Chapter 7: Second Playthrough (2)
When Morofushi Kagemitsu returned from the infirmary with his first-aid kit, he was stunned to see his childhood friend still sitting on the ground outside his door.
What puzzled him even more was the look in the blond youth's eyes as he slowly looked up at him.
“…Zero?” Morofushi Kagemitsu subconsciously felt that something significant had happened without his knowledge, and that this event had a huge impact on his childhood friend, making him instantly anxious.
"Hiro." Rei Furuya smiled, his eyes crinkling. "I have something very important to tell you."
Rei Furuya has always been very good at enduring and adjusting his mindset. After a brief breakdown, he skillfully comforted and cheered himself up, deciding to explain to Hiro one more time.
The confession in the previous playthrough wasn't entirely useless; at least he received Hiro's hug, trust, and care, which became one of the supports that kept him going.
This also became one of the reasons he felt confident enough to confess again.
“hiro…”
Just like when they were children, just like during their undercover work, the two of them huddled together in a small room like small animals in the cold darkness.
"Actually, I just came back from the future."
For Rei Furuya, less than an hour had passed since his last confession.
All the emotions he felt at the time—the emotions of being moved, excited, happy, blissful, and at peace—were shattered unexpectedly by Matsuda Jinpei's death, and it's a little difficult to pick them up again now.
So now, when he confesses to his childhood friend for the second time, the feeling is completely different from the first time.
He found himself unusually calm, even taking the time to observe his childhood friend's expressions and analyze what he was thinking.
And what about Morofuku Kagemitsu?
After his initial shock, he couldn't help but grab his childhood friend's hand, only to find it terribly cold, so he gripped it even tighter.
He was looking at Rei Furuya very, very seriously, listening to him speak.
For Morofushi Kagemitsu, this was all something that had never happened before.
He found this truly unbelievable, far beyond his comprehension.
But because it was Zero who said it, he believed it instantly, yet found it hard to accept.
How can he accept this?
What did his childhood friend go through?
Those sad and painful things tormented him repeatedly, and he was the only one who remembered everything, struggling alone in the darkness, seeking that uncertain glimmer of light... Morofushi Kagemitsu almost cried just listening to and watching.
As long as he puts himself into the image of the self his childhood friend describes—the self who committed suicide in front of his childhood friend after failing to infiltrate, the self who watched helplessly as his childhood friend committed suicide and reverted to the previous timeline—he feels as if he is about to die.
It was so painful, so incredibly painful. It felt like his heart was being torn apart, and a suffocating sensation was gripping his throat.
Morofushi Kagemitsu was speechless for a moment, as if he had returned to his childhood after witnessing his parents' murder and developing aphasia. He could only hold his childhood friend's hand tightly and look at him, trying to convey his feelings with his eyes.
But even he himself didn't know what kind of expression he was making. Maybe it was really pathetic, which made his childhood friend sigh helplessly and then reach out to hug him and gently stroke his hair in comfort.
“It’s okay, don’t be sad, I’m really okay.” The blond youth’s firm voice rang in his ears. “As long as it’s not too late, as long as there’s still a chance, I will never fall into true despair.”
“It’s just one failure,” he said. “It’s just starting over again, it’s nothing.”
"Don't even mention once or twice, even if I have to go through a hundred death rewinds, I will definitely bring all of you back."
"I will not let anyone else die."
*
Sometimes, being relied upon is more inspiring and motivating than relying on others.
Similarly, the same applies to offering comfort.
Rei Furuya experienced both of these emotions within just a few hours.
He now feels full of energy again.
Then, he couldn't sleep at all.
Rei Furuya drew the curtains tightly, turned on the desk lamp, and sat down at his desk, taking out paper and pen.
The few sheets of paper that he had written on and torn up in the toilet during the previous playthrough were now perfectly displayed in front of him, covered with writing again, even more so than before.
Last time there were seven.
This time there are ten.
After sorting through all the intelligence and writing down his detailed plan, Furuya Rei tore up all ten sheets of paper filled with terrifying secrets and threw them into the toilet and flushed them down the drain.
Oh, I can't show this to Hiro. If he sees some of my plans and ideas, I'll definitely get scolded.
After finishing everything, Rei Furuya glanced at his phone.
It's a little past four in the morning, and he's had less than two hours of sleep left.
And whether he can fall asleep quickly is also a problem now.
Rei Furuya lay on the bed for five minutes, then silently got up, took off all his clothes, and finally slept naked under the covers, satisfied.
He finally fell asleep, after all, he was really tired.
"Blonde bastard!"
"Zero!!"
"Falling Valley Zero!!!"
Who?! Matsuda?! Wait, why does he sound so anxious? What happened this time??
Before Furuya Rei was fully awake from his sleep, he jumped up and rushed to open the door.
"Matsuda!!!" His heart pounded wildly, and images of the curly-haired youth lying on the ground, lifeless, flashed before his eyes. The action of opening the door almost smashed it apart.
Matsuda Jinpei, standing outside the door, froze: "..."
Furuya Rei gradually regained consciousness and found Matsuda Jinpei standing right in front of him, unharmed... or rather, the bruises on his body were still quite obvious.
Matsuda Jinpei snapped out of his daze, his face instantly turning red as he took a step back in a huff, then, in a fit of rage and embarrassment, he suddenly shoved the man into the room.
"You, why aren't you dressed?! Get inside, get inside! Someone will see you!!!" He slammed the door shut with a bang, his tone and movements suggesting he was looking for a fight.
Rei Furuya caught the uniform that Furuya had thrown at him in a flustered manner, and picked up his phone to check the time.
"...It's only a little past five o'clock, what are you doing here so early?" He said speechlessly as he dressed, staring blankly at the still shy and flustered curly-haired gorilla.
Contrary to their public personas, Matsuda Jinpei is actually a pure and upright good boy, while Hagiwara Kenji is a very skilled smoker, drinker, and flirtator. If Hagi saw him sleeping naked, he would definitely praise and tease him until he surrendered and ran away.
However, it wouldn't be good if others saw it. At this point, some of the early-rising police academy students should indeed be up, not to mention that Matsuda Jinpei's loud commotion had already woken some people up...
While getting dressed, Furuya Rei's mind wandered aimlessly, and he let out a big yawn: "So you're all this energy to come fight me so early in the morning?"
"...I've come to tell you something very important." Matsuda Jinpei remembered the important matter, his expression instantly turned serious, and his tone became somber.
Rei Furuya thought, "Why does this sound so familiar?"
“I had a dream.” Matsuda Jinpei walked over, grabbed his shoulder, looked him in the eye, and said seriously, “I dreamt that I died.”
Rei Furuya stopped moving.
“I also dreamt that you committed suicide,” Matsuda Jinpei continued.
Rei Furuya's eyes widened slightly, his pupils trembling.
Matsuda Jinpei instantly understood, and he released his grip in realization: "So it really was true..."
"No..." Rei Furuya's voice was hoarse, "What...what happened in your dream?"
Matsuda Jinpei looked at him with a complicated expression.
"So, after you told Hagi, 'I will definitely save Matsuda,' you shot yourself and committed suicide because you already knew you could go back to the past after you died?" Matsuda Jinpei gritted his teeth, his fists clenching again. "Were you 100% sure you could go back to the past instead of dying there with me?"
Rei Furuya: "...It's basically confirmed."
"What—basically?! So you weren't even sure you'd die back then?! Are you crazy?! What if you really did die? What if you didn't go back in time? What if I don't remember anything?!" Matsuda Jinpei was so angry that he stepped forward and grabbed his collar.
Rei Furuya looked down at him and suddenly smiled.
“But I made it back, you’re still alive, and you still remember me,” he said.
Matsuda Jinpei's anger was caught in a rut.
Furuya Rei, afraid that he would get angry again and waste time fighting with him, pulled his fist away and changed the subject: "Matsuda, do you remember everything? When? Not last night, did you remember it while you were sleeping?"
Matsuda Jinpei frowned: "...Not all of it. I should have remembered everything. In my dream, everything felt very clear. I remembered everything before. But after I woke up, many things about the future became blurry. In the end, I only remembered the day I died, especially the period from my death to your death."
He paused, then gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "Very...very...very clear!"
"I only remember the last day..." Furuya Rei was slightly disappointed, but then he noticed something else and looked at the curly-haired youth with anger and sadness in his eyes in surprise, "You, you mean, after you died, you could still see what happened afterward, and you saw me commit suicide?"
The blond youth visibly became guilty.
Matsuda Jinpei sneered and threw a punch directly at him.
“I really wanted to punch you to wake you up!” he said.
Rei Furuya dodged in the cramped dorm room: "But this is just a necessary step in the process of returning."
"I don't care, I won't feel right unless I punch you!" Matsuda Jinpei said fiercely.
Fang Guling's eyebrows also darkened, he grabbed his fist and said coldly: "If you say that, I also want to punch you. You said you didn't understand why I was so angry last night, can you understand now?"
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
In an instant, Matsuda Jinpei recalled the sorrowful and painful expressions on everyone's faces after his death, and how the blond youth had committed suicide to come back and save him. His entire spirit collapsed.
"Ahhh! I'm so sorry, I was really careless that time! I'll be more careful next time!!!" he shouted angrily.
"I hope you really remember this: next time something happens, don't rush in alone, but tell us first," Furuya Rei said coolly.
Matsuda Jinpei knew he was in the wrong, so he could only hold back, letting out a frustrated snort, but he didn't dare to look at the other person's expression.
Having confirmed that the "dream" was indeed a "future" that had actually happened, Matsuda Jinpei now has very mixed feelings.
"So..." Matsuda Jinpei asked him hesitantly, "How many times have you reincarnated?"
Rei Furuya sat on the bed, propping himself up with his hands and staring at the ceiling.
“Twice,” he said.
Matsuda Jinpei sat down next to him: "The last time was the second time, right? Back then, you already seemed like you'd known me for a long time, so the first time... what did we go through?"
Rei Furuya turned his head and met the gaze of 22-year-old Jinpei Matsuda.
“I guess so,” he said. “The first time, I lived to be 29, while you died at the age of 26.”
Matsuda Jinpei was stunned.
Rei Furuya sat up straight and began to tell the story of the five of them from the beginning.
After collecting the intelligence, Furuya Rei never intended to hide it from them. Telling them about that future would have been better so they could prepare and be on guard in advance.
The problem is that saying this when they're not yet friends isn't very convincing; it not only won't work, but it will also make it harder for them to become friends now.
But now that Matsuda Jinpei possesses memories of the previous timeline, things are different.
Although it was just a brief memory of the final day of death, it was enough.
According to Matsuda Jinpei's description, the memory was so vivid that it was as if he had just experienced it firsthand. It was really hard to just treat it as a dream, but it was equally hard to accept such an unreal memory.
After Matsuda Jin calmed down, he also doubted that it was just a dream. In addition, his memory of other things gradually became blurred, and this feeling was even more like a dream.
If Matsuda Jinpei hadn't received a positive answer from Furuya Rei, he might have simply treated it as a nightmare.
Time flew by as the two talked, and the noise outside grew louder as most students got up to prepare for morning training.
Matsuda Jinpei stood up and stretched his aching body. He had received so much information today that he needed to process it properly.
However, he had one last question.
"Since we're all friends, are you planning to tell Hagi and the class president about this?" Matsuda Jinpei turned around and asked him.
Rei Furuya remained silent, seemingly hesitant.
"Go ahead and tell them everything." Matsuda Jinpei patted the blond youth on the shoulder. "This is all of our business. What kind of person would you be to shoulder this alone? No way, no way? You don't want to be some kind of lone hero, do you? Don't think like that. Hagi and the class president will definitely believe you! Isn't it better for everyone to work together?"
"And..." the curly-haired youth grinned maliciously as he began arm wrestling, grinding his teeth viciously, "He actually died right after graduation, hagi, very good, I'll give him a punch first."
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