Chapter 151 Trust
“Grandpa Sato!”
Looking at the familiar old man who slowly walked towards her, Kazumi sat up and greeted Hamano Tsukasa.
But when she saw the blond young man following behind the old man, a surging negative emotion suddenly emerged from the bottom of her heart, and her originally peaceful expression instantly became ferocious.
“What’s wrong?”
Hamano Tsukasa quickly walked up and gently supported Kazumi, who had started to tremble.
The young girl’s thin arms tightly gripped the bedsheet, and dark blue blood vessels slightly bulged on her fair, tender forearms, as if she were using all her strength to fight against something.
“Shinichi…”
The sudden negative emotion was too powerful. Perhaps it was because her death aura had completely dissipated due to the treatment, her resistance to the influence of the black fog had dropped to the lowest level.
Without the suppression of Orio Mei’s healing energy, the black fog that had been hidden within Kazumi erupted the moment she saw Sato Shinichi. Intense emotions directly rushed into her mind, attempting to control her body.
If the young girl were not struggling fiercely against that will within her body, she would have likely rushed towards Sato Shinichi by now.
“Shinichi, stay away!”
Hamano Tsukasa, who had seen countless situations, instantly understood the meaning behind the young girl’s struggling words. Connecting with what Orio Mei had told him earlier, he waved his hand and used his ability to push open the door, gesturing for Sato Shinichi, who was standing aside, to stay away from Kazumi.
“Okay…”
Sato Shinichi’s eyes flickered with immense worry, but he recalled the palm of his hand that the young girl had slapped away earlier, and the bone-chilling coldness in her eyes that he had never seen before. In the end, he nodded with difficulty and retreated to the chair by the door.
“Hoo— Hoo— Hoo—”
The young girl breathed heavily, trying to alleviate the uncontrollable emotions in her heart. A faint current flowed through Kazumi’s body, helping her to channel the emotions within.
After a few deep breaths, Kazumi finally drove out the restless hatred and evil thoughts from her heart, at least so that she wouldn’t have thoughts of losing control of her body.
“Little Kazumi, what’s wrong? Is it because of what happened before?”
Hamano Tsukasa took a glass of water from the side and handed it over, asking with a frown.
Kazumi’s current condition was a bit beyond Hamano Tsukasa’s expectations. Orio Mei had told her that her body was fine, and this intelligent girl had even seen through the opponent’s scheme. In that case, she shouldn’t have reacted like the other victims.
But now, the young girl’s condition was exactly like that of victims who saw their loved ones, and even more intense than others.
“Thank you, Grandpa Sato. I… I don’t know. I just felt a very bad emotion surge up.”
Kazumi propped herself up. Her previously sickly cheeks turned even paler, and her thin and frail appearance made one feel immense pity. She reached out to take the cup of water handed to her by Hamano Tsukasa, took a gentle sip, and replied.
“Post-traumatic stress disorder? Or is it a mental influence? And to an extent that even Mei couldn’t discover…”
Looking at the young girl’s extremely weak appearance, Hamano Tsukasa’s mind was constantly pondering the possibilities. If it wasn’t a psychological reaction after being injured, then what was the purpose of using such mental suggestion abilities on an ordinary student like Kazumi? Did the other survivors also have such suggestions? Was it a real conspiracy? Or just a whim driven by evil intent?
This was probably one of the points that heroes like Hamano Tsukasa found most troublesome. For these lunatics who never followed logic or rules, it was very difficult to think about their motives with normal logic.
“Is it… only about that brat? But didn’t you see that the person back then wasn’t him?”
Hamano Tsukasa mentioned Sato Shinichi’s actions again, which made Kazumi’s brows furrow. However, perhaps because he used a nickname, or perhaps because Kazumi, having experienced it once, had developed resistance to the erosion of evil thoughts, her body didn’t react as strongly this time. She frowned and suppressed the disgusting urge in her body, replying.
“I… I don’t know, but every time I see Shinichi, the scene from back then appears in my mind.”
“I know in my heart that the person wasn’t real, but my body still reacts involuntarily…”
The young girl’s tone was still as cold and indifferent as usual, but the sorrow within her words was conveyed to Sato Shinichi by the door without any reservation. His tightly clenched fists clenched even tighter.
The scene of the young girl, battered and almost lifeless, reappeared before Sato Shinichi’s eyes. Teacher Hamano had told him that he possessed the powerful ability to change this era. But why, now, was he unable to protect the girl he loved the most?
If he hadn’t spent so much time rescuing other classmates back then, perhaps Kazumi wouldn’t have been so severely injured.
And seeing that scene, could he really have abandoned the opportunity to rescue others and chosen to rescue Kazumi at all costs?
Sato Shinichi didn’t know what he would choose. Perhaps, knowing that Kazumi would be so severely injured, he might change his mind. But it couldn’t be denied that Sato Shinichi’s initial decision was to prioritize helping those classmates who needed help.
“In that case, Little Kazumi, you should avoid contact with him for a while. We’ll think of a solution…”
Hamano Tsukasa’s low voice came from afar, but it was like a basin of cold water poured directly onto Sato Shinichi’s head, causing his tightly clenched fists to fall.
That’s right. How could he have the right to stay by the girl’s side when he couldn’t even save her at the moment of danger?
For the past few days, Sato Shinichi had been dreaming every night of the girl’s broken body on the hospital bed, covered in various instruments. And he was indirectly responsible for that outcome. He, who possessed the power to save others, was called a hero.
This was probably the best outcome. The girl had successfully recovered under Aunt Orio’s ability, and he, who had not fulfilled his role as a boyfriend, could no longer stand by her side.
“Then, Grandpa Sato, can I see him one more time?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’ve adapted a little. A few words should be fine.”
“Alright, Shinichi, come here. Little Kazumi has something to say to you!”
…
Sato Shinichi didn’t know how he walked in from the door. The young girl on the hospital bed still had that heart-wrenchingly weak appearance, but her calm eyes gradually sharpened as she saw him.
Perhaps it would be some painful and vicious curses, scolding herself, her boyfriend, who couldn’t rush to save her at the time of danger, or coldly demanding to break up with him, firing him as an incompetent boyfriend.
Although Sato Shinichi was well aware that all of this was the work of the enemy who could manipulate people’s emotions, he still couldn’t accept himself for not protecting Kazumi despite having the power.
People at different levels thought differently. If he were an ordinary person, he might condemn the enemy’s evil power that toyed with people’s emotions, but as a hero, he would believe that it was all because he wasn’t by the girl’s side at the crucial moment.
Perhaps he, with such power and belief, was not suited to be by the girl’s side…
He walked towards the hospital bed with heavy steps, and as he slowly approached, the expression on the young girl’s face kept changing.
From the initial calmness like water to the extreme sharpness afterwards, and finally to the endlessly swirling emotions contained within her eyes. Sato Shinichi had never seen Kazumi look so serious. When he was with her, she always seemed distant and indifferent, and only recently had she begun to soften like a young girl.
His initially worried heart finally calmed down when he reached the girl’s side. Perhaps when people truly face the end, they wouldn’t be as flustered as they imagined.
Looking at the girl in front of him, biting her lip as if enduring something, Sato Shinichi finally seemed to have made a decision. He stood up straight, tilting his head slightly forward.
“I’m sorry.”
Knowing that the young girl couldn’t stay in contact with him for too long, Sato Shinichi didn’t intend to say much. After sincerely apologizing to Kazumi, the young man raised his head, looked at Kazumi in front of him, and waited for the final outcome of the story he had envisioned.
He closed his eyes and waited for a long time, but instead of the expected answer, he felt a familiar soft touch on the back of his hand.
He opened his eyes in disbelief and saw a pale, familiar small hand with many scars tightly gripping his palm.
The young girl sat by the bed, trembling uncontrollably, as if suppressing something, but her hand, wearing a hospital gown and covered in scars, was firmly held in his hand.
“Kazumi, you, why…”
He subconsciously clasped Kazumi’s palm. The cold and soft touch made Sato Shinichi’s heart sink again. Even the slightest contact allowed him to perceive the nearly dissipated life force within her body. He looked at the extremely weak girl in front of him with heartache.
The young girl sat by the bed, her slender body trembling slightly, her facial expression constantly changing, as if enduring something, but her small arms firmly grasped the young man in front of her, as if holding onto something most important.
The corners of her mouth pulled up slightly, finally forming an ugly smile. Her jet-black eyes flickered with exceptionally bright light. Her cold words were discontinuous, but her tone was exceptionally gentle.
“Because… I will always believe… that you wouldn’t do such a thing, Shinichi!”
(PS: Ultimate writer’s block, I’m about to die. I finished this chapter yesterday and deleted everything. I started writing again this afternoon and have no idea what I’m writing anymore. My head hurts.)
