Utsuro No Hako To Zero No Maria

Disclaimer Under no circumstances would you be allowed to take this work for commercial activities or for personal gain. Baka-Tsuki does not and will not condone any activities of such, including but not limited to rent, sell, print, auction. Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria 3 Artist Tetsuo Author Eiji Mikage Translator EusthEnoptEron Editor Kadi Project page http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/ index.php?title=Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria PDF creation date 2014/10/06 Prologue I’m in a scene that I can only remember in my dreams. I wonder how many times I have met him (or her) already. ...I suppose it doesn’t matter. As always, ‘O’ was saying something bizarre, so I pretty much just ignore him (or her). However, a single remark reverberates in my ears. “Daiya Oomine-kun is your enemy.” 8 Beginning The first time I saw his silver hair, I thought, “Aah, our paths will never cross.” I’m sure most of my other classmates got the same impression. Daiya Oomine rejected the company of others with every fiber of his being. I thought that he only assumed that oppressive attitude and rock-n-roll style to distance himself from other people. But we got along well. Sure, Haruaki helped serve as a bridge, but that alone would never have been enough. «Umm, you’re... Kazuki Hoshino, right? I can’t say why, but you’re kinda weird!» This was the first thing he ever said to me. But I believed that we were friends; after all, he always seemed happy when talking to me. Even so, he still went there: It’s lunchtime, and midterms are about to start tomorrow; Daiya sits down casually next to Maria and says, “You’ve dealt with ‘O’, haven’t you?” I’m too stunned to reply, so Maria answers on my behalf. “.....Oomine, did you obtain a ‘box’?” “What kind of rhetorical question is that? Of course I did. In the first place, I am now talking to Kazu. Be quiet, you annoying guardian.” Maria sighs forcefully, and then looks at me, as if to suggest that she’d leave it to me. But what should I say...? Ignoring my silence, Daiya starts speaking. 9 Beginning “It always seemed odd to me. Otonashi’s appearance, your confession to Kokone and several other cases as well.” Daiya touches the piercing in his right ear. “These doubts were resolved when I met ‘O’. When I met him—right at that moment, I realized that he, who cannot be described as anything other than bizarre, was the reason for all those strange incidents recently. And then he told me that he was interested in Kazuki Hoshino.” Unable to fully comprehend, I listen to him silently. “Which means that I was not the only one who felt something was strange about you. ...You know what, Kazu? After observing you for more than a year, there’s one thing I understood.” He focuses on me with a piercing glance and continued. “You are floating.” “...floating?” I couldn’t grasp the meaning of this sudden word without any context. “It’s as if you’re watching us from an elevated vantage point. You’re here, but you refrain from getting deeply involved and you always keep a certain distance. You’re neither inside, nor outside. You’re just... floating.” I didn’t get his point, and raised an eyebrow. 10 Beginning “And yet you say you want to preserve this everyday life. It was always a mystery to me why you would wish for it. But when I spoke to ‘O’—he told me that you declined the ‘box’ that granted any ‘wish’—I finally understood.” Daiya declares with an unyielding tone. “Your goal is to trample on the ‘wishes’ of others.” “That’s not true!” I am surprised by the volume of my own voice, but I have to make this clear. “The reason why I’m particular about this everyday life is... because I think that longing for something is the proof of being alive... so...” “How laughable.” In c