The story we started

【One year ago.】

"A year ago...could that scene just now be?"

Zaimokuza muttered as he looked at the characters appearing on the screen, his emotions surging like the tide.

"It's probably what you think."

Hikigaya next to him also had an ugly look on his face. He held his chin with his hand, his eyes rolling around as he kept thinking.

"That scene should be one year after you defeated No. 22 in the future, or -"

"It was at the beginning of the previous video, exactly one year after the Gurongi were resurrected from the Jiulangyue ruins."

"At that time, Tokyo was in the battle between humans and them..."

“It was completely destroyed…?”

When the scene of countless martyrs' tragic deaths disappeared from the light curtain, Kousaka Kyosuke closed his eyes with a look of reluctance and stopped looking.

and many more!

Kyosuke Kousaka suddenly opened his eyes wide as he thought of something.

Why was I the only one who appeared in the scene displayed on the screen? Where is Zaimokuza, who has always been inseparable from my future self?

"……No way?"

Thinking of the strange expression of his future "self" when he appeared, and the various strange behaviors after he took out the business card, an extremely ominous premonition accompanied by speculation emerged in his heart.

Kyosuke Kousaka's uneasy murmurs echoed in the health room, like a corner of a thick fog being lifted.

5. Come with the wind and rain three in one

"Could it be that the future Zaimokuza has already..."

"No! We don't know what will happen in the future yet, so don't let your imagination run wild!"

Kousaka Kyosuke swallowed the word "death" that was about to come to his lips, and shook his head violently, forcibly interrupting his terrible thought.

Despite this, a faint sense of uneasiness lingered in his heart and was difficult to completely eliminate.

Kyosuke Kousaka has very complicated feelings about Zaimokuza Yoshiteru.

Although the future "Kousaka Kyosuke" has been living a life of misery since he met the white-haired rabbit, not only has he been persecuted in various ways, his originally handsome and rational personality has also become a comedian and funny character, with various jokes coming one after another, causing even the sexual orientation of Kousaka Kyosuke himself in reality to be questioned by others as being gay, and he was also tricked into taking on millions of debts before the end of the previous video——

...No, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I can't help but want to kill him with my own hands.

Recalling the memory of his future "self" being completely harmed by Zaimokuza in the previous video, Kousaka Kyosuke's eyes couldn't help but twitch, and he struggled to suppress the murderous intent surging in his heart.

But even so, Kyosuke Kousaka could still see one thing.

That is, although it has never been said explicitly and has never been admitted, the future "Kousaka Kyosuke" has already regarded "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" as his best friend deep in his heart.

Fighting guns together is one of the best ways for men to increase their friendship, not to mention that they have been through life and death together so many times. After so many life-and-death crises and mutual sacrifices to help each other, the future "Yoshiteru Zaimokuza" and "Kousaka Kyosuke" have already established an indestructible friendship.

If one of these two people was a woman, it wouldn't be surprising if they went from being strangers to being at home plate within a month.

Although he is now in reality and has not seen the current Zaimokuza Yoshiki in the past time period in the light curtain, based on the various interactions and character descriptions of the two in the previous videos, the position of Zaimokuza Yoshiki in Kyosuke Kousaka's heart is now "above acquaintances, below friends", and he has even been confirmed to be the kind of person who will definitely become close friends after getting to know him.

——What if Zaimokuza Yoshiteru really died in the future?

Thinking of this, even though he had never met Zaimokuza in real life, Kyosuke Kousaka still felt empty inside, like a jigsaw puzzle with a piece missing, and could never be complete.

It wasn't just Kousaka Kyosuke who thought of this; many people related to Zaimokuza also thought of it.

Chiba Prefecture, Sobu High School, health room.

"..."

Hikigaya Hachiman, who was standing next to Zaimokuza, and Hayama Hayato and Yukinoshita Yukino, who were standing behind him, exchanged glances with each other, and these intelligent people understood each other's meaning in an instant.

There was a solemn look in Hikigaya's eyes, an uneasy look in Yukinoshita's eyes, and a thoughtful look in Hayama's eyes. When their different gazes shifted to Zaimokuza, they all fell silent.

Now they still know nothing about what happened after defeating the unconfirmed life form No. 22. If they want to know more information, they can only continue watching.

【Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, bellissimoricordo restaurant. 】

【09:52 p.m】

[Ka La! ]

[Thunder streaked across the sky, and a steady stream of rain began to fall from the starless sky, gradually increasing in volume until it became a rain curtain that connected the sky.]

[Because of the heavy rain, the windows of the restaurant were tightly locked, and in order to prevent leakage, even the lights were turned off, so the whole restaurant is now dark. ]

[Except for the table in the middle of the restaurant, which was lit by a candle.]

[“…Asakawa and Takayama fished out the body that had been buried for decades from the well of the holiday villa. During this time, the seven-day time limit was exceeded. The curse did not take Asakawa’s life. She passed the test.”]

[“Just like that, she finally escaped the curse of the videotape after investigating the cause of her niece’s death at the request of her sister. She avoided the same fate as her niece Tomoko and was killed by the undead in the last seven days of her life.”]

[“Then, relieved, Asakawa and Takayama returned to their residence before the divorce. During this seven-day life-and-death marathon, the relationship between the two, who had been in a cold war, quickly recovered. They were about to remarry and return to their previous warm home. Asakawa even began to imagine the fantasy she had once given up, living happily with her husband and son. After experiencing this incident, they will definitely be able to overcome various obstacles that they could not overcome before and move towards a brand new future.”]

[“…But what she didn’t know was that she was wrong. She was extremely wrong.”]

[Zaimokuza, who was sitting on the chair, was no longer smiling and cheerful as usual. His expression was solemn and serious, his voice was low and hoarse, and his eyes were dark.]

[Especially with the flashlight shining upwards from below onto his face, the shadows of his facial features were stretched out long on his face due to the angle of the light. Now he really gave people the feeling of a group of night watchmen guarding the cemetery in various horror stories, telling people in a leisurely and gloomy tone about the cruel and bloody secret events that had happened on this land, revealing to the listeners a corner of the veil of truth buried in history.]

[“Ohhhhhhhh~!”]

[Kawasaki Kyoka, with his hands on the edge of the table, secretly poked his head out from below the tabletop level, nodding his little head. The light of the candle on the table illuminated his tender cheeks, which were transparent and rosy. He looked at Zaimokuza next to him with starry eyes as he told a ghost story in a low voice.]

[“Humph! We’ve already found the body, what else can happen? You’re just deliberately creating a scary atmosphere. Don’t, don’t think you can scare us like this!”]

【Kawasaki Saki, who was sitting opposite Zaimokuza, turned her head away proudly, crossed her arms over his chest and spoke with disdain.】

[But her pair of black silk legs, which were out of Zaimokuza's sight, kept shaking under the cover of the table. They even shook too fast and both legs became numb, and she couldn't move at all.]

【Hehehehe～】

【Zaimokuza noticed with the corner of his eye that Miss Saki's body and words were completely inconsistent with each other, and his eyes quietly raised a strange arc upwards, but on the surface he continued to talk calmly.】

【“…In this process, Asakawa made a huge mistake.”】

【"What's wrong? What's wrong!?"】

[Kawasaki Kyoka, who was listening intently, urged impatiently. Contrary to her cute appearance, she was actually a horror story lover with excitement on her little face.]

[“That is, she thought that as long as she found the ghost’s body, she could remove the other party’s hatred and resolve the curse of the videotape. Her survival after more than seven days was the best proof, so she was completely relieved and believed that everything had come to an end.”]

[“But that’s not the case. There’s actually another reason why Asakawa was able to survive.”]

[“That is, she had previously copied the cursed videotape and gave it to her ex-husband, Gao Shan, to watch—and this was the only way to survive.”]

[“The curse of the videotape cannot be removed, it can only be transferred... The main reason why Asakawa was able to survive was because she transferred her own curse to Gaoshan, but neither of them realized this.”]

[“Eh? Well, that means—”]

【Ms. Saki also realized her blind spot at this time, and her expression became stiff.】

[Saki Kawasaki suddenly had the urge to run away. Although she appeared to be a strong and arrogant queen, she was not very brave. She was the opposite of her younger sister who was still in elementary school but had a special liking for horror stories. She was most afraid of anything involving "ghosts" or "spirits", and she was quite bad at it.]

[We were planning to close early today because of the sudden rainstorm, but this white-haired rabbit didn't know what was wrong with him. He said the atmosphere was just right and insisted on holding a "horror story gathering". I knew he had bad intentions.]

[Saki Kawasaki originally wanted to refuse outright, but her younger sister who happened to be here was very interested in it. Because of her love for her younger sister and the desire to maintain her image as a strong older sister, she had to bite the bullet and agree.]

But now she has begun to regret it.

[“Yes, Asakawa escaped the curse of the videotape by accident, but——”]

[“There are none in the mountains.”]

[Swish——]

[I don’t know if it was Saki Kawasaki’s illusion, but she seemed to see a strange blue light flash in Zaimokuza’s dark eyes after he said this.]

[Then, a breeze suddenly blew inexplicably in the space that was supposed to be sealed because of the sealed doors and windows, blowing across the skin of several people who were exposed outside their clothes.]

[“Mmmm~”]

[The wind was not strong, but Kawasaki Saki felt a piercing chill climbing from the coccyx along the cervical spine. Her skin shuddered as the breeze blew over it, and her hair stood on end. She swallowed hard.]

[“So, the morning after I spent the last seven days in Asakawa, Takayama’s curse came true.”]

[“That day, it was also a gloomy day. It was spring but there was a biting cold wind. It was drizzling and gradually getting heavier.”]

[“After Asakawa left last night, Gao Shan, a workaholic, has been lying on his desk working, not knowing at all that a disaster is about to happen.”]

[“Just when he felt that his inspiration had burst out and he had written the most perfect manuscript in his career, an inexplicable buzzing sound suddenly sounded behind him!”]

[“That sound was like the wind swirling in the air, roaring and howling!”]

【Huahuahuahua——————】

【Zaimokuza's voice suddenly became eerie and hoarse, and as his voice became lower, the cold wind in the room also accelerated its flow, blowing through every corner and making a ghost-like hissing sound. The tied-up curtains opened and danced wildly in the room, and the weak flames of the candles were blown by the wind and became stronger.】

[Snap!!!]

[While dancing, a flash of lightning happened to pass through the sky outside the window, instantly illuminating the scene in the restaurant, giving it a layer of cold-toned filter. The reflection of the window was projected on the back of the wooden seat facing away, just like the cross carried by Jesus. ]

【Zaimokuza Yoshiki's eyes were hidden in the shadow of the moment they lit up, Kawasaki Kyoka's excitement was beyond words, only Kawasaki Saki slowly opened her eyes in fear.】

[“Wait, wait! Wait a minute! Zaimokuza—”]

[Kawasaki Saki looked at the changes around her and finally felt that something was wrong. She spoke tremblingly, her legs shaking so much that they almost left an afterimage under the table.]

【But Zaimokuza did not stop and continued to narrate.】

[“…Just like that, when Gao Shan turned around, he saw the TV behind him, which had been turned off, light up and display a scene.”]

[“And that scene was what he had seen before, the dry well that appeared in the last scene of the cursed videotape.”]

[“Under Gao Shan’s astonished gaze, a pair of hands without nails climbed up the edge of the manhole cover, and a woman in a white dress with disheveled hair climbed out of the well, and then kept approaching the direction of the TV screen, getting closer and closer, closer and closer!”]

[Zaimokuza's voice became higher and higher, and finally became as passionate as if he was meeting a fanatic of the god he believed in! ]

[But when he spoke the next sentence, his voice suddenly became cold and low, with an inorganic calmness.]

[“——Then, the phone next to her rang.”]

[Ding-ling-ling——Ding-ling-ling——Ding-ling-ling——]

[A hollow voice sounded from the phone at the counter, but no one spoke.]

【“…”】

[Kawasaki Saki's neck jerked like a rusty machine as she turned her head to look at the ringing phone at the counter, her expression almost frozen.]

【Zaimokuza, who was standing opposite, took advantage of Miss Saki's turning back to quickly put the cell phone that was lit under the table back into his pocket and continued to speak in that low voice.】

[“At the same time, the newly replaced light bulb in the room suddenly flickered a few times and then turned off, and the whole room fell into darkness.”]

【“——Like this candle that has been blown out by the wind.”】

【puff. 】

[After Zaimokuza finished speaking, the candles that were originally burning brightly on the table were suddenly blown by a gust of cold wind and then extinguished.]

[After the only light source in the room disappeared, the entire restaurant was plunged into complete darkness, with no sight of one's hand in front of one's face.]

[Da da da da da——]

[In the darkness, the frequency of the upper and lower rows of teeth in Kawasaki Saki's mouth shaking is comparable to that of a sewing machine. The expression on her face has completely solidified. Her pair of beautiful legs with well-proportioned flesh and bones are paralyzed and unconscious. No matter what the brain center orders, it will not move. ]

[“In the darkness, she felt something appear in front of her, and the warm breath blew on her cheek along with the sound of breathing.”]

[In the darkness, Zaimokuza's voice sounded faintly, and Kawasaki Saki also felt a warm breeze blowing on her cheeks along with his words, which dissipated some of the coldness.]

[“…Suddenly, the light that was turned off comes on again, and a face appears in front of you again, saying to you:”]

【puff. 】

[The candle that had been extinguished suddenly lit up again after these words, and the world in Kawasaki Saki's eyes also lit up, reflecting the scene in front of her pupils. ]

[A terrifying face with distorted features, eyes rolled back, and tongue sticking out was very close to her, and spoke in a very hoarse voice.]

[“It’s time for you to leave.”]

【“——————Aiya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?”】

[Snap! ! ! ! ! ! ]

[In the pouring rain, in the Bellissimoricordo restaurant in Tokyo's Bunkyo district, a high-pitched female scream accompanied by a crisp sound of flesh colliding rang out, the volume so loud that it even suppressed the continuous torrential rain for a while. ]

Chiba Prefecture, Sobu High School, second year F class.