112 Chapter 112
◎ She... couldn't bear to let go◎
“Boom, boom, boom.”
Chihoko Hanano's whole body trembled violently as her heartbeat became unbalanced due to the severe pain in her chest.
Chihoko Hanano suddenly opened her eyes and curled up with the clothes covering her chest.
The cold sea water that soaked her whole body brought Chihoko Hanano back to her senses from the pain.
The blank space in her mind was gradually filled with sticky memories mixed with blood. After a moment of daze, Hanano Chiheko heard a buzzing sound in her head.
Shiho!
Chihoko Hanano looked around hurriedly.
The mud and sand entering the sea make the water even more murky.
Chihoko Hanano jumped and swam towards the source of the mud that was about to sink.
The sea water from the dark poured into her eyes, and Chihoko Hanano's eyes overflowed with physiological tears in pain.
In her blurry vision, Chihoko Hanano could vaguely make out the silhouette of a car.
Hanano Chiheko was overjoyed and swam towards the car with all her might.
When Hanano Chiheko approached, she discovered that the car had been filled with water for the most part without her noticing, but the unconscious Miyano Shiho still had her eyes closed unconsciously.
The bleeding that should have stopped, after being soaked in water, oozed out a shocking red that shocked Hanano Chihoko.
Chihoko Hanano didn't dare to delay any longer. She swam to the car window, bent her elbows, and used all her strength that had been consumed by the sea water to smash the window.
After a muffled sound, nothing happened.
Seeing that the water in the car was about to reach Miyano Shiho's mouth and nose, a feeling of frustration surged into Hanano Chiho's heart.
Just as Hanano Chiheko was thinking of another solution, she was suddenly hit on the back of her head.
Chihoko Hanano was caught off guard and was so shocked by the piercing pain that she leaned over and hit the car window.
Her vision became blurry again, her head was buzzing, and a disgusting taste of rust filled her mouth. Chihoko Hanano raised her neck in pain.
The weather was unpredictable, and the heavy rain only gave a moment's respite before it came pouring down again.
With two loud bangs, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, illuminating the sea surface in an instant.
The light shining through the yellow sand in front of Chihoko Hanano was slightly blocked by a palm-sized object.
Chihoko Hanano looked at the lump of object falling towards her at a fairly fast speed.
Hanano Chihoko's eyes, which were originally a little dazed, suddenly became clear.
As if possessed by a magic spell, Chihoko Hanano opened her arms and caught it with some force.
The gravel in her hand that fell with the mudslide was quite heavy. Hanano Chiheko suddenly realized what had hit her.
Glancing at the car window in front of her, Hanano Chiheko suddenly had an idea and knocked the gravel hard against the car window.
With a "bang", the car window suddenly cracked, and Chihoko Hanano felt a huge relief in her heart.
The pain that came from her heart, mixed with traces of joy, instantly spread throughout Hanano Chiheko's body.
Chihoko Hanano frowned for a moment, suppressed the pain, and quickly leaned forward, half of her body getting into the car.
After all this ordeal, Chihoko Hanano's lungs were already running low on oxygen.
Chihoko Hanano forced herself to take a deep breath of the 10% oxygen left in the car, while her hands kept unbuckling Shiho Miyano's seat belt.
Hanano Chihoko patted Miyano Shiho's face, "Shiho!"
Miyano Shiho's eyelashes trembled, and she opened her eyes hazily, and then saw Hanano Chihoko with an anxious look on her face.
Miyano Shiho regained consciousness instantly and realized the danger of the current situation.
With the cooperation of the sober Miyano Shiho, Hanano Chiho saved a lot of effort.
Chihoko Hanano pulled Shiho Miyano and swam to the shore with all her might.
“Cough cough cough…”
Miyano Shiho supported herself on the stone surface with her hands, her face red from coughing, and she finally recovered.
For someone who is not very good at swimming, it is a blessing to be able to come out of the sea alive.
After spitting out the last mouthful of blood mixed with water, Chihoko Hanano breathed in the fresh air almost greedily.
After finally coming to their senses, Miyano Shiho and Hanano Chihoko lay soaked on a protruding rock, feeling lucky to have survived.
"We are free."
Miyano Shiho's hoarse murmur made Hanano Chihoko's lips curl up.
Chihoko Hanano subconsciously touched the back of her head which was aching.
Suddenly, Chiheko Hanano remembered something, and her hand moved down to touch her whole body.
Nothing...
"I'm going to find the USB drive, you wait for me on the shore!" Hanano Chiheko shouted, and without waiting for Miyano Shiho to react, she jumped into the seabed again.
Chihoko Hanano's vision, which had not yet recovered, was once again blurred by the mud and sand in the sea.
Chihoko Hanano ignored the concern and used her bloodshot eyes as searchlights to search for the small bag containing the USB flash drive.
If such a small thing falls into the sea, trying to find it is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Even so, Hanano Chiheko still went to the deep sea to search again and again.
As the time spent at the bottom of the sea stretched out, the dull pain in her chest made Hanano Chihoko exhale the last breath of oxygen she had.
Chihoko Hanano came back to her senses from the immersive search and wanted to go up to the surface of the sea to breathe.
But when Hanano Chiheko looked up, she found that there was a vast sea in front of her with no end in sight.
Chihoko Hanano's heart suddenly tightened. She didn't dare to stay for a moment and tried to swim towards the sea surface.
After struggling in the sea for so long, Hanano Chihoko's physical strength was undoubtedly greatly consumed.
Even though her limbs were numb from exhaustion, Chihoko Hanano still didn't dare to stop for a moment.
It was because Chiheko Hanano clearly understood: if she stopped, she would never be able to swim again.
Chihoko Hanano tried her best to look upwards. Although her vision was not very clear, she could feel that the area above her was obviously much thinner.
Before Hanano Chiheko could be happy, her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
This pain is the sum of all the previous pains.
Chihoko Hanano's whole body twitched for a moment, and her mouth half opened in pain.
The oxygen in her mouth formed bubbles one after another and left Hanano Chihoko mercilessly.
By the time Hanano Chiheko realized her mistake and shut up, there was very little air left in her mouth.
Under Hanano Chiheko's almost desperate gaze, the bubble rose rapidly until it disappeared not far above Hanano Chiheko.
Hanano Chihoko's pupils shrank slightly. Was she already so close to the sea?!
A glimmer of hope ignited in Hanano Chiheko's eyes. She stretched out her hand hard, wanting to touch the sea, but in the end she couldn't even touch it.
It turns out that this was just a dream that was close at hand.
The bitterness mixed with severe pain in her heart came so fiercely that it seemed to devour Hanano Chiheko in an instant.
That's it.
At least Shiho and Akemi are alive.
Chihoko Hanano recalled the door that her mother resolutely closed in her distant memory.
The door isolated all the blood and pain inside from Chiheko Hanano, giving her a glimmer of hope for survival.
Many years later, this glimmer of hope actually came back to her biological daughter.
Isn’t this a kind of retribution?
Chihoko Hanano smiled with relief and let her body slowly sink down.
Since regaining her memory and knowing the truth, Hanano Chihoko has endured all the hatred and pain. Her nerves have been stretched to the point of no return, just one sound away from breaking.
Chihoko Hanano knew what would happen if she continued like this, but she no longer cared.
Chihoko Hanano closed her eyes and felt every heartbeat.
Maybe... it's time to give myself a good rest.
But the more Hanano Chiheko thought about it, the more complicated and confusing her mind became.
The blond boy under the cherry tree that year suddenly appeared in Hanano Chiheko's mind, making her mind pause for a moment.
Hanano Chiheko's eyelashes trembled, she... couldn't bear to let go in the end.
He was reluctant to feed her medicine.
He was reluctant to watch the fireworks with her.
He's the one whose ears turn red when I can't bear to hold your hand.
I couldn't bear to see him responding awkwardly to the kiss in the car.
She couldn't bear to leave him when she was heartbroken, hugging him who put her back together piece by piece.
Every frown and smile in my heart is him, every stroke of my heart is him.
Only then did Chihoko Hanano deeply realize that since she and Toru Amuro reunited in the organization, she seemed to have never felt the loneliness again.
As she was thinking, Hanano Chiheko relaxed and let her body sway with the waves, and suddenly felt a warm current spreading throughout her body.
Is it... an illusion?
After a moment of confusion, Hanano Chiheko felt that the fluctuations around her were becoming more and more intense, so intense that she could not ignore them.
Thunder streaked across the night sky again, and Chihoko Hanano suddenly opened her eyes in the darkness, and saw a warm light that instantly illuminated her.
【Author’s words】
I can't bear to let go.
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