Chapter 5: Friend Number 1 and Friend Number 2.
Furuya Rei's residence and the Morofushi family's residence were actually some distance apart. It was just that they were on the same route to school, so Furuya Rei would usually wait for Morofushi Hiromitsu at the intersection when they went to school.
So after finishing her meal, Mother Morofushi checked the time and said, "Why don't you stay here tonight, Rei-kun?"
Furuya Rei found it hard to refuse such a kind offer, and being used to it, he replied, "Okay, thank you for your time."
Morofushi Sora'aki didn't express any opinion on this development. After finishing his meal, he read a book for a while, checked the time, and then obediently went to wash up before returning to his room.
Morofushi Hiromitsu and his younger brother's room are separated by only one wall, but the room has always been well soundproofed, so there is no need to worry about disturbing his younger brother next door if he stays up too late at night.
Once only the two of them were left, Furuya Rei gritted his teeth and said, "Hiro, you clearly said your brother—"
"I'm not wrong, at least Sora'aki is more lively than before?" Morofushi Hiromitsu said innocently.
Furuya Rei: "..."
Morofushi Hiromitsu looked at Furuya Rei, who was showing signs of stomach pain on his face, and patted Furuya Rei's shoulder with a smile: "Well, at least Sora'aki doesn't really hate you."
Furuya Rei replied coldly, "Then tell me, does your brother have anyone he dislikes?"
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "..."
Morofushi Hiromitsu began to think seriously: "Hmm..."
Furuya Rei sighed, "Fine, I know the answer."
Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled, then a worried look appeared on his face: "But to be honest, I'm a little worried about Sora'aki."
Furuya Rei looked over: "Hmm? What's wrong?"
"It was this morning that he suddenly had a nightmare." Morofushi Hiromitsu sat back in his chair, propping his arms up on the backrest and resting his chin on his arms. "He dreamt that someone was hurting me."
Furuya Rei's expression turned slightly serious.
Morofushi Hiromitsu said softly, "Although I don't know why he would have such a dream, what I'm more worried about is... that Sora'aki's current world is too small. Even with Zero, whom we've known for so long, Sora'aki's attitude has only changed slightly today, and I can't be sure whether it's a positive change or a negative influence."
Furuya Rei: ...So you actually knew!
This thought came to mind subconsciously, but Furuya Rei still sat on the edge of the bed and said, "However, Sora'aki probably doesn't want to go to school anytime soon, and your mother is probably worried about it, right?"
Morofushi Hiromitsu sighed: "Yes... after all, something like that happened before."
Because Sora'aki's autism suddenly improved dramatically after the age of three, Sora'aki appeared to be a normal child at least on the surface, except for being too quiet and too slow.
So when it was about time, they decided to try to let Sora'aki interact with the outside world and go to school.
However, Sora'aki was still too special, and coupled with his slightly eccentric personality, even though he had asked the teacher to pay special attention to him, a typical bullying incident occurred in a Japanese school.
To cultivate Sora'aki's independence, he was allowed to go to and from school by himself, and he had always done so well, arriving home around the same time. So when one day he was half an hour later than usual and hadn't returned, Parents Morofushi became worried.
By the time they rushed to the school to look for the person, it was almost dark.
As it turned out, Furuya Rei, who was still a high school student at the time, learned about the accident while walking home with Morofushi Hiromitsu. In the locked storage room, he found Morofushi Sora'aki sitting on a gymnastics mat with his head down, reading a book.
Morofushi Sora'aki found a flashlight in some obscure corner. Instead of calling for help, he held the flashlight aside and flipped through three or four textbooks. Just as he finished, Furuya Rei found him.
When Morofushi Sora'aki saw Furuya Rei, he very conscientiously picked up his textbook from the ground, dusted it off, put it back in his bag, nodded to Furuya Rei, and walked past him towards the school gate.
Bullying is a terrible thing no matter how you look at it, especially for such a special child. Yet, Morofushi Sora'aki was completely unaware that he was being bullied, and it didn't leave any lasting trauma.
However, when Mother Morofushi asked if he still wanted to go to school, Morofushi Sora'aki shook his head.
It wasn't because of these people; Morofushi Sora'aki's reason was: "It's boring and noisy."
"But if my parents want me to go, that's fine too."
Mother Morofushi was very moved, so she immediately helped Sora'aki get a leave of absence from school.
"Sora'aki doesn't like going out either, and he still doesn't have any friends…" Morofushi Hiromitsu looked at Furuya Rei with disappointment: "Zero, you're no good."
Furuya Rei: "..."
Furuya Rei: "..."
Furuya Rei replied coldly, "I had no idea you had such high expectations of me."
"Sigh... It's nice to be close to family, but how should I put it? I still hope that Sora'aki can have friends." said Morofushi Hiromitsu.
Furuya Rei was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly said, "Um... you should still remember Akemi, right? I remember mentioning her to you."
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "Hmm?"
Furuya Rei recalled, "When I met Akemi before, she said something similar to me."
"She said her younger sister is very clingy and unwilling to interact with children her own age, which worries her."
"You mean Elena-sensei's second child?" Morofushi Hiromitsu recalled for a moment, "I remember she was four years younger than Sora'aki? She should be nine years old now, right?"
"Hmm, her name is Shiho." Furuya Rei's expression was somewhat subtle. He remembered that every time he went over, the little girl would hug Akemi tightly, not wanting him to get even a little bit closer to her older sister.
Why does this feel so familiar? Oh, right, Sora'aki was also being wary of me like this today.
"Are all of you with siblings like this? Are you bullying me, an only child?" Furuya Rei thought to himself.
"Shiho has a very high IQ and has already taught herself high school textbooks, so Elena-sensei and the others are hesitating whether to let the child go to elementary school at the normal pace or skip a grade directly."
Both are rather special children, and both are highly intelligent geniuses; perhaps they can find common ground to talk about. That's what Furuya Rei thought.
Morofushi Hiromitsu thought about it seriously for a moment: "Sora'aki's situation is different... but perhaps it's also because his peers can't keep up with his thinking."
"Well, it would be great if we could really become friends." Morofushi Hiromitsu's eyes crinkled into a smile. "Maybe we can give it a try."
Furuya Rei nodded and said, "I'll bring this up with Akemi later."
Morofushi Sora'aki was unaware of his older brother's plan to find him a friend. When it was almost time, he covered himself with the blanket and closed his eyes.
This time, after he fell asleep, he realized that he had once again traveled to another world.
A new game has begun. Morofushi Sora'aki blinked, trying to get a quest from the system, but strangely, the quest list didn't refresh.
Morofushi Sora'aki, who habitually followed the mission instructions, tilted his head and glanced at his current location. It was a simple little park with a slide, a sand pile, and a small swing.
Morofushi Sora'aki felt that it was because the system had not yet refreshed, and he needed to give the system time to react.
So Morofushi Sora'aki sat on the swing and decided to wait for the system to refresh before taking any action.
But plans can't always go as expected, and a familiar voice rang out: "—It's you!!!"
Morofushi Sora'aki immediately narrowed his eyes and looked up at the little boy who was passing by with his schoolbag. Compared to the previous one, there was now a peer with droopy eyes that were full of curiosity beside him.
It's that annoying curly-haired guy! Morofushi Sora'aki pursed his lips, looking a little unhappy.