( sub story ) Radio Wave in Love

[flair]

Happy birthday to Tsuyuri Hassaku! To celebrate, I've decided to translate one of the stories she appears in—Sora Tokikuni's "Radio Wave in Love". Thank you to Peace (yoroshikilled) for giving this a read-over for me after her hard day at work.

Chapter 1

Location: School Infirmary

Tsuyuri: (coughing)

I'm sorry, Transfer-kun—

You're having to help me with Health Committee duties...

But this bottle of medicine's just too heavy for a girl like me to carry...

Huh? What're you looking at?

That's... I don't remember this poster here.

It looks handmade... Let's see... "The opposite of help is harm ♪¹ Aren't you taking too many supplements?"

Mmm, that's certainly true. I take a lot of supplements, but...

I don't feel very good whenever I'm cramming them all in my mouth at the same time.

Huh? There's more—it's in a weird spiral pattern...

"You don't have to rely on those things to get better! Achieve good health by letting the cosmic rays simply wash over you!

If you're interested in the health benefits of cosmic rays, please get in touch. —Sora Tokikuni of the Occult Research Club."


Ohh, that sounds so shady... It's like one of those weird advertisements you'd see on the back of a magazine.

About the Occult Research Club—it's not unheard of for them to go around putting up big posters like this without permission.

Things like "Let's search for aliens together!" or "The Land of Mu² really exists!" and such. It seems like they've finally gotten to the infirmary.

The Occult Research Club's Sora Tokikuni-senpai is famous around school for being an odd person, but still—

What's the fun in this kind of thing?


Sora: Beep-boop, beep-boop...?

It's as if someone is talking about me—

Tsuyuri: Oh— oh my goodness! S-Sora Tokikuni-senpai...!? Isn't this on par with "speak of the Devil and he shall come"!?

Sora: Beep-boop, beep-boop? Were you the one speaking about me...? Ah, were you interested in the health benefits of cosmic rays...?

Tsuyuri: No, definitely not!

Sora: There's no need to be embarrassed, overwhelmed by the unknown...

The desire to get closer to the truth of the universe in order to overcome that fear—it is merely human instinct.

That is how mankind, descended from Atlanteans, have continued to foolishly evolve...

Tsuyuri: (I... I don't understand a thing she's saying—)

Sora: You can just help us out a little at first—



Won't you donate funds to the Occult Research Club, which seeks out the truth of the cosmos?

Even if it might... advance the hands of the doomsday clock...?

Tsuyuri: Eek...

Wh-what should we do? Should we really get involved with someone like this?

...H-huh?! Why are you taking out your wallet?

Sora: Beep-boop, beep-boop?

Are you offering a donation?

Do you believe in what I've said?

Tsuyuri: Tra... Transfer-kun...? Ahh, I see—

It's not like you really believe in any of that, but it seems like she won't let us go home unless we pay...?

Sora: Oh...

Thank you—this is the first time someone's ever donated... The first time someone's ever... believed in my words...

You're a good person. I will be holding a little ceremony tonight—

I'd like you to join too, if that's alright. Here, a map and the necessary tools...

I'll be waiting for you. I'll always be waiting for you... Beep-boop, beep-boop...♪

Tsuyuri: Oh gosh, it feels like we've gone right from the frying pan and into the fire!

...Wh-what should we do, Transfer-kun? Getting involved with that person's all pain and no gain, you know?


Chapter 2

Location: Rooftop (afternoon)

Tsuyuri: Uh, hey... Transfer-kun.

How'd it go earlier? With that Sora Tokikuni-senpai...? She didn't drag you into anything weird, did she?

Huh? Is that... a bento? That's a bento, right?

Oh my gosh, it's got so many tiers! And it's stuffed to the brim with space food!

There's pig's feet in the second box! And in the third— some kind of syrupy thing I can't identify!

Wh-wh-what's the meaning of all this?

Huh? Tokikuni-senpai made it? But how— why?

...Is that your phone?

There's a message from Tokikuni-senpai? C-can I take a little peek?

"I want to see you I want to see you I want to see you I want to see you I want to see you I want to see you I want to see you I want to see you I want to see you I want to see you I want to see you..."


Is her mind totally warped!?³

D-did she become a yandere? What happened?

Huh? Tokikuni-senpai's asked to see you? D-don't go, Transfer-kun! She's for sure a dangerous person!

Um, you see—I thought there might be something going on with her and got worried, so I did a little digging...

The school nurse and I are on good terms, so I asked about Sora Tokikuni-san—if she had some kind of illness, or anything particularly special about her.

That senpai has extremely good hearing—it's called "Mosquito Sound".

It's said that it's something only children can hear, but—

It's much more than that for her—she can hear sounds that no other human can.

That's probably why she always feels like "someone's calling" her.

If someone says her name, she'll hear it.

"Sora" is a pretty common word though, so she must feel as if someone's always out there calling for her...

A normal person would break if they heard that level of noise every moment of their day—


And Tokikuni-senpai's lived in a world like that this whole time.

It's no surprise that being in a world of non-stop noise every day would throw her mind out of balance.

And so, I really didn't want to say this, but—that person's getting really, really weird!

Don't involve yourself with her anymore!

......

But you can't just turn a blind eye and leave someone alone like that, can you?

Well—first off, take these. Give them to Tokikuni-senpai.

They're hearing aids that've been specially tuned for her—I got them from the school nurse.

For some reason, I get the feeling she'll be happy if you're the one who gives these to her, Transfer-kun.

I know exactly what it's like to be sick—to not be a healthy, ordinary child... I know how painful it is...

So please—if you're going to get involved with her, don't do it halfway.

If there's someone out there who can reach out to a lonely girl—one who lives in a world full of sounds no one else can hear...

It'd be you, Transfer-kun.


Chapter 3

Location: Rooftop (evening)

Sora: Beep-boop, beep-boop...♪

Ahh... Yes, the rooftop is unparalleled... I can feel the unrelenting cosmic rays raining down upon me...♪

Oh, good... You came. You're a faithful one, aren't you?

In the past, there were those who'd call out to me because they were worried, just like you.

But it didn't take them long to leave me.

Doesn't that make you a little strange?

You are someone from the Health Committee tho— hearing aids? I'm sorry? I don't need them, but thank you regardless.

Don't you know? My hearing exceeds that of an ordinary person's.

I've suffered due to it—I can't even ride the train as it's too noisy for me.

But despite that, I'm content. Those who differ from other people are considered special.

I don't think of it as an illness or anything like that.

In fact, I believe it's a boon from the heavens above. Isn't that lovelier?

My sense of hearing is so good that whenever I hear the word "Sora", I respond—

It's as if someone is calling out to me—that's all, isn't it?

But if there's "someone" truly out there somewhere, desperately calling for help, wanting to be saved...

What if I'm the only one who can hear them?

The possibility isn't one in a million. It's no different than the chance that there's intelligent life aside from us somewhere out there in space.

It might be a very small possibility, but... as long as it isn't zero, I don't want to plug my ears like that.

If that "someone" is God or an alien life form, then we'll have to make contact through special means.

I tried countless times—and turned into an incredibly strange person.

I began hearing all sorts of weird rumors and slander, but...


Even so, it's fine.

It's fine if they call me a weirdo or a space case... Now and again I'll find people like you.

Certainly, if I can find that "someone" who might be out there somewhere—

I think I'd be happy if I could answer them.

Hence, I won't wear those.

I relied on you because you were so nice to me. If it was a bother, or annoying—

Then I don't mind if you decide to leave.

Ahh, that's...


Despite that, you'd like to stay by my side?

I'm glad. I can tell you aren't lying—by the sound of your heart. You don't find that sort of thing off-putting?

Fufufu. For some reason, I'm a little relieved that you're here.

Quiet, warm, and gentle...

Your sound is so beautiful.

———
1. "The opposite of help is harm ♪": The original is クスリの逆はリ・ス・ク♪ , which is literally "The opposite of medicine is risk ♪" and is a play on the fact the loanword for medicine/pharmaceutical drugs can be written backwards as "risk" (クスリ, リスク).
2. The Land of Mu: This refers to the mythical lost continent of Mu, which was theorized to have existed in the Pacific Ocean before it was destroyed. It's an alternate name for Atlantis, hence Sora's use of Atlanteans later on.
3. "Is her mind totally warped!?": The original is 「思った以上に発酵してるーっ!?」 — the way Akira uses the word fermentation here refers to her mental state... fermenting, for lack of a better word, though not in a good way—in example, a type of positive fermentation of the mind would probably be in self-reflection, while this type of negative fermentation was brought on by the noise pollution she hears constantly, particularly her name.