Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

He actually regained some of his spirits slightly.

01 The moonlight that day poured down

"See you tomorrow."

"Thank you for your hard work, Iruma-kun."

……

After saying goodbye to his seniors, Hibiki Iruma finished his work for the whole day.

The time was now a little late as expected, and the reason was very simple - he was a little too busy to handle the final cleanup by himself.

But there is overtime pay, and there is help from other people, so for Iruma Hibiki, this rare experience might be a good one.

But the game agreement between me and Goto Ichiri tonight cannot be fulfilled.

Naturally, since there was no game agreement, Hibiki Iruma had a quiet night.

He hadn't been to Rinkai Park much recently, but instead had been moving around Ikebukuro out of habit. He couldn't explain why, but it was probably because after that night in Ikebukuro, he felt a sense of familiarity with it.

After passing the Moon Forest and arriving at the street behind the campus, Iruma Hibiki stepped onto the pedestrian bridge.

On one side of the overpass is a huge cherry tree, which is now covered with green leaves and lush, while under the overpass is a road with cars coming and going.

It just seemed that the commuting rush hour had already passed on this road at this point in time, so it was quiet and slightly dark here, with the light from the street lamps just enough for people to see clearly in front of them.

And Iruma Hibiki slowly climbed over the railing of the overpass and then sat on it.

This habit was actually developed some time ago before the summer.

The reason is that this place is the shooting location of his new work - a novel about a band. He completed most of the manuscript of the novel here, and then after typing and many adjustments, he finally completed his work before the deadline.

Although writing has come to an end now, the habit from that time has been retained. Iruma Hibiki still comes here occasionally when he has nothing to do, and then sits on the railing and leaves some notes and traces in his notebook.

The so-called notes and traces actually have nothing to do with the novel.

He actually completed the lyrics for several songs after the original band broke up.

Even though I haven't touched a guitar for a long time.

But he has kept the habit of writing lyrics to this day.

This is still the case today.

until--

Da da da da——

A clear and pleasant voice sounded from beside him.

In fact, Iruma Hibiki initially thought that it was a group of people rushing home on this road. After all, this overpass was not always so quiet, and there would occasionally be some people.

However, just when he took it for granted that he was just a passerby, he was like a rabbit waiting to be slaughtered, grabbed by the collar and thrown violently onto the road surface of the overpass.

wow——

Accompanied by a crisp sound.

The loose pages of manuscript paper in his hand flew all over the slightly windy summer night. Many of them were blown up and fell onto the road below, and only a few fell where they could still be picked up.

Then, accompanied by a bang, Iruma Hibiki's body collided with the ground, and then, a familiar smell was filled into his nostrils.

Furthermore, at the moment of falling, the figure of the person who had done this was seen from the corner of his eye—

"Su Shi..."

He muttered a name in disbelief, then fell heavily to the ground. His eyes went black and he lost consciousness in an instant.

"Suicide is not allowed!"

A strange yet pleasant voice sounded beside him.

His body was held down by someone.

Although the force was not great, the other party seemed to be trying his best to do it.

It was at this moment that he realized how stupid he had just done.

This place is actually only one intersection away from Tsuki no Mori, and summer vacation is indeed almost over, so it is quite normal to meet students from Tsuki no Mori here.

And his behavior of flipping through the railings and writing and drawing just now might actually be easily misunderstood?

"I……"

Hibiki Iruma subconsciously opened his mouth to explain, but the pain in his body did not allow him to do so.

"Why would you commit suicide? No matter how painful things are, there's always a way out, right?!"

The other party is expressing his goodwill on his own.

As for Iruma Hibiki, he grimaced in pain and completely ignored what the other person was saying.

Until a while later——

"Eh?!"

The blue-haired girl standing in front of Hibiki Iruma showed a hint of surprise on her face after hearing his explanation. Then, although the light was not bright and the details could not be seen clearly, it was still clear and visible. Hibiki Iruma saw that the girl opposite him suddenly blushed all the way to her neck.

"It's not suicide, but a source of material for a novel..."

Her tone was no longer as firm as before, but soft, with a hint of fear and embarrassment.

"These are actually the manuscript pages of the novel."

In order to verify what he said, Iruma Hibiki picked up a piece of manuscript paper beside him and handed it over.

"lyrics?"

"Wait! I'm so sorry! I misunderstood you and acted impulsively! I'm truly sorry! I'll help you find all the manuscripts!"

The girl hurriedly bent down and began to pick up the papers on the ground.

In fact, only less than 1/20 of the bridge remains.

After all, it was a complete 93-page work.

It was a cry from his heart.

"No, it's okay. It doesn't matter if we can't find them all."

Iruma Hibiki spoke softly.

"Why not?"

Then he gently looked at the tram tracks under the bridge.

"Throwing away those things actually made me feel a lot more relaxed."

"My name is Iruma Hibiki, pen name Iruma Rengen, and I'm currently a debut high school author. What about you?"

"Toyokawa Shoko, currently a third-year student at Tsuki no Mori, but is it really that important? Those lost manuscripts must have been very important to Iruma-san."

"Like this page—"

In front of Iruma Hibiki, Toyokawa Shoko took out the manuscript paper that she had just seen at the beginning.

The complete lyrics are written above.

"Lyrics like these, with notes that are instantly recognizable, must have been written with all your heart and soul, Iruma-san. As for me... I was too impulsive. Helping you retrieve these manuscripts is my due compensation!"

"I mean it from the heart."

Iruma Hibiki gently responded to the panicked Toyokawa Shoko in front of him.

"Those manuscripts aren't really valuable to me. Losing them would really make me feel a lot better. However, it would be great if I could find those pages of lyrics."

"It's indeed the lyrics! How many pages are there with lyrics?"

"About three pages."

"At least I will definitely help you get this part back!"

After saying this, Toyokawa Shoko lowered her head and began to work hard on the manuscript paper on the ground.

As for Iruma Hibiki, he touched the back of his head which was in great pain, and after a slight bitter smile, he secretly grinned for a while.

02 The Present and Past of Rainstorms

To be honest, the weather this summer is a bit bad.

In Hibiki Iruma's memory alone, there were two typhoons and many unexpected rainstorms, so that most of his memories of summer were immersed in a kind of distress.

Of course, this may also be due to what happened before.

But all in all, it has been an unusual summer.

Even the sudden rainstorm at this moment only made him sigh in his heart, "It's raining again."

"I'm so sorry Iruma-kun!"

Under the eaves of the 711-Eleven convenience store, Shoko Toyokawa lowered her head and apologized to Hibiki Iruma seriously.

The search for manuscript paper naturally ended halfway.

In fact, at the beginning, Toyokawa Shoko still wanted to persevere, but Iruma Hibiki could not bear to see her looking for things that were a burden to him to some extent in such a rainstorm.

"It's okay. Actually, the lyrics we were looking for have already been found. Don't worry too much, Toyokawa-san."

At this moment, Iruma Hibiki was holding dozens of pieces of paper in his hands.

The original manuscript of the novel is definitely not complete, but perhaps it was fate that the lyrics he wrote are still there. Although they were soaked by rain, the handwriting on them is still clear.

After packing up his things and putting them in his backpack, Iruma Hibiki walked into the convenience store behind him. After buying a classic umbrella, he saw Toyokawa Shoko who followed him in, pinching her slightly wet skirt and smiling slightly. Then he bought a towel at the counter on the other side and ordered two cups of hot coffee.

"It's better to wipe it off. The air conditioning here is quite strong. Don't catch a cold."

After paying the bill, Hibiki Iruma handed over coffee and a towel.

"Ah...how..."

"Consider this your reward for 'saving' me, Toyokawa-san."

Hibiki Iruma smiled at Shoko Toyokawa.

Outside the window, loud thunder broke the darkness and tranquility of the night sky. The heavy rain reduced visibility to only a few meters. More and more people came into the convenience store. Iruma Hibiki and Toyokawa Shoko arrived early, so they managed to find a good seat.

"..."

But after all, Hibiki Iruma and Shoko Toyokawa were not actually familiar with each other, and he was not a good socializer, so after that, the atmosphere between the two fell into a strange silence.

until--

“It’s the second time, actually.”

Toyokawa Shoko took the initiative to start the conversation.

"the second time?"

Hibiki Iruma turned her head curiously, and then saw Shoko Toyokawa looking seriously in the direction of the overpass.

"Yeah, the second time. Once before, I also encountered someone on that bridge who seemed to be about to commit suicide, so I pounced on him just like today, but that time too... it was a complete mistake."

When Toyokawa Shoko spoke, she did not look nervous, shy, or distressed. Instead, she had a firm and matter-of-fact expression.

"But as expected, even if I had to do it all over again, I would definitely stop you, Iruma-kun. Even if I later discovered I was wrong, it wouldn't matter."

Then she spoke seriously.

"If I do it again, nothing will change..."

Hibiki Iruma softly repeated Toyokawa Shoko's words.

Actually for him.

At this moment, something was opened.

If I could do it again——

Will he still save Nagasaki Suyo without hesitation and date her in his new life?

There was a hint of confusion in Iruma Hibiki's eyes.

"Can I take a look at the lyrics Iruma-san wrote? What a coincidence! The girl I saved earlier is also a great lyricist."