Chapter 51: Lightning

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Translator: Soafp

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Where am I?

People were packed all around me, and a stage had been set up right in front.

“Alright, here we go!”

Cheers and music blended together, shaking my eardrums.

On the stage, five girls in uniquely designed swimsuits were singing and dancing.

Wait… this dance… I feel like I've seen it somewhere recently.

“Don't even think about breaking up with me! Before I go and plant a landmine in front of your house♪”

What kind of lyrics are those?

The moment I stood there dumbfounded—plop.

I felt a cold drop of water hit the top of my head.

When I looked up, thick rain clouds had gathered overhead without me noticing.

Before long, the sky opened up into a torrential downpour, like a bucket had been overturned.

“Everyone! Looks like we really do bring thunderstorms with us! Just like landmines!”

Even as the rain poured and thunder roared, the red-haired girl at the center gripped her mic tightly, raising her voice desperately so not a single fan would leave.

…Honestly, the pun was terrible.

And yet, the fans burst out laughing, and most of them stayed.

The five idols started singing and dancing again.

Maybe because the ground was slippery, mistakes in their choreography were noticeable here and there.

Even so, their energy came through loud and clear.

(This is… kinda amazing.)

I was honestly impressed.

Maybe it was because I don't usually watch live performances like this, but I could see why people liked them.

Even the “landmine girl” concept song that I initially thought was weird… the more I listened, the less bad it seemed.

But then—

BOOOOOM—!!

A blinding white flash burned through my vision, so bright I couldn't even keep my eyes open. A deafening thunderclap followed.

I instinctively shut my eyes and turned away.

“What was that?!”

“H-hey! Look at that!!”

As the flash faded and the ringing in my ears slowly subsided, the noise of the crowd came back into focus.

My vision still hadn't fully returned, and I blinked repeatedly.

But everyone's eyes were fixed on a single point.

“…Huh?”

The red-haired girl who had been joking just moments ago was now collapsed on the stage.

Her swimsuit was torn to shreds, exposing her skin.

But that porcelain-smooth skin was now marred by eerie reddish-purple patterns, like tree branches spreading across it.

Thin white smoke rose from her body.

“D-did she get struck by lightning!?”

“Kyaaaa—!!”

“C-call an ambulance!! Hurry!!”

“Is anyone here who can do CPR!?”

The scene descended into instant chaos.

I stood there frozen in shock—

—and then I jolted awake in my bed.

I let out a rough breath.

(Was that… another “bad dream”…?)

Seeing someone get struck by lightning right in front of me…

Seriously, these dreams are getting way too creative.

I calmed my pounding heart and sat down in the chair by my desk.

Just then, my door creaked open slightly.

“Ren, what's wrong? It sounded like you were having a nightmare…”

“Oh, sorry… I just had a bad dream.”

“A bad dream? Could it be… something that's going to happen?”

I stiffened involuntarily.

I knew Airi had been starting to suspect my ability to foresee things, but this was the first time she'd said it so directly.

(No point dodging it now…)

She already knows more about my finances than my own family.

It might be better to just tell her the truth about my ability and have her help me.

After all, I've seen how well she can keep secrets—like with her father.

“What I'm about to tell you is a secret. You can't tell anyone.”

“Got it. Even if someone threatens me and I'm about to be killed, I won't say a word.”

“No, in that situation you should talk.”

“I'm kidding. But unless it's something like that, I won't tell anyone. I'll take it to my grave. Oh, by the way, I've already decided where my grave will be.”

“Already?”

Airi grinned.

“Next to yours. Even if we weren't born on the same day, we'll die together.”

“What is this, Romance of the Three Kingdoms?”

“They couldn't make it happen there… but I will. If you die first, I'll follow right after.”

“That's way too extreme.”

“A life without you has no meaning, Ren.”

…Is that supposed to be affection?

…She's not serious, right?

Anyway, back to the “bad dream.”

I briefly but clearly explained my ability to her.

“That's practically the same as experiencing it yourself… Ren, are you okay? Maybe you should seriously consider counseling.”

“If anything, you're the one who should go to counseling.”

She was the one who suffered abuse from her father.

But she just kept looking at me with concern.

“I read an article once. Not exactly like your case, but… having repeated nightmares isn't good for the brain. It can increase the risk of depression, PTSD… even suicide…”

“Yeah, it's probably not great for my mental health, but it's not that bad. You don't need to worry so much.”

Thinking about it, it's ironic.

The girl I met because of a “suicide nightmare” is now worrying about my risk of suicide.

“But if it ever gets too hard, tell me, okay? I want to help you.”

“Got it. For now, I'll tell you about the dream I just had.”

I had her sit beside my desk.

I took out a notebook, wrote things down while explaining out loud.

They say talking things through helps organize your thoughts—and it worked surprisingly well for recalling the details.

(…This kind of reminds me of that zombie idol anime.) [TL: Zombie Land Saga]

Honestly, I thought stuff like this only happened in anime.

The chances of it happening in real life should be practically zero.

But… not zero means it can happen.

Airi rested her hand on her chin.

“If they're performing in swimsuits, could it be at the beach? Or maybe a pool?”

“Probably. But I feel like I've seen these girls somewhere recently. Do you know them?”

I sketched the faces I remembered, mimicked some of the choreography, even hummed a bit of the song.

“Recently? More like just yesterday.”

“Huh? Yesterday?”

“Yeah, when we were fooling around in those super short skirts. Remember? We danced like idols too. That was probably based on this.”

Airi pulled out her phone and showed me a video.

On the screen was the same red-haired girl from my dream, singing and dancing with a mic.

“Don't even think about breaking up with me! Before I plant a landmine in front of your house♪”

…Still ridiculously over-the-top lyrics.

“They're an idol group that's been going viral lately on TikTok and Instagram. They have a loose ‘landmine girl' concept and sing kinda quirky, electric-style songs.”

“I see.”

A “landmine girl” concept and catchy songs…

Makes sense it'd blow up on TikTok—strong instant impact.

“And the red-haired girl in the center is the most popular member.”

“You're pretty informed.”

“I looked them up recently. Honestly, I'm not that into idols. That sparkly vibe doesn't really suit me.”

Fair enough.

Though imagining Airi as an idol fan was… hard.

“But why look them up?”

“To show you, of course. Like the dance yesterday.”

“Huh? Just for me?”

“Of course. You looked happy yesterday.”

“Well, yeah…”

“No need to be embarrassed. I'll even take requests.”

She wasn't joking.

It really sounded like she'd do anything I asked.

I knew she liked me, but… this level of devotion was surprising.

“So what are you going to do? Try to prevent the accident?”

“I mean… if I can. But they're idols. There's no way to warn them.”

Even if I sent a fan letter, it'd probably be dismissed as harassment.

Showing up at their agency wouldn't help either.

And rushing the stage myself? I'd get tackled by staff long before I got close.

“But Ren, are you sure this happens during summer vacation this year?”

“No idea. It could be next year, or even later.”

“That makes your ability kind of troublesome.”

“Yeah.”

“So the only reason I was saved… was because you worked really hard, huh…”

Effort mattered, sure—but luck played a big role too.

In that sense, the people I managed to save were just incredibly lucky.

“Well, then there's nothing you can do right now, right?”

“Yeah. There's nothing to pinpoint the timing.”

Even if the song is popular now, they might still perform it next year.

And I didn't see Nodoka or Airi in the dream, so it might not even be this summer.

“For now, let's just stick to our plan and go to the beach.”

“Okay. But Ren, promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“I might not be in a position to say this, since you saved me too, but…”

Airi's expression turned serious.

“Don't push yourself too hard. Always put your own safety first.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“It’s a promise, okay?”

She took my hand and gently kissed my pinky.