Chapter 106: Kagemusha
"Junhyuk, isn't that the person we met at the event back then?"
"Yeah, I was thinking the same..."
"What should we do about that person?"
Suddenly, as news broke out, people passing by the department store stopped in their tracks and began watching the news.
"What's going on? Why is that person up there?"
"Oh, I heard they've been playing some game and that's why they're doing this."
"Unbelievable... risking their life over a game? That's ridiculous! What a waste of life."
People stared at the TV screen, each muttering a word or two.
I had a feeling that something like this would happen ever since I watched the memorial parade in the news not too long ago.
In the world of famous actors, there's a term called "Method," where an actor gets deeply absorbed in their role and can't break character.
The feeling of longing and nostalgia when you turn the last page of a deeply moving novel, and you want to start it all over from the beginning, is something everyone experiences at least once.
Perhaps that man had played "The Empty Streets" repeatedly as a maniacal gamer.
"Junhyuk, we need to go there right now."
"What did you say?"
"Hurry up. It's being broadcast live. We might be able to prevent a tragic accident if we get there quickly."
"What can we do?"
"I have an idea."
Yuki's determined expression was like that of a 119 emergency responder, and I couldn't argue with her.
We rushed out of the department store and headed straight for the parking lot, making our way to Akihabara.
While heading to Akihabara, Yuki listened to the radio broadcast anxiously, worried that an accident might occur.
"It'll be okay. Don't worry too much."
"Are you sure? We can't afford to have an accident because of our game..."
For now, Yuki seemed to have a plan in mind, so we needed to get there quickly.
I clenched my fists as I stepped on the gas pedal.
If, by any chance, a real accident happened because of him jumping off, "The Empty Streets" could be taken off the shelves immediately, even though there were no plans for it yet. But it's always good to be prepared, right?
And there are so many more games that will touch your heart in the future. You have to try them all before you go!
Suddenly, sirens from a fire truck behind us could be heard.
"Kweeaah~ Kweeaah~"
"Junhyuk, could it be?"
"Hold on tight! We'll follow the fire truck."
I stuck close to the fire truck as it brushed past my car. As expected, the fire truck was heading towards Akihabara, and I used it to get through the traffic jam and rushed to the scene.
A little while later...
We didn't need to look for where the incident happened, as a large crowd had already gathered in front of a building along the main road in front of the station.
Yuki and I watched from the rooftop of the building, where a man sat on the rooftop railing, holding someone's portrait tightly in his arms. It was probably Hiroki Uchimura.
"Isn't that the same person we saw before?"
"Yes, Hiroki Uchimura..."
"You know his name?"
"He was the guy standing in front of me in line."
"I see. But now that we're here, what should we do? It looks like the building is closed off..."
At that moment, a police officer inside the barricade shouted through a megaphone.
"Give up your reckless thoughts and come inside the barrier! It's dangerous out there!"
People around started looking up at the sky, but the man on the rooftop didn't move and just kept gazing at the sky.
"He's crying..."
Just then, a man with binoculars said while looking at the building.
"Hey, can you lend me those binoculars for a moment?"
Yuki had approached the man and borrowed the binoculars to get a closer look.
"It's Hiroki Uchimura for sure. His portrait has an image of Miyuki, and he's still crying..."
Yuki looked through the binoculars and shared the details of the situation with me.
That's when it happened. The man sitting on the railing suddenly began to stand up, wobbling.
"Huh? What's he doing?"
In response to the man's unexpected actions, people around started shouting urgently.
"Hey! What are you doing right now? Get back immediately!"
But the man ignored their shouts and continued to climb up.
As the wind blew, his checked shirt fluttered, and tears streamed down from his eyes, falling onto the portrait he held tightly in his hand.
Oh no... What should we do? How can we defuse this situation?
"Hiroki..."
At that moment, a miracle occurred.
"Huh...?"
Suddenly, a woman's voice was heard, and the tense atmosphere grew quiet.
Even the man sitting on the railing seemed surprised and clung to the portrait, looking around in confusion.
"Is that Miyuki...?"
"Is that really Miyuki's voice?"
The Akihabara heroes truly lived up to their reputation. They recognized the real voice behind that low-quality recording.
Yuki had already taken the megaphone from the police officer and was calling out his name.
"Hiroki... Please, don't do this. Please..."
Yuki repeated his name softly to avoid triggering him.
Then the man, still clinging to the portrait, began to sob uncontrollably.
"I just... I just wanted to show Miyuki my favorite scenery... That's all I wanted to do..."
What did he say? Did he mean...
"Y-You don't intend to commit suicide... I just wanted to be in my favorite place with her... But people started gathering, and they told me not to keep going down... I got scared and couldn't come down..."
As the man explained, the people around started hurling insults at him.
Some even threw empty cans towards the building.
"Hey, are you out of your mind? You think people won't judge you for sitting on the railing with an obituary picture? What are you doing?"
"You better come down quickly because of you, Miyuki-chan's image is going downhill!"
...Seriously, he's just saying that now, but what if he actually falls down due to their harsh words?
People were shouting insults at him, and the man on the railing looked terrified.
But one person was different.
"It's okay. Hiroki... If you didn't have bad intentions, I'm just relieved. So please, come down now. No one will say anything."
"Hrnn... Thank you. Thank you so much... It was like Miyuki-chan was comforting me..."
In the end, Uchimura's suicide incident turned out to be an overdramatic attempt to share the view of Akihabara with Miyuki. He had climbed up there to show her the scenery from a higher vantage point, but it had all escalated drastically.
However, he still had to be questioned about the incident, so Uchimura had to go to the police station.
Yuki let out a sigh of relief as she watched the police car drive away in the distance.
"Isn't that impressive? How did you come up with such an idea?"
"I'm not really sure myself, but I really liked Miyuki. I thought that if I could persuade her with her own voice, I could make it work somehow."
At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind us.
"Hey, Junhyuk? What are you doing here?"
"Junpei?"
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