Chapter 163: Birds and Light: Talking about the Day After
Kenji Hagiwara knew very well that he was dreaming.
However, now was not a good time to sleep, nor was it a suitable place to sleep. Today's accident made the usually quiet hospital noisy. Most of the noisy and chaotic sounds were concentrated at the other end of the corridor, diluted and squeezed by the narrow corridor, turning into some vague sounds. Amid
these indescribable sounds, the corridor outside the rescue room was noisy and silent. The girl's cry that she tried hard to suppress in her throat was so small that it seemed to be covered by footsteps in the distance, but it could clearly enter the dream of the half-long-haired policeman who was sitting on a plastic chair in the hospital in the distance.
The sleepiness under the effect of local anesthetics, the chaotic thoughts, the noisy silence mixed together and turned into a strange rhythm, which blew a twisted pain in the man's already chaotic mind, as if being carved into his brain by an electric drill.
So Hagiwara Kenji fell asleep with his head tilted at an inappropriate time, with a coat under his shoulders that had been bandaged after the bullet was removed. He didn't change his tattered clothes that were full of dust, smoke and blood, as if he could go to sleep in the bridge hole at any time.
Before falling asleep, he thought about why he didn't hold on. If he had thought more, he wouldn't have been shot in the shoulder by the guy pretending to be a secretary. Should he have held on tighter? Why didn't he find out the difference in the bomb earlier? He was known as the 'ace of the explosives disposal team'. If he had found out earlier, could he have pulled the little liar over before he died? If... If.
Countless ifs, endless. He leaned his heavy head against the back of the chair, thinking about all the ifs over and over again, and then there was no more. What followed
was a dream intertwined with reality. The boy in a blue school suit sat in the cafe, biting the plastic straw of his lemon tea, his cheek bulged a little, he propped his head up and looked outside through the glass of the cafe, the sunlight poured in from outside, the boy who had grown up was bathed in the light, the girls around him were laughing and chatting countless words, only he looked down, with snow in his eyes.
He always liked to put more food in his mouth and swallow it all at once.
The man once guessed that this was probably related to his previous experience, just like Fei Niao Wu always carried a lot of snacks that made him feel full. This habit has been improved a lot under Tsukiyama Asari's correction, but occasionally when the boy is thinking about something, he will still inadvertently put the food or drink at hand into his mouth, making his originally thin side face bulge a little, and this arc always brings him a little childishness.
Hagiwara Kenji likes to see the childishness that Asuka Kiri rarely shows. Whether it is bringing snacks or occasionally bringing lunch boxes, he likes to choose large things, such as Japanese sweets that are just right to eat, or lunch boxes full of fried shrimp or fried chicken nuggets. In most cases, the boy will put the whole piece of this thing into his mouth, so the side face is pushed out into a round arc, which looks a bit similar to when he was a child.
No, he was also thin when he was a child, and his cheeks didn't even have the baby fat that only children have. Tsukiyama Asari's cooking is so delicious, and I have secretly praised Shugo's good fortune more than once, so why doesn't he gain weight?
Shugo... Kasugagawa Shugo.
"Have your family come?"
The name that he recalled from his dream and the doctor's words, which he couldn't mention now, made Hagiwara Kenji, who was only in a light sleep, explode. He opened his eyes tiredly and saw that his childhood friend had already gone there, followed by Date Kou who hurried over after receiving the news.
"I am."
"It's nothing serious. The situation has stabilized and he will be awake soon. He will be hospitalized for observation for a period of time. He also needs to pay attention to his diet..."
Ida Kou listened and responded in a low voice. For the first time, the man who always looked like a cheerful big brother showed such deep fatigue and silence on his face.
This scene was very familiar. A few months ago, he and Matsuda Jinpei were standing in this corridor, watching the operating light turn from bright to dark, waiting for the guy whose throat was cut twice to come out of the operating room.
Kasugawa Shugo...
After hearing the words "the situation has stabilized", Hagiwara Kenji finally regained his consciousness and continued to connect with his chaotic thoughts. Then he realized that Tsukiyama Asari, like his careless friend, had no family in the legal sense, so he was vomiting blood and was sent to the emergency room. The only people who could come were a few friends who were not very close to him and whom he had to address as "Mr."
The experimental subject who escaped from the organization, the orphan whose parents died, and the boy abandoned by his father. The three of them, after going around in circles and stumbling, became a family without blood ties, and then went around in circles again, Kasugawa Shugo became a shadow that could not return home, and Asuka Kiri became a bird and flew away.
Everything that happened today was too chaotic, and the thoughts of the man with semi-long hair were also as chaotic as the ball of yarn that was always kept in the coffee shop for stray cats to play with.
Hagiwara Kenji whispered "sorry" to Matsuda Jinpei, got up and walked outside, leaving all the noise behind as if he was escaping from something, and stared at the ubiquitous no-smoking signs on the wall for several times, and then found a stairwell with a wide-open window and stuffed the cigarette into his body.
He exhaled a puff of smoke, and his eyes, illuminated by the screen of his mobile phone, seemed to be covered with mist.
It was strange. He had seen the boy fall into the sea of fire with his own eyes, but he seemed to have no sense of reality. Maybe it was not until this moment, when he recalled the dream that was so quiet in this situation, looked at the familiar phone number on the screen, thought about the snacks that he could no longer send out at home or the fried chicken that he no longer had to buy two servings downstairs, that he suddenly realized that the boy he watched grow from a boy to a boy who would be stuffed with love letters by countless girls would never come back.
The human memory mechanism is very interesting. Although he has been with Asuka Kiri for three years, whether in his dreams or when he was running towards the exhibition hall, Kenji Hagiwara always remembered the first time they met. The thin boy, with blood that could not be hidden by his white hair, curled up in a small space in the cabinet, next to a bomb with a flashing red light, just looked up at him quietly, perhaps because at this moment the police in anti-explosion clothing moved away the marble slab that blocked the space. In short, the moment he looked at himself, the boy's originally dull light green eyes like a pool of water were stained with light.
It was the hostage he almost couldn't save, the child hurt by the world, and the younger brother of Kasugawa Shugo... Countless factors added together, giving this boy with white hair and light green eyes a big label of "needing to be protected", and giving Hagiwara Kenji a so-called sense of responsibility.
Who knew that in the end, he, the brother and the policeman, would be the one that the boy protected with his life. It was not until today that I truly understood and knew all his entanglements and fears.
Piecing together Asuka Kiri's life from Bomor's few words, the semi-long-haired police officer even inexplicably felt a surge of hatred for his own belated realization. When
his thoughts drifted to this point, Kenji Hagiwara was overwhelmed by the rising guilt again. Not long ago, Jinpei Matsuda wanted to call or send a text message to Kasugawa Shugo, who didn't know where he was now, but he stopped him.
The semi-long-haired man stubbornly believed that he should be the one to talk about this matter.
Even though he was not ready and was about to be overwhelmed by guilt and inexplicable fear, he still called Kasugawa Shugo.
He called twice. When the man with half-long hair was about to give up, the phone was suddenly connected. Before he could say anything, a curse that could almost be called a roar came from the other end, mixed with various chaotic sounds. It was a
strange voice, shouting that these cops would pay the price, and the words were so cruel that they made people's backs cold. The voice of his best friend followed closely.
"You want to chop off my fingers? Let's see if you have the ability to do that." He spat at the man mercilessly, with a slight wheeze in his voice, sounding like he had just finished a mission and returned to the General Affairs Office, and those noisy people were the result of the mission. "Behave yourself, the amount you sucked is enough for two bottles of wine, not to mention the ones that were transported out... Ugh!"
There was a collision sound, and the noise over there became even louder. It seemed that the chestnut that was hit was Officer Fa uttered a muffled groan and then walked towards the door, turning back and asking, "The effects of the drugs he took not long ago haven't worn off yet. Press him tight, or you'll put him in chains."
The junior who was supposed to follow Takeda Daiji finally behaved. After the noises around him died down, Kasugawa Shugo returned to his usual self and quickly asked, "Sorry, I was working just now. Hagiwara?"
Hagiwara Kenji opened his mouth.
He wanted to hang up the phone countless times, or find some ordinary topics to let this guy who just got out of the mission in the early morning and didn't know if he was injured again have a good sleep, but reason always popped up suddenly at this time, telling him that whether it was procrastination or concealment, it was unfair to Kasugawa Shugo.
The man didn't know how he finally said the words "Xiao Wu left", and he didn't even know if he made it clear. Maybe the long silence or hesitation had conveyed the pain thoroughly, so the other party also fell silent.
Kasugawa Shugo was silent for a long, long time.
"I'll be there now." After a long time, the chestnut-haired man spoke in a low voice with a slight hoarseness. When Hagiwara Kenji thought that the call was about to end, another voice came from the other end of the phone.
"...Thank you. Have a good rest and don't think about it anymore."
A very light tone, with gentle comfort. Hagiwara Kenji was stunned for a while on the other end of the phone, and suddenly covered his face with his hands. Tears quickly flowed from his cheeks, dripped on his clothes, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Does this guy Shugo know what he is talking about? He said on the phone that because he didn't hold on, Xiao Wu was gone and fell from dozens of floors. Is this what he should say to... him, the culprit?
This guy... this guy.
.
After being pushed out of the operating room, Tsukiyama Asari was awake for a moment. He slightly opened his eyes, and the first thing he thought of was the severe pain that had just thrown him into the emergency room. He didn't expect that he shouted "system" several times in his mind, but received no response.
The man then opened the system interface, wanting to see if the stickman who was always wandering on the page was asleep, although he knew that 003 never sleeps.
Not long after it was opened, the stickman system that had not appeared came back with a shiny, star-like thing. Tsukiyama Asari looked at it dazedly and asked subconsciously, "What are you holding?"
[I'm holding the soul fragment that you just flew out! 】
003 said unhappily, as if he had just finished fighting with a gorilla, and the whole person exuded an extremely tired and irritable aura. Then, the irritable system looked at the black-haired man covered in gauze and answered angrily.
[You'd better close your eyes, don't be sent in again... I've found out the matter, I'll talk to you after you have a good rest. ]
'Okay...' Tsukiyama lowered his eyes inward.
He did not fall asleep again immediately, but focused on everything around him. After he was pushed out, Mao Lilan and Suzuki Sonoko came up instantly. The eyes of the two girls were swollen like walnuts. The little detective who was very responsible and made him most worried was nowhere to be found. Kenji Hagiwara was nowhere to be found. Jinpei Matsuda and Kou Date were standing beside him. Their haggard faces made him feel guilty instantly.
Before his brain, which was made dizzy by anesthesia and wounds, could remember anything, he was interrupted by the system.
[Go to sleep, or I will use my points to buy a hypnotic lamp for you.]
Faced with this threat, Tsukiyama Asari had no choice but to surrender.
When he opened his eyes again, he was immediately blinded by the overly bright morning sunlight and closed his eyes again. Before he could adapt, the familiar mechanical sound rang in his head again.
[Awake?]
"Awake." He was dazed for a while before he responded. After adapting to the light, he opened his eyes again, and all he saw was a terrible whiteness. Only then did he realize the pain in his shoulders and the back of his hands.
'Is this a ward? Hiss... Change some painkillers for me.'
[What else? Throw you out to sleep on the street after the surgery?]
The system replied unhappily, but the familiar medicine bottle still fell on the bed sheet out of thin air the next second.
Tsukiyama Asari hesitantly raised his upper body, only to find that he had been changed into a loose hospital gown decorated with blue stripes while he was unconscious. Gauze was wrapped around his upper body and shoulders, and through the gaps between the low neckline and buttons, all he could see was white gauze.
He carefully put up the pillow, leaned his back against the relatively soft headboard, and took a painkiller that melted in his mouth before he had time to sort out his messy thoughts.
'You said you had checked it out before?'
[Yeah, almost. Anyway, the little soul you put on the vest flew out with the card when you tore it, but this has nothing to do with your previous pain.
You entered the emergency room mainly because the rules of this world have a greater impact on us, and you are also very involved! I have worked for so many years and I have never seen a host who was so affected by the true feelings that he could not pull himself away when tearing the card. You are really amazing. 】
Knowing why the system is so angry, it basically advises it to "don't be true to your feelings". Yueshan Asari, who ignored the wind, touched the tip of his nose with a guilty conscience and asked in a low voice what to do.
[......It's nothing, it just hurts a bit, and I and other aliases can feel the mood of Asuka Mizuki. As for the fragment, it has been completely stained with the color of Asuka Mizuki. If you put it back, you might be so confused that you shout "Hagiwara brother" to Hagiwara Kenji. Keep it as a souvenir.]
The system explained. It was so scared yesterday that its data bar almost flew off. It searched the world for the scattered soul of this guy, but when it found it back, it turned out to be just a useless souvenir. It almost got angry on the spot.
The black-haired man, who was still a little blunt from the anesthetic, blinked in confusion.
[Don't understand yet? This so-called soul fragment is made up of the life and energy you invested in the vest, just like Asuka Kiri's heart. At first, the vest only had heart, and as it came into contact with the world, it gradually became a complete... and quite real person.
After tearing the card, all those will dissipate, but the heart will remain. Although this fragment was originally separated from you, it is already Asuka Kiri's heart. ]
[If I must say... the part that pursued freedom dispersed after being released, and the part that was reluctant to leave became this fragment, which you keep as a souvenir. ]
'Can I see it? ' Tsukiyama Asari whispered in his heart, but found that after asking this question, the system suddenly fell silent, and then spoke hesitantly.
[...What's the point of keeping a fragment? I made some small changes.]
The black-haired man opened the virtual screen and his eyes widened the next second.
A Q-version man stood quietly on the screen. It looked much more detailed than the sloppy stickman system next to it. He had white hair, light green eyes, and wore that familiar pajamas. He was sitting in a chair in the middle of the screen. Feeling
the sight outside the screen, he raised his head and waved at the man with his small hand. He still had a paralyzed face with no emotion at all, and his hair was a little messy. He looked like he had just woken up.
The system stickman jumped up there, dragged out a refrigerator with the same style as the little man from somewhere, took out a packaged sandwich from it, put it in the microwave, and put it into the hand of the white-haired little man.
So the Q-version little man holding the sandwich lowered his head and ate his breakfast obediently. While eating, he turned his head to look at the stickman next to him whose style was completely different from his own, his eyes slightly shining.
Only Tsukiyama Asari didn't understand the situation.
He stared at the little man eating for a long time, and then stammered to the system, "What is this? Table, table pet? ? You changed the fragments into this, like this?"
After saying that, the man couldn't help but reach out and poke the little man who was not as tall as his palm through the screen.
It's okay if you don't poke it. The moment his finger touched the screen, the little man seemed to be hit by something and fell backwards. He fell to the ground with a "bang". Even the small stool fell to the side. The half-eaten sandwich fell to the ground, and the mayonnaise sauce was all over the ground.
It turned out that the sandwich was filled with lettuce, bacon and eggs...
[What are you doing? ! What are you doing! ]
The system little man, who was standing aside with his arms crossed, almost jumped up. It shouted loudly, and it was a deliberately noisy voice, as if it wanted to make its host feel better.
[No matter how sad you are, you can't hit the child! ]
"Uh... sorry?" The black-haired man said subconsciously.
He watched the stickman system pull up the little man who fell to the ground, and rubbed his white hair vigorously, making the already messy white hair even more messy, then moved the small stool and looked for a towel to wipe the floor.
[I know what you are thinking... Why are you thinking so much at this time! ]
The system's voice was a little irritable.
['If this is the case, won't Fei Niao Wu still be trapped and have no freedom?' This is the idea, right? These are the fragments that are reluctant to leave. Have you ever played the Traveling Frog? Just think of him as traveling around the world, and occasionally come back to see you, a male mother who has lost his vest and is like losing his child.
... At least it will make you feel better. 】
Tsukiyama Asari did not respond. He stared at the virtual interface in a daze. The little man, who he did not know how to address, stood up. His expression seemed to be a little aggrieved because he was suddenly pushed down. However, he still lowered his head to help the system wipe the floor. Then he took out a box of milk from his large pajamas pocket to supplement the unfinished half of the sandwich.
Sure enough, it was just a small fragment, retaining the personality and memory of Asuka Mizuki, but it seemed that it could not speak.
Tsukiyama Asari looked at the other party's expression, gently stretched out his hand, and tapped the screen, which was just above the little man's head. This time, he controlled his strength very well and did not poke the man down. So the little man looked up, squinted his eyes, and took the initiative to rub his fingers with his soft white hair.
The black-haired man's eyes flashed with a smile, and then he was overwhelmed by another thought. He suddenly turned off the screen, and the little man disappeared. The ward became empty again.
He buried his head in his bent knees.
[...Rest for a while.]
'You did this all night?' Tsukiyama Asari asked back, ignoring 003's words of 'rest for a while'.
Without waiting for the other party to respond, he continued the next words by himself, but his voice was a little vague.
'You are sick.'
[...? ? Hey, you really are a dog-bitten Lu Dongbin. 】
The system's words gave off an inexplicable Tianjin flavor, making the already strange Japanese even stranger. The man who buried his face in his knees let out a low laugh, "Thank you."
"Give me a hug."
[Please, the artificial body I bought at a high price has long been swallowed by some unlucky deep-sea fish. This request is even more excessive than asking me to look for clues in a bunch of mysterious links on forums.] Tsukiyama Asari just waited silently. [......] A gust of
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