Have Mercy, ■■■■, on Me 6

A recollection. A few days after the mysterious boy was taken into custody

Hiyori: ...I’ll ask you one more time. What is your name?

??? (Nagisa): ...Your... name?

Hiyori: No. I don’t want you to just repeat what I say.

(It’s been like this for days now...)

(Learning the syllabary wasn’t that hard, but he’s not making any progress past that point.)

(It looks like he doesn’t even understand what the word “name” means, so even if I ask him, he can’t answer.)

(But knowing that doesn’t help me figure out what to do about it.)

(If anyone knows a better way to teach him, I’d love to hear it right about now.)

Sigh... one more time. I’ll be an example for you, so learn by that, okay?

My name is Hiyori. What’s your name?

Okay. Now repeat after me! But just say your own name instead of mine.

My?

??? (Nagisa): ......My.

Hiyori: Name is?

??? (Nagisa): ......Name.

Hiyori: ... (mouthing the words)

??? (Nagisa): ......Hiyori.

Hiyori: Ugh, how many times do I have to say this? That’s my name, not yours.

I want your name. Got it? Your name.

I wonder. Since you’re being so stubborn about answering, maybe you don’t even have a name?

In that case, I can just pick a nice one for you. What do you think about that?

??? (Nagisa): ......That?

Hiyori: Sigh... I can’t do this anymore. How are you so bad at learning things?!

I know it was a request from Brother, and I did think it would be a good way to kill time, but if I knew it was going to make me feel like this, I should have just refused.

...Maybe I can hire a tutor for you tomorrow and they can educate you.

That way, you won’t have to deal with me being irritable, and I won’t be so stressed out, either.

??? (Nagisa): ......

...♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪

Hiyori: ...Why would you start singing now of all times? Do you not get how disappointed I am right now?

??? (Nagisa): ♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪

Hiyori: Sigh...

(The kid’s been singing a lot lately. There’s no real lyrics, just a melody.)

(When he first started doing this, I told him he was really good at it. Like “wow, you’re doing great!” and stuff...)

(But now I’ve let him get carried away with it. Whenever he gets stuck with the lessons, he just sings something to divert my attention.)

(—It’s totally feels like he’s trying to butter me up.)

...Do you think singing is going to make me like you more or something?

??? (Nagisa): ♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪

Hiyori: Stop singing and answer me. If you want to make me happy, then you just—

??? (Nagisa): ♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪

Hiyori: Seriously, shut up!

??? (Nagisa): ...!

Hiyori: ...The plan was supposed to be that the Tomoes look after you until you get a foster family.

But do you even realize what a nuisance you are? No decent person wants to deal with that.

You don’t know your name. You can’t speak. You never laugh or get angry or anything. You just sit there with that empty, doll-like expression of yours.

There’s not a saint in the world who’d want to take in a weird kid like you.

Same goes for me, too, by the way. I would never hang out with you under normal circumstances.

I only took this on because Brother asked me to do it, and even when I said yes I was pretty reluctant.

Well of course, at first I thought being your teacher might be fun.

But I’ve hit my limit for sure. I’m convinced after realizing how incompetent you actually are.

I just hate people who don’t do what I want them to!

??? (Nagisa): ......

...♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪

Hiyori: ...So first you can’t learn anything, and now you can’t change your behaviors. Do you love singing that much?

You could try singing outside. Maybe you’ll even find someone who likes listening to you more than I do.

And if that goes well, that person who likes your songs could become your foster parent.

Then you could just go live with that person. I’m sure they’d let you sing those songs you like as much as your little heart desires.

So how about it? I’m just brainstorming, really, but it might not turn out to be such a bad plan, after all.

??? (Nagisa): ♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪

Hiyori: You keep singing without listening to me, so I can only assume you’re fine with it.

All right, then! I don’t care anymore.

Go outside and sing from the rooftops or something. Maybe you’ll be able to figure out who you really are, too!

And once you do, I’m sure you’ll realize just how right I was!

??? (Nagisa): ...!

Hiyori: Go on, use your voice to prove your worth.

But just so you know, the kind of relationship you’ll get that way won’t be much different from the one you had before.

So anyway, bye-bye.