Shigeru Ikeda pressed the final button.
The phone makes a sound when it is being connected.
At this time, Shigeru Ikeda, who was filled with the murderous intent towards Naoto Ikeda in his heart, suddenly remembered that this was not the first time he experienced such a sense of high spirits.
He remembered that a long time ago, he had been so high-spirited.
And it's the same person.
It was the day before his mother left—Shigeru Ikeda recalled this time point very clearly, because it was the thing engraved deepest in his memory, deep in his bone marrow.
It should be strange why such an important thing was forgotten before
On that day, Ikeda Shigeru mustered up his courage. Wearing his beloved transformation belt on his waist, he completed the transformation, and then walked around behind his father who was beating his mother with a kitchen knife.
Adrenaline made Shigeru Ikeda short of breath, and the hand holding the kitchen knife trembled greatly.
It's not weakness, it's not fear, it's excitement, if you will—adrenaline-induced, pure chemical excitement.
The long-cherished wish is about to come true, and the world where mothers will not be bullied is coming.
Ikeda Shigeru cheered, jumped for joy, and walked towards the unaware nearby.
Then, what happened next was beyond the expectations of the young Shigeru Ikeda.
Mom saw him, saw him through the armpit of his tyrannical father. The expression of the mother who was crying and begging for mercy suddenly became calm and brave.
She kicked Shigeru Ikeda down with a precise kick.
Shigeru Ikeda was not too young at that time. He was very strong since he was a child. He wanted to be a Kamen Rider, so he asked his mother how to become one, and his mother said that he should eat more and exercise hard.
He did.
He was much stronger than other kids his age, bigger and heavier.
That shouldn't be a body shape that a suppressed weak woman can kick down.
But he was kicked down, maybe he was too excited at that time, his steps were sloppy, maybe it was some other coincidence, anyway, he fell down, and the knife fell far away.
The father sensed his presence, let go of his mother, pulled Ikeda Shigeru up when he fell to the ground, and slapped him several times: "Little brat, what do you want to do? What do you want to do with the knife?"
Shigeru Ikeda thought that he had been betrayed by his mother, and all thoughts were lost. He endured the beating without saying a word, and stubbornly refused to let tears flow.
That night, my mother woke up Shigeru Ikeda while the hangover father fell asleep.
She packed a small bag and put it by her feet.
"Shh!" She softly stopped Ikeda Shigeru who was about to speak, and then whispered, "Although your father is a rotten person, he hasn't let me and you go hungry all these years.
"Listen, Amao, maybe you will never understand my words, maybe when you grow up, you will feel that I am lying to you, and I am justifying my behavior, but now listen carefully.
"Mom, I originally planned to endure it until I raised you. Mom has been secretly saving money. Although he discovered it a few times and was beaten because of it, I saved a lot anyway.
"Originally, I was prepared to endure until I raised you, and then gave you the money to go to college.
"But today, I know that I have to go, because if I don't go, you will become a murderer one day, and a murderer who will never be forgiven by society.
"Your life will be over forever.
"I can stop you today, but you will continue to grow, how strong you are."
Mother gently stroked Shigeru Ikeda's shoulder: "What a strong shoulder, the girl who leans on this arm in the future will feel so safe.
"I will soon be able to stop the strong you. So I have to go, Amao, you remember, the bravest people in this world are not those extremes, those bad guys, but those who, no matter how hard life is, People who never give in.
"It's people who choose to be good people no matter how difficult it is.
"If mom is still in this family, one day, you will be labeled as a murderer in order to save mom, and you don't even have the right to choose to be good or bad.
"Mom will leave for now. I'm too weak. If I take you away, neither of us will have a good life. When things stabilize, Mom will come back to pick you up! I'll definitely be back!"
Ikeda Shigeru remembered that the reason why he still wanted to find his mother back was because of the agreement back then.
He also remembered that when he was young, he asked himself: "Then what if Mom, you haven't come back to pick me up?"
At that time, the mother was silent for a few seconds, visibly shaken, but in the end she recovered her brave and resolute expression: "Amao, remember, as long as my mother is alive, she will never give up on you, never. If you are alive, you will definitely come back and take you away from this man."
Ikeda Shigeru remembered everything.
I have chosen to forget this memory for so many years, it must be because I don't want to face the growing possibility.
—As long as I am still alive, I will come back to pick me up. On the other hand, if I don’t come to pick me up, it means that I am no longer alive.
With each passing year, the odds grow more likely.
The sudden memory left Amao stunned. The operator sister with a sweet voice on the phone was repeatedly asking: "Moses, Moses? This is the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's alarm station. Do you want to call the police? Moses?"
Shigeru Ikeda hung up the phone.
He was very confused.
After putting down the receiver, he punched the wall, and a piece of the wooden wall was directly dented.
Chaotic thoughts rushed into his mind.
Countless thoughts flitted through his mind.
"Although that rotten man is rotten, he hasn't let you go hungry after all."
"He paid the tuition anyway."
"But he is indeed a rotten person, and it is not a pity to die."
"I choose not to save him here, is it equivalent to killing him? Will it go against my mother's wish back then?"
"What was mother's wish back then?"
In the confusion, Amao ran into the dojo and slammed open the door leading to the yard.
The wind poured into the dojo, messing up Amao's hair.
The wind blowing from the opening of the door made the wind chimes hanging under the eaves on the edge side jingle.
Although the big cherry tree is not in full bloom, the sense of presence is still extremely strong. On the thick trunk of the cherry tree, there is a sign that Chiyoko put up when he was joking.
The sign reads "There are many fingers under the tree".
Looking at the big cherry tree, Ikeda Shigeru felt his mind slowly calm down.
"By the way, go ask the master." He suddenly had such an idea.
Anyway, the other party didn't limit when to go there, and Shigeru Ikeda had enough time to ask his master whether he should ignore Naoto Ikeda's life and call the police directly.
So Shigeru Ikeda stuffed the note with the address into his pocket, ran to the door, got on his bicycle, and rushed out.
If you go to Yuechuan Girls' High School now, you should be able to meet Kiryu Kazuma on the way to pick up Chiyoko.