My youth story cannot be a knight war

"Hey, hey! Falcon——"

"Shh-"

Just as the stuttering Tobe Sho was about to speak, Ye Shan quickly covered his mouth with his palm. He shook his head at him seriously, put a finger against his lips, and gestured to Tobe Sho not to make a sound.

At this moment, cold sweat broke out on Ye Shan's forehead, and there was an unconcealable helplessness in the depths of his eyes. He turned his head to look at the opposite side, and happened to meet the eyes of Yukinoshita Yukino, who was also covering Yuigahama Yui's mouth and was about to scream.

What's going on? He asked Yukinoshita with a serious look in his eyes.

Yukinoshita, whose face was a little pale, faced the situation in front of her that could only be described as supernatural. At this moment, she no longer cared about the past grudges between the two of them. She shook her head gently at Ye Shan and also conveyed information with her eyes.

I do not know.

Unable to get an effective response, Ye Shan turned his head to look at Shizuka Hiratsuka who was covering Miura's mouth on the other side. As the only adult present, she was the first to come back to her senses. When she saw his gaze, she shook her head seriously.

Don't act rashly, just keep watching.

Understanding what Shizuka Hiratsuka meant with her eyes, Yeshan's chest rose and fell slightly, and he took a deep breath with an almost imperceptible movement. The oxygen that rushed into his chest calmed his wildly beating heart a little.

He also didn't want to alert the enemy before he figured out the strange scene happening before his eyes.

As everyone present watched in tacit agreement, Zaimokuza Yoshiki stared at the three Zaimokuza figures standing directly in front of him. However, his eyes did not reflect their figures at all. As if he were performing a monologue on stage, he continued:

"Can't you come out and see me? After all..."

As he spoke, "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" curved his lips, with countless emotions hidden in them, making them difficult to grasp and interpret.

"Now, it's the last moment."

Zaimokuza looked at the classroom, especially the chair in front of him placed against the wall. His eyes seemed to have traveled through time and returned to many years ago.

[And now, there was someone sitting in that empty chair. He sat with his legs crossed, holding a book open on his knees, reading intently. Only at this moment did his dead eyes appear calm. The setting sun from the window hit half of his face, half of it bathed in soft light, while the other half was shrouded in darkness.]

[Looking at that figure, Zaimokuza's eyes were filled with nostalgia, sadness, and loneliness. Finally, he smiled and said to the empty chair.]

"So, can you come out and talk to me for a few minutes?"

【"Hachiman."】

The moment they heard "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" say this name, everyone's eyes were all cast towards another person.

Zaimokuza, whose mouth was covered by two hands, one large and one small, opened his eyes wide, turned his head to the right, and looked at Hikigaya Hachiman, who had a look of surprise on his face after hearing his name, and made a "mmm" sound with his mouth.

"—"

Hikigaya glanced around with a stiff expression and found that everyone's eyes were focused on him, which made him feel at a loss for a moment. Looking at the smiling "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a little scared.

What should I do? Should I respond to him out loud? But wouldn't that be a problem?

The voice echoed in the clubroom, where he was alone. No other response was heard, and finally, even the remaining sound was swallowed up by the silence.

【“…”】

The smile on his lips slowly faded, and Zaimokuza lowered his head and pursed his lips. His white bangs fell, covering his usually bright eyes, but also covering the darkness that now lingered in them.

[As if understanding something, Zaimokuza let out a light breath, and his slightly bent shoulders straightened up suddenly, as if an invisible burden had been lifted.]

He raised his head and slowly turned to scan the classroom. Countless memories flooded into his mind, then vanished as the scenes before his eyes faded.

[As I said earlier, Zaimokuza wants to remember this classroom one last time and etch the time he spent here deep in his heart.]

[Because he knew that he would never come back here again.]

After scanning the room, Zaimokuza turned and walked towards the sliding door he had just opened. His gentle footsteps echoed in the silent and empty classroom.

Hey! Hikigaya! Someone's calling you!

Small business!

Mr. Penguin, it’s up to you now.

Hachiman!

you……

Seeing "Zaimokuza Yoshiteru" turn around and walk out of the club, and then feeling the messages conveyed to him by the other members of the Service Club with their eyes, Hikigaya's eyes twitched violently.

At the same time, he also had a strange feeling in his heart, which urged him to speak to the other person who was leaving, as if there was a voice telling him something in his heart.

——If I don’t speak up now, I will definitely regret it later.

Under this strange emotion and the urging of the others, Hikigaya looked at the back of "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" and said hesitantly:

"...Zamokuza?"

【“——”】

Zaimokuza suddenly froze, his forward steps halting as if under a spell.

[That familiar voice, almost faded from memory, sounded from behind, calling his name as it had in the past... His eyes trembled, and he suddenly turned around to look behind him.]

[Looking at the familiar figure that appeared in his sight, Zaimokuza's eyes slowly widened.]

【"Eight——Fan——"】

"!?"

Hikigaya was also stunned when he saw "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" looking at him in front of him.

He could feel that unlike the other person just now who was clearly looking at him but seemed not to see him at all, the other person now - was looking at him!

Not looking at somewhere else! But looking at myself!

"Zaimokuza Yoshiki" stared at Hikigaya in a daze, with indescribable emotions surging in his eyes. He took a step forward and stretched out his hand towards Hikigaya.

"you--"

The sunlight outside the window suddenly dimmed for a moment, and a tiny but thick cloud blocked the light.

The next moment, the clouds passed by and the sun shone down again, shining through the glass of the service department classroom and illuminating everyone's figures.

But the figure that was originally standing in the center of the department room had disappeared.

It was like an absurd dream, with no trace left after waking up.

Looking at the place where "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" originally stood, Hikigaya, who had not yet recovered from this series of shocking changes, suddenly felt as if there was an inexplicable emptiness deep in his heart, and an indescribable feeling of emptiness surged uncontrollably from his heart.

It's like a complete puzzle has lost one of the pieces that would have made it the perfect finishing touch, and it no longer feels complete.

【“…”】

[Looking at the location where the disappeared figure was, Zaimokuza maintained the movement of extending his hand with a dazed expression, then slowly lowered his palm, letting it hang at his side.]

A huge roar suddenly erupted outside the window, and a strange, dark rainbow light swept in from the distant, pitch-black sky, like a red curtain gradually covering the already pitch-black sky.

Everything that made up the world shook violently at this moment: the earth, the trees, the houses... and naturally, this small classroom in Sobu High School, once known as the Service Club.

Zaimokuza stood in the shaking classroom, dust falling from the ceiling. He looked at the desks and chairs that had collapsed under the shaking, the cracked blackboard and walls, and suddenly felt for a moment like he was attending a funeral, where he was the only one there.

【What he buried was called "memories."】

【And the last thing I wanted to say, I never got to say it.】

47. The Original Truth (4K)

Just as he had arrived, Zaimokuza Yoshiteru disappeared, his figure melting away before everyone's eyes like foam rising from a bathtub, leaving no trace behind.

But looking at the empty floor where the other person had been, no one present could regard what had just happened as an illusion.

"Hayato, do you think I'm still dreaming and haven't woken up yet?"

Tobe Sho said, scratching his hair with a silly smile.

"But it's true. After all, how could there be such an incredible thing as a light curtain that can see the future in reality? And the people in the light curtain actually appeared in reality! As expected, I have been a little indulgent lately. I watched a lot of movies to reward myself last night. I should be more restrained recently..."

"...Xiang."

"Huh? What's going on? Am I finally going to wake up and have breakfast?"

The silent Ye Shan suddenly spoke, and after hearing it, Tobe Sho looked at his friend with a smile.

With a slap, Hayayama Hayabusa slapped Tobe Sho in the face with all his strength and without holding back, leaving a conspicuous slap mark. However, Tobe Sho was not angry after being slapped. He still covered half of his face and looked at Hayayama stupidly.

"Does it hurt? Xiang."

"Hmm? It doesn't hurt, Hayato~"

"That's right, so you're not dreaming now... If you were dreaming, you would have jumped out of bed screaming like you just escaped sleep paralysis."

With a heavy expression, Ye Shan patted Tobe Sho's shoulder, turned around, and looked in the direction where "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" had just looked with indescribable emotions.

Right there, Ebina and Hikigaya had already released their hands that were covering Zaimokuza's mouth, and at this moment Hikigaya was staring blankly at the place where "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" disappeared, his eyes inexplicably distraught.

Ye Shan was certain that he had not misunderstood or misunderstood what he had just seen.

At that time, facing Hikigaya Hachiman's question, "Zaimokuza Yoshiteru" really reacted, as if he had just realized at that moment that there were other people in the club room, and he had not noticed the other people here before. The reaction of astonishment mixed with disbelief did not seem to be pretended.

And at that time, he was indeed looking at Hikigaya and talking to him, and he was not just attracted by that call.

If just making a sound could attract the attention of "Zaimokuza Yoshiki", then the sound made by my friend before I covered his mouth was not small at all, but why didn't the other party even look over here?

In other words, does it take a certain person to attract the other person's attention? But why is it only Hikigaya-san?

You know, Zaimokuza-san, the other person's past self, is right here...

Ye Shan frowned tightly, and had an intuitive premonition in his heart telling him that there might be some horrible truth hidden in it, but he couldn't figure it out.

"…Hikigaya-san."

The sudden call interrupted Ye Shan's thoughts and made everyone subconsciously look at the person who made the voice.

Yukinoshita Yukino hugged Yuigahama Yui, her navy blue eyes fixed on Hikigaya Hachiman who had not yet reacted, and spoke hesitantly.

"How are you?"

"me……"

Hikigaya blinked and looked at everyone around him who was staring at him. Not used to being the center of attention, he was caught off guard and showed his truest reaction as a socially anxious person facing this situation. He spoke with a stuttering tone.

"Uh, I-I'm fine."

"Just now--"

Having said that, Yukinoshita hesitated for a few moments, considered her words, and continued.

"—Future Zaimokuza-san, is he talking to you?"

"Yes! Hachiman, that guy just now—I, he seemed to be looking at you and talking to you."

Zaimokuza placed his hand on Hikigaya's shoulder, his face showing a mixture of curiosity and worry, while Hiratsuka Shizuya frowned and asked.

"Hikigaya, do you have any idea about this?"

"Xiaoqi..."

"What the hell is going on? The future me seemed to have only seen you, Hachiman, he—"

"no."

Just when Zaimokuza was about to continue asking questions, Hikigaya, who had remained silent in the face of this series of questions, suddenly interrupted him, which made Zaimokuza blink in confusion.

"?"

"Just now, he was indeed looking at me at first, but after that... he wasn't looking at me, and those words weren't directed at me."

Hikigaya's brows were furrowed into a conspicuous "川" character, and there was an indelible look of doubt and confusion in his eyes.

Because of his past experience of being isolated by everyone around him, Hikigaya's social skills have deteriorated significantly, but his other skills have been trained accordingly, including the ability to judge what others are really thinking by observing changes in their expressions and eyes.

So in that brief moment just now, Hikigaya saw clearly that "Zaimokuza Yoshiteru" did show shock and joy in his eyes at first when he saw him, but these emotions suddenly turned into confusion in the next second, and then turned into enlightenment.

The emotions in that look were extremely complicated. He was indeed looking at her at that time, but he was not just looking at her.

Furthermore, the direction of the other party's gaze also changed, from himself to...

"Hachiman?"

Under Zaimokuza's puzzled gaze, Hikigaya turned his head to look behind him, and the smooth window glass reflected his face full of surprise.

At that time, "Zaimokuza Yoshiteru" was indeed looking behind him, but there was only a window behind him that could see the outside world, and nothing else.

Is there anyone else here besides us?