"Excuse me, are you Miyamizu-kun?"
Classes at the cram school had just ended, and I was on my way home when a man stopped me on the street. He was dressed in a crisp suit, his face vaguely familiar—successful businessman type. I halted and looked at him.
"And you are?"
"My name is Ogiwara, Ogiwara Issa. I'm the older brother of Ogiwara Sayu, who's been staying at your place."
So that's why his face rang a bell. His sudden appearance didn't particularly surprise me; I'd figured she'd be picked up after about a week. Instead, it was nearly the end of summer break before he showed himself.
"This is about Ogiwara, I assume?"
"If you don't mind… could we talk for a bit?"
His manner was perfectly polite—none of the arrogance you'd expect from a two-bit drama villain. After a moment's pause, I nodded.
We didn't go far, just to a café near the cram school. Sitting across from me, he wasted no time.
"Regarding Sayu… thank you for taking care of her these past weeks. This is a small token of my gratitude for all you've done."
He produced a thick envelope from his leather briefcase and set it before me.
A quick glance at its heft told me—easily around a hundred bills. If they were all Fukuzawa Yukichi, that was no small sum.
"No need for thanks. Sayu's been helping with housework and even used her own part-time wages for our daily meals. She's already paid her share."
"What belongs to Sayu is hers. This… is from me, as her brother."
His expression was sincere. I didn't waver.
Summoning the waitress, I ordered an iced coffee. "You can pay for this when we're done."
He blinked, then chuckled softly. An interesting kid, his eyes seemed to say, as he tucked the envelope back into his bag.
From what I'd gathered, he already knew a bit about me—a high school student, but also a bestselling author. My refusal surprised him, though not enough to rattle him.
He ordered a coffee of his own, studying me over the rim of his cup.
"When Sayu was in Hokkaido, I never once saw her smile. But lately… I have. And for that, I'm grateful."
"So you already knew she'd been living at my place?"
"Yes, though I kept my distance. I even got… warned off."
"Warned?"
"All I did was look toward your place from the street corner. Out of nowhere, this man who looked like a bodyguard tapped me on the shoulder…"
That sounded like something Koharu would do.
"My mother's never been gentle with Sayu… and there were other things."
"Your friend's bullying-related suicide?"
"…You already knew?"
"It was in the news, wasn't it? Your surname caught my attention, so I looked it up. Saw the Hokkaido local report."
"The internet is a terrifying thing."
"It depends on how you use it. It's neither good nor bad—it just reflects the person wielding it."
"…True enough."
The coffees arrived. Ogiwara sipped his, then set it down.
"I won't pry into your family matters. I just want to know—did you come here to take her back to Hokkaido?"
His hand paused mid-motion. After a breath, he set down the cup and closed his eyes.
"That was my original plan. But now… I'm not so sure."
"The news?"
"That's part of it. But more than that, I'm worried about her future. If she goes back, I fear everything will revert to the way it was. I don't want to see her…"
It was starting to feel like a family melodrama, and I had little interest in digging deeper. I sipped my coffee and waited to hear his real point.
"That's why, Miyamizu-kun, I'm hoping you—"
They ended up talking for nearly an hour. Thy didn't see eye-to-eye on everything, but they found enough common ground to part amicably.
On the way home, Haruto kept turning over their conversation.
Just what kind of hellhole was the Ogiwara household that leaving her in my care—me, of all people—was the better option?
Haruto wasn't so oblivious as to think he was harmless.
Back at his apartment, Sayu wasn't home yet. He started to make dinner, idly scrolling through news on his phone in between stirring pots. When most of it was ready, he sat at on his desk and stared at his manuscript.
Last week, he'd told his editor, Mari, that the new book would be nearly done by the end of summer. Reality: not even halfway. No wonder she'd sounded disappointed. he'd since revised his estimate—two more months—and she'd taken it well enough.
He stared at the blinking cursor for a while, then shut his eyes. When he opened them, h saved the file, closed the laptop, and simply sat there, lost in thought about when Sayu might come home.
The doorbell rang.
Haruto went to answer it, expecting her.
She stood there silently. He studied her for a moment. When she still didn't speak, he simply turned back inside, and she followed without a word.
"Did you see your family?"
He set the food on the table, grabbed bowls and chopsticks, and glanced at her freshly washed hands as she sat down.
"Has someone already come to see you?"
She froze slightly at that.
"A man named Ogiwara Issa—said he's your brother. Tried to hand me a fat envelope as thanks."
"…."
"About this thick."
Haruto measured the gap between his fingers. Across from him, Sayu's face tightened with unease. He picked up his chopsticks, plucked a slice of pickled radish from his plate, and popped it into his mouth.
The sourness hit instantly, snapping his senses to full alert. He shut my eyes until the sharp tang began to fade, then opened them again.
"You… didn't take it?"
She had been tense, but the fact that he only gestured and didn't take out the envelope made her hesitate, her eyes flicking toward Haruto with something unreadable.
"I wanted to," Haruto admitted, "but I figured taking it would only bring trouble. I turned him down. Before or after he met me, he probably approached you too, right?"
Her lips pressed together. After a moment of silence, she nodded.
"Two days ago—outside the restaurant where I work."
"He already knew where you worked?"
"Mm."
Then came silence.
She had been bracing herself for questions—what they talked about, whether she'd go back with her brother—and had already rehearsed her answers. But none came.
Under that slightly awkward air, she simply lifted her bowl and began eating the dinner he'd made.
When the meal ended, he still didn't bring it up again. She was just about to speak when he glanced at he phone, stood, and headed for the door.
"I'm going out. Get some rest—I might be back late."
"Uh… okay."
Click.
The door shut. Sayu stood in the apartment, staring at it for a long moment, lips pressed tight, unsure how to describe the feeling in her chest. Eventually, she lay down on the bed.
Haruto left his place and walked straight to the Kiyoura residence. At the door, he pressed the bell.It wasn't long before Mai appeared, saw him standing there, sighed, glanced back toward the living room, and stepped aside to let him in. She shut the door behind them.
"So, contacting me out of the blue at this hour—what's this about?"
"You're busy with cram school during the day, but now it's already night. You don't have any free time?"
"Night is for resting. If I don't rest properly, where will tomorrow's energy come from?"
There was no sign of Setsuna in the living room. Following Mai in, he sat down. She poured him a glass of barley tea. Haruto sipped—it tasted fine, probably the same brand he used at home.
"I may not be very energetic now that I'm older, but aren't you still young?"
"Exactly. I'm still young and still growing. That's why I need rest even more. Did you really call me over just to talk about this?"
Mai didn't answer—just looked at him steadily. Haruto could read her intention in her eyes and guessed why she'd called him over.
He glanced toward the door of the girl's room. No movement. Then his eyes returned to Mai.
"That girl—Ogiwara Sayu—I saw her meeting with a stranger. Might've been her family. She's probably leaving soon, right?"
"That was her brother."
"You've met him too?"
She had only meant to warn him, but his tone made it clear he'd already crossed paths with him.
"This afternoon. He was waiting outside my cram school. We talked for a bit."
"Here to take his sister home?"
"No. He's thinking of letting her stay in Tokyo to go to school."
"…."
She'd half expected good news. Instead, this felt like the opposite.
"Of course, nothing's certain yet—it depends on the rest of her family. Her mother doesn't seem to care about her feelings. That's part of why she ran away. Going back might just mean more suffering."
Haruto met Mai's gaze without any change in expression, even quirking an eyebrow at her.
"My relationship with her is purer than my relationship with you. I just don't want to see her go back and suffer."
"Even though you've known her for less than two weeks?"
"When Setsuna confessed to me, we'd known each other for barely a week."
Hearing Haruto's words, Mai's expression stiffened slightly. She recalled the time they had first met, then thought about how quickly Setsuna had started dating him. Her face took on a complicated look.
"Alright, I understand. Since things have already come to this, I'll have a proper talk with Setsuna. You…"
She wanted to say more to the boy in front of her, but when she saw his current expression—blank, almost detached—she swallowed her words.
Haruto knew full well that he wasn't in a calm state right now.
But even with that awareness, he couldn't bring himself to back down.
He rose to his feet and headed toward the door. Not seeing Setsuna in the living room left him with a faint pang of disappointment. If she wasn't here, it could only mean… she didn't want to see him.
"Let's… cool our heads for a while before continuing this conversation."
~~~~~~~~~~
You can support me by subscribing on Patreon and read up to 10 chapters ahead.
patreon.com/Ranabir_20