Chapter 6: Exchange names.
Morofushi Sora'aki didn't know the curly-haired man's name, but he remembered his face.
Matsuda Jinpei didn't know Morofushi Sora'aki's name either, but he remembered his face!
Although he often got into fights, he wasn't the kind of kid who would fight someone for no reason, and the kids who liked to fight with him would always find an excuse.
For example, there might be something like, "You're the son of a murderer," or at the very least, "So what if I don't like you?"
However, this black-haired brat in front of him, who clearly doesn't know how to fight, suddenly threw a punch at him for no apparent reason—how could Matsuda Jinpei not remember?
He hadn't done anything to him, had he? And he'd never seen that face before that day!
After Matsuda Jinpei said "It's you," an awkward silence fell over the room. Matsuda Jinpei thought the other party would respond, but Morofushi Sora'aki simply looked at him quietly, without any other reaction except for a slight smudge at the corner of his mouth.
"..." Matsuda Jinpei raised his hand, pointing at Morofushi Sora'aki, unsure whether to withdraw it or continue holding it. After a two-second silence, he decisively continued, "What are you unhappy about! Shouldn't I be the one who's unhappy?!"
Morofushi Sora'aki remained silent.
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "...Say something!"
The droopy-eyed boy, tilting his head to watch this scene, uttered: "...Pfft!"
As Matsuda Jinpei turned around abruptly, his fierce gaze striking him, Hagiwara Kenji covered his mouth, a clear smile on his face: "Do you know him? Jinpei-chan."
"I told you not to call me that!" Matsuda Jinpei crossed his arms and pouted. "It was the day I met you that I got into a fight with him."
"Eh—" Hagiwara Kenji became even more curious. He walked towards the swing and moved a little closer. His beautiful, clear purple eyes were less than ten centimeters away from Morofushi Sora'aki's. Hagiwara Kenji's voice rose at the end: "It doesn't look like it~"
"Don't get so close to him, or he might beat you up for no reason!" Matsuda Jinpei said fiercely.
"No way!" Hagiwara Kenji stood up and asked with a smile, "Can I sit on the swing over there?"
Morofushi Sora'aki blinked.
Hagiwara Kenji then said, "If you haven't refused, I'll take that as a yes, okay?"
Morofushi Sora'aki finally spoke: "The swing is not mine."
"I know~ but I think it's better to ask beforehand." Hagiwara Kenji pulled Matsuda Jinpei over and pressed him onto the swing: "Jinpei-chan, sit down, I'll push you!"
Matsuda Jinpei looked unwilling: "This is for children!"
"But isn't Jinpei-chan a child too?" Hagiwara Kenji asked innocently.
Matsuda Jinpei: "That's different!"
Seeing the two people having a lively time, Morofushi Sora'aki looked away.
It wasn't until a certain keyword mentioned by someone nearby caught Morofushi Sora'aki's attention.
It was Hagiwara Kenji who said it. He said, "There's nothing I can do about it. Jinpei-chan is someone I consider a friend."
The word "friend" was something that Morofushi Sora'aki often heard from his family. For example, Furuya Rei was Morofushi Hiromitsu's friend, and his parents and brothers all hoped that he could make "friends".
Hagiwara Kenji seems to be naturally sensitive to the attention of others, or perhaps he was intentionally or unintentionally paying attention to Morofushi Sora'aki sitting to the side, so he quickly noticed the movement of Morofushi Sora'aki's gaze.
He waited for a while, but when he didn't receive an invitation to start a conversation, he accepted the offer: "Do you want to play together?"
"Do we need to be 'friends' to play together?" Morofushi Sora'aki asked this question.
Hagiwara Kenji was completely taken aback by those words and paused for a moment, then asked, "Huh?"
Was his question outside the scope of the NPC's answers? So Morofushi Sora'aki stopped asking for an answer and instead looked away.
Hagiwara Kenji, however, took the initiative to greet him: "No, it's not that only friends can play together, but rather that we become friends after playing together."
Despite having never learned any conversational skills, Hagiwara Kenji naturally incorporated a trap into his answer. He met Morofushi Sora'aki's eyes again: "So, I'll help you push it, okay?"
"If you don't refuse, I'll take that as a yes, okay?" Hagiwara Kenji said that line again.
However, Morofushi Sora'aki began to seriously consider a question—was the NPC in the game really this intelligent?
The main reason is that each time Morofushi Sora'aki appears in these worlds, the time is relatively short, and he basically doesn't have any other interaction with passerbys. He leaves as soon as he finishes his mission, which leads to this misunderstanding.
This time, the system hadn't given out any tasks. He remembered reading in the book that some games only trigger tasks by actively interacting with NPCs. But he should have already completed the previous steps..., right? Or had he simply not discovered any "hidden rules"?
Or is there something wrong with his dialogue? Morofushi Sora'aki is prone to getting lost in his own thoughts, which is what is known as—daydreaming.
But this time, his thoughts were interrupted by an external force. Morofushi Sora'aki's eyes widened slightly, and his hands unconsciously tightened their grip on the iron chains on both sides, because at that moment, someone gently pushed his back.
His foot was already slightly suspended in the air because of the swing's height, so it had no foothold and could be easily pushed.
Hagiwara Kenji first cautiously tested the waters to make sure that Morofushi Sora'aki was not afraid, and then slightly increased the force of his blows.
Playing on a swing is a relaxing game for some people, but for other children it is an extremely exciting game.
Hagiwara Kenji pushed the car higher and higher in rhythm. When it was almost there, he immediately ran to the side and instructed, "You can use your feet to push off—stretch your legs when you get to the top to control your center of gravity!"
Matsuda Jinpei, sitting on the other side, was also a little unconvinced: "Hagiwara, give me a push, I want to see who can swing the highest!"
Hagiwara Kenji raised his hand with a smile: "Okay—I'll be the referee!"
Morofushi Sora'aki completely ignored the commotion around him. He quickly mastered the tricks of the swing and wasn't afraid of the height.
A cool breeze brushed against his cheeks. Morofushi Sora'aki gripped the iron chains on both sides of the swing tightly, listening to the sound of the swing swaying. For some reason, the depression in his heart seemed to disappear a little.
He suddenly remembered that he was on that rooftop before. The rooftop was very high, and when the cold wind blew, it felt very cool.
Hagiwara Kenji stood to the side, his eyes widening in surprise: "Ah! You smiled!"
Upon hearing this, Morofushi Sora'aki was visibly taken aback, and his hands, which had been tightly gripping the iron chains beside him, unconsciously relaxed.
Hagiwara Kenji eyes widened in horror, and he instinctively ran over and reached out his hand: "Ahhh, don't let go!! You're going to fall!!"
Upon hearing this, Matsuda Jinpei, who was sitting on the other side, panicked and slammed on the brakes, immediately standing up to catch the person: "Hey—!!!"
Then, Morofushi Sora'aki fell from mid-air into a sandpit because he did not hold on tightly to the two sides of the swing, and his body was covered in sand.
Matsuda Jinpei lost his balance after getting off the swing and fell face-first into the sandpit.
Hagiwara Kenji suffered the worst, because he tried to catch Morofushi Sora'aki and was thrown into the sand pile. When he tried to get up, his head was hit by a swing that was thrown over him.
"Ugh...!!" Hagiwara Kenji clutched his head, which was clearly bruised, tears welling up in his eyes. He complained, "It hurts so much! I'm definitely going to get yelled at by my sister when I get back!"
Matsuda Jinpei got up and pulled Hagiwara Kenji's hand away from his head. He breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there was no bleeding: "It's just a little swollen. It'll be fine after rubbing it."
"No way, nothing's wrong! I'm not like you, Jinpei-chan!" Hagiwara Kenji covered his head again: "I'm not as thick-skinned as you, Jinpei-chan, who's a boxer!"
"Huh? Well, for the sake of your delicate skin, I'll rub it for you to prevent scarring." Matsuda Jinpei cracked his knuckles, a sinister grin spreading across his face.
However, his face was too cute, and now, covered in sand, he looked too disheveled, which greatly diminished his terrifying aura. This was evidenced by the fact that Hagiwara Kenji, despite having tears in his eyes, burst out laughing.
"It doesn't look serious at all, yet you still dare to laugh at me!" Matsuda Jinpei directly commanded Morofushi Sora'aki: "Grab him!"
During this time, Hagiwara Kenji grasped Morofushi Sora'aki's personality: "He won't help you... Huh? Eh—?!"
Then he was immediately proven wrong.
Morofushi Sora'aki's hair was still covered in sand, but he grabbed Hagiwara Kenji with both hands in a perfectly executed move. Hagiwara Kenji was completely unprepared for him and succeeded on his first try.
Morofushi Sora'aki said earnestly, "My brother said that if you are injured, you must treat the wound, and violence can be used when appropriate."
Yes, it was when Hiromitsu was treating Furuya Rei's (wounds) that he said it. His expression at that time was very similar to this curly-haired guy's now.
Hagiwara Kenji looked like a wronged little yellow flower, his eyes filled with terror as he wailed, "Help—"
"Waaaaah—I'm going to be killed, waaaaah! It hurts so much—!! Jinpei-chan, be gentle!! Ouch—!"
After rubbing the lump on his head away, Hagiwara Kenji sniffed and squatted pitifully in the corner, poking at the weeds: "I'm not playing with you guys anymore! That was too much! Waaah...!"
"That's what my dad taught me. It'll definitely stop hurting after you take a nap!" Matsuda Jinpei kicked Hagiwara Kenji. "Seriously? If you're not going to play with me anymore, then I'm leaving?"
Morofushi Sora'aki delivered a devastating blow, "Are you trying to be cute?"
Morofushi Sora'aki squatted down in front of Hagiwara Kenji and tilted his head: "If you're just being cute, I can grant you one wish."
Hagiwara Kenji: "..."
"Really?" Hagiwara Kenji asked pitifully, tears still glistening in the corners of his eyes.
All the hidden spirits pointed their heads.
Hagiwara Kenji blinked, his voice rising slightly at the end: "Then can you tell me your name?"
Matsuda Jinpei, standing behind Morofushi Sora'aki, watched Hagiwara Kenji's slightly uncontrolled smug expression with a toothache. With the last shred of conscience, he looked away, but his ears perked up.
Then he heard the brat who had inexplicably beaten him up actually introduce himself, saying, "My name is Morofushi Sora'aki, is that alright?"