The story we started

[“I remember…”]

【Zaimokuza stood in front, looking at the boy carrying the girl on his back and walking towards him, his eyes blurred for a moment.】

[Many years ago, the boy who aspired to become a messenger of justice under the guidance of his grandmother helped many people.]

[One of the girls transferred to the school in the middle of a school year, and by that time the social circle of the class had already been established, so she was not surprisingly excluded and became an outsider in the class.]

【In Japan, if you are outside the group, you will be excluded and even bullied.】

[It was no surprise that the girl was bullied, because there are such rascals in every school. When they grow up, they become school bullies who bully others in every school. It seems like a disgusting character inheritance.]

[Zaimokuza used to be unable to tolerate and hate this kind of behavior, and he had been committed to fighting against these bad boys. He used his stubbornness and perseverance, as well as his fists, to drive these bullies out of the elementary school he attended, and protected those weak people who he thought should be protected from the shadow of school bullying.]

[This includes that girl. Even though he has basically forgotten everything about elementary school, he still has some memories of the girl he once protected.]

[At that time, Zaimokuza passed by that corner by chance. When he saw the thin figure being bullied by the bad boys in the corner, he rushed forward without hesitation and saved her.]

[Zaimokuza didn't care whether this behavior would bring him any benefits, nor did he care whether anyone would be grateful to him. He simply hated this behavior, so he did it.]

[He didn't remember the girl's name either, because Zaimokuza treated everyone he protected equally, they were all just weaklings who needed a helping hand, the only difference was that he helped her more times.]

[The reason was that the bullying that girl suffered was really excessive, and even Zaimokuza, who had been committed to fighting against bullying at the time, could not help but be furious.]

[Stealing shoes, stuffing frogs in backpacks, stuffing dead mice in shoe cabinets, splashing water in toilet cubicles... Her originally sympathetic single-family identity not only failed to help her get any sympathy and help, but instead fueled the sadistic desires of those bastards. ]

[——Remember, Zaimokuza.]

[——Some children are normal children, but some children can tear the wings of a dragonfly just for fun with a smile. Part of their soul is born evil.]

[——For them, bullying is just an instinct like eating and drinking. It doesn’t matter whether you agree or not, or admit it or not… because reality doesn’t care about that.]

[Many years ago, Hikigaya Hachiman said to Zaimokuza in the wooden house at the summer camp in Chiba Village. He recalled it at this moment.]

[He also remembered how speechless he was at the time, and how it was the first time he disagreed with his best friend's words, but he had nothing to say.]

[Because Zaimokuza actually knows in his heart that what Hikigaya Hachiman said is correct. 】

[He has never made a mistake in his understanding of people's hearts, so he can always break through the difficulties caused by various problems in ways that others can't imagine, and guide everything to the best direction relative to the reality.]

[But there was only one thing that exceeded my best friend's expectations - that was the confession request during the school trip.]

[The incident ended in a way that no one had expected. The one who was most puzzled was Zaimokuza, because he had a girlfriend out of nowhere, and she was the client's sweetheart.]

[At that time, he never understood why the other party would agree to his confession without hesitation, which seemed to be just a formality. Unlike his own formality, Zaimokuza felt that the feelings of the "girlfriend" for him were sincere and there was no falsehood. ]

[Even when he mentioned it privately to his best friend, he said this to himself at the time:]

[“Although it’s outrageous… her feelings for you are undoubtedly ‘real’.”]

[——If it’s certified by Hikigaya, then it can’t be fake.]

[And now, Zaimokuza finally knows why his confession was successful. There is no love without reason in the world. ]

[“That girl from before… turned out to be Himena?”]

[Zaimokuza turned his body sideways and looked at the girl who was carried by his younger self. He looked at her face which was very similar to his ex-girlfriend and murmured with a complicated tone.]

Chiba Prefecture, Sobu High School, health room.

At the same moment, Zaimokuza in reality also recalled everything that happened back then.

"You are the one from back then..."

Like everyone else who turned their gazes away, Zaimokuza looked blankly at the girl behind him whom he had been avoiding since the end of the video.

"So... is that so? Hahaha... So I lost from the very beginning?"

Tobe Sho finally understood why he lost, because when he met the girl he liked, the story had actually ended long ago.

Not to mention the opportunity for fair competition, he didn't even have the chance to step onto the track, because he didn't lose, he just came too late. It was that simple and cruel.

Because I arrived late, I could only listen to the story between him and her and could no longer intervene.

Realizing this, he sat down dejectedly on the chair that Hayato Hayama had quietly brought behind him earlier, with one hand on the back of the chair and his head lowered deeply, unwilling to raise it again.

Tobe Sho's entire back seemed to collapse in an instant, but his back showed a sense of ease and relief, as if he had been freed from a huge burden.

At this moment, he completely gave up on Ebina Hina and chose to say his final farewell to the first love of his life.

"Hina, you and Zaimokuza were so early..."

Yuigahama Yui looked back and forth between the two of them and couldn't help but cover her mouth in surprise.

"Tsk? No wonder Hime was so angry at this guy... It was because I wasn't there at the time, otherwise you wouldn't have stepped into the pit of Zaimokuza, the future Sea King."

At this time, Yumiko Miura also let go of the knot in her heart and the hidden dissatisfaction with Zaimokuza. After sighing helplessly, she turned her head and looked at the dejected Tobe Sho with sympathy.

"It turns out that your loss was not unfair at all, Xiang."

"..."

When Tobe Sho heard her words, he lowered his head even more, and his upper body was almost buried under the chair seat.

"This time alone, I have truly changed my mind about you... Zaimokuza-san."

Yukinoshita Yukino turned her head and looked at Zaimokuza, her eyes as clear as snow filled with recognition and complex thoughts that could not be expressed in words.

"You knew there would be no benefit, but you were still willing to stand up and protect those who were bullied in school, just because of your persistence and belief. To be honest... you are really amazing. This is what I really think."

"——At the very least, you are much better than some so-called good people who are hesitant and choose to turn a blind eye to those dirty things just to maintain the status quo."

Her originally calm tone suddenly became sharp and cold, as if long, freezing needles pierced through the school uniform on her slender body and rushed out, carrying with them anger and disgust that wanted to hurt everyone.

Yukinoshita Yukino watched Zaimokuza's gentle gaze instantly turn into the opposite cold and ruthless look when he turned to look at someone, and then turned his gaze away the moment he finished speaking, and the inexplicable anger was also drowned out and calmed down before anyone could react.

Only one person caught the sudden change in her mood.

"..."

Feeling the touch of Yukinoshita Yukino's sharp gaze cutting into his skin, Hayato Hayama, who was standing behind Tobe Sho and holding onto a chair, lowered his head silently without saying a word, his golden bangs drooping to block his sight.

It also hid the guilt that filled his eyes.

"I'm still wondering, when will you remember?"

Ebina Hina ignored the reactions of the people around her, she put her hand on her chin, looked at Zaimokuza with a dazed expression, and slowly reached out to take off her glasses.

Wearing glasses, she should have been a simple, even ordinary girl, but after taking off those glasses, Ebina Hina's temperament changed dramatically.

A pair of warm brown eyes appeared behind the reflective lenses, staring at Zaimokuza with a warm mist in their pupils, like a pair of brown amber sparkling in the sun.

After these eyes appeared, the temperament of Ebina Hime, who could only be described as a beautiful girl before, slowly blossomed like a sunflower in the warm sun, becoming warm and welcoming. With a gentle smile on her lips, she was completely a lady from a scholarly family.

With this temperament and these eyes, her appearance, which was originally only average, soared to a higher level, and she was even comparable to Yukinoshita Yukino, who was the most beautiful girl in this health room.

Even her best friends Yumiko Miura and Yuigahama Yui were stunned at this moment. They could never have imagined that their friend had such a beautiful face hidden under those ordinary glasses.

This may also be because the mask that Ebina Hina usually wears is so well disguised that even the people around her can't see through it.

But now, she doesn't need to pretend anymore.

"Long time no see, great hero who protects the weak?"

The girl took off her glasses and held them behind her back. Facing the boy who was looking at her, she tilted her head and smiled sweetly.

The smile is beautiful, and the curve of the eyes carries the sunshine of the time when the two met, as well as the maturity revealed after the immaturity gradually faded away in adolescence, and the emotions lingering between the brows.

【“…”】

[The boy carrying the girl on his back gradually disappeared from his sight, and the strange presence behind him made Zaimokuza pause, and he turned around in silence.]

[Not far away, Hikigaya Hachiman, who had just stepped into the room before Zaimokuza, stood quietly in front of another pure white door embedded in the wall, and slowly withdrew his gaze when he looked over.]

[“Hachiman…”]

【Click.】

[Before Zaimokuza finished speaking, Hikigaya Hachiman calmly turned the doorknob and opened the door. With the sound of a clear mechanism, he once again stepped into the swirling white vortex, forcing Zaimokuza to stop what he was about to say.]

【Zaimokuza was silent for a few seconds, then followed suit.】

[He realized that, although the person who was not sure if he was his best friend had no ill will towards him, he also had some thoughts about him.]

[Everything the other party did was not so much for ulterior motives as it was to guide me, to guide me to a certain place.]

[“Hachiman…what do you want me to do?”]

[He stopped moving forward and looked at the light spinning in front of him. Zaimokuza's confusion became more intense.]

【"call--"】

[He took a deep breath, his chest swelled with the incoming air, and then he stepped into the blooming light...]

……

【"……here it is?"】

[When the light he felt in his eyes was no longer so bright, Zaimokuza slowly opened his eyes.]

[Although he was mentally prepared, the long slope that seemed to extend to the end of his vision still made Zaimokuza's expression startled. ]

[“This road… I remember this place. This is where it used to be—”]

【Zaimokuza's words suddenly froze in his mouth, and he looked down in astonishment at the figure that "passed through" his chest.】

[A boy wearing a brown windbreaker of the same style as him, with the same white hair, but with a rounder appearance than Zaimokuza and a head or two shorter, lowered his head and walked forward with a backpack under one hand.]

[“My past self?”]

[Zaimokuza stared blankly at the figure walking forward with his head down, his eyes gradually widening.]

[“And this is the case… Could it be that the current time is——?”]

[As if recalling something bad, Zaimokuza's expression suddenly became gloomy, and his hands clenched into fists.]

[“Actually, it happened at that time…”]

……

【Yoshiki Zaimokuza was holding his backpack, walking in a daze on the road leading to Sobu High School where the entrance ceremony was about to be held.】

[Sobu High School, one of the best high schools in Chiba Prefecture, is basically the best high school and is also my alma mater where I will spend the next three years.]

[Logically, he should be excited now, just like those classmates who are wearing the same school uniform as him, walking or riding bicycles passing by him, with a smile on their faces, and their eyes full of longing and yearning for the new campus life.]

[But Zaimokuza was not happy at all. Instead, he was dejected. The deadly and gloomy atmosphere seemed to become real around him, causing passers-by to look at this depressed fat man and avoid him with disgust.]

[Although it is hard to believe, a month ago, Zaimokuza was still a handsome boy whose appearance could easily score 90 points, and his appearance was on the same level as those idol stars who would make girls scream crazily just by passing by.]

[But in just one month, he became so fat that even the dog would hate him. His weight soared by about 50 kilograms.]

[The reason for this situation is that he lost his grandmother, the relative who raised him since he was a child instead of his busy parents. ]

[The death of his grandmother caused Zaimokuza a great mental trauma, which almost made him unable to recover. After nearly a month of self-exile, he became what he is now. ]

[Not to mention his parents and old friends, even Zaimokuza couldn't connect his current self with the boy in the past who always had a sunny and cheerful smile on his face when he looked in the mirror. When he looked at the photos in the past, he always felt like he was looking at another person's life.]

[As the entrance ceremony of Sobu High School approached, Zaimokuza finally managed to cheer himself up. In order to relieve his busy parents from worrying about this, he forced himself to smile and comfort them. After a long period of counseling, he finally got them to agree to let him attend the entrance ceremony alone.]

[But that was just an act after all. The moment he left home and said goodbye to his parents, the smile on his face that he was forcing himself to imitate his past self quickly collapsed.]

[The death of my grandmother seemed to have taken away Zaimokuza's ability to smile. The proof is that the sincere smile that he could easily show on his face in the past now feels like it is being hung by a thread, awkward and uncomfortable.]

[And that smiling boy seemed to be buried along with his lost smile, never to appear again. ]

[To be honest, Zaimokuza doesn't really care about this entrance ceremony. He doesn't care if doing so will lead to him being excluded or even bullied by others during his next three years of high school.]

[Because the motivation for him to get into Sobu High School originally came from his grandmother. It was because of his grandmother that he chose to enter this high school with the highest deviation value in Chiba.]

[Before the current Sobu High School was reorganized and rebuilt, and before it was called Sobu High School, Zaimokuza's grandmother was a student of that school. Therefore, she also hoped that Zaimokuza could be admitted to this school, so that she could return here as a new student's elder and a graduate alumnus to attend her grandson's entrance ceremony and reminisce about her life in this school. ]

[Although his grandmother never asked Zaimokuza to do this, the young Zaimokuza always took his grandmother's joke to heart and worked hard towards this goal. In the end, he finally got into this "aristocratic high school" with excellent grades, which is now generally only available to students from wealthy families. ]

【He just wanted to make his grandma happy. 】

[…But now, this wish can no longer be fulfilled. ]

【Now Zaimokuza came to attend the entrance ceremony for only one reason. He wanted to fulfill the promise he made with his grandmother at the end, and burn the photo of himself attending the entrance ceremony in front of her tombstone as a sacrifice to her, so that his grandmother would know that he had fulfilled her wish.】

【“…”】

【Zaimokuza walked around students one by one in silence. When they saw him, they also avoided him and looked at his back with some dissatisfaction as he walked further and further away.】

[This is normal. After all, on a day that should be filled with joy, a person like me who is full of dead air does spoil the mood, right? Zaimokuza thought to himself with self-mockery.]

[At an angle that people behind him couldn’t see, he tried hard to practice smiling, so that when the photos were taken at the entrance ceremony, his smile wouldn’t be too creepy.]

[——Today is a truly uncomfortable day, in every way.]