Ch.267If Side Story. Tokyo Slayers: Final Chapter (5)

In the end, I couldn’t find out anything.

Kotone Kurosawa barely answered any questions, as if she didn’t know how to speak, except for giving her name.

Even Yuka seemed to think she couldn’t pry too deeply during their first meeting, so her questions weren’t particularly probing. Even if all those questions had been answered properly, there probably wouldn’t have been much information to gain.

She barely ate anything either. She did pick up a few french fries and put them in her mouth, but it was hard to tell whether she didn’t like them or just didn’t care for food in general. The atmosphere suggested it was more likely the latter.

“……”

After the awkward time passed and they left the family restaurant, Yuka quietly watched Kotone’s retreating figure for a long while.

“Are you still suspicious?” Nanami asked.

“Honestly, if you really suspected something, wouldn’t you have known right away? That… strange feeling you mentioned. If you felt that from her, you would have just cut her down immediately.”

“…Do I seem like that kind of person?”

“Aren’t you?”

Yuka couldn’t answer Nanami’s question.

It was a statement that could easily be misunderstood, but there didn’t seem to be any particular emotion mixed into Nanami’s words. If Nanami had really wanted to blame Yuka, she would have used sharper words.

Maybe she was holding back because Souta was there—but Souta thought the two had become somewhat close after going through various incidents together.

“…I’ll go first. See you tomorrow.”

Yuka abruptly said that.

And true to her word, Yuka headed straight for the train station.

“Seems like she’s serious,” Nanami said, somewhat incredulously.

Souta scratched his head as he watched Yuka leave.

“But seeing Yuka react like that, don’t you think there might be something to it?”

Nanami didn’t answer Souta’s question. She just narrowed her brow and stared at Yuka’s back for a while.

“Ah, what a shame.”

She said, as if making light of the situation.

“I was planning to have fun with Souta today, but too much time has passed because of them. Souta, isn’t it almost time for your part-time job?”

“Oh, oh… OH!?”

Only then did Souta take out his phone in surprise.

There was barely 30 minutes left until his shift started. If he ran from now, he would just barely make it in time.

“Nanami, I have to go!”

“Yeah, whatever. I’ll come visit when I have time.”

Nanami answered with a pout as Souta shouted while starting to run.

*

“Grandfather.”

As soon as she got home, Yuka looked for her grandfather.

Her grandfather wasn’t at home but at the shrine. Seeing him leisurely sweeping the floor in his everyday clothes, he looked completely at peace with the world.

“Oh, Yuka, you’re back?”

Yuka immediately asked the question on her mind to her grandfather, who greeted her with a kind smile.

“Grandfather, have you ever heard the name ‘Kurosawa’?”

“Hmm? Kurosawa?”

Her grandfather thought for a moment before answering.

“My answer would depend on where you heard that name. Are you perhaps talking about the film director?”

“No, it’s…”

Yuka hesitated for a moment, wondering how to phrase her question.

“There’s a student at our school named Kurosawa…”

Her grandfather quietly listened, giving Yuka his full attention.

“There’s something strange about her.”

“Strange in what way?”

“Well, it’s kind of…”

Yuka hesitated again before continuing.

“It’s hard to explain in detail, but—”

“Do you mean she has an aura that seems entangled with those things?”

Yuka nodded at her grandfather’s question.

Her grandfather resumed sweeping the floor while briefly falling into thought.

“I do know of a Kurosawa family.”

“Does that person have a daughter?”

“A daughter… well. We’re not close enough for me to know that. However…”

Her grandfather’s hand stopped again.

“It’s also the name of a family that serves the gods, so perhaps it is the person you’re thinking of.”

“Are they dangerous people?”

“They haven’t been dangerous over the years. But if she truly is a child in a similar situation to yours, it wouldn’t be strange for you to sense something.”

“……”

Yuka fell into thought again at her grandfather’s words.

“A child like me?”

“She might not do the same work as you, but in terms of inheriting certain blood, she could be. Haven’t you met other children your age with similar circumstances before?”

“That’s true, but…”

While she had met adults, there was never any need to “read people’s auras” with them.

Adults never bothered hiding the fact that they were part of that world. When they had business with Yuka, they were usually people who came to meet her grandfather or father anyway.

“If you want to know more, I can look into it further.”

“Yes, please do that. If she’s related to the work…”

Her grandfather nodded.

“I’m not sure whether she is or not, but if you’re concerned, it could be quite important. If it’s alright with you, how about inviting her over for a meal?”

“……”

Yuka was momentarily speechless at that suggestion.

Would that work? She barely ate french fries. And it didn’t seem like she simply disliked french fries.

“Yes, I’ll think about it.”

But Yuka ended the conversation with that answer for now.

*

A few days later.

“Sasaki, a moment.”

After finishing lunch and returning to the classroom, Yuka suddenly appeared and grabbed Souta’s wrist.

“Oh, wait, Yuka. Today I didn’t eat with Nanami…”

“Do you think I’m calling you for something like that?”

Hadn’t she called him out to complain about that a few times before?

Of course, Souta kept quiet after seeing Yuka’s expression. Even Souta could read the atmosphere to some extent.

However, some of Souta’s less tactful friends made teasing remarks as they watched Yuka pulling Souta by the wrist.

The place Yuka took Souta to was none other than the rooftop.

The sky was clear with almost no clouds. It was a beautiful blue sky that words couldn’t fully describe.

Souta felt his heart flutter a little.

In dramas and manga, when a girl brings a boy to a place like this, it’s usually—

“I want to review our situation for a moment.”

—of course it wouldn’t be a confession.

“What’s wrong?”

Yuka tilted her head at Souta, who slumped his shoulders, but Souta just shrugged with a bitter smile.

“What situation do you want to review?”

“The things we’ve done so far.”

“Like… what exactly?”

“The yokai we’ve exterminated. Coincidentally, you were involved in all of them.”

“Ah.”

Souta nodded.

He didn’t quite understand why she suddenly wanted to review the situation, but knowing Yuka, she must have her reasons.

It was probably because of their conversation with Kotone Kurosawa a few days ago. While Souta had only thought she was a strange girl who had become that way due to circumstances, Yuka seemed to think differently.

The rooftop had no particular advantages except for being under the blue sky with no one around. In particular, there weren’t many places to sit, so Souta and Yuka decided to lean against the wall next to the entrance.

Yuka spoke first.

“First of all. When your sister was attacked.”

“…Yeah.”

Souta nodded.

Shii still hadn’t completely forgotten the memory of that time.

She had only gone to help someone, but what was there turned out to be a man-eating demon. True to her nature, Shii tried her best to hide her emotions in front of Souta, but sometimes she would come to his room, unable to sleep alone.

Souta was seriously considering taking her to the hospital, but he hadn’t found the right opportunity yet. They had a home, but their living expenses were a bit tight.

Yuka took out a notebook from her pocket and asked.

“That was also near the school, right? Within walking distance from here.”

“Was it?”

Yuka nodded and wrote down the information in her notebook.

In fact, most of what Yuka asked afterward were things she could have organized on her own. She occasionally added things from Souta’s perspective, but her own memory wasn’t far off.

And then—

“…They’re all around this school. And the frequency has been increasing toward the end of last year.”

Yuka said, closing her notebook with a snap.

The yokai they had encountered in summer wasn’t near the school, but since that didn’t seem to be what Yuka was concerned about, Souta just nodded.

“Souta, you need to be careful.”

Yuka said with a quite serious expression.

This was probably what she really wanted to say.

“Especially with that girl. I know you’ve been watching her for the past few days.”

“Huh, what?”

Souta responded to Yuka’s sudden statement.

“You’ve been wandering around without me during lunch breaks because of her, right? Because you’re concerned.”

“……”

Yuka’s eyes narrowed.

“From now on… don’t do that.”

“Yuka?”

Souta blinked.

Why would Yuka say something like this?