Lonely Rock for the Blind

"That's it."

Nekoyashiki Haru nodded and didn't say anything else.

"... "

Ijichi Nijina looked at Nekayashiki Haru, was silent for a moment, and then asked softly.

"Will the kitten be upset?"

"What are you worried about?"

"Kitten has been... unable to see us, hasn't he?"

Ijichi Hongxia said with a bit of heaviness.

"Kitty can't see any of us. I don't know what Kita looks like, what Ryo looks like, what Ichiri looks like, and even what I look like right now... Kitty doesn't know."

"... "

Nekoyashiki Haru said nothing.

"How did the kitten survive when it first became blind?"

Ijichi Hongxia asked.

“…How can I get through this…”

Nekayashiki Haru suddenly stopped.

"Just get by like that."

He suddenly smiled and continued walking.

"After you've been hysterical, jealous, and regretful, and after you've frantically tried to find someone to blame for this..."

After a slight pause, Nekayashiki Haru.

"You'll find... everything seems meaningless."

"... "

"What has happened cannot be changed, regret is useless, and there is no one to take revenge on. Before I realized this, I became less and less like myself."

"I was as irritable as a bastard. My parents described me as a tiger at that time."

Nekayashiki Haru held Ijichi Kouka's hand a little tighter.

"I can't see anything, there's nothing. An indescribable emptiness fills me. I spend all day and night smearing paint on paper, as if that can prove that I can still see those colors."

"... "

Ijichi Hongxia lowered her head.

"I don't think I've told you before, but after I went to England, I went to art school."

"... "

"My painting is very beautiful. I think it is very beautiful anyway."

"... "

"I think I told you when I was little, my dream was to become a painter."

“…Yeah, you did.”

Ijichi Nijinaka nodded and moved closer to Nekoyashiki Haru.

"I was completely unaccustomed to using the cane at first. The feedback was not timely at all, and I kept bumping my head. The worst accident I had was when I was almost hit by a car."

Nekoyashiki Haru said.

"But after special training, I basically no longer have this problem. It's quite interesting to walk with the feedback from the cane."

Nekoyashiki Haru's voice is relaxed.

"At that time, I was incredibly quiet, not saying a word all day long. My parents were so worried about me that they skipped a lot of work to be with me. It was during that time... that I walked past a concert. The surging music blasted from the venue, and the rich emotions soaked into my very being. At that moment... it was as if color truly appeared before my eyes."

Nekayashiki scratched his face with his other hand.

"Actually, I know very well that those colors are just artifacts of my memory. I'm just extracting the elements that can stimulate my memory from the music, and then imagining those colors. Fortunately, the music itself doesn't mind this kind of thing, and this... for me at the time, it was a lifeline..."

"I became a die-hard fan of various bands, listening to their albums all day long and going to their live shows. I listened and listened! I didn't want to eat or sleep because... I wanted to see more colors."

"Then...it faded more and more."

Nekoyashiki Haru shook his head.

"There's more and more homogenized music. I've listened to it so much, I've gotten tired of it, and the music is becoming less and less colorful. I don't feel any emotion in most bands' performances that satisfies me."

Click!

The wall next to him suddenly opened, and a ghost face suddenly emerged.

But neither of them cared.

"Hongxia, so I picked up the instrument myself."

Nekoyashiki Haru stopped, then slowly turned around and said to Ijichi Nikka.

“My heart is impure when I approach music. I approach music only for those false things I call colors, but… music itself doesn’t care about these things.”

"And I've already reached my limit. I can hardly hear my own colors anymore."

"So...after I found out you were forming a band, I was actually pretty happy."

Nekoyashiki Haru laughed.

"So, I'm looking forward to what kind of colors you, Hongxia, and your band can show me."

"I'm really...looking forward to it."

Chapter 37 Amusement Park (End)

In the dark corridor, no one paid attention to the deliberately eerie background noise.

Ijichi Hongxia stared blankly at the Nekoyashiki Haru in front of him. He smiled, but it was obvious that he made her feel a sense of seriousness.

Qing, is expressing her expectations to me seriously.

I should feel happy, but not stressed.

Ijichi Hongxia thought so.

The faint light in the darkness in front of her allowed Ijichi Hongxia to still see the figure of Nekayashiki Haru in front of her.

As if overlapping, his past and present self slowly come together.

A feeling of dry mouth came over her, and Ijichi Hongxia opened her mouth to say something, but before she could say anything, Nekayashiki Haru spoke first.

"Ah, it's taking a little too long. Let's go."

Nekoyashiki Haru took Ijichi Kouka's hand and strode forward.

Ijichi Hongxia was slightly distracted.

What…what happened?

Is the conversation over?

The clear figure of Nekayashiki Harumoto in front of her turned into his back, as if he was moving away from her.

Even though he was still holding her hand.

Rough fingers rubbed his palm.

Rough fingers rubbed her palm.

His presence can be felt so strongly.

Ijichi Hongxia lowered her head slightly.

Yellow hair covers red eyes.

[Quack! ! ! !]

Uh ...

Kill you all!!!

On both sides of the road, mechanisms opened one after another, and "ghosts" popped out, accompanied by terrifying music, trying to terrify the two people.

Unfortunately, no one paid any attention to them.

More important things lie ahead.

Ijichi Hongxia swallowed.

The conversation...must continue...is not over yet...

It shouldn't be like this... It shouldn't be Kitty complaining to me one-sidedly...

So... I don't want to give up this fleeting opportunity...

And... there are things I need to tell him...

Snapped.

The footsteps stopped on the ground.

Nekayashiki Haru's movement forward was suddenly interrupted by Ijichi Kouka stopping behind him.

He was stunned for a moment, then looked behind him.

I can't see the person in front of me's movements, I don't know the person's expression, and I don't know what the situation is.

The world of the blind is always so disturbing.

Fortunately, Nekoyashiki Haru is already used to it...

“Don’t get used to it!!!”

Ijichi Hongxia suddenly shouted.

Nekoyashiki Haru was slightly stunned.

"Hong Xia? What are you suddenly saying?"

Nekayashiki Haru suddenly felt a little panicked.

"...I...Kitty...No, Qing, I just said a lot, a lot..."

The small fist was clenched slightly.

"You've experienced a lot of things that I don't know about, when I wasn't aware of it. Maybe it's far more than the time I spent with you as a child!"

Ijichi Hongxia took a step forward.

"But I don't want to be outdone! I don't want the time we spent together as children to be outdone by the painful times you went through!"

Ichichi Hongxia took two steps forward.

Snapped!

Then he suddenly grabbed Nekayashiki Haru's hand.

"Don't get used to it! Qing said all this just to say that you've gotten used to this kind of life, right? You've gotten used to this empty life where even the things you pursue are called fake?!"

"As a friend! I don't want you to get used to this kind of thing! No! Absolutely not! I don't want to!"

Ijichi Hongxia said loudly.

The ghost NPC at the distant corner silently retracted the foot he had just taken.

"Hongxia..."

"Haru…you're looking forward to it, aren't you?"

Ijichi Nikka raised her head and looked seriously at the position of Nekayashiki Haru's eyes.

Even though he can't see it now...

Even so... there is still sound...

"In that case! Then look forward to it! I will play music that touches your heart with everyone, and with everyone who has finished the band! Make you a loyal fan of our band! And then join our band! Qing, wait!"

Ijichi Nikka lowered her head and yelled, and Nekayashiki Haru suddenly froze in place.