Chapter 30: Don't look at me at times like this.
Morofushi Hiromitsu is a person who rarely acts impulsively—at least in the eyes of most people who know both him and Furuya Rei, Furuya Rei is always more likely to get angry and take action, while Morofushi Hiromitsu's role is usually to appease his friend.
However, apart from his friends from elementary school, few people know that Furuya Rei's attitude stems from the bullying that had been present in his life before he grew up.
Because of his different skin and hair color, Furuya Rei was ostracized by his peers from a young age.
Even if one doesn't mean to think he's different from ordinary people, in that kind of environment, it would be difficult for anyone to break through the barrier of "they might be bullied together" and take the initiative to become friends with Furuya Rei.
At this time, Morofushi Hiromitsu, who had developed aphasia due to certain circumstances, transferred to the school. Because he was unable to communicate directly with his classmates, and because the class already had its own social groups, Morofushi Hiromitsu was unable to integrate into them at all.
Naturally, Morofushi Hiromitsu would also become the one who was ostracized and ignored, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Under these circumstances, Furuya Rei took the initiative to reach out to Morofushi Hiromitsu, which naturally gave Furuya Rei a protective instinct towards Morofushi Hiromitsu.
This is also why he is wary of Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei.
Most of the time, it's Furuya Rei who takes action against outsiders. Morofushi Hiromitsu, who looks gentle and soft-spoken, seems to be someone who is completely immune to fighting.
Furuya Rei initially thought so too—until one day, when Morofushi Hiromitsu came to school covered in injuries, Furuya Rei was just starting to get nervous when he noticed the reaction of the bully he often bullied. The bully's injuries weren't as numerous as Morofushi's, yet he still shuddered when he looked at Morofushi.
It was only later that Furuya Rei realized that his new friend was not as weak as he appeared.
Morofushi Hiromitsu is indeed gentle; most of the time, he wears a kind smile. During his conversation with Hagiwara Kenji just now, at first glance, their smiles were even somewhat similar.
However, they are different in essence. Hagiwara Kenji is good at communicating with anyone, has an outgoing and cheerful personality, and anyone who talks to him will feel comfortable.
While Morofushi Hiromitsu would agree and respond accordingly, one could sense that there was still a barrier between them, and the other party was merely maintaining a polite conversation.
Because of the changes in his family when he was young, Morofushi Hiromitsu rarely experiences strong emotional fluctuations due to anything other than matters related to his family.
Furuya Rei was one, and now... this classmate who is also a Morofushi is another.
If he didn't say something immediately, he felt that the connection between him and this person would be severed at this moment, as if they were two intersecting lines that would only drift further and further apart after this brief intersection. Morofushi Hiromitsu immediately abandoned any calm thinking and let his body instinctively grab the wrist of Morofushi Sora'aki, who was about to leave as he passed by.
His action clearly startled everyone else present, and even Morofushi Hiromitsu was taken aback by his own reaction.
But since you've already done it, don't regret it—if you have to regret it, wait until today is over.
Morofushi Hiromitsu adopted a completely different attitude from when he faced Hagiwara Kenji and the others. His eyes and expression showed no distance or aloofness, and he even acted somewhat like the real older brother in Morofushi Sor'a'aki's memories: "Your name is Sora'aki... right? May I call you that?"
"Because I also share the surname Morofushi, it feels strange to call you Morofushi." Morofushi Hiromitsu wore a genuinely gentle smile. "Can we talk? It won't take up too much of your time."
Morofushi Sora'aki was forced to stop. He looked at his wrist, which was being grabbed—Morofushi Hiromitsu at this age was very different from his older brother, making it easier for Morofushi Sora'aki to distinguish the two.
Morofushi Sora'aki pursed his lips, noticing the pleading look on Morofushi Hiromitsu's face, but still chose to break free from Morofushi Hiromitsu with a barely forceful movement. An uncontrollable sense of disappointment immediately appeared on Morofushi Hiromitsu's face.
Morofushi Sora'aki: "..."
Morofushi Sora'aki hid behind Hagiwara Kenji, grabbing his clothes around his waist with both hands, but did not continue to walk away.
"Huh?" Hagiwara Kenji's expression froze for a moment. He turned around and asked in confusion, "Sora'aki-chan...?"
Morofushi Sora'aki gave him a look, and Hagiwara Kenji received it.
Hagiwara Kenji: ...But at least tell me what attitude you want me to take now!! Rejection or agreement?!
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei turned to the three girls and said, "I'll take you back first. It looks like we'll be chatting for a while longer."
Three girls: To be honest, we really wanted to stay and watch the drama unfold.
However, none of the three girls, who were all good kids at heart, refused Matsuda Jinpei. Realizing the strange atmosphere, they gave Hagiwara Kenji an encouraging fist bump and followed Matsuda Jinpei out without hesitation.
Hagiwara Kenji: ...Don't go!! And when did you become so gentlemanly?! Jinpei-chan, Jinpei-chan—come save me!!
Matsuda Jinpei also gave Hagiwara Kenji a wink.
Hagiwara Kenji: So what's with that "good luck to you" look on your face, you jerk?!
Morofushi Sora'aki tugged at Hagiwara Kenji's clothes. Hagiwara Kenji took a deep breath, looked away, and tentatively asked, "Um... shall we sit down and talk?"
Morofushi Hiromitsu immediately smiled warmly: "Of course."
Hagiwara Kenji: Why, I feel like I sense a subtle murderous aura? It must be my imagination, right? It's definitely just my imagination!
Hagiwara Kenji and Morofushi Sora'aki have known each other for many years. Although they haven't known each other as long as Matsuda Jinpei, their understanding of each other is no less than that of Matsuda Jinpei.
Of course, the level of understanding here must ignore the former's family situation, a point that Morofushi Sora'aki rarely mentions.
Speaking solely of personality, besides Morofushi Sora'aki's family and Matsuda Jinpei, Hagiwara Kenji claims to be the one who understands Morofushi Sora'aki best in the world.
So last night, Hagiwara Kenji fully received the emotions expressed by Morofushi Sora'aki.
Unlike most people who rely on intuition and are too lazy to think about these things, Hagiwara Kenji actually took a serious look at Morofushi Sora'aki's emotions.
Morofushi Sora'aki is aloof and tends to ignore those he doesn't care about. It took a lot of effort from Hagiwara Kenji to persuade Morofushi Sora'aki not to treat his classmates like complete strangers.
"At least if the other person initiates a conversation with you, you should respond, okay? Sora'aki-chan." Hagiwara Kenji even raised his index finger to explain when he started school: "If you feel impatient or don't like it, you can find an excuse to leave."
"Of course, making excuses isn't lying—how about this, if you don't want to chat, just say 'Hagiwara is waiting for me,' and I'll definitely go along with it! That way you won't be impolite~"
"But if you don't dislike it, even just nodding is fine. Don't ignore others; that's very impolite!"
—Here, Hagiwara Kenji also dug a trap, because he knew that his friend rarely showed feelings of "dislike." In other words, after he said this, if someone else initiated a conversation with Morofushi Sora'aki, Morofushi Sora'aki would respond, even if it was just a perfunctory response.
Of course, at present this scope is limited to "classmates", and Hagiwara Kenji is working to expand the scope of "classmates" a bit more.
Therefore, my friend's reaction last night was definitely abnormal.
Sora'aki-chan doesn't lie. Even if he changes the subject or doesn't answer, Sora'aki-chan rarely lies—unless he believes he is telling the truth.
But Sora'aki-chan's reaction last night was less about "not being curious" and more about "being extremely concerned."
Unfortunately, Sora'aki-chan himself was unaware of this.
Morofushi Sora'aki was simply forcibly severing the emotions that were generating—Hagiwara Kenji didn't know the specifics either, but this was an extremely rare instance of Morofushi Sora'aki exhibiting strong emotional fluctuations in response to the outside world.
Whether it's good or bad, it's better than just ignoring it, right? Hagiwara Kenji thought to himself, then gave Morofushi Hiromitsu a bright smile: "Sora'aki-chan doesn't like to talk much, so if you have any questions, just ask me, okay? I basically know everything about Sora'aki-chan."
"You two have a really good relationship." Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled as well. "Have you known each other for a long time?"
"It's been a long time! Because we're childhood friends!" Although it can only be considered half a friendship, since I only met Morofushi Sora'aki when I was around ten years old, it can't be said that I've known him "since childhood".
"What a coincidence, Zero and I are also... oh, I forgot to introduce ourselves. His name is Rei, so I call him Zero. How about it, isn't that a cool nickname?"
"That's really cool! It's just like a code name—" Hagiwara Kenji gave a thumbs up and then said, "But we have to regroup soon, so we'd better finish this quickly!"
"Prepare an excuse to leave immediately, so it'll be easier to slip away if the atmosphere gets awkward later," Hagiwara Kenji thought to himself.
"Of course, it won't take up too much of your time." Morofushi Hiromitsu's smile faded slightly. He looked at Morofushi Sora'aki, only to find that Sora'aki's gaze was completely off him, staring blankly at the wall next to him.
Morofushi Hiromitsu paused for a moment. After his impulsive outburst, he didn't know what to say to begin.
He originally wanted to ask who Morofushi Sora'aki's parents were, to inquire about his family situation, and whether he had any relatives living in Nagano. However, after all these questions flashed through his mind, Morofushi Hiromitsu chose a question that seemed very strange at the time.
"I felt an instant connection with you, as if we'd known each other for a long time." Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled and took Morofushi Sora'aki's hand: "Can we be friends, Sora'aki?"
Hagiwara Kenji and Furuya Rei both looked surprised, and Morofushi Sora'aki glanced at him unexpectedly.
It wasn't about asking about family, or about taking away her brother's identity; it was about choosing to become friends.
Should I agree? Morofushi Sora'aki looked blankly at Hagiwara Kenji.
Hagiwara Kenji: ...Don't look at me at a time like this!!