Chapter 51: A Smile in the Dark
On the way home from university.
Today too, I hurried toward our meeting place so I could wait for Yuuki-kun, brushing off pointless solicitations that didn’t matter to me at all.
Even so, there’s always a certain number of people who never learn. No matter how many times I refuse, they keep persistently inviting me out drinking, and I really wish they’d stop already.
Once Yuuki-kun becomes an adult and can drink alcohol, I’d be perfectly fine drinking together. If it’s a drinking party where Yuuki-kun is there, I’d happily join.
I walk along while thinking about a future that’s just a little ahead, not all that far away.
Because I want to reach the meeting place as quickly as possible, I take the narrow side streets like I always do. That’s when I suddenly feel someone’s presence behind me.
This road is dark and narrow, the kind people don’t like to walk down, and there’s hardly any foot traffic.
I quickly turn around, but there’s no one there.
With nothing but a bad feeling in my chest, I run at full speed to the main road. Standing there is Shinjou Saya, smiling.
“Hey, Shimizu Yume-san. There’s something I’d like to talk to you about. Would you come with me?”
She’s smiling.
But her eyes are dark and clouded to the point that they don’t seem sane at all, like she might kill someone at any moment.
I think about what would happen if I refuse. When I imagine the situation escalating and, at worst, Yuuki-kun ending up in danger, I have no choice but to nod reluctantly.
Shinjou Saya stands right in front of me.
Her steps are slow and relaxed, so carefree that it’s hard to believe she was giving off such a pitch-black aura just moments ago.
What kind of reason could she possibly have for wanting something from me?
What is her objective?
The last time I spoke with her was back then.
She definitely said this.
“Please leave Yuuki-kun immediately.”
I can’t even imagine why I’d have to leave Yuuki-kun, but I can guess that her purpose in approaching me today is to pry Yuuki-kun away from me.
This woman probably still likes Yuuki-kun. That’s something all the women up until now have had in common.
Arisa was like that, and Ayaka was too.
Even though they hurt him and pushed him away themselves, they twist their thinking and act as if they’re the victims.
Even though it’s their own fault.
They misunderstand things just because Yuuki-kun is kind, coast along without a care, and then this is what happens once Yuuki-kun finally rejects them.
It’s pretty much certain that I’m heading into danger, so as we walk, I stay on high alert and try to operate my phone inside the pocket of my hoodie to send a message. At that moment, Shinjou Saya suddenly turns around and says,
“You don’t need to sneak around like that. I just want to talk. Just the two of us. So it’s fine even if you call Yuuki-kun, you know.”
“…I see.”
I have no idea how she sensed my movements, and fear wells up inside me as I look at Shinjou Saya standing right in front of me.
Still, I instinctively judge that it’s better to stop trying to contact anyone for now.
I think that provoking her any further would just lead to trouble.
Without saying anything, we keep walking.
The place Shinjou Saya leads me to is an abandoned building a short distance from the school. Strange spray-painted graffiti covers the walls, whether done by delinquents or some kind of gang, I can’t tell.
“So, what do you want with me?”
I don’t want to be in a place like this, and I want to see Yuuki-kun as soon as possible, so I just want to get this over with and go home.
Shinjou Saya curls her lips into a nasty grin and says,
“Please leave Yuuki-kun alone. Don’t brainwash Yuuki-kun.”