My youth story cannot be a knight war

……

"I had a really great day today. Thank you for inviting me and Mr. Kosaka here!"

It was already approaching dusk, and the campus stalls had mostly closed down. Many visitors had also left, leaving the vast campus feeling a bit deserted.

Zaimokuza and Kousaka Kyosuke were standing at the exit of the auditorium, waving goodbye to the light music club.

"Mo~ Yoshiteru-nii, Kyousuke-nii! Can't you two stay for the final bonfire party? You know, Mio? I've been looking forward to being with you guys—mmmmmm!"

【"law!"】

Before Ritsu Tainaka could finish her words, her face flushed red as Mio Akiyama covered her mouth from behind. She then locked her head in her arms and spoke haltingly while looking at the two of them.

“No, no! That’s not what she meant! I really hope—no! I mean, I just want—”

"Alright, alright, I know what you're trying to say, Mio-chan, but I'm sorry, Mr. Kousaka and I have to leave early today. We have things to attend to in Tokyo."

Zaimokuza twitched his eyes as he watched Ritsu Tainaka, whose face was thrust into Mio Akiyama's arms, struggle violently at first, then finally drop his arms and legs in a helpless embrace. He spoke awkwardly.

"But I'm really happy today. I believe Mr. Kousaka feels the same way, right?"

Zaimokuza looked at Kousaka Kyosuke, who was standing next to him with his arms crossed. He just rolled his eyes at what he said, but didn't refute him.

"Then next time, I'll invite you guys, too!"

Hirasawa Yui raised her fists to her chest and spoke seriously.

"We still have the school festival next year, and we've also got that Budokan concert we've always wanted to go to. We'll both invite you to attend, so don't miss out!"

"Budokan... Then you guys have to work hard. I'm really looking forward to it. Come on!"

[“Let’s make a pinky promise. From now on, no one will break their promise.”]

【"Um!"】

Zaimokuza smiled and extended his right pinky finger, and Hirasawa Yui happily extended her finger as well, but before that, another finger had already hooked onto the end of his finger.

【"?"】

"Since we're going to make a promise, then of course we should make it with the entire light music club! Making a promise with just one person is nothing, Yoshiki-kun."

Zaimokuza looked in the direction of the finger in surprise. Ritsu Tainaka, who had woken up at some point, was looking at him unhappily. Several other girls also pointed their fingers. Even the shy Mio Akiyama hesitated for a moment, then, blushing under everyone's gaze, she reached out and hooked her pinky with Zaimokuza's.

[“——Well, you’re absolutely right, Riku-chan!”]

After a moment of silence, Zaimokuza's eyes curved into crescents. His slender fingers contrasted sharply with the fair, delicate fingers of the girls, like the trunk and branches of a large tree.

“We’ve made a promise. When you enter the Budokan, I’ll definitely go watch your performance.”

……

[As they walked out of the school gate, Zaimokuza waved his hands and said goodbye to the group of people standing at the auditorium entrance with a smile.]

"Okay, stop waving! We should leave now. If we don't leave now, we'll miss the last train back to Tokyo."

[Kousaka Kyosuke, who was walking ahead, looked back at Zaimokuza standing there and spoke in silence.]

"It's not like we won't see each other again. There will be plenty of opportunities to meet next time. If you want to meet, just take the train here anytime."

"Well, even though you said that, Mr. Kousaka..."

Zaimokuza smiled and lowered his hand, his gaze fixed on the light music club members, who appeared somewhat insignificant in his field of vision.

[For some reason, he felt a little lost in thought at this moment.]

[“…But, I feel like I really want to stay.”]

“Da-me-da.”

[Kousaka Kyousuke spoke with a cold heart, glancing sideways at Zaimokuza.]

"You don't even want to find an excuse to stay now? You really want to hold onto that girl's slender waist and join the bonfire party? And then, while you dance, you can take advantage of the height difference and look down at her blushing face and the cleavage of her untied kimono neckline, right?"

"Uh—Mr. Kousaka, is that really what you think of me? And why do you know so much about this useless trivia?"

Zaimokuza's expression froze, and then his face suddenly turned red. He shook his head vigorously and looked at Kousaka Kyousuke and complained.

"These are all things the molesters I caught taught me. I know even more exciting things. Would you like to learn more?"

"...Come on, let's go! Mr. Kousaka, I suddenly can't wait to go back to Tokyo! Hahahaha—"

[Kousaka Kyosuke, with one finger of his right hand hooked around a pair of silver handcuffs, looked at Zaimokuza with a forced smile. Zaimokuza, sensing danger from his words and actions, changed his previous absent-mindedness and walked forward with a full smile.]

Seeing the other party's tact, Kousaka Kyosuke nodded with satisfaction, put away the pair of gloves he had pulled out from somewhere, and followed.

[But at the last moment before leaving, Zaimokuza couldn't help but look back in the direction of the auditorium. Seeing them leave, the members of the light music club also turned back and walked towards the teaching building.]

Watching them gradually approach the auditorium, Zaimokuza felt a sudden sense of emptiness in his heart, like a puzzle with a missing piece.

Regulation is merely a marginal background embellishment, yet it still fills the entire picture with an indescribable sense of disharmony.

[What’s going on? This strange feeling…]

He shook his head, shaking off this inexplicable feeling, and embarked on the return journey with Kousaka Kyousuke.

"Anyway, we can still meet again next time, Zaimokuza thought."

【——But Zaimokuza never expected that they would meet again so soon.】

……

【Four days later.】

【Kyoto Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture. 】

11:54 PM

【boom--】

Two motorcycles sped down the road, emitting a deafening roar in the dead of night, lighting up the previously darkened houses along the way and drawing a wave of curses.

[But despite this, the two motorcycles showed no intention of stopping. Their riders even twisted the handlebars again, driving the motorcycles towards their destination at an even faster speed.]

Finally, after turning a corner, a hospital came into view. The hospital entrance was now guarded by over a dozen police cars and numerous armed guards, who vigilantly scanned all passing vehicles.

"This is a police restricted area. No entry! Please go to another hospital if you need medical treatment!"

A police officer spotted the two motorcycles approaching and spoke righteously to them. They both immediately braked and stopped. The motorcycles, with white smoke rising from the friction of the wheels, swung in a graceful arc and stopped in front of the hospital entrance.

"—I'm Kousaka Kyousuke from the Unidentified Lifeform Countermeasures Headquarters! This guy is a family member of someone involved in the incident. Let us in!"

After the motorcycles stopped, the two riders quickly removed their helmets. Kousaka Kyosuke, holding up his ID, spoke with a steely expression, no longer the easygoing manner he had been a few days before.

The other rider was, unsurprisingly, Zaimokuza. His face was filled with anxiety, but he and Kousaka Kyousuke still stood at the door, waiting for the guards to compare their documents.

[“…Yes, your identity has been confirmed. Please come in.”]

After verifying the ID's authenticity, the guard nodded to another person nearby, who immediately lowered the cordon in front of the door. Zaimokuza, upon hearing that he could enter after the cordon was lowered, immediately jumped over it and sprinted towards the hospital building's entrance.

"Hey! Zaimokuza!"

After retrieving his ID from the guard, Kousaka Kyousuke quickly followed him. The two of them entered the building's entrance, one in front of the other. They ignored the nearby elevator and climbed the stairs instead.

【Da da da--】

"Run faster, Mr. Kousaka!"

Zaimokuza ran while turning back impatiently to Kousaka Kyousuke, who was a flight of stairs behind him.

"Calm down! Even if you run as fast as you can, it's useless. You're not a doctor. Even if you get there, all you can do is—Hey!"

Kousaka Kyosuke was still thinking about trying to comfort him, but when he looked up, he saw Zaimokuza running faster without even looking back. He immediately had no choice but to grit his teeth and speed up to catch up with him.

"Faster—"

In just ten seconds, the staircase to the top floor of the hospital appeared before his eyes. Zaimokuza took three steps across the stairs and stood at the entrance, looking around anxiously.

When he saw a woman in a blue short-sleeved dress sitting at a doorway on the left, her head bowed and her body trembling, his eyes immediately focused, and he ran over with Kousaka Kyosuke running up behind her.

【"Mountain--"】

【Snapped--】

Just as Zaimokuza was about to call out the other person's name, his forward steps suddenly stopped, and the crisp sound of his footsteps echoed in the hospital corridor, which was as silent as a graveyard.

A shrill cry suddenly erupted from the doorway of the ward next to the woman, like a bird circling in the sky, weeping bitterly over the loss of its child.

Zaimokuza was very familiar with that voice, very familiar.

【"------don't want!!!!!!"】

[——But he never imagined that this always carefree voice would one day be so heartbreaking, filled with despair and pain.]

5. When laughter and joy become a thing of the past (9K)

[Kyoto Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture, Aoba Hospital, top floor intensive care unit.]

【11:45 PM】

[“Why… would I forget…”]

The light music club members gathered tightly around a hospital bed, their eyes fixed on the girl sitting at the end of the bed with her hands folded across her knees. Their words rang out in hoarse sobs, and her body, clad in a blue and white hospital gown, trembled slightly.

"On the day of the school festival, I met that man in the hallway of the teaching building... He, he stabbed that strange thing into my body. It hurt so much, but the wound healed in the next second, without even a drop of blood. It was so fast, it was like I was hallucinating..."

“Then, he told me to forget everything, just treat it as a dream, and remember nothing when I woke up… Then, I really forgot everything just like he said. I only vaguely remember that I seemed to have had a nightmare, but I couldn’t remember what happened. I just felt very uncomfortable…”

"It was just a nightmare, wasn't it? It was clearly just a nightmare, and I woke up just as he said, but why—"

“——Why did I only remember that nightmare now?!”

After the last sentence, the girl, unable to bear it any longer, raised her head and cried out at the light music group beside her bed, tears still flowing from her red eyes, leaving mottled tear marks all over her cheeks.

The girl's name is Kazu Manabe, and she is the current student council president of Sakuragaoka Girls' High School. She is trusted by both teachers and students, and is regarded as calm, reliable, and a woman of both integrity and talent. She is admired by many students.

But now, she no longer possessed any trace of her former role as student council president. She looked like an ordinary girl, her features distorted by fear. Her usually neatly styled bangs were now clinging to her face. Her glasses had been removed and placed on the bedside table, her red eyes, from crying, filled with deep despair and fear.

She suddenly clutched her head with both hands, wailing at the top of her lungs. The aura of pain emanating from her body almost became physical, instantly infecting everyone around her, causing them to tremble uncontrollably.

"Why did something like this happen to me?! Why did it happen—I, I don't want to die!!!"

[“Hehe!”]

Hirasawa Yui, who had been standing nearby, could no longer bear it and rushed over to hold her hands with both of her own, saying with tears in her eyes.

"Don't believe what that person says! It's all lies! You won't die! You will definitely survive! We will definitely be able to go back to school and go to school together every day!"

"Yes! Sister! Don't believe what that bad guy says! He's just trying to scare you. This is just a prank! You won't die!"

Hirasawa Yuu, the younger sister, followed her sister and rushed forward. She opened her arms and hugged Manabe Kazu's trembling body tightly, and then wrapped her arms around her waist and held her in her arms, as if she wanted to use her body temperature to convey her warmth to Manabe Kazu, who was now extremely cold.

"That's right! Don't believe that mysterious man's nonsense! We're all here, we're all here with you! So you'll be absolutely fine!"

Tainaka Ritsu bit her lip hard, using the pain to overcome her fear, and then stepped forward, clenching her fists and shouting at Manabe Kazu, who was being held by the Hirasawa sisters.

【“I am worried about everyone…”】

These actions and words seemed to have finally taken effect. Manabe's body stopped trembling, and he slowly raised his head and looked at them.

[Her eyes no longer held the despair and fear they once held, but...they had lost all their light.]

[Empty and pitch black, like two empty dry wells, or a completely numb dead person, it fills those who see it with genuine fear.]

This is the look that appears when someone has completely lost all hope, their despair deepening until it reaches its limit, and that emotion breaks through a certain threshold.

[“…I also hope this is a lie, but I know…this isn’t a dream.”]

Manabe gave a bitter laugh and continued.

"Yamara-senpai, Kamiya-senpai, and Satou-san... everyone, everyone is the same. They also met that man on the day of the school festival, before me, but they encountered the same thing as me. They also forgot what happened at that time... but not long ago, they all suddenly remembered it."

"And then, everyone..."

Manabe Kazu looked at the members of the light music club who were moved by his words, and his bloodless mouth moved up and down, and he spoke words that instantly made the air in the room drop to zero.

[“——They all died… right in front of me.”]

"You guys know that, right?"

[When faced with this question, no one in the light music club had the courage to answer, and they all avoided Manabe Kazu's gaze.]

[Did they know about this? Of course they knew, because they had recently passed by the morgue where the bodies of those names were lying.]

[It was precisely because they knew that what Manabe said was true that they had gathered here, hoping to find a way to save this friend who had a close relationship with the light music club.]