Ch.269If Side Story. Tokyo Slayers: Final Chapter (7)

“Did those kids keep bullying you?”

After asking such a question, Souta somehow felt like he’d become an idiot. Hadn’t he seen it with his own eyes?

It wasn’t even the first time; he’d witnessed it again after the last incident.

Was it merely bullying—

No, there’s no such thing as “mere” bullying in this world. That kind of harassment is no different from torture. Whether mental or physical, constantly enduring it would eventually break one’s mind.

…Souta also remembered what state Shii had been in.

Shii, who had become much more stable while living with Souta, had started showing signs of anxiety more frequently after that incident. They say any wound heals a little with time, but it seemed like it would be difficult for Shii to fully recover anytime soon.

Though he tried to keep in regular contact and stay in the same place with her, Souta ultimately had his limitations. Just like with the girl before him now.

Yes, thinking about it again, Souta didn’t have time for this.

Shii would be waiting at home. Rationally speaking, Souta needed to return home right away.

Kotone Kurosawa still gave no answer.

Souta seriously considered what to do next. He had shown the girl’s arms in front of those kids, but that wasn’t something he’d done knowingly.

He’d simply thought that if she was being bullied, there would likely be traces of it.

“Let’s get out of here first.”

Even Souta had things he feared. He was afraid those girls might really come back with the police, and he was also a bit scared of running into the man who said he was coming to meet Kotone Kurosawa.

Above all, Souta didn’t particularly like these alleyways. Not since that man-eating ghost incident last year.

When Kotone Kurosawa showed no movement despite Souta’s words, he finally opted to lightly grasp the end of her sleeve with his fingers and pull. At least she seemed to understand the action, as she followed his lead out of the alley.

Now that he’d brought her out, Souta felt at a loss.

“Um, so…”

After pondering for a moment, Souta said:

“Which way are you going? To the station?”

“…”

Kotone Kurosawa silently looked up at Souta. It was as if she had just realized he was standing there.

Her eyes were indeed red upon closer inspection. People with albinism are said to have such eyes, but Kotone Kurosawa’s hair color was actually quite dark for someone with albinism. Her skin was pale, but it was hard to be certain if that was truly due to a lack of melanin.

“So… you know how to get home, right?”

Tamachi Station is quite close to the school. Close enough to walk to.

But that didn’t mean they were near Tamachi Station now. While Souta’s part-time job was near the school, Minato Ward was generally a busy area. As is often the case with bustling districts, it could be somewhat confusing for first-time visitors.

Moreover, this Kotone Kurosawa seemed like… someone who might get lost in such places. How to put it—she had an air of someone who, despite being bullied, didn’t seem to understand what being bullied even meant.

In the end, Souta led the girl, who still gave no answer to his question, all the way to the station.

Only after arriving did he realize he didn’t even know how she commuted to school.

“Can you get home from here?”

Souta asked once more.

Kotone Kurosawa stared at Souta silently, then finally nodded. He was relieved that she at least seemed to understand the word “home.”

…Well, having made it to Hanakawa High School, she certainly wouldn’t be at a level where she couldn’t understand such simple words.

“Um… I know it might not be my place to say this… or I’m not sure if I should say it…”

Souta spoke with a somewhat serious expression.

“When you’re being bullied that severely, asking for help from people around you is… hmm.”

Was it that she had no one to ask for help?

The homeroom teacher was someone who didn’t care much about students. If pressed, they seemed like the type to push aside problems occurring in their class.

And the other students in the class, while appearing to know that Kotone Kurosawa was being bullied, didn’t seem to care much either.

What difference would it make now to say such things about a girl who had already been bullied for about a year?

“…I’m sorry.”

That’s what Souta said.

Would she understand?

After staring at Souta for a while, Kotone Kurosawa mechanically walked toward the station, as if she only knew that was what she should do. Only after watching her retreating figure could Souta finally feel at ease and return home.

*

Kotone Kurosawa acted as if she couldn’t speak. Of course, Souta knew she could speak, but he had experienced several times already that such “speaking situations” didn’t arise easily with her.

So, he thought Yuka wouldn’t notice if he slightly disobeyed her warning.

But—

Poke.

“Ow!?”

Startled by the sudden sharp sensation in his back, Souta turned around to find Yuka looking at him with a very displeased expression.

She was holding an uncapped pen in her hand. It wasn’t particularly sharp, but it still hurt when someone suddenly jabbed your back with it.

Yuka was looking at Souta with a very unhappy expression.

“…Sasaki.”

“Huh?”

Yuka often called Souta this way, but somehow today she seemed even more upset than usual. Normally she only got like this when Nanami or Hagiwara-senpai were involved.

The tip of the pen in Yuka’s hand moved, pointing toward the corridor window.

“Eek!?”

Just then, a girl sitting near that window let out a shrill scream. As luck would have it, a black figure with glowing red eyes was standing right where the girl was sitting.

Looking again, that black figure was Kotone Kurosawa.

“…”

After making eye contact with those eyes, Souta pondered for a long time about what to say.

“Hey, Yuka.”

“Yes, explain yourself.”

As Yuka leaned back against her chair, crossed her arms, and wiggled her index finger, the gazes of the surrounding students immediately turned toward them.

Souta was often told by others that he was insensitive, but he wasn’t “really” insensitive. Most of the time, it was just a misconception of those around him.

Whenever Yuka reacted to Souta like this, the looks from those around them seemed to say, “There he goes again.” More precisely, they were contemptuous glances, like looking at a boyfriend caught cheating.

Souta felt truly wronged. They weren’t that kind of relationship.

Of course, he did tend to get a bit cocky without realizing it when hanging around people like Yuka, Nanami, or Hagiwara-senpai, but that didn’t mean he had any intentions toward the three of them.

Besides, today he felt even more wronged.

No matter what Yuka had said, how could he just leave someone who was being seriously bullied?

…And besides, that wasn’t something to discuss in front of friends.

“…Let’s go outside and talk.”

When Souta said this with a serious expression and stood up, Yuka’s eyes widened slightly. While Souta usually fumbled a bit around Yuka, he felt justified about yesterday’s events.

Though he hadn’t expected that girl to come all the way here.

“Wait, Sasaki.”

Yuka called out to Souta as she hurriedly got up to follow him.

Even as Souta opened the classroom door and went outside, the gazes of his classmates followed. Some were jealous looks, others envious. It was a bit strange how similar they all were, regardless of gender.

As they stepped outside the classroom—

“Souta!”

Talk about timing—whether good or bad.

Nanami could be seen waving happily as she approached from beyond Class B.

Nanami, who had been happily running toward Souta, stopped in her tracks when she saw the black figure standing between Souta, Yuka, and herself.

“…”

Again, whether this was fortunate or not—no, it definitely didn’t seem fortunate no matter how he looked at it.

Kotone Kurosawa was quietly looking up at Souta. And for some reason, Nanami and Yuka didn’t particularly like it when girls around Souta did that.

However.

Yuka looked at Kotone Kurosawa with a very wary expression. If anything, she had an air of “how do I handle this?” While she seemed to feel some pity, perhaps due to her profession, she couldn’t quite go beyond that. Well, having seen blood several times during fights, it was understandable.

Nanami also had a complex expression.

While she didn’t like the way Kotone Kurosawa was quietly looking up at Souta, she seemed to know roughly what kind of person Kotone Kurosawa was, so she couldn’t bring herself to tell her to stop.

And then, the atmosphere of these two people turned to “bewilderment” with Kotone Kurosawa’s next action.

Kotone Kurosawa raised her arm.

The sleeve slid down slightly, revealing a bluish bruise.

Only the three people surrounding her could have seen it.

Kotone Kurosawa deliberately said nothing, but—

Souta could immediately tell that this was her putting into practice what he had told her yesterday.