Chapter 37: Mothers are the greatest.
Morofushi Sora'aki is a naturally difficult person to influence by emotions; his emotional threshold has always been very high. It's easy for him to feel relaxed and happy, but it's very difficult to make him feel sad.
He doesn't feel sadness over other people's deaths, and even after reading so many books, he doesn't understand why those sad, empathetic plot developments in the books can bring people to tears.
However, he is indeed easily influenced by a few specific people. Just as his mother might feel happy or sad depending on the direction of a TV drama, Morofushi Sora'aki doesn't understand why the development of a TV drama would evoke such emotions, but he reacts accordingly to his mother's attitude.
When his mother is happy, he will stay quietly by her side, but when his mother is unhappy, Morofushi Sora'aki will try to get close to her, and his face will show a cautious expression, trying to comfort her with his actions.
The Morofushi family didn't know whether this was good or bad, but they chose to lead Morofushi Sora'aki along, slowly getting to know the world.
Even when he was bullied by his classmates and locked in the warehouse, Morofushi Sora'aki did not feel scared or angry. After finding a flashlight, he even felt that the environment was very quiet.
From almost birth, he was protected by his family in an absolutely safe ivory tower.
Even when they meet their first or second friend, they are very good at taking care of both of them.
So at this moment, he couldn't explain why his heart was feeling so tight and uncomfortable, and could only look to Hagiwara Kenji, who had always been good at these things, for help.
Hagiwara Kenji always teases his two best friends for being idiots, but in these situations, he is the most reliable person.
Hagiwara Kenji took the newspaper, placed it on the table, met Morofushi Sora'aki's bright eyes, and softly replied, "Because we are human."
"We naturally feel regret, sympathy, and even fear for the death of our fellow human beings," the half-long-haired boy said. "But to this extent, it's just our attitude towards strangers."
"If it's a close friend or a more important relationship, like if something happened to you, Sora'aki-chan, Matsuda and I would also feel very sad."
"Because we not only feel sympathy and regret, but also empathy. We grieve for the other person's departure and realize that they can no longer connect with us. When we miss the other person, they will no longer appear in front of us."
"This represents... empathy."
"Sora'aki will feel sad because his brother is injured, because Sora'aki loves his brother."
"Just like if Sora'aki were to get injured, your brother would also feel very bad."
"When my brother pointed the gun at himself, I... felt terrible."
"I don't quite understand this feeling, it's just very uncomfortable."
"That's a false feeling. I shouldn't feel uncomfortable, should I?"
Similar keywords brought back a flood of past memories, including the image of the mature, imposing figure of Morofushi Hiromitsu on the rooftop, pointing a gun at him—the memory surged back once more.
Morofushi Sora'aki knew clearly that it wasn't the same person, and he had tried hard to separate the influence of each person on him. But at this moment, those memories seemed to be out of control, rushing in all at once, without any reason, and even those tedious and repetitive memories.
Morofushi Sora'aki felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down his forehead, his temples throbbing. He gripped the corner of the table so tightly his fingers turned white.
"Sora'aki-chan?" Hagiwara Kenji helped the unsteady Morofushi Sora'aki up, his worry for him evident.
Matsuda Jinpei also asked, "Are you alright? Is something wrong? Should we go to the hospital?"
Morofushi Sora'aki shook his head.
This library closes late, but it's not open 24 hours. When the library staff arrived after closing time, they sat at their workstations, yawned, and then lazily pressed the closing announcement button.
Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei conversation was interrupted by the broadcast. Without hesitation, they put the newspapers back in their original places and left together.
There's definitely no way they can go home at this time, but luckily it's a two-day weekend, so they don't have to worry about it being considered skipping class the next day.
They found a nearby hotel and chose a double room and a single room—because the hotel didn't have triple rooms, and Morofushi Sora'aki refused to stay with them.
"I want to rest by myself." said Morofushi Sora'aki, seemingly for the first time so firmly rejecting his two friends.
At a time like this, no one could refuse Morofushi Sora'aki. As Morofushi Sora'aki left their sight, Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei exchanged a glance and opened the double room next door.
As soon as they entered, Matsuda Jinpei asked, "What do we do?"
Hagiwara Kenji was also a bit troubled. "What else can we do? Sora'aki-chan wants to be alone. We can't force him, can we?"
"Give him some time to adjust, and I'll see what to do tomorrow."
"So, what do you think... is going on?" Matsuda Jinpei asked again.
"...You have your own thoughts on this too, don't you?" Hagiwara Kenji slumped onto one of the beds in the double room. "Although I guessed there was a connection... this connection is probably closer than we imagined."
"Tsk, let me ask Hiro-... never mind, I'll ask Rei instead." Kenji Hagiwara picked up his phone, just as they had exchanged contact information.
Now, not caring about phone bills, Hagiwara Kenji called Furuya Rei directly.
The other end didn't answer the phone immediately; it wasn't until Hagiwara Kenji called a second time that the call was finally connected.
After the call connected, Hagiwara Kenji didn't hesitate and went straight to the point: "Do you know about Hiromitsu-chan's family situation?"
Fortunately, the group had become much closer today; otherwise, Furuya Rei would have definitely hung up on the line as a harassing call.
Furuya Rei had essentially accepted Hagiwara Kenji's status as a friend, so he didn't get angry immediately. Instead, he asked Hagiwara Kenji in a slightly indifferent tone why he was asking that question.
Hagiwara Kenji frankly stated, "Sora'aki-chan is not in a good state right now. After separating from Hiromitsu-chan, he has a headache and feels very uncomfortable. He is also saddened by the deaths of the Morofushi couple and Hiromitsu's parents."
There was a long silence on Furuya Rei's end, as if he was struggling with something. Matsuda Jinpei clicked his tongue, snatched the phone, and said, "Stop being so indecisive. If you can say it, then say it; if you can't, then forget it. If all else fails, I'll just go ask Hiromitsu!"
If the situation is explained, Morofushi Hiromitsu will definitely give a certain answer.
However, Furuya Rei gave an unexpected answer, and even if you asked Hiro, you might not get the answer.
Matsuda Jinpei: "Why?"
"...Regarding his parents' situation, Hiro's memory isn't complete." Furuya Rei's voice remained indifferent. "Yes, just like you think, Hiro suffers from mild amnesia."
"That's all I know about Hiro. Do you have any other questions?"
"...No, that's all for now. Thank you, and I'm sorry to bother you so late." Hagiwara Kenji replied after taking a deep breath.
This answer surprised Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei. The two boys exchanged a glance, both feeling a headache coming on.
It's alright that Rei's tone has finally improved a bit. However, please don't bother Hiro with these questions unless absolutely necessary.
"Yes, we know." After saying that, they hung up the phone.
Matsuda Jinpei: "...How about we go and pluck some of Raki's hair now, and test our blood relationship with Hiromitsu?"
"Good idea. You can knock on Sora'aki-chan's door right now and ask him to pluck a hair from his head."
"...Tsk." Matsuda Jinpei scratched his head. "What's going on?"
"This has become completely complicated." Hagiwara Kenji had a similar reaction. "So why is it related to amnesia?! Plus, with Sora'aki-chan's ambiguous attitude, I'm starting to wonder if these two are brothers or twins!"
"Should we just ask tomorrow?" Matsuda Jinpei suggested.
Hagiwara Kenji: "...Are you serious?"
"Seriously—well, not really that seriously." Matsuda Jinpei said, "Let's wait until tomorrow and see how that guy reacts."
"It would be best if we could find out, but what can we do if we can't? You know how troublesome that guy is."
"Go to sleep, go to sleep, get a good night's rest, we'll talk about it tomorrow!"
After he said that, the room was quiet for a few minutes after the lights were turned off.
Matsuda Jinpei: "...Are you asleep?"
Hagiwara Kenji "..."
Hagiwara Kenji: "Oh no, am I going to have insomnia?"
Matsuda Jinpei: "What a coincidence, I think so too."
While they were racking their brains, neither of them could have imagined that after Morofushi Sora'aki entered the adjacent single room, he simply vanished into thin air.
When Morofushi Sora'aki woke up on the bed in his room, he still couldn't control his headache. This was the first time he had ever felt so bad.
He couldn't even tell whether it was a physical discomfort or simply a mental one.
Despite the discomfort, Morofushi Sora'aki didn't stay in bed or close his eyes to ease the discomfort as usual. Instead, his first instinct was to open the door and head downstairs with his unkempt hair.
My mother is always the first one up in the family. Because of his work, Hiromitsu lives in the police dormitory most of the time and only comes back when he is off work.
However, when Hiromitsu is at home, he also wakes up very early.
When he went downstairs, Morofushi Sora'aki immediately spotted his mother, who was preparing breakfast in the kitchen. Without hesitation, he went in, bent down and hugged his mother, even affecting her movements.
Mother Morofushi was clearly taken aback for a moment, but then noticed that her youngest son's eyes were slightly red and his face looked uncomfortable. She immediately put down all the work she was doing and asked worriedly, "Sora'aki, are you feeling unwell?"
Morofushi Sora'aki nodded sullenly. Mother Morofushi immediately changed out of her apron and left the kitchen with her youngest son.
When Morofushi Hiromitsu pushed open the door and came downstairs, he didn't see his mother at first glance. Before he could even wonder what was going on, he smelled something burning.
Morofushi Hiromitsu's pupils dilated in shock. He rushed to the kitchen to turn off the stove and instinctively shouted, "Mom—"