Slum Online (28 page)

> I have said it before.

> Well, you stick to your guns, I’ll give you that.

> Our
Versus Town
characters are not us. They are an enhancement of parts of our personalities. Though we might become friends here, it is no guarantee we could be friends in RL. If you have time to be friends with my player, spend that time instead with your RL girlfriend, or other friends. Ah . . . you have no friends, right?

> I wouldn’t say that.

> But you did say that before.

> Yeah, but when I started thinking about it, I realized I did have this one friend at university. Haven’t seen him since he quit and went home, though. I’d still call him a friend—no idea whether he’d say the same about me. Haven’t talked to him in forever.

I lay half in my futon, hands trembling. I checked the screen. Hashimoto’s face remained an impassive blank. I began to type, painstakingly, one letter at a time.

> Why would you still consider him a friend, then?

> Well, I don’t know. I just thought about him recently because of all this. Made me want to talk to him again. Tell him about what had happened, you know?

> And you still consider this person a friend?

> Yeah, though like I said, it’s probably pretty one-sided at this point.

> I would not be so sure.

> Well, maybe I’ll try dropping him a line one of these days.

> I would think that most acceptable. I’d expect him to be pleased.

> Or maybe he’s had it with Tokyo and would rather not be reminded I exist at all.

> I think not. Reach out, and you are sure to make contact.

> Heh. Then I suppose there is still a point to RL after all.

> Quite.

As I pressed the enter key, it occurred to me that save for
Versus Town
I had spent the last half-year doing absolutely nothing. If my friend were to suddenly call out of the blue, what would I talk with him about? I hadn’t the faintest idea.

This would be a far more difficult problem for Hashimoto to solve than had been the mysterious misfortune that befell the karateka Tetsuo.

HIROSHI SAKURAZAKA

Born in 1970. After a career in information technology, he published his first novel,
Wizards’ Web
, in 2003. His 2004 short story, “Saitama Chainsaw Massacre,” won the 16th SF Magazine Reader’s Award. His other novels include
All You Need Is KILL
, available from Haikasoru, and
Characters
(co-written with Hiroki Azuma).