Side Story: Parallel Intersecting World Lines

The cold storage room, filled with chilly air, became somewhat damp as it warmed up; the thermometer at the entrance showed 20 degrees Celsius. Scattered items and the surface ice on the refrigerated salmon carcasses had begun to melt due to the rising temperature.

The three people, kneeling side by side and bound, could only whimper as their mouths were gagged, their eyes wide with fear.

"Shh, Mikey's about to speak." Sanzu Haruchiya, a member of Brahma, whispered in one of their ears, then turned to look at the man sitting at the top of the stairs.

The man, with his white hair and thin build, had his back to the people and was swallowing the last bite of his taiyaki when he gave the order in a calm tone, as if commenting on the weather: "Kill them all."

"Extreme punishment!!" Having received permission, Santu revealed a crazed expression.

Three gunshots rang out, and three more bodies were found inside the cold storage.

He had little emotion, and one could even say he was indifferent to life. No one could stir his heart with the thought of anyone dying or living. Sano Manjiro was just an empty shell living in this world.

Even a mere shell needs to eat and sleep. Back in the dark room, Sano Manjiro sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, outside which was a jungle city built of steel and concrete.

His face was indifferent and cold, and he sat there like a lifeless clay statue. The dark circles under his eyes were getting worse. It had been 27 hours since his last sleep. His body was exhausted, but he was unwilling to fall asleep because whether he opened his eyes or closed them, all he saw was a hellish world.

He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "What kind of nightmare is this time?" Then he closed his eyes.

—

"dad."

"dad!"

Sano Manjiro was startled awake by the sudden shaking. He opened his eyes, and the blinding light made him feel like a vampire being exposed to sunlight. He instinctively wanted to turn his head away.

Suddenly, a child appeared in his arms, weighing him down. Not only in his arms, but also on his back, the weight increased, with two children hanging on him, one in front and one behind.

"Dad, you're sleeping here again!"

"We're about to set off!"

The two children spoke to him, one after the other.

dad?

Who are you calling?

I?

Sano Manjiro's expression was unusually blank.

"Get up quickly, we're going to old man's house."

"Yes, yes, we need to go see the little girl!"

With the two children holding his hands on either side, the stunned Sano Manjiro was forced to get up from the sofa to follow their lead.

"Why haven't you changed your clothes yet?" The woman who came out of the room looked very young. She was wearing a well-fitting dress, with a warm coat draped over her arm. She had long, smooth, black hair, a beautiful face, and a gentle temperament. She was a beauty, but he definitely didn't recognize her.

"Mother!"

"Mother!"

The two kids who just called him "Dad" are now calling this woman "Mom," so this is my wife? Sano Manjiro stared blankly, his mouth slightly agape.

The woman glanced at her watch, then looked up at him, her eyes bright. She showed a slight surprise, but only for a moment, before naturally reaching out to pull him along: "I just can't do anything with you." As she pulled him away, she turned back to the two children and instructed, "Zhiqi, Heqi, Mommy is taking Daddy to change his clothes. You two go change your shoes first."

"knew."

"knew."

The two children answered in unison.

After entering the room, Sano Manjiro sat on the bed, watching the woman search for clothes in the closet. He glanced around the room, his gaze drawn to the decorative piece on the bedside table, which featured a photograph of a man and a woman.

The woman in the photo looks much younger than she does now, smiling happily at the camera. A dimple under her mouth adds a touch of sweetness to her smile. The person next to her is none other than herself in her teenage years with dyed blonde hair, grinning and showing her teeth, one hand around her neck and the other making a peace sign at the camera.

This is a dream.

Otherwise, why wouldn't he have a single memory of this woman?

He's married and has two children...

That's absolutely a dream.

"I'm going to visit my older brother's house today, so I can't be late." The woman said with her back to him as she threw out a long-sleeved T-shirt, a sweater, a baseball jacket, and sweatpants one after another. She then opened a drawer, took out a scarf, and compared it with the colors of the clothes, finally choosing a dark red one.

Sano Manjiro mechanically changed his clothes.

After changing his clothes, the two children, like monkeys, one climbed onto his shoulder and the other hugged his leg, shouting in ape-like voices, "Let's go! Let's go!"

This time he adapted quickly, casually taking the two children out.

The family got into the car, with the woman in the driver's seat... let's call her his wife. The children sat in their car seats in the back, while he sat in the front passenger seat. Sano Manjiro couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; he had no driving experience, and thankfully, his wife had no intention of letting him drive.

During the drive, in the back seat were two… his children, one named Naoki and the other Kazuki. Looking in the rearview mirror, the two children looked like they were copied and pasted, probably twins. The only way to tell them apart was that one had dimples when she smiled, and the other didn't. As for their age… 4 years old? Or 5 years old? Maybe 6 years old… He couldn't tell at all.

These two little devils... are just too lively.

He tried hard to recall if he was just as noisy as he was when he was a child.

"Poop, it's poop."

"Glowing white poop."

Those are clearly ice cream models displayed in front of an ice cream shop. Sano Manjiro couldn't help but mentally criticize these two silly kids, but... well, he had to admit they really did seem to be his children.

As he approached his destination, Sano Manjiro found the street scene increasingly familiar, as if it were the way home.

This home refers to the place where Grandpa, Shinichiro, and Emma lived together.

At the same time, Sano Manjiro had a vague suspicion in his heart, and felt fear because of this suspicion. He didn't know if he was afraid of seeing a familiar face in his current state, or he was afraid of the countless disappointments he had experienced.

The nameplate at the entrance was engraved with the name Sano. He hesitated after getting out of the car, but the children, who were annoyed that he was blocking the entrance, each grabbed one of his hands and pulled him inside.

"Yuko, Manjiro, you've come. You've worked hard." The woman who came to greet them was older than them. She was wearing an apron and had her hair tied in a high ponytail, looking very capable.

"Aunt Shizuku."

"Aunt Shizuku."

The twins called out sweetly.

"Naoki and Ki!" A boy a little older than them jumped out from behind the woman named Shizuku, with soft black hair like his parents and big cat eyes.

The three children instantly tumbled together and started rolling around.

“Lv, you haven’t greeted your uncle and aunt yet.”

Ritsu Sano, who was being scolded by his mother, looked up from the encirclement of his younger brothers and said, "Hello, Uncle Manjiro and Aunt Yuko."

Only then did Sano Manjiro learn his wife's name.

"Hello there too." Yuko greeted the children with a smile, then asked Sano Shizuku, "Where's your older brother?"

The question his wife asked made Sano Manjiro's heart leap into his throat.

"Where else could he be? He's probably fiddling with his motorcycle over there in the warehouse." Sano Shizuku, who was used to her husband treating his motorcycle like his wife, was long past the age of being jealous of motorcycles.

During the conversation, a car horn sounded at the door.

"It seems the others have arrived. Emma said she would bring Rimo, who is the only girl in our family," Sano Shizuku said, heading out to greet them.

"Sister!" Even faster than her were the three little ones, who hurriedly put on their shoes and rushed outside.

After a while.

Draken walked over with a small devil tucked under his arm and carrying one in each hand, looking quite relaxed.

"Let us go!"

"That's right! That's right!"

"I want to see my little sister! I want to see my little sister!"

"Quiet down, you'll have plenty to see once we go inside." Draken was quite adept at handling the little boys in uniform, and he deftly carried the three children inside. Sano Shizuku and Sano Yuko followed to help, each disciplining their own children. Sano Manjiro hadn't even had a chance to speak to Draken when he suddenly realized he didn't know what to say, and his words caught in his throat.

"You can only look, not make a fuss later. If you wake your little sister, I'll be angry." The woman who arrived late held the baby in her arms. She had transformed from a hot girl into a charming young woman. Her smile shone with maternal warmth, and she looked very approachable.

For over a decade, he had never heard Emma's voice again. The road he walked carrying Emma seemed endless; the despair of waiting for rescue, the grief of his sister dying on his back—all these things shattered his last vestige of attachment to this world.

Emma exclaimed in surprise, "Mikey, why are you crying..."

Sano Manjiro's eyes, which had never shown much emotion, now overflowed with tears.

"Because Emma became a mother." Yuko, who should have been scolding her own child, came out to greet him and took a handkerchief out of her pocket and handed it to Sano Manjiro.

"Is it really that touching?" Emma didn't quite understand.

“Of course,” Yuko prompted, “Manjiro cried a lot when Naoki and Aya were born.”

Emma chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" A dark-skinned, white-haired man peered in through the doorway, followed by a small, white-skinned, blond-haired boy who seemed a little shy and clung tightly to his father's trouser leg.

"Izona, and Little Liyu, come in quickly, come in quickly," Emma called to them.

"Look what I've found, a crybaby Mikey~" The newcomer was none other than Kurokawa Isana.

Wiping away his tears, Sano Manjiro felt complicated. In his memory, it seemed that Isana had never lived for herself in her short eighteen years of life, and even in the end, she died for Tsurucho. He felt hatred, regret, and sorrow for Isana.

“Darling, making fun of siblings is such a tasteless thing to do in front of children.” Following Izana in was a foreign beauty with long, platinum blonde hair that was almost white, and her purple eyes shone with an eerie light.

Isana's wife is of Russian-Japanese descent, her name is written as Anna and pronounced as Anne, and she changed her surname to Kurokawa after naturalization. Their son, Kurokawa Rei, written as Rei and pronounced as Leo, is three years younger than the Manjiro twins. He inherited his mother's blonde hair and purple eyes, but for some reason, he has naturally curly hair. Although he is a boy, he is as delicate as a girl.

Speaking in the entryway is clearly not the proper way to treat guests.

The place that my grandfather used to use as a dojo was slightly renovated, since many people come to the Sano family as guests, and it's perfect for entertaining them.

Over the years, every year on the last day of the lunar year, which is also Lunar New Year's Eve, the whole family would gather at the old house for dinner.

The hostess, Shizuku Sano, along with Draken and the Isana couple, were busy in the kitchen. Manjiro and his wife, being complete culinary novices, had to help Emma look after the children.

After the novelty wore off on seeing the younger sister, the younger members of the Sano family ran out into the courtyard and started chasing and playing around.

"Ritsu, go and call your dad over," Sano Shizuku called out as she came out of the kitchen.

"Okay, Mom." As soon as the older brother, Sano Ritsu, left, the little kids followed behind him.

For some reason, Sano Manjiro felt uneasy. Just then, his wife, sitting beside him, reached out and placed her hand on the back of his hand as if to comfort him. He looked at her in surprise: "You..."

Yuko winked at him.

The children came in noisily, and the tall man, standing at 1.8 meters, stood out among the little ones.

The person is somewhat different from the one in Sano Manjiro's memory.

But it turned out just as he had imagined.

Her long black hair was loosely tied at the back of her head, and because she was always doing what she loved, she looked very relaxed and carefree.

This is what Shinichiro would look like if he were still alive.

"Yo~" Shinichiro greeted everyone and then walked over to Emma and reached out his hand to her: "Give me a hug."

Emma handed the child to him, and Shinichiro coaxed the still-sleeping baby, "Little Rima is Shinichiro's uncle, call him uncle quickly."

"She's only two months old and can't even talk yet," Emma complained helplessly, puffing out her cheeks and saying unhappily, "If you wake her up later, you'll have to be responsible for comforting her, Zhen-gege."

"Eh—" Shinichiro's child is almost in junior high school, and he has long forgotten what a toddler is like. After stroking his chin and thinking seriously for a while, he said to his wife, who was just coming out with the dishes, "Should we have another one?" Then he turned to his son and asked, "Ritsu, do you prefer a younger brother or a younger sister?"

"Don't ask me about this, you old geezer!" Ritsu Sano, who was about to enter puberty, shouted angrily.

"Are you serious?" Sano Shizuku's expression turned solemn.

Shinichiro Sano: "...Sorry, I was just kidding."

“Oh.” Sano Shizuku’s expression returned to normal.

Shinichiro Sano was secretly sweating.

He was seven years older than his wife, a statement he made jokingly back then.

"Shizuku-chan, will you be my bride when you grow up?"

Shizuku Kobayakawa, still a high school student, didn't respond at the time. Shinichiro Sano assumed she didn't care, since he was known for his frivolous nature, which was precisely why he wasn't popular with women. But to his surprise, fifteen minutes later, Shizuku Kobayakawa actually responded.

"good."

But at that time, Shinichiro Sano did not realize the seriousness of the matter. So much so that when the other party came to him as an adult and proposed marriage, Shinichiro Sano dropped the cigarette in his mouth and scalded himself so badly that he cried out in pain.

It's only been a short time.

As the food was served one after another, the Sano family sat around a long table made up of small square tables.

"I'm starting to eat—"

With everyone speaking in unison, they picked up their utensils and chatted casually during the meal.

Sano Shizuku: "Is Rei three years old this year? Shouldn't she be starting kindergarten next year?"

Anna Kurokawa: "Yes, he said he wanted to go to the same kindergarten as his brothers."

Yuko Sano: "But aren't you in Shinjuku?"

Anna Kurokawa: "So I'm planning to buy a house in Minato Ward. I've already found one in the neighborhood next to yours, Yuko."

Isana smoothly joined the conversation, smiling as she said to Manjiro, "Please take care of Mikey from now on." Her tone emphasized Yoroshiku.

Sano Manjiro, with food in his mouth, only gave him one.

Izona looked at him strangely, seemingly surprised by his calmness.

Shinichiro chatted with Draken, who also owned a motorcycle shop, about motorcycle parts.

Suddenly, a cry drew everyone's attention to Rimo, who was only two months old. There, Kazuki, holding a bowl of soup, sat down in a panic beside her.

The adults rushed over to check and found that Heqi wanted to give her younger sister some soup, but as soon as the spoon touched her lips, she burst into tears.

Yuko, who is a doctor, examined the situation: "Your lips are red from the heat, but it doesn't seem serious. It's best to apply some cool water and gauze to them to cool them down."

"I'll go get it." Lü thoughtfully went to get the things.

Emma held her child in her arms, heartbroken, while everyone gathered around her, and Yuko helped with emergency treatment.

Having done something wrong, Heqi grabbed her father's clothes. Manjiro was not good at comforting children, especially since he had not yet accepted that he had such a big child. He just looked at the little boy with his head down and let go of his clothes, then gently patted his son's head in a comforting gesture.

Afterwards, Naoki, as the older brother, apologized to Emma on behalf of his younger brother, Kazuki. Emma did not blame him and even comforted him, telling him not to blame himself.

After dinner, the children set off fireworks in the yard. Lu and the others asked Heqi to come along, but Heqi stubbornly refused to go, staying by Emma's side. Even Emma and Draken's persuasion was useless.

On the way home, sitting in the car, seeing his younger brother looking sullen, the older brother, Zhiqi, was about to get angry.

"Heqi, when are you going to stop being so stubborn?"

"It's none of your business."

"How dare you talk to your brother like that!"

"She was born only a few seconds before me."

"You! I'm not talking to you anymore!"

"Fine, I won't say."

The twins both crossed their arms and turned their heads away, ignoring each other.

Neither of the parents reacted, since they were the kind of people who believed that even the biggest problems between men could be resolved by a fight.

After returning home, Yuko asked Manjiro to take Naoki to take a bath.

Sano Manjiro looked at Yuko: "Are you sure?"

Yuko looked back at her strangely: "You don't even know how to bathe a child?"

Using the same old reverse psychology tactic that never goes out of style, Manjiro, his enthusiasm ignited, led Naoki to the bathroom. However, Naoki was already five years old and didn't need his parents' help with many things. He took his pajamas himself, and all the adults needed to do was prepare the bathwater and supervise him until he finished bathing.

Seeing that Naoki was playing obediently with the ducks in the bathtub, Manjiro, having nothing else to do, ran out and saw Naoki nestled in her mother's arms.

“You did something wrong,” Yuko said gently.

"Hmm," He Qi's voice was muffled.

“Mom won’t say things like ‘It’s okay to make mistakes.’ If you’re wrong, you’re wrong.” Yuko gently patted his back. “But Mom is also very pleased that Heki apologized properly.”

“Because Mom always tells me that,” Heqi pouted, “but I just want to give my sister the things I like to eat.”

Yuko gently coaxed, "Did Kazuki ask her younger sister if she liked it?"

“I…” He Qi, who had initially felt wronged, immediately gave in. He stood up and looked at his mother, “I understand, Mom.”

Yuko said gently, "Then remember to make up with your brother later."

"I will." After saying that, He Qi snuggled into her mother's arms for a while, then got up and rushed into the bathroom.

Soon after, Naoki's cries came from the bathroom.

"Hey, what are you doing?! Hey, I don't want to take a bath with you! Don't take off your clothes, and don't jump in—"

Then came the sound of the two brothers playfully fighting.

Yuko, who got up to pour a hot drink, smiled at Manjiro after hearing this, then sat down on the sofa and gestured for Manjiro, who was standing there, to sit down as well.

Manjiro thought to himself: After dealing with the child's matter, will it be his turn next?

He then walked over.

As soon as he sat down, Yuko cut to the chase: "You are not Manjiro of this world."

"When did you find it?" Manjiro asked her.

“I’ve known you since I was fourteen,” Yuko said with a hint of pride.

"Aren't you scared?"

Yuko smiled gently: "Don't be afraid. Because you are Manjiro."

"Even so?" Sano Manjiro suddenly grabbed Yuko's neck, his fingers tightening.

Yuko wasn't panicked. It wasn't that she wasn't afraid of death, but rather that she feared regret more than death itself. Yuko reached out and hugged him, her throat being choked, making it difficult for her to speak: "This isn't the first time I've met Manjiro from another world."

Upon hearing this, Sano Manjiro loosened his grip slightly, and Yuko rested her chin on his shoulder, saying softly, "But I can never get a chance to talk to you."

"You can't give up, Manjiro."

"But...I'm so tired." Just as he said, he wearily loosened his grip on her neck.

Yuko hugged him tightly: "Even so, you can't give up."

"I don't understand what you're saying at all!" A surge of anger inexplicably rose in Manjiro's heart, and he began to struggle violently.

Why!

Why can't he have such a future!

"I won't abandon you." Yuko hugged him with all her might, as if she were calming an enraged bull.

“You never even showed up.” Sano Manjiro’s cold voice was filled with despair and blame.

Yuko retorted in kind: "That's because you didn't come to find me."

Manjiro was speechless, choked by such illogical words. He finally understood what a woman could be like when she was being unreasonable. His anger subsided, and he sighed, giving up the struggle, and conceded, "Will I be able to find you just by going to look for you?"

"I don't know," Yuko replied matter-of-factly.

Manjiro:......

Yuko continued confidently, "But you've already seen me, so it wouldn't hurt to try looking for me."

...

Don't give me hope.

I am not worthy of being saved.

Even though he thought this way, he didn't say such cruel words aloud. Instead, he replied with a smile, "Okay."

They hugged quietly for a while until the children came out of the bath. Yuko was about to let go, but Manjiro leaned softly against her shoulder.

Asleep? Yuko inexplicably burst into tears after realizing this.

He went back.

Without anyone's help, he faced that cruel world alone.

Manjiro, who had been keeping his eyes closed, groggily opened them: "Yuko?"

"Mmm." Yuko hugged him tighter again, feeling a mix of relief and sadness. "Welcome back."

"Why are you crying? I think I had a dream, a dream that I was in a hospital..."

"dad."

"Mother."

The children ran over and interrupted Manjiro, while the twins squeezed onto the sofa, separating the couple.

"I want a hug too."

"Daddy's so cunning! He secretly hugged Mommy when we weren't looking!"

"Baka, before you were born, your mother was your father's." Manjiro was interrupted like this and forgot what he wanted to say. He started arguing with the children and quickly and skillfully grabbed the two little ones, one in each hand and wedged them into his elbows.

The twins seemed used to it, showing no fear whatsoever, and even playfully teased their father. Yuko had already distanced herself from the battlefield the moment Manjiro made his move, and the re-enactment of their daily life made it seem as if nothing had ever happened before.

——

When Sano Manjiro woke up, his face was covered with an oxygen mask. He opened his eyes wearily, and the heaviness in his body felt familiar.

You're back.

This world that he both knew and found disgusting.

That was indeed just a dream.

"Mikey! You're finally awake!" Santu, who was taking care of him, was overjoyed.

Sano Manjiro remained unmoved by Santu's heightened emotions, his eyes filled with world-weariness and coldness. Santu, seemingly accustomed to this, went off to find a doctor on his own.

Sano Manjiro braced himself to remove the oxygen mask from his face and pulled out the IV needle. Blood immediately gushed from the needle hole and flowed down the back of his hand.

"Oh! You can't sit up yet." A doctor wearing a mask and a white coat came in from outside. Seeing that the patient's IV needle had come out, he assumed that the patient had accidentally dropped it, so he went over to help press on the bleeding wound to stop the bleeding. "I'll have the nurse put it back on for you."

Sano Manjiro was about to refuse when he noticed the name tag she was wearing around her neck.

Yuko Takiya

Even though the name tag had a photo that looked familiar to him, he couldn't help but want to confirm it. Sano Manjiro rudely pulled down the mask on her face.

Yuko wasn't particularly offended by his actions, but she was a little confused and blinked at him.

"Aren't you scared?" Sano Manjiro asked her.

Yuko thought to herself, "I'm a medical student, what haven't I seen?" A mere drop of blood, "I'm not afraid."

Will you leave?

Yuko knew that some people are particularly vulnerable when they are sick, and given that this patient was malnourished and lacked sleep, it was normal for her to be emotionally unstable. As a doctor, she felt it was her duty to comfort the patient.

"No, not at all. I'm available 24/7, on call anytime, don't worry." She's currently in the residency stage and must be on call at the hospital around the clock.

Unbeknownst to Yuko Takiya, her two answers would change the course of her life.

The gears of fate have turned once again.