【GaloLio】The way home

※The story of Galo Lio after Lio successfully passed the FDPP test and joined the Burning Rescue (Burning Rescue) one year after the main chapter of "Promare", all members of the fire rescue team appeared.

The sound of the waves and the powerful arms completely surrounded the boy.Being loved and illuminated, the warmth is so reassuring and moving that people are at a loss.

Leo pursed his lips and said word by word: "Gallo Timos, you are like...my light."

"You too. Even without Promea, Leo is a super-shining light in my eyes!"

The flames die, and there is no more armor.

Unburned fine floating dust is suspended in the air, and there is no way to hide it under the light, flickering in the ups and downs.

That is the light that illuminates the floating dust, and it is his salvation and the home of his heart.

1.

The moment Gallo Timos squatted in front of him, Leo Phthia felt his heart almost stop beating.

The sound of the blade piercing the flesh was so dull, the blood splashing in the air actually made a sound, and the color was particularly bright red.

"Gallo—"

The boy's lips opened and closed, and he wanted to call out the boy's name loudly, but his voice seemed to be pinched in the throat, dry to the point of pain, and spread to the chest and lungs.

"Don't hurt him—"

The sound that could not be made turned into action, the boy's pupils dilated due to anger, he suddenly raised his left hand towards the brother-in-law - gestures of creating defensive walls of fire and attacking flames countless times in the past - but reacted in the next 1/4 second Come here, those hands that no longer possess Promea can no longer release the flames, and the dazzling blue-purple sparks will no longer bloom in this world.

His pale fingers and palms only had time to get a few spots of blood that bounced off the blade, and the blunt sound of the tall figure in front of him fell to the ground, followed by the scream of the assailant being hit by the stun gun, and then What was there after that—Leo couldn't hear clearly.

"—"

His mind was blank, and all he could feel was his cold hands. The index finger of his right hand was tightly stuck on the trigger of the gun that had not been pulled, unable to move.

2.

For a brave firefighter like Gallo Timos who could be called reckless, injury is a normal state, and the difference in status usually only lies in the degree of injury.

However, even if he is hailed as a "brave and fearless firefighting hero", Gallo can only be regarded as a strong and ordinary person after all.Being stabbed by a blade without a mecha or protective equipment, the injury must be included in the casualty report and will be widely reported by the media.

The ambulance arrived soon after Gallo fell to the ground. The ambulance personnel familiar with the fire brigade ignored the nod and quickly diagnosed the young man's injury and stopped the bleeding. Then three or four people took the slightly larger wounded Moved onto the stretcher, carried into the ambulance and left in the dust.

During the urban reconstruction process of Promepolis, various security incidents occurred, which obviously brought many opportunities for the ambulance team to practice. The series of operations just now were so professional and fast that other people present had no time to react.

Captain Ignis X quickly contacted the temporary security team to deal with the suspects suspected of arson and wounding, and the others were ordered by Deputy Captain Remy Puguna to return to the headquarters to wait for orders. If there were no other urgent tasks, then Allowed free movement.

Undoubtedly, a group of people quickly boarded their respective cars and headed towards the hospital in unison.

-

Witnessing the ugliness of power and dictatorship depriving innocent lives, witnessing many deaths and partings, personally experiencing the rage and pain as if the soul was torn apart, having these heavy experiences that almost occupy the weight of ordinary people's life, and then in Back to life with the help of important people, and work together with each other to save the huge crisis??

Leo Fortia thought that no matter what happened in the future, he would be able to maintain enough calmness and patience—at the very least, at the very least, it would no longer be difficult to hide his emotional out of control.

However, at the moment when he was waiting for the news in the hospital lobby with other members of the Flame Fire Rescue Team, he only felt anxiety crawling all over his body like ants, stabbing every inch of his skin, making him restless.

The conversations of people in the hospital sounded like amplified noise, and the smell of disinfectant was more pungent than he had imagined, mixed with the sometimes thick and sometimes faint smell of blood—the boy couldn't accurately determine the source of that smell.

The uniforms of the fire brigade are made of special materials, so oil stains and peculiar smells will not stick easily, but Leo feels that the smell of blood is lingering on him.

It’s really ironic when I think about it? It’s the first time I put on this fire brigade uniform with orange as the main color and a bright yellow "3" logo tattooed on the back of the jacket and trouser legs. The apprehension and anticipation they praised only lasted for less than half a day.

When Captain Ignis, who was in charge of communicating with the doctor, walked out from the corridor of the ward, Leo's body trembled reflexively, so much that even he himself was stunned.

Ina walked up to him and patted his forearm to reassure him.The boy was grateful in his heart, but he could only squeeze out a weak smile.

Ignis began to relay the statement of the attending doctor to the members present, saying that Gallo's injury was not serious, and that he would fall down because he had exhausted a lot of physical strength at the fire scene, then he was injured and bleeding, and he just lost consciousness for a short time, and was sent by ambulance On the way to the hospital, he woke up without any signs of concussion; and half an hour ago, the doctor had already transfused blood and performed a small suture operation on him. It is said that the armguard with a certain thickness and elasticity on the young man’s left arm slightly cushioned the injury , in short, as always, the land is rough and fleshy and lucky.

— Fortunately, it is not bad news.

Even so, at the moment when the doctor came out and announced that "the wounded has woken up", Leo still ran towards the ward immediately, with a posture like a swift rabbit, followed by several orange figures, dodging The doctor who was not enough had his glasses crooked.

The movement of a group of people pushing open the door of the ward was not small, but it was not enough to startle Gallo Timos who was sitting on the bed drinking water.

The young man's glaring mohawk hairstyle is still standing upright, and he looks in good spirits, except for a little tiredness under his eyes.Probably because the anesthesia was still active, he raised his hand to greet everyone with a weak gesture: "Hey! The suspect has been caught! Did you handle the scene smoothly?" The voice was as loud as ever, which made almost everyone relax. All at once—except for Leo.

The young man stared at the young man's shoulder. The protective cloth on the strong and powerful left arm had been removed. Serpentine scars.

Leo, who was running at the front, just stood at the door and didn't get any closer. His lips trembled slightly, but he didn't make any sound.

Gallo seemed to have noticed the boy's unusual expression, and was about to speak, but was interrupted by the concerns of other companions: "You idiot, care about your own injury before the scene!" Aina walked away rudely. Coming up, it was a direct palm on the young man's uninjured arm.

"My firefighting spirit is not built!" The injured young man shrugged.

Varys responded to the injured person's question: "Within a few seconds after you fell down, the suspect who was hit by Ina's stun gun was knocked away by me, and has been handed over to the temporary security team."

"That's good!"

Rukia took out a lollipop from her pocket and picked it up: "By the way, I've quietly developed an interesting gadget recently, but I haven't shown it yet. If anyone is interested——"

"Oh——" Gallo's voice became excited, "Don't worry, this injury will heal soon!"

"I did another little trick when I didn't realize it," Ignis stretched out his finger and poked Rukia's head, then turned to Gallo and said, "The fire brigade, you still need a blue bullet like you." It’s complete.” It’s a captain’s style of sympathy.He obviously didn't intend to stay for a long time, and after saying this, he turned and walked towards the door.

Remy glanced knowingly at Leo who was still standing silently by the door, then turned around and snapped his fingers at the others: "Okay, it's time to go back and finish today's work report."

This order brought Leo back to his senses in an instant, and the boy's face was visibly anxious. Before he could speak, Remy reached out and gently pressed his shoulder: "As for Leo--today, please keep an eye on the guy behind you." Come on, don't let him make any noise in the hospital." The boy's tense shoulders relaxed a little.

-

The ward, which was crowded and noisy a minute ago, quickly returned to silence, and finally there were only Gallo and Leo left in the ward.

The young man leaned his body on the pillow, looked at the young man who was still a little far away from him, and asked with a smile, "Leo, why don't you come to my side?"

The boy's clenched fist clenched again.He slowly moved towards the hospital bed, but the young man stretched out his hand and pulled him less than an arm's length away. His head and upper body were directly pressed against the opponent's arm.Before he could react, the perpetrator's scream of "Oh, pain, pain..." came from above.

Leo quickly raised his face, his voice was full of concern and a little sullen: "Your injury—are you an idiot?!"

"Oh, I finally saw it." In front of my eyes was a hearty smiling face that was not clouded by pain, "Hai, Leo."

Leo felt that the negative emotions that had filled his body during the past two hours were instantly removed by that smile, and he didn't know what to say for a while, so he sat up straight beside Gallo and fell silent again.

The young man did not rush, but waited for the young man to speak calmly.

"??it's all my fault."

"why would you say so?"

"If I can pull the trigger of the freezing gun in time...you won't be hurt." The boy's eyes were full of guilt, "Because of the sudden...hesitation, I couldn't fulfill my responsibilities properly, and I failed Everyone's trust."

"Leo... you don't want to hurt that person with a gun, do you?"

The young man who had been caught in the middle of his mind suddenly raised his head, the smile on Jia Luo's face had faded, and the eyes staring at him were serious and serious.He clenched his fist again, his nails poking directly into his palm, as if reminding himself to stay calm.

Gallo was right.

On the first day of official duty, Leo Forthia couldn't pull the trigger of the freezing gun at the person who swung the knife at him.

Those weapons that were once used to imprison himself and his fellow Burners, he had carefully studied their operating mechanism when preparing for the theoretical exam, and he could successfully hit the randomly appearing dummy gun targets during the field test.

However, today's fire scene is a scene he never imagined.

The ex-Burner who deliberately set fire to the department store and attracted the Flame Fire Brigade to attack him with a dagger—every word from the other party was like a spell: "It's because you let go of those flames! I am incapacitated, no longer With the protection of flames, it is no longer special! Destroy such a place! You, a traitor to the Burning One, will also be killed!"

Leo was never afraid to fight, and would not back down from no amount of pain or difficulty.But the series of words seemed to hit his head, directly awakening the memory of his body when he was attacked by the freezing gun in the past. The ice cubes that were melted by the flames would quickly regenerate to fix his limbs, and the ice slag climbed onto his cheeks and hair, icy cold. , paralysis, immobility of muscles, and great pain in the chest that couldn't help anyone...

After the disappearance of Promea, the society's malice towards the Burners has not really diminished. The serious harm activities are still barely suppressed by the official security mechanism, but there are varying degrees of verbal humiliation, slander, malicious physical collisions, and discrimination. And bullying is still pervasive in every corner of society - those who are living fellow citizens who share their fate - including the one who resorted to violence against him.

If he pulled the trigger on the opponent who was once the Burner, it meant that the pain he had hoped for his compatriots would not be suffered again in the past, and it meant that he himself became the one who inflicted the pain—so Leo retreated at that moment.

The young man even vaguely hoped that he would be stabbed by the dagger, at least a new round of pain would distract him from the weakness of retreating - the dagger was aimed at his heart, the form of hatred is so real But sharp - Gallo blocked it for him with his ordinary human body.

"Because I caused him to lose the ability to control the flames...so that person set the fire for revenge and hurt you." The young man stared at the winding scars under Gallo's bandage-wrapped wound, and the old marks were added with new ones. Injury—it was almost like scolding me for my weakness.

"You remember? 'Complete combustion!' But the decision we made together is also Promea's will." Gallo replied simply, but his tone was strong and could not be refuted.

Leo was stunned, and squeezed out a few more words: "...But, I understand that person's feelings." He bit his lips hard: "I have the feeling of loss that I can no longer manipulate the flames. The power to protect companions and create light for children, to turn flames into any form that one can imagine—knife blades, bows and arrows, Detroit armored motorcycles—the sense of omnipotence beyond ordinary people... I don’t have it.”

This is the way the world is.

Also as a "burner", some people will bravely start a new life because they got rid of this identity, and some will suffer from the disappearance of the flame that has accompanied them for a long time. There will be Kanro and Metz who regard revenge for their compatriots as a There are also people who act as targets, and there are people who are willing to sell their own kind in exchange for money, power, and benefits.

Leo had heard while preparing for the FDPP exam that during the whole year that the Parnassos plan was exposed, a considerable part of the missions of the Flame Rescue Team were not to put out the fire, but to respond to the call for help from the original burner.

Those who used to be with the flame, flexible or clumsy to manipulate the flame, regained the physique of ordinary people because of the disappearance of Promea, and then suffered burns of varying degrees. Chefs and workers who made mistakes at work? If Gallo wasn't by his side, even he himself would have almost suffered a similar accident.

Leo understood that sense of gap better than anyone.

He used to be able to hear Promea's burning call so clearly, echoing his longing for "Home! Home! I want to build a home for them! Let them be harmed no more!"

After Promea completely disappeared, he could no longer receive the call from another time and space, and the body surface temperature and sweat gland secretion were bright and sticky to the touch.During the period of staying in the court-designated detention center, he would wake up in the middle of the night sweating, the loss of body water would make his throat thirsty, and he would feel intense burning and pain when he was close to a heat source... Such an experience made Li Ou had a period of self-loathing and boredom.

The teenager's thoughts were chaotic and sad. He lowered his head in frustration, and his eyes fell on the small gap on his left ring finger: "Is there really a difference between me and the person who hurt you? Maybe the difference is that I don't have cause actual harm to others.”

His chest was constricted badly.The face and words of the original burner who was wielding a dagger to hurt people seemed to dig out his incompetent and ugly side again.

"It's not okay to hurt yourself." Gallo reached out and pinched Leo's left hand, rubbing the fingernail gap.

The boy's palm curled up, but he didn't pull it away: "Have you noticed it?"

"Hey, Mr. Leo—we've lived together for so long, no matter how rough our nerves are, we should have discovered it," the young man raised his chin, "and you care a lot, staring at your fingers in a daze from time to time."

When Promea's blue-purple flame passed from his hand little by little, it also took away a small piece of cuticle on his nails.Although there was no pain or discomfort, the gap never grew fully.As if it were a memento left by Promea, a reminder of the difference between the manipulative power he once possessed and the mediocrity and even weakness of today.

Gallo looked at the young man's face covered in haze, and spoke slower than usual: "I have never been a burner, so I can't fully understand your feelings. But when protected by Leo's flames, it's like wearing A sense of security like a super protective cover... I understand it very well."

Leo raised his face, just in time to meet the young man staring at his eyes, the little red in the blue pupils was like a warm flame.

"Since there is no Promea anymore, let me be your 'protective cover'," said the young man, leaning forward with his upper body, "and, there is someone as powerful as Leo joining the fire brigade , will also become my protective cover! Ah, why not say that you have protected me long ago——helped me destroy the outer wall of the prison, let me fall off the cliff without getting hurt, and the most enjoyable—let me It can block Gulei's flame fist and beat him back." The young man grinned, as if he wanted to hug the young man but accidentally pulled the wound, he gritted his teeth and let out a "hissing" sound.

Leo frowned: "Lie down quickly, the wound will open if you move around." His voice was still a little depressed, but the movement of holding Gallo's arm to make him lie back on the bed was extremely gentle.

"The wound is also a hero's medal." Gallo put his disheveled head back on the pillow in a cooperative manner, his eyes still fixed on the boy, "and this is an injury to protect Leo, which is more meaningful."

"... talking nonsense again." Leo slightly avoided the young man's eyes, his voice trembling slightly.

This is the case with Gallo Timos.No matter how many embarrassing, down-and-out and weak appearances I have seen, I can not care at all, and can say those comforting words.

"I'm serious," Gallo stared at the young man's face, "Leo didn't give up his original pride. When we let Promea burn completely together, I understood that Leo would be my best partner .”

"Is it your partner who hurt you because you couldn't pull the trigger?" The boy's expression softened, and there was a hint of self-mockery in his voice.

"Haha, it's a partner who makes me more motivated to protect people and becomes stronger and stronger!" Gallo replied briskly, raising his hand to touch the boy's face, but under the interference of the anesthetic, his position was not very accurate. As a result, he rubbed against Leo's nose and fell back on the bed.

He laughed at his clumsy movements, and simply let his hand slide over the bed sheet, clasping the back of Leo's hand: "I, although I am always called an idiot, I have always been strong in reflexes and recovery. And , I used to think that it had nothing to do with the firefighters being injured, but now I want to recover quickly, for myself and for Leo! So it’s okay.” He wrapped Leo’s hand into his palm, and in the slightly cold temperature of the ward Below is contrasting warmth.

Leo looked up slightly, and directly met the smiling and loving eyes of the young man, and he subconsciously bit his lip.

You can't speak under that kind of gaze, or your eye sockets won't be able to store the moisture that accumulated at some point.

What Promea took away was not only the flame itself.No matter how much sadness and anger there was in the past, the young man can express it through flames. He can create a hard armor and iron ride for his thin body. His strong strength and barrier can prevent him from showing too much emotion on his expression.

But now, those intensely flowing emotions seem to have only one form left, turning into unstoppable, weak tears on his face, flowing down the side of his nose and cheeks to his lips, the overflowing emotions made him feel no time Raise your hand to wipe.

Gallo's voice was lower than before, with a languid smile: "More importantly, Leo who will cry for me will also laugh for me. I like this Leo so much...," the young man said. Before he finished speaking, he tilted his head and closed his eyes, and the last few syllables were completely blurred.

"Gallo???!" Leo called his name in a panic, and immediately leaned over to approach him, and quickly judged from the other person's snort and half-open mouth that he was just asleep.

The boy only felt angry and funny, but also found that the uncontrollable tears had stopped in an instant.

This ?? a man who does not know how to describe it.

He stared at the big, broad hand that was still folded on the back of his hand, with a skin color that was completely different from his own, turned his hand over in the palm, and interlaced with Gallo's fingers.

Then he slowly lay down, put his head next to the young man's pillow, and said softly: "Gallo Timos...you are such an idiot." The only response to him was the young man's snort and the sound of the exhaust fan in the ward Turning sound.

Without Promea's surrounding calls, and without you repeating my name over and over again, this world is as quiet as... nothingness.

Get well soon?? Then, light me up again.

Leo slowly closed his eyes, and the water droplets remaining on the eyelashes fell on the cloth on which the two pillowed their heads. After being absorbed, only a faint mark was left, which soon dried up and disappeared.