Chapter 36: I feel a little unwell.
When Morofushi Hiromitsu uttered those words, Morofushi Sora'aki's brain went blank for a moment. His usually indifferent blue cat eyes lifted up and stared intently at Morofushi Hiromitsu, who had spoken those words.
Hagiwara Kenji immediately realized he had said the wrong thing and inwardly cursed, realizing he had stepped on a landmine: "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!"
"It's alright." Morofushi Hiromitsu's smile didn't change much, but the relaxed mood he had been showing unconsciously subsided.
Hagiwara Kenji, who is usually good at observing these things, regretted it a little. He shouldn't have made a joke without knowing the specifics.
Originally, the matter would have ended there, but Morofushi Sora'aki seemed oblivious to the atmosphere and calmly asked, "When did this happen?"
"...It was a long time ago, and I don't remember the specifics very well." Morofushi Hiromitsu forced a smile and gave a simple, perfunctory answer.
Because it concerned his parents, even though he suspected that Morofushi Sora'aki had some connection with his family, he didn't want to show his wounds.
Seeing that their friends were unwilling to talk much, and also realizing that Morofushi Sora'aki was planning to press them, both sides' friends reacted.
Furuya Rei pulled Morofushi Hiromitsu into the subway station first: "Our train is almost here, so we'll head over now. See you next time."
Hagiwara Kenji said to Morofushi Sora'aki, "It's late now, how about we go back first?"
Morofushi Sora'aki didn't stop Morofushi Hiromitsu and Furuya Rei from leaving. Instead, he stopped for half a minute, then turned to Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei and said, "I'm going to Nagano."
This is a place that cannot be reached directly by subway; you need to take the Shinkansen, and it will take more than two hours.
In other words, it was already dark when Morofushi Sora'aki arrived in Nagano from here.
During the conversation, Morofushi Hiromitsu did not reveal that he was from Nagano. After all, he did not like to talk about his own affairs and had spent a long time in the Tokyo area, so there was no need to specifically emphasize that he used to live in Nagano.
On the contrary, if he mentions it, the other people who are unaware of the situation might casually ask him why he moved.
So when Morofushi Sora'aki suddenly spoke up, Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei were both a little confused: "Are you serious?"
"I'm serious." As he said, Morofushi Sora'aki kept his word and actually changed his ticket and headed towards the Shinkansen.
Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji exchanged a glance, and Matsuda Jinpei clicked his tongue: "Going along?"
"…What else can we do? We can't just let him run so far away by himself." Hagiwara Kenji covered his eyes in anguish. "I'll call my mom and tell her I'm staying at Sora'aki-chan's place. You should call your dad too."
"He doesn't care about me anyway, he'll probably assume I'm staying at your house, isn't that a common occurrence?" Matsuda Jinpei seemed indifferent, following in Morofushi Sora'aki's footsteps: "Anyway, if he wants to find me, he'll definitely go to your house first, you can just explain."
"...Okay, okay, I understand." Hagiwara Kenji looked even more exhausted.
The Shinkansen ride was unusually quiet, completely unlike the usual behavior of the three of them. Matsuda Jinpei sat by the window with a blank face, looking out, while Morofushi Sora'aki was clearly spacing out.
Hagiwara Kenji looked around, then tried to start a conversation: "I've never had a train bento before, are you two interested?"
"Didn't we just finish eating?" Matsuda Jinpei said.
"I have no appetite." replied Morofushi Sora'aki.
Note Hagiwara Kenji: "..."
Hagiwara Kenji gave up. He slumped in his seat, clearing his mind and enjoying the rare quiet.
Matsuda Jinpei gave him a strange look: "Didn't you say you wanted a bento? You don't want it anymore? You're so fickle."
Hagiwara Kenji forced a smile: "Jinpei-chan, if you say one more word, I'll lose control and want to throw you off the train."
Matsuda Jinpei: "...?"
Hagiwara Kenji had never felt time drag on so slowly. Finally, after getting off the bus, he breathed a sigh of relief and then remembered to ask, "Where are we going?"
Morofushi Sora'aki replied, "The former Morofushi family."
Morofushi Sora'aki knew that different worlds were parallel worlds, and he deeply understood this after meeting his brother's classmates.
The two classmates of the older brother were childhood friends. Morofushi Hiromitsu and Furuya Rei in this world were also childhood friends—the two worlds share some similarities.
So, Morofushi Sora'aki forgot one thing. His parents moved from Nagano to Tokyo because of him, which gave his older brother the opportunity to become childhood friends with Furuya Rei.
So what was the reason that Morofushi Hiromitsu moved from Nagano to Tokyo in this world?
Judging from Morofushi Hiromitsu's reaction, there shouldn't be another "Morofushi Sora'aki" in this world, so it's naturally not because of another "him".
In fact, Morofushi Sora'aki should have noticed this long ago, but he consciously avoided paying attention to Morofushi Hiromitsu and didn't think about it carefully.
Morofushi Sora'aki rarely comes to Nagano; he spends most of his life in the Tokyo area. His parents had previously worried that he wouldn't adapt well to the outside world, so they rarely went to other cities.
However, when he was just a few months old, he lived in Nagano. His parents would take him out, so Morofushi Sora'aki knew the address here.
Even the routes that Morofushi Sora'aki remembered when he was just a few months old did not change as much as they would have in the future during this period.
Seeing that Morofushi Sora'aki was familiar with taking the bus and walking, his two friends who had been following behind him were a little confused.
Finally, Morofushi Sora'aki stopped in front of a small, detached two-story house.
This is a very common Western-style building, two stories high, with a small courtyard in front, but now it looks overgrown with weeds and has long been abandoned.
Matsuda Jinpei suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder, and following Hagiwara Kenji's expression, he looked in the direction he was pointing.
It was a sign nailed to the doorway, covered in a layer of dust, with the surname "Morofushi" written on it.
In that instant, Matsuda Jinpei's eyes widened. He and Hagiwara Kenji exchanged a glance, as if they had understood something at that moment.
Morofushi Sora'akisimply stood at the door and did not enter the house, which was clearly uninhabited.
Hagiwara Kenji wanted to say something, at least to avoid standing there awkwardly, but unexpectedly, the door next door was pushed open with a creaking sound, and an old woman with a cane and being helped out came out.
She shakily turned her gaze in their direction and walked towards them with a clear purpose.
The woman helping the elderly woman was a young woman of college age. She proactively said, "Um, I saw you standing here for a while. May I ask what business you have with this family?"
Hagiwara Kenji immediately intervened, saying, "Sorry, did we disturb you? We'll be leaving soon!"
"No, no, no, I didn't mean to bother you!" She shook her head, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "My grandmother has some questions she wants to ask you..."
So, their eyes all fell on the old woman, who had gray hair and was wearing reading glasses, looking at the position of Morofushi Sora'aki.
To the surprise of his two other friends, Morabushi Sora spoke up first: "Grandma Nagayama."
Grandma Nagayama tremblingly reached out her hand: "...Is that Hiromitsu? It's been so long...I thought it looked like you...so I couldn't help but come out to see you..."
Hagiwara Kenji opened his mouth, but Matsuda Jinpei stopped him.
Morofushi Sora'aki bent down slightly so that Grandma Nagayama could touch his hair. When he was a baby, this grandma also liked to play with him like this.
"Grandma Nagayama, is no one renting this place yet?" Morofushi Sora'aki didn't deny being called Grandma Nagayama; the mistaken identity was helpful for him to confirm the information now.
"Yes…this place has been empty ever since your family had that accident…" Grandma Nagayama said.
"When the accident happened, wasn't Hiromitsu just here with you?" Morofushi Sora'aki gestured to indicate his height.
Children often like to refer to themselves by their own names, and Grandma Nagayama didn't find it strange. She pulled Morofushi Sora'aki's hand down a little: "No, no, you were only this tall back then... I remember, you were only 7 years old."
Grandma Nagayama said gently, "What happened back then was such a big deal... I really didn't expect you to come back."
"Seeing you grow up makes me feel a little more at ease... I think Miwa and the others will be at ease too."
Miwa is his mother's name. Morofushi Sora'aki lowered his eyes: "Grandma Nagayama, I have something to do with my friend, so I'll be leaving now. Hiromitsu might come back to see you again sometime."
"Okay, be careful on your way." Grandma Nagayama didn't notice the change in pronouns, nor did she try to stop them. She simply watched the three boys leave the area with gentle eyes.
After leaving that spot, Hagiwara Kenji finally spoke: "Just now..."
"Hagiwara, I need to go to the library." There's a library nearby that hasn't closed yet, and it has newspapers from the last few decades. I should still have time to get there.
Seeing that Morofushi Sora'aki took a step without hesitation, Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei had no choice but to follow.
After registering at the library, Morofushi Sora'aki found the newspaper section according to the location his brother had mentioned. "Morofushi Hiromitsu was 7 years old. It must have been 9 to 10 years ago. Grandma Nagayama said that the incident was a big deal, so it must have been on the news."
With that explained, what else could they not understand? Now that things had come to this point, neither Matsuda Jinpei nor Hagiwara Kenji could refuse the other's request.
They went through the news from those two years, and Matsuda Jinpei was the first to find that day's newspaper: "Found it! The Nagano couple's brutal murder!!"
Upon hearing this, Morofushi Sora'aki didn't act hastily. Instead, as usual, he calmly took the newspaper from Matsuda Jinpei's hand.
Looking at the news, reading every single word of the newspaper—this was many times slower than when Morofushi Sora'aki read a book normally.
Neither Hagiwara Kenji nor Matsuda Jinpei dared to interrupt the atmosphere.
After reading the last word, Morofushi Sora'aki finally raised his head. For the first time, his usually indifferent eyes revealed a bewilderment that made his two friends feel uneasy.
Morofushi Sora'aki said, "I feel a little unwell. Do you know why this is, Hagiwara?"