Chapter 99: The main text is finished.
[six]
Morofushi Sora'aki held the water glass in his hands, looked at Amuro Tooru, then at his brother, as if he had realized something, and nodded and greeted him again, "Nice to meet you, Rei-nee."
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "...?"
Morofushi Hiromitsu's pupils dilated in shock: "Eh? So Zero is a girl?!"
Morofushi Hiromitsu, who habitually believed his younger brother's words, was shocked.
Amuro Tooru: "Huh??"
Amuro Tooru felt that the dream was becoming increasingly strange and nonsensical.
After the three parties sat down and had a proper discussion, Morofushi Hiromitsu breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great, Zero is a boy."
Amuro Tooru: "...Is that the important point?"
Morofushi Sora'aki also sighed: "It's not Rei-nee."
Amuro Tooru: "...Why do you seem so disappointed?!"
Amuro Tooru initially treated it all as a lucid dream—after all, he knew that in reality he would never see these people.
But even if we interpret all of this as a dream... is his dream really that strange?! And why do you all seem to be accepting it faster than he, the one dreaming?!
...Although, Amuro Tooru's intuition told him that what he was seeing might not be a dream.
Morofushi Hiromitsu said, "It's so late now, Sora'aki should go to sleep."
"It's okay, I'm not sleepy." Morofushi Sora'aki, mimicking a new anime he'd recently seen in another world, said quite naturally in a childlike tone, "Sora'aki is so cool right now, and it's rare to see Rei-nii make a joke, how could I possibly fall asleep?"
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "..."
Amuro Tooru: "...??"
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "I can understand, but Sora'aki, you're getting more and more blunt."
Amuro Tooru suddenly turned around to look at his (other world's) childhood friend: Hiro, you've changed!!
Morofushi Sora'aki even stated, "I can provide a cell phone containing Rei-nii's and Touko-neechan's embarrassing past."
Amuro Tooru hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
Mirofushi Sora'aki continued, "And there's also the dark history of Akai Shuuichi and Akai Shuu."
Amuro Tooru was extremely decisive: "I want to see!"
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "...So you hate Akai just as much in another world too."
Morofushi Hiromitsu thought for a moment, then said, "I don't know why, but a while ago, Shiho suddenly started resisting Akai appearing at her house..."
Morofushi Sora'aki knew the reason and raised his hand to answer, "I showed her the photos of Akai flirting with her sister."
Morofushi Hiromitsu: It really is you, Sora'aki?!
Amuro Tooru: ...This world seems more interesting than he imagined.
Amuro Tooru asked hesitantly, "Shiho? You mean Elena-sensei's children? What's their relationship with Akai?"
Morofushi Hiromitsu asked, somewhat puzzled, "Huh? Zero, didn't you know they're cousins?"
Amuro Tooru: "..."
Amuro Tooru: "..."
Amuro Tooru scoffed coldly, "Damn FBI, they don't even spare their own cousin."
Morofushi Hiromitsu tilted his head innocently. Seeing his brother's action, Morofushi Sora'aki also tilted his head back.
Looking at the two similar faces in front of him, Amuro Tooru's pent-up frustration suddenly vanished by more than half.
Having already somewhat guessed the answer, Amuro softened his expression: "Hiro, could you please tell me more?"
Morofushi Hiromitsu had no reason to refuse: "Of course."
Looking at the current atmosphere, Morofushi Sora'aki considered the original plot of the other world for a moment, and after a two-second silence, placed his phone, which he had turned on, on the table.
"The password is the birthday." After saying that, Morofushi Sora'aki went upstairs.
[seven]
Morofushi Hiromitsu subconsciously entered his own birthday, only to realize belatedly that Sora'aki was referring to his own birthday. Just as he was about to change it, he discovered that the phone had been unlocked.
Morofushi Hiromitsu stared at the beast-eared Matsuda inside and fell into an eerie silence.
As if realizing something, he tried unlocking it again with Sora'aki's birthday, which revealed a world of high school students playing around with their best friends. Morofushi Hiromitsu couldn't help but smile slightly, so he tried using Taka'aki's birthday—and then, seeing the girls cuddling and the tiny Matsuda and Hagiwara, he was immediately shocked: "Hagiwara and Matsuda have a child?!"
Amuro Tooru, who was initially puzzled by Morofushi Hiromitsu's expression, thought: "?!?!"
[eight]
While they were intimately watching each other's embarrassing pasts, Furuya Rei was having a hard time.
He lured the little detective away, and then checked the information of the owners of those empty phone numbers online.
Hiro might be a bit inconvenient, since he's a member of the Public Security Bureau, but it shouldn't be that difficult to find Matsuda and Hagiwara from the Explosive-Disposal Unit.
Then Furuya Rei saw on his computer screen the news of the bombing seven years ago—seven years ago in this world—and the Ferris wheel bombing three years ago.
Furuya Rei felt that it was probably because he hadn't been sleeping well lately and had been staying up all night quite a bit, which made his heart a little unable to take it now.
He took a deep breath and checked the situation of another classmate. This time it was even more outrageous: the squal leader had died in a car accident.
After a long silence, Furuya Rei began investigating the situation of another person—the most important person.
It might be difficult to investigate now, but the past can be traced. Furuya Rei knows Morofushi Hiromitsu's past home address and family situation, so it wouldn't be difficult to investigate... Hiro, what happened to your parents?!
What kind of hellish world is this?!
Furuya Rei investigated everyone he remembered. He was grateful that the phone and computer belonged to the same person, and also grateful for his own vigilance. As a result, he was able to guess the password set by the original owner of the computer.
Realizing from clues on his computer that he was doing something dangerous in this world, Furuya Rei carefully avoided leaving any trace and began to pay attention to information about his relatives and friends.
Miyano Clinic had long since closed, and Elena-sensei's whereabouts were unknown, so naturally, the situation of Akemi and the others was also unknown. Akai Shuuichi was dead—Furuya Rei mourned for him for a few seconds.
Hiro's parents died when he was young, and Sora'aki was never even born. Matsuda's father was wrongly arrested—this doesn't exist in their world. The Hagiwara family also seems to have gone bankrupt, but this also doesn't happen in their world.
After reading all this information, Furuya Rei's expression became somewhat blank. He felt as if all his connections in this world... had vanished.
His childhood friend, classmate, and confidante, Elena-sensei, whom he considers a mother figure, there is also as Sora'aki, who often teases him but is essentially a good kid. Even Akai Shuuichi, who always annoyed him, is...
Furuya Rei sat in front of the computer, covering his face with his hands: "...What on earth is going on with this world...?"
[nine]
Amuro Tooru and Morofushi Hiromitsu finished looking through the pile of photos on Morofushi Sora'aki's phone that could be directly called "Dark History". There were quite a few of their own photos in them, but compared to the Good Friends World, who were the same age as Morofushi Sora'aki... the number was obviously incomparable.
Morofushi Hiromitsu chuckled and said, "Sora'aki has hypermnesia, so he doesn't really need a camera to record things. His habit of taking photos was influenced by us."
Amuro Tooru: "...Although I've only known him for less than a day, I have a feeling that he wants to leave evidence to play a prank."
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "Haha, how could that be? Sora'aki is such a good boy."
Amuro Tooru: "..."
Amuro Tooru recalled the phrase "Rei-nee" and nodded with difficulty in agreement: "Yeah, he's very well-behaved."
Morofushi Hiromitsu was satisfied.
[ten]
Joyful times are always so fleeting, and Amuro Tooru knew very well that he couldn't stay in this world where there were almost no regrets. Even if it wasn't an illusion, but real, it was still a beautiful dream that he could no longer touch.
However, Amuro Tooru is not regretful about this: "I am already very satisfied that there is such a world where you can all be happy."
At least, there is a world where there are no regrets.
Looking at Amuro Tooru's gentle eyes, Morofushi Hiromitsu couldn't keep his smile. He didn't know much about the other world, and even if he asked Sora'aki, Sora'aki would give him an answer.
However, Morofushi Hiromitsu only ever asked about the pleasant parts, and almost never asked about the parts that would make Sora'aki unhappy.
Even though he vaguely sensed something within the Good Friends World, Morofushi Hiromitsu never asked them about it.
"Zero…"
"You don't need to make that face, Hiro." Amuro Tooru's eyes crinkled. "My gut tells me I'm going back soon."
"I'm so happy to see you again, to touch you like this." Amuro Tooru opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed back the words "See you again sometime."
He smiled and said, "Then, I'll be going."
But Morofushi Hiromitsu spoke up, saying earnestly, "Well, see you next time, Zero."
Amuro Tooru was taken aback, his smile becoming exceptionally gentle. He repeated, "Okay, see you next time."
[eleven]
After Amuro Tooru and Furuya Rei were switched back, Morofushi Hiromitsu wanted to explain to the bewildered Furuya Rei, but Furuya Rei hugged him tightly: "Thank goodness... Hiro, you're still here..."
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "..."
Morofushi Hiromitsu patted Furuya Rei's back helplessly: "Yeah, I'm here, Zero."
[twelve]
So when Morofushi Sora'aki came downstairs yawning, he saw two grown men embracing in the living room. Morofushi Sora'aki paused for a moment, then stared at Furuya Rei for a while, as if trying to figure something out.
Then, after Furuya Rei visibly withdrew his hand, he suddenly realized and said, "Welcome back, Rei-nii."
[thirteen]
This world is a beautiful world made up of wishes, where there are no regrets and everyone can fulfill their wishes.
There are no dramatic plots or intrigues, only ordinary daily life. The absence of regrets does not mean the loss of enthusiasm and passion for life.
"However, I think my life is quite exciting," said Morofushi Sora'aki.
Morofushi Hiromitsu looked at him: "Hmm? What are you talking about?"
"I'm just looking forward to what kind of world I'll go to next." said Morofushi Sora'aki, resting his chin on his hand. "I want to be an older brother."
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "...Ah, maybe such a world really exists."
"You always have to have dreams, Sora'aki." he said.
The journey ahead is full of surprises, but Morofushi Sora'aki's daily life continues.
The main text is finished.