Ch.271If Side Story. Tokyo Slayers: Final Chapter (9)

In truth, Yuka was somewhat confused.

Was that really the only reason she didn’t want Souta to get involved with that girl?

Of course, Souta was such a kind and oblivious guy that he wouldn’t have had any such intentions.

“……”

Come to think of it, Souta was the first one who spoke to her when she was sitting in class with no intention of making friends. He was the type who gathered people around him with pure goodwill and no ulterior motives.

Perhaps this was the same feeling Nanami had when she first saw Yuka.

…No, Nanami doesn’t have the same background as Yuka. She’s just one of those girls who are popular with boys, the type you find a few of in every school. That’s Nanami’s impression.

So she wouldn’t need to be wary of someone she just met like Yuka was. The reason Nanami was particularly sensitive around Yuka was simply because Yuka sat right behind Souta, making it easy to chat with him whenever convenient.

And because Nanami was like that, she could approach Kotone Kurosawa without any prejudice.

“Hey, is there anything you want to eat?”

“……”

When Nanami asked while tugging at her arm, Kotone Kurosawa quietly looked up at her.

“…Um…”

Seeing that she wasn’t answering a question that required an answer, Nanami looked at Souta, seemingly confused.

And Yuka found this frustrating.

Not knowing what kind of person they were dealing with—no, even after Yuka had told them, Souta and Nanami seemed determined to keep hanging out with Kotone Kurosawa.

And now the girl was even coming to find them on her own.

Of course, on the surface, there didn’t seem to be any major problems.

But that’s how yokai typically are. Unless you have the instinctive ability to recognize yokai like Yuka does, you can’t detect the traps they set to hunt humans.

The situation now was even worse. The other party might not even be a yokai to begin with, but a human. Human malice can be far more frightening than the bestial nature of yokai.

And the Kurosawa family is—

“…Should we go to the same place as last time?”

After thinking briefly, Souta suggested that, and once again their destination became the family restaurant.

Despite her various thoughts, Yuka couldn’t come up with any argument against Souta and Nanami’s idea of befriending an abused child, so she had no choice but to follow them into the restaurant.

*

“Let’s order something different today,” Souta said.

“We had french fries last time, so today… something sweet. Ice cream?”

“That sounds good. There’s no one who dislikes ice cream,” Nanami replied cheerfully.

Today again, Nanami and Souta sat facing each other, while Kotone Kurosawa and Yuka sat across from each other. Last time, this seating arrangement made sense since Yuka had called Kotone Kurosawa with the intention of interrogating her, but today it could have been different.

“……”

Kotone Kurosawa stared directly at Yuka, who sat with her arms crossed. Finding that gaze strangely uncomfortable, Yuka turned her head slightly to the side.

“What about you, Yuka?” Souta asked gently.

Perhaps feeling awkward about sitting there glumly without ordering anything in such an atmosphere, Yuka finally gave up staring out the window and ordered the same ice cream.

After a brief moment of silence, four ice creams arrived.

But no one ate their ice cream right away.

All three of them were watching Kotone Kurosawa, who sat in the corner seat.

She showed no movement at all. Just like when she saw the french fries last time.

“Here.”

Nanami moved before Souta did.

She picked up the small spoon that came with the ice cream and placed it in Kotone Kurosawa’s hand.

Kotone Kurosawa blinked once and then looked at Souta.

Was she seeking permission?

Thinking about it again, it hadn’t occurred to them that she might not have to pay for herself. Those kids had been taking her money before, so she probably wasn’t completely broke, but it would be awkward to ask her to pay her share in this situation.

They didn’t even know if she liked this sort of thing. Some people in the world dislike ice cream simply because they don’t like cold things.

Souta deliberately scooped up some ice cream slowly and put it in his mouth. The vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup was quite tasty. If he had to be specific, it wasn’t exceptionally delicious, but rather a flavor you could find anywhere.

Kotone Kurosawa, who had been staring at Souta, clumsily moved her spoon and scooped up a small amount of ice cream.

Then she brought it to her mouth and took a bite.

“……”

Souta, Nanami, and even Yuka.

They all watched Kotone Kurosawa’s movements with a bit of tension.

After enough time had passed for the ice cream to melt in her mouth, Kotone Kurosawa’s eyes blinked.

She didn’t say anything special or show any greater emotional expression, but instead, the spoon was pulled out of her mouth, and her hand moved mechanically again to scoop up another spoonful of ice cream.

And she brought it to her mouth.

Though it was nothing special, somehow that sight captured the attention of all three.

Nanami looked at Souta.

And Yuka looked at Souta too.

The emotions in their eyes might have differed in detail, but the predominant thought was probably “Isn’t she pitiful?”

Even Yuka couldn’t tear her gaze away.

In the end, Kotone Kurosawa finished all of her ice cream that day without leaving any.

*

Since Souta had a part-time job, he literally couldn’t hang out with Kurosawa until late every day.

But Kurosawa came looking for Souta every day.

At first, he hadn’t been very conscious of it because she showed no expression, but once he made eye contact with those three watching from a distance.

So, it seemed that Kurosawa recognized the area around Souta as a “refuge.”

A place where she wouldn’t be bullied by others when she was nearby.

Just like the barrier Yuka had drawn for him before.

Buying ice cream wasn’t particularly difficult, but it seemed that Nanami and Yuka were still maintaining their vigilance despite Kurosawa’s somewhat unfortunate situation.

Or perhaps Nanami and Yuka were using Kurosawa as an excuse to hang out with Souta.

Usually, the four of them would go to that family restaurant they always visited, spend some time there, and then part ways. Kurosawa typically chose chocolate ice cream.

In fact, rather than Kurosawa choosing directly, they just ordered what she had eaten fastest among everything she’d tried so far.

Yuka’s reaction had softened somewhat, and Nanami showed no wariness toward Kurosawa at all. That might be natural since Kurosawa had never shown any signs of crossing any lines.

“By the way, those kids,” Nanami said quietly one day as they watched Kurosawa’s back after sending her home first.

“They’re not bothering her anymore?”

“I’m not sure.”

Souta thought for a moment before answering.

“They might still be bullying her… but at least they’re probably not doing it after school. We see her all the way home.”

“……”

Yuka quietly watched Kurosawa’s retreating figure.

Her expression was still somewhat complicated, but at least she no longer opposed Souta hanging out with Kurosawa, suggesting she had somewhat accepted that the girl wasn’t a bad person.

But Souta also knew.

That hanging out with Kurosawa every day like this wasn’t a complete solution.

However, all three of them hadn’t yet found a suitable method.

There was still plenty of time to think.

That’s what Souta thought.

It had only been a week since meeting Kurosawa, so it might be a bit difficult to find a complete solution already.

Whether to tell adults, or teach Kurosawa herself how to protect herself.

He decided to think about it a bit more.

*

And then the following Monday.

Kurosawa didn’t come looking for Souta. Not during lunch, not after school.

As much as Souta was concerned about this fact, Yuka seemed somewhat concerned too. It would be natural if a child who appeared every day, especially one who was being bullied, suddenly disappeared.

“Hey, have you seen Kurosawa?”

“Kurosawa? Oh, Sadako?”

Souta grabbed one of the students from Class B and asked, but the student just shook her head. Yuka’s eyebrows twitched slightly at the word ‘Sadako,’ but she didn’t interrupt the conversation between Souta and the female student.

“I don’t know. She didn’t come today.”

“Really?”

Souta tilted his head and looked around, then noticing something, he asked the girl again.

“What about the other three who were bullying Kurosawa? I don’t see them either.”

“Um… that…”

The girl hesitated for a moment before answering.

“I-I don’t really know? And what do you mean by bullying? What are you talking about?”

“…It’s nothing. Thanks.”

Souta said that and turned around.

“…Are you going to look for her?”

Yuka asked casually.

“Do you know where she is?”

But Souta shook his head while still quickening his pace.

Yuka sighed deeply, as if for Souta to hear, and then followed behind him.