Terror in Resonance: If - Sphinxes of the Sleepless City
Terror in Resonance: If — Sphinxes of the Sleepless City
Nine and Touji have returned—not to the Tokyo of their world, but to another sleepless city where the festival lights flicker and the shadows of the Athena Plan still reach. The bomb is set. The detonator is ready. And the world is watching Sphinx.
But in this world, a girl sits alone in the corner of a classroom, her downcast eyes carrying the weight of a silence no one else can hear. She is not Mio. She is just a classmate. A stranger.
Terror in Resonance: If - Sphinxes of the Sleepless City - Runaway and Missing Person Report - Pale Yellow Tears -
The dusk air clung to her skin, lukewarm and clammy.
Mishima Risa hurried across the intersection in front of the station at a jog. Her shoulder-length black hair stuck to her cheeks with sweat. Her round dark eyes darted back and forth between the time on her phone screen and the road ahead.
(Four minutes left. If I run, I'll make it.)
Her heart pounded fast. It wasn't just the summer heat.
Today, a classmate had invited her to "come along for just a bit," and she'd stopped by the station building's stationery section after school. In a classroom where the bullying never stopped, being spoken to at all was rare. She hadn't been able to refuse.
But a mere fifteen-minute detour was producing all this panic.
She reached home. In the apartment building's entrance, she caught her breath. She wiped off the sweat and pressed the intercom.
Click.
"Welcome back, Risa. ...You're five minutes late."
Her mother's voice, standing in the entryway, was soft—yet somehow cold.
"Sorry... I stopped by somewhere with a friend for a bit."
"A friend? Who?"
Her mother looked back and forth between Risa's wristwatch and the phone in her hand. When Risa clutched the phone as if to hide the screen, her mother's gaze sharpened further.
"Who were you with, where did you go. What time did you disband. Tell me properly."
"...A kid from my class. The station building. Just until a little while ago."
"A kid from your class—what's their name? Do you know their contact info?"
Risa hung her head. She bit her lip.
(Here we go again.)
When she couldn't answer, her mother sighed.
"You're not making things up again, are you. I'm saying this for your sake. There've been nothing but dangerous incidents lately, right? Who knows what those Sphinx people will pull next, and it's dangerous for a girl to walk around alone."
"...I'm sorry."
Risa apologized in a small voice.
Apologizing was all she could do.
"I don't want to lose you too."
Her mother's voice suddenly trembled.
"Disappearing without a word, like your father—I absolutely won't allow it. Do you understand? I'll protect you. I'll manage everything for you, so it's all right."
Risa's throat tightened.
(Manage.)
That word pressed down on her, heavy.
"...Yeah, I know."
Risa forced the best smile she could.
She was sure that fake smile was horribly distorted.
The morning classroom was already muggy.
As Risa approached her desk, several girls glanced her way and giggled.
(They did something again.)
Risa's steps grew heavy.
She set her school bag—not an elementary backpack—on the desk. Then, timidly, she reached into the desk.
Her fingertips met a rough sensation.
(...Trash.)
Risa slowly pulled her hand out. Fine scraps of torn paper and some kind of wrapper clung to her fingertips.
She peered inside the desk.
Empty milk cartons from school lunch, crumpled-up printouts, a bag from a half-eaten piece of bread. They were crammed in tight.
A sharp ache stung the back of her nose.
Risa bit her lip and began moving the trash from her desk into her own garbage bag. Her hands trembled. She couldn't grip it properly.
"Ugh, so gross."
"Didn't you do it yourself? At least clean properly."
Voices meant to be heard.
Risa couldn't say anything.
She just silently gathered the trash. A scrap of paper must have cut her fingertip—a small wound had formed.
"Hey."
A low voice split the air of the classroom.
Kokonoe Arata was standing beside Risa's desk before she knew it. Behind his dark navy self-framed glasses, his deep brown eyes fixed coldly on the several girls laughing in the corner of the room.
"Can't you clean up your own mess?"
The classroom fell dead silent.
"...W-what, it's none of your business."
"It is. The area near my seat gets dirty."
Kokonoe said it flatly.
"The place to throw trash is the back of the classroom. If you do the same thing here again, I'll stuff the same thing into your desks."
At those words, the girls went pale and scurried away.
Risa was stunned.
"...U-um."
"Don't worry about it. I just want to keep order in my own classroom."
Kokonoe looked down at Risa and said quietly.
"...And also."
He took a small bandage from his pocket and placed it in Risa's palm.
"Your finger's cut. Don't lick it—germs will get in."
Risa stared at the bandage in her palm.
"...Thank you."
That was all she could finally manage.
Kokonoe said nothing and returned to his seat.
In the corner of the classroom, Hisami Touji watched the whole scene with a smile.
After school.
Nine and Touji stood leaning against the wall in a back alley near the hideout.
"So, how was it?"
"The black sedan was swapped for a different car today. A gray minivan. The plate's a Shinagawa number—'58-72.' But that car's also parked at the corner where the hideout entrance is visible, same as yesterday's black car."
"Wow. Changing even the model of car—they're serious."
"Not amateurs. If it were police tailing us, they wouldn't swap vehicles so blatantly. They'd blend in more naturally. This is a different organization."
Nine's voice was low and calm.
"Not the police—then who?"
"I don't know. But at the very least, they're monitoring our movements. There's a chance they're looking for where the bombs are."
"That's bad. ...But man, Risa's desk this morning, that was awful. I thought about throwing that trash out for her, but Nine got there first."
"If you moved, she'd stand out even more. In that situation, me moving was the quietest option."
"I see. Nine, you look like that but you're actually kind."
"...Wrong. That was maintaining order in the classroom."
"Yeah, yeah."
Touji laughed and readjusted the motorcycle helmet under his arm.
"More importantly, check whether the surveillance people have caught on to our school. If anything happens to Risa, make sure you can move immediately."
"Got it!"
Touji gave a crisp salute.
Nine, expressionless, stared at the gray minivan visible beyond the alley.
Evening.
Risa trudged along the road home from school.
Today, Kokonoe had helped her. She'd gotten a bandage. Just that made her feel like she could breathe a little easier.
But the closer she got to home, the heavier her steps became.
(Mom's definitely going to ask what time I got home today.)
Just thinking that made her stomach clench with pain.
"Heeey, Risa!"
Suddenly, a bright voice came from behind her.
She turned around. Hisami Touji was walking along the sidewalk, pushing his motorcycle.
"Touji..."
"Heading home? I was just checking my bike's condition. Let's walk back together."
Touji grinned and fell into step beside Risa.
"...Okay."
Risa gave a small nod.
The two walked side by side. A summer evening. The sky was a beautiful mix of orange and purple.
"Risa, this morning was rough, huh. I'm glad Nine helped you out."
"...Yeah. Kokonoe was cool."
"Right? He's like that normally, but he's actually a really good guy."
Touji said it happily, as if it were about himself.
Risa looked at Touji's profile and smiled a little.
"You're kind too, Touji."
"Me? I'm just a cheerful guy. ...Oh, but your voice has a really beautiful color, Risa, so listening to it is fun."
"Color?"
"Yeah. Sounds look like colors to me. Your voice is a pale yellow. A really soft, warm color. It's a rare color, you know."
Touji said it with a serious face.
Risa was hearing for the first time that her voice had a color.
"...My voice is a beautiful color?"
"Very. So you should have more confidence."
Something warm spread gently through Risa's chest.
(My voice is beautiful.)
It was the first time in her life anyone had said that to her.
Just then, Risa's phone buzzed.
She looked at the screen.
"Mom."
An incoming call.
The blood drained from Risa's face.
"...Sorry, Touji. I have to hurry home."
"Huh? Oh, yeah. You okay? You look pale."
"I'm fine. Thanks. See you tomorrow."
No sooner had she said it than Risa ran off as if fleeing.
Touji watched her back with a worried look.
(Risa... did something happen at home?)
A small unease spread through Touji's chest.
That night.
Risa sat on her bed in her room, hugging her knees.
Her phone showed a long list of missed calls from her mother.
When she'd gotten home, her mother had grilled her about her arrival time down to the second.
"What time did you get back today, and by which route, in how many minutes. You stopped somewhere, didn't you. I'm going to check your phone's location data."
Risa couldn't say anything.
Her phone's location data.
(She'll manage me that far?)
She couldn't breathe.
After a while, her mother opened Risa's bedroom door without even knocking.
"Risa, what is this?"
In her mother's hand was Risa's diary.
"...That's mine."
Risa's voice trembled.
"I read it. 'School is hard.' 'I want to disappear.' What is this. What are you thinking. The one who worries about you most is me. Why won't you talk to me. What are you talking about with your friends. The other day you were talking to a boy at school, weren't you. Who is he. His name. What did you talk about."
Her mother's words pierced Risa like arrows.
"Stop... please, stop..."
"I won't stop. I'm saying this for your sake. You're a child who can't do anything without me. If you just do as I say, there's no mistake. Don't leave me behind, like your father did."
Her mother's voice turned to sobbing.
"Please, Risa. Just you, stay by my side. Don't leave me alone."
Inside Risa's head, something snapped.
"...I can't take it anymore."
Risa murmured it, then leapt off the bed.
"Risa! Where are you going!"
With her mother's scream behind her, Risa flew out the front door.
Barefoot.
A park at night.
Risa sat on a swing, crying alone.
The summer night wind was just slightly cold on her sweaty skin.
(I have nowhere to go.)
The tears wouldn't stop.
She didn't want to go home.
But she had nowhere to go.
"Risa?"
Suddenly, a gentle voice came out of the darkness.
She looked up. There stood Hisami Touji, a motorcycle helmet tucked under his arm.
"...Touji. Why are you here?"
"I just happened to be passing by. ...Risa, are you crying? Are you okay?"
Touji quietly sat on the swing beside her.
Risa tried to wipe her tears, but couldn't wipe them all.
"...I want to disappear. If someone like me is around, it doesn't trouble anyone. It's fine if I'm not here."
Risa's voice was a mess with tears.
"That's not true."
Touji said it firmly.
"If you disappeared, Risa, I'd be incredibly sad. Nine would worry too. ...And not being able to hear your voice would be a huge, huge loss for me."
"...A loss?"
"Yeah. Your voice is a pale yellow. The color I love most in this world. A special color you rarely find. I couldn't bear it if that color disappeared."
Touji's voice was serious and warm.
"Your voice is something I need, Risa. So please, don't say you want to disappear."
Risa's tears stopped dead.
(My voice is something this person needs.)
(Someone needs me.)
It was a feeling she'd never had in her life.
"...It's my first time. The first time anyone's ever said that to me."
Risa looked at Touji with her tear-soaked face.
Touji grinned.
"Then from now on, I'll say it as many times as you want. Your voice is my treasure."
Deep in Risa's chest, something softly came undone.
(Ah. In front of this person, it's okay for me to cry.)
The moment she thought that, the tears spilled over again.
But they were completely different from the tears before—warm tears.
After a while, Touji took Risa to the hideout.
"This is our home. It's a mess, but, well, come in."
A room in an old apartment building.
Risa stepped inside timidly.
The room felt lived-in. Tools and electronic parts were scattered across the floor. Several maps of Tokyo were taped to the walls.
"What are you thinking."
From the back room, Kokonoe appeared, expressionless.
"Nine, Risa seems to have run away from home. Can't we let her stay the night?"
"...Run away."
Nine's eyes fixed on Risa.
Risa flinched, her
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