Chapter 34
Sakaguchi Ango slept soundly that night, and so did Amamiya Ruisei.
But it was only limited to the first half of the night. In the second half of the night, Amamiya Ruisei began to have a nightmare. In the dream, many big roosters were chasing him and wanting to peck his butt. He was so scared that he screamed and jumped out of bed.
"Oh," Amamiya Rei touched his buttocks with a throbbing heart, "Luckily I didn't get pecked for real... Why did I have such a dream? Was it because I drank chicken soup last night?"
He shuddered, got out of bed, went to the toilet, and then went to the living room to get a glass of water.
The water had just been poured and he hadn't even taken a sip when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something on the balcony. Amamiya Reisei's hands trembled and he almost dropped the cup. He looked closely and found that it was Tsushima Shuji.
"Shuji-kun?" Amamiya Leisei called out softly, "Why are you here so late? Can't you sleep?"
The boy turned his head. It was late at night and only the street lights were on outside. The dim light shone on Tsushima Shuji's face, making him look exceptionally calm.
"Sir." Tsushima Shuji called softly, "Why are you up?"
"I was awakened by a nightmare and came out to drink some water."
Amamiya Leisei opened the balcony door and said, "Why are you sitting outside? It's so cold. Come in and sit down."
Tsushima Shuji blinked, stood up and said, "Okay."
As soon as the boy came in and sat on the sofa, Amamiya Leisei poured him a cup of hot water: "Drink it and go back to bed quickly. It's already four o'clock."
"Yeah." Tsushima Shuji responded in a low voice.
He looked really listless. Amamiya scratched his hair in annoyance and said, "Are you feeling unwell? Or is there something you can't figure out? Tell me what's bothering you, okay?"
Hey, I was still full of energy to trick Ango-kun in broad daylight.
Tsushima Shuji shook his head: "Nothing happened, I just haven't woken up yet, so I'm a little confused."
"You don't look like you're okay." Amemiya frowned, thought for a moment, ran into the room, took out a book from the bookcase, sat down next to Tsushima Shuji, turned on a small light and started reading.
When the light came on, the boy narrowed his eyes slightly, turned his head to look at the book in Amemiya Reisei's hand, and then saw the big words "How to Get Along with Children" on the cover.
Tsushima Shuji: “.”
"…What do you think of a book like this?"
Amamiya Ruisei thought without hesitation: "After all, this is the first time I live with a child like Shuji-kun. As a teacher and guardian, I certainly can't raise the child in a wrong way." I must learn parenting knowledge well!
Tsushima Shuji: "...I won't go astray." He felt that his personality was basically set, so there was no question of whether he was crooked or not.
"You can't be too absolute," said Amamiya Ruisei. "Besides, when children don't want to talk to their parents, you have to find a way to communicate. Many times, conflicts between family members arise because of insufficient communication."
Tsushima Shuji sighed helplessly.
"So, Shuji-kun, what on earth is keeping you awake?"
Amamiya Rei closed the book and reached out to touch the back of the boy's head. "Are you still thinking about what happened two days ago? If you still haven't recovered, how about I ask the school for another week's vacation so that you can rest at home?"
Even though Shuji Tsushima had experienced many kidnappings, this was probably the first time he was so close to death.
As a person who has been on the verge of death for many years, Amamiya Tadashi knows how terrifying it is for a person to be on the verge of death, let alone being killed by someone else. And Tsushima Shuji is just a child.
Tsushima Shuji shook his head: "I'm fine."
"I'm not talking about whether your injury is okay," Amamiya Raisei said. "I'm talking about whether you've recovered mentally."
Tsushima Shuji opened his mouth: "I... I don't know."
The boy lowered his head and said in a dull voice: "I feel like I'm a little different."
"What's different?"
Tsushima Shuji's face was tangled, not knowing how to explain it clearly. After thinking for a while, he said, "I think I'm different from other people. I'm not that...afraid of death."
Yu Gong Lei was stunned.
"I live in this world, from birth to growing up, every step is full of calculations. My parents are not like my parents, and the people who take care of me are better than my parents, but they left me. My other relatives are also like strangers to me."
The boy put his hands on his knees and clenched them together involuntarily. "As for the people I know now, Ango has his own social circle, and Sensei has his own friends. When I think about it this way, even if I die, it doesn't seem to matter."
"Sir, you may be sad, but I am not your only student. All the students in Tokyo University are your juniors. Mr. Taneda is also your friend. At worst, there is still Ango."
Tsushima Shuji's voice became lower and lower, and he became more and more confused: "I am a little afraid of pain. Being killed is really painful, but if I say that I must live, it seems that there is no need."
"My family doesn't need me anymore, and I'm not the only friend I have. Mr. Amamiya also has other people. I don't have any goals to achieve by living. Since my future life may become more and more dangerous and drag everyone around me into it, why should I continue--"
"Tsushima Shuji."
The young man's voice was like a thunderbolt hitting Tsushima Shuji's ears. He shuddered suddenly, and the voice stopped abruptly. His pupils shrank slightly as he looked at Amamiya Keisei.
"Do you know what you are talking about?" Amemiya frowned.
"I, I..." Tsushima Shuji said hoarsely, "I'm sorry, sir, you worked so hard to save me, but I said it doesn't matter if I die..."
The young man looked a little angry. He took a few deep breaths before speaking calmly, "Xiuzhi-kun, don't underestimate your importance in other people's hearts."
Amamiya Reizu touched the boy's forehead with his hand, and said with a sigh: "Shuji-kun, when we were in Aomori, you told the people in the Special Powers Division not to give up on me - I was very happy."
"In fact, at that time, I also thought the same as you, why not just use my death in exchange for your safe growth," Amamiya Raisei looked at Tsushima Shuji's pursed lips and continued, "But your words made me realize how important I am in the hearts of those who value me, and I feel sad that I once wanted to give up my life."
"Let me ask you, if I really die, will you remember me?"
Tsushima Shuji whispered, "Of course I will remember you. You...you gave me a chance and allowed me to have a new life."
"So how do you think I wouldn't remember you if you died?"
Tsushima Shuji stopped talking.
He didn't say anything, but Amamiya Leisei continued to ask, "How can you think that you are not important in other people's hearts, that you are not needed by others, so it's okay to die?"
The boy's head dropped even lower.
"No one's death is indifferent." Amamiya Leisei stroked Tsushima Shuji's hair and touched his forehead, saying softly, "If you still can't figure it out, then remember that death is a very painful time. Don't let yourself feel pain anymore."
"……Um."
After a long moment, Tsushima Shuji nodded gently. His expression was still a little confused, but it was much better than at the beginning. After all, he still couldn't really understand these complicated emotions.
The boy reached out his hand and grabbed Amamiya Rei's sleeve, his tone carrying a hint of grievance: "Sir, I was in so much pain at that time, so much pain, and I was so afraid of pain..."
Amamiya Leisei suggested, "How about I talk to Chief Taneda and ask you to beat up that guy?"
Tsushima Shuji and Amamiya Keisei looked at each other from a close distance, and finally both of them burst out laughing.
"Thank you, sir."
[Progress: 30%]
Amamiya Ruisei touched the child's head and said, "Okay, go back to sleep."
After the late-night conversation that day, life returned to normal. Finally, no more accidents happened. The people from the Port Mafia no longer appeared around Tsushima Shuji. Those who should go to school went to school, and those who should go to work went to work. Even Tsushima Shuji's stewed chicken soup evolved several times. The victim, Sakaguchi Ango, complained a lot about this.
Time flies, and May has passed in a blink of an eye. June has come. In addition to the increasingly hot weather, it is also Tsushima Shuji's birthday.
"Shuji-kun's eleventh birthday is coming up in a few days, Ango-kun, let's work hard!" Amamiya Reizo held a birthday guide in one hand and shook Sakaguchi Ango with the other.
Sakaguchi Ango, who was drowsy due to the hot weather, said: "No, please let me go!"