kingnovel Chapter 9 The Beginning of the Tragedy
Chapter 9 The Beginning of the Tragedy
Time flies by again, and another year has passed in the blink of an eye. It's now January 1991.
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, Ming and Shahe have entered the final year of junior high school. They are about to face an important exam in their lives—the high school entrance examination.
However, as time went by, Ming's mood grew heavier and heavier. Because Ming clearly remembered that, according to the storyline of Date A Live, in 1991, Sawa was implanted with an unrefined [Spirit Crystal] by Mio, which turned her into a berserk fire monster, and she was ultimately shot and killed by Kurumi herself, resulting in the tragedy.
Recently, in this once peaceful city, there have been cases of girls suddenly disappearing. Ming has no clue what to do and can only follow the flow of time, carrying the shackles of fate as he moves forward.
It was dusk after school, in a park not far from Anzu-oka Girls' Academy.
"Kurumi...Kurumi."
Sawa, standing at the foot of the tree, looked at Kurumi climbing the tree to save the cat and said with some concern.
Standing beside him was Ming, who stood coldly with his arms crossed. He seemed to have already witnessed this scene, but his face was still hesitant, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings as he frantically pondered.
'The story... has it really begun? If it continues according to the original plot, then... Saya and she will...'
Ming pondered in his heart, his expression growing increasingly serious. He even unconsciously put his thumb in his mouth and bit it hard, seemingly forgetting the pain.
"Ming-kun! Ming-kun, what happened? Why do you look so worried? Are you worried about Kurumi?"
Just as Ming was gritting his teeth and racking his brains, Sawa's worried voice reached his ears, interrupting his thoughts.
Hearing Sawa's voice, Ming, whose thoughts had been interrupted, could only slightly smooth out his furrowed brows and then said:
"No, not at all. With Tokisaki Kurumi's weight, even if she fell from a tree, she wouldn't be in any fatal danger. I have nothing to worry about."
Ming said coldly, and even Sawa, who was worried about him, trembled slightly at his words, but she quickly composed herself and asked again:
"Na Ming, what were you worried about just now?"
"Nothing, I was just wondering what interesting questions might be on the high school entrance exam in a few days."
Ming spoke without batting an eye, his eyes not even blinking as he looked at Shahe, who was worried about him.
"Oh, is that so? So even someone like Ming, who always gets first place in the class, can worry about exam questions?"
"Of course, but I'm just wondering what the questions will be like in the next book."
Ming spoke calmly, but his voice seemed to carry a subtle, unreadable emotion. Sawa was puzzled; she scratched her head, trying to understand Ming's words, but to no avail.
"Is that so? No wonder it's your brilliant idea. It's really something that ordinary people like me can't figure out." She murmured to herself, her eyes still showing a hint of helplessness at not being able to empathize with Ming.
Just as Ming and Sawa were getting to know each other, Kurumi was still rescuing the cat in the tree.
On the tree trunk, a small black cat was watching Kurumi, who had finally managed to climb up.
"Listen to me, come this way." Kurumi, panting, gently reached out to the little black cat after struggling to climb up.
Kurumi's eyes sparkled with expectation and goodwill. Just then, the little black cat seemed to sense the goodwill emanating from Kurumi. Its small body trembled slightly, and it pounced into the gentle Kurumi's arms without hesitation.
Kurumi then placed the kitten on her shoulder and easily jumped down.
As soon as Kurumi came down, Sawa, who was still trying to understand Ming's thoughts, immediately stepped forward and asked with concern:
"Kurumi, are you alright?!"
"Yeah, it's nothing." Kurumi first answered Sawa, who was concerned about her, then picked up the kitten on her shoulder and said gently to it, "It's alright now."
Hearing Kurumi's gentle words, the little black cat, held in both hands, immediately responded happily with a meow. Then Kurumi got up, walked to the little girl, and put the kitten in her arms.
"Thank you, sister," the little girl said gratefully, then picked up the kitten and said with a smile, "Really, how could you climb a tree like that?"
"Meow~" the cat also made a guilty sound, as if it were saying sorry.
Seeing this heartwarming scene, Kurumi smiled as if she were healed. Ming, who was standing nearby, stepped forward to offer some kind of praise, but Sawa stepped forward first, looked at Kurumi, and said with a smile:
"Kurumi, you were so cool just now."
Kurumi smiled and replied to Sawa, "Thank you, Sawa."
The two girls smiled at each other and talked, the scene was so beautiful, but Ming, who was silently watching all this, felt as if he had become a superfluous existence.
"Tokisaki-san, what about me?"
Ming asked, who hadn't gone to rescue the cat at first because he was standing there thinking.
"Uh... Ming, so you hadn't left the whole time? Cough cough... I only heard Sawa's voice when I was rescuing the cat, sorry I didn't notice you."
Kurumi only realized that Ming was trying to get her attention after seeing him. She looked at Ming awkwardly and immediately bent down to apologize.
"Actually, I think with my height of 1.73 meters, it would be hard for ordinary people to ignore me, right?" Ming complained, somewhat speechlessly.
At this point, Kurumi was speechless, and for a moment the surrounding air fell silent again.
"Alright, it's getting late, let's head home."
Seeing Ming and Kurumi struggling with each other, Sawa quickly stepped in to smooth things over. She took Kurumi's hand and Ming's hand, and together they walked out of the park.
Shortly after Sawa led Ming and Kurumi away from the park, a handsome black-haired boy walked down a street with the two beautiful girls.
Then Ming followed behind, while Sawa walked ahead, smiling as she said to Kurumi:
"Kurumi is really kind. I saw you helping an old lady carry her things and taking a lost child to the police station. You're just like a heroine from a novel."
"Isn't that right, Ming?"
Sawa glanced back at Ming, who remained silent, and asked him a question. Although Ming wasn't usually a talkative person, his silence today was almost unheard of.
"...Hmm? Oh! Tokisaki-kun really does seem like a champion of justice."
Upon hearing Sawa's question, Ming paused for a moment before answering.
"No, no," Kurumi said modestly, pleased with her best friend's praise.
Kurumi blushed and lowered her head, while Ming looked ahead thoughtfully.
"It seems today has come. Kurumi has become a spirit, and this is the prelude to the very beginning of the tragedy..."
The thought flashed through Ming's mind, and his brows immediately furrowed.
In fact, Ming had considered stopping this. This morning, he specifically called Kurumi to the corridor to tell her the truth about the future.
But whenever he tried to speak, an invisible force would seal his lips, preventing him from speaking. Even a small note with his thoughts written on it would fly away if he tried to give it to Kurumi, which was very strange.
"Is it fate? Is it the restorative power within the Date A Live universe? Just like how even if Origami and her parents were saved if they went back in time, they wouldn't actually survive to the future?"
Ming was at a loss, wondering what he should do if that were the case. He knew nothing about the future, only the original plot. This made Ming feel as if he were being swallowed up by the torrent of fate.
Just as Ming was still racking his brains, Sawa and Kurumi suddenly stopped in front of him, and Ming stopped as well. He looked at the two of them with a puzzled look in his eyes, but did not ask any questions.
Ming noticed that both of them were focused on an old-fashioned television in a roadside shop, which was showing a current affairs news report:
"The civil war has caused severe damage to the city, forcing up to 20,000 people to seek refugee camps. The camps have poor sanitation, raising concerns about disease outbreaks, for which there is currently no cure."
Upon seeing the current affairs news broadcast on the television screen, all three fell silent.
'As expected? Even a world war like the one in the Tale of Swords won't end, because greed will drive them to want more, and when their own happiness is no longer enough, they'll plunder the happiness of others. How despicable.'
Ming commented as if he had expected this. He then turned his gaze to Kurumi, who was silently pondering ahead, as if waiting for the kind girl's answer.
"Tokisaki-san, what do you think?"
Ming's emotionless question came from behind the girl. Upon hearing the question, Kurumi lowered her head, clenched her fists, and then let them fall limply.
"If only I had power, if only I had the power to end the war... I think I could save so many more people..."
Kurumi lowered her head helplessly and said with some self-reproach.
"So what if you really have that power in the future?" Ming asked again, his tone devoid of emotion.
"Ming, maybe we shouldn't bring up this kind of question anymore..." Sawa tried to persuade Ming not to continue asking, but Ming shook his head and looked resolutely at Kurumi in front of him.
"I will not hesitate to save more! Even if I get injured... or even die as a result..."
Kurumi looked firmly at Mingdao, who had asked the question.
"What if the price of gaining power is losing your closest loved ones? Suppose one ship has two hundred people, and another ship has ten people, but your closest loved ones are on it. If both ships are damaged at the same time, and you can only save one, which ship would you save?"
Kurumi hesitated greatly after hearing this, unsure how to respond.
"Answer me, 'the messenger of justice,' which side would you save?"
Ming asked again, and Kurumi's expression became hesitant, because she couldn't imagine what it would be like to have extraordinary power. But it's precisely because people can't imagine it that they want to have it.
"I will do everything I can to save more!" Kurumi, who hesitated for a moment, immediately regained her composure and said firmly.
"Oh, really? In that case, let me ask you again, do you have this ability?" Ming asked again in a voice devoid of any emotion.
"I...I don't know..." Kurumi's tone became somewhat at a loss, and Ming shook his head as if he had confirmed something.
"Ming, what's wrong with you...?" Sawa looked at Ming with a strange expression and asked him in a low voice.
"It's alright, Sawa. I was just confirming some things. I have some things to take care of now, Sawa, you guys go ahead."
Having said that, Ming turned and walked towards his home. Before leaving, as he looked back at the question he had deliberately asked Kurumi to stump her, Ming felt a pang of guilt and apologized:
"I'm sorry, Tokisaki-san. My question was a bit presumptuous. It's a trolley problem with no right answer. I apologize."
With that, Ming slowly walked into the crowd on the street, and his figure disappeared from sight.
Kurumi watched Ming's departing figure, her heart filled with mixed emotions. At that moment, the air at the shop entrance also became quiet.
Sawa was the first to break the silence, speaking softly to divert Kurumi's attention:
"Kurumi, would it be convenient for you to come over for a visit? Our Maren must be missing you again."
"Huh?"
Kurumi, who was still pondering the Ming problem, was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.
“Oh, it’s that American Shorthair that was so friendly with you last time,” Sawa said, extending an index finger and smiling.
Upon hearing this, Kurumi's eyes lit up instantly, and she asked in surprise:
"Is this really okay? Won't it be too sudden and disturb you?"
Seeing Kurumi's excited expression, Sawa smiled gently and continued:
"Of course! And Mullen would be thrilled!"
"Okay, then I'll take care of you!" Kurumi said happily, her previous gloomy expression gone.
Then the two of them held hands and walked home together.
Meanwhile, Ming, who had already disappeared into the crowd, was on his side.
Ming held his head in his hands, seemingly wandering aimlessly through the streets, but in reality, he was thinking rapidly.
'So that's it. It's because of the combination of her strong sense of justice and her feeling of weakness due to her lack of extraordinary abilities that Kurumi so readily demanded power from Mio? If that's the case... then it's troublesome. She'll meet Mio, become a spirit, and ultimately personally send Funeral Wrap and her off...'
Ming's face grew increasingly serious. As for Kurumi, the egoistic Ming could pretend not to care; at most, she would just have her memories erased and eventually be added to the harem by some blue-haired Makoto.
But now that Sawa, whom he considered the first friend to enter his heart, is also going to be murdered, he absolutely cannot stand idly by.
Thinking about this, Ming felt increasingly powerless, and he hated that he was just an ordinary person.
Thinking about these things, Ming slowly walked into the vast sea of people on the street.