[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 4 Ch 3 (b)

This is a continuation of PART A.
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The bluish-grey elevator doors were closing silently. The moment their edges met as they closed completely, Fura let out a deep sigh. The Security Bureau officials flanking him on both sides were as still as stone statues.

"Why..."

He knew it was useless to ask, but he couldn't bear to be silent.

"Why are you arresting me?"

Just as he thought, there was no reply. He posed a second question.

"Is this... the Correctional Facility?"

His knees were shaking so badly, he could barely keep standing. This morning, he had left the house as usual. His wife had seen him to the door, with their son in her arms.

[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 4 Ch 3 (a)

These are English translations of the novel No. 6 by Asano Atsuko.
Please hover over the text to see annotations.

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CHAPTER 3
Blackout

Did you come to me
     because I dropped off to sleep,
tormented by love?
If I had known I dreamed,
I would not have awakened.
- Ono no komachi ^[1]

"You should write a letter," Nezumi said, without looking up from his book.

"A letter―to my mother?"

"If you have other pen pals, them too."

"Will you deliver them?"

"He will." A small mouse was perched on Nezumi's knee, cleaning its whiskers.

[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 4 Ch 2 (b)

This is a continuation of PART A.

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"Samples of what?"

"I don't know. I just know it said something about their collection status―you needed a special password to access it. The only thing I know is that this and the mayor's project..."

"Are connected."

"I imagine they are."

Sample. What a cold, desolate word. Shion felt a chill.

Safu. He cast his thoughts to her, and his chill got worse.

"Shion," Nezumi called. The darkness shifted. "That's about it. We can't get anything else out of this guy." His words also had a cold, desolate ring. The man perceived their coldness and stiffened.

"Are you going to―k-kill me?"

[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 4 Ch 2 (a)

These are English translations for the novel No. 6 by Asano Atsuko.

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CHAPTER 2
Act One Scene Two

No, you've got it all wrong.
We flee
because we want to live.
- Tezuka Osamu, Grand Dolls

The sighs of the wind grew louder. High-pitched and somewhat plaintive, it whistled through the ruins. The man awoke to hear the sound of the wind around him. He hadn't lost much of his composure. Bound and sitting on the floor, he let his gaze roam around the room.

"What's going on?" He questioned hoarsely. No one answered. "What's going on, Rikiga? You understand what you're doing, don't you?"

"Unfortunately, I do." Rikiga gave a sigh, one of several he had already heaved that day. "I understand it so well, it makes me sick to the stomach. I never asked for this, anyway."