The raging sea of fire swept recklessly through the shrine. Sparks occasionally leaped from the flames and landed on Tokugawa Koichi's corpse, as though burning away every sin on his body.
As he looked at Tokugawa Koichi's corpse, the fierce blood-red light in Yamada Tetsuya's eyes had become utterly dim.
He had once been alone, never knowing what it felt like to have companions.
Abandoned by his parents as a child, he had become an orphan. He had fought wild dogs for food, rummaged through trash bins, and stolen things. He had done it all, but he never considered that period of his life shameful, because everything had been for the sake of survival.
He still remembered when he had first joined this team. Their boss, Nakamura Shido, had been like a rock. Other than training and carrying out missions, he had been indifferent to everything else.
That guy Qianhun Qingyu spent every day stroking a battered katana, lost in thought, as if he were immersed in the past.
Only Tokugawa Koichi had seemed like a normal person, actively helping him fit into the team, though his method of doing so had been through his sarcastic remarks.
Back then, Tokugawa Koichi had even complained to him that he was the only normal person in the team, while everyone else was a little mentally unwell.
Later on, the team had gained one more abnormal person: him.
He had once asked Tokugawa Koichi why he had helped him fit in so much. Yamada Tetsuya remembered the answer clearly, and it had left a deep impression on him.
That vile bastard had answered in a casual tone, "Probably because he looked pitiful, so I helped him!"
When he heard that answer, he had been completely stunned. Did he really look pitiful? His face