Vol 1 Chapter 8 (1/2)
Future
Just as ere seeing off the police cruiser carrying Touko-san, Sousei-san said without a trace of tiot”
When I asked, he had forgotten that he had left Tohru Momochi, known as Futodama, in a clump of bushesThat was bad, of course, and so we hurried toward the overgrown bushes, rerounds of Iwato Apartments
Tohru Moed, and tied hand and foot, but he had regained consciousness, and e caroaning
We freed Futodama fro his age “D-Don’t think you’ll get aith this!” The first words out of his mouth were quite abusive
“My papa and n company!They’re really iets the death penalty!”
He was yelling hysterically, but Futodama’s shrill voice, which had not yet broken, only sounded toto be bought a toy
“bastard!Where’s our thank you for saving you?”
Sousei-san stor hi him
“Sousei-san!Calm down!”
Flustered, I spread both arms and forced my way between them
It was not entirely for Futodama’s sakeRather, it was somewhat for Touko-san’s sake, but it was a fact that we had risked our lives to protect the boyIn particular, Sousei-san’s body had been da the boy, but he received only abuse in returnIt was not unreasonable for hied
“I-I don’t knohat you’re talking about!Why should I thank you?Aren’t you police?It’s the police’s job to protect regular people!I didn’t do anything wrong but soence!I should be saying you’re useless!I’onna write all about how the police messed up and bash you on the Internet!”
Even though Futodah in his tone
“If you’re my enemy on the Internet!No one can stand up to me, not even the police or politicians!”
He took pride in his influence on the InternetHis gaze was rude and scornful of others and his eyes corruptHis sar I could not think of it as that of a child
“Huh?You’re saying you didn’t do anything wrong!?bastard!Are you serious!?A lot of people died ‘cause of you ‘Five Togakushi+ Judges’!”
“T-That’s not true!It’s not my fault!All I did was post on the Internet!It’s not like I really shot or stabbed them!”
“I can’t take this any out of my mouth, then I’ll have to teach you with my fists!”
“Wait, Sousei-san!”
“Move!Don’t stop et it unless he suffers from it!”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I think so too”
“Huh?”
Sousei-san raised his voice in confusion and stopped ree
In the next moment, a dry sound resounded up into the blue skyJust then, I had struck the boy with my open palm
“Huh?”
The boy drew back, wearing an expression that said he did not understand why he had been hit
“It hurt, doesn’t it?It hurt when I hit you?That is ‘pain’”
I grasped the boy’s shoulders and stared into his eyes
“Even if it is not with violence, but ordsEven if those words are on the InternetIf they experience soeted by your words feel pain, there is no difference between their bodies or their hearts”
Without exceptionPeople hurt others without knowingThere did not exist a single person who had not hurt another in their whole life, from when they were born until nowUnless they had no contact with others, people could not live without hurting other people
In that case, at the very least, one should at least carry in their heart the pain of having hurt anotherAnd then they should work toward the ideal of never wanting to hurt anyone again, even if it was ile imposed upon us humans
“Don’t forget the pain in your cheek that you’re feeling nowYou et that the slander you carelessly posted hurt someone who really exists, somewhere on the other side of the screen”
That was all I told hio” Accompanied by Sousei-san, I left behind Futodama and departed that place
The boy behind me clutched his cheek where he had been struck, still dumbfounded
“That surprised ainst that brat, Naoto!”
After we entrusted Futodama’s care to a nearby policeman, Sousei-san slapped me heartily on the shoulderIt hurt
“Was it that unexpected?”
“Guess it was, now that you onna be good for that bratAnd I’ht!”
“That’s rightI did think I did it for his sakeI don’t knoell he’ll take the lesson to heartHowever, if he re the villain”
I smiled at Sousei-san
“And also, wouldn’t it be easier on hi a woman like me hit him rather than you, Sousei-san?”
“Hmph!You’re too soft!”
Sousei-san raised his voice and laughedThen after laughing for a while, he asked me
“By the hy did you tell me to leave ‘purple’ back then on the roof?”
When I looked up at hi his chin with his fingertips as if in puzzlement
“With , the two left, blue and purple, are usually called ‘ao’ and ‘ elseThat ‘ao’ is like ToukoShe’s Touko Aoi, right?So I felt like cutting the blue one rongBut in the end, your judght, NaotoWhy’s that?”
[poor localization effectiveness ahoywhen they were talking about the wires, they always used katakana to write out the English words, so phonetically “blue” and “purple”Sousei brings up the japanese equivalent terms, “ao” (blue) and “murasaki” (purple)then he mentions that the blue “ao” (青) can be written another way (蒼) that “ao” is the one used in Touko’s surname, Aoi (蒼井)]
“To tell the truth, I was also worried about that just beforeI believed Kyouhei Hioka was the one who set the bombHe must have been the one who set up the dummy wiresKyouhei Hioka loved Touko-san, so it was hard to believe that he would set the bo the blue that reminded him of her”
“Right?”
“But just before the tiht by the pendant Touko-san wears around her neckThat hat convinced meBy the way, Sousei-san, do you remember what color Touko-san’s pendant is?”
“Ah, right!It’s purple!”
Sousei-san hit his palet it!” Amethyst was the February birthstoneAnd needless to say, amethysts were purple
“No, butIsn’t that not really a good reason?It’s not a solid reason just ‘cause the pendant’s purpleBack then, don’t you think I would’ve hesitated to cut the wire if you told ic?”
Without thinking, I smiled bitterlyIt was true that even I would have hesitated if that was my only reason
“Then I have a question for youWhat color do you get if you mix red and blue?”
“Huh?It’s definitely purple, right?Even kids know that stuff”
“That’s rightPurpleAnd just as you said before, Sousei-san, purple is commonly known as ‘et fro ‘ao’ and ‘aka’And ‘ao’ is also written as the ‘ao’ in AoiIn addition, ‘aka’ is – also written as ‘hiiro’You understand now, don’t you–”
“–Purple is the color you get when you combine Touko Aoi’s blue and Kyouhei Hioka’s red”
[more color play “aka” (赤) means “red”, also written as “hiiro” (緋色), which is a scarlet shadeBroken down, the first kanji is read “aka” or “hi”, and the second is si that same “hi”]
“The color purple was an eether alwaysThere was no way he would sever their color”
Sousei-san nodded seriously “So that’s it”
“Sousei-sanThank you for trusting me back then”
I faced Sousei-san and bowed my head
“You asked , but at the crucial moment on the roof, you inwardly questioned whether we should really leave purpleEven so, you followed my directions”
It was the criticalso without hesitation was easier said than doneMoreover, the one he was placing his trust in was me, who had previously betrayed him
When I spoke, Sousei-san faced hterAnd then he spoke strongly
“Because it’s i relationshi+p with your partner!”
“I see”
Needless to say, I laughed
“Theht or so at least once”