The story we started

"What I mean is that this girl and the Future People Organization behind her, the history they represent may just be--"

"--Hello!"

Just as Hikigaya Hachiman was about to finish his speech, a whisper that suddenly increased in volume interrupted what he was about to say.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Shizuka Hiratsuka with her eyes wide open, staring at the light screen in front of her in disbelief, and her voice was trembling.

"How is this going!?"

Subconsciously, everyone in the health room shifted their gaze to the light screen in front of them.

The next moment, the faces of all the people who saw the scene on the light screen changed drastically.

【Kanto Medical University Hospital, Tokyo.】

【icu.】

【boom! 】

[The two tightly closed doors were pushed open, and a slender figure in a white coat and a group of nurses in standard nurse uniforms dragged a stretcher and rushed in. ]

[“Quick! Prepare for surgery immediately!”]

[Makishima Saori shouted anxiously, directing everyone while taking off her white coat, opening a cabinet to the side and taking out a sterilized surgical gown.]

[“Doctor, the victim’s pupils have dilated and he is losing a lot of blood!”]

[“Heartbeat, his heart rate has dropped!”]

[“——Prepare for a blood transfusion immediately! The injured person’s blood type is AB type and Rh negative. The rest of you quickly change your clothes. I will perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation! You continue to hold down the injured person’s wound!”]

[After hearing this, Makishima Saori, who had just changed her clothes and put on a surgical cap, had a drastic change of expression in her eyes. She quickly walked over, pushed aside the nurses who were blocking her way, and came to the injured person who was carried on the operating table. She took the defibrillator that was handed to her and shouted.]

[“Start powering up, 360 joules!”]

【"yes.】

[Zizzizi——]

[The two defibrillators rubbed against each other, making the unique sound of electric current crossing. Makishima Saori looked at the person on the operating table with a solemn and anxious look.]

[“You can’t die. Someone is waiting for you.”]

【"Mr. Zaimokuza!"】

[——The person lying on the operating table is Zaimokuza Yoshiki.]

[At this moment, his usual smile was gone, his face was pale and bloodless, his eyes were wide open, and the pupils of his eyes that used to be full of energy had almost dilated.]

[He stared at the lights of the operating room in front of him, and at Makishima Saori beside him. His bloodstained lips moved, as if he was trying hard to say something.]

【“——Kuuuuu!”】

[But in the end, before Zaimokuza could successfully say the words, a mouthful of hot blood spurted out of his mouth. ]

[Zizzizi——]

[The dark, smelly blood splashed onto the ground, and immediately a wisp of white smoke rose from the floor of the operating room, proving how corrosive this blood was.]

【"Zamokuza clan!?"】

[Patter. 】

[Amid Makishima Saori's exclamation, Zaimokuza's head, which had been slightly raised, drooped weakly, and the pupils of his eyes completely dilated at this moment.]

[His hollow eyes stared straight at the downlight on the operating table. The strong white light illuminated the dark pupils, like lightning illuminating a rainy day.]

[In Zaimokuza's eyes, a scene quietly emerged——]

[The white snow fell all over the sky, covering everything in sight with a layer of snow-white gauze. ]

[At this moment, the vast campus, contrary to its usual bustle and vitality, became dead silent and devoid of human voices. It seemed that all human breath had left here, leaving only an empty shell of the former school.]

[On the playground that was gradually covered by snow, there was a chair standing in the middle of the playground, on which was placed a brown-covered book that looked a little old.]

[There seems to be some font written on the cover of the book, but before I can see it clearly, a white snowflake falls, covering up the fonts representing the name, followed by another snowflake, and the cycle repeats, overlapping continuously—]

[The entire playground, the schoolyard, and the chair were gradually covered by a thick layer of snow, losing their original appearance and leaving only their shape.]

[It seems that only the color "white" is left between heaven and earth, and there are no other colors. 】

[The book on the chair was also covered by the falling snow and could no longer be seen.]

【In the end, the heavy snow finally covered everything. 】

【With stories and the past.】

1. The story is sealed before the silent night in

"Zaimokuza Yoshiteru!?"

Seeing the half-dead man lying on the operating table waiting for rescue, all the audience couldn't help but exclaim.

This person is so familiar. From the initial video to the later light curtain, he can be said to have accompanied everyone through this series of processes. He is also the "protagonist" in this story of the future that people default to.

Among all the characters that appear, Zaimokuza Yoshiki is undoubtedly the most popular, even Kousaka Kyosuke ranks behind him. This is recognized by everyone. Just based on the traffic he has, this guy can now beat all the traffic stars in the world combined and leave them without any chance of fighting back.

In addition to his 360-degree perfect looks that is comparable to that of the top artists in the entertainment industry and has been photographed as screensavers by countless admirers, his persistence in pursuing his dreams and promises, his philosophy of fighting to protect the smiles of others and his glorious deeds of personally taking action to constantly fight against those terrifying unconfirmed life forms, all of these are his advantages that attract people's attention.

Different from those popular idols who simply establish a persona but have no substance at all, Zaimokuza Yoshiki has truly achieved unity of appearance and inner integrity. This has made people who were originally indifferent to his looks sincerely admire him from the bottom of their hearts, and instead began to yearn to become an amazing dream chaser like him.

Before this, Zaimokuza Yoshiki had suffered many setbacks in battles with those whose lives were unknown, and he was hospitalized countless times due to being defeated by his opponents and seriously injured. Logically, all the audiences have become accustomed to the little theater in the hospital after he and Kousaka Kyosuke finished the battle, and even regarded it as an indispensable tasting link, accompanied by laughter every time.

——But never once had they seen this man who fought to protect his smile be so weak.

In the light curtain, Yoshiki Zaimokuza was lying on the operating table with a pale face. A nurse with gloved hands covered his neck tightly with a towel, but blood could still be seen flowing from his neck along the collarbone.

As blood dripped onto the operating table, white smoke rose with a creepy "sizzling" sound, and even the towel covering his neck was emitting white smoke.

His body convulsed from time to time as the blood flowed, and his pupils were completely dilated. Even people without any medical knowledge knew what it meant when a person's pupils were completely dilated.

That basically means that this person has reached the end of his life or is on the road to death.

Chiba Prefecture, Sobu High School, Service Club.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on with this development!?"

Tobe Sho looked at the completely unexpected development on the light screen with an expression of astonishment, his pupils trembling.

"Weren't they just broadcasting the story of that future man? Why did the future Zaimokuza become like this in the blink of an eye? Wasn't he in the hospital with Kousaka Kyousuke?!"

"And - he looks like he's about to die! No, he's already dead, right!?"

"…If you don't need your tongue anymore, you can consider donating it to the deaf and mute people who need it. This will be your greatest contribution to society, Hubuxiang-san."

Yukinoshita Yukino's eyebrows furrowed when she heard his shouting, and she spoke in a cold voice that was as cold as Hokkaido.

"Huh? Hey! What did you say—"

"That's enough! Be quiet, Sho."

Just as Tobe Sho was about to speak with a frown on his face, Miura Yumiko, who had been silent nearby, spoke up to stop him.

This time, even the boss Miura Yumiko didn't want to refute Yukinoshita Yukino's sarcasm on his behalf, and spoke with the same puzzled look.

"What the hell is going on? Why did Zaimokuza-san suddenly become like this? It's like a movie that had a large segment cut out. It doesn't fit at all."

As she spoke, she shifted her gaze to look at Himena Ebina next to her, only to see that Ebina, who always had a carefree expression on his face, slowly put away the smile on his face, and the lenses of his glasses were illuminated by the reflection of the light curtain, making it impossible to see the look in his eyes.

But judging from the way her slender, white hands slowly clenched into fists, she probably wasn't feeling relaxed at all.

“This scene always gives me a sense of déjà vu.”

Hayato Hayama looked at Zaimokuza, who looked like he was dying, in front of his light curtain, and said after hesitating for a few seconds.

"...You're right, Ye Shan. This abrupt scene change does feel familiar."

"Just like when this light screen that replaced the previous video first appeared, it was a precursor to the beginning of another story."

Hikigaya took over his words, and as he spoke he looked at Zaimokuza himself, who had a shocked expression on his face, and his heart sank as well.

At this moment, he thought of the scene when the light curtain just appeared, reflecting the image of "Kousaka Kyosuke" standing alone by the river with injuries and a gloomy and lonely expression.

At that time, there was no one beside "Kousaka Kyosuke", and "Zaimokuza Yoshiki", who was always inseparable from him, was nowhere to be seen, leaving him alone looking into the distance.

Looking at the "Zaimokuza" on the screen, which is literally struggling to survive, and thinking about the previous scene, it is hard not to think of some very bad things.

Could it be that Zaimokuza has really already...

No, there is too little information now, and I cannot completely conclude what I think. Let’s continue reading.

Even though he comforted himself in this way, the haze in Hikigaya Hachiman's heart did not dissipate at all. Instead, it gradually became heavier until it weighed on his heart like a stone.

"Why, my future self...?"

Zaimokuza himself was also shocked. He looked at the "himself" in the light curtain who was so weak that he couldn't even utter a word. He couldn't imagine that this was the smiling superman who always stood up in the end even when he was dying several times.

He had never seen himself in such pain. He couldn't even utter the smile that was always on his face, nor the word "real man", which showed that his injury was so serious that he couldn't even move his vocal cords, and the pain completely crushed his firm will.

Looking at him like this, Zaimokuza felt that the belief that "Zaimokuza Yoshiki will never fall" that had unconsciously taken root in his heart began to waver and was about to collapse.

Zaimokuza suddenly realized at this moment that his future "self" was actually also a human being. He had never been an omnipotent god, but a human being. This remained the case even after he put on the magical belt and had the ability to transform into Kuuga.

And just like what "Kousuke Kosaka" once said, as long as one is a human being, he will feel pain and will eventually fall down.

When did I...subconsciously differentiate the future "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" from humans?

"Look, there are words appearing!"

Just when Zaimokuza began to doubt himself, Yuigahama Yui's exclamation drew his attention back to the light curtain.

【——】

On the screen of light, a blurry and distorted image like a mosaic flashed across the scene of "Yoshiki Zaimokuza" lying on the operating table, and then the entire picture gradually became dim and finally disappeared completely.

In the center of the light curtain with a pitch-black background, a line of pale fonts slowly emerged.

[Destiny is unstoppable, and someone will eventually have to face it. As long as you have the qualifications, anyone can do it.]

[But before the monster called "Destiny" came, the world had changed, even if it was insignificant. ]

[Someone has been here before, and left behind their own "story", but in the end, they just disappeared with the destined "tragedy", and the story was also sealed before the silent night that no one knew. ]

【But it is by no means meaningless. 】

【Some people took that story to heart, used it as a belief, and paved their own way. 】

[And at the end of the story, people who once walked on the same road will meet again. ]

[Here, the third chapter of the story begins, named——]

【--"origin".】

"Tsk! It's another mysterious and incomprehensible nonsense. How annoying!"

Yumiko Miura smacked her lips in dissatisfaction. She was a straightforward person and she hated this kind of quack preface that sounded like classical Chinese the most.

"Origin, what does that mean?"

Rather than simply being dissatisfied with the fact that the text did not reveal any useful information, Hayato Hayama thought of more things and stroked his chin as he thought.

"The origin... refers to the content of the previous video that was played at the beginning? Or... refers to the source of this entire 'story'?"

“I tend to lean towards the latter.”

While everyone was thinking, the line of text slowly faded away, which immediately made them all perk up and look at the light screen.

Everyone knows that here comes the point.

[“…In this way, the wicked stepmother and sisters were punished, Cinderella and the prince finally recognized each other, and with everyone’s blessings, they had a happy ending. ”]

But what was beyond everyone's expectations was that the screen remained dark, and no new images appeared. Instead, a kind female voice appeared. Just by listening to that voice, one could picture the image of a kind-looking old man in one's mind.

"Whose voice is this? Has it appeared before?"

"!?"

Just when everyone was secretly puzzled, Zaimokuza, who heard the voice, felt as if he was struck by lightning, and his brain went blank in an instant.

No way……

He stared at the still dark light curtain, his lips trembling slightly, but he could not utter a single word.

Hikigaya, who was standing next to him, noticed something was wrong with Zaimokuza and narrowed his eyes, becoming concerned.

[Sha——]