My youth story cannot be a knight war

Under the pitch-black sky, something is gradually emerging from a deeper layer of darkness. The cold smell of blood seeps out from this darkness, like the wails and curses of countless dead before their death.

……

Tokyo, Koto Warehouse District, Rinkai Port Warehouse Cluster.

Silent footsteps sounded inside the dark warehouse, and a slender figure in pure white walked through the warehouse corridor. The walking posture and back were as cold as a ghost.

Baruba, wearing a white dress, walked in this old building that was incompatible with her temperament. Her charming and beautiful face was expressionless. In contrast, she looked like a white lotus growing in a swamp. The darkness and gloom around her could not erode her in the slightest.

She quietly walked past the aisle where countless cargo boxes were piled up, walked up the stairs leading to the second floor, and then walked straight into the depths of the aisle. During this process, her posture and movements did not change at all, and even the spacing between her steps remained perfectly synchronized. She naturally possessed an elegant demeanor without the need for elaborate makeup.

But when she was about to reach the end of the corridor, her pace, which had been unchanged, suddenly stopped and she did not take even one step.

"..."

Looking at the old wooden door that was opened in front of him, Baruba narrowed his eyes slightly, then stepped in again.

Snapped!

The moment she walked into the room, the sliding door behind her suddenly slammed shut and the door lock automatically fastened, cutting off the passage to the outside world.

Then a white laser shot out from the darkness deeper in the room, as fierce as an arrow shot by Mongolian cavalry, glancing across her flawless white face and hitting the closed wooden door behind her, leaving a circular hole in the surface of the several-centimeter-thick wooden door that was melted red by the high temperature.

A few strands of hair that were burned by the laser fell to the ground. Baruba's expression remained unchanged. She just stared at the darkness and spoke softly.

"We meet again, but this way of meeting is really impolite..."

"Kousaka Kyousuke."

"That's what I'm going to say."

Heavy footsteps exploded in the darkness, and a silver gun muzzle first appeared from the darkness, followed by a hand holding a mobile phone folded into the shape of a pistol.

A pitch-black figure walked out of the darkness, his entire body was pitch-black. If Baruba coexisted with the darkness but was independent of it, then he was completely integrated with the darkness.

More than half of that handsome face was shrouded in shadow, leaving only the right eye exposed. The pure black pupil exuded an inorganic coldness that froze to the bone marrow, without a trace of warmth.

Looking at the woman in front of him whose beauty was so great that he would hardly ever see a rival in his life, Kousaka Kyosuke's words did not contain any strangeness or admiration, but only a coldness that was even more intense than his eyes.

"...So you Gurongi also have the etiquette of remembering human names?"

9. Farewell, Service Club (4K)

On the white painted wall, the blackboard that occupies only a corner of the classroom is covered with photos, which belong to various clubs in the school.

Without exception, Shizuka Hiratsuka appears in all of these photos, either wearing a coach's cap or a baseball jersey. She mingles with the students, and everyone has a bright smile on their face.

"Amazing! Teacher, you're the instructor and coach for at least seven sports clubs. Isn't that tiring?"

Zaimokuza scanned the photos of Hiratsuka Shizuka and said in amazement.

"Well, I'm quite tired, but overall I'm mostly happy."

Beside him, Shizuka Hiratsuka scratched the side of her face, looked at the works that she had carefully selected, picking out all the death angles, nodded with satisfaction, and spoke with a tone of slight pride.

"Well, your teacher is still as skilled as ever, isn't he? And this year, the baseball team I led even made it to Koshien, something Sakakino Academy hasn't managed in nearly a decade. The principal was so moved that he practically knelt before me and begged me to stay here until retirement!"

"Teacher, you are still so amazing, but..."

Reaching out and stroking one of the photos, Zaimokuza stared at the photo with the signature "Literary Society" marked on the lower left corner. There were three people in the photo, namely Shizuka Hiratsuka, a girl with three braids and a sweet appearance, and the last one was a boy with a handsome appearance and a slightly shy and indifferent temperament.

Shizuka Hiratsuka is in the center of the photo, with her arms around the necks of the two boys and the girl. The three faces are put together. She is smiling brightly, while the girl is more reserved. Finally, the boy's expression is obviously a little embarrassed, but he still forces out a smile.

“This is still my favorite photo.”

Pulling his fingers away from the boy's smile, Zaimokuza said with a smile.

"Because the smiles of the teacher and the two children in the photo are very real."

"Ah... this one? Those are Amano and Inoue from the literature club. They're two very interesting students, and they give me quite a hard time."

Thinking of those two students who were extremely awkward in every way, Shizuka Hiratsuka's eyes drooped and twitched slightly.

"Honestly, these two students were the most difficult I've ever dealt with in the years I've been teaching at this school. Luckily, I have a lot of experience dealing with these problem students, and I was able to finally handle them."

Having said that, Hiratsuka Shizuka glanced at Zaimokuza unhappily. The resentment in her eyes made the smile on his face become forced in an instant, and a drop of cold sweat ran across his forehead.

"After all, in my entire teaching career, I've never encountered a more problematic student group than the Service Club. Not only were you all more formidable than the last, but you all possessed unique skills! The phrase 'stunning skills' was practically coined just for you!"

"Uh……"

"Hmph~ But now that I think about it, those days when I was quarreling with your Service Club at Sobu High School were probably the happiest days of my coaching career."

Before Zaimokuza could continue to feel embarrassed, Hiratsuka Shizuka's resentful tone changed, becoming nostalgic and warm, with a gentle light in her eyes.

"At that time, you guys were all there... Although I was a little tired, I was really happy~"

"..."

Zaimokuza did not respond to his teacher's words. He lowered his head slightly, letting his white bangs cover his eyes, but the smile on the lower half of his face remained.

A strange atmosphere began to linger in the classroom. Zaimokuza and Hiratsuka Shizuka did not speak. They each looked at the things they were concerned about, but their hearts were immersed in the same memory at this moment.

"I say, Zaimokuza."

After a while, Shizuka Hiratsuka spoke softly.

"Have you seen Hikigaya these past few days?"

After seeing her grandmother who had passed away many years ago appear in front of her last night, Shizuka Hiratsuka immediately thought of her student who had also passed away. However, she did not expect that before she could call others to confirm, the person who had the deepest bond with that student would appear in front of her.

Although she knew that this question was in some sense provoking Zaimokuza's already healed wound, Shizuka Hiratsuka couldn't help but ask it. She treated every student she taught with equal care, so she naturally wanted to know about her students' situation.

According to the phenomenon law deduced by Shizuka Hiratsuka that "the soul of the deceased will appear in the person they cared about most during their lifetime", the person in the world most likely to see the soul of that student is none other than Zaimokuza Yoshiki who is standing in front of her.

If possible, the answer she would like to hear is "no".

Because that means that Hikigaya Hachiman's soul has found its own peace after death, and chose to leave this world without any nostalgia or worries.

After all, "the dead are greatest" is almost the only consensus among different cultures in the Asian civilization circle. If even the soul after death cannot rest in peace, it would be too sad, which is basically the same concept as dying with eyes open.

And in the long history of human civilization, these few short days may be the only chance for the living to heal the regrets of the dead.

“…No~”

Zaimokuza looked up and gave his answer, and even with such a sad question, the smile on his face did not disappear.

"I haven't seen Hachiman now."

Looking at Zaimokuza's smiling face, Hiratsuka Shizuka raised her eyebrows, her eyes slightly suspicious.

"...Really? You didn't lie to me, did you?"

"Ah~! Teacher, do you think I'm the kind of person who would lie? That's too much!"

"That's good... This is pretty good too."

Ignoring Zaimokuza's watery eyes, she skillfully used her hands to push back his face as he approached her in a playful manner. Then, Shizuka Hiratsuka let out a long sigh, feeling a mixture of emotions in her heart, like vinegar and soy sauce mixed together, sometimes sour and sometimes salty.

"...Zaimokuza, do you think...Hikigaya's soul has found peace?"

In response to the question raised by Hiratsuka Shizuka, the curve at the corner of Zaimokuza's mouth finally slowly faded away, leaving only a barely visible smile on his face. His clear eyes sank slightly, and were rarely covered with a layer of transparent haze.

"I hope so."

"Ok?"

This time, his tone was exceptionally low and even hoarse. Shizuka Hiratsuka couldn't help but sense something was amiss and turned her head away in confusion.

"But I always believed in him~!"

But all she saw was a smiling face that was exactly the same as before, and Zaimokuza's voice was as clear as the wind in the sky blowing through a flute. The gloom and darkness she had heard before seemed like just an illusion.

"I always believed in him, more than the chief, more than Hiratsuka-sensei, more than Yuigahama, more than anyone else in the world."

"I believe that no matter how time passes or how the world changes, Hachiman has never changed."

As he spoke, Zaimokuza turned his head and looked out the window. The sky was still dark, and the dancing aurora gave people such an evil feeling. It was clearly light, but it made people feel like they were staring into the abyss.

And looking at his own face reflected in the window glass, the two pairs of eyes in the mirror and outside the mirror looked directly into each other's eyes, and Zaimokuza smiled at his own appearance in the mirror.

"No matter how he changes on the outside... I believe he will always be the same person I know on the inside."

"He will definitely still be the one who affirmed me, encouraged me, and guided me into the future. He has a kind and gentle soul. He will still be the Hikigaya Hachiman who wants to protect everyone even if it means getting hurt himself. He is my one and only first and best friend in this life."

"I...believe in him."

"...I think the luckiest thing in Hikigaya's life is having a friend like you who always believes in him."

He smiled with relief, reached out and patted Zaimokuza's shoulder, with a force as terrifying as a brown bear, knocking the defenseless Zaimokuza off balance.

It seems I don’t need to worry anymore… Hiratsuka Shizuka thought to herself.

"Cheer up! Just like you always say, when you're feeling down, learn how to smile!"

But the moment after these words came out, the smile on Shizuka Hiratsuka's face slowly disappeared, and her eyes slid from bright to dim and helpless.

Glancing at the unusual sky outside the window, Shizuka Hiratsuka pursed her lips and sighed helplessly.

"But even though I say that, no one can laugh anymore... I never imagined that one day, the word 'future', which used to be so ordinary, would be taken away from our lives."

"No, no one can take away our future."

A voice interrupted Hiratsuka Shizuka's inner depression. Although Zaimokuza's voice was as calm and gentle as usual, it now had a weight as solid as a rock.

He looked at Hiratsuka Shizuka, raised his right hand with the familiar thumbs-up, and said with a smile:

"Big~husband~"

"Everyone's future and smiles will return in the end. No one can take away this most precious treasure from everyone, not even Number Zero."

Looking fixedly at the smiling face and thumbs-up of the person who had saved herself and countless other people, Shizuka Hiratsuka suddenly spoke.

"Are you okay now? I saw it on the news. Number Four, in his Platinum Swordsman form, was completely defeated by Number Zero."

"Platinum Swordsman? Ah...you mean the Sage Form?"

This title, which was very much in the style of Japanese media, made Zaimokuza stunned for a moment. After he reacted, he rubbed his slightly red nose with a wry smile, and then continued to laugh and gave his thumbs up.

"Don't worry! I've gained the power to defeat Zero. My swordsmanship is a thing of the past. Next up is the invincible Ashikaga Yoshiteru II, the Black Shogun!"

"Pfft~ What kind of a name is that? It's been all these years, and you're still thinking about your chuunibyou novel character?"

This name made Shizuka Hiratsuka burst out laughing, and she shook her head helplessly.

"Well, you have to do your best this time, okay? General Jianhao~"

"Don't worry, Mr. Hiratsuka, I will definitely protect everyone's smiles this time."

The smile on his face slowly disappeared. Looking at the mentor in front of him who had given him a goal in life, Zaimokuza's lips trembled a few times, and all the thousands of words he had wanted to say were finally condensed into a short sentence that was uttered from his mouth.

"Then teacher... I'm leaving."

After saying this, Zaimokuza bent down, bowed solemnly to Hiratsuka Shizuka, then turned and left without any reluctance.

"...Taimu Seat."

"Ok?"

The low moan stopped Zaimokuza's steps, and just as he turned around, a hand reached out from in front of him, pressed on his head and rubbed it hard.

"You've really grown up."

Looking up at Zaimokuza's dazed expression, Hiratsuka Shizuka's pupils reflected his handsome face, but at this moment she saw a completely different look in her eyes.

He was a white-haired boy with a slightly chubby face and a pair of black-framed glasses. He was still wearing the same old windbreaker.

Gazing at the boy in her memory, Shizuka Hiratsuka smiled, a smile so gentle that it was almost hard to look at. Her eyes, with faint wrinkles, carried a kind light like that of the Virgin Mary worshipped by Christians.

"In my more than ten years of teaching, I have taught many, many students. I remember every one of their names and the memories I have with them...but there is one thing I can answer with absolute certainty."

"No matter what others say or think, I will not change my mind."

She slowly lowered her palm from Zaimokuza's head, put her index and middle fingers together, and Shizuka Hiratsuka gently poked the center of Zaimokuza's forehead.

"Zaimokuza...you are definitely the student I am most proud of among all my students."

"No student in the past or in the future will ever be able to replace you in my heart."

"..."

Listening to the heartfelt words poured out by Hiratsuka Shizuka, Zaimokuza's eyes were stunned, his throat moving but he couldn't utter even a syllable.