Chapter 15 How about getting to Mr. Zero?
"Go, Furuya and Morofushi!" Kenji Hagiwara stood in a prominent position holding a megaphone. When he saw Ruki Kitagawa, his eyes lit up and he waved to him: "Ruki, come over here!"
Date Kou enthusiastically handed over a bottle of water: "How is it?"
"Thanks, it feels pretty good." Kitagawa Ryusei finally squeezed through the crowd and went inside, his gaze fixed on the arena: "How was it?"
“We’ve already progressed to the police skills stage, and the blond bastard and Mr. Jing are far ahead,” Matsuda Jinpei said, wearing his sunglasses that he usually kept in his dormitory, looking like a mob boss who had mistakenly entered the police academy.
He crossed his arms and clicked his tongue: "What's wrong with this blond bastard? It's just a gun, why is it taking so long to assemble!"
“Alright, it’s not embarrassing to praise Furuya,” Kenji Hagiwara teased, putting his arm around his childhood friend and taking the opportunity to boast, knowing the guy’s personality well. “But not everyone can keep up with Jinpei’s pace like Hagi.”
"snort!"
Hearing the playful banter around him, Kitagawa Ryusei smiled and turned his gaze to the first-place player who had attracted most of the attention on the field.
Even after running 800 meters, he could still keep his hand steady and shoot. Sweat dripped from Furuya Rei's neck into his collar, soaking the collar area.
The complex parts were remarkably obedient under those slender fingers, fixed in their proper positions step by step.
He still seemed completely at ease.
There were people who looked like investigators all over the track and field, constantly monitoring the athletes' condition.
They all nodded in approval upon seeing Furuya Rei's performance.
How can someone be so suited to be a police officer, with their ideals and talents perfectly aligned?
Kitagawa Ryusei thought, "It's not surprising that someone so full of energy and has such a strong sense of justice is so attractive..."
After assembling his weapon, Furuya Rei quickly focused and aimed at his next target.
He brushed his short blond hair back, his gaze fixed firmly ahead, his breathing steady.
Bang!
The recoil caused him to blink almost instantly, without his body swaying at all.
Without a doubt, it hit the bullseye.
After placing the gun in the designated spot, Furuya Rei turned and ran towards the next mission point.
Behind him was Morofushi Kagemitsu, and the gap between the two and the other contestants was widening.
"Terrifyingly strong."
"Still an all-rounder."
The conversation from the next class came through clearly, but the four members of the group, including Date, fell silent. They tried their best not to look too arrogant, but it was not hard to see the pride on each other's faces.
Furuya and Morofuku are incredibly powerful!
The results of the "single-person multi-target shooting" competition were being broadcast from the podium.
Date Wataru and his group immediately perked up their ears to listen carefully, while Kitagawa Ryusei, the person involved, remained as calm as ever.
"First place, Onizuka Class, Kitagawa Ryusei!"
The name of Kitagawa Ryusei was broadcast three times over the school radio.
It was clearly transmitted to everyone's ears.
At the same moment, Rei Furuya crossed the final finish line!
"First place!! Congratulations Kitagawa-kun!"
"Ahhh, Furuya-kun is number one!!"
"Onizuka Team! Awesome!!"
Cheers surrounded him as Rei Furuya turned to look at the audience and spotted the Onizuka crew.
Under the waving class flag, they stood ready to welcome their comrades.
Following closely behind, Morofushi Kagemitsu, who had just finished the race, stood beside him, one hand on his shoulder, and together with Furuya Rei, looked over and waved to the people under the flag.
Tall and muscular Date stood behind the others, holding aloft the cherry blossom flag.
Even Matsuda Jinpei, who usually had a stern face, was now wearing a big smile, with his sunglasses hanging on his collar.
Separated by the track and the stands, the six men looked at each other and simultaneously gave each other a thumbs up.
Well done!
*
In the next round, Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji undoubtedly took first and second place in their respective events, while Date Wataru felt that first place was no challenge at all.
The instructor, Onizuka, was so excited that he almost jumped up on the spot without any restraint, and secretly bit his handkerchief.
—These brats were worth raising after all!
The sports meet continued into the afternoon.
The setting sun painted the clouds in the sky a beautiful orange hue, and flocks of birds flew back to their nests against the light.
Students walked in twos and threes along the road, their shadows stretched long by the setting sun.
The six of them were walking back to their dormitory.
Kenji Hagiwara was vividly recounting the "grand" scene of his competition, with such a convoluted plot that if no one else had been there at the time, they probably would have believed it.
However, no one interrupted him; they treated it as listening to a storyteller.
Kitagawa Ryusei slowed his pace and fell to the very end.
As if sensing something, Furuya Rei's pace also slowed down.
The two gradually distanced themselves from their companion, going from walking one in front of the other until they were walking side by side.
For a moment, no one spoke.
The first to break the silence was Kitagawa Ryusei, who sincerely said, "Furuya-kun was also very impressive today."
They were so dazzling in the crowd that they were impossible to ignore.
"Thank you, you too. It's a pity I didn't get to see Ryusei take first place." Furuya Rei didn't turn his head, his attention seemingly focused on the road in front of him, yet he clearly felt the distance between their shoulders gradually closing.
—He was waiting for Kitagawa Ryusei to get to the point.
But after that sentence, Kitagawa Ryusei didn't say anything more, and the two fell silent once again.
No one was in a hurry; they walked slowly and deliberately on the cobblestone sidewalk.
The square in front was empty and deserted, surrounded by neatly trimmed flowerbeds with clusters of low-lying flowers.
Students were sitting on a bench as they watched the sunset.
After a long silence, Kitagawa Ryusei spoke as if he had made up his mind, in the calmest tone: "Furuya, I may think differently than you do."
Here we come, Rei Furuya pauses his steps.
He wasn't surprised, and with his gaze fixed on the young man's face, he replied, "I guessed it. After all, Ryusei is really mysterious."
"Even Hagiwara said that Ryusei during the day and Ryusei under the moonlight are like two different people."
Under the moonlight, Kitagawa Ryusei was even more relaxed, like a beast entering its own territory.
Leisurely and unhurried.
"You're really perceptive..." Kitagawa Ryusei chuckled lightly for a moment, then earnestly reminded him, "I'm dangerous."
Rei Furuya: "Aside from always putting yourself in danger, everything you do is quite reassuring."
“I’ve hidden many things from others that they can’t understand.” Kitagawa Ryusei’s tone changed from calm to indifferent, as if he didn’t understand why Kitagawa could remain completely unmoved.
This time, without much hesitation, Rei Furuya's answer was still unwavering: "When Ryusei wants to talk about it someday, I will try my best to understand."
As Kitagawa Ryusei spoke more and more, the smile in his eyes became more and more obvious, and the word "pleasure" could almost be seen on his face.
The look in her eyes as she gazed at the young man shifted from trepidation to burning intensity.
This answer was beyond Kitagawa Ryusei's expectations. He stared at the other person intently, as if trying to etch these words into the other person's heart: "My personality is by no means good, and I have a very strong possessive desire."
Furuya Rei hadn't considered this at all, and his confident demeanor was shattered: "Eh? I didn't feel anything at all."
To be precise, during the time they spent with Kitagawa Ryusei, they were constantly struck by how utterly unambitious he was...
Rei Furuya wants to become an excellent police officer, Hiromitsu Morofushi likes to cook to relieve stress, and even Jinpei Matsuda, who supposedly only went to this school to beat up the Superintendent General of Police, has a hobby of studying mechanics.
But Kitagawa Ryusei doesn't seem to have much interest in career, material things, or extracurricular entertainment.
That's because, apart from himself, there's nothing in this world that truly belongs to him. Kitagawa Ryusei thought to himself.
Previously, he had little sense of belonging to this place, let alone any desire to possess it.
He could only offer a simple analogy to this.
Looking around, Kitagawa Ryusei raised his hand and pointed, his fingertip landing on a patch of hydrangeas blooming profusely in the flowerbed.
The petals are slightly white, with a beautiful purple tinge near the stamen, clustered together like butterfly wings.
Large clusters of flowers stretched out like clouds falling from the sky.
“This variety of hydrangea is called Otaksa,” he explained calmly under Furuya Rei’s bewildered gaze. “Someone once said that if you tell someone you like the name of a flower, they will think of you whenever they see that flower in the future.”
Rei Furuya's heart skipped a beat when he heard the word "like," and he suddenly realized what was happening as he followed Furuya's fingertips toward the flowerbed.
He listened quietly to what the young man was about to say: "But I'm different. When I like someone, I make him think of me no matter what kind of flower he sees."
I think about whether we've met before or not.
The world, inside and out, is marked by its own characteristics.
And this is just his liking.
If the relationship progresses further, Kitagawa Ryusei doesn't know what he will be like.
If any of the players in Rei Furuya have any sense of crisis, they should...
Unexpectedly, the blond youth completely missed the point, raising his voice: "So Ryusei had someone he liked?!"
Kitagawa Ryusei: "..."
"No!"
What is all this?!
He looked up and glared at Rei Furuya, only to find the other man looking at him with a smile.
“Ryusei-kun, you could have just rejected me,” the young man’s voice sounded extremely aggrieved, but his expression was quite different, his eyes sparkling with a gentle smile: “Why do you keep trying to persuade me to give up?”
"Is it a lack of self-confidence, or a lack of trust in me?"
If he could just say no, there wouldn't be so much nonsense! Kitagawa Ryusei thought silently. At the moment when he didn't give a clear answer in the hospital, it seemed that there was only one answer for him.
He could accept Rei Furuya taking the initiative to back out, but he was unwilling to reject the other person's affection.
Even if it was just lust at first sight between the two parties.
Or perhaps the other person is just too dazzling, too much like the sun hanging in the sky.
"I won't be able to resist..."
If one day I have to leave this world, I can't help but try to pack you up and take you with me before I leave.
Completely oblivious to this, Furuya Rei pressed on, asking, "Is it that you can't refuse?"
Half of his face was bathed in the setting sun, and his eyes seemed to hold the shattering of some precious crystal: "So... Ryusei actually has feelings for me too, right?"
Kitagawa Ryusei did not speak.
Just like that night, no answer is needed.
"What if I leave someday?" Kitagawa Ryusei stated the worst possible outcome directly: "Could you accept that?"
The unexpected question startled the other person, and Furuya Rei's already round eyes widened even more: "What? You're leaving? Leaving Tokyo or leaving Japan?!"
He remembered that Kitagawa Ryusei lived in Yokohama and had mentioned Italy many times. Did he not intend to stay in Tokyo to develop his career?
But his dream has always been to be a policeman in Japan. Does this mean they'll have to have a long-distance relationship?
Seeing that Furuya Rei's hair was about to stand on end, looking just like a cat with its fur standing on end, Kitagawa Ryusei turned his gaze and reached out to grab it and scratch it wildly.
He let out a deep sigh, then smiled and reassured you, "Just kidding! I've already received an offer from the Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police Agency, and I'll be staying in Tokyo from now on!"
I won't leave until I'm sure these guys are alright.
Having confirmed that he wasn't lying, Furuya Rei's eyes widened instantly, finally glimpsing the wicked side of this person's character.
His attention was diverted by the job offer, and he wondered how many more surprises Kitagawa Ryusei was keeping from him: "When did this happen?"
"When I took some time yesterday to give a statement in the kidnapping case, I was specifically invited by the Criminal Organization Countermeasures Department, but I might have preferred to go to the Criminal Planning Department!"
As graduation approached, their career paths began to take shape. For example, Hagiwara and Matsuda were already booked by the Security Department's mobile unit.
Although Kitagawa Ryusei is somewhat unbalanced in her studies, her strengths are astonishingly outstanding. Given that she is a professional, it is not surprising that she was invited in advance.
Wait! The topic had already veered far off course enough to circle Tokyo, and Furuya Rei suddenly realized that he still had important things to do and abruptly pulled him back on track.
He stood calmly, his voice no longer trembling with anxiety: "So, Ryusei-kun, what is your answer to me?"
He brought up the issue that had been previously avoided, and at that moment, Furuya Rei's eyes were filled with nothing but determination.
People gradually left the square, leaving only two tall figures.
Without a moment's hesitation, Kitagawa Ryusei stood quietly in the setting sun and reached out his hand to the radiant young man.
He pursed his thin lips slightly and said solemnly, "I have no experience in interacting with people, so please take good care of me, Furuya-kun."
"What a coincidence, this is also my first time interacting with someone. Ryusei-kun, nice to meet you." The young man smiled brightly as his blond hair shone brightly in the orange-red sunset.
Two hands were clasped tightly together, one black and one white, clearly distinguishable.
"So... what's the next step after we start dating?"
"I wonder, how about starting by changing how I address you, Ryusei?"
Kitagawa Ryusei glanced at him and, seeing that Furuya Rei was making the suggestion seriously, chuckled, "You've been wanting to know for a long time, haven't you, Furuya-kun?"
"So you knew? That sounds so unfamiliar," Furuya Rei said, a slight smirk playing on his lips. He looked directly up at the other person, his voice low.
He seemed to have figured out how to control Kitagawa Ryusei, and cautiously suggested, "Can't we really choose someone else?"
“What’s his name? Furuya, Little Furuya, Zero…” Kitagawa Ryusei repeated the names the people around him used to address him, and under those increasingly bright eyes, he reached out and pinched that “beautiful and charming” baby face.
He tilted his head: "Mr. Zero, how is it?"
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