The story we started

"Do not."

Kousaka Daisuke shook his head, stopping his wife from defending her "daughter" and whispered.

"Although there was a reason for losing control of her emotions, the future Kirino just spoke out what she had been thinking for many years under this introduction."

"It is an indisputable fact that my future self... and Kyousuke, have neglected the feelings of you and your daughter because we have focused too much on work."

"but……"

Thinking of this, a smile appeared on his stern face.

"Fortunately, the present is the present, and the future is the future. Although it is the same world, there is still a chance to make amends."

"This is the only thing that makes me sincerely grateful to this mysterious light curtain. It gives me the possibility to change this sadness."

"Although there is no way to remedy the past, there is still a brand new future... Kanano, let's go to Kirino's high school entrance ceremony together."

"This time, I will definitely be by your side."

"……it is good."

【Tokyo City, abandoned factory. 】

[“Kuga’s true identity is actually a human who looks like an ordinary person? This is incredible…”]

[Looking at the determined young man on the projection screen, the girl held her chin and muttered to herself. ”]

[“If I want to seek his help now… That’s right!”]

[The girl patted the back of her chestnut-haired head and whispered to the instrument in her hand.]

[“Information query center, query the number of unconfirmed life forms that have appeared in this era, and their latest numbers.”]

【Di-】

[The indicator light on the arm instrument lit up red, and then the information projected in front of the girl was replaced by a brand new interface.]

[“——Querying the network frequency band of the current era, matching the frequency.”]

[“——Matching successful, the network terminal has been connected.”]

[“——Search keywords: unconfirmed life form, quantity, number.”]

[“——Query successful, screen projected.”]

[After the inorganic female voice belonging to the instrument sounded, dozens of different projections were projected into the air in front of them at the same time in a ladder-shaped sequence, showing all the information about the Gurongi that had appeared so far, as well as information such as the date of death.]

[The girl glanced at the intelligence information at the bottom, which started with the unconfirmed life form No. 0, and stretched out her hand to sweep through the air from top to bottom. The projected light screen came to the interface displayed at the top.]

[“Unidentified life form No. 22 was shot dead by No. 4 on March 25th in the suburbs of Togane City, Chiba Prefecture.”]

[“Has the number that appeared reached 22? Then the next one should be——Huh?”]

[The girl suddenly cried out in surprise, and swiped her finger downwards again, and a new message appeared on the message interface of No. 22.]

[A real-time voice message related to the keyword "unconfirmed life form" was found. ]

[Source: Police Unidentified Life Investigation Headquarters. ]

【Inside the police department.】

[In terms of the technological content of the device in her hand, it can be said to be a dimensionality reduction attack on all communication systems of this era. Even the top-secret information within the police cannot escape the capture of the technology in the girl's hand that has been iterated for countless generations.]

【"This is……?"】

【In confusion, the girl clicked on this voice communication message.】

[The next moment, a deafening, anxious female voice resounded throughout every corner of the abandoned factory room, frightening the girl.]

[“Emergency report! Emergency report!”]

[“Unconfirmed Life Entity No. 23 just committed a crime on the river in Tokyo Bay, killing all 52 passengers on a sightseeing boat! We have now requested that our superiors blockade the entire Tokyo Bay!”]

[“All channels are being notified. The Metropolitan Police Department and nearby police stations are requested to go there as soon as possible to provide support and cooperate with the blockade! I repeat, no life form has been confirmed—”]

[“Number 23!? Is it the time for it to commit a crime now???”]

[Before she could come to her senses, the information revealed in this notice shocked the girl. Without thinking about anything else, she immediately turned off the projector in her hand, stood up in a panic and ran towards the factory exit.]

[“I must go to Tokyo Bay! I must go to see Kuuga’s human body!”]

[“If I can get that person’s help, I should be able to do it——Ugh!”]

[As if she recalled some horrible memory, the girl couldn't help but tremble all over while running. ]

[“Ah!?”]

[While running, the girl was distracted by thinking about other things, and her right foot stepped on a discarded handle on the ground, and her foot slipped and she screamed, and she rolled down the stairs on the second floor to the first floor.]

……

【Kanto Medical University Hospital, Tokyo. 】

[“Hina, it’s me, how——what!?”]

[“I understand. I’ll rush over right away!”]

[Zaimokuza, who was originally negotiating with Makishima Saori, suddenly heard a ringing sound from his cell phone in his belt. He took out his cell phone and saw the sender was "Hina Ebina" and was a little confused, but he still answered the phone and put it to his ear. ]

[As a result, before he could finish two sentences, Zaimokuza's face changed drastically when Ebina Hime told him the news on the other side of the phone. He stood up from his chair suddenly.]

【Saori Makishima, who was sitting opposite, saw Zaimokuza's expression suddenly become extremely serious and he stood up. She also had some guesses about the news on the other end of the phone, and watched Zaimokuza's conversation quietly without saying a word.】

[“Sorry, Ms. Makishima, I have to go first.”]

[Zaimokuza said a few words briefly and hung up the phone. He looked at the female doctor, whose emotions had returned to normal from her previous excitement, and spoke in an apologetic and hurried tone.]

[“Did the unidentified life form commit a crime?”]

[“Well, No. 23 is no longer in the river area near the Tone River. That guy actually ran to Tokyo Bay and has killed 52 people. I must rush over to stop it!”]

[Zaimokuza nodded in response, then immediately turned and ran to the door of the infirmary, grasped the door handle, turned the door open, and ran out.]

[But just as he took a step toward the door, Zaimokuza suddenly stopped moving.]

【“Ms. Makishima.”】

【Zaimokuza turned his back to Makishima Saori and spoke softly.】

[“…I promise you.”]

[“I will definitely take back Mr. Kousaka’s smile——just like he protected your smile in the past.”]

[Zaimokuza turned around and gave the female doctor a thumbs up, with a gentle but resolute smile on his face.]

[After he said this, he turned and rushed out without looking back, and the sound of his footsteps gradually faded away from the ears of the stunned Makishima Saori.]

[“…No wonder they can become such good friends.”]

[After Zaimokuza's footsteps completely disappeared from her ears, Makishima Saori came back to her senses and spoke with a complex tone of emotion.]

[“When the two of them smile, they look exactly the same.”]

[She recalled a day many years ago that left a deep impression on her, when a boy also greeted her with a smile like this.]

[“Nice to meet you. My name is Kousaka Kyousuke! Please take care of my sister.”]

……

【At the same time.】

【Tokyo City, Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters, Scientific Research Institute. 】

[“Then I wish you good luck in martial arts.”]

【Hina Ebina, who was sitting in her office chair, said to Zaimokuza with a smile on her face at the other end of the phone, and then she heard a beep and the call was disconnected. 】

[“Since Yoshiki has already set out to deal with No. 23, then…”]

[She pushed the ground with her black high-heeled shoes, turning the chair she was sitting on to look behind her.]

[“It’s about time for you to leave, Mr. Kousaka~”]

[“Of course. Tell Zaimokuza that I’ll be there soon.”]

[“The phone has been hung up. You will have to tell Yihui in person when the time comes.”]

"I will."

[Kousaka Kyousuke zipped up his clothes with a "whoosh" sound, stretched his limbs in the black tights that fit his body tightly and had wire-like patterns, and responded after confirming that it would not hinder his movements.]

[“Then I’ll leave it to you.”]

[Hina Ebina looked at Kousaka Kyosuke after he changed his clothes, and reached out to press a red button on the console next to her. ]

[After she pressed the button, a platform rose up from the ground in front of her. Kousaka Kyosuke walked to the platform without hesitation, stood still, turned around and faced Ebina Hime, and stretched out his hands. ]

[The surrounding walls sank inwards, revealing a hole. Many mechanical arms extended from it. The claws grabbed many blue parts on the table at one side, and then stretched them towards Kyosuke Kosaka on the high platform.]

[Crack. 】

[The claws on the walls on both sides each grabbed a part and moved closer to Kousaka Kyousuke. When they approached his body, they sensed the pattern of the tights on his body and opened automatically, revealing a structure filled with various circuits inside. Then, when they touched the black tights he was wearing, they immediately buckled back, and the mechanism twisted together with a pleasant sound. They assembled on his chest to form a muscle armor with a full mechanical texture, reflecting a silver glow under the light.]

[The remaining parts were also fitted one by one on Kyosuke Kousaka's body with the tights patterns that matched their positions, and they were combined into a set of armor full of technological atmosphere and majesty. ]

[“This is not only your first actual combat, but also the first time this set of G-series weapons has officially appeared in a battle against an unconfirmed life form. The relevant combat data must be submitted to the higher-ups for review later. They attach great importance to it, so you have to perform well, Gao·Saka·kun~”]

[“…Please rest assured, I won’t let you down, Ms. Ebina.”]

[The five fingers of both hands are covered with blue gauntlets, and then clasped together in the palms. Kousaka Kyosuke has put on this armor on his entire body except for his head. There is a row of golden English letters shining on the silver breastplate on his left chest.]

[He looked ahead and spoke calmly. All the parts on the table had been assembled on him, except for the helmet that was being held by a mechanical arm and lowered toward his head.]

[Crack. 】

[When Kousaka Kyosuke's face was put into the helmet, the bottom of the helmet was pressed inwards against the curve of his neck, and the exposed back of his head was covered by a staircase-shaped iron sheet extending downward from the top of the helmet. At this moment, the whole person was wrapped tightly, leaving no gaps.]

[The lights in the room suddenly dimmed at this moment, and only the operating table and the large screen behind Hime Ebina were lit.]

[Zi——]

[“Ah~ Since the person wearing this outfit is Kosaka-kun, the most powerful police officer in the Metropolitan Police Department, I believe I will never be disappointed.”]

[Hina Ebina said with a smile, the lenses on her face reflecting the white light of the screen behind her reflected a pair of huge red eyes that suddenly lit up in the darkness in front of her.]

[“Then get on your mount and set off to the battlefield.”]

[“…Don’t let Yoshiki fight alone anymore, human Kuuga.”]

【Buzz.】

[The wall behind him slowly rose up with a heavy muffled sound. Kousaka Kyosuke turned around, and his mechanical red compound eyes reflected a large motorcycle loaded with weapons.]

19. I once promised a blessing for life, two in one

【Chiba Prefecture, Chiba City, Municipal Hospital, Intensive Care Unit. wanben.info】

【0:57 p.m】

[“Now that I think about it, it seems like it happened yesterday. Before your father left that day, he said that he wanted to eat curry rice after a long time, so I went to the store to buy ingredients for curry.”]

[Kousaka Yoshino lies on the hospital bed, holding the necklace hanging around her neck, which has become very old due to oxidation over the years, and tells old stories in a gentle voice.]

【Click.】

[She pressed the button on the pendant on the necklace, and the pendant separated to reveal the photo embedded inside.]

[In the somewhat yellowed photo, Kousaka Yoshino, who looked much younger than she is now, was wearing maternity clothes and caressing her visibly bulging belly with a happy look on her face. Her husband, with a solemn expression as always, supported her, but his eyes frequently looked at his wife's bulging belly, his eyebrows moving uncontrollably, demonstrating in person what it means to be literally beaming with joy.]

[Looking at this photo, Kousaka Yoshino's eyes, which already had obvious wrinkles, narrowed, and the depths of her eyes were filled with a gentle light like a lake.]

[“When I was pregnant with your brother, your father didn’t show any signs of doing anything, but he was actually very happy. I heard from others that he spent all day in the police station with an ancient Chinese book borrowed from a colleague, researching what name to give the child. He thought of names like “Shotaro”, “Kogoro”, and “Saemon Utaro”. He filled up an entire A4 sheet of paper, both sides.”]

[“…These names are really very much like my dad’s style. They sound like the protagonists of a historical drama.”]

[Kousaka Kirino, who was sitting beside the bed, remained silent after crying, but she couldn't help but smile when she heard about the past events that happened before she was born.]

[At the same time, she also had some doubts in her heart and asked out loud.]

[“There are so many names, so why did you give Hun…brother a common name like ‘Kyosuke’?”]

[“It’s very simple.”]

[Kousaka Yoshino smiled and said to her daughter, who was looking at her curiously.]

[“Because it was not your father who gave your brother the name ‘Kyosuke’, but your mother, me.”]