In the end, there was nothing that could be figured out.
Aside from saying her name, Kurosawa Koto Ne hardly replied at all, almost as if she couldn’t speak.
No matter how much Yuka tried, she probably thought it was too much to dig so deep during their first meeting; in the end, her questions didn’t get very deep either. Even if she had answered all the questions properly, the information gained would have been almost nonexistent.
She hardly ate either. She did pick up a few French fries and put them in her mouth, but it was hard to determine if she didn’t like them or just didn’t enjoy eating much at all. Given the atmosphere, it seemed more likely to be the latter.
“……”
After an awkward time passed and she sent the girl off outside of the family restaurant, Yuka quietly watched her retreating figure for a while.
“Still in doubt?”
Nanami asked.
“To be honest, if you really had doubts, wouldn’t you have figured it out long ago? That… you felt something strange, right? If you felt that from her, you would have just confronted it right away.”
“……Do I look like that kind of person?”
“Don’t you?”
Yuka couldn’t respond to Nanami’s words.
It was an easy misunderstanding, but it didn’t seem like there were any particularly strong feelings mixed in her words. If Nanami really wanted to blame Yuka, she would have said something sharper.
Perhaps it was just that she was trying to hold back because Sota was there—but still, Sota thought the two had developed a bit of a friendship through various incidents.
“……I’ll go ahead. See you tomorrow.”
Yuka suddenly said.
And just like that, she headed straight to the train station.
“It seems like she’s serious.”
Nanami said, sounding somewhat incredulous.
Sota scratched his head, watching her back.
“But seeing Yuka react like that, don’t you think there’s something going on?”
Nanami didn’t reply to Sota’s words. She just furrowed her brow and stared at Yuka’s retreating figure for a while.
“Ah, what a shame.”
She said, almost as if she were sighing.
“I was planning to have fun with Sota today, but because of them, too much time has passed! Sota, it’s almost time for your part-time job, right?”
“Y-yeah… h-huh!?”
Only then did Sota seem startled as he pulled out his phone.
There was less than 30 minutes left until the start of his part-time job. If he started running now, he might just barely make it.
“Nanayo, I’m going ahead!”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll drop by if I have time.”
Nanami answered while popping out her tongue behind Sota, who was already sprinting ahead.
*
“Grandfather.”
As soon as Yuka returned home, she sought out her grandfather.
Her grandfather was not at home but at the shrine. He looked completely peaceful, casually sweeping the floor with a broom while wearing his usual daily clothes.
“Oh, Yuka, you’re back?”
Seeing Yuka, her grandfather smiled warmly, and Yuka immediately threw her question at him.
“Grandfather, have you ever heard of someone named ‘Kurosawa’?”
“Hmm? Kurosawa?”
Her grandfather paused to think about Yuka’s words for a moment before responding.
“The answer would depend on where you heard that name. You aren’t talking about a film director, are you?”
“No, um…”
Given that question, Yuka hesitated, trying to figure out how to respond.
“There’s a kid at my school named Kurosawa…”
Her grandfather quietly listened as he gazed at Yuka.
“That kid has a strange atmosphere about them.”
“Strange atmosphere?”
“Kind of, in a way.”
Yuka hesitated again and finally spoke.
“It’s hard to explain in detail—”
“Is it an atmosphere tangled with those things?”
Yuka nodded at her grandfather’s words. He paused for a moment, resuming his sweeping.
“If I know Kurosawa-san, there really is such a person.”
“Does that person have a daughter?”
“A daughter… well, I can’t say we’re very close. But…”
Her grandfather’s hand stopped again.
“Since it’s also the name of a family that serves the gods, it’s possible that the person you’re thinking of might be correct.”
“Are they dangerous people?”
“They haven’t been dangerous over the years. However, if it truly is a child in a position similar to yours, I think it wouldn’t be strange for you to feel something.”
“……”
Yuka fell deep in thought at her grandfather’s words.
“Someone like me, you mean?”
“Well, they might not be doing exactly what you do, but in terms of having inherited particular blood, that could be true. Haven’t you met similar kids your age up till now?”
“That’s true, but…”
She had encountered adults before, but there was never any need to “read the atmosphere” with them. Adults didn’t hide their involvement in such matters anyway. When it came time for Yuka to meet someone, it was typically people who met her grandfather or father.
“If you want to learn more, I can investigate further.”
“Yes, please do. If it’s related to work.”
Her grandfather nodded.
“I can’t say for certain if it’s that or not, but if it’s something that makes you anxious, it could be quite significant. If it’s alright with you, how about inviting that kid to a meal?”
“……”
At that statement, Yuka was momentarily at a loss for words.
Would that… be okay? She hardly ate any French fries. It didn’t seem like it was simply because she disliked them.
“Yes, I’ll think about it.”
But Yuka responded that way to conclude the conversation.
*
A few days later.
“Sasaki, wait a second.”
After finishing lunch and returning to class, Yuka suddenly appeared and grabbed Sota’s wrist.
“Hey, wait, Yuka. I wasn’t eating with Nanami today…”
“Do you think I called you for that?”
Didn’t she call him out about that a few times already?
Of course, seeing Yuka’s expression, Sota shut his mouth. He could read the atmosphere too.
However, among Sota’s friends, there were some who were somewhat oblivious, and they teased him as they watched Yuka pulling Sota while following him closely.
Eventually, Yuka took Sota to the rooftop.
The sky was nearly cloudless. It was a beautiful azure sky that was hard to describe as anything other than lovely.
Sota felt a bit of his heart race.
In dramas or manga, when a girl brings a boy to a place like this, it usually—
“I want to sort things out for a moment.”
—couldn’t possibly be a confession, no way.
“What’s going on?”
Yuka tilted her head, noticing Sota slumping his shoulders, but all Sota could do was give a bitter smile and shrug.
“What do you want to sort out?”
“All the things we’ve done up until now.”
“So… like what?”
“The Yōkai we’ve fought off together. You were inadvertently involved in all of them.”
“Ah.”
Sota nodded.
He wasn’t quite sure why she suddenly wanted to sort out the situation now, but if it was Yuka, it must have been the case that such a situation warranted it.
After all, just a few days ago, he had had a conversation with Kurosawa Koto Ne. Though he had thought she was strangely like that due to circumstances, it seemed Yuka had a different perspective.
The rooftop was just empty under the blue sky, and aside from that was hardly special. In particular, there weren’t many good places to sit, SO Sota and Yuka decided to stand side by side near the rooftop entrance.
The first one to speak was Yuka.
“First of all. When your younger sister was attacked.”
“……Yeah.”
Sota nodded.
Shii still couldn’t completely forget the memory from that time. It was understandable since she had just gone to help someone and ended up facing a Yōkai there. Of course, like Shii, she tried to hide that feeling as much as she could in front of Sota, but sometimes she would come to his room alone, unable to sleep.
Sota was seriously pondering whether he should go to the hospital with her, but there hadn’t been a suitable opportunity yet. The two of them had a house, but the living expenses were somewhat tight.
Yuka took a notebook out and asked,
“That was near the school, right? A place we can walk to.”
“Was it?”
Yuka nodded as she scribbled down the notes.
In fact, most of the questions Yuka asked afterward were things she could sort out alone. Sota had just added his perspective to what he had previously shared, and Yuka’s memory didn’t seem to be significantly off.
And—
“……It’s all around this school. Moreover, the frequency has been increasing towards the end of last year.”
Yuka said, slamming her notebook shut.
Although the Yōkai they met during the summer wasn’t near the school, Sota could tell that Yuka was not concerned about that.
“Be careful, Sota.”
Yuka said, her expression quite serious.
This was likely what Yuka really wanted to say.
“Especially that girl. You know she’s been watching you for several days now?”
“H-huh!?”
Sota responded, startled at Yuka’s sudden words.
“Is it because of her that you’re concerned about me wandering without you during lunch?”
“……”
Yuka’s eyes narrowed.
“Please don’t do that anymore.”
“Yuka?”
Sota blinked in surprise.
Why was Yuka saying this?
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