AEON MALL in the station, Asahikawa City, Hokkaido.
Sayu and Yuko walked out of the cinema on the fourth floor together.
While chatting and laughing about the content of the movie just now, I rode the escalator downstairs.
When they arrived at the second floor of the shopping mall, the two of them couldn't help but be shocked by the sight in front of them.
"Wow! Why are there so many people——??" Yuko Masaka couldn't help but shout out, and Sayu blinked her eyes frequently in surprise.
Look around.
A queue of dense people was distributed around the escalator entrance, stretching out a long and winding dragon with no end in sight, blocking the space.
Among the crowds of men and women, uniformed shopping mall staff were passing through, issuing reminders and guidance from time to time.
"——Customers queuing up, please don't crowd, and please leave space for other customers to pass! Customers taking the escalator down, please use this way, and watch your step!"
Under the guidance of the staff, the crowded team slowly began to squirm like insects, and soon a gap was opened for two people to enter and exit.
"Ah, no! You have to leave quickly, Yuko."
"Eh? Ah, okay!"
Seeing the right opportunity, Sayu hurriedly took Yuko and ran out of the narrow corridor.
"——What on earth is going on? Is it a supermarket discount?"
"Even if you ask that, Yuko, I don't know very well."
"I always feel that it looks very lively over there, which makes people care..."
Yuko Masaka stretched her neck and looked around curiously, with a thought in her mind.
"Hey~ Sayu-chan."
"What's up?"
"How about we go to the front and take a look?"
Faced with this suggestion from his friend, Sayu pondered and responded.
"Well...I'm not wrong, but Yuzi, didn't you just go to Starbucks to buy something to drink? Aren't you going?"
"It's okay, it's okay~! It's not too late for us to figure out what happened before. Then we can go. Hurry up and go~!"
Following the direction in which the team extended, the two of them walked forward together.
After walking for a while, the team stopped at the door of a certain store.
Animate - This string of names is clearly embedded on the conspicuous blue door.
"——Please don't be crowded! Each person can only purchase one copy per volume. The price is 440 yen. Please prepare your change in advance. Thank you very much!"
Just like the situation at the escalator, there are also staff here maintaining order in the team, but the uniforms they wear have changed to Animate's.
Seeing this scene, Yuko Masaka was immediately disappointed and fainted.
"...What? It turns out that the otaku store is holding an event? Really, I was looking forward to it in vain."
"Ahaha, there's nothing we can do about it." Sayu gently held her back to comfort her.
"Anyway, cheer up. What should we do next? Do we want to go directly to Starbucks?"
"Haha...Okay, let's do that."
After discussing, the two people were about to take the escalator downstairs, but were suddenly stopped by a surprised voice from the side.
"——Huh? The squad leader and the deputy squad leader?"
…
""
He turned around to follow the source of the sound.
They saw several male high school students in uniforms looking at them.
"Oh! It's really you two. Why are you here??" The long-haired boy who called them waved his hands enthusiastically, with a look of surprise on his face.
"Taniguchi-san?"
"Taniguchi-kun?"
Sayu and Yuko chanted in unison, and then realized that the boys standing next to Taniguchi were also classmates in the class.
Since they happened to meet here, it wouldn't be polite to leave directly, so they walked up and said hello.
After all, the station is the busiest place in Asahikawa, so it's not surprising to meet someone you know here. There's nothing surprising about it.
Having said that, necessary greetings are still necessary.
Yuezi, who had a relatively good relationship with him, took the initiative to ask.
"...So, what are you doing here?"
Several people who heard this couldn't help being stunned at the same time.
Immediately afterwards——
"Ah? You don't know??" Taniguchi asked with a surprised look on his face.
The two women were also stunned by the question.
what do you know?""
"What else could it be, of course comics? Rather, the people gathered here are here to buy comics."
"comics……?"
"Yes, the comic "Chainsaw Man" is the work of the teacher Fujimoto we talked about last time."
Taniguchi said matter-of-factly, and even the boy next to him nodded in agreement, "Yeah--!"
The two women who heard this had different reactions.
Sayu nodded gently to express understanding, while Masaka Yuko frowned in conflict.
"Why is it him again... It's just a cartoon. Are you going too exaggerated one by one?"
"Wow, it means that your resentment towards Teacher Fujimotoshu is really not concealed."
"I just can't like that person anyway!"
"Oh, even if you say so, deputy squad leader..."
Taniguchi shook his head helplessly from side to side and sighed, while tapping the front with his chin, "Well, look over there first."
The two women instinctively looked in the direction he pointed, and what caught their eyes was a group of fashionably dressed young girls who didn't look like they would appear in a team.
In other words, if the end of this line is leading to a place like a cosmetics store, it would not be surprising at all for this phenomenon to occur.
But if it were a place where comics and animations were sold...
Weird, really weird!
Masaka Yuko couldn't help but think this, and at the same time, she heard the excited chatter of the girls among the noisy people.
"——That means, no matter how many times I see him, Xiaoyou is so handsome!"
"I understand, I understand~! Have you ever been so handsome?!"
"It's so funny. Let me tell you, my sister has actually decided to take the exam to Tokyo, the same high school where Xiaoyu is studying. She has been studying hard for it recently."
"Hey, isn't it? Is this true? I'm so envious! I also want to go to the same school as Xiaoyou!"
"Well~ We are only in the first year of high school anyway. If you can convince your family, maybe you can transfer there in the second grade~?"
…
"It's impossible, it's impossible, my parents wouldn't agree to that kind of thing - haha... Damn it, it would be great if Xiaoyou could come to school here with us."
"Hehe, instead of having that kind of whimsical idea, why not just go to Tokyo for a visit? Maybe you can meet Xiaoyou in person?"
"It's not that simple."
"Really~? But I heard that Xiaoyou's school will hold a cultural festival at the end of this month, and it will be open to the public, right?"
"Liar!?""""
…
Words like this kept coming to my ears, like an idol's star-chasing scene, full of a girl's reverie.
While Sayu and Yuko couldn't help but feel slightly moved by this, Taniguchi complained angrily.
"You mean, deputy squad leader, didn't you just question our exaggeration? But at least we came here to line up because we really like comics.
But look at those girls, they have never even read the comics! They came to buy the comics just because of the teacher’s appearance. Isn’t this an exaggeration?
To be honest, this is really annoying. After all, the first print edition of comics is limited. What if the goods are out of stock, what will those of us who really want to buy comics do?"
"Yes! And it is said that the supplies we Asahikawa receive are very small. Even if the purchase limit is implemented, it is difficult to guarantee that we can successfully purchase the comics."
“The most important thing is that these first batches of editions do not accept online reservations. You can only rely on luck to buy them in the store, which adds to the uncertainty!”
"exactly--!"
The boys who came with Taniguchi all echoed each other, with mixed emotions.
It would be fine if we were just competing with fellow fans, but now we have to compete with the girls from Xiaoyou's support club, which undoubtedly greatly increases the difficulty!
"..."
Sayu listened to the complaints of several people with a wry smile and didn't know how to comfort them for a while.
In comparison, Yuko Masaka's decision to not want to stay is much more straightforward.
After briefly greeting Taniguchi and others, the other party took her to the Starbucks on the first floor.
The two bought drinks here and chatted about some things.
Since they were going home in different directions, they finally parted ways outside the station.
After putting Yuko Masaka on the bus, Sayu walked home alone, making a series of faint "creak-crack~" sounds.
It's still snowing lightly in Asahikawa today. Flawless white snowflakes fall from the indigo sky, covering the ground with a thin white carpet.
On the wall outside the mall, a separate poster for "Chainsaw Man" was scrolling on a large LCD screen.
In addition to the colorful pictures used for promotion, for some unknown reason, the author’s own interview screenshots are also specially included next to them.
At this moment, some men and women were taking pictures with their mobile phones.
Judging from the effect alone, the design of this advertisement seems to be pretty good.
Sayu didn't care about it. He just stood quietly at the intersection at the traffic light and waited. All he could think about was past exam questions from several universities.
She recently took a mock exam, and according to the final results, the two-year-old university's assessments were all A's.
…
Including the class teacher, Ms. Misaki, also said that as long as this momentum can be maintained, it is basically a certainty to be admitted to Hayei University.
No matter how hard it is, you can still enter Aoyama Gakuin University.
It can be said that things are developing smoothly, and she will definitely be able to take the exam to Tokyo as she wishes.
While thinking about this, the traffic light just turned green.
As Sayu walked forward silently, he couldn't help but think of what happened in the mall.
Perhaps it was because she saw too much relevant information today that she further thought of that boy.
"Kato Yusuke..." She murmured to herself, feeling slightly lost in thought.
However, in the next second——
Beep beep beep beep——!
Accompanied by a sharp and rapid whistle——
Crunch, crunch, crunch—!
The distant harsh friction sound also exploded in the streets at night.
The voice was distant yet close, with an indescribable emotion that instinctively attracted Sayu's attention.
Turn around and look.
An out-of-control red van suddenly burst into view, swaying left and right and sliding towards her. The distance was no more than ten meters away.
Her vagina couldn't help but shrink, and then it was illuminated white by the dazzling headlights, and she closed her eyes reflexively.
A numbing sense of crisis arises spontaneously, and the body freezes instantly under the action of the protective mechanism, unable to make any movements!
In the midst of the lightning and flint, a rough shout sounded from behind.
"——Get out of the way!
The next second, someone pushed me hard on my back.
Under the influence of this force, Sayu's body suddenly jumped forward, then stumbled two steps, and finally fell to his knees on the ground.
Through his hands on the ground, a cold, hard touch and dull pain also surged up.
Zhizhizhizhi——
Bang!
There was a dull sound of hard objects hitting from behind, along with people's exclamations.
"Hey! A car has hit the fence, call the police!"
A rough voice shouted: "Don't panic, everyone! I'm the police, call an ambulance first!"
"...?"
Sayu opened his eyes blankly and looked behind him unconsciously.
She saw the middle-aged policeman who seemed to have just rescued her, striding towards the red van that hit the roadside, leaving her with only a tall back.
There was no warning! A pain like a needle pricked into the brain!
"——!
Sayu couldn't help but hold her head, her expression became distorted, and she couldn't help but groaned "Uh--".
Unfamiliar images flickered in and out of mind, that same tall and slender figure.
Neither she nor my mother, but very warm...
——Go and save her, don’t be afraid.
Unfamiliar voices were intermittent in my mind, empty and ethereal, as if covered with a veil.
That was not the voice of someone she knew, but it felt inexplicably familiar...
It felt like my chest was being tightened, making it difficult to breathe.
Chaotic images and sounds intertwined in my mind, like a DVD with damaged files, showing large areas of white snow and noise.
In the dark, I just feel as if I have lost something very important.
…
Close your eyes tightly and try to search carefully in the deep corners of your memory.
Open the photo album of memories.
Check it bit by bit and compare it one by one.
To find his appearance, to find his appearance...
Can't find it, can't find it, can't find it.
It's okay, it's okay, take your time...
Don't be nervous, don't be anxious, it will definitely work...
Just like the accident my mother once encountered, as long as I calm down, I can definitely do it...
Eh……?
How on earth did I...save my mother...?
Asahugao's hero Ogiwara-san.
But, but...!
Was it really me... who saved my mother?
Not just mom, but Yuko too at that time...!
How on earth did I...save them...?
I can't remember anything...
Pacha, pacha.
In the large swaths of snowflakes, the back figure disappears and appears.
So sad……
She pressed her chest lightly and murmured in confusion: "...who are you?"
Then I heard a voice like this.
"...Hey, little girl, I mean, little girl, are you okay? Are you injured anywhere? Do you want to go to the hospital?"
When I opened my eyes, I saw a lake of mold.
…
From picking up Sayu who ran away from home, she begins to reborn in Tokyo.