The story we started

A gentle curve quietly appeared at the corner of Yukinoshita Yukino's mouth. She looked at the two people in the present, then turned her head to look at "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" who was kneeling on the light screen and crying in front of the memories of the past, her voice mixed with emotion and relief.

"Although Zaimokuza-san is full of flaws, likes to brag and easily gets carried away, and Hikigaya-san always pursues ideas and logic that are unacceptable to others, and always makes mistakes knowing that he is wrong and never repents, but..."

"At least they are smiling now, that's enough. Only they are like this can be an indispensable member of the service club."

"I know Zaimokuza Yoshiki and Hikigaya Hachiman in the present, not their future selves, no matter how great those people are."

【“!”】

【A warm white light lit up in front of his eyes, and Zaimokuza, who was kneeling in front of the mirror and crying, suddenly shuddered and raised his arms in astonishment.】

[At this moment, a white light spot is floating from his arm. As the light spot passes, Zaimokuza's arm slowly begins to become weaker, but on the contrary, the feeling of weakness in the body is gradually fading. ]

【Not only his arms, but Zaimokuza's entire body began to be enveloped by white light, and the darkness around him was gradually replaced by light, as if the dark night that had come to an end had finally ushered in the light of dawn.】

[A white door appeared out of thin air in the darkness behind Zaimokuza, like a piece of white paper with ink washed off. Many voices came from the other side of the door, attracting Zaimokuza's attention.]

[——Doctor, the patient's heart rate has...wait! Who are you? You can't come in here!]

[——Wake up! Zaimokuza-san! ]

[——You must be kidding! Zaimokuza, wake up!]

[“This voice…Bushi, Yuigahama?”]

【Zaimokuza listened to the familiar voices in his ears, his eyes gradually widened, and he understood what was on the other side of the door - on the other side of the door was a reality that was the opposite of this dream.】

[As long as this door is opened, he may be able to wake up and return to the real world. ]

[“Why at this moment——Hachiman!?”]

[Just as Zaimokuza was staring at the door in astonishment, he suddenly remembered something and quickly turned his gaze back to the front.]

[Then, the scene he saw caused his pupils to shrink violently and tremble uncontrollably.]

[In the brief moment when he turned back, all the fragmented memory fragments in the mirror were reset to zero, re-forming a familiar figure.]

[The same facial features as in my memory, the black Sobu High School uniform, and the pair of dead fish eyes that I will never see again. ]

[Hikigaya Hachiman, who is exactly the same as the image that Zaimokuza remembers most, is standing opposite the mirror, and calmly looks at him as he turns to this side.]

【“…”】

[Hikigaya looked at the warm white light floating on Zaimokuza's body and the door that appeared behind him, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and then he walked towards the boundless darkness in the mirror behind him without hesitation.]

【From Zaimokuza's perspective, the other party walked away so decisively, without any intention of looking back, and his thin back disappeared into the darkness behind the mirror in an instant.】

[His behavior is like saying to himself:]

[——The time has come, you should leave.]

【"etc……"】

[Even though he now knew that all this was just a dream and that Hikigaya Hachiman was just an afterimage in his memory, when he saw him being swallowed by the darkness, Zaimokuza was still moved to a violent degree.]

[“Wait! Hachiman!”]

[Zaimokuza pressed the mirror with both hands and shouted anxiously at the disappearing figure.]

【boom! 】

[He gritted his teeth and punched the mirror hard. If it were in reality, even if he was in human form without transformation, the power of this punch would be enough to easily punch through a wall.]

[But what made Zaimokuza open his eyes in disbelief was that the mirror that received his punch only had ripples like water waves erupt from the impact point, and then the entire plane returned to stillness, without any life.]

[“Damn it, get out of my way!”]

[Eager to attack, Zaimokuza, driven by anger, repeatedly punched at the mirror, hitting the same spot one after another. The ripples that spread out were endless, but he couldn't even create a crack.]

[During this time, Hikigaya's back had completely disappeared into the darkness, and the light from Zaimokuza's body and surroundings was so bright that it blinded the eyes, driving away the original darkness.]

【"--hateful!!!"】

[The fist, which was already covered in blood, hit the center of the ripples for the umpteenth time. The ripples that spread out this time far exceeded those before. One can imagine how heavy the force of this punch was.]

[But this still couldn't shake the mirror at all, Zaimokuza could only watch his best friend's back disappear again, and finally stopped this meaningless action unwillingly and desperately. ]

[At this moment, the white light particles emanating from Zaimokuza's body have almost become a stream, and are so faint that one can see the scene on the other side through his body, but his strength is at an unprecedented peak, comparable to the state before he was injured.]

[At this moment, Zaimokuza knew very well that he was about to wake up in reality, and as a spiritual body, he would also be freed from this dream. ]

[Even if the door behind him is not opened, he will be forced to wake up and return to reality. The only difference is whether it is voluntary or passive.]

[But he did not feel any joy at all, only an extremely strong sense of unwillingness surging from his heart, entwining his limbs like a spreading vine, dragging his heart down to the bottom of the valley bit by bit.]

[Am I going to...watch him leave again? Without being able to say a word, like before?]

[Zaimokuza propped up the seemingly unbreakable mirror with his hands stained with his own blood, lowered his head to face his feet, and bit his teeth so hard that it seemed like he was going to break his molars.]

[I can't keep the promise with my grandmother, I can't protect the smile of my best friend, I can't restore the service club that used to be full of laughter, my life is always repeating such failures... Now, do I have to watch the people I couldn't protect leave before my eyes again, but I can't do anything? ]

[Even if it was just a residual image of memory, he clearly had so many things he wanted to tell Hikigaya. He wanted to tell him that he had fulfilled our promise, that he had found something he should protect, and that he had finally fulfilled their promise... But even such a small wish could not be fulfilled? ]

[Then why did I embark on this journey? Everything I have experienced over the years, all those smiles I have protected, don’t they mean anything? Am I still the same person I used to be, the person who can’t change anything? ]

[If you can't even keep and protect the smiles of those around you, how can you protect everyone's smiles! ]

[“You must be joking…”]

【Zaimokuza's arched back trembled violently, and he slowly clenched his palm into a fist, using so much force that his nails dug into the skin of his palm.】

[A tragedy like this, once is enough! It’s enough!!!]

[I chose to embark on this journey in order to avoid repeating the powerlessness of the past, but why... the ending is so cruel? ]

[“It’s just a mirror—”]

[The face of my best friend flashed through my mind at this moment, along with the words he once said to me:]

[——When you see someone’s smile, you want to protect it. It’s a beautiful theme… but it’s not realistic at all, because in reality, there has never been a person who would protect someone else’s smile without any reason.]

[You have always been right, Hachiman. There may really be no such person in reality. Even I am just a "fake" who longs to become a "real thing", but...]

[This has nothing to do with whether it is a "real thing" or a "fake thing". I just want to see you again. I just want to see you again! ]

[I hope to be able to tell you what I have kept in my heart for these years, and tell you about the people and things I have met during my travels. I want to tell you that I did it! Even if it was just a "fake" at first, I really did it! ]

[I fulfilled the promise we made in a joking way! I kept my promise to Mr. Hiratsuka! I protected Mr. Kosaka's smile! I protected the smiles of many people! I completed everything that I had not been able to complete before! ]

[I want to see you again, I want to tell you all this, but this feeling is the real thing without any falsehood!!!]

["——Hachiman!!!!!!"]

[In this dream that was about to collapse, Zaimokuza roared at the top of his lungs, raised his fist again towards the mirror in front of him that was as solid as the Wall of Sighs in the myth, and swung it forward! ]

【Om—】

[At this moment, the golden light that was originally faint and invisible in the depths of his pupils suddenly became stronger as if encountering a raging fire of licorice, and the golden light illuminated the mirror in front of him, like a lit torch.]

【Zaimokuza's originally ethereal body, which was close to disappearing, instantly became solid the moment the golden light flashed out. The silver Yamadam belt appeared around his waist with a familiar humming sound, and the red spirit stone flashed rapidly, with the light sometimes strong and sometimes weak.】

[As the fist is swung, a layer of red reinforced muscle appears on the arm in a translucent form, and the red fist completely overlaps with Zaimokuza's fist, and a blazing flame explodes on the swung fist! ]

[Buzz—buzz—buzz—]

[The world seemed to have stopped at this moment, including Zaimokuza himself, except for the spirit stone on his waist which continued to flash at the same frequency as before, and the rapidly changing red color seemed to be gestating some new color different from the past.]

[And when Zaimokuza's fist hit the wall, the color of the spirit stone finally changed. ]

[——The red spirit stone that represents Kuuga’s omnipotent form has now turned into a blazing golden color like amber.]

[At the same time, a golden glow like a mist also resides on Zaimokuza's fist, and spreads on the mirror surface along with this heavy blow.]

【——Click. 】

[The crisp sound echoed in the silent space, like someone using a kitchen knife to crack the shell of an egg, and there was even a strange sense of pleasure.]

【“…”】

[Zaimokuza raised his head, and his golden eyes were full of stubbornness and determination.]

[Before his fist was swung, a tiny golden crack appeared where the fist touched the mirror, tiny but eye-catching.]

[Click, click, click——]

[Then, as if a chain reaction had been initiated, the originally tiny golden cracks continued to spread to the surrounding mirrors, and at an extremely fast speed, a spider web-like shape was unfolded with Zaimokuza's fist as the center. Each crack was permeated with a warm golden glow.]

【Finally, it collapsed.】

【——————】

[Boundless white light bloomed from the cracks in the mirror, and in an instant it enveloped the wooden seat within a few feet, and continued to spread. ]

[The white door melted away like morning mist under the light, and then a dazzling but not blinding light enveloped everything in the dream, encompassing all the scenes.]

[Whether it was the forest under the full moon, the corner of the campus, the laboratory shrouded in conspiracy and mystery, or the service club where the two had made an agreement, and the Sobu High School campus under the heavy snow... everything disappeared in the light that came, and no longer existed. ]

【Zaimokuza felt as if he had fallen into an ocean of white light, his body was engulfed by the warm light, and all his feelings of weakness were wiped out at this moment.】

[At the end of the light stream, a familiar black figure loomed, and he was still walking steadily. ]

[Facing that figure, Zaimokuza stretched out his hand with all his strength...]

【Dream, it’s time to wake up. 】

High emotional intelligence rejection

Author's message:

PS: This chapter was originally a long one, but I had to make up for the professional courses and exams, so I didn’t have enough time to finish it, so I had to split it into two chapters.

Chapter position: 169 / Chapter price: 35 / Word count: 7202 / Update time: 2023-06-26 01:51:05

29. The Final Chapter of Memory: A Story Because of You (Part )

[The pitch-black sky stretches endlessly, snowflakes fall from the sky, covering the earth with a layer of lifeless white. ]

[But at the end of the black sky, there were a few faint rays of light that appeared and disappeared from time to time. On the other side of the earth, a golden-red outline was slowly rising, bringing a few rays of light to the darkness before dawn.]

[In this world that is about to usher in the dawn, the small town ahead is lighting up with faint lights in the snow, like a bright lamp guiding the direction.]

[Black shoes stepped on the snow on the road, leaving a trail of clear footprints.]

【“…”】

[The boy looked up in the snow and looked at the town at the end of his field of vision. His dark eyes reflected the image of the town that was still sleeping, and he was about to start walking again.]

【“——Hachiman!”】

[But the shout from behind made him stop his raised foot in mid-air, and then he slowly put it back down.]

[“…That’s enough. Let’s stop here.”]

[Hikigaya Hachiman slowly turned his head to look at the white-haired boy who was panting behind him, and a helpless emotion flashed in his listless eyes.]

【“Zaimokuzu.”】

[This was the first time he spoke during this trip, and his tone was just as lazy and weak as I remembered.]

[“Hoo…Hoo…Hoo…”]

[Zaimokuza supported his knees with both hands and lowered his head to breathe heavily. The familiar feeling of lack of physical strength and heaviness in his body made him extremely uncomfortable. He felt that he had exhausted a lot of physical strength after just running at full speed for a short while.]

[Now he looks the same as when he was a student at Sobu High School, wearing his favorite brown windbreaker over the Sobu High School uniform, and his round figure cannot be concealed even with a thick coat. ]

[In reality, he had already said goodbye to this body for many years. When he returned to his original body again, he felt an extreme discomfort, like a strong horse pulling a small truck loaded with loads. The energy consumed with each step was far greater than before. It only took a short distance for him to feel suffocated and almost fainted.]

[But he still gritted his teeth and persevered. He raised his round face covered with sweat while panting heavily, and looked at Hikigaya Hachiman standing in the snow. He moved his mouth but could not say anything.]

【Zaimokuza originally thought that after meeting Hikigaya, he would have countless words to say, and he had already conceived a manuscript of thousands or even tens of thousands of words in his mind, waiting to speak them out in one breath after meeting the other party.】

[But when he actually met his best friend, he found that he could not say anything. The compiled words in his mind dissipated into smoke like sparks in water, and disappeared completely in a short time.]

[Finally, Zaimokuza could only move his lips and asked with a difficult voice.]

[“Are you… leaving?”]