Ch.286If Side Story. Tokyo Slayers: Final Chapter (24)

After hearing the whole story, Fukuda was silent for a while.

In truth, Yuka wasn’t very confident either. She had rarely shared this kind of “story” with others.

Usually, she only needed to explain a little about what they didn’t know to those who got caught up in incidents. People who had clearly seen the situation with their own eyes could only nod blankly even after hearing an unbelievable story.

Fukuda was in a similar position, but the degree was quite different. At the very least, Fukuda couldn’t be certain about Kurosawa.

After all, she hadn’t seen a katana-wielding girl fighting monsters that looked nothing like humans.

But even so, Fukuda seemed to more or less believe Yuka’s words.

“…Since when has she been able to use that power?”

Fukuda asked.

“I don’t know.”

It was a half-lie.

It was true that she didn’t know, but she did have some idea.

Probably since birth. She couldn’t understand how such a child was born into that family.

To begin with, Yuka still hadn’t figured out whether Kotone Kurosawa was human or yokai.

Could someone be half-yokai? It appears in old tales sometimes, but Yuka had never heard such stories from her grandfather or father.

Just as she had never directly encountered the kind of yokai that are enshrined as gods at shrines.

“I guess that makes sense. It’s not like you’re her mother or something.”

Fukuda let out a long sigh.

Why did she ask about when the ability appeared?

The conclusion was easy to reach.

Kurosawa was near Mako Miura when she died.

Kurosawa survived alone, and Mako Miura died. And so did that yokai. That meant Kotone Kurosawa was the only one who saw that yokai…

“…Huh?”

Yuka felt a slight contradiction in that story.

Of course, the Kurosawa then and the Kurosawa now were different. Even without going that far back, there was a difference in personality between Kurosawa at the beginning of the semester and Kurosawa now.

So it wasn’t completely unimaginable that Kurosawa would stand expressionless and still after witnessing such a situation.

Did she run away? No, if she had “that personality” back then, Kurosawa wouldn’t have run away. It’s easy to picture her staring blankly at the situation with an expressionless face before getting caught up in it.

Yuka didn’t completely trust her intuition. Except for the instinct to sense yokai, “guesses” always carried the possibility of being wrong.

But even so… one very big hole remained.

“Why?”

Seeing Yuka’s reaction, Fukuda asked. Though she tried to feign indifference, Fukuda wasn’t a very good actor, and the anger in her voice was somewhat palpable.

“Was Kurosawa different back then, compared to now?”

“She was different. Honestly, looking at her now makes me frustrated. She seems much more human than when she was with Mako… Well, we didn’t hang out together for that long, and it ended in disaster.”

There seemed to be something quite troubling in Fukuda’s expression as she said this, but Yuka decided to set that aside for now and asked a different question.

“Did Kurosawa listen well to what you all said back then?”

“Listen well?”

“I mean… like if you asked her to do something, would she do it? If you told her to come somewhere, would she come?”

“…Well.”

Fukuda slightly furrowed her brow as she searched her memories.

“I think she did. At least she didn’t refuse to go places when Mako asked.”

“…I see.”

And Kurosawa even let herself be dragged around by those who bullied her. If she had any desire to escape, Kurosawa would have run away. The fact that she didn’t suggests she either didn’t feel the need or didn’t know how.

Until Sasaki appeared, that is.

If so, that fact is somewhat unnatural.

Why had Yuka never heard about Kotone Kurosawa?

This is different from the “Kurosawa family.” If Kurosawa was truly a witness to that incident, she would have had to give testimony.

She was a child who directly witnessed a vicious serial killer that the police had missed multiple times. There’s no way the police wouldn’t have taken her testimony.

And Mr. Miura would have heard that testimony too, and that information would naturally have reached Yuka.

But it didn’t.

“Why are you asking?”

Fukuda asked curiously as Yuka fell silent, but Yuka decided to set aside her answer this time too.

It was still within the realm of speculation.

If she were talking to her father or grandfather, she would have shared and discussed her thoughts. But no matter what, this wasn’t a speculation to bring up in front of someone talking about their dead friend.

“No, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about something.”

“Really?”

At Yuka’s answer, Fukuda looked back at the window.

After gulping down her coffee, Fukuda looked at Yuka’s cup and said:

“Aren’t you going to drink it?”

“Ah, yes.”

At Fukuda’s somewhat urging words, Yuka gulped down her coffee that had been left untouched for a while.

*

“…Want to go see?”

“See what?”

“Mako.”

“…”

“Just, since I ended up telling you about her. She liked making new friends quite a bit. That’s why she happily accepted when the teacher asked her to look after Kurosawa.”

“I see.”

Yuka nodded.

“It’s a bit far.”

“We have plenty of time.”

“Well, it is summer break.”

The two didn’t particularly converse while moving. They walked keeping some distance between them.

Sweat formed on their bodies as they walked for quite a while. Since neither of them had such poor stamina that they would struggle in this weather, they just walked silently all the way to the cemetery.

Walking through the cemetery, which was landscaped like a park perfect for strolling, the two stood in front of a tombstone inscribed with “Mako Miura.”

Apart from the name and dates of birth and death, there was nothing written on the tombstone.

Probably because they didn’t know what to write. Though Yuka had only met Mr. Miura for the first time last year, she somehow felt that he wouldn’t normally have such a desolate impression. He seemed like a person with deep wounds.

After his daughter died, perhaps he left it blank because he couldn’t understand how to accept her death. Intending to write something later when his mind was a bit more settled.

The fact that it was still unwritten even now…

Yuka and Fukuda stood in front of it, put their hands together, and closed their eyes.

Yuka didn’t know what to say. After all, she had never met Mako. By the time Yuka came here, she had already passed away.

After pondering what to say, Yuka could think of only one thing:

‘Sorry.’

Yes. That’s what Yuka could say.

She couldn’t save everyone. Though Yuka was trying her best in her own way, people still slipped through her fingers like a handful of sand.

Protecting the people she cared about was all Yuka could barely manage to do now.

“…I’ve been hanging out with some kids lately.”

Fukuda said.

The two opened their eyes.

“Besides her, there are more. One is a boy. Um, he’s quite handsome. I’ll introduce you sometime when you’re free.”

Fukuda continued the conversation quite naturally. As if she came here often.

“Yuu is doing well too.”

“…”

Yuka knew from what she’d heard what situation this Yuu was in. It seems Fukuda couldn’t bring herself to tell this girl the truth.

She said the three of them were quite close. Would that make four including Kurosawa?

“So, well, I’m doing fine. Don’t worry too much. I’m planning to go on a trip with the kids soon.”

Natural or rambling—which was it?

With no response from the other party, even naturally initiated words inevitably became more disjointed as they continued.

Fukuda sniffled.

“…You’d still worry, wouldn’t you? Me and Yuu, we became friends because of you in the end. Maybe without you, I’d still be without a single friend…”

Fukuda paused for a moment without saying anything, then nudged Yuka with her elbow.

“You say something too.”

“Oh, um…”

Yuka was a bit flustered, then slowly opened her mouth.

“Uh, well. Yeah. Don’t worry. Fukuda is doing well. And…”

“Kurosawa too.”

“Yes, Kurosawa too.”

Yuka nodded.

You can’t ask questions to someone who’s already dead. Usually, doing such a thing leads to bigger problems when some strange entity answers instead. It’s something that shouldn’t be done unless you’re a truly talented medium.

Besides, how could one summon a dead child in front of someone like this?

Even just asking in a place like this would be extremely disrespectful.

“…From what I’ve heard, you seem like a really nice person. So… um, if I have a reason to come again, I will.”

Yuka finished speaking and gazed quietly at the tombstone.

Was it because the surroundings were unusually quiet?

Strangely, she felt as if this girl, whom she had only seen in photos, was sitting there smiling.