My youth story cannot be a knight war

“I still remember clearly what they were like back then…”

"Originally, everyone was sitting together and talking peacefully, but suddenly, everyone except me started hugging their heads with expressions of pain on their faces, and immediately burst into tears and screams... I didn't understand what was going on at the time, and I could only comfort them. But they kept crying and telling me to remember quickly, to remember what happened on the day of the school festival, because they said—"

"The next one is me."

[…And then, they died just like that, died in my arms, died in utter agony, and then…I finally remember now, wu…why do I have to remember…why…”]

[“Hehe!”]

Hirasawa Yui opened her arms again and hugged the wandering girl into her arms, holding her tightly and comforting Manabe Kazu.

"It's okay, you're okay, you're definitely okay! Everyone's here, including the police. Brother Yihui and the others must have heard about this. They'll definitely come, they'll definitely find a way! You won't die..."

Perhaps even Hirasawa Yui herself didn't notice at this moment, but her usually carefree and cheerful voice now held an uncontrollable tremor. Even the hand that was wrapped around her friend was shaking constantly, pale and cold like a patient suffering from hypothermia.

Because she had already vaguely anticipated her friend's final outcome, but she refused to admit it. The intense conflict between reality and her inner feelings completely drained Hirasawa Yui's words of their former vitality. She hugged her best friend tightly, like a mother bird spreading her wings to embrace her cub, and cried out with a deep sob.

"That's why I forbid you from saying such depressing things! If you keep saying that, even after we're back together, I won't talk to you anymore! For a week, or at least three days!"

[“So I beg you—”]

Hirasawa Yui suddenly let go of Manabe Kazu, grabbed one of her hands with both hands and raised it, and said to her with tears in her eyes.

"Don't die! He-He..."

Hirasawa Kazuo had just opened his mouth when his voice gradually faded from high pitch to barely audible, and finally disappeared completely.

She followed Manabe's gaze, which was fixed on their hands, and slowly lowered her head to look at her own hands, which were holding hers.

[Patter. 】

Manabe Kazu's palms slammed onto the bedsheets like a puppet whose gears had slipped. Hirasawa Yui opened her hands with trembling movements, her large eyes shrunken to the size of pinholes and trembling continuously.

[Not only her, but the other girls all held their breath when they saw Hirasawa Yui's hands. Akiyama Mio even covered her mouth with her palm to stifle the scream that was about to come out, her eyes filled with disbelief, and she even took two steps back.]

[Red, pure red, so red that it stings the eyes.]

At this moment, Hirasawa Yui's palms were covered in this color, and the bright red also stained her irises. Her warm brown eyes were eroded by the scarlet, and could never return to their original appearance.

A familiar, yet far more intense, smell of rusty iron emanated from Hirasawa Yui's hands, causing her throat to stretch and an uncontrollable urge to vomit to well up.

"He, He-sister!"

[Under Hirazawa Yu's trembling voice, Manabe Kazuo reached out his palm to his back in a daze, touching the place where Hirazawa Yui's palm had just been hugging, and then moved it to his eyes.]

[Similarly, her hand was also covered in bright red, and the pungent smell made her brain, which was barely functioning, instinctively recognize what it was.]

This is blood, human blood.

[——This is my own blood, the blood of Manabe Kazu.]

【"finally……"】

Looking at the blood on his palms and the feeling of his hospital gown, which was getting wet and sticking to his back, Manabe suddenly smiled.

Clear tears could no longer be stopped from flowing from her eyes. Manabe felt that the scene before her eyes was becoming hazy due to the tears, and she whispered softly with pale lips.

"My turn, poof!"

Before she could finish her words, red blood splattered onto the bed sheet in front of her, staining the white fabric with an equally glaring red. The extreme combination of white and red stimulated everyone's eyes, and the movement also woke Hirasawa Yui from her daze.

["——Hehe!"]

Looking at Manabe Kazu, who was bent over and exposed with a blood-stained back, and coughing violently with his hands covering his mouth, blood constantly oozing out from between his fingers, clear tears flowed from the corners of Hirasawa Yui's eyes. She wailed and hugged her friend, saying in horror.

"He He! What's wrong with you? Don't scare me!"

"He Jie!"

【"and!"】

【“…”】

A group of people immediately gathered around Manabe and Tuan. Their concern for their friend overcame their fear of blood, and they shouted each other's names.

【"……only."】

After a while, Manabe finally stopped coughing. Her blood-stained hand fell limply from her mouth, leaving a crimson handprint on the bed sheet.

[“I’m here! I’ve always been here! I’ve always been by your side!”]

Manabe, her smooth jaw stained with blood, raised her head. Her pupils were already dilated. She looked at the blurry faces of her friend and others so close to her. Her mouth moved, slowly forming an arc.

She raised her blood-stained hand and unsteadily reached towards Hirasawa Yui's face, which she then held.

However, the icy coldness of their touching palms made Hirasawa Yui's tears flow even more violently. She looked at her friend's smiling face in the blood, and felt a huge fear well up in her heart.

[Even though she was reluctant to admit it, she finally understood a fact.]

[Perhaps——she will really lose Manabe Kazu forever.]

[I lost this dear friend who had grown up with me, who was no different from my biological sister except that we were not related by blood.]

【"Very good……"】

"What are you talking about!? He He! You'll be fine!"

[“That’s great… It’s great without you guys…”]

"What are you talking about?! What do you mean by without us? You must hold on! The doctor will be here soon!"

Akiyama Mio, her eyes trembling, held Manabe's other hand. Seeing her close friend, with whom she could talk so much, now in such a critical condition, she truly wanted to burst into tears, her voice choking with sobs.

“I remember everything now. That day… the day of the school festival. You’re all fine. That man… didn’t come looking for you… I’m so glad…”

[“He He! I beg you to stop talking! I beg you! Stop talking! Wuuuuu…”]

As if sensing the approach of death, Manabe's previously volatile emotions calmed down. She looked at her friends, tears streaming down their cheeks, but her vision gradually became blurry.

Not only that, but her blue and white hospital gown, with the exception of the back, was now stained with red, gradually spreading everywhere. Soon, amid the cries of the others, the gown was completely dyed a bright red.

Wound after wound appeared on her fair skin, as if thousands of invisible blades had slashed across Manabe Kazu's body. Blood oozed from the wounds. Hirasawa Yui cried and tried to cover her friend's wounds with her hands, but as soon as her palm covered one wound, several more tore through the skin nearby, and the flow of blood was completely unstoppable.

【But compared to himself, Manabe is more concerned about the girls in front of him, including his friends. 】

Recalling everything, she was relieved to find that the devilish man had not appeared around her friends during the school festival. They had a very happy day, without any shadow around them. They were safe.

Although he didn't know why they were the only ones who didn't encounter such misfortune, Manabe Kazu felt that knowing this was enough.

There are two types of people who have been caught in the rain. One type wants to tear up everyone else's umbrella, making everyone else feel the same way. The other type, who understands the feeling of being wet, wants to use their own bodies to hold an umbrella for others. The kind-hearted Manabe is undoubtedly the second type.

[The massive loss of blood caused Manabe Kazu's face to turn extremely pale. Her eyes had lost focus at this point, and darkness began to spread from the edge of her vision.]

Manabe understood that this scene was a sign of his impending death, and the countdown had begun.

[So, now is her only chance to speak her mind.]

[“Wei, I’m sorry…”]

She leaned against Hirasawa Yui's arms, her hollow eyes gazing at her friend's blurred face, and she smiled as she closed her own eyes.

But the tears still flowed uncontrollably from the edges of her eyes down her face, dripping onto the bed sheet beneath her, which was already thoroughly soaked with her blood. The salty drops of water slightly blurred the blood, which had already begun to turn black.

“I clearly promised you that when you get married in the future… I would be your bridesmaid, but it seems… it seems like I’m going to break my promise…”

“I don’t care! I really don’t care! As long as it’s He He, it doesn’t matter how many times you break your promise to me! So, so—”

"——I beg you! Don't go!!!"

Hirasawa Yui's deep sobs echoed throughout the depressing hospital room. Everyone else in the light music club suppressed their own tears, dedicating their final moments to this pair of best friends.

Warm water drops fell on his face. Even though everything in front of him had fallen into darkness, Manabe Kazu could still imagine the appearance of Hirasawa Yui in his mind.

[You must be crying like a kitten right now, with even your nose red from crying, right?]

It was like this before. You've been stubborn ever since you were little, and you're someone who won't back down until you hit a wall. So you always get hurt easily, and every time you get hurt you end up crying. Over time, I've gotten used to carrying a handkerchief just for you, just to wipe your tears.

[But I'm sorry - I no longer have the strength to wipe your tears with a handkerchief like I used to.]

[“From now on… you have to learn to carry your own handkerchief, Wei…”]

【“…Finally…promise me one thing—poof!”】

A mouthful of thick blood spurted out from Manabe's mouth again, staining the collar of Hirasawa Yui's clothes as she embraced him.

["——Hehe!"]

[“Ugh…!”]

Mio Akiyama could no longer bear to look at such a cruel scene. She turned around, her body trembling, and hugged Ritsu Tainaka, burying her face in her shoulder and sobbing softly.

【“——”】

[Ritsu Tainaka, hugging her friend, lowered her head and clenched her teeth. Although her relationship with Manabe Kazu could only be described as familiarity, any empathetic human being would not be indifferent to the scene before them.]

[But she was powerless to deal with all this and could only choose to close her eyes, unwilling to face the separation happening before her eyes.]

She felt a warm breath and sobs coming from her other shoulder and back. Tian Zhongli immediately knew that they were Nakano Azusa and Kotobuki. They also couldn't bear such a cruel reality any longer and chose to escape.

[“Wei, You…are you there? Why…can’t I see you?”]

"I'm here! I'm here! He He!"

【“He Jie…”】

The two Hirasawa sisters each held one of Manabe Kazu's hands. Seeing her pale face and the blood on her body, they felt their hearts aching, unable to suppress their tears any longer.

[“Great, you’re still here… Wei, promise me, promise me…”]

Manabe Kazu's voice gradually faded. Hirasawa Yui, realizing something, trembled as she leaned her head close to her ear, listening to her barely audible voice.

【“…Can you promise… me…?”】

“Hmm, hmm, hmm!”

Manabe Kazu's lips stopped moving, while Hirasawa Yui had already broken down in tears, nodding her head repeatedly.

【"……That's good……"】

The corners of Manabe's mouth curled up slightly, then smoothed out, his eyes gradually closing. Darkness enveloped the scene before him like a curtain.

[Before the darkness completely swallowed everything, she finally saw the face in front of her clearly.]

My friend's face is exactly the same as it was when she was little, her eyes red from crying, her face covered in tears and snot, looking both funny and heartbreaking.

[Every time he looked at this face, Manabe Kazu couldn't help but want to reach out and wipe away her tears...but all this was no longer possible.]

[From now on, there will no longer be her around to help wipe Hirasawa Yui's tears. She must learn to wipe them herself, learn to grow up on her own, and face all the challenges that life brings.]

Everything in the past flashed before Manabe's eyes like a fleeting scene. They were all memories belonging to her and Hirasawa Yui. She then realized that every stage of her life was filled with each other's name, without missing a single one.

Because she had always been by her side, she had long been accustomed to it. It was not until the moment she lost him that Manabe Kazu realized how important Hirasawa Yui was to her. Unconsciously, she had actually divided half of her life with him.

[But now, she can no longer continue to accompany him, and can only offer this final blessing to her best friend with regret in her heart.]

[I really want to... always be with you as you grow up, just like before, with flowers blooming and falling, and us walking through so many years together.]

"But from now on, you'll have to move on by yourself, but—I believe you can do it, don't you? Wei."

[You have grown up and have friends who care about you as much as I do. I can finally let go of my worries about you and leave with peace of mind.]

In my short and ordinary life, I have always lived a happy life. I have a family that cares about me and loves me, teachers I respect, and the luckiest thing is that I have met a friend like you.

My only regret is that I can no longer walk with you. I can't go through every stage of life with you, graduate with you, enter society with you, wear wedding dresses with you, be bridesmaids at each other's weddings, and witness each other find our own happiness...

I'm really sorry.

【"……Thanks……"】

"It's so wonderful to meet you... to be friends with you..."

[His eyes were completely closed, his body covered in blood and wounds, but at this moment, Manabe smiled peacefully.]

【Then, Manabe Kazu's face gently tilted and rested on Hirasawa Yui's chest. 】

【Snapped. 】

Her hand slipped from Hirasawa Yui's tightly clenched grip, landing on the bed sheet with a barely audible thud.

[But to everyone else, this sound was like thunder exploding, and the entire world collapsed in an instant.]

["And...and."]

Hirasawa Yui looked at her friend, who lay motionless in her arms. Her right hand trembled as she stroked the face that had its eyes closed peacefully. Tears welled up in her large eyes.

[She couldn't accept this fact at all, shaking the other person's body, and then hugged the bloody Manabe tightly.]

Feeling the other person's gradually cooling body temperature, tears flowed from Hirasawa Yui's red eyes, flowing down her entire cheeks and falling on the other person's shoulders.