Long-term salvation

"Ok!"

After giving a silly smile, Xiangzi drank the milk in his hand and threw it into the trash can next to him:

"Let's go to the cafeteria to eat first, then go home!"

After an hour, Xiangzi, satiated and satisfied, carried her lunch box and the fruit given by the cafeteria lady and prepared to stroll home. Many staff members in the GOC knew that "Xiangzi's family" owed a lot of foreign debts and had a useless father, so they often took care of her. Not only that, she would occasionally receive some handwritten pink letters in her shoe cabinet:

She has a cute appearance, a strong will, and is brave in battle. While being a bit natural, she also reveals a hint of melancholy from time to time... What's even better is that if she talks back at a tough person or gets scared, she will reveal a very soft and scared expression.

Too delicious soft and sticky Xiaoxiang.jpg

"If things keep going like this, I'll probably get chocolates on Valentine's Day."

Xiangzi, realizing something, said with some distress. She reached out and straightened the cello case behind her. The rifle and foldable lightweight exoskeleton fixed inside were still a bit heavy, but for the girl now, it was not a torture.

For some reason, Xiangzi occasionally displayed some incredible strength. Even when being suppressed by a senior witch ten centimeters taller than him with joint techniques or a chokehold, with his lower limbs completely unable to exert force, he could directly send the latter flying with the strength of his core alone! It goes without saying that he had physical strength and energy that surpassed his peers. He was able to maintain a normal posture even in such heavy training, fighting and learning.

Of course, on weekdays, Xiangzi still needs to think about how to install two wheels under the box.

"It's so heavy. I really need an electric bike... Aren't there any mechas made of nanomachines? Like an Iron Man."

Just as Xiangzi was struggling to get off the tram carrying his music case and lunch box, he saw two familiar figures sitting on a bench outside the platform. They seemed to have been waiting there for a long time.

"Mu...and Su Shi."

Her breath hitched, and Xiangzi whispered the names of the two people in front of her with a complicated expression, but before they could speak, she spoke first:

"This is not a good place to talk, let's go somewhere else."

These harsh words made Nagasaki Suyo, who was about to speak, shut up subconsciously, while Wakaba Mutsu next to her lowered his eyes and looked away.

[It was a mistake for you to bring her here][…][Wait, I'm just telling the truth—Puga!!!]

Xiangzi didn't say anything more, but led the two of them across the street, through the crowds of people coming and going, to the nearby Asukayama Park.

As the deep night spread over the treetops in the park like melted maple syrup, the three girls walked into the depths of the park. It was deserted, and the tall buildings on both sides were wrapped in bright lights. If you look closely, you can see office workers who are still working. They are frantically working meaningless late shifts, just to avoid drowning in the wave of resignations sweeping the country.

Putting the guitar case on the ground, Xiangzi felt the two gazes coming from behind him, and suddenly an inexplicable smile crossed his face... If he took out the things in here, they might be scared, right?

When this thought appeared in Xiangzi's mind, she felt a sense of helpless sadness in her heart.

"Xiaoxiang, thank you for meeting me today."

Nagasaki Suyo spoke softly. She took a few steps forward and saw the bandage on Xiangzi's finger. The girl's inner pity and pain gradually clouded her heart, forcing her to continue speaking:

"Please don't blame Xiao Mu... I forced her to bring me to you... I'm sorry, I really want to apologize to you in person... We shouldn't have played "Spring Shadow", that was the only song we had planned that day..."

"Live, and that song," Xiangzi suddenly said, "That song is very nice, and Deng's singing of "Spring Shadow" is also very nice, as always."

"……Eh?"

Xiangzi turned around and looked into Nagasaki Suyo's eyes. The latter's confused and timid face was full of sadness, and even a bit of flattery and pleading.

Too humble...Su Shi.

Was this how I used to enjoy the other person's tolerance and flattery? Did I just release a little tenderness from my fingers to satisfy the other person's desire to be "needed"? This is not an equal relationship. It's time to end it. It should have ended long ago.

"It's your freedom to sing whatever song you want. I won't interfere, and you don't need to care about my opinion. But there's one thing I need to make clear... I will not reunite with you, and I will not return to Tsuki no Mori Girls' Academy."

Xiangzi said this in a calm tone, suppressing the reluctance to break up with her former friend deep in her heart.

"If you don't understand, then please let me make it clearer - we can't go back to the past, so don't bother me about peace in the future."

In fact, the girl really wanted to tell her friends, anyone who was willing to listen, about the fatigue of training, the pain and fear of fighting.

However, the penalty for violating the GOC's confidentiality agreement was extremely severe. Not only was there a criminal penalty, but there was also a hefty fine! Just thinking about that figure made Xiangzi despair—probably to the point where he wouldn't even have food in the base cafeteria.

However, when Xiangzi's words fell into Su Shi's ears, she was startled:

Xiangzi was angry. Xiangzi was definitely angry. If I were in that situation... I would definitely be angry too.

The girl with long light brown hair subconsciously tightened her grip on the strap of her bag, and even her speech became stammering:

"That day, the performance started suddenly, and I couldn't help it... I'm sorry, did I make you sad?"

"Nagasaki Suyo."

Xiangzi's face was slightly cold. She was helpless because she couldn't tell the truth, and was angry because of the entanglement of her former friend.

I'm doing this for your own good, Su Shi.

Xiangzi thought so, you should stay in your daily life, just like I was in the past...don’t become "unfortunate".

As for what Nagasaki Suyo wanted to do, Xiangzi knew it very well - she was too lonely and unwilling to give up even the slight warmth that came from other people's fingers, but her heart was too kind. After her little tricks were exposed, all that was left was humility and panic.

Because of this, the girl took a deep breath and decided to use the most decisive method to make the other party give up completely and wake up completely:

"No one asked you to work hard for that illusory 'reform of Crychic'. Clinging to the past is too ugly - you should be enjoying your new life and new band with Deng and the others, instead of pestering me here for no reason, constantly repeating how much you long for a fantasy that grew out of the corpse of the past."

"It's time to wake up from the dream, Nagasaki Suyo! Stay away from me, Nagasaki Suyo!"

After saying this, Xiangzi ignored the despair and sadness on Su Shi's face and walked out with the guitar case. Suddenly, Xiangzi felt someone grab his hand:

It was Su Shi, she fell to her knees, clutching Xiangzi's arm tightly as if grasping a life-saving straw:

"Onegai! Without you, Wah Darcy..."

"let it go."

"What can I do to get you to come back? As long as I can do it, I'm willing to do anything..."

Willing to do anything? Xiangzi's eyes finally showed a trace of real anger, and she gritted her teeth and said:

"With what awareness did you say this?!"

When the monster escaped, innocent passers-by had already been killed. They were pulled up and crushed like weeds on the roadside - just because the GOC failed to intercept the monster in time, just because "I" did not stop it - you are standing here now, telling me some memories of the little girl playing in the band, as if dancing happily in a pool of blood with your eyes blindfolded.

The pretended calmness and indifference on Xiangzi's face faded away, leaving only a slightly distorted look of anger, which made Su Shi feel suffocated and desperate.

"These days, 160 billion yen is roughly equivalent to 12 billion US dollars. It's enough to buy 36 F-15C fighter jets, turn the entire Shinjuku district into a sea of ​​fire, and hire an entire Atlas Company standard combat regiment for a six-month battle. Such a combat regiment could defeat an entire Japanese division head-on. Now, I need this much money. You're just an ordinary student. Can you afford to take on other people's lives?"

"Can you give me money? Can you give me an armored division? Or can you make me the Prime Minister of Japan?"

Xiangzi thought of the terrifying fangs and claws in the battle just now. Her eyes were filled with resolute indifference, even though the pain in her heart was swallowing her up:

"'Willing to do anything' carries this kind of weight. Don't ask for something you can't do."

"but I……"

"You are a person whose mind is full of yourself."

However, my heart holds not only you, Su Shi, but also everyone in Crychic, Grandpa, that useless old father, and the ordinary people of Tokyo - I must fight for your and their "daily lives" - on this road to death, I must walk alone.

This is better for everyone.

Xiangzi shook off Sushi's arm. She looked at her beautiful, stunned face and said calmly:

"Finally, I'm warning you: stay away from me. We are not on the same path."

Armed Shrine Maiden Toyokawa Shoko (Part 9): Foolish People

Finally, I warn you, stay away from me, we are not on the same path.

"……white……"

She was injured. The wounds on her gnarled fingers, her head bandaged, her steps slightly unsteady. Her thin, exhausted body, her eyes filled with sorrow and determination. The heavy black cello case. The plain brown lunch box.

"... Su Shi!"

Nagasaki Suyo suddenly woke up from her nightmare-like memory. She blinked and found herself sitting in the classroom, with bright sunshine shining in from the window - warm and beautiful, and an ordinary daily life.

Several classmates nearby cast doubtful glances at her, which startled Su Shi slightly. She then put on her usual gentle smile and asked softly:

"Where were we?"

"It's a TV show where the wife of a certain family hires a private detective to investigate her husband, and then he finds out that the husband has hired the same detective to investigate his wife... It's one of those life-like dramas with a bit of a comedic twist. The kind detective who wants to reconcile the two gets caught in the middle and becomes the punching bag, which is really funny."

The girls from Tsuki no Mori Girls' Academy chattered away, their faces filled with cheerful smiles. However, when they realized their words were unanswered, they stopped talking and turned to the girl with long light brown hair with concern:

"Su Shi...are you really okay? You've looked so bad these past few days."

"No," Su Shi shook his head, but he could no longer maintain the gentle smile on his face, "I'm fine."

"...Well, you still need to rest well. We won't disturb you for now."

Watching her classmates leave, Su Shi felt an inexplicable sense of loss. She hunched her shoulders and slowly lowered herself onto the table. Although the soft flesh of her chest cushioned her, preventing her from directly contacting the cold surface, her body still trembled slightly from loneliness... Suddenly, Su Shi remembered the performance on stage that day.

A five-person band.

very nice.

"No, I can't think like that," Su Shi pulled herself closer, "That would be a betrayal to Xiao Xiang."

But she was the one who betrayed us first, wasn't she?

This is not betrayal, she must have her own reasons!

Su Shi convinced herself almost instantly - Xiangzi's condition in the park that night was obviously not good. If you think about her transfer to another school and what Xiao Mu said about working every day and often seeing wounds... Xiangzi was obviously in trouble.

"But I can't do anything to help... I can only watch her look like that."

The motherly and gentle girl thought of many things at this moment:

For example, Xiangzi becomes the lover of a gangster lady, and plays the piano naked every day. If he doesn't play well, his ashtray will be smashed on him, and he is also forced to make videos with girls... Although she despises such dirty criminal behavior, Su Shi really wants to buy a DVD with Xiangzi as the protagonist.

Of course, it's also possible that he could become a keyboardist for a band called "Bottom Side," playing in dozens of bands by himself, donning a mask and running away with the money after playing. This is a pretty strong possibility, although given Xiangzi's personality, he'd probably regroup and form a commercial band after saving up some money.

You can't just drive a bipedal mecha or an Armored Core, right? Fighting supernatural monsters, giant robots from secret organizations, and other enemies every day—it sounds like a stupid plot from a third-rate novel.

"Well...what should I do?"

Su Shi buried her face in her chest, feeling ashamed and annoyed by her own wild thoughts. After throwing those random thoughts out, she slowed her breathing and let loneliness cover her, isolating herself from the others in the classroom.

But soon, the sunlight in front of Su Shi was blocked by someone, and a shadow suddenly pressed on her, causing the girl to subconsciously raise her head - it was Ruoye Mu.

The silent girl with long light green hair stood in front of Su Shi a little timidly, holding a lunch box with a few dark green cucumbers in her hands.

After a slight pause, Su Shi sat up and took out a cucumber from the lunch box.

After taking a small bite, she felt the refreshing taste of the cucumber slowly blooming in her mouth. If it were on ordinary days, the girl would definitely not be stingy with her praise, but now she no longer had such thoughts. Taking a deep breath, Su Shi tried her best to adjust her mentality and whispered:

"Thank you, Xiaomu."

"...Xiangzi." [Our Half Body]

Hearing this name, Su Shi's eyes dimmed slightly.

"I'm worried too," Ruoye Mu whispered, "She's been hurt too many times, and I can't contact her now."

[She is avoiding you] [You should stay away from her] [We feel a strange aura about her] [You and she are the same kind of people]

"...I don't know what to do," Ruoye Mu said, with a pleading look on her face and a light in her eyes that Su Shi could hardly refuse, "I don't know what to do."

The girl repeated it again.

[She will definitely take action] [Yes, let her do it] [If she does it, Xiangzi won't hate you] [Don't listen to them, you should do it! Xiangzi will be snatched away!]

There are more and more voices talking, but this is not a problem, "Ruoye Mu" will clean it up regularly.

"But I..." Su Shi had just begun to speak when a thought suddenly crossed her mind, and she recalled the conversation with her classmates. She paused for a moment, then carefully and thoughtfully asked:

"Should we find a private investigator? We just need to know if Xiaoxiang is doing well."

But what could he do now that he knew? If she was doing well, that was fine, but what if she wasn't? 168 billion yen! It sounded like the latter was more likely.

Su Shi fell into greater depression. She longed for the truth - even the lies told by Xiangzi - thinking of this, she smiled self-deprecatingly, perhaps "Nagasaki Su Shi" was really "full of herself" as Xiangzi said, and in order to gain a sense of security, she would be willing to accept even false lies and actions.

"Sorry, Xiao Mu, just pretend I didn't say anything," Su Shi shook her head, letting her long light brown hair sway in the sunlight, "This kind of thing is still a bit too weird."

"No."

The usually taciturn girl suddenly spoke forcefully, a hint of madness flashing in the depths of her eyes.

"We can try." [Let her try]

"It can't get any worse than it is now." [You are stepping onto the stage of an unpredictable destiny]

"...I've saved a lot of pocket money," Su Shi pursed her lips tightly. "I don't know what will happen in the future. If Xiaoxiang knew, she would definitely be angry."

"Just don't let her know." [She'll definitely forgive you if she finds out]

Wakaba Mu whispered, her fingers stroking Nagasaki Suye's cheek, which made the latter suddenly feel cold, as if the friend standing opposite her had become a stranger under the skin of someone else.