Ch.278If Side Story. Tokyo Slayers: Final Chapter (16)

Wondering if this was okay, Souta added a sugar cube to Kurosawa’s green tea and stirred it with a teaspoon.

Seeing Souta’s action, Kurosawa’s gaze slowly lifted back to his face.

Her movements were so leisurely that one might wonder if she knew how to move any faster. To be honest, in urgent situations, it might feel a bit frustrating.

Of course, Souta didn’t think it was Kurosawa’s fault. She had probably experienced too many things in her life, becoming numb to stimulation.

Seeing her lack of enthusiasm in almost everything she did reminded him of when he first reunited with Shii, and it pained his heart.

“Try it,” Souta said.

“It should be a bit sweeter now.”

Hearing this, Kurosawa slowly lowered her gaze again and quietly stared at the green tea with the sugar cube. Then she slowly picked up the cup and took a sip.

“How is it? Tasty?”

At Souta’s question, Kurosawa tilted her head.

Souta added another sugar cube.

Kurosawa took another sip and tilted her head again.

“Would you like to add as much as you want?”

When Souta said this and placed the sugar container on the table, Kurosawa stared at him blankly before slowly moving to pick up sugar cubes with the tongs and drop them into her tea.

There was something clumsy and awkward about her movements. As if she was doing this for the first time.

By the time the plunking sound of sugar cubes being absorbed into the green tea started to seem excessive, Kurosawa stopped.

Then she stirred the tea with a teaspoon, just as Souta had done. However, Souta wondered if there was much point to this action. Although the tea was still warm, there was so much sugar that he doubted it could fully dissolve.

Glancing around, he saw Shii watching nervously with a worried expression.

If even Shii was showing such concern, it meant that Kurosawa must appear somewhat precarious.

Kurosawa put down the teaspoon and slowly lifted the cup to pour the green tea into her mouth. By then, Souta thought he should have offered milk as well, but the tea had already entered Kurosawa’s mouth.

“How is it? Is it okay?”

At Souta’s words, Kurosawa slowly swallowed the tea in her mouth, then stared at him blankly again.

“…Yes.”

So she does like sweet things after all.

Souta nodded at Kurosawa.

Whether she truly enjoyed the heavily sweetened green tea or not, Kurosawa continued to drink it, albeit very slowly.

“By the way, Kurosawa,” Nanami spoke up.

“Is it okay for you to go out and stay overnight? Will your family mind?”

At Nanami’s question, Kurosawa was silent for a moment before shaking her head.

“…Don’t know.”

“I see~”

Nanami sighed as if that was what she had expected.

“Can you ask them?”

“…”

At that question, Kurosawa remained silent for quite a while.

Then she nodded.

“Yes.”

For some reason, her answer made everyone in the living room breathe a sigh of relief.

“Then, how about today? Is it okay if you go home late? We should let your family know.”

Shii gave Nanami an incredulous look, but Nanami straightened her posture and asked boldly, as if determined to be shameless about it.

Kurosawa fell into thought for a moment. This time, her thinking period was shorter than before.

“No.”

But the answer that came back was negative.

Or perhaps she was able to reach a conclusion more quickly because it was a negative answer?

“Ah… is staying overnight forbidden?”

Souta felt something contradictory about Nanami’s question. Just a moment ago, Kurosawa had said she “didn’t know,” but now she answered with a definite “no.”

Oh, perhaps she meant it would be difficult to get permission on the same day.

That made sense. Depending on the parents, it might be considered rude to make such plans without advance notice.

…Well, it would generally be considered rude unless you were really close.

“No.”

This answer was even shorter than the previous one.

“Huh?”

Nanami made such a sound.

“Um, so… do you mean it’s difficult to ask? Or that staying overnight is difficult?”

“…Asking is.”

“Oh, I see.”

Nanami tilted her head as if trying to understand Kurosawa’s situation, pondered for a while, and then said:

“So… they don’t like that kind of thing?”

Kurosawa thought for a moment before opening her mouth.

“There’s no phone.”

“…”

At those words, everyone slightly opened their mouths, unable to say anything.

“Uh, wait a minute.”

Yuka, who had been listening, raised her hand slightly and said:

“Kurosawa, don’t you carry a cell phone?”

That’s right. Souta had definitely seen it too. Although he had never seen Kurosawa “using” her phone, they had exchanged contact information.

But Kurosawa tilted her head and said:

“There isn’t one at home.”

“Oh.”

At Kurosawa’s words, Yuka closed her mouth and lowered her hand.

The atmosphere among the children became subtle.

Souta took a moment to organize his thoughts.

Parents who don’t have a home phone but buy their daughter a cell phone.

Parents who send their daughter to the best school she can attend, even though it’s far away.

Parents who consistently give Kurosawa pocket money.

Thinking about it, there was an image of a family that came to mind. If it was a poor but loving home, this could make sense.

Everyone seemed to think the same, as Nanami pressed her lips together and slightly bowed her head. Even Yuka, who always seemed suspicious of Kurosawa, couldn’t say anything this time.

Shii looked like she didn’t know what to say in this situation.

Fukuda had his eyes closed entirely.

“…Let’s definitely go.”

Nanami said with determination, looking at Kurosawa.

“In summer, let’s all make sure to create memories together.”

Everyone nodded at Nanami’s words. It was difficult to deny such a statement in this situation.

And to respect Kurosawa’s words, no one stayed overnight at Souta’s house that day.

To ask permission, they would ultimately need to go to Kurosawa’s home, but it seemed no one felt close enough to go that far.

Even though they were friends… when visiting a friend’s house, one should first inform their parents.

And it seemed Nanami’s conscience wouldn’t allow her to send only Kurosawa home.

“I’ll contact you!”

Nanami said to Kurosawa.

Yuka nodded along, though with a somewhat disgruntled expression, and Fukuda remained silent until the end.

“And everyone, please make sure to contact us first next time you visit.”

Shii said with a smile.

Though she was smiling, her voice was half-angry, but Nanami didn’t seem particularly intimidated.

If anything, Souta seemed to be the only one who found her scary.

Seeing Shii’s glaring eyes directed at him, Souta could only scratch his head.

*

And so summer vacation arrived.

Summer was as hot as last year, and Tokyo was humid as always.

Normally, Souta and Shii were extremely frugal, but in this weather, they simply couldn’t bear it and turned on the air conditioner.

The idea that you wouldn’t feel hot if you just opened the windows would quickly change once you felt the hot sunlight pouring directly through those windows.

“…By the way, brother.”

“Yes?”

“The trip, we haven’t decided on a date or place yet, right?”

“…That’s true.”

Souta was startled as he realized this fact.

Come to think of it, when they last gathered, the atmosphere had become so heavy while talking with Kurosawa that everyone just went home.

As a result, they had only come up with the idea of “meeting” but hadn’t made any proper plans.

The good thing was that they had each other’s contact information, so there was no major problem communicating during summer vacation.

“But don’t worry. I’m sure Nanami will handle it well.”

“Brother… you do know that Nanami is the most unreliable person, right?”

“Huh?”

“Sigh, you really don’t know at all.”

At Souta’s questioning response, Shii sighed deeply, but didn’t explain what exactly made Nanami unreliable.

Souta didn’t think it was that big of an issue.

Shii had also been through a lot. If anything, it was remarkable that Nanami could remain so cheerful despite being caught up in various incidents, while becoming suspicious of others like Shii was probably normal.

No, even this could be considered strength. Despite facing death threats, Shii was trying to continue her normal life.

Thinking about this made Souta feel proud of Shii, and a bit pathetic for not being able to do more for her, causing him to give her a sad look.

“…Brother, looking at me like that won’t change my mind.”

No, that wasn’t what he meant.

While Souta was thinking this, his phone vibrated.

Picking up the phone from the table, he saw the name “Nanami” displayed.

“Ah, it’s a message from Nanami.”

“…She’s not watching us from outside, is she?”

Giving a wry smile to Shii, who was checking the living room window, Souta opened his phone.

[Are you free today? Do you have any plans?]

It seemed she wanted to decide on a place to go.