Chapter 27: It's all because of you.
Morofushi Sora'aki collapsed onto the table in the shaved ice shop. Luckily, it was a shaved ice shop, so there were no oil stains or anything like that left on the table.
The shop owner was very hospitable. Even though Morofushi Sora'aki only ordered a regular shaved ice (which was ordered by Hagiwara Kenji), he didn't mind that the other person was sitting there taking up a seat.
The owner is a local from Okinawa and is already used to the temperature here. There is only one electric fan in the room. Even though the shop is much cooler than outside, Morofushi Sora'aki still finds it hard to stand.
He was wearing a plain-colored t-shirt with no extra prints or patterns. He was originally going to wear a jacket over it, but because it was too hot, he decided against it from the start. His clothes looked like they were soaked with sweat, making them stick to his back and feel even more uncomfortable.
If Hagiwara and Matsuda don't come back soon, he'll have to go back to the inn. Morofushi Sora'aki thought to himself.
However, he would remember to tell the boss so they wouldn't be unable to find him. This was something Hagiwara had taught him after that time he waited for someone in the small park until dark.
They told him not to wait like that because it's dangerous at night, but to remember to leave a note or something behind after he leaves, indicating that he's gone first, so they won't worry.
Just as Morofushi Sora'aki was about to leave, Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei finally returned.
In this kind of weather, even Hagiwara Kenji didn't want to be close to his friend. He slapped the iced cola in his hand against Morofushi Sora'aki's face, and seeing his friend's sudden look up at him, he smiled with a mischievous grin: "Oh, I didn't expect Sora'aki-chan to actually be waiting for us here all this time. If it's really hot, you can go back first."
"…I was already planning to leave." Morofushi Sora'aki took the cola, holding it in both hands and letting the coolness travel to his palms as he touched it.
"Okay~ Let's go back then, our free time is almost over."
Morofushi Sora'aki stared at his two friends for a while: "I feel like Jinpei-chan and Hagi are hiding something from me."
Hagiwara Kenji: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
However, Morofushi Sora'aki didn't seem to care much. He walked out first, looking at the two people standing still, and asked curiously, "Aren't you coming?"
"Let's go, let's go~" Hagiwara Kenji laughed and put his arm around Morofushi Sora'aki's shoulder, but as soon as his skin touched Morofushi Sora'aki, the latter bent over to avoid the touch.
"Haha, you got rejected, huh, Hagi!"
"It's so hot, Hagiwara, stay away from me."
"..."
Feeling slighted, Hagiwara Kenji lowered his head, his long bangs obscuring his gaze. Sensing something was wrong, Morofushi Sora'aki instinctively quickened his pace, but it was too late to dodge. Hagiwara Kenji hooked his arm around Morofushi Sora'aki's neck from behind: "We're best friends! If you do this, Kenji-chan will cry!"
"Hagiwara!" Morofushi Sora'aki's eyes widened, his expression changing far more than before.
Matsuda Jinpei looked at Hagiwara Kenji's back, which was also soaked with sweat, and said, "Is this what they call 'killing eight hundred enemies while losing a thousand of your own'?"
Matsuda Jinpei was fine if he hadn't spoken, but once he did, the "enemy" who had been "killed" and the guy who had just "damaged" him by "a thousand" all turned their fierce gazes on him.
Why are only the two of them sweating profusely?
"Matsuda! Don't even think about running!"
"Um."
"...You're all so hot, aren't you?!" Matsuda Jinpei promptly started running: "Why are you being stubborn at a time like this?!"
"It's really annoying that only Jinpei-chan isn't injured!!"
"The three of them must be the same." Morofushi Sora'aki emphasized.
"There's no need for everyone to be the same at a time like this, is there?!"
So when the three of them returned to the meeting point, all the classmates looked at the three of them, who were clearly sweating profusely but still stubbornly sticking together: "Um... what's going on with you guys...?"
Hagiwara Kenji: "This is something that must be done to promote friendship."
Morofushi Sora'aki: "We must stand on the united front."
Hagiwara Kenji: "We are inseparable."
Morofushi Sora'aki: "To merge into one."
Hagiwara Kenji: "Loving each other."
Morofushi Sora'aki: "Let's fight the enemy together."
"...It's really enviable that you two have such a good relationship..." The classmate looked at Matsuda Jinpei, who was stuck between the two of them, with a complicated expression: "But Matsuda looks like he's about to faint from the heat!! You two should let go!!"
"And you two are so hot that you're starting to talk nonsense!"
Ultimately, Hagiwara Kenji, whose long-term adherence to long hair resulted in higher heat resistance, emerged victorious.
As for Morofushi Sora'aki?
Morofushi Sora'aki: "As long as we beat Jinpei-chan, that's enough."
"...I can't tell at all whether you like Matsuda or hate him."
"I like him, but Jinpei-chan is a nuisance." said Morofushi Sora'aki.
"Hmm, looks like you really like it." The classmate took a bite of his popsicle. "The way you address him already gives it away!"
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"Oh, what's that term again? Love-hate relationship?"
"Aren't they clearly a pair of bickering lovers?"
"I don't think Matsuda himself felt happy at all; he just felt like they were enemies."
At that moment, a voice suddenly appeared behind them, startling them: "Is that the Vengeful Spirit?"
Having already showered and changed his clothes, Matsuda Jinpei tugged at his collar. He was wearing a yukata with the hotel's name on it, just like the other students present. Then he sat down cross-legged and said, "Popsicle? Where did you buy it? Give me one."
"It's the teacher's treat!" A student randomly pulled a popsicle from the bag and tossed it over: "Here you go!"
Matsuda Jinpei caught the popsicle, unwrapped it, and took a bite right away.
The school arranged for a hotel room with about 8 to 10 people per room. The two groups were put in the same room according to the number of people. Since the Hagiwara group only had 3 people, the group that shared a room with them was the largest group of 6 people.
They'd already played games like pillow fights the past two days, so today they weren't gathered together as enthusiastically as before. They were already familiar with the routine, and students this age often like to be a little rebellious. Before the teacher told them to go to bed, the other group finished showering, said goodbye to Hagiwara Kenji, and went to play in another room.
"...So, are you two interested in finding someone else to play with?" Hagiwara Kenji blinked.
"You're the one who wants to go out, aren't you?" Matsuda Jinpei finished his popsicle in a few bites. "Who are you meeting up with this time?"
"...Don't make it sound like I've been with them the whole time!"
Isn't that so?
"..." Hagiwara Kenji was speechless for a moment.
After the brief conversation, only the three of them remained in the room. Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji exchanged a glance. As if signaling a message, Hagiwara Kenji spoke first.
"Right, Sora'aki-chan."
"Hmm?" Morofushi Sora'aki was a little reluctant to part with the electric fan in front of him, but still turned his head slightly to look at them.
"You said you have an older brother," Hagiwara Kenji asked curiously, "and I also remember you saying your brother is a policeman—are all your brothers policemen?"
Morofushi Sora'aki nodded.
"Do you have, um, brothers around your age?" Hagiwara Kenji asked curiously.
Morofushi Sora'aki took a bite of his popsicle and answered honestly, "No."
"What about cousins or the like?"
"...No one my age." Morofushi Sora'aki looked at his two friends strangely: "Why are you suddenly asking this?"
Stunned by Morofushi Sora'aki's remark, Hagiwara Kenji was momentarily at a loss for words.
Matsuda Jinpei couldn't stand it anymore. He realized that when talking to Morofushi Sora'aki, one couldn't be tactful. Once you beat around the bush, the other person wouldn't be able to get the real meaning and would only understand it literally.
—Nozaki Umetarou from the next world did this very well.
"Hagi and I met someone who looks a lot like you today, and we even have the same last name—Hi-...Hiromitsu? Something like that, but I don't know exactly which syllables it is."
Morofushi Sora'aki paused for a moment as he bit into his popsicle, but his expression remained unchanged. Or rather, something did change, but this time, even Hagiwara Kenji couldn't detect it.
"Oh." Morofushi Sora'aki tossed the popsicle stick in his hand into the trash can. Because he had just showered, a few strands of his hair were still plastered to his face. His upturned cat-like eyes were calm and indifferent, seemingly no different from his usual demeanor. He asked, "And then?"
"...No, it's nothing." Matsuda Jinpei touched his nose. "Aren't you curious? About having someone who looks a lot like you?"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "..."
Morofushi Sora'aki sat back down in front of the electric fan. The cool breeze blew his bangs aside. Morofushi Sora'aki stared at the spinning blades, not answering the question immediately.
He just suddenly remembered something that happened a year ago.
At that time, Hiromitsu hadn't graduated yet; he had only just promised his mother he would go to high school. Because he heard his brother mention names from the same cohort over the phone, and because he and two of his friends were in the same situation, he went to the police academy out of curiosity.
Morofushi Sora'aki rarely does things that seem impulsive, but he did it anyway at the time.
Humans seem to always do things that they can't understand afterward because of momentary emotional impulses.
Then, he saw his brother, and also his brother's contemporaries.
He looks very similar to Matsuda and Hagiwara, and he can easily tell that they are the adults they have become, but they are his older brother's close friends from the same period.
Because those two people looked at him with a mixture of unfamiliarity and curiosity. Morofushi Sora'aki stopped his initial intention to approach, but then, somewhat unwilling to give up, he introduced himself again. The result was obvious.
That's my brother's friend, not his.
The world is not a game. The people in each world are new individuals, even if they look exactly alike and have the same experiences. Morofushi Hiromitsu in this world is not his brother, and Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji in his world are not his friends.
So there's no need to be curious, because the outcome is already predetermined.
"I'm not curious." said Morofushi Sora'aki.
"…Ah, I see. Then never mind." Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei both gave up on asking further questions.
"And my friends are Matsuda and Hagiwara." Morofushi Sora'aki emphasized again, "I came here only because of you."
At that moment, the students who had gone out returned. As soon as they came in, one of them asked in surprise, "Hey? Why are your faces so red, Hagiwara and Matsuda?"