Ch. 7: Just a Little More
As I worried about Nero and the children, we arrived at the place where we’d decided to part ways.
OO: “Well…”
As I was thinking about leaving, Nero spoke up…-.
Nero: “OO… if you want to…”
Nero was having difficulty saying whatever it was, and he wouldn’t look me in the eye.
Nero: “Everyone in the troupe seemed really happy to have you here. Would you maybe… like to stay with us a little longer?”
OO: “…!”
My heart pounded at that offer.
OO: “I can stay… with you?”
Nero: “That’s what I just said.”
OO: “Nero…”
Nero seemed a little embarrassed and still wouldn’t meet my eyes…
Hesitating, Nero took my hand.
Nero: “Do you not want to?”
OO: “I do, it makes me happy.”
Nero: “…”
Nero’s cheeks were red.
His pursed lips moved slightly… and then…
Nero: “I won’t become an adult. But… …but if I did… I could spend more time with you…”
OO: “What…?”
I asked for him to repeat it as I hadn’t quite caught the end…
Nero: “…it’s nothing.”
Nero spoke, a shy expression on his face I’d never seen before.
Ch. 8: Betrayal
I decided to spend more time with the circus troupe that Nero was leading, and no matter where they were, they prepared to raise the curtains on the performance.
But then in one place…-.
Soldier: “Everyone, quiet down! Gather all the troupe members here.”
A large group of soldiers, all important-looking men, broke into the circus tent.
Troupe Member 1: “Kyaa!”
Troupe Member 2: “Wh-what’s going on!?”
The children were all startled by the sudden break-in, and all the children filed out, on the brink of tears.
Nero: “What’s the meaning of this…!?”
Full of rage, Nero tried to keep the soldiers back, but he alone wasn’t strong enough and the soldiers pushed in.
Man: “We’ve gotten a report that you have a dangerous drug here. We’ve judged you to be a potential threat to our country. So we’re here to investigate.”
OO: “…!?”
Nero: “What the…! Hey, stop it…!”
The soldiers seized the frightened children and Nero.
(What do I do!? This is horrible…)
Nero: “We don’t have anything like that! We just got here!”
Man: “Don’t try to fool us. Your doctor friend already told us everything.”
Nero: “What…?”
Man: “That doctor was trying to sell some Eternal Youth Drug in our country. With something that suspicious-sounding, we seized it, questioned him, and he confessed that you were the ringleader.”
Nero: “…! That guy? I can’t believe this…!”
(Oh no…)
OO: “You’ve got it wrong!”
I shouted before I knew what I was doing.
OO: “Nero didn’t do it. Please, let us talk to the doctor who was selling the drug!”
Man: “No can do. But… if such a drug does exist, it’d be worth a fortune.”
Nero: “…tch.”
As the man smiled boldly, a deep hatred flared in Nero’s eyes.
Nero: “That guy… and all of you… you’re all trash!!”
Man: “Hey, he’s got the drug.”
Soldier: “Hah!”
As the man pointed, several soldiers grabbed Nero.
Nero: “Let go…”
OO: “Nero…!”
Nero: “Stop it! That’s mine! Damn… trash like you… you adults all make me sick…!”
As Nero frantically tried to get away from the soldiers, he grabbed the small bottle.
————————–
Nero: “This drug can make it so I’m a kid forever…”
————————–
OO: “Ah…!”
Nero roughly tore the lid from the bottle and put it to his mouth.
Then… he swallowed it all in one gulp.
Man: “Wh-what did you…”
Nero: “Ngk…”
OO: “Nero…!!”
Seeing Nero drink a drug they thought might be poison, all the adults who had broken in froze in shock.
I took that moment to desperately run over to Nero.
Nero: “Ugh…aah… ngk.”
OO: “Nero, are you alright!?”
Nero had collapsed at my feet and I frantically held him up, but under that combined weight I was about to collapse…
OO: “Eh…?”
Nero: “Nn…”
(What’s going on!?)
Within my arms, Nero’s body was getting thinner and smaller…-.
(A drug that makes it so he can be a kid forever. Does that mean his body is actually turning into that of a kid…!?)
The Nero that was breathing hard in my arms was now a small child.
Ch. 9: The Form of a Child
I couldn’t believe what had just happened, and no one spoke or moved…
Having drank the drug that would make him a kid forever, Nero now had the body of a child.
Nero: “Uh…”
Nero was breathing weakly in my arms.
As I saw those big eyes look up at me, that thin body jumped up.
Nero: “Everyone! Now’s your chance to run!”
The little Nero flew at the soldiers.
Soldier 1: “Uwa! Stop it, I can’t see!”
Soldier 2: “Damn! Grab that brat!”
Man: “What are you all doing!? You’re just fighting one kid!”
But Nero’s movements were swift and agile as he jumped around as if toying with the adults.
Nero: “Haha, what a bunch of trash… arrogant, greedy, selfish adults… you have no right to do this to us!”
Nero’s eyes were sharp and burning with unbridled hatred as he seemed to curse the entire world.
(R-right, the kids…!)
OO: “Everyone! Run this way…!”
I was somehow able to guide the frantic children outside the tent.
But Nero…-.
Nero: “…”
After toying with the adults for a while, Nero made for his own escape…
For just an instant, he looked back at me, then he disappeared…-.
OO: “Nero…!”
Those eyes held a hatred from deep in his heart for every single adult…
In the end, my voice echoed uselessly in the circus tent.
Ch. 10: Within an Eternal Dream
After that…-.
Giving a full explanation on my own, I was finally released by the guards.
(Nero…)
Even as I thought we’d never possibly meet again, I still headed for Circo to search for Nero.
(It looks like… he hasn’t gotten back yet. Nero… where did you go?)
At that moment…-.
Child 1: “Nero’s circus is back!”
Child 2: “Yay! Let’s go meet them!”
(Nero…!?)
I broke into a run, trying to catch up with the children that had sparked an uproar throughout the town.
Child 1: “Nero!?”
Child 2: “Wow…! Nero, you’re so tiny!”
Nero: “Yeah. Isn’t this better?”
Child 3: “Yeah! Let’s play together a bunch!”
Nero: “…”
Nero was surrounded by the innocent children of the town who rushed to meet him.
Yet Nero smiled sadly in a way that didn’t fit with his childlike form.
(Nero…)
As I watched him, our eyes suddenly met.
For just an instant, Nero’s eyes went wide in surprise, then he quietly looked away.
(His expressions, his gestures, everything… he’s nothing like the Nero from the other day. But…)
Nero: “We’ll tell you all about the circus tour later. That’s for tomorrow. Today, you should all go to bed.”
Nero spoke like an older brother to the crowd of children.
Children: “Okaaay!”
The children all scattered obediently and left.
Nero: “…I didn’t think I’d see you here again.”
Once the children were gone, Nero slowly walked towards me and spoke quietly.
OO: “I was worried…”
Nero: “I see… then let’s talk a little in the circus tent.”
For some reason, a chill ran up my spine.
(Why am I feeling so uncertain? I was finally able to see Nero again…)
As I was tormented by feelings of unease that wouldn’t settle down, I followed Nero towards the circus tent…-.
Inside the tent at night, there were no signs of people, and the silence was deafening.
Nero: “Those grownups saw the effect of the drug.”
OO: “Huh…? Y-yeah.”
I was a little surprised at the sudden start to the conversation, but I nodded slightly.
Nero: “More grownups are probably going to start coming here to get the drug. I’m going to take everyone in Circo and move them somewhere else.”
OO: “Eh…? Move them, you mean everyone in the country…?”
Nero: “Of course. I won’t leave a single one of these precious children behind. No matter where we go… even to the ends of the earth, we’ll go to a world where there are no adults.”
That deep hatred filled his expression, darkening his blood-red eyes.
(This is Nero… right?)
Even though he looked like a child, Nero should still be Nero, but…
(Why… am I frightened…?)
My heart was pounding painfully.
Nero: “…why did you come back? Are you going to tell me you were hoping to get your hands on this drug too?”
OO: “…”
Those words were clearly rejecting me.
Nero: “I see… all grownups are like that. Even that doctor developed this drug just to make money. All those kids had their bodies examined by that doctor… it’s possible that…-.”
Nero swallowed back the end of that thought.
Nero: “You think so too… don’t you?”
Nero used the word ‘grownup’ like it left a bad taste in his mouth.
Nero: “Haha…”
Nero’s ominous laugh echoed inside the circus tent.
Then as I watched, I realized he was grasping the little bottle of the drug that had turned him into a child.
I had thought he’d drank it all, but it appeared that there was still a little left.
OO: “Nero, is that…-.”
Nero: “But it’s alright now.”
OO: “…!”
Nero grabbed my wrist and pushed me down to the ground.
Nero: “I will… make you pure.”
OO: “Nero… stop it…!”
He held me down with a strength that didn’t belong to a child and I couldn’t get away.
Held there, the small bottle came closer to my mouth…
A strange fragrance drifted in the air.
Nero: “Because you want to be with me, and because you love me… that’s why you chased after me, right? …but I hate adults. So I’ll give you this so we can be together.”
Nero’s eyes were dark as they stared straight at me, holding me in place.
Nero: “You don’t have to worry… It won’t hurt, and if you drink this, your tainted body will become pure. You’ll be just like us.”
OO: “But I don’t…”
Nero: “Let’s be kids together, okay? If you do, I’ll make you happy.”
(Happy… with Nero…)
The small bottle was pressed to my lips.
Then Nero grinned at me with bewitching eyes that had no place on a child’s face…
Nero: “I love you… so please… for me.”
OO: “Ngk… nn…”
The strange taste spread through my mouth and my body became numb…
(I’m losing consciousness…)
Nero: “Welcome OO… to our endless dream.”
Nero’s words echoed in my head.
That voice was like a very young child clinging to the idea of playing more… just as the night came and it was time to go to bed.
END
Secret Story: I Hate Adults
The moonlight was hazy above the black clouds…-.
Having run from the adults that broke into the circus tent, we’d all fled to a nearby forest.
(…seems like they all got to sleep somehow.)
I let out a sigh of relief as I watched the troupe members sleep pressed together.
The children had all been startled by what had happened earlier, and it hadn’t been easy to get them to sleep…
Nero: “…if she were here, I bet you’d all have been able to sleep better.”
As I rested my back against the trunk of a tree, I found myself saying that thought aloud.
Nero: “OO…”
(I wonder if she ended up going through something horrible.)
I had left her behind, even when she’d desperately helped the others run away.
(…what’s done is done. Besides, she’s an adult.)
Nero: “I hate adults… they’re all trash…”
As I looked at my small hand, I spoke those words as if trying to remind myself.
And yet, OO’s smile was the only thing left in my heart.
(…it doesn’t matter, we’ll never see each other again.)
I decided to gather up the children and we would all leave Circo.
(Just forget about her…)
…
……
And yet…-.
Nero: “…why did you come back?”
OO was there, waiting for me when I returned to Circo.
(…why?)
Nero: “Are you going to tell me you were hoping to get your hands on this drug too?”
I was excessively on edge and my words were cutting.
(That’s always how you were. You didn’t pay any attention to my feelings and just pushed your way in…-.)
OO: “…”
Sadness wavered in her clear eyes.
(She has pretty eyes… why do you have such pure eyes when you’re an adult? Will you betray me too…?)
At the thought, I grew more and more agitated.
Nero: “I see… all grownups are like that. You think so too… don’t you?”
(If only I’d met you sooner…)
I rolled the drug bottle around in my hand, the drug that let me stay as a child.
Inside the bottle… there was still a little of the drug left.
(I’m sure you made a mistake somewhere. And with that mistake, you became an adult.)
OO: “Nero, is that…-.”
She looked up at me in surprise as she noticed the bottle in my hand.
Nero: “But it’s alright now.”
OO: “…!”
Grabbing her wrist, I forced her down to the ground.
Nero: “I will… make you pure.”
OO: “Nero… stop it…!”
She tried to get away, but I stopped her body from wiggling about and brought the bottle closer her lips.
Nero: “Because you want to be with me, and because you love me… that’s why you chased after me, right? …but I hate adults. So I’ll give you this so we can be together.”
I saw fear in OO’s eyes as she opened them wide.
(Don’t be scared…)
Nero: “You don’t have to worry… It won’t hurt, and if you drink this, your tainted body will become pure. You’ll be just like us.”
OO: “But I don’t…”
She couldn’t finish what she was saying, and weakly tried to resist.
(Why are you hesitating when you’re the one who chased me all the way here!? I don’t like this…)
As desperation welled up inside me, I felt heat prick at the corners of my eyes.
(If you were to betray me… it would hurt so much it would feel like dying. I would be so horribly sad and miserable… so I have to do something… that’s why… I’ll do this, so that doesn’t happen…)
Nero: “Let’s be kids together, okay? If you do, I’ll make you happy.”
I begged in a whisper, and this time I was able to press the bottle to her lips.
(Such pretty lips… if she becomes a child… I’m sure she’ll be even prettier.)
I looked at her, spellbound, and OO’s lips twitched.
(Aah, I really do love you…)
Nero: “I love you… so please… for me.”
Before I realized what I was doing, I was speaking those sweet supplications…
And poured the drug into her mouth.
OO: “Ngk… nn…”
For an instant, her body shook… then it started to shrink.
(Now you’re perfect.)
Nero: “Welcome OO… to our endless dream.”
Beneath my arms, I looked lovingly at OO’s small childlike form…
And I cuddled in closer to her sweet, innocent face.
END