Chapter 4: The so-called displaced anger.
Morofushi Sora'aki didn't dislike Furuya Rei—or rather, just as Morofushi Hiromitsu commented, Morofushi Sora'aki had always ignored Furuya Rei's existence.
Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu were classmates in elementary school. They met when Morofushi Hiromitsu transferred to their school at the age of 8.
At that time, because the family always focused on the younger brother, even though Parents Morofushi tried their best to maintain equal love, they would unconsciously neglect Morofushi Hiromitsu, who was the second child.
Morofushi Hiromitsu was very sensible and understood that his younger brother was sick, so he also had to be sensible and not let his parents worry.
The fact that Morofushi Hiromitsu was so sensible made his parents feel more at ease, and they focused more attention on Morofushi Sora'aki, who was only one year old but had been diagnosed with autism.
In this era, mental illnesses are not yet widespread, and most parents don't take them seriously. It's relatively rare for parents like Parents Morofushi to discover the problem so quickly and decide to seek medical help.
Morofushi Hiromitsu didn't understand; he only knew that his younger brother was sick and his parents were very worried.
Morofushi Taka'aki was 14 years old at the time, a third-year middle school student. Since the semester was already halfway through and graduation was approaching, he did not come to Tokyo with the group. Instead, he decided to wait until after finishing his third year of middle school to see how things went before deciding whether to stay in Nagano or go to a high school in unfamiliar Tokyo.
At that time, Morofushi Sora'aki's symptoms were almost stable, and it was possible to determine whether the Morofushi family would continue to live in Tokyo or choose to return to Nagano.
However, since Morofushi Sora'aki 's symptoms did not improve after a year, Morofushi Taka'aki did not hesitate to choose a high school in Tokyo after graduation, and took over the job of taking care of Hiromitsu, so that his parents could have more free time.
As for now, after graduating from university, Morofushi Taka'aki took the professional exam and was directly assigned to the Nagano Police Station. Because of his professional exam, it seems he is about to be promoted to superintendent.
Speaking of which, when Morofushi Taka'aki was at the Nagano Police Station, he ran into a classmate from his childhood who always compared himself to him. Mother Morofushi even specifically told them to get along well.
That was the first time Morofushi Hiromitsu had seen his older brother display such a complex expression—between disdain and subtle emotions.
The topic seems to have veered slightly off-topic. In short, when Morofushi Hiromitsu was eight years old, his close and admired older brother wasn't around, and they couldn't see each other often, while their parents' attention was focused on his younger brother. However, Morofushi Hiromitsu didn't hold a grudge against his brother and tried his best to be a good child in front of his parents so they wouldn't worry.
However, every time he left home for school, not only was the environment unfamiliar, but his friends from before were not there, nor was his brother. Morofushi Hiromitsu endured it for a long time, but one day he finally couldn't hold back and found a secluded place to cry secretly.
Little did he know that this embarrassing experience would lead him to meet his best friend in life, Furuya Rei.
Little Furuya Rei, with injuries still on his face, awkwardly took out a handkerchief and handed it to him. However, Furuya Rei seemed to misunderstand the reason for his sadness and even threatened to beat him up if necessary.
Morofushi Hiromitsu burst into laughter through his tears. He later realized that Furuya Rei's misunderstanding stemmed from the fact that he was a transfer student and, due to his family situation, hadn't interacted much with the classmates who had formed various cliques. This led Furuya Rei to believe that he too was being bullied and isolated.
As they got to know each other better, Furuya Rei learned about his best friend's special circumstances, so he never mentioned going to his friend's house.
Until six years ago, Parents Morofushi felt they should try to let Sora'aki meet outsiders, and Furuya Rei became their first real guest after they moved to Tokyo.
As for Morofushi Sora'aki's reaction...
Obediently, he greeted Furuya Rei as his parents had asked, simply by nodding, and then looked away, lost in thought once again.
Furuya Rei was a little embarrassed at the time, but unexpectedly, Morofushi Hiromitsu exclaimed in surprise, "Sora'aki seems to really like you, Zero!"
"This is the first time he has responded to anyone other than us!"
Furuya Rei believed him, but six years passed, and Morofushi Sora'aki's attitude towards him remained the same: when he saw him at home, he would nod, and that was it. He never even uttered the unfamiliar "Furuya" from his mouth.
On the contrary, the rest of the Morofushi family, including Morofushi Taka'aki, all liked Furuya Rei very much. They would invite Furuya Rei, who lived alone, to their house for dinner from time to time. If it was late, they would squeeze in with Morofushi Hiromitsu and stay overnight. When they were in school, they would also ask Morofushi Hiromitsu to bring an extra lunchbox.
Thus, without anyone noticing, Furuya Rei became an honorary member of the Morofushi family.
Furuya Rei had assumed things would continue this way, but he never expected to receive his childhood friend's younger brother's first unusual reaction today.
While it's good that there were other reactions... is hostility really better than ignoring them?!
"It would have been better to just ignore him from the start!!" Furuya Rei wailed inwardly, but still forced a smile on his face. Under the expectant gaze of Morofushi Hiromitsu, he greeted Morofushi Sora'aki: "Good afternoon, Sora'aki."
Unexpectedly, Furuya Rei thought he wouldn't get a reply, but to his surprise, despite being hostile towards him, Morofushi Sora'aki nodded at him obediently as usual.
Furuya Rei suddenly felt honored, like a cat he had raised for six years that had remained aloof had suddenly brushed his tail against him.
I have a feeling that he's been subjected to excessive manipulation—if Furuya Rei knew this term, he might have made such a comment.
As mentioned at the beginning, Morofushi Sora'aki doesn't dislike Furuya Rei, but it can't be said that he likes him either. He maintains his politeness only because of his parents' requirements, without directly showing resistance or simply ignoring him. This is the best degree of kindness Morofushi Sora'aki can currently show to outsiders.
His sudden change of attitude was related to the dream he had that morning—or rather, the game in another world.
At that time, the account that Morofushi Sora'aki logged into was a random passerby, and that was also the first time Morofushi Sora'aki handled a gun.
No one can expect a thirteen-year-old child who has never played with a gun before to be able to perfectly set up a sniper rifle and hit the target with their first long-range sniper shot.
Morofushi Sora'aki's movements were so precise, like a textbook replica, but no one had ever taught him that there was something called "wind direction" that could affect the trajectory of bullets.
Moreover, both people on the rooftop were extremely perceptive; they simply hadn't anticipated that a sniper would be lying in ambush at this randomly chosen escape route. Once they realized it, they unleashed their superb acting skills.
However, Morofushi Sora'aki's bullet still grazed the long-haired man in the knitted hat who had dodged it immediately, leaving only a small wound on his cheek.
For this reason, the bullet that Morofushi Hiromitsu had aimed at his heart, which was originally sitting down, shifted to the side.
The suicide bullet still pierced Morofushi Hiromitsu's chest, but it wasn't aimed at his vital heart.
Just after Morofushi Hiromitsu was injured, the door opened, and the blond man appeared on the scene.
After that, Morofushi Sora'aki went home and had the opportunity to look for his brother.
Amidst the surprised and touched gazes of the Morofushi family, Morofushi Sora'aki stared intently at Furuya Rei, who arrived last.
Although he knew that this Furuya Rei was not the same as that Furuya Rei... it seemed a little awkward to pronounce.
However, this did not prevent Morofushi Sora'aki from suddenly becoming somewhat unhappy.
Is this what my brother mentioned before, "misplaced anger"? Morofushi Sora'aki thought unconsciously as he bit his chopsticks.
Furuya Rei, who was being watched the whole time: ...
Hopefully Hiro has some stomach medicine on hand... Furuya Rei, amidst the stares and the strange atmosphere at the table, managed to pick up another mouthful of white rice and put it in his mouth. For the first time, he experienced what it meant to feel like he was sitting on pins and needles, unable to swallow.
Ah—they have such a good relationship.
Aside from the two people involved, the other three members of the Morofushi family all thought the same thing and showed gentle smiles.
Furuya Rei suddenly shivered.