Chapter 28 first quarter

"I'm Mariko." She said again, Chiori—no, the girl with Chiori's appearance lowered her head again, and then fell silent.I froze for a full three minutes, not knowing what to say. "You can't believe it! I don't know what's going on, but I'm really Mariko." She repeated in a low voice, and looked up at me closely, "Your expression is so strange. Indeed, what is in front of you is Chiori, this is Chiori's body, but what is inside her body is Mariko, it is me, Mariko Iwamura." "But, how could-" "Please don't ask me, I just want to ask what's going on! I was really scared, and when I opened my eyes, everyone shouted at me, Qianzhi, Qianzhi. At first, I thought you guys Just kidding. Because Mirai always thinks of bad ideas, I thought she and Ogiwara teamed up to play tricks on me together with Mr. Fujimoto, Dr. Kurano, and you, but I felt that the atmosphere was too serious. When it was strange, I suddenly remembered that the helicopter was hit by lightning and fell, and no matter how I looked at it, I was in the hospital ward, and my head was in a mess. So when Miss Fankou took me to the toilet, I was really scared , because the person in the mirror should be me, but why is Chiori seen in the mirror? No matter how I look, there is no me in the mirror. I don’t know what happened to me, and I am panicked. I can’t say it, and I don’t know how to say it. And since then, I have a very bad feeling.” After speaking, she twisted the blanket with her hands and lowered her head again.

——The person in front of me is indeed not the Chiori I know.Although I have no blood relationship with Chiori, we have lived together for at least eight years. I am sure that Chiori will never be able to say such an orderly thing.Even though Chiori's language center was revived due to some kind of shock, there were some words in her words that Chiori didn't understand at all, such as serious, bewildered, and other expressions that express emotions, she never used them. used to describe myself. "Are you really... Mariko?" The girl raised her face and nodded. "But, what the hell is going on—"

"I don't know. How could I know? I have been thinking why? How could this be? But I can't find the reason at all, and I can't sleep at all. Although I have thought about it, unless the doctor helps me and Qian Zhi had a brain transplant, but it was impossible because the hair was not shaved and the ribbons were still tied in place, let alone any surgical wounds. No matter how well-equipped the place is, There may be someone with such superb technology. I finally accepted the fact that I am still me, but I live in Qianzhi's body." There was no other way but to trust her.But even if I believe it, what should I say?My mind went blank, I just stared at her blankly.She did the same, staring at her hands on the blanket and pursing her lips.

"Jiyue, I..." After a while, she spoke softly, moved her eyes slightly up, peeked at my face, then shook her head, and said quietly, "Am I dying?" Before I could answer, she lowered her head and wept in a low voice. Her hands clutching the blanket were trembling, and the tears dripped down on those little hands one by one without interruption, and then slipped from the white fingers. "Mariko—" When I called her that, she suddenly burst out laughing, wiped her eyes with her left hand, and raised her head to show me a clumsy and unnatural smile.Seeing such a smile on Chiori's face gave me an incredible feeling.

"Kisaragi, it means you trust me, right?" Mariko then sighed, crossed her fingers, and stretched out her palms slowly, "It's unbelievable. Maybe this situation is natural, but I really It is closely connected to Chiori's body. I made her hand stretch forward like this, and when Chiori is hungry, I feel hungry too. I don't like omelet rice, but I was really hungry after that, so I had to I ate it obediently. At first I thought the ketchup would be very sweet and disgusting, but the taste seemed to be better than Chiori’s, so I felt it was delicious like never before. Because of this, I dare to say that Chiori’s body is not abnormal. Mental pain is also It's quite slight, but because it's the first day, I can't be sure. And Chiori's weight is so light, when she first started walking, she felt like walking on the moon, light and light, really amazing."

When she said this, Mariko closed her mouth and looked down again, but it was only for a moment, and she immediately raised her head again, her eyes were serious and her expression was firm. "Kisaragi, I just remember that when Chiori and I looked up at the sky, the helicopter suddenly exploded and fell. After that, can you tell me in detail what happened to me?" "I don't know if I should tell you..." "I want to know what happened to me." "However, I don't quite understand the medical explanations of your condition." "Just tell me what you know, please."

To be honest, I don't know if it's right or wrong to tell her the truth, but under the pressure of her determined eyes, I can only tell everything, including her standing up to protect Chiori, and the helicopter fragments inserted into her back , the thick smoke and flames that surrounded the two of them, the torrential rain that fell from the sky, the operation that lasted more than three hours, and the content of Future's conversation with Dr. Kurano who was extremely exhausted. "Dr. Kurano really said that? You really should ask him." After I finished recounting the conversation between the doctor and Mr. Fujimoto, Mariko interrupted me, pursed her lips and said nothing, and after a while, she let out a long breath.

"Speaking of which, it's really a critical situation." "Well, when we talk about surgery in the future—" I suddenly realized that I had slipped my tongue, but it was too late. "She said it's not surprising that my heart stopped beating even during surgery, right?" "Sorry." "You don't need to apologize, I heard this from her just now. But thank you for telling me, I probably know what happened...Is it because I said bad things about the helicopter that I suffered this kind of retribution ?” With her eyes lowered, she had already sighed countless times, she murmured to herself, and tears fell again, “Kizuki, if God let me enter Qianzhi’s body, if there really is a God, and He Also has this ability, then He is really a cruel God, don’t you think?”

"Why do you think so?" "Because -- dying ignorantly is the absolute happiness. Like now, my body may be gradually heading towards death. If this is the case, I would rather end my life without regaining consciousness and knowing nothing. Do you know? Frankly speaking , I am very scared now, this situation may not last long, because this is Chiori's body in the first place, I must return it to her! Although it is groundless, I just know it. At that time, when the airflow caused by the explosion hit Come on, I was scared when I knew that I was about to suffer great pain, but knowing that I would die at any time like this, it really made me feel extremely scared." After finishing speaking, Mariko covered her face again and sobbed softly.

"Mariko——" I didn't know what to say except calling her name. From the very beginning, I couldn't use words to comfort her. I deeply felt that I was powerless. "I'm sorry, usually I hardly cry in front of people, but today I can't stop." Mariko tried hard to force a smile but failed.She lay down and turned her back to me, escaping from my sight, and said quietly, "Kisaragi, I want to sleep. Chiori's body seems to be exhausted, but maybe it's me who is really tired. Go to sleep too." Sleep well and don't worry about me, if I feel a headache or something uncomfortable, I will tell you right away, but there is nothing wrong now, just a little scared and sad, you know, this is how I feel, not a thousand Woven."

"Do you think it would be better to sleep in?" "Perhaps! And I have nothing to say." "I see. Shall I dim the lights?" "Well, sorry to trouble you." I went to the light switch near the wall and adjusted it a few times before turning off the fluorescent lamp and turning on the small light bulb by the window.I was a little drowsy, but there were still various things in my mind that kept revolving around. Even if I closed my eyes, my consciousness was still very clear. "Moon." I looked up to see Mariko's shoulders were shaking slightly.She turned slowly to face me.Under the dim light, Mariko's terrified eyes are still clearly discernible. "I have a strange request, would you like to hear me?" I nodded, feeling incredible in my heart.I had a strong awareness again that what was in front of me was Chiori's face, but it wasn't Chiori.But I still subconsciously showed the smile I usually give Chiori.And Mariko gave me a small smile back. "That's... can you hold my hand like you did to Chiori before I fell asleep? If you move the sofa over, you don't have to stand up all the time." "Of course you can if you want—is that all right?" I moved the sofa over as she asked.There is a slight difference in height between the bed and the sofa, but as long as you adjust your posture and put your elbows on the bed, it won't be uncomfortable to hold hands.Although I was holding her with my right hand, it was only then that I realized that for the first time I had no gloves on my hands.I wondered in my heart, when did I take off the gloves? "Thank you, this made me feel a little more at ease-I'm really embarrassed to say such a thing, but fortunately I opened my mouth." Mariko sighed deeply again, "I should be able to sleep Yes. Kisaragi, will you feel uncomfortable like this?" "You don't have to worry, it's fine." "Really? That's good. One more thing." "What is it?" "The fact that I took Chiori's body, I think it's better not to tell Mirai and Fujimoto-san, what do you think?" "Really? I don't know what to do." "No matter how I think about it, I don't think they will believe such a thing. If I tell the future, she must be the first to suspect you. I can imagine that no matter how I explain, she will force you to admit that Qianzhi has been fluent since before Talk about it, and treat this as a bad joke you made. At least, she would rather admit that Chiori has been able to speak before than believe that I am Mariko. So only you know about this matter, I don’t care, and I also don't want to cause unnecessary confusion." "Indeed, it seems better that way." "Well, so I will continue to pretend that I can't speak, please help me." "I see." "Thank you." Mariko squeezed my hand slightly, "Kisatsuki, good night." "Good night." After saying goodnight to each other, the two fell silent.Although I tried hard to fall asleep, my consciousness kept regurgitating everything that happened today. The most important thing is, is the person around me Mariko or Chiori?No matter what I think, I can't find a reasonable explanation, but I can't stop thinking.The feeling in my right hand let me know that Mariko was not asleep either, because sometimes she would suddenly tighten her grip and then slowly relax, which also proved that she was tormented by waves of fear.Soon, the strength in her hand gradually weakened, and the interval between clenching and relaxing became wider and wider. It seemed that she should have stabilized—— "Kisara, are you asleep?" "Not yet. Too many things are spinning in my head, but I can't sleep." "Really? I have something I really want to tell you, would you like to hear it?" "certainly." "Your fingers are so long." "yes?" "Yes! After discovering this incident, I suddenly remembered another incident just now." "What is it?" "If this makes you feel uncomfortable, please forgive me. It just occurred to me that this is the hand that taught me to play Beethoven's Sonata "Walderstein". It's just that-- by the way, Chiori has always been tight like this hold your hand!" But it's been a long time since I held Chiori with my bare hands.Did I wear gloves when I flew home from Austria?Just when she was lost in thought, Mariko quietly wrapped her fingers around it. "Kisaragi, let's go to sleep now! Otherwise I might just keep talking until dawn." "That's right, then try to fall asleep! Good night." Not long after, Mariko loosened her fingers slowly and let out a steady and regular breath. Under her influence, my consciousness also began to dim. When I was about to fall asleep, I remembered that I was taking Ogiwara's car to the hospital. Gloves off.The white cotton gloves were bright red with Mariko's blood, but maybe it was the blood from my fingers—I couldn't help feeling so drowsily as I was sleepy.