Zhong Linshan was arrested.

According to Inspector Megure, he suddenly seemed like a different person. He looked at the police with a terrified expression and said things like "Why am I here?" The police interrogated him afterwards, and he said some strange things.

For example, there was talk of soul exchange, Takaoka Haru's life was his, and even that the person who attacked Kuroiwa was not him, but Takaoka Haru.

But the police would not believe his strange remarks. The evidence was conclusive. It was he who attacked Heiyan, and this was an irrefutable fact.

In the end, Zhong Linshan was sentenced and imprisoned. His family never visited him once, and he was even alone during the court sessions.

As for Takaoka Haru, he recovered quickly. The burns on his arms and hands scabbed over. Although he was left with scars, fortunately it did not affect his life. Agent Kuroiwa was still in a coma. Takaoka Haru took Kuroiwa to another hospital and invited a well-known expert, hoping to wake him up.

In the end, he decided to go abroad with Heiyan for treatment because there was a famous doctor there and only there could Heiyan wake up.

Before leaving, Takaoka Haru came to see Hinata Sou.

It happened to snow that day, and the next day was Christmas. The young man was standing in the snow wearing a white coat, a fluffy hood, and a mask on his face to keep out the cold.

No one looked at him twice because everyone on the street was dressed like this and it was really too cold this winter.

Hinata Hajime, who was out buying groceries for Christmas, saw him at his door.

"Hey." Takaoka Yuru stretched out his hand and greeted Hinata Hajime, his eyebrows curved, "Long time no see, Mr. Policeman."

"It hasn't been long. It's been less than a month." Hinata Hajime pushed open the door. The moment he opened the door, all the lights came on and the room was bright. Hinata Hajime gestured, "Come in and sit down?"

Takaoka Yuliu came in readily and sat in the seat he had sat before.

Hinata Hajime handed him a cup of warm water. He took off his gloves, took the cup and held it in his hands to keep warm.

It was exactly the same process as when he first came.

"As expected, Mr. Hinata is right. We will see each other again soon." Takaoka Yuru sighed, "I am going to the United States with Kuroiwa."

"Is there any way to treat him?"

"Well, we'll leave tomorrow." Takaoka Yuru looked at the water cup in her hand, "No matter what, Kuroiwa was seriously injured because of me. I must see him wake up."

Hinata Hajime sat across from him. He smiled and said, "Well, that's fine."

"Just when I had made up my mind, I suddenly wanted to meet Mr. Hinata, so I came here without any courtesy." Takaoka Yuru apologized, but her expression was still calm. "I feel that I will never be unable to act again."

"Because my life is so happy, I certainly won't indulge in fantasy."

"That's the best." Hinata Hajime smiled, "Congratulations."

Takaoka Haru took a sip of warm water, and his sleeve slid down his wrist. Hinata Hajime saw the scars on his hands. Those scars crisscrossed on his wrists, which looked a bit scary, but Takaoka Haru never felt it was wrong to show them.

Afterwards, Takaoka Yuru and Hinata Sou chatted for a long time, although they talked about all sorts of things.

They never talked about the desperate incident again, but chatted idly about future plans and what they wanted to do, as if they were just ordinary friends.

It was not until his cell phone rang and he saw who was calling that Takaoka Yuru said apologetically, "Ah, it's time. Sorry, I have to go. I have to go back and pack my things and catch my flight."

"Goodbye." Hinata Sou said gently, "Have a safe trip."

Takaoka Yuru looked at Hinata Hajime, and then he sighed, "Mr. Hinata, have I ever told you that you are really gentle?"

"Eh?" Hinata Hajime blinked, "Is there?"

"Of course." Takaoka Yuliu stood up. "Your gentleness is not in words, but in actions. From beginning to end, you will consider the other person's feelings. You never take the initiative to poke a person's scars and never make them feel sad. Mr. Hinata, you are a gentle person."

Hinata Hajime said helplessly: "Isn't this something that an ordinary person would do?"

"Of course not." Takaoka Yuru bowed to Hinata Hajime, "Thank you, Mr. Policeman."

Thank you for trusting me and taking me in despite the circumstances.

In that terrible situation, meeting Hinata Hajime was his greatest luck.

Takaoka Yuru left, Hinata Sou sighed, he opened the window, and in an instant, a cold wind blew in, making Hinata Sou, who was wearing casual clothes, shiver.

【It’s so cold. 】

[It is normal for winter to get cold.] Kamukura Izuru looked at the snowy world outside and said, [If you are afraid of the cold, just close the window.]

[No, you will get sick if you stay in a room without ventilation.] Hinata Sou tried to keep himself alert, feeling the cold wind on his face.

Just then, he heard a very faint bird call.

[Huh?] Hinata Hajime looked out the window. At the very edge of the windowsill, he saw a bird fluttering in the snow. Its right wing was injured, and it looked like it would fall off the windowsill if it fluttered a few more times.

Hinata Hajime stretched out his hand with all his strength and grabbed the birds one by one amid their terrified cries. Then, he put the birds on the windowsill despite the pain of them pecking at his hands.

The bird fluttered in even greater fear, but soon it felt the warmth and slowly stopped moving.

[It's a sparrow.] Hinata Hajime shook his hand that was pecked, [Its wings seem to be broken, did it hit the wall when it was flying? It's too careless.]

【This means this is a stupid bird. 】

[Aren't sparrows very smart?] Hinata Hajime grabbed a handful of millet and put it on the windowsill. The sparrow must have been very hungry and couldn't wait to peck at the millet on the windowsill.

Hinata Hajime and Kamijou Izuru watched it eat, and their thoughts were surprisingly the same.

What a stupid bird.

I don't know if this sparrow is really stupid, or if it was made stupid by the previous collision. After eating, the sparrow just lay on the windowsill with its wings hanging at its sides. But it was no longer afraid and chirped at Hinata Hajime like a domestic bird.

Even when Hinata Hajime pulled up its wings to look at its injuries, it did not resist.

"It's broken after all. Can it heal?" Hinata Hajime murmured. He went to the room and took out the medical kit. Then he applied iodine to the bird's injured wing and stopped touching the wound.

There was no need for him to do anything. The sparrow's vitality was higher than he thought. It was better to let it heal on its own than for him to rush around and injure it more seriously.

If it were released, it would probably be frozen to death, so Hinata Hajime planned to keep it for the time being and release it once the wound on its wings was almost healed.

Of course, Hinata Hajime had no experience in raising pets, let alone birds, so he just gave it a paper box with cotton in it.

However, this bird was too lively. It flapped its wings on one side and flew around in Hinata Hajime's home, flying around in all sorts of ways. Hinata Hajime couldn't catch it in this space, so he had to let it fly around freely.

Chiaki Nanami was watching Birds of Prey on the computer, clapping from time to time, as if she had watched a wonderful movie.

"Nanami." Hinata Hajime said helplessly, "Stop watching the show."

"But I can't do anything about it, so, come on, Hinata-kun!" Nanami Chiaki encouraged Hinata Sou, "Hinata-kun will definitely be able to defeat the bird boss!"

"...You're not the boss, Nanami."

Just as Hinata Hajime and Nanami Chiaki were talking, the next moment, a sparrow flew over like a small cannonball, and then landed steadily on Hinata Hajime's shoulder, chirping happily. Its wings could not spread yet, but that could not stop its happiness.

Hinata Sou turned his head and looked at the little sparrow on his shoulder. He sighed helplessly, "It really is a stupid bird."

The sparrow turned its head to look at Hinata Hajime, then pecked Hinata Hajime's cheek gently with its sharp beak.

"It's itchy." Hinata Hajime stretched out his hand and was pecked on the fingertips.

Of course, Hinata Hajime couldn't talk to animals, and he didn't know what this little thing was thinking.

However, should Kamizuru know about this?

Kamizuru watched all this quietly with a blank expression on his face, "Don't try to drag me into this. You picked this up, it has nothing to do with me."

[Aren't we one and the same?] Hinata Sou lowered his voice, [Izuru, this is just a small animal. It's different from humans. You don't need to deal with interpersonal relationships.]

Kamijū Izuru has never been able to refuse Hinata Hajime. He always gives the leadership to Hinata Hajime, and also hands over his future to him.

So, even at this time, Kamiya Izuru would just listen to him while feeling bored.

Just a bird.

His eyes slowly changed from green to red, and Kamizuru Izuru looked at the sparrow on his shoulder. He stretched out his hand, and the sparrow tilted its head. Instead of pecking at him, it chirped twice and jumped directly onto Kamizuru Izuru's finger, looking extremely well-behaved.

[This is too much. It's so obedient in your hands.] Hinata Hajime was very confused, [Is it bullying the weak and afraid of the strong? But there is no difference between the two of us.]

【Boring.】

Kamizuru brought the bird back to the windowsill and put his hand in front of the cardboard box in front of the windowsill. The sparrow jumped in as if it understood what he meant, and chirped at Kamizuru in the cardboard box filled with cotton, as if to say thank you.

Hinata Hajime deeply felt the double standards of this bird.

However.

Even small animals like this like Kamuzhyou-ryu, that explains it.

Kamukura Izuru was never a scary person that everyone was afraid of, he just didn't know what to do.

As long as he has something to do and actually does it, he is no different from a normal person.

No, he is just a normal person.

[Tomorrow is Christmas, should we buy a Christmas tree? ]

[It's all fancy and the lights are blinding. I don't like it.]

[I know you don't like it. Is there anything you want to eat? Since it's Christmas, we should eat something delicious, right?]

【I don’t want to eat.】

[Okay, Sukiyaki! ]

【……】

Kamiya Izuru turned and left the windowsill. He passed the living room and went to the kitchen to check today's ingredients. On the wall of the bedroom, there was a painting that was neither beautiful nor ugly.

It was a flower made up of countless colors that mixed together to become black.

However, it can be seen that there are countless colors in this painting.

Like a magnificent life.