Chapter 22: Burning

Looking at the pill and then at the recorder, Ito was silent for a long time before he asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you here to sell regret pills?"

"How can there be a regret pill in the world?"

The amplitude of Li Ximo Luo's shaking head was strange, and he stared into Ito's eyes with an even wider smile.

“This is medicine that makes others regret.”

Ito actually didn't understand what he meant. Why taking medicine himself could make others regret it.

But his mind was a little confused now, and even thinking became a little difficult.

"I'll take my leave first." Li Ximo Luo didn't say anything else. He stood up and turned away without any hesitation.

"Wait! What do you want by giving these to me?" Ito didn't believe that there were people who had no purpose.

Li Ximo Luo did not answer, but just turned his head, looked at him and left.

"Fake." After watching him leave, Ito closed the door, stared at the recorder for a while, took out his mobile phone, opened the address book, found Mr. Tanaka from the news agency, and his finger stayed on the virtual dial key for a long time before slowly pressing it.

After a ring, Tanaka's voice came from the other side.

"Hello, is this Mr. Ito? What can I do for you?"

"Hello, Mr. Tanaka. Have you come into contact with the Fujiwara family recently?"

There was no movement from the other side. After a few seconds, Tanaka's voice came: "Yes, but I saw that the content was very similar to the previous one, so I didn't adopt it. I think we should focus on the hero."

What followed was his explanation.

After listening to the call, Ito hung up silently, picked up the recorder, opened it and took a look. Judging from the time period, there was also a recording in the afternoon after he had been interviewed in the hospital in the morning.

Maybe it belongs to the Fujiwara family.

He pressed play.

【Mr. Fujiwara, it's nice to meet you again. 】

【Me too, Mr. Tanaka. 】

[How is your life lately? Not bad. ]

[Not bad, the child no longer has nightmares. ]

[Yes, more than half a year has passed.]

There are some polite and meaningless conversations in between.

Can I interview the child?

[Uh, sure. Ayako, come over here and meet Uncle Tanaka.]

【Hello, uncle! 】

Although there were some changes, Ito could recognize that it was the voice of Fujiwara Ayako, the child he had saved.

Hearing her voice, Ito couldn't help but smile.

After a few people chatted for a while, Tanaka asked.

[Brother Ito will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. Do you want to go see him, Ayako? ]

[No no! He's so scary! ]

Ito's heart seemed to stop beating.

[Ayako! Stop talking nonsense! ]

[That's right! I was so scared the last time I went to see her. I had nightmares after coming back. I don't want it anymore. I want to find my mom!]

[Ayako! Mr. Tanaka, I'm sorry, children speak without restraint. Ayako is very grateful to Ito brother. This, ah.]

【.】

[Mr. Tanaka, this is a small token of my appreciation for your hard work.]

【what do you mean? 】

[Well, let me tell you straight, our family is very grateful to Ito for saving Ayako, but people always need to look forward, the child can't live in the shadow of the past forever, it's not good for her future, I don't want the child to have nightmares again, and I don't want her to be blamed for being ungrateful, so the best thing is to forget. We forget, and the public forgets, this is the best result for Ayako, she can continue to walk on this road of life better. ]

【.But it’s Ito’s life.】

[We didn't ask him to do this! We thank him, but he can't use this to tie us down for life, we have to live! Do you know what we went through in the first two months? Everyone said that we had to repay him and even take care of him for the rest of our lives. We were very scared.]

[But fortunately, everyone forgot about it very quickly. After Ayako transferred to another school, no one mentioned the past to her. Because of this, she gradually recovered and was able to sleep well. She no longer had to go to the psychiatrist, Mr. Tanaka. I have never asked anyone for help in my life, but for the sake of the child, please do me a favor.]

Crack. The recorder is broken.

Ito gently opened his eyes and looked around in confusion, seeing a scene filled with thick smoke.

Is this the old apartment? Yes, the house is on fire. Father! Mother!
"Cough cough!" He quickly covered his mouth and nose and ran upstairs.

"Help! Woo, help!" He stopped and saw a girl trapped in fire.

He stopped and decided to save the child first.

Using his wet jacket to get over the flames, he picked up the little girl.

"Hold me!" he shouted.

"Thank you, brother! Ahem-ahem, Cheng Gang, you still made the same choice."

His hands lightened and the scene changed. He was surprised to find himself standing at the door of his old apartment. Smoke was still billowing in all directions and his father was slumped against the wall.

He pointed at his mother lying on the ground with difficulty and waved to himself.

Ito came to his senses, quickly helped his mother up, and struggled to leave home.

"Brother, brother, save me!"

There was a sudden change in the house opposite, and the girl's figure appeared, surrounded by flames, holding a poncho teddy bear in her hand.

Ito didn't stop.

“Brother! You are a hero! Please save me, it’s so hot here, I don’t want to be burned to death, woo woo—” The girl held the teddy bear high in the air, and smoke and dust drew the word “hero” on the teddy bear’s belly, but why did the teddy bear’s smile look so weird?

"Ahem, Cheng Gang, save the child. Look, she is so pitiful and has a bright future. Go, I don't blame you." The mother let go of him, leaned against the door, stroked Ito's face, and showed a distressed look, "Don't feel pain because of me, child."

Ito was in complete confusion.

He looked at his mother, then at his father, then at the girl.

"What should I do?"

The flames grew more intense, as if urging him to make a choice.

"what--"

“Brother! Brother! Ouch, it hurts!”

"I know your dream is to become a hero."

"Mr. Ito, I would like to ask you a question. Do you regret it?"

"Cheng Gang, are you really sending it like this? I don't think it's a good idea."

"Well, I don't regret it."

"."

"Don't push me, don't push me!" Ito Makoto was in tears, kneeling on the ground, covering his ears and yelling.

The fire disappeared in an instant, and the surroundings turned into a misty dust.

A familiar figure stood in front of Ito Seigo, who was kneeling on the ground and covering his head.

"Cheng Gang, do you regret it?"

Ito Makoto just raised his head, his face full of tears and regret.

"Father, I'm sorry! I regret it, I really regret it! Please come back! Mom, I'm sorry! I don't want to be someone else's hero anymore, I should be your hero, I really regret it, I regret it——"

His father patted him on the shoulder and said nothing.

Ito stretched out his hand, but caught nothing, only dispersed a cloud of smoke.

On the sofa, Ito woke up with a start. The sofa and clothes under him were already soaked, and the tears in his eyes kept flowing, unable to stop.

"Dad - Mom - ah! Why should I save others, you beast! You are a beast!"

While howling, he saw the "pill" reflecting slightly on the table under the dim light of the neighbor's house.

He grabbed it as if he had found a life-saving straw and swallowed it in one gulp.

He didn't know what kind of medicine could make others regret, but at this moment, he would rather face death.

In the middle of the night in Tokyo, amidst the hustle and bustle and silence, a dazzling pillar of fire shot up into the sky.

(End of this chapter)