Chapter 17

"I can't understand it." Shoko Ieiri shook her head. "I can't understand doing something like that."

The usually carefree, laid-back school doctor grew unusually serious. "What does his own life even mean to him?"

She was genuinely angry.

As the only jujutsu sorcerer in the Jujutsu Society capable of using Reverse Cursed Technique, Shoko Ieiri was always busy, but she never dared slack off or stop.

Because she was afraid that the moment she took a break, a jujutsu sorcerer would die for lack of treatment.

But knowing how short his life was, why couldn't he take better care of himself?

That was why she absolutely, unequivocally could not forgive what An Xinyi had done.

Humanity mattered. Humanity's survival mattered. But An Xinyi still shouldn't have used himself up and worn himself down like this.

No matter what, every life was unique and precious.

That was how a doctor saw it.

"Exactly! Life and death are absolutely not things to treat so cheaply!" Akiko Yosano was furious too. An Xinyi's actions trampled all over everything they, as doctors, held sacred.

"No matter what, you have to cherish your own life!"

The two exchanged a glance and immediately felt a bond of mutual understanding.

As for a certain scumbag boss, his membership in the medical profession had been revoked.

"No matter how little anyone understands him, he won't stop." Satoru Gojo propped his chin on his hand, his clear, beautiful blue eyes fixed on the screen. "In a way, he's a pretty terrifying guy."

"Satoru?" Masamichi Yaga sounded slightly surprised. This was Satoru Gojo, after all-the man who put himself first and heaven second!

Satoru Gojo scratched his hair in irritation. "Even I can't understand it, okay!"

"There are countless cursed spirits born from the fear of death, but can a human really be like him? He accepts a death that tramples all over him with complete composure, without a trace of resentment or any intention of resisting. I honestly can't tell whether he's a saint or a demon."

"If love is what makes him do this..." Satoru Gojo's face was expressionless. "Personally, I think love is the most twisted curse of all."

Ryomen Sukuna spoke up too. "Now that's something to look forward to."

"If he used that love to curse this world, it would surely give birth to the most terrifying, most immense curse ever seen." There was an indescribable excitement in Ryomen Sukuna's voice. "I'd love to see it. The love behind countless rescues, the pain of countless failed attempts to save them-just what kind of monster would they produce?"

"No, Panda is just a panda, and he doesn't want to see that at all." Panda covered his face. Please, what kind of hell would that be? Even with his faith in Satoru Gojo, he didn't think Gojo could defeat an obsession like that.

Was that love? It was more terrifying than hatred.

An Xinyi did not stop traveling. He and Ayatsuji Yukito visited many places together.

And to Ayatsuji Yukito, the mystery named "An Xinyi" grew ever larger and ever harder to fathom.

They climbed a mountain and gazed up at the stars from its summit. Stars blossomed across the night sky, as beautiful as a dream.

"I once heard a verse." Without waiting for Ayatsuji Yukito to ask, An Xinyi stood up like a child, rose onto his tiptoes, and reached toward the starry sky. "The lofty tower rises a hundred feet; my hand could pluck the stars."

"But even if they look close enough to touch, you still can't reach them." An Xinyi strained to stand on his tiptoes, but that tiny extra distance was utterly insignificant compared to the distance between the stars and Earth.

"That was never possible in the first place." Ayatsuji Yukito had never been the comforting type. "Are you an idiot, believing something like that?"

He had noticed long ago that while An Xinyi seemed mature and capable in many ways, he was naïve in others, just like a child.

After all this time, Ayatsuji Yukito could also deduce that An Xinyi absolutely

"...Maybe." An Xinyi fell silent for a moment, his smile unchanged. "We really are idiots."

We...? Ayatsuji Yukito frowned.

An Xinyi looked expectantly at the starry sky and reached out again.

Yes, he knew. No matter how far he reached, he could never touch the stars.

It was just like An Xinyi's wish.

He wanted humanity to live forever. He wanted humanity to endure eternally.

That beautiful wish was like the stars in the sky: seemingly close, yet forever out of reach.

But why were so many An Xinyis still bewitched by that hollow illusion, reaching out even at the cost of their lives?

The current 143 could not understand.

But perhaps he knew how he should go about understanding.

"Don't even try to understand something like that!" As though he had seen what would happen in the future, Ranpo Edogawa almost jumped to his feet.

Fyodor shook his head. "As I thought, they're exactly alike." Whether it was 143 or 948, their essence was the same.

"What's the point? Why force yourself?" Saigiku Jono shook his head. Having watched this far, if he still couldn't see certain things, he wouldn't deserve the title of King of the Unseen.

"Because that is his cause. That is everything he has sworn to carry out." Teruko Okura suddenly spoke. Her arms were folded across her chest, a powerful conviction housed in her petite frame. As one of the Hunting Dogs, she understood that feeling better than anyone.

"But that's so painful." Atsushi Nakajima couldn't help speaking up.

"Boy." Fukuchi Ochi laughed, his expression turning unusually solemn. "If heaven itself were wicked rather than just, I would still, with an unclouded heart and iron resolve, cut down the treacherous and carry out my righteous cause!"

"That fellow An Xinyi must think the same way." Yes, for the sake of justice in this world, he, Fukuchi Ochi, would not hesitate even to commit unforgivable acts!

"Aaah, the captain is so cool!" Teruko Okura cupped her face in her hands.

At those words, a flicker of shock crossed Yukichi Fukuzawa's eyes, and he suddenly looked at Fukuchi Ochi.

Fukuchi Ochi calmly accepted Yukichi Fukuzawa's scrutiny.

Strange... Yukichi Fukuzawa suppressed his inexplicable thoughts.

Atsushi Nakajima only half understood, but he could hear the astonishing resolve in Fukuchi Ochi's voice.

"Weakling weretiger." Ryunosuke Akutagawa sneered. "Someone like him doesn't need your sympathy at all. He knew the outcome from the moment he acted." By now, even Ryunosuke Akutagawa could not help feeling profound respect for An Xinyi. They had something in common, too: an obsession they would pursue even through ten thousand deaths.

"As long as I can earn Mr. Dazai's approval, I can do anything and endure any pain."

Osamu Dazai glanced at Akutagawa and let out an almost inaudible sigh.

An Xinyi looked up, starlight reflected in his ink-black eyes. "Are there any stories you like, Yukito?"

Ayatsuji Yukito thought this fellow's mind truly jumped all over the place, but he still named a few mystery novels. "These count as literature with at least some intelligence."

"Haha, I'm definitely not as clever as you, Yukito." An Xinyi waved a hand. "I'd never be able to guess the truth."

"As for me... I really like The Little Prince."

An Xinyi's voice was very, very soft.

The little prince who came to Earth from a distant place... that was Zero's true identity.

And he was merely a counterfeit moved by that homesickness.

Those feelings that did not belong to him burned in his chest, that love that did not belong to him swirled through his mind. This was the sorrow and longing no An Xinyi could escape.

"The Little Prince?" Ayatsuji Yukito raised an eyebrow and asked probing questions. "Then who is your rose? Your B612?"

Somewhat distracted, An Xinyi answered, "...I don't know."

He turned his head, confusion in his eyes. "Perhaps no one is."

Ayatsuji Yukito instinctively pressed his lips together, his brow creasing slightly as displeasure stirred in him. What did that mean? Nothing mattered most... not even him?

But An Xinyi failed to notice Ayatsuji Yukito's mood. He was feeling deeply dejected himself.

Yes, those feelings-sorrowful yet wonderful, profound and full of longing-did not belong to him.

That was not his rose, nor was it his B612.

In the end, he was only a counterfeit little prince. How could he deserve to love that beautiful dream?

"That guy got the wrong idea." Ranpo curled his lip. "What an idiot."

Ayatsuji Yukito narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't have done any better in his place."

Ranpo opened his mouth, only to find he couldn't argue back... After all, while he was the greatest detective when it came to solving cases, his ability to read hearts did have its shortcomings.

Still, Ranpo's gaze swept over Fyodor and Osamu Dazai. Even those two, skilled as they were at manipulating people's hearts, might not fare any better. Right now, they saw clearly as outsiders, but once drawn into the situation, they too would lose perspective. Who would have any right to laugh at whom?

"Is cloning so many versions of yourself really a good thing?" Chūya Nakahara was sensitive to this subject, and he hated such things. Once, even he had been unable to tell whether he was the real Chūya Nakahara or some manufactured personality. "It just means more people have to bear all that pain."

The other An Xinyis must be confused too. Who were they, really?

"When will your journey end?" As they descended the mountain, Ayatsuji Yukito asked while toying with the girl doll in his arms. The doll had a lifelike face and wore exquisite clothes, all things An Xinyi had gradually perfected over the past few days. Ayatsuji Yukito had named her Mei Misaki.

For Ayatsuji Yukito, that would probably be his final deadline for solving the mystery.

"It can't end just yet."

An Xinyi never stopped smiling. No matter what, he always hoped to face this world with a smile.

Because this was the world countless An Xinyis had willingly died for. Even 143 had to look at it in a different light.

Yes, he had chosen to travel, chosen to leave the place that consumed An Xinyi's life, but that had never meant he hated this world.

On the contrary, the reason he traveled was-

"Because," An Xinyi placed a finger against his lips, his smile radiant, "I haven't fallen in love with this world yet."

Could a counterfeit like him feel love? Could a fake little prince find his rose?

No matter what, he still cared deeply about the answer.

I'm trying my best to fall in love with this world, to discover its beauty.

Otherwise, how could I brave fire and water for it, willingly dying ten thousand times?

"I'm trying really hard to love this world, you know."

"I'm trying to fall in love with these mountains, with this ocean, with this wonderful civilization."

"I'm trying to fall in love with all the people in this world." An Xinyi formed a finger gun, closed his right eye, and aimed at Ayatsuji Yukito.

"To fall in love with you."

To fall in love with humans like you, and die for them.

Perhaps that was An Xinyi's destiny.