A youth story of a passerby at the end of the world

Chapter 279: Giving You a Gun is a Sign of Trust

"Goodbye then." With that, Sakayanagi Arisu gently closed the door.

Horikita Suzune stared at the door for a few seconds, then turned and walked back.

Press the elevator button and wait quietly for the elevator to go up.

Just then, the phone rang. She took out her phone and saw that it was Ichinose calling.

"Hey, what's wrong, Ichinose-san?"

"Ah, Horikita-kun. Um, it seems like something happened downstairs."

She wasn't quite sure what Ichinose was referring to, but Horikita Suzune moved away from the elevator and peered down from the outer wall. "I saw it."

"Hmm, it seems to be related to Horikita-kun. I'll cook today's meal, you can go back now."

Since Ichinose is in charge of lunch, she only needs to go back to her dorm. Sakura is still in her dorm, so she doesn't need to take a key; she can just ring the doorbell and the other person will open it.

"I understand." At this point, accept her kindness.

but......

She looked down at the floor below and saw someone else lying there, looking down as well. He had short brown hair, and she recognized him immediately.

"..." The other person heard her making a phone call, looked up, and the two looked at each other.

Although she didn't know what was hidden in the other person's cold eyes, she was acting the same as usual.

She had initially thought she would harbor resentment, but now she felt there was nothing to care about.

She was already moving forward, while Kushida was still stuck in the past.

A "ding" sounded, reminding her that the elevator had arrived.

Horikita Suzune looked away, stepped into the elevator, pressed the button for the girls' dormitory floor, and as the elevator slowly ascended, she reached out to touch the hair draped over her shoulder and twisted the ends of her hair.

I grew my hair out because my brother said he liked long hair.

"Should I cut it short?" After all, short hair is more convenient for fighting.

I don't know if he prefers long or short hair...

Do not!

She slapped her face hard with both hands. If she was going to make a change, she had to make the decision herself.

Cutting my hair short was my own decision and my own determination.

The elevator doors opened as she emerged from her agonizing thoughts. She stepped out and walked down the corridor until she reached Ichinose's dormitory.

Just then, at the end of the corridor, she caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of her eye. Horikita Suzune looked closely and saw that it was Kushida Kikyo.

Did they catch up?

"I've already decided to leave." Horikita Suzune said as she watched the other person approach, but she noticed that Kushida's steps seemed a bit off.

"So it seems that man kept his promise." He said he would find a way to take Horikita away, but now it seems pointless.

Kikyo Kushida said with resentment, "Thanks to you, everything I have here is ruined."

Interpersonal relationships, reputation, or even...

"Is that what you think?" Horikita Suzune looked at her calmly. "I didn't recognize you from the beginning. On the contrary, it was you who tried to do that kind of thing yesterday."

Looking into Kushida's unchanging gaze, Horikita Suzune turned her head away indifferently, no longer looking at her. "You still haven't changed your mind. We shouldn't be enemies."

"Heh~" Kikyo Kushida scoffed, "Are you trying to make me believe you? By the way, did you do those things downstairs?"

"How could that be? You overestimate me." Horikita Suzune shook her head. How could she possibly command people from other classes?

That's your brother.

"Imagine whatever you want."

"..." This is the most likely possibility, which is why Kikyo Kushida said that. Seeing Horikita's calm expression, she couldn't tell anything either.

She had met Horikita Manabu when the semester started, and he had temporarily taken over the school a month ago under the guise of the student council. It was not impossible for someone like him to instigate such retaliatory acts.

“You can’t stay here any longer either,” Horikita Suzune suddenly said.

"What do you want to say?" Kikyo Kushida didn't think she was being provocative.

"I'm asking if you want to come with me," Horikita Suzune said, offering her suggestion.

"!" Kikyo Kushida's eyes widened in surprise. "What did you say? You mean you want me to be your follower?"

“Why not? At least in terms of managing interpersonal distance and communication skills, you are far superior to others and far superior to me, that’s a fact.” This was Horikita Suzune’s own consideration. She believed that turning enemies into friends was the right and mature approach, and that pushing the other party to the brink would only cause trouble for her brother.

Therefore, she suggested, "Why not consider starting over in a different place?"

"Let's not even talk about Class D, what about the other classes? Everyone knows about me now, they all remember me, and most of them are planning to leave." Kushida Kikyo was finally scared. The fact that she had offended Horikita Manabu, the leader here, was the most terrifying thing.

“At least the people from Class D won’t be going. Don’t think too highly of yourself. It might not be possible for everyone to accept you, but as long as you are strong enough to reach a high position, others will have no choice but to accept you.” Her belief that strength comes from within remained unchanged. Horikita Suzune smiled and said, “And if anyone refuses to trust you, I will step in to help.”

Do you think I'd easily believe your sweet words? How do you know you won't betray me?

"It's okay if you doubt me. I'll listen to your complaints then," Horikita Suzune said condescendingly.

Ultimately, Kushida, who has already been wiped out once at this point in time, has nothing to be afraid of.

Whether she can get back on her feet is entirely up to her.

Kikyo Kushida closed her eyes and fell into a silence.

She was muttering something under her breath, perhaps cursing or talking to herself, but Horikita Suzune couldn't understand her.

After a long while, she opened her eyes as if she had come to a conclusion.

"I understand. I will obey you, but that's for my own sake, not for you, and not for anyone else. Is that alright?"

“Of course, I have no complaints. Just produce results.” Horikita Suzune walked towards Kushida and extended her left hand to her.

"A handshake with the left hand seems to have a hostile connotation." Kikyo Kushida did not extend her hand.

In Islamic countries and a few Western countries, the left hand is considered "unclean," and extending the left hand is seen as an insult.

"Shall we shake hands with your right hand?"

"Never mind, this is for the best." Kikyo Kushida said, taking her left hand in hers as well.

The two palms touched briefly before quickly separating.

"Speaking of which, can you influence that man's decisions?" To take her away means Horikita has to make a request to him.

"That's my business. I'll talk to Uesugi about it." Horikita Suzune thought he was the kind of person who was very easy to talk to, as long as it was something unimportant.

Now she has some idea of ​​why he didn't choose Kushida back then. He was a bomb that could destroy everything around him at any time, but now that the bomb has been detonated, it no longer poses any threat.

In this situation, Kushida's decision to stay or leave becomes irrelevant.

Horikita Suzune vaguely felt that she had grasped the knack of how to think and act like her older brother, Uesugi.

“Uesugi?” Kikyo Kushida looked at her silently. “You… never mind.”

She didn't want to say anything more, so she turned and left in the opposite direction.

Watching Kushida disappear around the corner, Horikita Suzune sighed and reached out to press the doorbell.

At that moment, the door opened by itself; it was someone inside who opened it.

"Welcome back, Horikita-kun," Sakura Airi said, peeking out half her face. Although she was shy, she was no longer as afraid of Horikita now that she was familiar with her.

"Yes, I'm back." Horikita Suzune smiled gently.

-----------------

How are you going to get there?

As they drove into Ota Ward, Uesugi Genshin parked his car on Jonan Island, in the Jonan Island Seaside Park, which is just across the sea from Haneda Airport.

In response to Yukinoshita's question, Uesugi Genshin took out a folded map and held it up to the center. The three people in the back seat also got up and came over. He told them the information he had heard from Horikita Manabu: "Haneda Airport is 4 kilometers long, and on the wide side there are three bridges and two undersea tunnels that connect it to Ota Ward."

Because it is an irregular polygon, it can be roughly regarded as a trapezoid.

"The undersea tunnel has already been destroyed, since it's not very useful and would only affect defense. One is a folding bridge, which is usually folded up and cannot be used. So there are only two accessible routes."

"Shall we go take a look over there?" Kamuro Masumi asked, pointing to the nearest Metropolitan Expressway No. 1.

"People have been restricted from entering for half a month now. Will the situation improve?" Yukino Yukinoshita expressed her doubts.

"..." She did not refute, because Masumi Kamuro also felt that she could not have any expectations of the Self-Defense Forces. Having been deceived once, she became wary.

"So, senior, you want to swim across?" Tianze Yixia immediately guessed the method of crossing.

"Well, with a four-kilometer coastline, if each person stands every 50 meters, that would be 800 people. But in reality, there are far fewer than that many people, especially on our side. Because the sea between the other side and Kawasaki City is only 500 meters, you can visibly swim across, so manpower will be prioritized. Not to mention that the part adjacent to Ota Ward also needs manpower, and the number of Self-Defense Force personnel on the island is only about two or three thousand."

He didn't know if there were any additions afterward; this was at most just previous intelligence.

"Should we go at night?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked after thinking for a moment, because the sea is completely dark at night, even if people are swimming, they can't see anything unless there is a searchlight.

"If it rains this afternoon, then we don't need to." Uesugi Genshin shifted his gaze from the map and looked out through the gap between the windshield and the steel plate. The sky was overcast with dark clouds and thick veils; it looked like it was about to rain.

The Self-Defense Forces on Narashino's side left all their supplies at the garrison. They only took some guns and bullets with them, and raincoats and such were probably not enough.

Yesterday's rain hadn't completely stopped when the wind started howling today, causing the temperature to drop a notch. Even though it's May and temperatures should have been rising, it's suddenly back to square one.

Of the people present, except for Tianze, everyone else was wearing at least two layers of clothing on their upper bodies, making Tianze's clothes seem a bit thin.

"Yes, that's true." Yukino Yukinoshita nodded. If it rained, they couldn't possibly stand guard in the rain, especially since this was a low-priority area.

"Shall we eat first? I'm starving." Kiryuin Fuka, who had been silent all along, was the first to ask for lunch.

“Indeed, this is a very important matter.” Uesugi Genshin nodded in agreement to the other party’s request and then put the map away.

"Hey! There's still lunch? Great!!!" Tianze Yixia cheered adorably, "What are we eating?"

"Want some canned food?" Uesugi Genshin asked the three people in the back seat.

"Okay." "No problem." "Perfect."

Upon receiving the reply, he got out of the car, opened the trunk, pushed a military box aside, and then took out the reserve rations.

"Isn't this cold?" After receiving the canned food, Tianze Yixia pouted and complained about the imperfect lunch.

“If you’re willing to go to the park to collect firewood, I can start a fire to heat things up,” Uesugi Genshin said with a shrug.

“I think it’s okay.” Tianze Yixia looked around.

"Hmm." Masumi Kamuro also tried not to eat anything cold; the grease in the can of ginger-braised pork in her hand had definitely solidified.

"Hmph~" Kiryuin Fuka raised the corners of her mouth, "Then you guys go ahead."

"Hmm... Haha, alright then, Kiryuin-senpai can stay in the car." Amazu Ichika sighed softly, then looked at Kamuro, "Kamuro-senpai, let's go."

They introduced themselves to each other on the way to the car, mostly initiated by Tianze.

After they returned from gathering the dry branches, Uesugi Genshin started a fire on the stone bricks. It was much more convenient this way, as there was no risk of fire on the green ground.

They heated the canned food by the fire and quickly finished their lunch, as it had already started to drizzle.

When a raindrop landed on the back of Uesugi Genshin's hand, he knew the time had come.

"You can wait in the carriage." Uesugi Genshin unloaded his long sword and placed it in the carriage, as carrying it would be too conspicuous; the wakizashi at his waist was sufficient.

"Eh? Are you going alone, senior? The wall on the coast is quite high, should I come with you?"

"Are you sure?" Uesugi Genshin asked, looking at Amasawa who was nodding. "And did you bring any weapons?"

"No." That was the straightforward answer.

"Ha." Then Uesugi Genshin took the revolver out of the glove box and handed it to the other person.

"Senior, do you trust me that much?" Tianze Yixia carefully took the police revolver and looked at Uesugi Genshin, asking in confusion.

These words put Yukino Yukinoshita on alert. She already knew that the other party was a dangerous person, and these words seemed to confirm that.

“Yes.” Uesugi Genshin nodded. “I think you’re more attention-grabbing than I am. If you attract the attention of people with guns, please use this gun to shoot them.”

The people with guns are the Self-Defense Forces members; who knows what they're like now?

The actions of the highly educated higher education institution have already confirmed part of the other party's attitude.

Moreover, no one understood the limitations of the sword better than he did. No matter how powerful a sword was, it couldn't compare to modern firearms. Just like ancient sword masters who went to the battlefield, they all used long spears. Historical records even indicate that Miyamoto Musashi served as a foot soldier with an arquebus. That's why he went to great lengths to obtain a gun.

"Oh, I won't let you down, senior," Tianze Yixia said, raising her hand to her forehead.