January 25, 1991
The delivery room smelled of disinfectant, and the medical staff bustled about, handling everything in an orderly fashion.
When Qin Hong opened his eyes again, he saw white light and the doctor holding him. Strange, misshapen monsters, flickering in and out of view, clung to the shoulders of the doctors and nurses.
Did I just get born? I can't speak, only cry. Those monsters on the doctor must be this world's special power. They don't look like they hurt people directly. Am I going into action as a baby? Not bad, I guess. At least I have a mom and dad...
The nurse gently wrapped the newborn Qin Hong in a warm blanket and carried him away to clean his umbilical cord and the grime off his body.
Once she finished, the nurse looked at Qin Hong, who barely cried, and was just about to reach for him when the baby began wailing. Seeing that, she withdrew her hand and took him for a bath.
Finally, she slipped an identification bracelet onto the freshly bathed Qin Hong's little wrist and put a diaper on him. Only after drawing blood for tests and giving him his vaccinations did she carry him over to meet his parents in this life.
After all the nurse's ministrations, Qin Hong's tiny body had little energy left.
But as he looked at the beaming man holding him, Qin Hong couldn't help rallying himself to take a closer look.
He didn't know why, but despite having only just been born, Qin Hong could already see quite a lot clearly.
The man looked under thirty. His bright eyes gazed down at Qin Hong, and an irrepressible smile spread across his face. He had ordinary short black hair, and even his suit couldn't hide his sturdy physique. All in all, he looked very handsome. Now he was gently patting Qin Hong and humming an unfamiliar tune.
When the man suddenly gave him a curious look, Qin Hong felt that staying completely silent would seem strange, so he could only start bawling.
"Yo~suke~ isn't it my turn to see the baby?" The woman in the hospital bed reminded the man named Yosuke, pretending to be angry.
As he listened to her gentle voice, tinged with playful reproach, Qin Hong's view slowly shifted with his father's footsteps.
"Sorry, Miyoko. I'm just so excited. You probably can't hold him yet, so I'll put him beside you. Look at him, he's adorable. You need to get better soon so you can hold him."
As he spoke, Yosuke carried Qin Hong to Miyoko's bedside, bent down, and placed him beside her. Qin Hong finally saw what his mother looked like.
She looked very young, somewhere in her twenties. Her long black hair and snow-white skin made her look particularly haggard after giving birth. Her features were beautiful, and she looked very gentle.
"Hehe~ that's my son for you. He's so cute~ what should we name him, honey?" Still drained of strength, Miyoko turned her head and kissed the little baby.
"Haha! I've already thought of one! If it's a boy, Niji. Sakurada Niji. I hope our son can brighten people's moods like a rainbow after the rain."
Listening to his parents talk, Qin Hong realized he couldn't understand a word.
But they look so happy.
Then he succumbed to his drowsiness and slowly fell asleep.
October 15, 1999, Shinjuku, Tokyo
Time flew by, and baby Sakurada Niji gradually grew into a big boy. His family was fairly well-off in this life, and his parents had always treated him well. Sakurada Niji had enjoyed a very satisfying early childhood.
Now eight and a half years old, Sakurada Niji was in second grade. After years of effort, he had adapted to life here. Though he still disliked eating fish, especially raw fish, he had successfully learned Japanese.
Throughout those eight years, he had been able to see those somewhat blurry monsters, and they had grown increasingly clear. Most of the ones he encountered could only make people feel tired or sore. He always steered clear of the few that felt dangerous, and after a while, that sense of danger would disappear.
Though he had tried, he had never discovered anything special about himself beyond his ability to see those monsters.
His emotions were always steady, making him completely unlike the children his age around him, who often cried, fussed, and played pranks. As a result, he had never fit in with his peers. Though he was good at looking after other children, they didn't like being looked after by someone their own age.
The teachers, however, all liked him.
"I'm on a mission to save the world! Yet here I am, learning addition and subtraction with elementary school kids..." Though Sakurada Niji was very cute, he occasionally shook his head and spouted things nobody understood. This made him a strange presence in the other students' eyes, someone they wanted to approach but didn't dare.
Walking alone to the school gate, Sakurada Niji spotted the Japanese language teacher standing there: his mother's best friend, Kuradama Michiko.
Seeing her smiling at him and waving a little yellow hat in her hand, Sakurada Niji could only walk over reluctantly.
Sure enough, the instant he approached, she plopped the little yellow hat onto his head and furiously rubbed his head through it.
"Auntie Michiko, you're so childish." Touching the little yellow hat she had forced onto his head, which matched his teacher's, little Sakurada Niji could only roll his eyes and complain. Unable to fight back, he tried to score a verbal victory instead.
"Niji-chan really is adorable~ even if the things you say can be annoying sometimes. Isn't that right? Hmm?" Michiko crouched down and vigorously kneaded Sakurada Niji's cheeks, trying to make him surrender.
"All right, big sis Michiko, I'm going home." Having forcibly escaped her hands, Sakurada Niji said goodbye without looking back and prepared to leave.
One of those monsters has appeared on Auntie Michiko's head too. But how do I get rid of it? It seems closely tied to emotions. When Auntie Michiko is happy, the monster looks much fainter. Does she have to stay happy all the time to get rid of it?
No, I have to find a way to kill these monsters soon. If negative emotions attract them to latch onto people, sooner or later Mom and Dad will get tangled up with them too. Nobody can stay in a good mood forever. Sakurada Niji made up his mind.
"Auntie Michiko~ can I have dinner at your place today? My mom's cooking is awful, and I don't want to eat it today..." Turning back, Sakurada Niji made up an excuse to get close to Michiko, planning to take a good look at the monster on her head.
Rubbing her neck, Michiko looked at her best friend's child as he complained to her about his mother's cooking and agreed without hesitation.
Michiko pulled out her phone and called her best friend, saying she wanted Sakurada Niji to stay the night at her place and review his schoolwork while he was there. Though Sakurada Niji's mother said she would miss him, she eventually agreed.
"Okay~ la la la~ off we go, Niji-chan~ big sis will make you something yummy~" As soon as she hung up, Michiko scooped Sakurada Niji up. With her astonishing arm strength, she hoisted the eight-year-old straight onto her shoulders and walked off humming a cheerful tune, as though afraid someone might snatch something away from her.
Looking at the monster in front of him, Sakurada Niji curiously reached out and touched it. The monster didn't react. I can touch it. Then he pulled a utility knife from his shirt pocket and slashed it, only to discover he hadn't pierced its defenses.
I can definitely hit it now, but the attack does nothing. Am I not strong enough? Or am I missing something?
Sakurada Niji's thoughts were suddenly interrupted.
"Niji-chan~ what do you want to eat? We're heading to the supermarket~"
"Tempura. Shrimp and eel." After casually naming one of the few dishes he liked, Sakurada Niji returned to his thoughts.
If positive emotions can weaken the monsters, could attacks imbued with positive emotions hurt them? But how do I put emotions into a weapon? I'll try it first.
Sakurada Niji took out his utility knife again, picturing how relieved Auntie Miyoko would look after he cleared away her monster, and held firmly to that feeling.
He thrust the blade in, but it felt like stabbing hard rubber. The utility knife could barely move, though its tip had indeed sunk in a little.
Did it fail?
"Urrgh~~~!" Just then, the monster suddenly let out a strange roar.
Startled, the intensely focused Sakurada Niji jerked his hand and nearly stabbed Michiko's neck.
You bastard, you can talk?! ...You scared the hell out of me... Sakurada Niji felt his little heart racing.
"Urrgh!!!!!!!"
Sakurada Niji stabbed the monster again in retaliation, only to find that it let out a miserable cry, turned into something like ash, and disappeared.
"Huh? That's..."
One angry stab can kill a monster like this that easily? Did this particular monster need anger to kill it, or are all monsters like that? Was my anger meter too low before?
Or do we share the same source, so only the same kind of energy can hurt it? Is it pure anger, or negative energy? Can I use the same approach on different monsters? Looks like I'll have to test it bit by bit.
"Niji-chan? We're here~ time to get down~"
"Okay, Auntie Michiko~" Putting aside his thoughts, Sakurada Niji decided to enjoy his reward for slaying an evil spirit first: Auntie Michiko's shrimp and eel tempura!
I've finally been useful. I'll do everything I can.