monosyllable echo

"Hey, Kazuki..."

"Hey, Ajiu, can you help me get that pile of documents? Even if I'm hospitalized, I still have to deal with a bunch of things about the student union. It's really terrible!"

"It's your own hard work, no one else's fault!"

"Ahaha, it really breaks my heart when you say that."

"..."

"Kazuki, I have something to do—"

"Ajiu, so you haven't been to class for a long time, is it okay?"

"If I go to class, uncle is at the shrine, you can't be left alone in the hospital, so I have decided to repeat the grade with you."

"Is that so. I'm so sorry."

"..."

"Kazuki, I—"

"Ajiu~ I'm so hungry!"

"..."

For several days in succession, I tried to have a formal talk with Kazuki about the cause of this hospitalization incident, but he was always distracted by some big or small things. I really didn't care at all, and I wasn't angry at all... That's impossible, right? !

After cleaning the bento box left after the meal, he turned around and saw Kazuki sitting on the bedside looking out the window in a daze, following his gaze, there were lush trees and a distant clear sky.Although it is still early summer, the cicadas have begun to hear clearly, but it is also because it is still early summer that the cicadas do not make people feel anxious. On the contrary, with the vast and fresh background, it is the icing on the cake a sum of money.

Withdrawing my farther and farther sight, I looked at Kazuki who was in a daze again, and a voice suddenly echoed clearly in my mind-"Natsume, I don't think I need to say, you know that the real source of the matter is not in Baiyin .You're just venting your anger on a fool who guarded in the wrong way."

Close your eyes and open them again.Yes, today, no matter what, I have to have a good talk with Kazuki, you idiot.

"Hey, Kazuki." Hearing my call, Kazuki turned around and opened his mouth to say something.

Before he could open his mouth, I handed him a cup of barley tea: "I just had lunch, are you thirsty? Here, take a drink. If you want to eat apples, I will peel them now. You have to wait a little bit. The work of the student union, in the morning It should be almost done. For the lunch break, it’s better to go to sleep after eating right away. Also, the matter of repeating the grade with you is already a certainty, and I don’t think there is anything more that can be reconciled.  … So , let me think again, are there any other excuses that you can use to prevaricate me?"

Tilting my head, I looked at his expression of blinking eyes and nothing to say with satisfaction, so I continued, "Okay, now, can we talk? Fool."

Fool, what a fool.You clearly know that you can't hide from it.

Sitting across from me, Kazuki shrugged his shoulders as if giving up, took off the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and then turned his head to face me: "Huh——It's really nerve-wracking! Sa~ Natsume Jiu, what the hell are you doing? What do you want to talk to me about?"

Natsume Jiu.Hearing these three words, my heart tightened involuntarily.Hehe, curling the corner of his mouth bitterly, before he started talking, before he said anything, he erected a fence and pushed me out.When was the last time you called me Natsume Jiu?Ah, it seems that I was forced to swear to use my abilities carefully that time.It's really not progressing at all.

I tried to calm my mind, kept my voice the same as usual, and calmly looked back at Kazuki's indifferent gaze: "You know what I want to say. Why did you do it again?"

After hearing what I said, he still had no expression on his face, with a businesslike look, "I just did what I thought was right."

Lowering my head, I picked up the fruit knife and began to slowly peel the apple in my hand round and round, and then asked back: "The right thing? What is right? Did you save Baiyin?"

"Yes." Positive, simple two words, without any redundant explanation.I think he must be looking straight at me right now, and if I look up, he might nod affirmatively to me.

Continuing with the work at hand, I asked again: "Then, it doesn't matter if I hurt myself? As long as it saves Baiyin." My voice should be calm, right?should……

"Aren't I sitting here right now? This issue is not worth discussing."

"?!" The blade deflected and cut his finger.

In the beginning, it was just a knife edge.Then, slowly, threads of blood seeped out.Immediately afterwards, they gathered into small red pearls, dripping abruptly on the clean flesh that had been peeled off.

"Natsume! You—"

It was only for a moment that my fingers were grabbed by the person opposite, and then I stood up suddenly and retreated to shake them off.

It's really incredible, I can't feel any pain at all, I looked up and saw Kazuki's frown, and I smiled: "Haha, it's not worth discussing? Then, how can it be worth discussing? Do you have to My uncle and I kneel in front of the photo of your mourning hall, so this question will have its due value?... But, at that time, who will I discuss this valuable question with?" , I feel my heart hurts like being soaked in normal saline, ah, I really shouldn't make such an assumption, just thinking about it makes me panic.

As for Kazuki, he just stared at my bleeding finger and said, "You need to bandage."

Ignoring his words, I stood there motionless: "Hey, Kazuki, when will you learn to put yourself first?"

The frown has not been loosened, he tried to communicate with me with a relaxed tone: "Natsume...Ajiu, your wound needs to be bandaged—"

Dodging again and again made me angry: "Kazuki Shiranui! I'm asking when will you learn to cherish yourself! Give up your ridiculous mentality of saving all sentient beings! Give up using your intermittent predictive ability! Just protect yourself! Did you hear it? Even for those who care about you... Do you know how much you will make me and uncle—"

"Enough!" Kazuki Shiranui sat there with a harsher voice than mine, "My body and my abilities belong to me, how to manage and apply them should be up to me! I I don’t think a girl living in my uncle’s house has the right to dictate to me! So, Natsume Jiu, take care of yourself!”

For a moment, I tried to open my eyes wide, but I couldn't see the face of Kazuki sitting opposite.Turning back and forth in front of my eyes is like watching TV with no signal, and there are many white snowflakes floating on the blue background.And there seemed to be a poorly connected radio turned on in my ear, only the intermittent words "stay", "no right" and "take care of yourself" were called extraordinarily loudly.

The visual and auditory confusion made me feel dizzy and nauseous.What rescued me from this disgusting feeling was a tall figure suddenly rushing in from behind and a loud applause.

"Snapped--"

I squinted my eyes and opened them again, only to realize that standing in front of me was Kazuki's uncle, my current father in name——Shiranui Soujiro, stretched out his hand and gently grabbed his lapel, I uttered aloud Called: "Uncle Sojiro..."

As if he didn't hear my call, the person in front of him just grabbed Kazuki's collar and snapped, "Kazuki! Apologize to Ajiu! Did you hear that?"

Hiding in the small dark space created by the tall figure, isolated from the glare of the sun, the ignorant cicadas, and Kazuki's cold gaze, instantly made me feel infinitely at ease.

Well, that's fine, Natsume Jiu, don't expect too much, we must always learn to be content.

Calm down, I tugged the hand of the person in front of me again, trying to free Kazuki's collar from this big hand: "Uncle Sojiro, just now...it was my fault, and I deliberately said something that Kazuki didn't like. The topic that you are willing to bring up is the reason why this happened, so don't blame Kazuki anymore. Kazuki is hurt so badly now, you will make him feel very uncomfortable. Besides, you are here to visit Kazuki, because It would make me feel ashamed to make it unpleasant for me. So, don't do it, okay?"

Until then, Uncle Sojiro lowered his head to look at me: "Aku, you..."

Standing still, a weird triangle pieced together for some reason.

Uncle Sojiro just stood there without doing anything.

As for Kazuki, he didn't resist, didn't speak, and the tightly pursed corners of his mouth made him look like a statue.

And me, all I could do was hold that big hand tightly, unable to look up any more, and unable to pull out any kind of smile.

Silence, a silence so vast that it would overwhelm me.

How long will this stalemate last?The sudden silence made everything still, but magnified some things I didn't want to pay attention to. Uncle's gaze was as suffocating as if it was pulling my heart. The wound on my left hand suddenly hurt more than unbearable. I dangled Could barely stand.

Just when I felt that I was about to collapse, another voice came from behind: "Um...Mr. Take Natsume to bandage the wound."

"Then, I'll leave it to you."

With Uncle Sojiro nodding in agreement, I was held by the hand and staggered out.

# # #

"Hiss—" The stabbing pain in my hand brought me back to my senses again.

"Hey, I'm so sorry that I hurt you." The mocking smile of the person opposite made me want to cover my eyes.Who is bad, but you.

Even with his head down, he could see the person sitting across from him fingering his red hair tied behind his head.Stubbornly staring at my wrapped fingers, which were several times thicker, I almost lost the strength to ask questions: "Since when have you been here?"

"Ah, when did it start..." The usual cynical tone sounded in my ear, "It started when you started yelling at someone to learn to cherish themselves."

Bad... "Is uncle here?"

"Ah, he came earlier than me."

It really couldn't be worse!Shut up, I choose to ignore everything now.

"Say~~" put away his usual light tone, and suddenly raised my chin with the hand playing with my hair, so I had no choice but to look directly at his serious face, "Now that I have answered your question, now , can you answer some of my questions?"

Before I could respond, the other party began to ask: "You just said... Kazuki, he has the ability to predict? Then, that incident is not an accident... Not just this time, but also the previous few times... Hey! Kazuki, what's going on?"

Pushing away the hand that pinched my jaw sorely, I was really too lazy to look at that person again: "Bai Yinsang, since you already have your own deduction, why bother to ask me again? Besides, you have seen the situation just now , are you sure it's really appropriate to ask me about these now?"

So tired, how can I be so tired.

Closing my eyes, I suddenly wondered: Where did I throw that bloody apple just now?