unstable. There’s severe internal noise as well.”
Rin-chan stood‚ her shoulders heaving like an overdriven engine.
Covered in mud and spray‚ she scanned the girl with an engineer’s sharp eyes and stepped forward without hesitation.
“…We’re late‚ Momiji-san. The single entity (team) has now fully docked.”
Still sprawled on the floor‚ Haru-kun gripped his pen with trembling hands and added the final line to his waxed waterproof notebook.
No trace of statistical despair remained in his gray eyes.
“Day 2: Union of inside and outside. The observer’s door has opened. We have succeeded in repairing solitude.”
“Momiji-chan!! It’s us! The promised ‘giant parfait’… got eaten along the way‚ but we brought the best companions (toppings) with us!!”
Holding my unmoving left arm‚ dragging my numb bare foot across the concrete‚ I smiled at her with everything I had.
The tourniquet pain‚ the paralysis in my arm—
Right now‚ they were all just spices to savor this miracle called “meeting.”
Momiji-chan reached out with a strange‚ tearful smile—
Yet the most beautiful expression in this world.
Her slender fingers‚ warm‚ touched my mud-streaked cheek.
“…Idiot… To come this far‚ in such a state… I always… believed in you…” (violent coughing)
“We’re geniuses at repair! We fixed broken doors and even Haru-kun’s despair to get here!”
The sound of rain still hasn’t stopped.
The black wall in the west still threatens to swallow the world.
But the door will no longer close.
The warmth of three and one has begun to carve a new heartbeat as a “single entity” within this cold observation tower.
Our Day 2.
The true “meeting” begins to accelerate from here.
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