Chapter 9 Chapter 9 should be a relatively satisfactory answer

The meeting place for Hitoshi Seki, Hirobe, and the Shiomi brothers was chosen to be in Kotaro Sarutani's studio. Because the Shiomi brothers wish: If possible, they want to meet on Mount Kisaragi.The reason is that it would be too conspicuous for the two of them to get together in Gujin City, and the news of the two's reunion would reach the parents of both parties at some point, so Guan Guren and Hongfan asked Sarutani to borrow his studio. It is rare for Sarutani to take care of others, and specially made coffee for the four of them. In the slightly dirty and messy studio, it was filled with the aroma of coffee, and the atmosphere became very relaxed.

The stern-faced Hisako Nishizawa appeared with Shiomi brothers, introduced the two to Hitoshi Seki and Hongfan, said "Please", and left quickly. Sarutani also walked outside the studio. "Hey, don't go back in such a hurry, how about a cup of coffee?" He stopped Hisako, and Hisako hesitated for a while with a stiff expression, and reluctantly sat side by side with Sarutani on the wooden bench abandoned in front of the studio. "Are you familiar with those two brothers?" Kotaro asked in a low voice. "It's okay, we live very close." Hisako took the coffee and replied coldly, staring straight at Kotaro's bony feet protruding from his bare trouser legs, as if he was going to pounce on them and bite them.

"Recently, in my class, I am creating some works with the theme of 'sea'. I am very concerned about a student's painting. . . . In the dark seabed, there are many strange shells, some of which look like people. The face, some bleeding, not only the painting skills are superb, but also the perception of color and composition is very deep. But, the downside is that it is very dark. The guy who drew that picture, in art class, was painting intently, like He draws with all his attention while hugging his desk. If you stare at him all the time, you will have a ghostly feeling. I wanted to talk to him, but the other party was too enthusiastic to create, and it was difficult. Close. He keeps his head down to draw, though, and you can see a big purple mole behind his ear."

Hisako raised his eyes and glanced at Kotarou. "One of the two who are here now." Kotaro muttered as if talking to himself, but Hisako remained silent. "Oh, if we look away for a while, our family's Tadahiko will be hurt." Red lipstick, red nails. Tadahiko is always the one who gets hurt.Takahiko looked confused. When did that happen?At my birthday party, I played the game of "guess who is the older brother and who is the younger brother" with my friends. My friends guessed wrong one by one. Zhongyan and Xiaoyan sneered triumphantly. I suddenly became angry. The two sometimes In particular, they will put on the expressions of adults, making people feel that they are laughing at themselves.I yelled, what a look, it's easy to tell two people apart just by looking at the back of their necks.There is a mole behind Zhongyan's right ear!I noticed this a long time ago.

"Hisako!" I still remember the terrible tone of my mother at that time.In an instant, the faces of Zhong Yan and Xiao Yan became as white as wax.I didn't know what mistake I made, and I cried in a low voice when I was nervous, and the birthday party was over. "Then what can we do? Hisako is not malicious." "You should know—seeing the dull expressions of the two brothers, I can't help but..." That night, I overheard some conversations with my parents. Before that, I felt very strange. Why did my aunt bring Zhongyan to the house after the consultation time?Isn't auntie at home during the day?Why is Zhong Yan so painful, and Auntie still has time to seriously dress herself up? "Really, a boy of this age can't take his eyes off for a minute. This kid is really frizzy... really don't have eyes... he was burned again..."

That kind of singing voice, elegant appearance, calm and feminine voice.Another voice came to mind. "I, I decided to go with my mother." After they entered high school, their parents' divorce by agreement was finally established.Jiuzi knew that his father had spent a lot of energy secretly in order to award both children to the father of the twins.Hisako looked at Tadahiko's face in surprise.Hisako's eyes were full of doubts.Why choose a mother after being abused like that?Tadahiko knew the meaning of Hisako's strong silent questioning, but smiled cheerfully: "For the new husband, I am really considerate, my mother with a lot of self-esteem! Treat the other party's children in a low manner. Those guys completely treat my mother as a new nanny. If you say so, I can leave her ?"

Hisako was speechless.Their misfortune, in the final analysis, is only their misfortune, not mine.Jiuzi looked at the steam rising from the coffee in a trance. Sitting in front of the two, Hongfan felt a strange atmosphere. Shiomi Tadahiko and Shiomi Takahiko really look exactly the same.Neither fat nor thin, with neatly trimmed black hair, and a pair of clever black eyes under well-defined eyebrows, they are completely qualified models for the General Affairs Office's public service advertisement with the title "Japanese Boy". The "orthodox" teenager.The answer to the question is very straightforward. If one party speaks, the other party with the same tone will continue to speak, with a tacit understanding—it should be said that they were originally one person, but they were just divided into two.They glanced at each other from time to time, and the conversation continued.

I remember when I attended the funeral of Guan Guren’s grandfather, although I couldn’t figure out which denomination it belonged to, but seeing the scene of two monks facing each other, beating the gongs alternately and chanting sutras loudly, I felt like looking at two mirrors In contrast to that strange atmosphere, the pair of twin brothers in front of them seemed to bring people back to that funeral. While observing the twins, Guan Guren recalled what Hisako said "a good boy who will make me feel ashamed".That's right, these two people do have something unusual, "abnormal", no, it feels like they are particularly refreshing, with faces that are rare among their peers.How should it be compared?Like monks who have completed asceticism, or refugees returning to their homeland after a long wandering life.Guan Gu searched everywhere in his memory for things similar to them.

"We are also surprised that that rumor will become a fact." Tadahiko said frankly. "Oh, Zhongyan-kun, did you hear about it from your younger brother?" Hong Fan asked. "That's right." Zhongyan glanced at Xiaoyan, and the two of them met each other's eyes, as if they were talking to each other wordlessly. "Actually, those are words written on the walls of Changxiao's student dormitory." Takahiko replied with a few words. "Changxiao's student dormitory—where is it?" "It's at the south of the station, next to the ghost factory and the church."

Guan Guren felt a flash of inspiration in his mind.I see!That place is Nagashino's student dormitory.That map was pierced with red pins, and the place where the red pins were pinned was centered on the Nagashino student dormitory.It is logical to judge that the rumor spread from Nagashino's student dormitory.Do these two know the truth behind the rumors?Guan Gu tried hard to read whether there was any lying element in the twins' expressions. However, Hongfan always has the feeling of being cleverly thrown off by the other party.According to Xiaoyan’s answer, on the morning of April 27th, when he got up to go to the toilet, he saw a large piece of paper on the wall of the dormitory, on which the prophecy was written, but when he woke up again, It was ripped off.Although this became the basis for ascertaining the source of the rumor, the clues were suddenly interrupted because of this.I don't know who wrote it, and I don't know who else has read it.That piece of paper appeared for a very short time, and if you asked other students, you would definitely not get a satisfactory answer—at this point, it would be difficult to ask questions later.

"Hey, you two, do you go to 'Louis' often?" Hongfan slowly changed the subject.Is it my nervousness, I feel that the two of them were shocked for a moment. "...Yeah, I go occasionally, what's the matter?" Tadahiko asked and answered carefully. "Because the boss there said that he once lent the records to Xiaoyan." Hongfan also pretended to be nonchalant, and continued to ask questions. The two started to face each other again, Xiaoyan opened his mouth with a dazed expression. "Ah——I, like Zhongyan, took art as an elective. It happened that the subject at that time was the creation of record sleeves. For this reason, I borrowed some records that can be used as reference, and just looked at the design drawings on the record sleeves. .I don’t listen to that kind of music, so I never took out the record.” I let you one step ahead again, Hongfan murmured in his heart.He threatened that he hadn't seen the record, which meant that he didn't know what was written on the record, "On May 17th Kisaragi-san Endo had a dream".Since the other party said they didn't see it, it was a bit inconvenient for me to ask the specific content. The conversation had to end here, and Hongfan thanked the two people, and added, if you know who posted that piece of paper, please let me know. "Understood." The two answered in unison, bluntly, and walked out of the studio side by side. "...Do you think those two are telling the truth?" At dusk, on the chaotic and crowded street, Hongfan passed Guan Gu while walking. "I don't know. Twins are really incredible. I really can't imagine that if there is a scene of someone exactly like me in this world." Guan Gu and Hongfan stayed in Sarutani's studio, spread out the map, and no matter what, they came to the conclusion that the source of the rumor was Changxiao's student dormitory.Sarutani took out the "five-year-old" plum wine he had pickled and recommended it to the two of them. While the three of them were drinking slowly, the sun went down.When Sarutani was waiting outside, he heard from Hisako about the story of the family of the Shiomi brothers and the story of the dark painting drawn by Tadahiko, which made Ren and Hongfan feel a little drunk.In order to sober up, the two of them wandered the streets of Yazu silently with the lingering aftertaste of depression. "what." At this moment, the two noticed two figures at the same time. "It's Caesar." "It's Fujita Shin." The two looked at each other.In the distance ahead, Fujita Jin and Nishizawa Hisako's close figures came into their eyes, and Jin and Hirobe secretly changed their route.In Tanizu, couples do not greet each other, and both parties pretend not to know each other's existence, which unintentionally became the etiquette of high school students. "Oh, who is he? The guy with the long sash." It was impossible for the two people in the distance to hear, but Hongfan still asked Guan Gu in a low voice. "He is my childhood friend, my 'faxiao'. Didn't I tell you about him? Fujita Shin." "Oh, that's the one who went to middle school in Morioka——I saw it for the first time. Ha, he's very handsome. I can't tell he's from Makabe like you." "Your words are really bad. However, it's surprising that the wooden man would be interested in a girl—and, besides, the other party was that Ryoze. Well, this world is really confusing. Where did they meet? Yeah? Jin, this guy, actually kept a tryst with a girl from the second high school without telling me..." Hongfan squinted at Guan Gu who was strongly shocked, and his heart was even more shocked by Hisako's changes. She always kept a straight face, and just now she was still wearing an unhappy expression, without a trace of a smile showing Brother Shiomi Jiuzi who came here now showed a shy and feminine smile, which left a deep impression on him.Oh, such a stubborn girl, in front of the boy she likes, there will be such a change in expression.Hongfan couldn't help but feel lonely. This year, Gujin has entered the rainy season ahead of schedule. In previous years, the rainy season usually came in late June. But on June 9, the weather forecast announced that the rainy season had entered the Northeast.The heavy cloud that billows in misery, the damp feeling upon waking, the mildew on the bread, the slug crawling on the wall, all are gentle reminders that this country is a wet country. Like the announcement of the rainy season, from that day on, the rain continued to fall with a gloomy appearance every day. The city of Yazu was drenched by the sweltering rain, and the four high schools also ushered in the midterm exams together. It seemed that they had woken up The inorganic atmosphere is floating on Mount Kisaragi. Shiho Endo returns, causing a stir in the city.She was emaciated, unhurt, and in a state of total disorientation.Where did she go? From the police to all the people who saw her asked, she just repeated dully, I just walked around Gujin for a while.She insisted that she never left Gujin.I still felt that I just took a walk in a short period of time, but I didn't expect that so long had passed when I came back to my senses.The people around were stunned by her words.This girl doesn't look like she's lying.Although in terms of the result, the girl who disappeared without incident was gratifying to congratulate, but this is always an unhappy ending. During these days, Hiromi Ichinose was in poor health, and the smell continued to linger unchanged, her sense of smell was completely paralyzed, and she couldn't even taste the taste of food. Therefore, she lost her appetite, and her body, which was not fat before, became more and more changeable The thinner she got, seeing her getting thinner and thinner, people around her began to worry about whether she had anorexia. On the embankment, the finger of the person who popped out of the stone behind Ah Xian immediately retracted, and Ah Xian suddenly turned and went home, as if nothing had happened.However, Hiromi really saw it, and tried hard to restrain herself from thinking about that picture. It was the last day of the midterm exam, and Hiromi was taking the "Modern Mandarin" exam.Sitting by the window seat, she accidentally glanced out of the window and was startled. Under the ginkgo tree downstairs outside the window, the girl was standing there looking up. Hiromi wondered for a moment whether she was dreaming, why was she standing there? ——She came to see me, Hiromi immediately understood. The girl held a white flower in her hand, and when she saw Hiromi noticed her, she slowly raised the flower in front of her. It was a white gerbera. The petals make people feel so dazzling.The girl smiled and quickly left there, disappearing from Hiromi's sight. What does it mean?The girl's smile and the white flowers were fixed in Hiromi's mind, and she couldn't get rid of it. She couldn't concentrate on the exam, which made Hiromi worry. As soon as the bell rang, Hiromi ran out of the classroom and ran to the ginkgo tree where the girl had stood.Of course, the girl did not leave any traces, and Hiromi looked around, but didn't know what she was looking for. Beside the gate, there were scattered white glowing little things.Hiromi ran over in surprise.The white petals that are not polluted are the petals of gerbera.Hiromi raised her head and cast her eyes on the road outside the gate. In front of the rain-soaked black asphalt road, brilliant flower petals were scattered—it really seemed to emanate from the inside of the flower.Hiromi understands the girl's intentions. Hiromi followed the scattered white petals of gerbera as if possessed by an evil spirit. Does a flower have so many petals? ——A corner of Hiromi's mind was thinking about such a question, but she couldn't help but move along the petals.In the other corner of my mind, the voice of "can't go, can't go" kept echoing. After walking a long distance and leaving school, I don't know where I came and how much time has passed.After crossing the river, crossing the road, and crossing the railway line, Hiromi continued to pursue the white petals. When he recovered, he suddenly realized that he had stopped in front of the ancient church in Zhannan. The spiers of the church roof thrust into the low cloudy sky, as if they were angry with something.Even the ivy entwined on the wall is withered and shriveled, and it looks abnormally withered in this season when the plants should be lush and green. At this moment, as if it was just in time for the end of a certain week, the tall wooden door at the entrance creaked open, and old women, children, and thin young people came out in an endless stream, presenting a slightly lively atmosphere, waiting for them After drifting away from Hiromi one by one, she was left alone in front of the church. Hiromi timidly approached the gate, and on the stone steps in front of the gate lay a white flower petal that had been trampled by the believers who came out. Yumi quietly pushed open the door, which was expected to be heavy, but unexpectedly light. The inside is filled with dry and quiet air, and the longitudinal curve slowly leading to the tall roof gives people the illusion that their bodies are floating upwards. Two rows of long chairs were neatly arranged, and on the front podium in the middle aisle, the girl was standing there. "Waiting for you." The girl's calm voice echoed in the chapel. Hiromi didn't know how to answer, he hesitated and stopped. "I've been thinking about when I will tell you. Originally, I thought that as long as you face to face like this, you will understand everything without saying anything." The girl got down from the podium and walked straight towards Hiromi. "You are?" "Tanno. Danno Shizu. Same age as you." Hiromi is looking for words to talk to. "Are you a true Christian?" Suddenly, words came out of my mouth without thinking through my brain. "Yes." The girl tilted her head slightly, as if guessing what Hiromi asked. "Do you believe it?" Hiromi stared at the girl's face in disbelief.Hiromi couldn't understand people who were interested in religion and actually believed in it.In particular, like herself, Danno, who has special functions different from ordinary people and can see different worlds, would believe in the thought system created by human beings. Hiromi finds it amazing.Tanno seemed to understand Hiromi's question. "Well, I want to believe it." "I don't really understand religion." Hiromi slipped and fell, and fell onto the bench with a crash.Across the aisle in the middle, Tanno also faced Hiromi and sat on the chair on the other side.Tanno asked back with a cold smile: "Then, what do you understand?" Yumi's heart was suddenly blocked.imprecise reality.I have a deeper understanding than anyone else. Things in this world do not have any confirmation and are unstable. Simply using "understanding and incomprehension" to distinguish them will make Tanno laugh at himself. "Yeah... there's nothing understandable." Hearing Hiromi's answer as if talking to herself, Tanno smiled. "I know that religion is an unfinished product and full of contradictions. But in a world where nothing can be answered satisfactorily, it is a relatively beautiful answer." Tanno's answer naturally echoed in this chapel full of isolation from the world.Hiromi understood that Tanno's idea was obtained through long-term and continuous exploration.Yumi suddenly felt unbelievable: what is the background of this girl's growth? "I—I, why don't I know about you. You have such a strong sense, no matter where you meet, you should definitely be noticed." An atmosphere of intimacy began to linger between the two of them. Although today was the first time they talked, after they were convinced that they had something in common, they had the illusion that they were like old friends for many years. "I, it's nothing special. My sensory ability was acquired the day after tomorrow. You are amazing. When I saw you for the first time, I was shocked. There is a light shining from behind you." "how could be." Yumi smiled wryly. "However, I don't understand—you, even though you are in Yazu, you haven't seen that yet..." "what?" Hiromi looked at Tanno's face. "There are a lot of people with superpowers in your immediate family who do a lot of interference to keep you from seeing it." "What is it?" "Well, you'll find out soon enough." The girl hesitated for a moment, and her words became a little ambiguous, but she looked at Hiromi's face as if thinking again. "Then, shall we go and have a look?" "go?" "Hold out your hand." According to what she said, Hiromi stretched out her hand, Tanno held Hiromi's with cold, slender and beautiful hands, and in an instant, Hiromi's eyes became dark. "Hisako has a boyfriend?" Minori was taken aback and looked up. "Shh, can you keep your voice down?" Saturday, June 15th.After school, Minori came to the city library under the pretext of preparing for the pre-investigation of the field study, and Jinhe Kobe under the pretext of reviewing the exam. It was only a matter of time before these members exchanged information. "What, I don't know why, heck, according to Jiuzi's personality, she won't be so ostentatious-well, I was a little hurt by her, she always laughed at Gujin's boy, until now, She must be ashamed herself, ashamed to tell me..." Mino was nagging, although they all aimed not to interfere with each other's friendship, but the closest girlfriend concealed the love affair from him, which still made Mino feel lonely. "The other party, what kind of guy is he?" Minori asked angrily. "It's Ren's little boy. He's very handsome and has a great figure." "Wouldn't it be Guan Gu who introduced you?" "how can that be possible?" Jin desperately shook his head in denial. "Even I was surprised when I saw those two people walking together. As far as I know, although many girls like him, I have never seen him express interest in any girl." "I really want to see him." Minori looked curious. "I met Fujita in an unexpected place this year." Guan Gu suddenly remembered the scene of meeting Fujita Shin in the park behind his house.That guy, said something strange, what is it? Last night, my pine tree caught fire. "Ah, yes, it's about the pine tree." Guan Gu's sudden cry made Minori and Hongfan startled. "What's wrong, Jin." "What pine tree?" Guan Gu revealed what Jin had said to him when he saw Fujita Jin after a long absence in early spring. Monk Joji, Minori and Hongfan, couldn't figure it out. Only Guan Gu understood what was so stupid. "Well, yes, I remembered it, but I kept forgetting about it. It's like this. His family is the leading landowner in the Jiabu. They live in a big house called 'Pine Tree Mansion'. In the courtyard, There is an ancient and huge pine tree whose branches are twisted and undulating like this, which makes people feel shocked. That is the pine tree commonly known as the "God's pine" in the Makabe." "Is there anything magical about that?" Hongfan cast his gaze into the distance. "Well, it is said that when something happens in the village, the branches of the pine tree will touch the ground, or they will break off and bleed. This means that the gods will descend on the pine tree to warn people." "What are you talking about, the village you live in is really mysterious." Minori laughed. "You must think I'm lying to you, but when Fujita and I were in elementary school, we actually saw that pine tree catch fire once." "Fire? What does it look like?" "On the tips of the branches, there are round fireballs, several of them, emitting a dim light, which feels a little cold to the touch." "Isn't this just a natural phenomenon caused by phosphorus and bugs?" Hongfan showed an expression of "I don't believe in this superstition". "Hey, don't worry about what caused it. It's not important. It's just that something strange happened in the village at that time." "What's up?" "That happened the day after the fire was lit. There was an earthquake in the open sea that day, and Miyagi Prefecture was also affected. A person from the Makabe was crushed under the concrete wall of Sendai and died." "Wow!" Minori let out a scream. "Stop talking about ghosts during the day, oops, I'm getting goosebumps." "What's there to be afraid of?" Although Hongfan spoke of Minori in a mocking tone, his own expression was also filled with fear. Ren ignored the two friends who were feeling terrified, but fell into the memories alone. At that time, the two were still elementary school students. At that time, the two of them were chatting happily in Fujita's room about something, what was the topic... ...is jumping. ……Ok?What? Fujita's voice echoed in his mind.jump.I think he said the word so many times, oops, what else did he say after that?This guy. ...From ancient times, little by little, even after tens of thousands of years, plants and animals have evolved, the shape of feathers has changed, and the number of fingers has also changed, and the speed is dizzyingly slow. That's right, it's about the evolution of life, and I've read the atlas, that's right. ...However, one day, suddenly, an evolution that would have taken millions of years took place.No matter how you think about it, you must evolve step by step or sequentially.Just one night, a sudden leap in the past happened.For whatever reason, this evolution has happened several times so far.Thanks to it, we live in this world.Although there is almost no biological difference between humans and monkeys, one day, suddenly, our ancestors "leaped".Hey, we may also "leap" at some point. ...Hey, Jin, look! At this time, Fujita slowly pointed his hand out of the window, so the two of them saw the strange, seemingly extinguishing fire of the god descending pine. That fire again? Guan Gu's thoughts returned to reality, especially recently, there is nothing strange in the Jiabe, what kind of message did Fujita come to convey that day?Why did you come here to tell me such a thing? In Guangu's mind, as if replaying the film continuously, the back of Fujita sitting on the swing and bathing in the sunset kept appearing.