Gretel x Kaguya: Book 3 Chapter 2

Verse 1
A few days ago...

The boy is chatting alone, his

deathly pale skin illuminated

blue by the monitor.

"Alright guys. It's  Big Brother ,

today.

I'd better clear the fight before

 my sister  comes out, right?"

A slew of  comments  fills

the screen, as if it were responding

to his words.

"Quick, little sister!"

"What a liar! lol."

"I like Big Brother."

The boy's eyes rest on

the address of a

 dating website .

Gretel:

It's that damn spam again...

Why would I waste my time on some dating site, anyway?

Who's desperate enough to look for company there?

Kaguya:

....Yes, this dating website I've found...

Perhaps I can use it to find myself a decent man.

Verse 2
I don't remember when I

stopped leaving this room.

The cause was probably something

trivial, at first.

But then, there were so many reasons.

Verse 3
Having had strict parents, I followed

their example and

got a job as a teacher.

I tried hard to be strict on myself.

However...

Verse 4
The internet was everything

for me, as I holed up in my room. I

could get whatever

I needed without going outside.

I could find out whatever I wanted.

Verse 5
I wanted to be scolded.

I wanted someone to

strike at me. I wonder when i first

noticed

those latent desires?

Verse 6
One day, I was watching a

videogame streamer and I wanted

to get in on the fun. I probably wanted

to provoke

reactions from other people.

Verse 7
I asked the person I was dating

to hit me. The pain

in my stomach was an agony unlike

anything I'd experienced before.

...So this is what I've really wanted.

Verse 8
I want more comments.

I want more reactions.

How do I get popular?

Should I do something weird?! In that case--

Verse 9
I want to be struck more.

I want to be berated again and again.

I'm just a worthless slut

pretending to be a teacher--

Verse 10
"All I need is my big brother...

so I have no use for this filthy dating

spam."

His eyes narrowed, and with a slight

dramatic pause,

he faked the personality change.

In an instant, a storm of comments blew

across the screen.

"And heeerre's little sister!!"

"Wha?! You mean he really has multiple

personalities?!"

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

Beneath his mask, the boy's lips curled in

a rueful smile

at the predictable reactions.

"It's too easy."

With this spam, the female teacher

was creating new connections.

Kaguya:

Use me however it pleases you.

If you'd like, you can beat me, tie me up, or even treat me as an object.

All I ask in return is that you please, please, abuse me...

Gretel:

The internet is so convenient.

But...

Sometimes, it scares me.

How much of this is even real?

 The boy who had 

 withdrawn from 

 reality ,

into a sea of  lies ,

hoping the world beyond his monitor

would help him feel alive.

 The female teacher  who

followed her  instincts ,

and desired real world encounters,

hoping the men she met

would help her feel alive.

Two distant paths that would never cross

and yet, were faintly connected

somewhere down the line.

Only  seven days  remained

was only a week  away .

Discordant Poem
As the boy continues his live stream,

he notices the address of a dating

website on his monitor.

In contrast to the disapproving young man

who looks on now with a click of the

tongue, there was one

girl who had been more than happy to

access it.

While he live streamed, the boy

played at having multiple

personalities. That way. He could keep

his viewers commenting.

On the dating website, the woman

sought out a man.

That way she could meet someone

truly terrible...

A person who seeks life in the real.

A person who seeks it in fiction.

What lies at the heart of both is the

desire to be recognized.