Chapter 71: You Cannot Die.

[Unexpectedly, before you could act, Ibuki Yuko lunged at you. She pushed you out of the truck's path, and the green iron beast roared past your feet, crashing into the library wall.]

[As the dust raised by the truck settled, passersby rushed to both sides, some to check on the truck driver, and others gathered around you and Ibuki Yuko.]

[You helped Ibuki Yuko up, thanked the concerned onlookers, and carefully checked her body, confirming that she only had a scraped right elbow.]

[From the passenger seat of the truck, a young man hurriedly got out. Together with a few pedestrians, he helped to lift the middle-aged driver from the driver's seat. The young man apologized to you, explaining that his father, who was driving, had suddenly experienced severe chest pain, losing control of the vehicle. He asked if you could accompany them to the hospital for a check-up. You looked at Ibuki Yuko, and she shook her head.]

[You declined the young man's offer. He pulled out his wallet and handed you all the money in it, along with a business card.]

[You accepted the money and the business card.]

[While you were talking to the young man, Ibuki Yuko had already started walking, holding her right arm up to avoid getting blood on her clothes, calmly crossing the street.]

[The wound on her arm and the dust on her clothes highlighted her disheveled state, but this dishevelment transformed into a touch of elegance in her serene demeanor, like the Western patterns on a luxurious kimono belt, which not only did not detract from the kimono's grace but added a sense of noble inclusiveness.]

[You caught up with her and took her to a nearby community hospital, using the compensation money to pay for the consultation fee.]

[The community doctor, a middle-aged woman, examined Ibuki Yuko's body, confirming that she had no internal injuries.]

[Leaving the clinic, you both took the subway back. On the way, you were both very quiet—Ibuki Yuko wasn't talkative, and you were busy making plans in your mind.]

[You arrived at Tsukimi Station. You and Ibuki Yuko exited the subway station, walked along the cherry tree-lined riverbank, and headed towards the apartment.]

A memory scene unfolds.

Walking on the deep red brick-paved sidewalk, you can clearly see the cherry trees not far to the left. In the season when the cherry blossoms are not blooming, the cherry trees are like ordinary trees, covered in green leaves. Through the gaps in the branches, you can see the river reflecting the sunlight.

Ibuki Yuko is walking ahead of Minami Yuuki.

A square band-aid is stuck on the girl's elbow, and the white band-aid adds a sickly air to her, making her small body even more pitiable.

"Why did you save me?" Minami Yuuki walks beside the girl.

"Getting hit would mean death." Ibuki Yuko's answer is plain.

Coming from this world-weary person, the words sound quite odd, almost bizarre. Like hearing a lion talk about vegetarianism or a stallion talk about celibacy.

"Wouldn't dying be no big deal? Just like living is no big deal." Minami Yuuki deliberately says this, curious about Ibuki Yuko's response.

The girl remains silent for a long time. Minami Yuuki follows her down the main road, into an alley, and into the apartment building.

"I don't know," Ibuki Yuko answers.

They walk through the apartment building's corridor, with lush shrubs in the courtyard outside.

"Hey, you must have realized, right? I stayed in place on purpose," Minami Yuuki continues to probe, having formulated a plan.

"Yes."

"So, are you ready for the consequences?"

Pressing the elevator button, Ibuki Yuko turns her head, looking at Minami Yuuki's face, waiting for him to elaborate.

Minami Yuuki throws out a seemingly unrelated question: "From a moral standpoint, why does a mother have the duty to raise her child?"

"…Because she gave birth to the child."

"That's surprisingly traditional. Yes, the mother gave the child life. The child originally did not exist in this world; it was the mother who forcibly brought them into the world, so the mother has the duty to care for the child."

"Yes."

"Just now, if you hadn't intervened, I would have been out of this world, dead. In other words, you forcibly brought me back into the world, giving me life. So, what is our relationship now?"

"…Mother and child?"

"Exactly. So, are you ready to take responsibility for me?"

"Doctors also give patients life." Ibuki Yuko attempts to refute Minami Yuuki's logic.

"But patients willingly return to the world; doctors don't 'forcibly' save them. You, however, 'forcibly' saved me."

Ibuki Yuko thought for a moment, unable to find a point to refute. If it were Asano Nao, she would have meekly accepted it by now, but this girl was different. She was world-weary, not socially anxious.

"I refuse," she said directly.

The elevator reached the 6th floor, and as the doors opened, the raspy voice echoed in the elevator car.

"Refusal is invalid. From now on, I leave it to you, Mama Yuko," Minami Yuuki said as she stepped out.

[What made the death-seeking Ibuki Yuko save you? You're not sure, but you know one thing clearly: Ibuki Yuko cannot ignore your death. So, the next step for you is clear.]

[You decide to cling to Ibuki Yuko. There is a saying that humans love to force the virtuous into prostitution and persuade prostitutes to become virtuous. You think making Ibuki Yuko go from a seeker of help to a savior is a similar contrast.]

[When you return home, you think about Ibuki Yuko and start planning your "escape from the world."]

[Upstairs, Ibuki Yuko sits on the floor, thinking about you.]

[When the truck came, fear and joy assaulted her simultaneously. The joy was the joy of clearing the game, and the fear was the fear of leaving the world.]

[Which path is more correct, death or life? She doesn't know, so she chooses to refuse to choose. She stays in place, not choosing death, but ignoring the truck. She waits for the red light to turn green so she can cross to the other side.]

[In her world, the truck doesn't exist, the surrounding honks don't exist; only she exists, waiting at the red light.]

[How did she notice your figure? She doesn't know herself. She saw the truck heading toward you, and the faint anxiety in her heart became her entire feeling, so she rushed towards you.]

[Reflection is a capability Ibuki Yuko had long discarded. She thought about it briefly and then buried the memory. Her world is a harsh winter; as far as the eye can see, everything is a snowy landscape. Everything is buried in the snow, unable to invade her body.]

[Two days later, Ibuki Yuko went shopping at the convenience store. She saw your figure by the river.]

[You were sitting on the riverbank, legs hanging over the reflection of the blue sky on the river. Just a slight lean forward, or a sudden strong gust of wind, would push you into the blue expanse.]

[The girl walked to your side and tugged at your sleeve.]