「――was the dream I saw.」
The one who said thus with a serious face was Ouguro Hiro.
Turning 17 this year, he was a second year high schooler you could find just about anywhere.
「I-I see……good for you.」
Hearing Hiro’s story, although feeling slightly withdrawn, was his childhood friend Seijou f.u.kutarou.
Although he was also a soph.o.m.ore, his blessed physique was about two times greater the size of Hiro.
「You don’t believe me?」
「I believe you. It’s good that it was a dream. If you said it was reality, I wouldn’t know what kind of face to make.」
「But it was such a realistic dream, you know. Also, the King was an amazing Ikemen. Even idols would be put to shame.」
Hearing Hiro’s words, f.u.kutarou backed away as his cheeks twitched.
In the face of the atmosphere, transformed by oozing disgust, Hiro tilted his head to the side.
「What’s wrong?」
f.u.kutarou opened his mouth.
「I’ll just say this……I don’t have those kind of hobbies, ok?」
「Just what kind of misunderstanding did you have!? I don’t have those hobbies either!」
「Y-Yeah, you’re right. It’ll make things worse if it becomes a rumor so stop telling me weird stories.」
「I only said that he was an Ikemen, didn’t I……」
Infamously, Hiro and f.u.kutarou had become the material of girls during school.
As their houses are right next to each other, they go to and from school together, and play together on their days off.
However, what spurred the rumors on was that a muscular man was hanging out together with a slender man.
Perhaps it aroused their imaginations.
As a result, all the girls sent gazes filled with interest towards their BL-like relationship.
「They’ll probably think that I’ve got an interest in men, but I really do believe what I said from the bottom of my heart. He was a true Ikemen.」
「Aren’t you jumping to conclusions?」
「Shaddup. The reason why I’m not popular is because of the existence of Ikemen! Don’t you know that everyone in the cla.s.s keeps saying that I’m on the bottom or something like that?」
「It’s cause you’re a gorilla」 – Hiro murmured within his heart.
A height of 180 cm, and a weight of over 90 kg.
Even though he had a soft name like f.u.kutarou(1), the physique that he was blessed with was completely different from that of a normal person.
A warm chest, and well-trained biceps. Together with steel-like abs.
His mature face, which one wouldn’t think would belong to a high school student, was one that, to high school girls, could only be seen as an object of fear.
If he wore his uniform and walked around the town, then he’d be taking in for questioning by the police, and told things like, “What about your family?” “Your parents would cry if they knew.”
He was quite the unfortunate[T-1] man.
While it might be good to be honest about it, Hiro quickly decided to forget about it.
「Who knows……maybe it’s cause of your biceps――Pu-san?(2)」
「Are you looking for a fight!?」
Although Hiro thought that the name was cute, it seemed to have irritated f.u.kutarou somehow.
But, he knew how kind f.u.kutarou really was. He wouldn’t needlessly swing his fists around.
Well, if he did swing them around, then he (Hiro) would probably end up dying.
「Gorilla! Right now, in my most important second year of high school, it’s gorilla!」
Though Hiro wanted to say that f.u.kutarou was joking around again about his aged face, his words had already been proven by an old alb.u.m.
Intending to comfort his friend, Hiro gently pat f.u.kutarou’s back.
「Lots of nicknames like that exist. I’m sure that f.u.kutarou isn’t the only one. The only high school gorilla in the world, that is.」
「Huh, so you are picking a fight after all!?」
f.u.kutarou’s biceps swelled to the point where it seemed they would rip his uniform.
He was probably born in the wrong era.
It was likely that, if he were born in the Sengoku Era, then his life would be very different.
He would have been a peasant who’d rise through the ranks to become a successful man, the likes of which being worth no less than a chief retainer(3).
「Calm down. We’re already quite close to school after all. You’ll end up sp.a.w.ning more weird rumors.」
If you surveyed the surroundings, the figures of many high school girls could be seen nervously trembling while looking their way.
As their timing to head to school overlapped, there were plenty of students the closer they got to the school grounds.
「……guu, don’t you dare forget this.」
「I’ll remember it properly. Cause with this, it’s the 874th time I’ve made f.u.kutarou angry.[T-2]」
「Aren’t you angering me way too much!?」
Even so, because he had never resorted to violence, f.u.kutarou really was a good-natured friend.
Even though he was this kind, he wasn’t popular. The world truly was a strange place.
While they conversed happily, they arrived in front of the school gates.
Hiro then circled in front of f.u.kutarou and placed a knee on the ground as he bowed his head.
Seeing f.u.kutarou’s dubious expression as he looked down at him, the corners of Hiro’s mouth rose into a grin.
「Now, Shibata Katsuie-dono, let us depart.」
「I’m not a musclehead though!?」
He fell for it way too easily. This was why Hiro couldn’t stop teasing f.u.kutarou.
After Hiro finished laughing and had brushed the dirt off his knees, he and f.u.kutarou pa.s.sed through the school gates together.
「You’ve got club activities today?」
「Yeah, since the tournament’s coming up soon.」
「You’re the Hope of the Judo Club, after all. You’ve already got a recommendation from a university, right? I heard it from Oba-san.」
「I guess so……」
「Wait, aren’t you happy?」
「I’ve only just become a high school soph.o.m.ore, you know? I’m too busy to be happy, and even if you talk about uni, it’s not like time’s just gonna fly by. Besides, now’s the time when we should be thinking about our courses.」
「Is that how it is?」
「That’s how it is. But enough about me. What about you? Have you still not joined a club yet?」
「You already know that the doctor told me to not do strenuous exercises.」
In the face of Hiro’s words, f.u.kutaro displayed a slightly hesitant practice swing before opening his mouth.
「Yeah, but it’s been 3 years since then. Don’t you think it’s fine now? Yesterday was the anniversary of that diagnosis, right?」
3 years ago, Hiro was involved in a strange incident.
The day before the incident occurred, everything appeared normal, without a hint of anything out-of-the-ordinary.
Yet, the very next day, Hiro’s mother apparently screamed when she came to wake him up.
The reason for this being that her skinny son was lying down, completely naked.
If this was all, there might not have been any real problem.
However, his entire body was covered in mud and wounds. His previously short hair also appeared to have become quite long. Seeing such a sight,Hiro’s mother immediately called an ambulance.
Fortunately, the wounds had already been treated. Due to the sloppy way in which they had been st.i.tched, however, they were told that he would remain scarred for life.
Muscles were ruptured in several places. A couple of ribs were cracked and broken. Verifying that various infectious diseases were riddled within his body, Hiro was urgently admitted and hospitalized.
As those at the hospital grew skeptical, the police were called and Hiro was seemingly suspected of being subject to maltreatment.
Furthermore, the son who should have pleaded not guilty had, unfortunately, lost his memories of the time when he had sustained those injuries.
Their son’s abnormalities. The police’s hearing. It was apparent that the parents’ anxiety was quite tremendous.
「Hmm~……seems like it’s still no good.」
Although his memory had yet to return, truthfully, the boy was healed.
Currently, his body was the picture of health. Hiro even received an approval from his physician, essentially declaring that his body could withstand strenuous physical activity.
However, Hiro had a secret.
A symptom that even his physician didn’t know. One that remained to this day, even after 3 years.
Ever since he stumbled upon this side effect, Hiro gave up on club activities.
Obviously, he had no intention of disclosing this to his physician, nor his close friends and family.
After all, he didn’t want to cause them any needless worry.
「I see. I asked you something I shouldn’t have……」
f.u.kutarou casted his gaze towards the ground.
Reflecting on his own rude behavior, the boy fell silent for a few seconds.
However, when he next raised his head, f.u.kutarou flashed a huge grin as he spoke teasingly.
「But you know, I was really surprised back then. It was like you had become a completely different person. Your hair was so long, you looked like a fugitive(4).」
「It fell down to my waist, after all. Kaa-san was also really surprised.」
Hiro and f.u.kutarou, who had just entered the school building, began to head for cla.s.s, their shoulders lined up side-by-side.
「On top of that, your body was quite firm. How the h.e.l.l did you get to such a level in a single day?」
「I have this special ability, you see. If I sleep for one day, my level gets raised until it reaches Cheat Cla.s.s.」
「Lies!」
f.u.ktarou laughed as he tried to nudge Hiro.
And yet, f.u.kutarou’s fist never touched Hiro’s shoulder.
――after all, time had skidded to a halt.
「……eh-?」
At this time, Hiro made a face so unsightly that he couldn’t possibly show it to other people.
However, this was unavoidable. After all, the surrounding students had stopped in a similar manner.
「E-Everyone……what happened, all of a sudden? D-Don’t tell me this is a prank(5)?」
He tried to shake f.u.kutarou, but to no avail.
Stuck in mid-laugh, he didn’t budge a single inch.
He tried to approach the nearby girls.
Yet, with their hands over their mouths, the girls had also been petrified, their eyes locked on f.u.kutarou as their gazes held contempt and disgust.
With this, Hiro tried to call out to each and every person. However, not a single one responded.
He exited the school building, pa.s.sing the gates before running down the road.
Looking towards the garbage dump, he could see a crow. Glancing towards the roadside, he could see a cat intimidating an elementary school student.
Raising his gaze towards the sky, he could see the dazzling sun, still floating around in the sky as if it owned the place.
As if trying to run away from this majesty, white clouds colored the blue sky.
It was the landscape of daily life……but even so, the fact that time had stopped would not change.
「Haha-……what the h.e.l.l」
There was no reason to launch such a large scale prank(5) on a high school student that one could find just about anywhere.
Hiro could grasp that his head was becoming blank.
His feet staggered. The throbs in his chest accelerated.
Even though Hiro knew that he had to take some sort of action, he could not do a single thing.
As anxiety began to surge within him, tears bled through the corner of his eyes.
――at a time like this, what would you do, I wonder?
My heart――seeks help from the you who ran with me through the battlefield.
(If you saw such a pathetic me, I wonder what you would say?)
Would you console me while smiling, I wonder.
Would you scold me for being so miserable, I wonder.
(Wait, who is this you? Who am I even talking about? Argh, I don’t have a clue. I can’t make heads nor tails of it.)
Hiro’s vision gradually began to fade away……it was almost as if the boy was suddenly struck by a spell of drowsiness.
――when lost, depend on me. I shall also depend on you. We are brothers(6), are we not?
Your words from long ago rapidly revived in my mind.
Your voice. Your face. I soon became able to clearly recall them.
――I am both your older and younger brother. No matter what happens, I will always be your family.
The person who resided in that world, my one and only family.
――Seeking salvation. Seeking help. There is no shame in that.
(But you aren’t in this world. How am I supposed to ask for your help?)
Leaving behind my one and only family, I returned to this world.
That sin continues to weigh heavily on my heart.
――now, let us depart. What lies before us may be countless difficulties, Yet, there is none who can break our bond.
As the figure of an adolescent appeared, Hiro lost consciousness.
A dazzling glare penetrated the boy’s eyelids, stimulating his pupils.
Using his hand to create a shadow, the boy’s eyes slowly opened.
What first jumped into Hiro’s eyes was a large tree, from which a grand and ancient presence could be felt.
Halfway up the tree, which extended up to the heavens, were countless branches that grew casually to the side. At the tips of these branches were an infinite number of leaves. These leaves, which seemed to crown the branches, made it so that neither the tree’s summit, nor the sky, could be seen through the dense foliage.
What reached his ears was the gentle sound of leaves dancing as they were rocked about by the wind.
The light of day spilled through the gaps between the trees, causing a faint glow to surround the forest.
Looking further in, one could see the darkness spreading about, making it impossible to see any further than that.
「……..haha, this is a dream, right?」
Until just a moment ago, he should’ve been at school.
At that time, it felt like he had met a nostalgic someone, but he couldn’t remember.
The feeling of touching gra.s.s.
The pleasantly cool feeling of the earth.
The wind blowing against his face.
The smell of nature that tickled his nostrils.
All of these sensations had a feeling of realness that one couldn’t possibly mistake for being a dream.
「If it’s a dream, then I’ll wake up eventually…」
Hiro muttered, as though he were trying to comfort himself.
That like always, he’d wake up in his usual room.
He’d likely remember how fearful he was within his dream and end up rolling around in embarra.s.sment.
After forcefully convincing himself with that, he left the big tree and went forward into the forest.
But no matter how far he went, he couldn’t get out of the forest.
The scenery didn’t change.
As always, he was unable to look into its depths.
The trees simply continued endlessly into his surroundings
Just as walking began to become troublesome, and Hiro’s heart was about to crumble, that appeared from the within the lush gra.s.s.
『Gurururururururu-!』
Rising from the darkness were two golden eyes, as drool dripped from the long, bared fangs.
It was about as big as a medium-sized dog, and as the claws on its four muscular legs gouged at the ground, Hiro backed away.
As the sunlight illuminated the beast, he came to see the beautiful white fur that it possessed.
「A wolf……?」