CH 59

Recently, when I left my house at school time, there was an increasing chance that Amane would come out of the house exactly once every few times and invite me to "go with her".

That's a very good thing ...... I can say that during the period of estrangement, it was an overwhelming leap forward that I had only dreamed of.

However ...... today is a little different.

I hope I don't have to run into Amane today~~~ With this in mind, I open the door.

And only then, Amane was firmly waiting outside.

It wasn't like the timing was right or anything, but she was waiting for me completely.

With a very......Flushed face......

When I think of the cause of this ...... it makes me "blue" in the face.

Last night, due to the shocking "encourage" by Amane, I, who should have been so depressed, was so happy that I thought I was the happiest person in the world...... That was all I could think about last night.

Yes, even after I went to bed ...... And the result ......

When Amane confirmed that I had come out of the house, her face turned bright red...... No matter how you look at it, she was angry.

She looked at me the same way she did the last time she got into my room because of "Shared Dreams" .......

"Good morning, Yumeji-kun ...... I have a few words with you ......"

"Y-Yes!"

Ah, this is a bad one.

The quiet yet strangely powerful words made me involuntarily stand upright and unmoving.

Amane approached me like that...... and slowly pinched my right cheek.

"Ouch ......... Uhm ... Amane-san?"

"Sure, I ...... did that ...... yesterday, but ........."

Girigirigiri...... Then, the pinching fingers are gradually getting more and more powerful.

...... Ouch ...... It huuurts!?

"But I didn't make it look that long, sticky, and ecchi! What are you dreaming about!?"

"It huuurts! I'm sorry, I'm really sorry! That is an unexpected event for me as well ...... "

I went to sleep last night, soaking up the "lingering" feeling, not thinking about dreaming about anything at all ......... Perhaps that was the reason I had a dream that went "further" than the shocking event of last night.

And that this reaction was definitely triggered by the fact that it was also popping up in Amane as a 'Shared Dream' ......

In the early morning, I was in a cold sweat when I saw that the "Dream Book" was facing "Amane's room" as usual.

"I'm so sorry! But I just couldn't stop the fantasy, and it seems like that book worked on its own ......"

"Then at least do something about "shared dreams" at times like that!! I saw something even more realistic and deep than the otherworldly version, so I jumped out of bed at about 3:00 and couldn't sleep at all after that!!"

Amane's "embarrassment and anger" made my cheeks swell up early in the morning.

I know I deserved it ...... but ...... I have no regrets!!

Now surely Amane didn't say don't look at it, ...... which means that as long as I am careful about 'shared dreams', I've got the permission ......

"......Are you thinking of something convenient right now? You ......"

"No! That's not true!!"

I couldn't help but salute Amane who was giving me the stare.

Is it my imagination that the sharpness of the Amane is getting sharper these days?

And after a "normal" school day for us, ...... I met up with Amane outside the school today to make sure everything was going as usual.

Then I received a report from Amane, who had spent the day with Kagura-san.

...... I knew he was coming to school today with a nonchalant look on his face.

I was thinking about how I would move forward depending on how he acts, but ......

Amane's expression as she reports is completely different and angrier than it was this morning......The rage from hatred is plastered on her beauty.

"We've been together all day, all the time, and there's been no contact of any kind...... And at the end of the day, he seems to have run back home, blatantly avoiding Kagu-chan."

"...... I guess"

I was aware that I, too, had the exact same look on my face when I received the angry report.

"Saito Taku" is the "attempted murderer" who got upset after being dumped yesterday and tried to push Kagura-san out onto the roadway and rear-end a truck.

Kagura-san herself seems to be determined to ignore him, saying, "I don't want to have anything to do with him ever again.''

And what's annoying is that he seems to be using this to his advantage to do nothing.

After seeing how he had been doing all day today, if he had shown any kind of apology to Kagura-san ...... That's what I thought, but there was no sign of that.

Rather, his attitude changed drastically, and he began to say, "I was never interested in or liked Kagura from the beginning."

It was as if he had not been involved with Kagura Momoe from the beginning and had done nothing wrong.

He is trying to treat yesterday's incident as if it "never happened".

For Kagura, she said it was fine as long as she didn't get involved herself, but neither I nor Amane had any intention ...... of letting it go.

"Even though he almost killed someone ...... he doesn't even feel guilty about it...... huh?"

I open the "Dream Book" with all the emotions I'm feeling right now.

With that, the book began to flap with great force as if blown by a strong wind ........ and came to a sudden halt at a certain page.

Lucid Dreaming Advanced Application "Waking up deep emotions"

"Then have a good dream (Nightmare) at best...... "

Then I tapped the magic circle on the page of "Lucid Dreaming" with my palm, and his name "Saito Taku" appeared in the center of the magic circle.

" However, ...... we will not allow you to escape to death............"

*

"Saito Taku" was impatient.

The first was that I was the only one in my group who didn't have a girlfriend.

A few of his friends ridiculed him, especially Kyuichi, who is a multi-timing playboy, and he makes fun of him ...... Saito was angry about that, and because he didn't like it, he started to make a move on Kagura Momoe, who was hanging out with Kanzaki Amane, whom Kyuichi had been frequently calling out to and bothering lately, because he thought "she had a nice face and seemed convenient for him".

...... The idea of a kid who is too self-centered, in a sense, as one would expect, is one that would surely cause them to be upset if they heard it, but such behavior ended in the worst possible outcome for Saito himself, being "rejected" without achieving anything yesterday.

And ...... unable to accept that fact, the selfishly indignant Saito was experiencing the state of mind that people who often commit crimes often talk about.

[I lost my temper and my mind went blank......]

The next thing Saito knew, he was pushing Kagura's back.

A big truck is vigorously aiming at the approaching roadway......

Right after he did it, Saito thought, "Oh crap!" but there was no way that time could be reversed and her body was supposed to be hit by a large truck ....... or so it should have been.

That's what he thought, and that's why he watched her flying in the air, turning blue. ...... The next moment, something unexpected happened.

I don't know what the logic was, but she "jumped" and landed on the sidewalk on the other side, as if her body had been lifted off the front of the truck just before it hit the ground.

He could not comprehend what had happened.

However, at this time, a man named Saito Taku had only one thing on his mind.

[This is bad, I have to run away! !]

Kagura Momoe jumped on the other side for some reason.

Friends who run at the right time and join Kagura.

The truck stopped by emergency braking, leaving tire tracks ......

If he stays here, he's going to be in trouble as a related party to this.

That was really all Saito was thinking about at that time.

As if the person who caused this situation was a complete stranger ...... "If she survived, she must be okay," he said, thinking such appropriate things.......　

And the next day ...... Saito, who checked on Kagura from the shadows as if nothing had happened, had already decided to forget about yesterday's incident.

[If nothing happened, it's the same as if I didn't do anything.]

Without any sense of guilt, such as the consciousness of having attempted murder.

[I guess I shouldn’t get too close to Kagura from now on......She ain't my type, to begin with, and I wouldn't have done what I did if she'd just dated me honestly......]

On the contrary, not only does he refuse to admit his sin, but he even interprets it selfishly as if the other party is at fault ......

Such a man had no way of knowing.

The fact that he had already received the worst judgment from "The One who Buries Dreams" ......

That night......After spending the night fiddling with his smartphone, as usual, Saito fell asleep.

However, at that moment, Saito felt that he had heard strange words.

[You will not be allowed to run away to your death ...... I will never let your filthy name be engraved on that girl's life any longer ...... Know that it piles on more guilt than ever before...... ]

Without being able to question why he heard it, or whether it was because he was at the moment of falling asleep, his consciousness drifted away into the world of dreams ......

However, Saito snickered at the sound of that voice, as if he were making fun of it.

"Run away to death? Why would I do that when I didn't do anything ...... "

・

・

・

Saito knows that he must be dreaming right now .......

That's because he sees himself as a child and gets excited about the TV screen ......

Indeed, what he sees on TV is the tokusatsu hero story that he used to be crazy about, a very easy-to-understand tale of good versus evil in which the allies of justice defeat the bad guys.

Saito's child "self" is very excited about such a story, but Saito, who sees his past self in it, snickers at his younger self.

"So stupid~. At the time, I really didn't think a story like this was real, not made up~"

As the story ended with the protagonist performing a special move in such a good versus evil tale, my "parents," who were watching behind me, smiled and came over to me.

"Taku-chan really likes that hero ~"

"Yeah! I'm going to be an ally of justice in the future!!"

Saito involuntarily thinks, "This is what I used to look like," and laughs.

For some reason, because he is in his old self, he knows that this "self" really thinks so ...... It makes him feel ashamed that he was such a child.

An ally of justice, there's no way such a thing exists in this world......

Then suddenly the scene changes......

It was a hero show held at a certain shopping mall...... The "past him" who begged his mother to bring him here was so excited...... The moment he was chosen for the last "Question to the Hero" session, his mood was elated.

"I want to be a hero in the future !!"

Saito is embarrassed by the sight of a child who would say such a thing in public, without a sense of shame, and with a true and honest heart...... It is indeed his childhood, so it's even more......

But to the true feelings of that child...... Not knowing why, an unspeakable throbbing pain spread through Saito's chest ......

[? What the hell is this......]

However, Hero answers the child's questions seriously.

"It's hard to be a hero. It's a tough and difficult job......Do you have the courage to face evil?"

"I have! I will do it !!"

The eyes of his childhood self shone brightly as he said cheerfully.

Like an idiot, he honestly believes that he can be a righteous hero ...... and that he can be the righteous one......

Throb......Pain spreads in Saito's chest......To his own image from a childhood when he knew nothing, when he truly believed he could be an embarrassing righteous person......

The truth is, he understands ...... He is about to remember something he doesn't want to remember ......

"Then what would you do if you had a friend who was being bullied?"

"I'm going to defeat the bullies and save them!!"

Throb ......

[It's a lie ...... the fact is, I only thought I was going to be left out, I thought it was funny, so I bullied them together and drove them to refuse to go to school......]

"What would you do if you saw an elderly person or disabled person on a train?"

"I'll give them the chair! Go ahead!"

Throb ......

[It's a lie......I got carried away and sat in the priority seat on purpose......]

The question the hero is asking is teaching the child moral things from his position as a "tokusatsu hero" ...... just that.

But ...... that question and the answer I gave in the past ...... It's as if something is gouged out from deep within the guts of "his present self" ...... Bringing unexplainable pain......

"Then...... the last question?"

When he said this, ...... for some reason, the hero had his weapon, a ray gun, in his hand against his "past self".

It's a flashy, special effects-like device, but it still weighs a fair amount and ...... for some reason he feels like it could be really used.

When Saito began to feel something cold down his spine ...... the hero asked a question.

"Do you think you could shoot a man who selfishly pushes a woman into the street and tries to kill her ......?"

"............Eh?"

At the moment he said this, Saito was somehow right in front of his hero and his past self.

He should have been with his childhood self until now......

Saito was upset by the abruptness of the situation, but he was further disturbed by a sudden turn of events.

His past self, who should have been so cheerful and answered the hero's questions with such enthusiasm ...... was pointing a gun at him with terribly cold eyes ......

"I can do it ...... I'll kill you ...... "

From the tone of his voice, Saito felt that his younger self was really trying to shoot him down, and he couldn't help but raise his voice.

"W-Wait, stop!! I'm your......!?"

However, Saito could not speak out any further.

His younger self is glaring at his future self with murderous eyes ...... and crying .......

"I don't ...... like it. I ...... I can't believe I'm such an uncool guy.......I can't believe I'm going to be the guy who tries to kill a girl because she doesn't do what I want......"

"Y-You ...... "

"And you don't admit that you did anything wrong either ...... I can't believe I'm going to be like a monster...... I would never admit ............"

The words of his past self, quivering at the muzzle and crying ...... it penetrated the depths of his own heart more easily than anyone else could have told him.

After all, those are words from his own heart that he used to have ...... A sense of justice that he had just forgotten and that even he should have had as a young kid with little knowledge and a natural sense of justice ........

Saito was not ...... shot, but he cowered on the spot.

[When did you start? When did I become such a pathetic man!?]

“Ah, ah, AAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

The moment he thought that ...... Saito woke up.

Unable to bear the intense pain from deep inside, he screamed and jumped up from the bed......

It is still before dawn, and in the dim light of his room, Saito is unable to control the cold sweat and shivering that erupts from his body and ...... he can't stop thinking about it.

The tears ...... won't stop .......

A child cried ...... in despair at the sight of his future self, a past self who had said he would be an ally of justice. ......

The natural "sense of justice" that he remembered comes as a powerful attack on his own conduct.

He is a villainous person who almost killed a person ...... no, he is worse than a far less corrupt and evil person ...... because he is not aware of his evilness.

"I want to die ...... this ...... this rotten guy ...... should rather die...... "

The desire for death against despair almost makes Saito pick up a box cutter knife unintentionally ...... but at that moment, the voice he heard before he fell asleep flashed back to him.

[You will not be allowed to run away to your death ...... I will never let your filthy name be engraved on that girl's life any longer ...... Know that it piles on more guilt than ever before......]

Saito finally understood that the words he had snickered at that time were ...... curses.

If by dying here, in the unlikely event that the victim, Kagura, feels responsible for his death ...... It would certainly carve the name of an outsider in her life who doesn't need to be remembered.

It is tantamount to a ...... further criminal act that only makes him feel more at ease ......

"Uwh, Uah ...... Uwaaaaaaaaaah!!"

At the fact ...... that his life of torment began when he became aware of his guilt and life became a pain ...... A man named Saito Taku had no choice but to scream.

Lucid Dream Advanced Application "Waking Up Deep Emotions"

Dreams that force you to remember feelings in the depths that you have forgotten because they are inconvenient to your present self.

One of the dreams that made the predecessor particularly feared by villains.

*

"Voluntary dropout? Saito?"

"Yeah ...... after all, it seems that he never came to school after that."

A week after that, Amane told me about the incident while we were on the way to school.

In the end, Saito confessed to his crime and left the school voluntarily, and later voluntarily transferred to one of the best correctional facilities in Japan. ......

Eventually, he was shaved and a ridiculously polite letter of apology was sent, saying, "I am well aware that a direct apology is the polite thing to do, but I would be sorry to make Kagura-san's eyes dirty and uncomfortable anymore." ......

After that, I heard that both families discussed consolation money and punishment, but Kagura-san, the person in question, said, "That's enough, it's so bothersome. I'm not even injured, so just stop getting involved in the future, and that's it ......", and in the end, it seemed to have been nothing more than a minimum medical bill.

"......Isn't she a little too kind-hearted? Kagura-san"

"Right ......... I think so too ......"

How can I say...... I know she is a cheerful person but isn't it too much or rather, how to say it.

"I'm also worried that one day she'll get into another kind of trouble ......"

I blurted out what I was thinking, and Amane laughed as she saw the "two" she had spotted ahead of her as she walked.

"Well, that part is okay, right? The Kagura family has a reliable and thankful~ guardian deity............ Morning~ Kagu-chan!"

"Oh~ morning"

And the person who was walking ahead of Amane when she called out to her was the same Kagura-san....... and.

"Good morning, Yumeji-san"

"Yo, good morning"

A golden fox cub walking at her feet cheerfully greeted me back.