The story we started

【Zaimokuza quickly grabbed the door handle and yanked the door open.】

【"What!?"】

[But the scene that came into his eyes made Zaimokuza unable to help but shrink his pupils once again. ]

[What appeared before my eyes was not the familiar service department. There was neither the familiar black-haired girl leaning against the window reading a book, nor the bun-haired girl lying on the table playing with her phone, and of course there was no dead-eyed boy sitting on a chair in the corner. ]

[A long corridor is reflected in the black iris. The snow-white walls on both sides of the corridor are covered with countless wooden doors of the same color. Together with the ceiling and floor above, all the scenes here are filled with pure white tones.]

[And Hikigaya Hachiman, who had entered here just a few seconds earlier than Mokuza, is now standing in front of a corridor that is estimated to be more than a hundred meters away from here, standing in front of another door that has not been opened, just like before.]

[“What the hell is going on…”]

[Even if Zaimokuza is slow, he has already noticed something is wrong. ]

[From the time he woke up until now, everything he encountered was filled with a sense of emptiness that was out of touch with reality, whether it was Chiba, where the snowy season had long passed but it was still snowing, or the wounds that mysteriously healed, or the Sobu High School that was almost exactly the same as in his memory, and...]

[The close friend who shouldn't have appeared but actually appeared before my eyes. 】

[Even if I could barely deceive myself into believing the first few things were true, Zaimokuza could no longer deceive himself about the last thing.]

[Because Zaimokuza knew very well that Hikigaya Hachiman, his former best friend... he would never appear again. ]

[“Am I dreaming? Or is this my last moments before death?”]

[This is the explanation that best fits the current situation, and it is also the only possibility Zaimokuza can think of. ]

[But...his palm is still clasped on the handle of the sliding door, feeling the cold and hard touch of the wooden door frame through his fingers, Zaimokuza really finds it hard to believe that this is just a dream.]

【Click.】

[Just as he was standing there hesitating, Hikigaya Hachiman in the distance opened the door in front of him again and stepped inside.]

[But this time, he did not close the door like before, and let the open wooden door swing outside the corridor.]

[This action seemed to be silently saying to Zaimokuza: Follow me.]

【“——Tsk!”】

[Zaimokuza looked at Hikigaya Hachiman with complicated eyes as he disappeared behind the door. He slowly clenched his palm into a fist and couldn't help but clench his teeth and let out a loud smacking sound.]

[At this moment, a fierce ideological struggle was going on in his heart. The doubts about all these things and the comparison with Hachiman Kigaya's persistence were fighting fiercely in his heart, forcing Zaimokuza to make a dilemma. ]

【But in the end, he still chose to follow. 】

[Because no matter whether all this is true or not, and whether everything that will happen next will be dangerous, Zaimokuza hopes to find an answer. 】

[He wanted to see Hikigaya Hachiman again, wanted to talk to him face to face, wanted to confirm whether the other person... was the person he knew. ]

[This alone is enough for Zaimokuza to go through fire and water for this.]

[“This door…”]

[And when Zaimokuza arrived in front of the opened door, what he saw once again shattered his worldview. ]

[Because there is nothing behind that door, literally nothingness.]

[A white light curtain that swirls endlessly like a whirlpool appears behind the opened door, completely blocking the view behind the door, and nothing can be seen.]

[“… Never mind! Never mind!”]

【Thinking of Hikigaya Hachiman who had walked into the door before, Zaimokuza finally pursed his lips and walked into the vortex behind the door.】

[Because he believed that the close friend he knew would never harm him.]

[Swish——]

[The moment Zaimokuza stepped into the door, a blazing light burst out from the vortex, and the dazzling light made him squint his eyes subconsciously...]

……

【boom! 】

【"it hurts!"】

[The tall boy in a white school uniform and black shorts fell backwards and bumped into the wall. Then he covered his abdomen with his hands with a look of pain on his face, and slowly slid down the wall and squatted in the corner.]

[“Boss, Woohoo!”]

[The other skinny boy just screamed when a clenched fist hit his face, crushing his screaming facial expression beyond recognition. Then he was also beaten backwards and bumped into the tall boy. The two leaned against each other and wailed.]

[“What’s up! Do you want to fight again? You guys only know how to bully girls and only pick on the weak and fear the strong!”]

[The white-haired boy wearing the same school uniform as the group of naughty kids said this breathlessly. Even though his face was already bruised and swollen from being beaten, he still shouted at them fiercely with an expression of unwillingness to admit defeat.]

[Not only the two boys who curled up together and looked at him with a mixture of fear and resentment, there were also about four or five classmates wearing the same school uniform lying around the white-haired boy. They all covered their bodies with uncomfortable expressions and groaned in pain on the ground. Although not as serious as the white-haired boy, they all had bruises on their faces.]

[The most unlucky one among them was the fat boy at the boy's feet, who was still wailing and covering his crotch with both hands and rolling on the ground. It was obvious that a certain part of his male vitals had suffered an unbearable blow.]

[Obviously, this is a student fight that happens in every school in every country and every region of the world. There is nothing unusual about it.]

[The only surprising thing is that in this fight, which was clearly one-on-many, the white-haired boy, who was clearly outnumbered, was the winner, while the group of boys with more than five people was the loser.]

[Behind the white-haired boy, a little girl wearing a wool sweater and a red plaid skirt sat in the corner, her hands wrapped around her swollen and bruised knees, her head buried between her legs, and she was gently moving her body. Only one of her feet was wearing a shoe, and the other shoe was missing. Even her originally white socks were covered in dust and dirt.]

[“If you know how powerful you are, return the things you stole immediately! And apologize to them obediently!”]

[“I’ll remember you. I will definitely report you to the teacher!”]

[Faced with the threat of the white-haired boy with a fierce face and raised fist, the tall boy who was supported by a group of people felt embarrassed for a while, and finally could only pull something out of his pocket in anger and throw it at the boy's feet. ]

【Click! 】

[A pair of small black round-framed glasses rolled on the ground until they touched the boy's sneakers.]

[“Let’s go!”]

[“Hey! You haven’t apologized to anyone yet? Come back here!”]

[A group of naughty kids, supporting each other, left the corner of the teaching building in a mess. The white-haired boy who picked up his glasses from the ground wanted to chase them, but he stopped at the corner with an indignant look on his face after thinking about something.]

[“It hurts! Hiss? Are you okay?”]

[The boy covered his swollen eyes and gasped, then limped to the girl who was hugging her knees, squatted down, and asked carefully.]

[He tried hard to pull out a smile, but because of the injuries on his face, the muscles were constantly pulled and he felt sore and painful, so the smile he showed, set off by the tears in the corners of his eyes, fully demonstrated what it meant to smile uglier than crying.]

【“…”】

[The girl raised her head slightly from between her legs after hearing the boy's voice. A pair of big red eyes were revealed under her brown hair. She looked at the boy and shook her head gently, and spoke softly.]

【“…I’m fine.”】

[“You’re lying. You don’t even have shoes. How can you be okay?”]

[“Those guys…next time you see them, you must beat them up until they apologize to you!”]

[The boy looked at the girl's bare feet, which even had torn socks and exposed a few toes, and scratched his fluffy white hair, sighed helplessly, and then muttered angrily.]

【“……?”】

[As the girl stared with her eyes slightly wide open, the boy untied the shoelaces and took off one of his shoes, reached out to grab the sole of her foot that had lost its shoe, put it inside, and then tied the shoelaces tightly.]

[“Well? Since you can’t find your shoes, you can just use mine for now.”]

[“Here you go, your glasses!”]

[Helping the girl stand up, the boy looked down at her feet, where she was wearing two shoes, one large and one small, which looked very mismatched, and nodded with satisfaction. He then took out the glasses he had just snatched from the group of boys from his pocket, unfolded them, and put them back on the girl's face.]

【"Thank you……"】

[The slightly blurry scene in front of him became clear instantly after he put on his glasses, along with the bright smile on the boy's face. The light swayed through the trees behind him and illuminated the scarred cheek and the smiling face on it.]

[The girl reached out to grab both ends of her glasses as if she was afraid that they would be snatched away again, and lowered her head to express her gratitude to the boy in an inaudible voice.]

[“It’s okay! My grandma has always taught me to stand up when others are bullied, especially to help girls when they are bullied. Is this what I should do?”]

[“Next time someone bullies you, just come to me, no matter how many times.”]

[“Just like this time, as long as you call my name, I will definitely come to protect you——hiss?!”]

[“Are you okay…?”]

[The boy patted his chest with pride, but accidentally patted the spot where he had been punched by the naughty kids. He immediately squatted with his hands covering his chest in pain. Seeing this, the girl reached out to support him in a panic and said anxiously.]

[“…Don’t worry, you can’t defeat my future general with this level of skill!”]

[The boy gritted his teeth to suppress the pain and forced a smile on his face.]

【"Really……"】

[“Of course! My grandma has always taught me not to lie to girls, so how could I lie to you? Don’t worry!”]

【Bang bang bang——】

[As if to prove that he was not lying, the boy patted his chest several times and said to the girl with a smile.]

[But while he was smiling, two clear tears fell from the corners of the boy's eyes.]

[——It hurts so much! It hurts so much!]

[The stubborn boy kept wailing in his heart, but he still tried hard not to show his true colors in front of the girl.]

【“But you seem to be bleeding——Ah!?”】

[The girl hesitated and wanted to say something, but her words turned into a panicked cry, and the scenery in front of her suddenly became lower.]

[It turned out that in order to dispel her worries, the boy turned around, squatted down, put his arms around the girl's inner knees, and then straightened his body and carried her on his back.]

[The sudden feeling of being suspended in mid-air made the girl feel at a loss for a moment. In panic, she reached out and hugged the boy's neck to stop struggling.]

[“Okay, okay, let me take you to the infirmary first. Your injuries will leave scars if they are not treated, okay?”]

[The boy walked forward with the girl on his back, glancing at the wound on his left knee that was already broken and bleeding.]

[“…Thank you. Thank you so much.”]

[The girl hugged the boy's neck, feeling the touch of his palm through the skin of her lifted knees, her face flushed as she lowered her head and rested her chin on the boy's shoulder, thanking him in his ear in an almost inaudible voice.]

[“I’ve already told you, no need to thank me, this is what I should do. By the way! What’s your name?”]

【“…Hina.”】

【"Um?"】

[This time the girl's voice was even weaker than before, as if the boy couldn't hear it clearly even though he was so close to her. He tilted his head in confusion.]

[“My name is…”]

[The timid girl looked at the boy's profile and stammered as she tried to think of her own name, but she couldn't say it.]

[“Well, if you really can’t say it, forget it. Don’t force yourself.”]

【"ah……"】

[The boy shook himself vigorously, and as the girl exclaimed, he turned her back to her upright, and spoke in a brisk tone.]

[“Anyway, all you have to do is remember my name!”]

[“My name is Yoshiki, Zaimokuza Yoshiki, I’m the messenger of justice in this school, specializing in saving weak students!”]

[“Next time you are bullied at school, just tell me my name, and I will make sure those bullies will never dare to bully you again!”]

【“Yi… Hui… Yeah.”】

[The girl murmured the boy's name, looking at the short hair that swayed as the boy walked, which looked transparent and white under the sunlight, and nodded gently.]

【Zaimokuza Yoshiki smiled happily, carrying the girl whose name he didn't know on his back, and walked towards the sunlight outside the corner.】

[The girl and the boy, one big and one small, their backs overlapping each other and disappearing in the light pouring in from the corner of the wall...]

……

[In the summer of that year, Ebina Hime obtained the most precious memories and treasures of her childhood. ]

[That was the first person she met who gave her warmth after her mother died of illness and her father transferred her to this strange place due to work. That smiling face sparkled like a pearl in her memory of that year.]

[Although she only stayed there for a year before transferring to another school due to her father's work, that year left an indelible mark in her life.]

【That year, Ebina Hime got her own "hero". 】

[As long as she calls out, a brave man will come bathed in light, open his arms, and block all the malice from the world for her.]

[The sunshine that summer was as warm as that person’s smile. ]

14. The Door of Memory: The First Encounter 6K