Zero ~Zero~ The Official Novel Translation Chapter 1-6

I come home with my heart beating erratically.

Once I arrive in front of my apartment, I take a deep breath.

But there, I instantly realize something is not right.

Hanging on the door, there’s supposed to be hung a name board, written by Miku with a pen, with our names, ‘Hinasaki Mafuyu Miku’, on it.

But, what I’m facing right now, is a name board, written in my handwriting, with just ‘Hinasaki’ on it.

My chest feels really tight. I’m feeling faint. With unsteady steps, I enter my apartment.

The room that’s usually clean, cleaned by Miku, now is full with garbage and leftovers of food. Truly a stereotypical room of a bachelor.

There is absolutely no sign that Miku has ever lived here.

Miku’s favorite Mug Cup, her toothbrush, her clothes, her desk… Everything’s disappeared. No… It’s more that her things had never existed here. Only my stuffs have been here in this room.

I have to talk about this with someone.

But then I realize that it’s useless, because I don’t have anyone that I can talk to calmly. Especially on something like this.

We, brother and sister, have always tried to keep our distance from other people. We share the same slightly introverted trait, but there’s something else that’s caused us to act like that.

Our power.

We don’t want our spiritual power to cause misunderstandings and problems. I do have that power, but it seems like that Miku inherits a stronger power than mine.

This power is an ‘inheritance’ from our mother, who has passed away.

Passed away…

No…

She committed suicide…

Mother was tired with the power that she had. Her sufferings piled up when she found out that Miku and I also have her power. She chose to kill herself in a slightly unbalanced mental state.

I never hate her for abandoning us like that.

I feel, there’s nothing we can do. Maybe that was the best for her. That Mother could survive that long, it was a miracle in itself.

I never made sure of it, but I’m positive that Miku feels the same way.

Even more, we fully realize that the biggest reason behind Mother’s suicide was our existence.

Of course, we never talked about it with other people.

For teenagers around Miku’s age, to have a powerful spiritual power maybe can be said as a dream. But that’s because they don’t know the weight that has to be bore because of that power.

They don’t know how frightening and choking it is to see or to feel something that can’t be seen or felt by ordinary people.

What more painful is, no one is able to understand or even imagine what the person who has that kind of power feels.

Cynical stares from other people, the looks that seem want to say that we’re not humans, and then finally their refusal to even look at us… that’s the kind of world that we have to face.

Fortunately, Miku and I never reached that phase.
I know all of this from Mother, who never stopped telling these kind of things.

Yes…

Everything that she went through during her youth…

To this moment, I can still remember clearly Miku’s face, with tears running on her face everytime she listened to Mother’s stories.

Maybe that’s why, when Mother died, we both felt relieved behind our sadness.

Because this way, Mother can finally rest in peace…

That’s also the reason why we always keep our distance from other people.

And also the reason why Miku trusts me more than anyone else…

Then what did I do?

Instead, I avoided her.

I’m scared.

Miku suffers because of her power. While I… I suffer because I don’t know what I can do for her…

She needs me, but I can’t help her, and end up keeping my distance from her… While… she’s just as suffering and lonely as I am…

Suddenly what happened this afternoon flashes on my mind.

Miku told me not to go to the meeting place.

She must have felt that something like this will happen.

If only I did what she’d told me to do… this thing wouldn’t happen…

But I brush the thought off immediately.

Even if I hadn’t gone, somehow, I feel, that eventually this will happen.

Because even if I hadn’t gone, the video game titled ‘Zero’, where there are characters similar with me and Miku, still exists. And it will still be launched to general public without our knowing of it.

And sooner or later, the news of it will reach our ears, making us involved in it. It’s for sure.

And, the characters on that game aren’t just the two of us. There are Takamine-sensei and Hirasaka-san too.

Takamine-sensei?

Once I remember his name, I check my book shelves immediately. I’m very sure that there are several of his books there.

But, when I look, where the books are supposed to be, there are books by other authors. Of course, the books belong to me too, but they’re not supposed to be placed there.

Even though I know it’s useless, I search through the shelves and look for Takamine-sensei’s books.

This all doesn’t make sense.

I mean, how is it possible that a famous best-selling author just disappears without a trace?

But, the thought doesn’t stay long.

My reacting spiritual power is the absolute proof. I laugh bitterly and start to replace the books I’ve messed up to where they belong. When I’m about to put the last book back to its place, I realize that the book is the list of the names and addresses of famous authors that’s published by the authors’ association.

Common people like me aren’t supposed to have the book, but thanks to Takamine-sensei, who asked for it secretly to an official of the association, I got this book at one of the parties that he held.

I look through the book, and with disappointment, realize that the name of Takamine Junsei, that’s supposed to be there as one of the famous novelist, has disappeared. Just like on my address book. It’s gone, as if it’s never been there in the first place.

I drop down weakly.

What is actually going on?

Losing all hope, I’m beginning to feel a very choking loneliness.
Up to this moment, I always have Miku by my side.

I knew she’s lonely, but instead of accompanying and curing her loneliness, I thought of her as something else, thinking that ‘I’m glad I’m not like her.’

My tears start to run, thinking about it.

For the very first time, I can feel the loneliness that Miku feels all this time.

She suffers because of the power. The only person that’s supposed to understand it is me, but instead, I avoided her.

How lonely she’s been all this time…

How painful it’s been for her to hold back all her sufferings…

I feel a tightness in my chest thinking about what Miku feels all this time.

For the very first time I understand what she feels… when she’s disappeared from my life…

“No! Miku can’t disappear just like that!” I shout suddenly.

Miku isn’t gone! I will find her and bring her back.

If I continue like this, to let Miku go away just like that and do nothing at all, I will regret it all my life.

I will save her!

Only I, her older brother, can do that.

I grit my teeth and start to think very hard of a way to rescue her.

An idea flashes on my mind instantly.

The video game ‘Zero’.

The game is the cause of all these strange events.

I stand up and immediately grab my bag that I threw in front of the door carelessly before, then I took the game DVD out.

I turn my 14 inches TV on, and activate the PlayStation 2 that’s connected to the TV.

With my heart beating loudly, I begin to play.
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