Chapter 131: Uika Misumi: Japanese People Can Fly (Patreon)

On the other side of Tokyo, at Uika Misumi's apartment.

At this very moment, a fantastical scene defying every law of physics was unfolding there.

Plush toys, fashion magazines, fuzzy slippers, a few unopened cups of instant noodles…

All sorts of odds and ends hovered in midair, scattered at different heights.

Gravity seemed to have simply stopped working in this space.

No — not stopped working, exactly. It was more like another point of gravity now existed within it.

Uika Misumi lay flat on her back on the carpet, one hand lazily pillowed behind her head, the other raised high, a finger pointing at some spot in midair.

As she swept her arm gently to the side, the point of gravity shifted with it, and the floating clutter drifted through the air, slow and clumsy, as if tugged along by some invisible hand.

"It's... unbelievable."

Uika murmured under her breath, a dreamlike daze still lingering on her face.

In her field of vision, she could clearly see a small sphere hovering right where her finger pointed, like a dim, dark star.

It was the gravity radiating from this little sphere that had broken the shackles of Earth's own gravity.

Ever since parting ways with Togawa Sakiko that afternoon, after a long cooling-off period alone, Uika Misumi had finally found herself in the mood to properly sit with whatever this thing was that had suddenly awakened inside her at noon.

She silently mouthed the word that surfaced in her mind: "Heavenfall."

The moment she'd tried to sense this power, the name had simply risen up on its own, as if carved into instinct deep within her soul.

The most basic effect of this ability was exactly what she was doing now — creating one or more "Falling Points" at a designated location in space.

By increasing the output of that strange power — one she couldn't even name herself — she could keep intensifying the gravitational pull.

In short, it was basically like Gojo Satoru's Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue.

"If I push a little harder…"

Maybe just floating small objects wasn't thrilling enough — Uika blinked, a look of eager anticipation crossing her face.

She tried harder to draw on the strange energy inside her — the kind that always welled up endlessly whenever she felt low or restless.

As the cursed energy output increased, the space around the Falling Point let out a warped, humming drone, and the gravity it radiated abruptly surged.

This time, it wasn't just the scattered odds and ends.

"Whoa!"

Uika let out a startled cry.

The coffee table, the sofa, the TV stand — and Uika herself — were all yanked into the air, more than a meter off the floor.

She was flying.

Uika Misumi: Japanese people can fly!

Unfortunately, the novel, thrilling experience lasted less than three minutes before a wave of deep exhaustion crashed over her.

It felt like she'd just powered through three or four back-to-back full-throated concerts, live vocals only — both her stamina and her focus were completely drained.

Her control over this energy was far too crude and inefficient; most of the output simply bled away, wasted for nothing.

She felt like if she kept pushing, she'd pass out.

"Whew…"

Uika let her hand drop weakly, releasing her hold on the Falling Point.

Everything in the air instantly lost its support and came crashing down under ordinary gravity.

"Ah!"

An unopened cup of instant noodles slammed straight into the bridge of her nose, and a fuzzy slipper followed close behind, landing on her stomach.

Sprawled on the carpet, Uika saw stars from the impact.

She didn't rub her aching nose, didn't bother with the slipper on her stomach — she just lay there staring blankly at the ceiling for a while, then let out a long sigh.

"I…"

"I really have turned into some kind of monster, haven't I…"

There was no excitement at gaining superpowers in her voice — only a deep, aimless confusion.

She had absolutely no idea what to do with this sudden power.

A famous line from a superhero movie she'd once watched came to mind —

With great power comes great responsibility.

Was she supposed to squeeze into a spandex suit like in the movies and go swinging between Tokyo's skyscrapers in the dead of night, fighting crime?

Yeah, right.

She was just an ordinary island girl who longed to be touched by the light — she didn't have some noble, heroic resolve to go play superhero.

Rehearsals, songwriting, and running around to appearances every day were already exhausting enough.

More importantly…

Who could she even talk to about this — this strange thing that felt both wondrous and terrifying?

Mana?

No.

Mana would probably assume she was joking, or drag her straight to a psychiatrist.

Saki?

No, not her either.

If Saki couldn't do anything about it, then just knowing would only become a burden on her.

Bottling everything up inside was truly exhausting.

The more you carried inside, the less you were able to actually say out loud.

In truth, the very first person who'd come to Uika's mind was Uchiha Ayato.

She couldn't help it — Uchiha Ayato was the only person she could confide in within this vast city full of lies and distance.

"If it's Uchiha-kun…"

Uika thought silently to herself:

"Even if he saw me turn into some kind of monster, he probably wouldn't be scared."

Uika rolled over, reached for the phone lying a short distance away, and expertly tapped open her chat with Uchiha Ayato.

Right now, she really needed some kind of comfort from him to steady her heart.

As for the possibility that Uchiha-kun might currently be with Saki?

Oh, forget it! Since when were there so many rules about this?

She couldn't just suffocate herself over it, could she?

Uika bit her lip, fingers flying across the screen:

[Uchiha-kun!]

[Something really strange seems to have happened to me.]

[It doesn't feel dangerous, but I have no idea what to do about it...]

[If you don't mind, Uchiha-kun, could you come help me out right now?]

Having typed out this whole plea for help in one breath, Uika stared at the screen for a moment.

To prove she wasn't lying, she summoned what little power she had left and created a new "Falling Point" above her head.

Riding that faint pull of gravity, she lifted her phone and snapped a selfie of herself floating once again, surrounded by hovering odds and ends.

After sending it, she added a playful line to mask her nerves:

[See, I wasn't lying.]

[I'm flying through the sky — I've basically nailed backflips now.]

Watching the little green checkmark appear on screen, Uika let out a breath and slumped back onto the carpet.

How would Uchiha-kun reply?

Would he be shocked?

Would he call right away to ask what happened?

Or would he come rushing over right this instant?

Less than a minute later, a distinctive notification chime sounded.

Uika's eyes lit up. She grabbed the phone at once and looked at the screen, brimming with anticipation.

Then she went blank.

Uchiha Ayato: [?]

Uchiha Ayato: [mj]

Uika Misumi: ???

Rewind five minutes.

Uchiha Ayato slumped back against the sofa, drained, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand before letting out a heavy breath.

He'd finally gotten through that exhausting exchange.

In the past few minutes, Soyo Nagasaki on the other end of the screen had thrown everything she had at him, trying to stretch out the conversation with all manner of pointless small talk and topics dripping with romantic undertones.

But Uncle Ayato was Uncle Ayato — fully locked into Sigma mode, he'd barely managed to solo-defend against little Miss Nagasaki's onslaught, forcibly pinning the conversation down to the one thing that actually mattered: arranging where to meet the next day.

Just as Uchiha Ayato was about to let his taut nerves relax, he caught sight, out of the corner of his eye, of two heads pressed in close on either side of him.

While Uncle Ayato had been locked in his war of wits with little Miss Nagasaki, Togawa Sakiko and Wakaba Mutsumi had, without his noticing, squeezed in on either side of him.

Both of them were staring intently at his phone screen, which hadn't yet gone dark, taking in his entire chat history with Soyo Nagasaki.

Uchiha Ayato: "?"

Seriously, they just loved snooping through Uncle Ayato's private life, didn't they?

Looks like he'd need to go buy a privacy screen protector tomorrow.

"Seen enough?"

Uchiha Ayato dimmed the screen with a huff of annoyance, then raised his other hand and gave each of the two heads a light knock.

Wakaba Mutsumi showed no trace of embarrassment at being caught. She simply sat up straight and silently gave Uchiha Ayato a thumbs-up.

Wakaba Mutsumi: When it's time to cut ties, cut them clean — no dragging your feet.

Good Ayato!

"Soyo…"

Togawa Sakiko settled back too, brow furrowing slightly, her eyes complicated.

"Why is she acting like some clingy shrew who won't take no for an answer?"

"And she seems really averse to the topic of the 'request.' Why is that?"

Even through the screen, Sakiko could see the anxiety practically overflowing from Soyo Nagasaki.

"Of course she's averse to it."

Uchiha Ayato shifted into a more comfortable position and said calmly:

"That request is the one thread keeping her connected to me."

"As far as she's concerned, as long as the contract still stands, I'll keep fulfilling it — giving her an illusion of 'protection' and security."

"Once the request is fulfilled, the relationship built on that transaction breaks along with it."

"She's afraid that the moment she loses that connection, whatever exists between us ends there too."

He paused for a moment, his eyes lucid to the point of cruelty.

"But every dream has to end eventually."

"If she can't even face that much reality, no one can save her."

"I'm not going to let her keep living in a lie she's telling herself."

Hearing this, both Sakiko and Mutsumi fell into a brief silence.

After a moment, Sakiko let out a soft sigh, looking at Ayato with a complicated expression.

"Ayato-kun, you really are cruel, aren't you."

"If it really is the way you say, Soyo's going to be in a lot of pain tomorrow when she learns the truth."

"After all…"

"It seems like she's already made you her new emotional anchor."

"You call that cruel?"

Uchiha Ayato couldn't hold back a laugh, turning to look at Sakiko, who'd slipped into full saintly-Sakiko mode, radiating empathy:

"I'm not some all-powerful wish-granting machine. Just because someone feels like they need me, or likes me, doesn't mean I'm obligated to play at romance with every girl who's caught feelings for me."

"I'm not obligated to hand out that kind of useless charity."

Having said that, he suddenly changed tack:

"Besides, Saki, you're hardly one to talk."

"Think back carefully — who was it that quit the band without a second thought, and drove the very first, deepest knife straight into Soyo's heart?"

"If she really breaks down tomorrow, I'll just leave it to you to comfort her."

"You—!"

Her secret laid bare, Sakiko's cheeks flushed bright red.

Having her past exposed to his face, her old irresponsible actions dragged back into the light, Sakiko was overcome with a mix of shame and anger — she wanted nothing more than to find a crack in the floor and disappear into it.

But even as that intense shame washed over her, Sakiko sharply picked up on another key point buried in what Ayato had just said.

He'd just said…

He wasn't obligated to play at romance with every girl who liked him.

So with Soyo Nagasaki, he'd chosen the cruel, direct route — cutting through the mess with one swift stroke.

But wasn't she, too, one of the girls who'd confessed to him directly, who'd said the word "like" to his face?

With Soyo, it was a decisive rejection and clean break.

But with her?

He'd accepted her, broken as she was, and openly brought her back into his own private domain…

Heh, heh, heh…

The corners of Sakiko's mouth crept upward, wild and uncontrollable, the shame and anger from having her past exposed evaporating instantly.

So this counted as tacit acceptance, then?

Uchiha Ayato, you really are a hopeless tsundere, you know that?

There's no need to feel inferior about falling for Togawa Sakiko.

Sakiko's mood cleared up instantly, and even the way she looked at Ayato turned soft.

Just then, Ayato's phone screen suddenly lit up again.

Along with the distinctive notification chime, a new message popped up.

Sakiko glanced over instinctively and instantly identified the sender from their profile picture.

Uika Misumi.

The soft, bright look in Sakiko's eyes cooled instantly.

She let out a short huff, leaning back, her voice thick with jealousy:

"Heh, Ayato-kun really is a popular man, isn't he."

"Messages from girls just keep coming, one after another — you don't even get a chance to catch your breath."

Togawa Sakiko: Uika, you really are a total two-faced schemer!

And here I was, during the day, thinking you were some scary lesbian rival, guarding against you like a thief.

And what happens?

Come nighttime, you just can't help revealing your true colors and start texting Ayato-kun to hit on him?

I've heard that bisexuals like you are the least welcome in the sapphic community.

Still….

No matter how much disdain she voiced, Sakiko's peripheral vision stayed locked tight on Ayato's phone screen.

She wanted to see exactly how Uika normally talked with Ayato-kun.

Uchiha Ayato ignored Sakiko's sarcastic jabs and, unhurried, tapped open his chat with Uika Misumi.

After reading through the long block of text Uika had sent, Ayato glanced over at Sakiko beside him and spoke.

"Looks like our hunch was right."

"Uika really did awaken this afternoon."

Sakiko blinked, caught off guard.

While she was still processing that, a new message from Uika arrived.

It was a photo.

In the photo, Uika Misumi, in her nightgown, floated in midair in open defiance of gravity, surrounded by all sorts of scattered clutter.

Below the photo were a couple of playfully suggestive lines.

You can do backflips?

You could've at least used a cat as an excuse.

You're not even bothering to keep up the act anymore!

Togawa Sakiko: ……

Wakaba Mutsumi: ……

With perfect unspoken coordination, Sakiko and Mutsumi both turned to fix Ayato with scrutinizing looks.

Uchiha Ayato: "???"

Expressionless, Ayato lowered his head and silently sent off two utterly meaningless messages.

Once he'd sent them, he cleared his throat, breaking the strange tension hanging over the living room:

"Ahem…"

"Never mind why Uika decided to tell me about this in particular…"

"Judging by what we've seen, the Cursed Technique Uika awakened must be gravity-related."

Mutsumi looked at Ayato and went straight for the heart of the matter:

"So?"

"Ayato, are you going?"

Ayato hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"...I should go take a look."

"Uika's probably pretty overwhelmed right now. I'll go check on things, give her some pointers."

"At least get her settled down."

With that, Ayato, forcing an air of calm composure, bent his head and asked Uika Misumi for her address.

The address arrived just a few seconds later.

"Alright, got the address."

Ayato rose to his feet, grabbing the jacket draped over the arm of the sofa in one smooth motion:

"I'll be back soon. Get some rest — don't wait up for me."

Before the words had even finished, he was already at the entryway, gone like a gust of wind.

With a soft bang, the apartment door swung shut, leaving Sakiko and Mutsumi on the living room sofa, staring at each other.

The variety show on TV kept blaring away, while the atmosphere between the two of them turned strange and delicate.

After a long moment, Sakiko gritted her teeth and, keeping her voice low, spoke to Mutsumi:

"Mutsumi."

"Do you finally see who the real enemy is now?"

"Stop spending all your time scheming against me!"

Looking at her childhood friend's face, full of frustration, Mutsumi nodded seriously.

"Saki, that's a fair point."

"We're sisters."

"Uika's the real alley cat sneaking a taste."