【Good Leaf】Eclipse of the Crimson Moon

【One moment】

A huge luminous body hangs high in the dark night sky.

It has a very similar shape to the shape named "Moon" in the impression, but it is absolutely impossible for people to regard them as the same thing.

The light wheel of dim crimson brilliance pressed the outline of the distant mountain, it was so huge that it was daunting, and the dense and deep tree shadows could not cover it.In the ruby-like round wheel, the dark shadows are clearer than the moon's mottled, like blood jade intimidating the heart of the soul, and also like dark red ink smudges in the water, in the slowly floating crimson shadows, grabbing Capture the gaze, even the soul, of those who look directly.

The sky that seems to be falling is swaying in this breathtakingly beautiful scene.

The crimson moon is staring at me at a distance that seems to be within reach, and so am I, staring at it.

★★★

I stopped what I was doing, moved the scissors so that I could see myself in the mirror, and a rough yet gentle male voice came from my ear:

"Is this enough? Is it really not necessary to blow it a little bit? It will be inconvenient if the eyes are blocked?"

I slightly raised a strand of forehead hair, looked at the young man's face in the mirror, and said "hmm".

"A boy your age shouldn't have this hairstyle. It looks too gloomy, and the forehead will look more vigorous. The current popular hairstyle seems to be..."

The inch-cut uncle, about forty years old, continued to shave the hair on the back of my head, while babbling non-stop.Probably because there were few customers, he seemed to be very idle all the time, so he accumulated a lot of words.I don't think it's annoying, because the facts are exactly as he said. My current hairstyle is not only gloomy, but also a bit too neutral. It won't be surprising if I am regarded as a girl with short hair. This is not a good thing for middle school boys.

"That's fine, I don't really want to show my eyes." I answered him with a smile.

"Oh, that's true. Maybe it will be different because of that." The uncle's tone was very casual, and he didn't continue to raise objections to my hairstyle.

"It's okay, everyone should get used to it, ha."

He got my point.

Because of the very light pigment, my hair color will look very eye-catching, which is very easy to leave a bad impression, especially in this remote town, where young people with dyed hair are very rare.And for some reason, in the less than a month since I came to Tsukimi City, the color seems to have faded a little, and a slight crimson color appeared in the originally light gray pupils. Even I can't help it adapt.Keep your bangs long enough to cover your eyes, and that's it.

The trimmed hairstyle doesn't look much different from the front. Layers of light brown broken hair cover half of my face, but the hair at the back of my head that was about to reach my shoulders was cut short to the roots of my ears.However, the face in the mirror suddenly made me feel strange.

Could that boy with strange-colored eyes be me?

Or, could the person looking in the mirror be myself?

★★★

When the class was about to start in 2 minutes, I was standing next to my seat.The astonishment didn't last long, and it wasn't the first time I saw the situation in front of me, so I didn't waste my energy to look at the crowd around me, but just bent down to clean up the mess.

Beneath the desks and seats lay the tattered remains of books and workbooks, the tear creases of the broken binding edges clearly showing the atrocities they had suffered.During the short break between classes, the prisoner who can complete this behavior so quickly must be someone who is in the same classroom as himself.Not all the people went out to rest during the class break, and the number of witnesses should not be zero, but at this time no one around me intends to tell the truth.They just looked at me with no help or comment, which made me a little bit more comfortable.

I have encountered this level of pranks in my previous school, and I don't take it too seriously.At least I can take the wreckage and explain to the teacher that it's not that I didn't turn in my homework, can I?In this way, he will no longer be fined and detained for inspection.But the premise is to convince him that I didn't do it myself.It seems that it will be a bit more difficult to find someone to testify from around you...

Before the debris on the ground could be cleaned up, the class bell rang.Following the teacher's footsteps into the classroom, it didn't take long for the sound of standing up, and I hurriedly turned around to salute.Everyone sat down one after another, and I can only go to class first, and then continue when the time is right...

I habitually reached back to grab my chair, and sat down at the same time, but I was not caught firmly by the seat, but went straight through a completely unexpected height and fell heavily to the ground, sending out There was a loud noise, followed by loud boos from around, until the teacher tapped on the blackboard to signal everyone to be quiet.

The seating space wasn't wide enough for me to free fall, my forehead hit the edge of the desk, and the redness went from burning to pulling pain.The moment my fingertips touched the back of the chair just now, I did feel a force quickly pull the chair away from behind me.I stood up slowly and looked towards the seat behind me.

Sitting in the back row was a boy with straight hair like nails. His hair color was light blue, which was quite a rare color.Since he has not been held accountable by the school rules, it should be natural.After his calm eyes met mine, he moved straight over my head to the blackboard without pausing.

Well, there is still more time, we can finish the theory after class, right?

I looked away, straightened my chair and prepared to sit down.The moment I glanced over the chair from the corner of my eye, an inconspicuous flash of light streaked across the dim air, and the sharp edge tore through the turbid and stagnant atmosphere.

★★★

"Well, if you really don't have a clue, you can only do this first. It's getting late, Nishi Kujo-kun, you go back first. We will continue to investigate this matter, and there will be a result. Before that, please Be sure to strengthen communication with everyone, and don’t lose confidence because of this. We are all the same age, so there is no deep hatred that cannot be resolved, right? If you have a misunderstanding with someone, you should communicate with the other party more. ..."

"Thank you, I understand." I bowed to the head teacher Asano-sensei and left the teacher's room.The crimson light in the dim yellow has already passed through the side windows of the corridor, drenching the entire corridor.

The end of school time has been postponed a lot. Fortunately, today's homework will not be too time-consuming, and the torn homework has also been agreed to postpone the handing in. In this way...

He was in a daze for a while when he realized that he had stopped.

Sure enough, there is still no way, even for me, there is no way to completely relax.

Today's incident is no longer a simple prank.

Two very sharp blades were taped to the edge of my chair, protruding about five millimeters from the edge.If I sat down at that time, the consequence would definitely not only be the school uniform being scratched.Mr. Asano repeatedly asked me if I had a holiday with anyone, but I had no impression of it at all. I haven't even had a private communication with anyone in the two weeks since I came here.

It was nearly 06:30 when I walked out of the sparsely populated campus. The dusk in late autumn is very short, and the sky has almost completely darkened at this moment.Pulling up the zipper of the collar a little to keep out the chilly night wind, I turned left into a slightly narrow alley.After walking a few steps, I noticed noisy voices coming from a corner in front of me. What stopped me was a familiar voice with a loud voice and a little northern accent.If I remember correctly, the owner of the voice should be the boy sitting behind me.

What I want to explain here is that the population of Tsukimi City is not large, about 4000 to [-] people, so the number of students in this only public school is not very large, and there are only one or two classes in each grade from elementary school to middle school , the number of people is around thirty.Even a freshman like me has some impressions of the classmates in the class.

I hesitated for a few seconds, and decided to look in the direction of the sound.It happened that I had something to look for him, but because of the subsequent incident, I went to the teacher's room to talk to the teachers and was delayed.

Before taking two steps, the originally low voice suddenly became louder, and there was also the sound of pushing and scuffling.I faintly heard my name from the broken sentence, and I couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Who told you to meddle in other people's business? Do you think you are a hero, does it feel good?" After the cursing, there was another low-pitched crash.

"No matter what, you are just an outsider. If you want to stay here, don't worry about it!"

After the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground this time, I finally heard the muffled sound of a nail head.Needless to say, he was blocked by someone, as if the cause of the incident was still me.Without thinking, I rushed into the street corner where the sound came from.

There were a few people standing in the dim street corner full of sundries, all wearing the same school uniform as me, and there were two people in the middle who seemed to be seniors in high school.The ground under their feet was littered with rubbish overturned during the scuffle, and in the middle lay a man curled up in a ball, whose face was blocked, but it must be the head of a nail, and someone kicked him in the back from time to time.After noticing the intrusion of my uninvited guest, several people were stunned.

"What are you doing!" I yelled and walked towards them. The other party seemed to be shocked by my unflinching posture for a moment, but the next moment they exchanged glances and ran towards me.

I bent down lightly to avoid the whistling punch of the tall man rushing in front of me, stepped back sideways to the left and rested on his lap, his center of gravity was unstable and fell straight forward.The few people behind continued to rush towards me. They were aggressive and full of strength and speed. Unfortunately, they were disorganized. I just dodged and disrupted their attack rhythm. , The narrow space made them stumble and fall to the ground by their respective movements.They obviously haven't figured out what happened in that instant, they got up cursing, and blocked my escape route, they didn't seem to plan to stop, someone pulled the broken waste steel pipe from the wall.

"Is it okay if you don't leave? I saw the dean of students standing at the school gate before I turned around. He must be passing here soon, right?" I asked them with a smile, looking at the picture that was dim in the shadows. His face gradually distorted.

I thought they would leave the cruel words like "boy, just wait and see" like in the comics, but they just stomped their feet hard, turned around silently, and their figures quickly disappeared into the darkness, silently In the alley, only me and Nailhead who just got up behind me were left.

"You... just said the truth?" He didn't speak to me, but he was undoubtedly asking me.

"No, it's made up."

"..." He paused for a long time and finally asked again: "If they don't believe it, what are you going to do?"

"Let's talk about it when the time comes, there will always be a way."

"..." It seemed that my answer made him choke.

"Are you okay?" I walked towards him, he was still beating the dust all over his body, he only said "I'm okay" lightly to my inquiry, and then walked past me with staggering steps.

"Hey?... That... Are you really okay? Do you want me to take you home?" I hesitated and finally asked.

"...This has nothing to do with you, right? Don't mind your own business." He dropped the words and continued walking forward without looking back.

"I heard it all, is it because you helped me?"

Hearing this sentence, he finally stopped and turned to look at me with doubts and disbelief in his eyes.After a while, I finally said: "Don't be self-righteous, I didn't intend to help you, it's just that I can't stand it anymore, you don't need to feel that you owe me, that's all."

When I heard what those people said, I immediately understood why.He must have seen the hands and feet being touched on my chair to take that action.I should thank him, but I also hope from the bottom of my heart that he can find a gentler way to remind me...

Not long after, the young man in front stopped in his tracks, and his tone was a bit annoyed: "Hey, what are you still doing with me? I told you it's none of your business, right?"

"Eh? You don't mind me, I just happened to be on the way." Seeing that he was still staring at me, I smiled and shook my head.

"What's on the way! You live on the old street, right? Then you should have turned left just now!" He pointed at me and yelled like a man: he was very angry, and he had a very bad personality. The straightforward type is very suitable for being friends.

"I have something to go here today."

"Nonsense!" He directly exposed my lie. Does my smile look fake... I seriously considered this question for a few seconds.This expression seemed to make him even more angry, and he simply ignored my existence and continued on his way.If it wasn't for the injury on his leg, he would probably run away from me?

"Um... you call... tattered (Note 1)...?" I hesitated to ask this sentence and regretted it.

"It's holo holo! It's not rags!" This sentence was very effective, he turned back very angrily, lifted my collar and yelled at me, and I had to keep apologizing that I heard it wrong: "cough...then ...Then can I call you Holo? Very...very strange name..."

He almost put his nose to my forehead: "That's not a name! It's a nickname! A nickname!!!!"

"Then...then I can ask you..." The scene in front of me was shaking, and the sequelae caused when he grabbed my neckline and shook it made me dizzy for a long time.

"Zui Bing! My surname is Zhu Bing! Stop barking..." Although his language was still rude, his attitude had obviously eased a lot.We didn't speak for the next few hundred meters, and he silently let me follow, until at the next intersection, he finally stopped, turned to me and said:

"Don't follow any more, I'm already here."

I nodded, and just as I was about to turn around and leave, I heard him add: "Xi Jiutiao, don't even think about telling the teacher. The teachers can't control this matter. Don't ask why. If you want to stay in Yuejian, then don't Go provoke them. If you can't stand it, go back."

I was taken aback: "Go back?"

"Go back wherever you came from, here is actually..." He suddenly stopped talking, scratched his hair with his hands, and showed a hesitant expression that didn't suit him at all: "This Advice. I think you're a nice guy to say it, believe it or not."

I couldn't help laughing, the long-suppressed mood seemed to be relieved in an instant, and I felt a lot more relaxed.

"Thank you, I believe in you. But I really have nowhere else to go."

"It's fine to find any place, as long as you don't stay here..." He said this without hesitation. His originally bright face looked gloomy because of the frowning, which made me feel a little chilly.

"I..." I believed that I had an absolute reason to stay in Tsukimi City, but after seeing his expression, I suddenly felt a little irrefutable.

An embarrassing silence filled the dark night, Zhu Bing kept watching me silently, and finally sighed: "I've said too much... Somehow, I just have nothing to do with people like you... Those people are not aimed at you , so you’d better not get into this matter, it’s best to leave Yuejian. You don’t have to ask me more, I’m not very clear…” He glanced at me and added: “Even if you know, you can’t Moreover."

I didn't say a word, watching him go on talking endlessly, although the content was a bit weird, it made me want to laugh a little.Zhu Bing is probably the type who can't hide his heart at all, but he doesn't seem to realize it.I really don't know what else he will say if I continue to stand here...

Before saying goodbye, he suddenly called me to a stop, his eyes frankly flickered with excitement: "You were so handsome just now, you. That... have you learned Kung Fu?"

"Huh? No, I just practiced a little bit of kendo..." I thought with a wry smile, could it be that he hesitated for a long time before finally asking the last sentence?

===

Note 1: The tattered Japanese pronunciation is only one letter away from Holo. Friends who have watched animations may be more aware of the feeling of his name "".

Note 2: About Masumi's settings.If it was an original novel, it probably wouldn't be necessary, but if Ye Wen is good, most people would probably subconsciously regard the boy in the novel as Ye, even though the name is different.There are no illustrations for the text yet, so here is an explanation of the original character design.

Masumi Nishikujo:

Age: 13, Form [-]

Sex: Male

Height: 156cm

Hair color: light brown

Eye Color: Gray with a little reddish tinge.