Chapter 92: Extremely quick to learn.
[seven]
Good Friends World.
When Hagiwara Kenji contacted Morofushi Hiromitsu and Furuya Rei, the two childhood friends happened to be together, so contacting one was equivalent to contacting both.
Hagiwara Kenji explained the situation over the phone, saying that Sora'aki-chan's older brother had come and asked if they wanted to come and play, without mentioning the stage play at all.
Morofushi Hiromitsu was also very curious about Morofushi Sora'aki's older brother—Morofushi Hiromitsu had always been curious about whether there was any other relationship between him and Morofushi Sora'aki.
Now that he can meet the other person's brother, perhaps the mystery that has been troubling him can be solved.
Furuya Rei was also partly curious, but more importantly, he was concerned about Morofushi Hiromitsu. Since both of them were fine now, it wouldn't hurt to go and meet him.
Then, the two of them made the exact same reaction as Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji had just done.
"...Is this my older brother?" Furuya Rei looked at Hagiwara Kenji with a puzzled expression.
Morofushi Hiromitsu also hesitated for a moment: "Uh..."
Morofushi Hiroko had perfectly accepted her current situation during this time, and wore a gentle smile that made her look nothing like a man (in fact, she wasn't right now): "You're also Sora'aki's friends, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Sora'aki's older brother."
Furuya Rei: ...So.
Morofushi Hiromitsu: ...It really is my brother?
In short, if he's called the older brother, then he's the older brother. Anyway, in Japanese, "san" can be used to address both women and men, and it's a respectful term.
Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled and replied, "Hello, Hiroko-san."
But the people present knew him well enough to see the complexity of his emotions.
Morofushi Hiroko had already gotten over her awkward moment. Looking at her younger self in the other world, she actually found it quite amusing. A smile appeared on her face: "Although I've heard Sora'aki mention it, we really do look alike. If you don't mind, Hiromitsu-kun, you can just call me 'brother,' okay?"
Morofushi Hiromitsu: ...I feel I am unwilling.
[eight]
Both Morofushi Sora'aki and Morofushi Hiroko have stated that she is their elder brother, so as outsiders, they cannot offer any opinions and can only accept it.
However, the four of them were still secretly using group chat software to pass messages.
Hagiwara Kenji: [What do you guys think?]
Morofushi Hiromitsu: [Shouldn't you have told us about this beforehand?]
Furuya Rei: [He just wants to see a good show.]
Matsuda Jinpei: [Tsk tsk, we were all startled, it would be fair if you were startled too.]
Matsuda Jinpei: [Speaking of which, Hagi, you call him "brother" way too naturally, don't you?]
Hagiwara Kenji: [Hehe, don't you think this makes us feel closer?]
Hagiwara Kenji: [I used to suspect that Sora'aki-chan was actually a ghost, that he didn't exist. Then I met Hiromitsu-chan, and I started to wonder if he was your family's lost child whom you didn't even know existed.]
When Morofushi Hiromitsu saw this, he silently agreed, because he had initially had the same suspicion. However, the idea was too impolite, and besides, the person in question had a family of their own. Even if it were true, revealing it would only complicate matters, so he never brought it up.
Hagiwara Kenji: [However, it seems that it's probably just that Sora'aki-chan's family situation is a bit special, which is why he hasn't had the chance to meet his family.]
Morofushi Hiromitsu: [That's right.]
Morofushi Sora'aki: [Is it possible that I'm actually in this group too?]
Matsuda Jinpei: [...]
Hagiwara Kenji: [...]
Morofushi Hiromitsu: [That's what I was just about to say.]
Furuya Rei: […I suspect you did this on purpose, Hiro.]
Morofushi Hiroko, the only one not in the group chat, watched the kids secretly texting each other on their phones. She didn't care much about their chat history, but just held her face and sighed in her heart: This is youth, isn't it?
He still trusted the character of his classmates; with them as Sora'aki's friends, he felt much more at ease.
[nine]
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "Speaking of which, what are we going to do next?"
Hagiwara Kenji pulls out a cassette tape: "Ta-da—I asked Sora'aki-chan to copy this for me, it's a tape of our previous performance!"
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "..."
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "..."
Morofushi Hiromitsu's pupils were shocked: "Hagiwara?!"
Morofushi Hiroko sighed, "This is youth."
It's really rare to see him with such an innocent expression as a child.
Then it dawned on me.
Wait a minute, doesn't Morofushi Hiromitsu's reaction mean that this videotape contains his dark history?
Morofushi Hiroko's smile froze for a moment, but Hagiwara Kenji had already tossed the videotape into Matsuda Jinpei's hands with lightning speed, and Matsuda Jinpei stuffed the videotape into his hand without hesitation: "Alright, let's begin."
Morofushi Hiromitsu's upbringing made it extremely difficult for him to take any radical actions in such situations, and the opening scene of the stage play is precisely that...
Looking at the princess on the videotape, Morofushi Hiroko fell silent.
Hagiwara Kenji remarked from the side, "Looking closely, I really suspect that you and Hiromitsu-chan are actually related by blood, brother~ They look so alike!"
Morofushi Hiroko quickly composed herself. She realized that the Princess Morofushi Hiromitsu in the video had no connection to her.
Morofushi Hiroko even joked, "Haha, actually I've always wanted a little sister—wait, Sora'aki, I didn't mean that, don't misunderstand!"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "I haven't said anything yet, brother."
Morofushi Hiroko: But knowing you as I do, I know you definitely went along with that line of thinking just now.
Hagiwara Kenji curiously raised his hand: "What does that mean? Is Sora'aki going to wear women's clothes?"
"So, back then, during the stage play, Sora'aki-chan didn't wear anything at all, right? That was clearly part of the original script."
"What my brother means is to become a girl from beginning to end." Morofushi Sora'aki explained.
Others, including Morofushi Hiroko, said: "..."
Hagiwara Kenji: So...
Matsuda Jinpei: ...So that's how it is.
Morofushi Hiromitsu: That is to say.
Furuya Rei: Did this woman actually undergo gender reassignment surgery?!
Morofushi Hiroko: "I didn't, Zero...-kun."
Furuya Rei: "Did I say it out loud?"
Morofushi Hiroko smiled and said, "No, I just guessed it from your expression."
Furuya Rei: For some reason, this expression made him subconsciously think of his childhood friend.
Morofushi Hiroko sighed, rubbing her forehead in exasperation. "Sora'aki, don't say things that could be misunderstood."
Morofushi Sora'aki obediently responded.
Hagiwara Kenji, however, felt a strong sense of déjà vu about this scene.
And the stage play happened to be showing this scene.
I can't take it anymore!
[You knew all along that I was a man! Please stop calling me "little sister", dear older sister!]
[After my brother had spent so long playing the role of a man, my advice led her to put on a beautiful long dress.]
A thought flashed through Hagiwara Kenji's mind: "Could it be that you, brother, also dressed as a boy since childhood, and only recently reverted to your female identity to become a queen... cough, to inherit the family fortune or something?"
Morofushi Hiroko: ...I never knew you had such a wild imagination, Hagiwara.
She smiled and replied dismissively, "If that's what you think, then it's not impossible."
Matsuda Jinpei whirled around: "So your family really is involved in organized crime?!"
This was a suspicion they had discussed before, after all, many details shown by Morofushi Sora'aki in the past made people suspicious of this.
They say things like, "My parents are from a different world", or "I need to earn my own money to go to school with them".
Morofushi Hiroko looked at Morofushi Sora'aki with confusion: "When did our family become involved in organized crime, Sora'aki?"
Morofushi Sora'aki decisively replied, "When my brother was undercover, didn't he join the underworld?"
Then, Morofushi Hiroko received particularly complicated looks from the other four high school students.
But this statement happens to be true.
Morofushi Hiroko: "..."
Morofushi Hiroko: "Sora'aki, it's okay if you don't speak sometimes."
Morofushi Sora'aki: "Oh."
Morofushi Hiroko: "I suspect you did this on purpose, Sora'aki."
Morofushi Sora'aki: "I did it on purpose."
Morofushi Hiroko: "Oh, so it really was a premeditated act... Hmm?!"
[ten]
The recorded stage play is no longer the focus now. Morofushi Sora'aki picked up his phone: "Hagiwara seems to have always been curious about my family situation. Now that my brother is here, I don't think there's anything to hide."
The main reason is that in the past, Little Stone wouldn't speak up, but now that he has enough energy, the world is interconnected and has probably already accepted him. Little Stone has probably also made arrangements with the world's will.
In short, once he realized he no longer needed to hide it, Morofushi Sora'aki had already decided to confess.
Noticing the change in atmosphere, the other four people also became serious and sat up straighter.
"My name is Morofushi Sora'aki, I am 18 years old, and I am a second-year high school student at Rouman Academy."
In Japan, the school year starts in April, and there are three academic years each year. So, Morofushi Sora'aki, who will be 18 years old after the New Year, will need three more months to become a senior high school student.
Morofushi Sora'aki took out his phone and opened a group photo with Nozaki and the others: "I'm good friends with Hagiwara and Matsuda. Because I really like Hagiwara and Matsuda, I decided to go to high school with you guys in this world."
"My family is very ordinary. I have two older brothers who are police officers. We are not involved in organized crime or have any other special circumstances."
"When I said before that I wasn't from this world, I meant it literally." Moronoshi Sora'aki tilted his head. "Hagiwara clearly guessed it, but he kept refusing to confirm it with me, so I lost patience and decided to tell him myself."
"I am a visitor from another world, and I stayed here for your sake." Morofushi Sora'aki put down his phone. "Nice to meet you."
Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei exchanged a glance. Matsuda Jinpei scratched his head and said, "Why are you so serious?"
Hagiwara Kenji, with his exceptional learning ability, raised his hand at this moment: "Sora'aki-sensei, I have another question!"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "Please speak, Hagiwara-kun."
Hagiwara Kenji: "So—is your brother a brother or a sister?!"
Matsuda Jinpei: "So that's the point?!"
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "...Actually, I'm more curious about why you two seem to have accepted it so quickly... Um, I'd like to know the answer to that question too."
Furuya Rei: "...Looks like you're taking it pretty quickly, Hiro."
After a moment's hesitation, Furuya Rei spoke up, "Um, I'm curious too..."
Morofushi Hiroko: "..."
Ah, were all these people like this when they were kids?