Ch.288If Side Story. Tokyo Slayers: Final Chapter (26)

“……salty.”

That was Kurosawa’s first word after getting splashed with water from the children’s playful antics.

The children weren’t particularly trying to bully Kurosawa.

Nanami splashed water on Souta who was in the water with her, then Shii splashed water on Nanami… As they kept splashing each other, Yuka, who also got caught in the crossfire, joined the fight, and Fukuda, who somehow got involved too, naturally ended up getting splashed as well.

Rather, Kurosawa’s comment made the children’s hands stop.

Come to think of it, Kurosawa was sometimes a bit sensitive about taste.

She rarely outright refused to eat something or complained, but once she tried food that didn’t suit her palate, especially salty food, she wouldn’t touch it again.

This was particularly true with foods like french fries.

She did like sweet foods though, and would happily eat things that other children might find too sweet.

“……”

Although Kurosawa had said that, the children couldn’t just ignore her comment, probably because it came from “Kurosawa.”

Kurosawa stood there blinking for a moment, then slowly lowered her hands.

Then, as if washing her face, she scooped up some water and—

Splash.

She sprinkled it toward the children.

It wasn’t clear who exactly she was aiming at. The amount of water was small, and she didn’t put much force into it, so it mostly fell before reaching anyone.

Her expression suggested she didn’t quite understand what this action meant.

But even with just that, Souta and everyone else present could tell.

Kurosawa wanted to join in.

She didn’t want to ruin the mood because of herself.

Everyone looked at each other’s faces, then resumed splashing water enthusiastically.

Kurosawa, who hadn’t been very wet before, was soon soaked from head to toe.

But Souta thought that her expressionless face somehow looked happy.

*

After playing for a while, everyone got hungry, so they got out of the water and had a simple meal.

Kurosawa showed more interest in watermelon than rice. Perhaps the grandmother had prepared it knowing her granddaughter would be staying, as there were two large watermelons in the refrigerator with a note saying “Enjoy!”

Even while eating, Kurosawa maintained her expressionless face, but some emotion could be felt in her actions.

One thing was certain: Kurosawa quite liked watermelon.

They all sat leisurely in a row on the porch of the house facing the sea, watching Kurosawa munch on watermelon without spitting out the seeds.

The sun was hot and the air humid, but since they were wearing minimal clothing, it didn’t feel unbearably hot.

…No, Souta quickly shook his head, thinking that phrasing it that way might sound a bit strange.

“…This is nice.”

Fortunately, before he could dwell on that thought, Fukuda muttered those words.

“Last year, I couldn’t even think about coming to a place like this.”

After muttering that, Fukuda turned his head again to look at Kurosawa. She was already on her fourth slice of watermelon.

“Won’t you get a stomachache eating so much cold food?”

“Somehow I feel like Kurosawa wouldn’t.”

Kurosawa just continued munching on her watermelon, not paying much attention to Nanami and Fukuda’s conversation.

She really thinks it’s delicious, Souta thought.

“There’s ice cream in the refrigerator too.”

At Nanami’s words, Kurosawa finally turned her head. Nanami, meeting Kurosawa’s eyes, laughed and said:

“Let’s have that after dinner. No matter what, it might be troublesome if you eat too much at once.”

Hearing that, Kurosawa looked down a bit disappointedly, but she didn’t insist.

Come to think of it, Souta had never seen Kurosawa being stubborn.

*

They didn’t do anything extraordinary on this trip.

It was a quiet town with not much to do besides playing in the sea. Apart from going to a beachside shop to eat shaved ice together, they spent most of their time in the water.

By the time they were exhausted and came out, the sun was setting.

It was only around dinnertime that Souta realized most of the luggage Nanami, Yuka, and Shii had brought consisted of food ingredients.

The three of them cooked enthusiastically as if competing with each other, preparing a veritable feast, which made Souta’s dinner very enjoyable.

Thanks to the variety of dishes that even the picky Kurosawa could find something to her liking, everyone sprawled out for a while after dinner.

After cleaning up together, they played with the fireworks Fukuda had brought.

There weren’t any spectacular ones, but they were adequate for enjoying in the yard.

“……”

Just like the last time they watched fireworks, Kurosawa silently took in the colorful lights.

And the other children took in the sight of Kurosawa.

The children, who had been somewhat awkward until coming here, were all able to interact with each other with gentle smiles by the time the fireworks ended.

Souta thought that coming here had definitely been the right decision.

*

Waking up in the middle of the night was no big deal.

Initially, Souta, being the only boy in the group, was supposed to use a separate room, but somehow they all ended up talking in the living room and eventually falling asleep wherever they happened to be.

Since he had dozed off and fallen asleep, Souta hadn’t done anything wrong, and the girls were wearing casual clothes rather than pajamas, so there was nothing particularly embarrassing about it, but still, he had unintentionally slept among the girls.

He briefly forgot why he had woken up, then remembered it was because he was thirsty. Souta slowly got up and headed to the kitchen.

The kitchen and living room were connected, so the refrigerator light illuminated most of the living room. From the living room, there was a glass sliding door facing the sea, providing a clear view of the ocean.

After drinking a glass of water, Souta realized that some people were missing.

Two people were gone.

Looking around, he noticed that Kurosawa and Fukuda were absent.

“……”

Souta carefully moved toward the window. The lock, which could be opened from the inside, was now unlocked.

Had they gone outside?

He carefully opened the door, went outside, and put on the slippers at the bottom of the porch.

Walking slowly toward the sea, he saw two sets of footprints in the sand.

In the distance, near the sea reflecting the moonlight, two people were standing.

The reason Souta walked toward them… well, there was no reason. He acted without thinking, moving almost unconsciously.

As he got closer, he could gradually hear the conversation between the two people in the quiet beach.

“…Mako…”

Hearing Fukuda say that name, Souta stopped walking.

He had heard the name Mako before through Fukuda.

And that name…

Even though he felt he shouldn’t be listening, Souta stood rooted to the spot.

“Mako… said that?”

Fukuda’s voice sounded choked.

Souta could immediately tell it wasn’t from sleepiness. Fukuda was clearly sobbing.

“Yes.”

Kurosawa replied calmly.

“…She said to bring people. That she would stay there.”

“Ah…”

At Kurosawa’s words, Fukuda crouched down as if his legs had given out.

“She said she would help the person who collapsed.”

“Yes.”

“I see. So, you…”

Fukuda couldn’t continue. His sobbing had turned into crying.

Perhaps it was because Fukuda was always honest when dealing with people. The sound pierced the heart.

As Souta was about to take another step toward them.

Someone tugged at his sleeve.

When he turned around, Yuka was there.

Yuka shook her head.

“……”

Souta looked back at Fukuda and Kurosawa’s backs.

Kurosawa remained calm. Fukuda was still on the ground, crying.

But why?

Why did the current Fukuda, crying openly, seem more relieved than the usual Fukuda who acted as if nothing bothered him, as if everything was a bother?

Souta understood why Yuka had stopped him.

The two turned around and headed back to the house.

On the way back, Yuka spoke first.

“I had a feeling it might be like this.”

Yuka said.

“If she had been standing there watching Mako being sacrificed, Kurosawa would have been a witness too. So she wasn’t there.”

“……”

“The person Mako tried to help was probably a yokai. That’s how they lured in victims.”

At those words, Souta clenched his fists.

He remembered Shii’s case. Shii had also tried to help someone who had collapsed.

“…I see.”

Frustration, and anger.

It might seem strange to others to have such feelings for someone he’d never even seen.

But Souta couldn’t help thinking that way for a moment.

“It’s not strange.”

Yuka said to Souta.

Her voice was trembling a bit too.

“…To feel those emotions after hearing such a story, it’s not strange at all.”

Hearing Yuka’s words, Souta realized once again who was feeling more indignant.

That’s right. Of course Yuka would feel it more.

Gritting his teeth, Souta followed behind Yuka.

Fukuda’s crying could be heard from a distance.

The sound of crying didn’t stop for a long time.