“Well, you see…”
“I don’t know what happened either.”
As Sota panicked, Fukuda replied.
Sota decided not to ask what had happened for no particular reason.
According to Fukuda, the men had some connection with Yamashita, who was Fukuda’s friend. Fukuda didn’t say anything about what had happened to them, nor did he mention anything about what had happened to that girl, but Sota had some idea of what could have transpired.
“Probably, from the uncle’s perspective, the girls near those guys might not have mattered much to him. After all, they aren’t the kind of people who just go around without a standard… Well, if something happened to his daughter, he would’ve been really angry, so we definitely can’t know exactly what happened.”
“…”
Sota couldn’t think of anything significant to say in response.
He didn’t have a particularly righteous personality. While he generally wanted to help if someone was in trouble, that was about it; he had no intention to interpret someone’s bad behavior in a positive light or defend them for being treated equally.
He’d been through too much of this already.
“They probably got beat up just for siding with those guys. That’s all there is to it.”
Yuka, Nanami, and Sota looked at each other.
Then they turned back to Fukuda.
“So, do you know why Kurosawa hasn’t come to school today?”
When asked that, Fukuda, who was sporting a bitter expression, furrowed his brows slightly.
“What?”
“Kurosawa didn’t show up at school today. She’s not answering her phone. It’s just turned off.”
The classmates of Kurosawa weren’t particularly fond of her, but they wouldn’t lie about something like this.
There was simply no benefit in doing so.
Moreover, two out of the three main bullies hadn’t even come to school. The atmosphere among the classmates seemed indifferent to the situation.
“When she didn’t come last time…”
At that time, she had been trapped and bullied by kids.
Kurosawa’s expression hadn’t changed much even at that moment, but considering her actions until now, there’s no way she would have welcomed the situation.
“…Could it be?”
Fukuda’s face paled a little as if he had the same thought.
“That Yamashita girl’s father?”
Yuka slowly opened her mouth.
“How much does he know about Kurosawa? Is he the kind of person who would protect her after that incident?”
Fukuda’s eyes trembled slightly.
“…So, you don’t know what exactly happened to those guys, right? Like if they were hospitalized or if they can’t go out for a while…you don’t know that, do you?”
“So, you’re saying…”
“Kurosawa looks like just a skinny high school girl on the outside. If a bigger person got hurt on one side of their arm or leg, wouldn’t they at least think they could do something?”
“Wait, wait a second.”
Fukuda rubbed his eyes and spoke.
“No. She’s probably not that fine.”
“…Is that guy Yamashita’s father, the kind of person we’re talking about?”
At this point, even Sota, who was somewhat clueless, and Nanami, who was straying far from this world, could see what these two were discussing.
“…Yeah, that’s right. At least that kind of work, probably he can handle it. Unless those guys have some kind of superpower that allows bones to heal in a day.”
Yuka’s gaze jumped between Sota and Nanami.
Are you going to go look for her? That look seemed to say.
“Are we just going to let this slide?”
Nanami spoke.
“Wasn’t her teacher not that great? If she doesn’t show up at school, she’ll just log it as absent and won’t bother to contact her.”
Sota agreed with that.
“Wait, wait a minute.”
Fukuda interrupted the three of them, who were discussing it so casually.
“Do you guys know where Kurosawa lives?”
“Saitama, right?”
“So, aside from the fact that she lives in Saitama, you don’t know anything else, right? It’s not a small city. Are you thinking of just going door to door?”
He thought about asking the school for help…
But would they even give out the address? Considering her homeroom teacher, who had no interest in students but also didn’t want to be bothered with troublesome matters, it seemed possible they wouldn’t tell even if a group went to ask.
“…There’s a way.”
Yuka said.
“A way?”
At Sota’s question, Yuka pondered for a moment before answering.
“I don’t know Kurosawa’s house, but… someone who does knows. I’ll ask around.”
Hearing this, Sota, Nanami, and Fukuda tilted their heads in confusion.
But Yuka didn’t tell them who that ‘person’ was.
—
Yuka actually tracked down the address. Just by exchanging a few emails.
Well, though she sometimes forgets, Yuka has various connections. She even received thanks from some high-ranking people while dealing with yōkai, so she could manage to find the address of a girl who goes to the same school.
Fukuda and Nanami wore somewhat skeptical expressions, but they followed Yuka’s lead.
As soon as school ended, they took the train home, but the distance was much farther than expected.
Moreover, just getting off the train didn’t mean that a house was nearby. They had to take a bus or walk a bit further.
As they slowly entered a deeper residential area, they arrived at a place—
“…Is this?”
“This is what I was told.”
An old-looking two-story apartment.
It wasn’t just old. The entire apartment seemed poorly maintained, falling apart in various places. Some parts of the concrete looked worn, and the wood seemed remarkably unstable, possibly because it had been soaked and dried repeatedly.
“Is this where Kurosawa lives?”
It was a place where someone from Hanagawa High School, which wasn’t only known for its high standards but also its expensive tuition, should live.
The school uniform costs a pretty penny, and it would’ve been quite expensive to commute from Saitama.
Most of all, Sota had pictured ‘Kurosawa’ as a place similar to Yuka’s house.
A house of a certain status, managing an ancient shrine, even if they weren’t incredibly wealthy.
But what stood before him was a place that betrayed such expectations.
“…”
Yuka silently led the way.
Climbing up the rusty stairs, where rust came off as one grabbed the railing, she stopped in front of the second room on the second floor and knocked on the door.
knock knock
The knocking reverberated loudly as if the door wasn’t that thick.
There was no answer from inside.
However…
“There’s movement.”
As Yuka said, the walls and door were thin enough that one could hear the sound of someone moving on the other side.
scrape, scrape, it sounded like something was brushing against the floor.
It seemed that someone was indeed walking, stepping on the floor.
…And there was even a shuffling noise.
But there still was no response. Nobody came out of the door.
After a moment of silence, Yuka knocked again and said, “Are you in there? Kurosawa didn’t come to school today. Ah, I’m Yuuki Yuka, a friend of Kurosawa…I came to see if you were feeling unwell.”
A little more shuffling noise could be heard inside.
Then there was a thud, as if something fell over, and—
“Ah…”
A sobbing voice was overheard.
“Excuse me?”
Yuka said, a bit more urgently. The sobbing voice sounded weak, leaving her uneasy.
The situation didn’t seem right.
She had never heard anything about Kurosawa’s family, so there might be someone inside.
“…Please go back.”
A frail voice came again from inside, followed by more shuffling sounds.
“Now, Koto Ne isn’t here anymore. She probably won’t be coming to school anymore.”
“Excuse me?”
“Koto Ne enjoyed her time thanks to all of you. She’s gone to a better place, so you don’t need to worry.”
bang!
But the moment those words ended, an explosive sound erupted.
“Fukuda.”
Fukuda slammed against the wall with his hand. The wall, which wasn’t any thicker than the door, shook loudly.
“What do you mean by ‘gone to a better place’? What does that even mean?”
Fukuda asked.
“That sounds strange.”
“…”
Inside, no further sound was heard.
…
No, there was noise. But it wasn’t words.
Just little whimpers. The person inside was crying after hearing about Kurosawa Koto Ne.
Yuka took a step back and then—
“Wait, Yuuki!?”
Before Nanami could stop her, she forcefully slammed against the door.
“Yuka!”
Sota tried to stop her, but Yuka was already retreating.
bang!
The next time she slammed against the door, Fukuda joined her.
The two little girls, smaller than Sota, combined their strength and slammed hard against the door—
crack.
The door handle snapped off in a splintered mess, rendering it utterly destroyed.
The door swung open a bit ajar, and the three of them stumbled inside—
“…Huh?”
They locked eyes with a woman inside.
The face of a woman who looked terribly disheveled, as if she hadn’t washed herself properly.
“Ah…”
That woman was crying.
“I wished she could remain a normal girl in the memories of her friends…”
Saying that, the woman, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Koto Ne with a chain around her neck, burst into tears.
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