The story we started

She didn't ask anything like "Are you okay?" A normal person would think something strange would happen to him or her after seeing that he or she would encounter such a thing in the future.

"...Teacher, I don't understand."

After retching for a while, Zaimokuza said in a hoarse voice. He raised his head from the trash can, with some filth left at the corners of his mouth, and looked at Hiratsuka Shizuka with confused eyes.

"Why am I...why would he encounter this kind of thing in the future? Why was I the one chosen by that belt?"

"But even if this happens, even if I get hurt so badly... I can still feel why he, my future self..."

"…Why doesn't he have any regrets in his heart? Is that 'Zaimokuza Yoshiki' really me? I already feel very—"

"Zaimokuza!"

Shizuka Hiratsuka slapped his shoulders heavily with both hands, interrupting the next words he was about to say, and looked at him seriously.

"Don't think too much. I can tell you that the person in the video is indeed you. There may be many differences, but this one thing is absolutely correct!"

"As a teacher, there is no way I can't recognize my own students."

"..."

Zaimokuza stared in amazement at the face in front of him, which was still beautiful even though she was over thirty years old. He opened his mouth but couldn't say a word. He felt that something deep in his heart loosened a little because of these words.

Another hand patted his left shoulder. He turned around and saw Hikigaya Hachiman, who had his hand on his shoulder, also looking at him silently. Although he said nothing, his DHA-rich dead fish eyes were rarely filled with affirmation.

"Hachiman..."

Another slender white hand held a pack of tissues and handed it to Zaimokuza, and Yukinoshita Yukino looked at him calmly.

"Wipe your mouth. As a member of the Service Club, you must not let down your appearance. Future Zaimokuza-san, aren't you proud to be a member of the Service Club? Then don't embarrass your future self."

"minister……"

Zaimokuza said softly, gently taking the packet of tissues.

My heart, which had been filled with anxiety and fear about the future because of the video, felt strangely at ease at this moment.

The atmosphere among them is now extremely harmonious and warm, just like a half-parent family.

……Um?

Do they feel like they have forgotten something?

27. The wills of both parties become one

Not to mention the entire Service Club who were complaining about not bringing Yuigahama Yui along to play, the video continued to play.

【Saori Makishima, wearing a mask and surgical cap, pushed open the door of the operating room and walked towards Kyosuke Kousaka who was sitting on a chair. 】

“How is he?”

[Kousaka Kyousuke rested his elbows on his knees, crossed his palms at his mouth, and looked through the glass at Zaimokuza lying in the intensive care unit. His calm tone did not reveal any emotion.]

[“Still optimistic…right?”]

[Makishima Saori took off her mask and sat down next to Kousaka Kyosuke. Seeing the blood-stained corner of his windbreaker, she frowned and asked worriedly.]

[“Kousaka-kun, are you okay? Do you need a checkup?”]

[“…Don’t mind. The blood on my clothes is not mine. It belongs to the guy lying inside.”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke put down his raised hands, turned his head to look at the woman sitting next to him, narrowed his eyes slightly, and spoke in a low voice.]

[“Makishima, from what I know about you, you never used metaphors and vague terms like “not bad” when explaining your condition, so tell me the truth, how is Zaimokuza doing?”]

[“Ah, hey, don’t look at girls so seriously. They will misunderstand you, Kousaka-kun.”]

[Makishima Saori touched her face shyly, wanting to make a joke to improve the solemn atmosphere, but Kousaka Kyosuke still watched her performance motionlessly, and his serious eyes did not change at all because of her joke. ]

[“Haha… Actually, Mr. Zaimokuza’s condition is not that good.”]

【Seeing that the tense expression on Kousaka Kyosuke's face didn't relax at all because of her joke, Makishima Saori sighed helplessly and spoke seriously.】

[“His muscles were bruised and bruised all over his body, and most of his muscle tissue was torn. He had five broken ribs, three on the right and two on the left. There were even broken bones inserted into his internal organs. In addition, he had multiple complex fractures all over his body, a severe concussion of the brain, signs of internal bleeding, and a very serious penetrating wound in his abdomen. We don’t know much about the weapon used by No. 6, so we cannot rule out the possibility of poisoning and infection. His blood loss was also extremely serious…”]

[“To be honest, if an ordinary person had this kind of injury, maybe they could just take him to the crematorium and save the time of queuing up to burn the body.”]

[“You told me this kind of injury is ‘not so good’?”]

【Listening to Makishima Saori's words, Kousaka Kyosuke's eyes twitched fiercely a few times, and his right hand clenched into a fist. 】

【Snapped! 】

[Makishima Saori pointed and bounced her head on Kousaka Kyousuke's forehead, breaking up his frown, and she spoke with a dissatisfied expression.]

[“Don’t act like Zaimokuza-san is dead. Didn’t I tell you before? That’s the result if it happened to an ordinary person.”]

[“As for Mr. Zaimokuza, this is indeed not a good thing. At the current rate, um—I estimate that he will be fully recovered in about a day!”]

[“One day??? Are you sure you didn’t say it wrong?”]

【Kousaka Kyousuke was stunned. You know, when he called an ambulance to bring Zaimokuza here, the stretcher he was lying on was completely stained red with blood when he got off the car. And after cutting open his clothes, you can almost see the clothes he was wearing on his back through the wound on his abdomen. How could such a horrible injury that an outsider could see with the naked eye be healed in just one day?】

[“Yeah, it’ll probably only take another day. It’s incredible, right? The human body~”]

[Speaking of this, Makishima Saori playfully winked at Kousaka Kyosuke with her right eye. No one can resist the teasing of a naughty lady, except for the straight men. ]

[And it just so happened that Kousaka Kyosuke was such a straight man, so seeing his unchanged expression, she puffed up her cheeks in anger, like a 200-pound child who was bullied.]

[“Kousaka-kun, why are you still as boring as before? It will be hard to find a girlfriend if you continue like this. You might end up having to spend your whole life with only men!”]

[“What on earth is going on? This speed is a bit too outrageous.”]

【Kousaka Kyosuke was not moved at all by her interruption, and his brows were still furrowed.】

[It takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone, not to mention Zaimokuza who was stabbed through by an unidentified life form and suffered all kinds of miscellaneous injuries. Even if an ordinary person survived, he would probably have to lie in bed for at least a year, and it would not be surprising if he turned into a vegetable. Although Kousaka Kyousuke knew that Zaimokuza, who could transform into Kuuga, could not be calculated by common sense, this speed was really beyond common sense.]

[In response, Makishima Saori shrugged innocently. ]

[“To be honest, I don’t know either. I’m just as surprised as you are. But I guess the reason for this phenomenon should be the stone on Mr. Zaimokuza’s waist. After all, we know very little about that stone now. It’s not surprising to assume that it has the effect of making people heal quickly.”]

【“…”】

【Kousaka Kyosuke remained silent after hearing her words, and no one knew what he was thinking.】

[“…Anyway, thank you for your hard work. Makishima, please continue to monitor Zaimokuza’s situation. I’m going to go out and make a phone call first.”]

[He stood up, turned around and took one last look at Zaimokuza, who was lying unconscious on the bed wearing a breathing mask, and walked out without looking back. As he walked, he reached out from his waist and took out a cell phone with a blood-stained surface.]

[Kousaka Kyosuke walked to the hospital entrance and turned on the phone icon on his phone. What caught his eye was the address book with only a few numbers recorded.]

【“…”】

[After hesitating for a moment, he entered the number with the name "Kousaka Kyousuke" in the address book, and then clicked on the number "Director: Yukinoshita Yukino" at the front of the address book. ]

……

【In Tokyo, an abandoned aquarium. 】

[Baduu has lost his handsome body and walked into the gathering place of Gurongi with a step that does not recognize any relatives. When he walked out of the dark tunnel, he had turned back into the man in the jacket and jeans, with a smile on his face with a tear mark.]

[“It was a great kill today, a total of forty-nine people!”]

【"snort!"】

[Looking at its happy face, Gooma, with purple bruises on his face, snorted coldly and shook the wine glass in his hand, with undisguised jealousy and resentment in his eyes.]

[“Be happy for me, drink!”]

[Baduu, with a smile on his face, snatched the red wine from Gooma's hands with wide eyes and drank it in one gulp, and stuffed the empty wine glass back into his hand. His gloomy and pale face immediately looked at him with a distorted expression, and his palm wearing a black glove crushed the empty wine glass.]

[“…When you fought Kuuga today, did you use Kuuga’s power?”]

[Baruba, who was sitting nearby and playing with the ring in her hand, asked without raising her head. Baduu turned around and looked at her, with a wicked smile on her face.]

[“So you’ve been observing all along, Baruba? You’re right, I’m using the gift that Kuuga left for me—but not this Kuuga, but the one from the previous one.”]

[“What’s wrong? Does this violate the rules?”]

[It pulled open the clothes on its chest, and a blue totem representing "water" was printed on its chest. It looked at Baruba provocatively.

[Several of the remaining Gurongi had their eyes flickering slightly when they saw the pattern on Baduu's chest. Without saying a word, they looked at Baruba with hidden eyes as he raised his head, revealing the white rose totem on his forehead.]

[Baruba stood up from the chair expressionlessly, glanced at Baduu, and raised his hand slightly. ]

[“Since this power can already be used by you, it means that it has become your power, so it is not a violation of the rules.”]

[“Hmph, if that’s the case, then——!?”]

[baduu nodded with satisfaction, and when he was about to say something, his expression suddenly froze.]

【"Well……"】

[It slowly lowered its head and looked at the white and tender palm that pierced its abdomen, then raised its head and looked at the beautiful face of the woman in front of it with disbelief. Her eyes were still indifferent, and her face as quiet and beautiful as a snow lotus was completely incoherent with the brutal action of her hand.]

[Without even noticing what was happening, the other party had already dealt him a heavy blow. ]

[“Although you haven’t broken the rules, if you use this power, you should be able to raise your strength to the level of “me” and close to “go”, right? Your strength is seriously out of line with the difficulty of the game you are playing.”]

【“Why didn’t you inform me in advance?”】

[“Also, you should maintain the most basic respect for the referee... Do you understand?”]

[As she spoke lightly, her slender hand pierced through Badou's body with a "whoosh", just like it had done to Zaimokuza before.]

[“Puwa! Yes, I’m sorry, I was wrong… Please forgive me!”]

[Baduu spat out a mouthful of blood, raised one hand to stop the leader and several companions who were about to rush over to help with anger on their faces, and stared at Baruba with eyes that no longer had the previous arrogance, only fear and pleading.]

[“It’s okay. I forgive you.”]

[Baruba slowly revealed a charming smile on his cold face, and suddenly pulled out the arm that pierced through Badu's abdomen. Badu fell to the ground helplessly in the gushing blood, gasping for breath.]

[“But as a punishment, all your achievements today will be cancelled and the number of people will be counted again, but the time will not change.”]

[“And the power you got from Kuuga is not allowed to be used in the game tomorrow, otherwise it will be considered a violation of the rules. You can only use it in the battle with Kuuga.”]

[“If you feel dissatisfied, you can count me as one of your game goals when you participate in the “Dark Game”, provided that you can advance to “go” first. Any questions?”]

【“…”】

[Baduu knelt on his own blood without saying a word, but his hands that supported the ground slowly clenched into fists, and the blue meridians on the back of his hands bulged like snakes. ]

[Baruba didn't mind, she turned around and swung the hem of her red gauze skirt towards the door. No Gurongi dared to block her way, and all of them stood on both sides in fear.]

[“Hehehehehe, poof!?”]

[Gooma was standing at the door, watching the person he hated get humiliated because of offending Baruba, and felt happy. He laughed smugly, but Baruba walked up to him and slapped him in the face with an expressionless face, and then shoved his upper body into the trash can again, repeating the scene that happened in the morning.]

[“It’s too noisy. I get annoyed just by seeing you.”]

[Baruba walked past Gooma, who was struggling in the trash can, and said indifferently.]

"A dark game? Me? Go? It seems that this "Kikiru" has detailed rules and levels. With each level up, the Gurongi becomes more powerful. It's almost like playing a ranked match."

Ishigami Yu rubbed his chin with a thoughtful look in his eyes. He just liked to be lazy and slack off, but he was actually not stupid at all. He analyzed a lot of things based on a few words of baruba in the video.

He looked at Baduu who was helped up by other Gurongi on the computer screen, and Baruba who walked out without looking back, his eyes full of inquiry and solemnity.

"Then what level of Gurongi is this b——baruba who is the referee? No. 6, who easily beat Zaimokuza-san into a serious injury, couldn't even survive a single move in her hands, and she didn't even need to use the monster form..."

【Kwandong Medical University Hospital. 】

【"……Yeah?"】

[Yukinoshita Yukino looked through the glass window at Zaimokuza lying inside and spoke softly. Her calm expression made it impossible to tell what she was thinking.]

[“Sorry, this is my mistake. I shouldn’t have let him participate in the battle against unidentified life forms.”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke said sincerely, bending down and bowing deeply to Yukinoshita Yukino. ]

[“You don’t have to do this, Mr. Kosaka. This is not your fault.”]

[Yukinoshita Yukino shook her head and turned to look at him. ]

[“I know Zaimokuza-san. Even if you didn’t ask him for help, he would definitely not just leave it alone… After all, Zaimokuza Yoshiki is that kind of person. He will never learn to stand by and watch someone die without helping.”]

[“I used to joke in high school that if the school offered a course called “The Art of Thick Black”, Zaimokuza-san would probably make the teacher so angry that he would have a heart attack and be hospitalized… hehe.”]

[Speaking of this, Yukinoshita Yukino couldn't help but smile, but this charming smile was not seen by Kousaka Kyosuke who raised his head and then she restrained herself. ]

[“Although Zaimokuza-san smiles every day and is very friendly to others, I know very well that no one can stop him from doing what he really decides to do. He will never compromise or give up before achieving his goal. After all, his greatest strength is perseverance, or stubbornness.”]

[“Mr. Kosaka, I hope you can stay by Zaimokuza’s side and help him overcome this difficulty. I guess what he wants to do is what you want to do. I can see that you two are actually the same kind of people, aren’t you?”]

[“Ms. Yukinoshita, you really do understand and care about Zaimokuza.”]