Chapter 133, Fifty-Seventh Cycle (5)
After dealing with the turmoil caused by Rum's death on the organization, Vermouth immediately returned to the United States to continue making movies in Hollywood.
The crew waited for her for so long only because of her fame and background, but Vermouth was still very serious and professional when filming and acting. She only remembered that Bourbon had finally woken up when she got home, but she hadn't had a proper talk with him yet.
Vermouth made a phone call to Bourbon while removing her makeup.
Bourbon answered quickly: "I think you should know that there is a time difference between Los Angeles and Tokyo, even 17 hours."
Vermouth burst out laughing: "Bourbon, don't be angry. You're still awake, aren't you? So much has happened these past few days, don't you want to talk to me about it?"
“Are you going to laugh at me like everyone else?” Bourbon asked, displeased.
Vermouth knew without a doubt who had Bourbon's contact information and was sending him messages mocking him.
“Of course, I’m different from them. I’m genuinely concerned about your safety.” Vermouth slowly wiped off her lipstick. “After all, we’re in the same boat. If you capsize, I’ll be in big trouble too.”
In fact, if Bourbon doesn't show up tomorrow, she'll have to find a way to rescue him.
Although rescuing someone from the maddened Scotland is a bit dangerous, borrowing that gentleman's help shouldn't be a problem. Presumably, that gentleman wouldn't want to see Bourbon really get into trouble.
Bourbon finally smiled: "I knew you were the best to me."
"If you had known earlier, you should have listened to my warning two months ago when I told you to be careful of Scotland. Otherwise, you wouldn't have messed up so badly with him now. Although I didn't expect that man to be capable of this at the time."
Vermouth sighed, leaned back in her chair, and crossed her legs.
"Bourbon, has Scotland gotten some leverage over you? Or, like what you did to me, has Scotland discovered your secret before I did and then threatened you? Otherwise, with your strength, how could you be so easily manipulated by him?"
"Who got manipulated by him?!" Bourbon raised his voice instantly. "I was just tricked by him and Ray when they teamed up! Now I know better and I'm prepared so this won't happen again!"
It's rare to see him so angry and flustered, so the Scots really got a hold of him. I'm really curious.
"Really? You don't need me to save you?" Vermouth was eager to get involved, hoping to uncover Bourbon's secret.
Bourbon took a deep breath, seemingly calming down: "It's okay, I'm not really helpless against that guy. This was just an accident, and it's been resolved now, so don't worry."
Vermouth let her hair down, tossed the hair tie precisely into the box, and laughed, "As expected of you, Bourbon, you can keep Scotland in check even in this situation. It seems I don't need to worry about you."
Bourbon snorted on the phone, laughing with a confident yet malicious tone: "Just wait and see, I'll turn things around. So what if Scotland takes over as head of the intelligence group? He's just inheriting Rum's job, not his second-in-command position. Does he really think he can do whatever he wants? And Rye, so what if he's temporarily favored by that gentleman? I'll make those two pay soon enough. I'll prove to that gentleman that I'm more useful than them."
Vermouth took the bathrobe off the hanger: "Of course, I believe you have the ability, but don't mess it up next time. I look forward to your wonderful performance."
She switched hands to hold the phone and walked towards the bathroom: "Speaking of Lei, I just remembered something I need to remind you of."
“What?” Bourbon asked.
“After you were taken away by Scotland and lost contact, I encountered Scotland while I was still at the organization’s base in Tokyo, so I went over to probe for information about you.”
Vermodra opened the bathroom door and began filling the bathtub with water.
"I jokingly asked him why he suddenly partnered with Ray to betray you. Did he finally realize that Bourbon would never love anyone, so he turned his love into hatred?"
Amidst the splashing water, Vermouth's voice was languid and teasing.
"Guess what he said? He actually chuckled very gently, and then said—"
Vermouth paused for a moment, her slender, fair fingers gently stirring the water that was rising in the bathtub.
Then, she suddenly switched to a Scottish voice and, mimicking the blue-eyed youth's expression at the time, slowly smiled and said, "How could that be? I've always known what kind of person Bourbon is, no one knows him better than me. But after that incident at the castle, I started to feel that just silently following behind him wasn't enough; I had to become stronger to protect him."
Bourbon's questioning and mocking voice seemed to draw a question mark directly in the air: "You betrayed me to protect me and even tricked me like that with that bastard Ray?"
Vermouth didn't answer, but continued gently in her Scottish voice, "Of course, it would be a lie to say I have no ulterior motives. Miss Vermouth, do you think Bourbon cares more about me, or more about Ray?"
Bourbon fell silent.
Vermouth continued her perfect performance, reciting Scottish words from back then: "For Bourbon, hate is stronger than love. Since he can't love anyone, then I'll become the person he hates the most."
Bourbon hung up the phone.
Vermouth finally lost her temper and burst into loud laughter in the bathroom, almost slipping and falling into the bathtub.
*
Tokyo time, December 12th, 3:30 AM.
Rei Furuya was already having trouble sleeping and his thoughts were in turmoil, but he calmed down quite a bit after talking to Vermouth on the phone.
Hiro had already told him about this, so their new script is actually the same as before: Scotland is controlled by Bourbon, and Bourbon is just using Scotland.
Even if something happens in the future, the organization will not use their feelings as a threat, because those feelings are inherently illusory and distorted, and will not only fail to threaten them but may even have the opposite effect.
However, due to some unavoidable accidents, that relationship became even deeper and more distorted.
Scotland was no longer completely under Bourbon's control, and even threatened Bourbon in turn, leading Bourbon to directly loathe and even hate Scotland.
The only advantage is that while we used to be able to threaten Scotland with bourbon, that's much harder now.
For Bourbon, Scotland itself was more dangerous than anyone else.
In the years since Bourbon joined the organization, Scotland has hurt him the most, which is why so many people Bourbon had offended sent messages of "congratulations" and "concern".
In reality, Bourbon continued to demonstrate "control" over Scotland, but not as freely and effortlessly as before.
After thinking about serious matters for a while, Furuya Rei's mood calmed down considerably.
He glanced at the time; it was four in the morning, still some time before dawn. If he didn't go to sleep soon, Hiro would find out he was staying up all night and everyone would worry.
Yes, Rei Furuya now knows that they have created a group that excludes only him, where they frequently communicate about him, including his physical and mental health.
Having four close friends constantly monitoring your health is a happy kind of trouble.
Rei Furuya turned over, closed his eyes, and tried to sleep for a while.
"Zero, I'm sorry, please give up on me. I feel like I really can't survive in this world..."
Rei Furuya suddenly opened his eyes.
He stared at the ceiling for a while, then pulled the blanket over his head.
Three minutes later, Furuya Rei suddenly pulled off the blanket, sat up abruptly, and irritably ruffled his hair.
No, whenever he's alone in the dark, his mind starts flashing back to countless scenes of Hiro's death.
One after another, one after another, he couldn't control himself, and even began to doubt whether he was dreaming, anxiously wondering if he had really saved Hiro.
During the day, Furuya Rei thought he had recovered, and that the nightmares he had experienced no longer had much of an impact on him now that Hiro was definitely alive.
However, those shocking images and a tsunami of negative emotions still erupted together in the middle of the night.
The gentle smiles and painful, sorrowful tears of my childhood friend kept flashing through my mind in an irregular manner.
Uncontrollable; closing my eyes, I can see Hiro's corpses scattered all over the ground.
And those cries of despair from the past.
Rei Furuya originally thought he could quickly process those negative emotions. After all, they were just memories of the past, and compared to the wonderful life and future that existed in reality, they were nothing. He was sure he could quickly return to normal and no longer be affected by the past.
Rei Furuya believed he could do it, but now he also realized something.
In the short term, he estimates he will be unable to shake off the influence of those vivid nightmares.
But it's okay, everyone is with him now, their future is full of hope and light, and there is nothing that cannot be done when everyone works together, even things that are unimaginable to ordinary people, such as overcoming the world and fate.
Just thinking about them, and how the four of them secretly created a group chat to discuss how to make him feel more relaxed and happy, and even came up with a method like giving him three hugs every day, made Furuya Rei's body warm up again, and he couldn't help but smile.
He quietly walked to the window and drew back the curtains. It was the deepest darkness before dawn, and the sun was probably still an hour away from rising.
He'll probably stop his late-night ramblings when dawn breaks and the sun comes out.
The sun is rising...
Suddenly, the song about cherry blossoms echoed in Rei Furuya's mind. He remembered the two APTX4869 pills with drastically different effects, and the scene where Hiro wanted to live but died, yet he wanted to die but lived...
Rei Furuya gritted his teeth, drew the curtains again, turned around, and took a deep breath.
That won't do.
He couldn't let those bad memories from the past affect his current state. There were still many important things to deal with, and he couldn't afford to make any mistakes or be distracted within the organization.
He must use new memories, better and deeper recollections, to completely cover up and banish those dark influences from his mind and the depths of his heart.
Okay, it's decided. Let's go find Hiro and watch the sunrise together.
Rei Furuya went out, took a few steps forward, and knocked on the door of Kagemitsu Morofushi's room.
The door was opened quickly.
"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" Morofushi Kagemitsu, whose hair and clothes were all very disheveled, asked immediately.
Rei Furuya shook his head, gave him a bright smile, and invited, "Hiro, can you come with me to watch the sunrise?"
Morofushi Kagemitsu was taken aback for a moment, then he smiled.
“Of course,” he replied without hesitation.
Morofushi Kagemitsu went back and got two thick coats, a black one for himself and a white one for Furuya Rei. The two of them went up to the rooftop together.
The winter sun rises a little late, so they have to wait about an hour.
This gave them just enough time to focus on their conversation.
Rei Furuya turned to look at his childhood friend sitting next to him, yawning and looking sleepy, and realized something, feeling slightly annoyed.
Hiro must have barely slept during the three days he was unconscious; he should have been allowed to sleep more.
“Zero.” Morofushi Kagemitsu leaned slightly to the side, his shoulder pressed against his. “You’re not having a nightmare, you’re not asleep at all, are you? Honestly, I should have stayed and kept an eye on you.”
Rei Furuya hesitated for a moment, but did not refute it. Instead, he stubbornly said, "That's because I slept too much the past few days."
While that's partly true, the main issue is that he overthinks things...
"Since you can't sleep, let's talk about that. Once it's out in the open, you won't keep overthinking it." Morofushi Kagemitsu turned to him and smiled. "Or is it that I need to say that sentence again to get Zero to be honest with me?"
It'll feel easier to talk about it.
Jianggu Ling: "..."
Rei Furuya could only manage a helpless smile: "Okay, okay, I understand. I'll tell Hiro everything."
Reveal the most basic things that won't arouse suspicion, only concealing the specific number of reincarnations and some details of the events, and only stating the result should be sufficient...
"Does that also include the five loops that Zero and Hagiwara kept from us?" Morofushi Kagemitsu asked.
Furuya Reiichi froze, then suddenly turned around to look at him.
Even with his stubble, the young man with gentle, refined features and blue eyes smiled and said, "What's wrong? Now everyone knows, including the ten cycles of police academy that Zero and I kept hidden from everyone. We've discussed everything we know, which is why everyone is so worried about Zero."
Rei Furuya thought to himself, "It's over." He was so flustered that he couldn't even hide his panicked expression from his childhood friend.
When they are alone together, when it's just Hiro and Zero, he always finds it hard to be on guard.
Morofushi Kagemitsu then understood, and his smile gradually faded: "So, Zero really intends to continue hiding the specific number and details of the reincarnation from us, or does he still not want us to know everything?"
Feeling guilty, Furuya turned his head away, looking at the sky and the ground but not daring to look at him.
But instead of his childhood friend getting angry, he gently leaned his shoulder against another person's head again.
Rei Furuya paused for a moment, then turned to look at him.
Morofushi Kagemitsu's expression was calm, yet it carried a hint of tender nostalgia and unspeakable sorrow.
“Zero, do you remember? Every time you read a book, you would immediately share the contents of that book with me and tell me your thoughts after reading it.”
"So even if I haven't read those books, I will know their contents very well, as if I have read and experienced the stories in those books with Zero."
Rei Furuya's eyelashes trembled slightly.
Morofushi Kagemitsu did not look at him, but stared into the dark depths where nothing could be seen.
"Therefore, I always understand Zero very well; that's how it should be."
"But now, I have absolutely no idea what books Zero has read or what Zero has experienced."
"Well, I'm sorry, Zero, I'm a little sad... no, I'm probably very sad. Even though we're still together, I always feel like the distance between Zero and me is getting further and further apart."
"No, that's not how it is..." Furuya Rei tried to refute, but didn't know how to explain.
“Zero and I grew up together, we’ve never been apart, so we’ve always known each other’s every secrets,” Morofushi Hiromitsu said softly. “We went to school together, studied together, played games together, watched Kamen Rider together, fought together, went fishing together, watched the sunrise together… Zero wanted to play tennis, so I trained hard with him. I learned bass, and Zero wanted to play with me, so he learned guitar, and we eventually performed together on stage. Later, we even went to police academy together, became police officers together, and then joined the organization together as undercover investigators. We know everything about each other…”
“It should always be like this.” Morofushi Kagemitsu lowered his eyes sadly. “But now, Zero won’t even tell me something as important as reincarnation…”
"No! I'm just... I'm just worried..." Rei Furuya's resolve was almost completely crumbling. "If I tell Hiro, what will he do..."
Knowing everything, Hiro would surely feel immense guilt again, would want to end his life again, and would tremble and cry, like he was dreaming of the [Nagaro no Ikee] time loop, holding him and shedding endless tears of sorrow and pain. If Hiro knew everything, he would definitely be even more heartbroken...
“But it’s all over now.” Morofushi Kagemitsu grabbed his shoulders tightly and looked him in the eye. “It’s all over, Zero. All I wanted to know was the past we went through together that I had forgotten.”
Rei Furuya stared blankly at him, his eyes still struggling with their emotions.
"Zero, this is the last time I'll ask you this. I won't press you like this anymore." Morofushi Kagemitsu took a deep breath to calm himself down.
This only made Furuya Rei even more stiff.
Morofushi Kagemitsu looked intently into Furuya Rei's wide eyes and said slowly, word by word, "Zero, how many times have you reincarnated? Can you tell me about your reincarnation from beginning to end, bit by bit?"
Rei Furuya couldn't stop staring intently at his childhood friend. He knew that if he looked away and rejected him here, the other person would be utterly disappointed and heartbroken beyond repair.
Rei Furuya was originally determined not to let anyone know about those terrible things.
As Subaru Natsuki said, it's enough that he alone has seen hell.
That was his original plan.
But... but...
Morobuchi Kagemitsu gazed at him silently, his eyes speaking volumes.
Rei Furuya finally relaxed his tense and stiff body, gently rested his head on his childhood friend's shoulder, and slowly closed his eyes.
He began to actively recall those countless nightmarish cycles of reincarnation, yet he felt unusually relaxed and relieved.
As Morofushi Kagemitsu said, Furuya Rei started from scratch, beginning with his death and rebirth, and began to tell his story of a cycle of hope and despair.
First playthrough: [Ignoring everyone else]
Second playthrough: [The lessons of history are not far off]
Third playthrough: [The Dragon Soars Without Regret]
Fourth playthrough: [Sacrificing oneself for righteousness]
Fifth cycle: [Good causes, bad consequences]
Sixth playthrough: [Fearless in the face of death]
Seventh playthrough: [Unpredictable and impossible to defend against]
Eighth playthrough: [Sacrificing One's Life]
Ninth playthrough: [Like strangers]
Tenth playthrough: [Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom] [An Unspoken Change]
Eleventh playthrough: [Unexpected Calamity]
Twelfth cycle: [Trying to catch the moon's reflection in the water]
Thirteenth playthrough: [Viewing Flowers in the Mirror]
Fourteenth playthrough: [Trying to catch fish by climbing a tree]
Fifteenth cycle: [Gains and Losses]
Sixteenth playthrough: [Finding a needle in a haystack]
Seventeenth playthrough: [Drawing water with a bamboo basket]
Eighteenth playthrough: [A Bright Future Ahead] [Haste Makes Waste]
Nineteenth cycle: [Too much of a good thing]
20th cycle: [Born and dying simultaneously] [The sun tied with a long rope]
Twenty-first playthrough: [The Innocent Victim]
Twenty-second playthrough: [Failure at the last minute]
Twenty-third playthrough: [Fish Collapse, Birds Separate]
24th playthrough: [Shattered Feathers and Exploding Scales]
25th playthrough: [Moths to a Flame]
Twenty-sixth playthrough: [The good times didn't last long]
Twenty-seventh playthrough: [Extreme joy turns to sorrow]
Twenty-eighth playthrough: [Boil water to make ice]
29th playthrough: [Pushing the boat on land]
Thirtieth playthrough: [Sun in the East, Moon in the West]
Thirty-first playthrough: [No Escape]
Thirty-second playthrough: [Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot]
Thirty-third playthrough: [Like an egg trying to break a rock]
Thirty-fourth playthrough: [Total annihilation]
Thirty-fifth playthrough: [The Fleeting Years]
Thirty-sixth cycle: [Scratching the boiling water with fingers]
Thirty-seventh playthrough: [The End of the Road]
Thirty-eighth playthrough: [Dead End]
Thirty-ninth playthrough: [Twilight and Lingering Light]
Fortieth playthrough: [The scenery remains the same]
Forty-first playthrough: [Radiant Scenery]
Forty-second playthrough: [Desperate Situation]
Forty-third playthrough: [Scattered Hills]
Forty-fourth viewing: [Painting Fat and Carving Ice]
Forty-fifth playthrough: [Long Rope Tethering Scene]
Forty-sixth playthrough: [Sacrificing oneself for righteousness]
Forty-seventh playthrough: [Desperate Measures]
Forty-eighth playthrough: [Going Through Fire and Water]
Forty-ninth playthrough: [Going Against the Current]
50th cycle: [One wheel, no return]
Fifty-first playthrough: [Continuing with death]
52nd playthrough: [Mountain Climbing to Gather Pearls]
Fifty-third playthrough: [Polishing a brick into a mirror]
Fifty-fourth timeline: [Defeat Without a Twist]
55th playthrough: [Jingwei Filling the Sea]
Fifty-sixth playthrough: [Sacrificing oneself for the Dharma]
57th playthrough: [The Great Escape]
Rei Furuya recounted everything that had happened in the fifty-seventh cycle to Kagemitsu Morofushi.
This is a very, very long and painful story, but it also contains many beautiful and happy memories, which Rei Furuya shared with Kagemitsu Morofushi.
As Rei Furuya slowly recounted his experiences of all the pain, sorrow, happiness, and joy in his cycle of reincarnation, Kagemitsu Morofushi held his hand tightly the entire time.
The sky had already brightened without them realizing it, and sunlight pierced through the darkness, shining on the two people who were snuggling together on the rooftop.
The sun is coming out.
Perhaps the sunlight was too dazzling, as Furuya Rei's vision gradually became a little blurry, and his voice became a little unsteady towards the end.
"I have died and rewound countless times, watching you die again and again, reuniting with you again and again, and then watching you die again and again."
"I've tried every method I can think of, but no matter what I do, I can't save you. Faced with the unreasonable killing intent of the world and fate, I can only feel my powerlessness more and more."
"Thirty-seven cycles, 37 failures, and I finally managed to keep Hiro alive on December 7th."
"【Nagaro no Ikee】At the end of that loop, if it weren't for Hiro's song, I might have really given up hope."
"I've said it before, there's nothing more despairing for me than killing you with my own hands."
"And I just can't accept the fact that I saved everyone but you."
She tried her best to hold back, but tears still welled up in her purple eyes, and they gradually filled her eyes with uncontrollable tears.
"Hiro, I almost thought... I really couldn't save you, that I was going to lose you forever..."
"But you succeeded!" Morofushi Kagemitsu finally couldn't hold back anymore, reached out and hugged him tightly, his voice a little choked and dry, but very powerful and firm.
"Zero saved me. I'm alive. I'm here, and I have a hopeful future."
"It's all over now, things will only get better from now on, we've already succeeded more than halfway."
Holding his trembling childhood friend with immense tenderness and comforting him, Morofushi Kagemitsu's eyes gradually hardened with a chilling murderous intent.
system……
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
