My youth story cannot be a knight war

And what only every adolescent girl will understand is the pure throbbing that comes from the first time in one's heart for a member of the opposite sex, without any impurities of adulthood, pure and beautiful like the willow branches swaying by the lake in spring, and the tips of the branches constantly touching the lake surface and creating ripples.

Question: If the world ends, who would you like to spend the last days of your life with?

This is a topic that has appeared in many girl circles, and the answers have varied with the changes of the times. The answers in the last century included Jack Chen, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Leonardo Dicaprio, etc., and the answers in the current version are not even limited to humans. As long as the sexual orientation is perverted enough, even homosexual creatures can be included in this range.

Tsurumi Rumi used to think the first person who asked this question was really stupid. After all, why discuss something that might not happen in the lifetime of three generations of a family? And even if you do want to, have you considered whether the other person is willing to walk through life with you?

But when the end of the world that had only existed in ridicule in the past actually appeared before her eyes, Tsurumi Rumi felt that she suddenly understood what kind of mood the person who originally raised this question had.

Because now she has found the person who hopes to spend the last journey of her life with her...but she doesn't even have the chance to make this request to the other party, and it is impossible for her to make it.

Because the other person is the only one who can change this fact. Whether the history of mankind and the world will come to an end in this era depends on whether that person can defeat the messenger of destruction and create hope for the future of mankind.

So everyone in the world can look for the person they want to walk the final journey with at this time, but that person is the only one who does not have this qualification, and the weight of the world's survival falls on his shoulders.

Under this weight, everything else is so insignificant, whether it is the feeling of liking someone for the first time or a promise made in the distant past, all must give way to this responsibility and weight.

Tsurumi Rumi has always been a girl who considers others, which is why she is so popular among the students in the school. She is unwilling and unable to let her willfulness become a burden to the other party at this time.

But knowing how to tolerate others doesn’t mean you won’t feel lost when your hopes are dashed.

"……Fool!"

With her delicate hands tightly grasping the cuffs of her school uniform, Tsurumi Rumi suddenly lowered her head and muttered.

"What a fool who doesn't keep his word, really... In the end, he was so forgetful and couldn't even fulfill his promises. What a liar..."

She stamped her feet in her indoor shoes with a slightly angry expression, and wiped the corners of her eyes with her hands, trying hard to hold back the tears from falling.

Tsurumi Rumi turned around, reached out to open the door behind her, and planned to go in to continue drawing comics to calm down.

If you do something for a long time, it will become a habit. She has been drawing comics for so long that she is naturally used to regulating her emotions in this way.

But the moment she opened the door and glimpsed the scene inside through the crack, the hinges of the door stopped turning as Tsurumi Rumi froze her movements.

"—"

Looking at the scene inside the room through the entrance, she was stunned. Her breathing rhythm seemed to disappear, leaving only the rapid beating sound in her chest.

The dormitory window was not closed, so the wind blew in from outside, ruffling the old corners of the windbreaker...but I didn't see that familiar person.

Across the entrance hall, at the seat facing the door, the familiar brown windbreaker was draped over the backrest of the swivel chair, with the slender corners almost touching the carpet. The dim skylight appeared and disappeared with the swaying of the corners of the coat.

Tsurumi Rumi pushed open the door blankly, and walked into her dormitory room step by step with the hoarse sound of the door hinges turning. Without even taking off her shoes, she stepped onto the luxurious carpet and walked to her own desk.

Seeing the windbreaker that had appeared in her dreams and desires countless times finally appear before her eyes, her lips moved, but she did not feel the excitement and joy she had expected.

Instead, a feeling like a crack in sealed glass emerged from the deepest part of my soul, and all the emotions over the years flowed out from this crack, until in the end only a sense of loss and unwillingness was left.

Although Tsurumi Rumi has met Zaimokuza Yoshiki very few times in recent years, she has always felt that there is a connection between them, and this connection was forged by the agreement they made many years ago.

As long as the promise has not been fulfilled, no matter how far apart they are, the relationship between the two people is like a person holding a string and a kite flying in the sky, there is always a string connecting them.

But now, with the agreement fulfilled, she seemed to feel that the thread that had existed between the two of them for many years was also broken.

The kite representing that person flew away into the distant sky and was never seen again.

With trembling hands, she clenched the windbreaker tightly, staring at the windbreaker in a daze, her fingers turning it inch by inch.

The fabric of this windbreaker is really old, but you can still see that the owner has always maintained it very well. Many of the damages have been repaired with superb needlework skills. Except for the many traces of needlework on the inside, there is almost no difference on the outside.

Just by holding this windbreaker, Tsurumi Rumi felt scenes emerging before her eyes, which were everything that the former owner of this windbreaker had experienced.

This windbreaker has crossed turbulent rivers, passed through clouds and mist to reach the world's highest mountains, been brushed by sunlight and sand on the vast plains, been buffeted by icy snow waves, and been soaked by the owner's own blood... It can be said that this windbreaker itself is synonymous with "story" and "adventure".

Suddenly, Tsurumi Rumi's pupils trembled for a moment, and her eyes were fixed on a certain part of the windbreaker.

It was the right cuff of the windbreaker, with a line of small words embroidered in golden silk thread surrounding the wrist. Tsurumi Rumi knew clearly that the line of embroidery was the name of the owner of the windbreaker.

But the embroidery font she saw at this moment was completely different from the previous embroidery. It was no longer "Zaimokuza no Yoshiki".

Instead, it was——『Tsurumi no Rumi』.

This signature means that this windbreaker now belongs to Tsurumi Rumi, and no longer to Zaimokuza Yoshiki.

"...Woo!"

Biting her lips with her white teeth, Tsurumi Rumi suddenly buried her face in the windbreaker, her petite body trembling slightly.

The familiar scent of that person rushed into her nostrils from the windbreaker, but compared to the peace of mind she had before, Tsurumi Rumi now only felt an indescribable bitterness welling up in the depths of her throat, and a slightly choked voice echoed in the silent room.

That person had been here before, but after leaving behind the windbreaker that he had always cherished, he left quietly again, without even noticing that he was just a few steps away from her... Rumi Tsurumi knew very well what this meant.

It was a silent farewell, full of the tenderness and consideration that belonged to the other person, but it also cruelly severed their connection of many years, making everything she wanted to say die before she even said it.

But even though he shoulders the huge weight of the whole world, he has never forgotten the insignificant little promise he once made with a girl.

And now, after many years, this long-standing promise has finally been fulfilled before the last moment.

"……Fool."

8. Emerging Darkness (4K)

On the fourth day, near afternoon.

Saitama Prefecture, Sakakino Academy.

The corridor was shrouded in a dim, colorful aura, inexplicably reminiscent of the messy neon lights in a bar. Apart from that, not even the lights were turned on. The once bustling corridor was now as silent as the outskirts of a cemetery.

But the sound of clear footsteps gradually broke the dead silence. Black boots stepped on the floor tiles dipped in light and shadow, and a slender figure in a white coat walked from far to near in the long corridor.

“?~?”

Shizuka Hiratsuka hummed an unknown tune with a lollipop in her mouth. On her way to the classroom, she occasionally glanced at the aurora-filled and dark sky outside the window. Her teeth rubbed against the base of the lollipop, making a strange squeaking sound.

To be honest, Shizuka Hiratsuka feels that she may have become an old man who is out of touch with the times. This disconnection refers not only to the interests and hobbies of contemporary young people, but also to the reception and understanding of external information.

It's not that she doesn't know what earth-shaking events are happening in the outside world right now. It's more like the primitive tribes in the world that have never been touched by civilization are extremely lively these days, and the reason is that they are a bunch of "resurrected" ghosts.

To some extent, all of this can be seen as a global forced network, that is, this "network" not only includes the surface of the earth, but also connects to the underworld.

Because the "ultimate darkness" does not simply cover the upper and lower ends of the timeline, it even encompasses various concepts that cannot be fully understood by human thinking, and among these concepts are the two ultimate propositions of life philosophy: "life" and "death".

Therefore, not only do the "past" and the "future" intersect and collide in the "present", but even the living and the dead now coexist in the same material world. One can imagine how shocking this scene is to human beings who have been accustomed to the materialistic worldview in the past. It is literally a swarm of demons dancing wildly and hundreds of ghosts parading at night.

Shizuka Hiratsuka is no exception. In fact, she saw her long-deceased grandmother appear in front of her last night. The old lady chatted with her for the whole night, criticizing her for various bad habits in life and the personal issue of whether she should be single and become a DINK. In the end, she talked about her older granddaughter so much that she wanted to dig a hole on the spot and bury her head in it.

Finally, after the sweaty Hiratsuka Shizuka gave all kinds of assurances, the old man smiled with satisfaction and said, "Then I can finally rest assured~" and then disappeared in front of her out of thin air and has never appeared since then.

Shizuka Hiratsuka felt that this should be what people have always talked about as "becoming a Buddha". After death, the deceased eliminated his or her last obsession or worry in life, and left after gaining the peace of his or her own soul, and from then on, he or she cut off all grievances and grudges of this life.

What her grandmother was most worried about after her death was her beloved granddaughter, and for this reason she never became a Buddha before.

When Shizuka Hiratsuka realized this, she felt that her emotions were not that intense or touching. She just felt a little sour in her nose, and it seemed as if there was a stone stuck between her heart and blood vessels, blocking the sadness that was coming.

But she remembered her grandmother's instructions before she passed away. After smoking her last cigarette, she threw the cigarette box into the trash can and planned to try chewing candy instead of smoking from now on.

In order to relax, Shizuka Hiratsuka planned to come to school and stay alone for a while today. Since the school had been closed for a long time, there was no one in the school now, which was very suitable for being alone.

As for why school? Because she has spent too much time in school, whether as a student or a teacher, she has spent more time in school than at home. If the concept of "home" is measured by the length of time a person spends in one place throughout their life, then to some extent, school is her home now.

She also knew that in the current situation, she could do nothing and could only wait for the judgment of fate like everyone else in the world.

But Shizuka Hiratsuka is very clear about one thing, someone will stop all this, and that is the last hope for this world and mankind.

"~?"

A familiar figure appeared in her mind. The tone of her humming became lighter and she walked swayingly towards the classroom where she was responsible for teaching.

But when she was approaching the classroom, she suddenly let out a surprised sound because a sound came from the classroom.

"...According to the information collected by reporters, abnormal phenomena around the world still show no signs of stopping, and the exponential rate of violent crime is rising exponentially. Social order in many small countries has essentially collapsed. The average daily death toll worldwide is now higher than at any time in the past hundred years..."

"Where lies the hope for the world and humanity? Faced with this unprecedented disaster, is there a Messiah of our time who can stop it..."

The stereotypical voice of the TV host leaked out from the crack of the classroom door. Even though he tried his best to conceal it, one could still hear the decadence and numbness hidden in his words. He was still able to complete his job, but it was only the professional habits and dedication over the years that were barely holding on.

Through the frosted glass window of the classroom, one can see a slender black shadow sitting in a seat next to the window in the front row of the classroom, looking up at the TV hanging on a bracket on the blackboard of the podium.

Someone else is here now? Shizuka Hiratsuka raised an eyebrow in slight surprise, reached out to grab the handle of the classroom door, and pulled it open.

"Hey, the school is currently closed. Unrelated people please—"

"Sorry, sorry, but can you give me some time? Just this once~"

The words she was about to say were cut short. Hiratsuka Shizuka stood outside the open door, staring blankly at the figure standing up from the seat. The figure also turned to look at her, shyly scratching his hair with his hand, and said with a smile.

The strange and brilliant light from the sky shone in from the floor-to-ceiling windows of the classroom facing the outside world, but the pure white hair was not stained by impurities because of this turbid light, and the smile was just as pure as in memory, without any evil.

"Long time no see, teacher~"

He waved his hand and said with a smile, his smile was like a bonfire lit in the dark night, warm and attractive.

"you--"

Looking at the white-haired man in the classroom, Shizuka Hiratsuka blinked in disbelief. After confirming that she was not hallucinating, a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.

"Zaimokuza!"

……

Wow——! ! !

The black rubber tires made a harsh sound when rubbing against the asphalt road. The motorcycle made a standard drift in the white track lines left by the tires and the mist and dust, and then - it fell directly to the ground.

There is no other way. Drifting is a high-tech activity that can only be performed by professional racing drivers to be pleasing to the eye. Ordinary people who use this trick will only become ghost-fire boys. The probability of accidents is so high that even the reserve team trained by my cousin can only admit defeat.

"Wow!?"

Hikigaya Hachiman fell heavily to the ground, and he and the motorcycle on the other side rolled on the ground in a "Y" shape for a long distance. Finally, his back hit the side pillar of the school entrance, and the motorcycle passed under the guardrail of the road in front and fell straight down the slope below.

The reason for this result was that Hikigaya was anxious and kept speeding up the motorcycle in order to save time. As a result, when he wanted to stop at the destination, Hikigaya found that the brake line of the motorcycle had been cut long ago, and the brake valve was just a decoration.

Taking drugs, removing brakes... these two fatal factors combined are simply the prelude to the black coffin song. It has to be said that the deaths of those biker gangs before were not unjust at all, and they even gave Hikigaya a hard time after their death.

In response, Hikigaya expressed his heartfelt "condolences" to the three generations of the biker gang's family tree, focusing especially on the female direct relatives of the deceased's previous generation.

"Well--"

Hikigaya, who fell to the ground, suddenly bent backwards, covering his back with his hands which had hit the side post. His face flushed red, his eyes almost bulged out of their sockets, and fine bloodshot veins crawled around the edges of his eyeballs.

Hikigaya almost couldn't breathe. He felt as if his back was being swung and hit head-on by two hammers weighing more than 100 kilograms. His cervical vertebrae seemed to be broken in two. He could even hear the clear and audible wails of his two kidneys.

“My back……!”

Hikigaya uttered this classic quote with a distorted expression, which was the same as Toby's Spider-Man's. Then he lay on the ground, twitching and rolling around for a few times. It was only after several minutes that he felt a little better.

He held the concrete pillar and his waist with both hands, stood up tremblingly, and looked forward.

Compared to his previous distant view while riding the motorcycle, Hikigaya now had the time to observe the current situation of the school up close, but the scene he saw made his originally ashen face instantly become as stiff as cement.

"!?"

Half of the electric retractable door at the school gate had already come off the track. Judging from the degree of curvature and direction of the other half, it looked like someone had driven a car into it from the inside. There were messy footprints all over the school gate, and even many pairs of indoor shoes that had not been changed in time were abandoned by the retractable door.

Seeing this scene, Hikigaya immediately constructed the scene at that time in his mind: someone drove a school bus to crash open the closed school gate, and then a group of students gathered here to escape rushed to the gap in panic. Because of the large number of people and the size of the gap, it caused a squeezing phenomenon, and people pushed and shoved to escape to the outside world.

It can only be said to be a miracle that no corpse appeared here.

"Komachi...!"

The intense fear and anxiety within him caused adrenaline to rapidly secrete. His willpower instantly suppressed the pain in his body. Hikigaya gritted his teeth and walked into the school with his hands on the wall. When he thought of his sister who had been in such a violent environment, he felt as if his mind was being burned by flames.

He staggered towards the teaching building to look for his sister.

The moment Hikigaya stepped into the school gate, a strange phenomenon occurred one after another within the school.

hum-

In many hidden corners inside the school, the glass or carriers that had been showing lake-like ripples on their surfaces were slowly disappearing and becoming calm. As Hikigaya got closer to the teaching building, the ripples disappeared faster and faster, and finally, the moment he stepped into the teaching building, everything completely returned to its original appearance.

But at the last moment before these strange visions disappeared, countless pairs of different and terrifying eyes emerged from the center of the only remaining ripples, as if the building itself had become some kind of alien living creature, and a creepy and eerie atmosphere permeated every corner of the school.

"—It's him! It's him! It's him!"

"—Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable! Only you can absolutely not forgive!"

"——That damn demon! He deserves to die!!!!"

Whispers filled with resentment and hatred rang out in unknown corners of the school. The madness and hatred in those voices were creepy. The world-renowned Kayako was so insignificant in the face of this hatred, as if the whole world was bursting with malice at this moment.