Rebuilding Sakamichi in a chaotic worldline

Chapter 61 The Knife

After quickly resolving the minor traffic accident, Rito and Shiori got back into the car and, braving the heavy snowfall, arrived at the Kubo residence.

Knowing in advance that he was coming, the entire Kubo family was present this time. In addition to Kubo Yoshihiro, whom he had met before, Shiori's mother, older sister, and even their dog were all there. Rito paid special attention to the legendary academic genius older sister. Perhaps it was because of his personal bias, but he still thought Shiori was much prettier. However, her personality was indeed quite lively, and she was clearly a popular figure at school.

After enjoying a grand lunch at the Kubo family's house, Rito didn't linger. He left behind some gifts and prepared to depart.

"Wait a minute." Shiori pulled out a tissue, wiped her mouth, and jumped off her seat.

"It's such a waste to leave after coming all this way to Sendai. Let me show you around."

As she spoke, she took the down jacket off the hanger and walked up to Rito. Rito glanced at her parents subconsciously, as if asking for permission, or perhaps saying: Aren't you going to do anything about her?

Regardless of Rihito's original intentions, Shiori's parents exchanged a glance but did not object. However, her older sister frowned and reprimanded her bluntly, "Shiori, don't act on your own. Ask Rihito if he has any other plans."

Oh, so that's the main point?

Rito scratched his head, unable to find a reason to refuse, and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Shiori." Xuxian turned around, made a face at her sister, and then grabbed his hand and ran outside.

Walking slowly along the snow-covered streets, Sendai's city center was still quite lively despite the approaching New Year. Shiori was in high spirits, walking beside Rito, pointing to a building every now and then and chattering on about things that might not be related. She spoke especially fast; Rito hadn't even finished hearing the first half of a sentence before she was already moving on to the next topic, leaving him both amused and exasperated. He subconsciously said:

"No wonder you almost drove Peach crazy."

"Peach? Who is Peach?" Shi Xuli paused, turned to look at him, and asked in confusion.

"Huh?" Rito immediately realized she had misspoke and quickly tried to cover it up by saying, "You must have misheard me. I said Kotoko."

Shiori frowned. They were so close, she was certain she'd heard "Momoko," not "Kotoko." And for some reason, hearing the name "Momoko" made her heart skip a beat, as if it were telling her something. But since Rito didn't want to say, she didn't press the issue. Silently memorizing the name, she smiled, acting as if nothing had happened, and resumed her role as tour guide, tormenting Rito's eardrums once more.

Sendai is not Tokyo after all. After walking around for a while, the crowds around the area became noticeably thinner, and the buildings on both sides changed from commercial buildings and skyscrapers to ordinary residential areas. Fortunately, Rito was not there for those things, so he was happy to see this change. As the two walked, they came to a fitness equipment area.

"I want to swing."

Shi Xuli turned around once, then suddenly pointed to a swing and spoke. Without waiting for a reply, she zipped her down jacket up all the way, jogged across the snow-covered clearing, and plopped down on the swing. The rusty iron chains made a pitiful creaking sound, scaring away the birds that were foraging nearby.

Rito leaned against the horizontal bar next to her, watching her with a childlike smile, having a great time. Her long hair was spread out in the wind, and the end of her scarf fluttered along with it. The swing swung higher and higher with her, and the hem of her down jacket billowed in the wind, making her look like she was about to fly off the swing at any moment.

"Be careful, I won't save you if you fall." He said this, but his right foot had already unconsciously taken a step forward.

Shi Xuli did not answer, but suddenly let go of the swing at the highest point of its swing.

Rito's pupils suddenly contracted, and he rushed forward to catch Xuxian as she fell from the sky. She crashed into his arms with such force that he took a half-step back before regaining his balance, his hands tightly supporting her waist and knees.

"Are you crazy?" Rito saw clearly that she had let go of his hand herself, and couldn't help but curse angrily. At this moment, Xuxian's face was only a palm's distance away from his. Seeing his agitated appearance, the girl just smiled slightly, her exhaled white mist mingling with his breath, rising and dissipating between the two of them.

"Who is Peach?" she asked.

Rito's expression froze, and it took him a long time to slowly relax.

"I already told you you misheard..."

"Don't lie to me." She interrupted him, her voice not loud, but her tone very firm. "I should know her, right? Otherwise, my heart wouldn't suddenly hurt so much."

Rito opened his mouth, his brain racing in that instant, desperately trying to come up with a plausible explanation, but Shiori's eyes were too close. He saw himself in those eyes, the bare ginkgo trees behind him, the fine snow falling under the streetlights. The world was so pure; was he the only one lying?

"She hasn't arrived yet."

He regretted it as soon as he said it.

Shiori blinked, but her expression didn't change much. She jumped down from his arms, brushed the snow off her down jacket, bent down to pick up her scarf that had fallen to the ground, retied it, and then straightened up, smiling at him—a smile as always, as sacred and transparent as the first snow, just like her persona in Nogizaka46. But before she turned away, Rito saw her eyes.

Besides pure black, there seemed to be some other colors mixed in, but what those colors were required for further investigation.

The way back was much quieter than the way there. Shiori walked half a step ahead, her hands in her down jacket pockets, head down, looking at the tips of her shoes. The streetlights stretched her shadow long and thin, from one lamp to the next, as if the road would never end.

Rito walked behind her, unsure of what to say. The system hadn't given any notification, which meant she hadn't regained her memories. This was the only good news; he could save Sayuri once, but no one knew if he could save her a second time.

If something happened to Shi Xuli in front of him... he dared not think further. He stopped walking, about one intersection away from home.

"President." Shiori didn't turn around, her voice distorted by the wind, "I only have one question for you: Am I Kubo Shiori?"

A small patch of snow on the wall was blown off by the wind and landed silently at her feet. Rito walked over, tightened her scarf, and gently hugged her.

"Of course, you are the one and only Kubo Shiori in the whole world."

He said firmly, and Shiori looked at him until the snowflakes began to fall and land on their heads.

"I understand." Shiori smiled again, as if she had made up her mind about something. Then she straightened up and walked into the house without looking back.

Rito stood there for a long time. He waited until her figure disappeared behind the wall, until the lights on the second-floor windows turned on and off, until his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was a message from Shiori: "Be careful on the road." Only then did he turn around and get back to his car.

By the time the Porsche left Sendai city, the snow had stopped. The birch forests lining the highway gleamed a cold white under the headlights, and the road was nearly empty, with hardly any other cars in sight. Rito was driving alone, the radio turned off, and only the wind howled outside the window.

He drove all the way from Sendai to Tokyo, and as he was waiting at the last intersection before arriving home, he suddenly caught a glimpse of several familiar figures on the roadside out of the corner of his eye.

Mio walked in front, carrying two convenience store bags that were deformed from their weight. Ai and Miu walked side by side behind her, carrying another bag together, probably because it was too heavy and they had to use both hands. Behind them were Riko and Junya. Junya seemed to be laughing all the time; it was hard to tell where she got so much joy. Riko chimed in, her face as delicate as ever.

Li Ren looked at the youngest one being used as a laborer, chuckled, and honked the horn.

Meiqing reacted quickly. When she turned her head and saw a luxury car, she almost reflexively took a step back, put the two bags on the ground, blocked Aiji and Meiyu with one hand, and reached for the phone in her pocket with the other. Her big eyes were fixed on the car window until it slowly rolled down, revealing Rito's somewhat tired face.

"Ugh—" Meiqing paused for a moment, not even realizing that the corners of her mouth had turned up. She glared at him, annoyed. "Kubo Rito, are you sick in the head?! Why are you copying other people driving luxury cars to pick up girls?"

"Yeah! That scared us to death!" Chunye jumped up and down in agreement.

"I wanted to use this to pick up girls, but I hadn't driven it in a while, so I just took it out to get some fresh air. What are you guys doing?"

Li Ren leaned against the car window and said with a smile, "In front of Bai San, I don't need to think too much. After all, they are all children with amnesia, and there aren't that many complicated things to consider."

"We're getting ready for the New Year." Rika walked up from the back of the line, carrying two bags of flour. She was considered the best cook in the third generation; even if her mind went blank, she could easily manage with muscle memory. "We don't have anywhere else to go, so we can entertain ourselves, right?"

Although she spoke with a carefree attitude, Rito could still detect a hint of helplessness in her voice. Without family or friends, having inexplicably come into this world, they could only huddle together for warmth. It wasn't necessarily what they wanted to do; they simply had no other choice.

After raising her eyebrows and thinking for two seconds, Rito straightened up and said to them, "Don't stay at home, come out and experience it."

"Huh?" Everyone was surprised and looked at him curiously.

Rito clapped his hands and said with a smug look, "It's time to show you how top-tier rich kids squander their money. I happen to have a cruise ship anchored in Tokyo Bay that hasn't moved in a long time. With the New Year approaching, it's time to take it out and give it a good workout."

-----------------

Time flew by and it was New Year's Eve. During the day, Rito diligently fulfilled his filial duties to his elderly father. After dinner, he changed into his coat and happily walked to the Shibuya Crossing. As a classic spot that is often used as a filming location for movies and TV dramas, although there were not many activities on New Year's Eve, quite a few people still spontaneously gathered here to wait for midnight. The third generation members also wanted to join in the fun, so they agreed to meet here first and then take a boat trip at sea next year.

While enjoying the snacks that Rito brought from home and chatting, time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, only ten minutes remained in 2012. In the distance, the Metropolitan Police Department's loudspeaker reminded everyone to pay attention to safety to avoid stampedes, but it seemed that few people listened. As midnight approached, the crowd began to stir.

"Happy New Year." Mio switched places with Riko, who was closest to Rito, picked up her Mirinda and gestured to him.

"It's not midnight yet." Rito glanced at her watch, but still picked up the half-eaten orange in her hand to show that she had received it.

Seeing this, the remaining third-generation members also raised whatever they had in their hands to congratulate their nearest companions. Regardless of how much of their past friendship was real or fake, having encountered such a bizarre turn of events, at this point in time, each of them could only rely on each other.

Shortly afterward, all the large screens at the Shibuya intersection suddenly went black, and then began to light up the same numbers.

Ten, nine, eight—someone shouted loudly from the front. Rito, feeling cold, didn't speak. He leaned against a GG sign, smiling as he watched the third generation members chattering and congratulating each other on growing another year older. He thought to himself that perhaps Keyakizaka's plans should be brought forward, otherwise, Rika, who was almost thirty, would still be able to be an idol.

zero.

Fireworks exploded in the sky above Shibuya. Golden rain poured down, enveloping the entire intersection in a sea of ​​excitement. A huge cheer erupted from the crowd; some hugged each other, some took photos with their phones, and some shouted "Happy New Year!" The young lady and Nagi exchanged a glance, then suddenly hugged Rito together. It was clear there was no romantic feeling involved; they were simply caught up in the excitement.

"Alright, alright," he said, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm a public figure, after all. I should be mindful of my image."

"President, what did you just say?!" Junye was the craziest one. She didn't hear what he said and grabbed his sleeve, insisting that he say it again.

"I said," Rito said loudly in her ear, when out of the corner of his eye he suddenly caught a glimpse of something amiss. It was almost instinct acting before consciousness—the last time he had this feeling was when Sayuri almost fell from the building. He abruptly looked up.

A man in a dark down jacket emerged from the crowd, less than two meters from Aiki. His hat was pulled low, obscuring his face, but his right hand was already out of his pocket, revealing a mysterious object inside his cuff that emitted a fleeting, chilling glow in the fireworks. Rito had no time to think; he rushed forward, shoving Aiki into Miu's arms and shielding her with his own body.

The first strike missed.

The second knife pierced his ribs, penetrating his coat, sweater, shirt, and flesh. He looked down and saw electrical tape wrapped around the handle of the knife. The man's fingers gripped the handle tightly, black grime under his fingernails. He finally saw the face so close to his own. It was clear he was young, but the hatred flashing in his eyes chilled even Rito, a seasoned horror game player.

"You scumbag," the man said, "how could you do this to Xiaobaihe?"

Holy crap, it was because of this.

Despite the weakness caused by blood loss, Rito punched him to the ground. The first thing that came to mind was not anger, but speechlessness.

"Rational people!"

"Call an ambulance immediately!"

"police!"

Screams, roars, sirens, fireworks—a cacophony of sounds made the New Year of 2013 a day that would be unforgettable for countless people.