Chapter 21 They must have something special about their brains! ...
You should be happy!
Nekono Ikuya's eyes seemed to say something.
Nekono Ikuya's logic was simple and direct, with a kind of clear-headed open-mindedness, and... it did make some sense, which strangely eased the depression in Furuya Rei's heart.
Rei Furuya couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth, and he was indeed a little happier, just as Ikuya Nekono had hoped.
He hesitated for a moment, then continued to confide in Nekono Ikuya: "Those guys who fought with me just now... that's why."
"Because of this?" Nekono Ikuya repeated.
His eyes were filled with confusion; he clearly didn't understand. "Because Dr. Miyano's family is moving?"
Nekono Ikuya looked on with disbelief.
You two are fighting because the Miyano family moved away. Surely you're not trying to seize the last opportunity to win their favor?
Given that gentle adults are generally popular with children, like Yoshinaga-sensei?
Although they spent a short time together, Rei Furuya was forced to get to know Ikumi Nekono at an extremely fast pace because Nekono Ikumi relentlessly pushed their relationship forward.
Naturally, they also gained some understanding of Nekono Ikuya's way of thinking.
So when Rei Furuya saw Ikuya's confused expression, he knew that what the other person understood was definitely not what he wanted to express.
"No," Furuya Rei quickly explained.
He praised the Miyano family again and explained why he liked them: "Dr. Elena is very nice. Her family never looks at me strangely, nor do they say anything unpleasant because of my hair and skin color."
A look of obvious surprise flashed across Nekono Ikuya's face, and her cat-like eyes gradually widened.
Rei Furuya took a deep breath, as if he was about to say something difficult to say: "My hair color and skin color... there are always some people who don't like it."
As he spoke, he clenched his fists, feeling as if a stone was stuck in his throat, making it difficult for him to continue speaking.
But Rei Furuya continued speaking:
“The people I met today especially disliked me; we just bumped into each other in the park. They said that 'freaks' and 'mixed-race bastards' like me deserve to be abandoned by everyone. Just then, Dr. Miyano and his family were about to leave, and they deliberately brought this up to provoke me, so I…”
He choked slightly, his breathing became rapid, and he opened his mouth, but ultimately did not continue speaking.
Nekono Ikuya's expression went blank. This had touched a nerve!
Suddenly, the surroundings became very quiet.
The expected comfort or... agreement did not appear.
Rei Furuya turned his head in surprise, only to see Ikuya Nekono frowning slightly, his eyes revealing a genuine sense of astonishment, even confusion, that he had never seen before.
It was as if the other person was hearing not Japanese, but some kind of alien language that he couldn't understand.
Nekono Ikuya's eyes were blank, and his expression didn't seem to be feigning anything. He looked like his CPU was really about to burn out.
Rei Furuya watched as Ikuya Nekono opened his mouth, but couldn't speak. He opened his mouth again, and after a while, he finally found his words.
"Wait!" Nekono Ikuya slowly turned her head, looking at Furuya Rei incredulously, "You mean they reject you, even fight with you, just because of your hair and... skin?!"
When she said the last sentence, Nekono Ikuya's tone was noticeably higher than before.
He clearly thought it was absurd.
Rei Furuya froze for a moment, remained silent for a few seconds, and then squeezed out a short syllable from his throat: "...Hmm."
This is because of Ikuya Nekono's straightforward and blunt Japanese translation of the summary.
"Yes." But he quickly regained his composure and affirmed again. Nekono Ikuya understood correctly; that was exactly it.
However, Rei Furuya was also somewhat bewildered by Ikuya Nekono's illogical reaction.
"...Isn't this quite common?" Rei Furuya looked at Ikuya Nekono blankly.
He always thought that even if Nekono Ikuya changed her appearance every day and wasn't tamed by social templates, she should still understand one of the default rules of this world.
That is, to reject those who are different.
Nekono Ikuya looked at Furuya Rei with the same blank expression: "Is it common...?"
"Not common...?" Furuya Rei gradually became uncertain.
They looked at each other in bewilderment.
Nekono Ikuya still felt it was absurd; did they live in the same world?
How come he has never seen anyone reject another person because of their hair or skin color?
During their kindergarten years, the school even had a collection of rare hair colors, including dark blue, brownish-red, and premature gray hair, and they all got along very well.
Oh, there's another classmate with blond hair and dark skin. He's a bit annoying and not as good-looking as Rei Furuya. His name is Hyo Kawamura.
People who dislike Kawamura Hyo do so because of his personality, not his appearance, and Kawamura Hyo has not been ostracized by them.
This trend continued into elementary school. Futaba Kindergarten was affiliated with Sakura-on Elementary School. Sakura means cherry blossom, and the name refers to the sound of cherry blossoms blooming from the leaves. Therefore, most of the students from Futaba Kindergarten went directly to Sakura-on Elementary School, bringing inclusivity with them.
In fact, if Rei Furuya had stayed at Sakura-ne Elementary School a little longer—not too long, just half a month would have been enough—he would have been surprised to find that his hair and skin color weren't unusual at all; there were all sorts of people there.
Don't listen to the president of the performing arts club saying things like "blonde hair and dark skin, an unheard-of combination." That's because he only cares about good-looking people. He won't even bother to remember people who look average!
Most of the students at school paid attention to Rei Furuya not because of his special hair color or skin color, or rather, that was definitely not the main reason. The main reason, of course, was that Rei Furuya was good-looking!
Who wouldn't take a second look at someone who is good-looking?
So the absurdity that Nekono Ikuya felt when he first heard Furuya Rei's words was genuine; he had truly never encountered anything like this before.
Ultimately, I was just too inexperienced.
Nekono Ikuya gradually revealed her incomprehension, thinking, "I can't believe I heard someone say that they are disliked because they need to breathe every day," and her astonishment, thinking, "I've witnessed the diversity of humanity again; it's truly eye-opening."
His expression completely amused Rei Furuya.
Although he didn't receive the comfort he expected, Nekono Ikuya's unique reaction dispelled his gloomy mood, and the effect might even be better than the actual comfort.
Nekono Ikuya was still grilling, or rather, thinking.
He vaguely realized the reason.
Although there has never been any discrimination based on appearance between students at Futaba Kindergarten and Sakura-on Elementary School, Futaba Kindergarten has a special principal.
This unusual kindergarten director is kind-hearted and loves children, but has a fierce appearance and demeanor, often mistaken by outsiders for a gang leader, and occasionally even startles the children.
Perhaps it was this experience that made the headmaster pay more attention to this aspect, creating an ordinary yet harmonious environment for the special children.
Today is another day I love the kindergarten director!
Since the problem isn't with Nekono Ikuya and his classmates, nor with the innocent Furuya Rei, then the problem must lie with those bad kids who relentlessly cause trouble for Furuya Rei.
Nekono Ikuya has realized it!
“I know!” Nekono Ikuya looked at Furuya Rei with certainty, “It must be that those people who fought with Furuya-kun have some peculiar taste!”
"Huh?" Furuya Rei asked in surprise.
“Or maybe he has a special mind!” Nekono Ikuya added, convinced that it must be so!
Seeing the undisguised "they definitely have something wrong with them" expression on Nekono Ikuya's face, Rei Furuya finally understood what Nekono Ikuya meant.
"Maybe," he said softly, his tone unusually relaxed and amused.
"Definitely!" Nekono Ikuya said decisively.
Then, as if remembering something, he raised his chin slightly with a hint of smugness. "But anyway, you won. Next time they say that, just hit them back hard until they never dare to say it again!"
Nekono Ikuya rubbed his hands together, his emerald green cat eyes brimming with eagerness, as if he couldn't wait to help Furuya Rei get revenge.
He just wanted to help Rei Furuya fight back, because Rei saw Ikuya Nekono excitedly say to him the next moment, "If they come looking for you to fight again, remember to call me for help, Furuya-kun! ...I've never been in a fight before!"
Furuya Rei was speechless. He sensed that Nekono Ikuya was getting impatient, as if those people were about to rush out and fight him.
Are you that excited?
Of course I'm excited!
In fact, Blake has recently started teaching Nekono Ikuya various fighting techniques. Nekono Ikuya has never actually practiced them with anyone before, so this is a rare opportunity!
Being brutally beaten by Blake during lessons doesn't count; Blake shows absolutely no mercy in that regard. And occasionally, Nekono Ikuya also wants to brutally beat others. Okay, he admits it's not occasionally, it's frequently.
Furuya Rei was unaware of this, so after hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help but ask, "...Why?" Why does Nekono-kun want to help me?
Nekono Ikuya made up a reason: "Because Furuya-kun said they said 'half-breed mongrel'."
Although the reason was something Nekono Ikuya came up with randomly, Nekono Ikuya's displeasure was genuine.
His tone turned colder, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, like that of a feline hunting. "I'm a mixed race too!" He felt offended.
"Nekono-kun is also mixed race?" Furuya Rei asked in surprise, glancing sideways at Nekono Ikuya.
“My mother is British.” My grandfather even had a title in England.
Nekono Ikuya said nonchalantly.
He then started complaining: "So my mom and dad are in England right now, pretending to visit my grandfather, saying I have to go to school, so they're not taking me with them! They do this all the time! Tch... They just want some time alone together!"
Are the parents true love, and the child an accident?
That's very loving!
Nekono Ikuya looked as if she had seen right through them.
Rei Furuya's thoughts were still on the previous part, and he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Then... what do you really look like, Nekono-kun?"
"Huh? That's right, Rei Furuya doesn't know he's not disguised right now!" Ikuya Nekono exclaimed excitedly.
"Hmm?" Nekono Ikumi tilted her head, a sly glint in her emerald green eyes. "Curious, aren't you?"
Rei Furuya pursed his lips, not denying it, but he was indeed very curious about it.
Suddenly, Nekono Ikuya leaned closer, lowering his voice as if to share a tremendous secret, causing Furuya Rei to hold his breath.
Then, he heard Nekono Ikuya say slowly in a slightly mocking and smug tone, "Hehe, I—won't—show—you!"
"..." Furuya Rei almost couldn't catch his breath.
He knew it!
Nekono Ikuya admired Shiruya Rei's expression, which seemed to say, "How did I get tricked again? Can't I stand up for myself?" and smiled with amusement.
Then he slowly added, "Anyway, he's not as cool as Furuya-kun."
"Eh?" Jiang Gu was stunned.
Nekono Ikuya continued, "Someone like me with no distinctive features would probably be so ordinary in a crowd that you wouldn't even notice me."
Rei Furuya is different; his blond hair and dark skin are just too cool!
Hmm, with such a cool style, shouldn't he try cross-dressing too?
Nekono Ikuya looked at Furuya Rei thoughtfully.
At this moment, still in a daze, Rei Furuya had no idea what was about to happen to him.
A note from the author:
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