Shimazaki Yuna's pale cherry-colored lips parted slightly.
"I… I can…"
Although she said that, the pain from her ankle made a faint expression of discomfort appear on her face.
Kira Yoshikage gently shook his head and suddenly reached out his hand.
"Forget it. Don't force yourself."
"Eh? Eh~"
Watching his large hand move closer and closer, Yuna nervously shut her eyes, her cheeks flushing red.
But after waiting for a long time, she realized he wasn't lifting her at all.
Confused, she opened her eyes—only to see that he had merely raised his hand to hail a taxi.
"Beep beep~"
A taxi stopped by the roadside. Kira opened the rear door and asked calmly:
"Are you getting in?"
"Ah, sorry…"
Yuna seemed to snap back to her senses and hurried toward the taxi.
But the sudden movement aggravated her sprained ankle, and she crouched down in pain.
Kira stood beside her expressionlessly, quietly watching her pained face—watching her pale little hands rub her ankle through her black socks.
The female driver turned her head, saw the scene, and complained:
"Hey, kid, can't you help your girlfriend out?"
A flash of panic crossed Yuna's face as she waved her hands.
"I-it's fine, I can…"
"Yare yare, this is enough."
Kira sighed internally. He stepped forward and extended his hand.
"Give me your hand."
"Mm…"
Yuna bit her lip and carefully wiped her palm clean on her white dress before placing it in his hand.
"Ah!"
With a gentle pull, he lifted her up. In her soft cry of surprise, he carried her in his arms and placed her in the back seat.
He then got in as well and closed the door.
"Where to?"
The driver started the meter.
"Ota Ward, Duwang Street, No. 117."
The driver looked surprised at the boy in the green clerk uniform sitting in the back.
Ota Ward is a major manufacturing hub in Japan, known for its clusters of mechanical and metal-processing industries. With Haneda Airport located there, transportation is extremely convenient.
Duwang Street in Ota Ward consists entirely of apartments invested in by Shuchiin Academy, specifically for its students.
In other words, those who live there are all Shuchiin Academy students.
Even though Shuchiin has both the "pure" division and the "mixed" division, only students from the mixed division stay in the apartments. The pure division students typically live in luxury villas in Minato, Shibuya, or Setagaya.
Even being part of the mixed division still meant a bright future.
Fifteen minutes later, the taxi arrived.
"2,865 yen," the driver said.
Kira handed over three 1,000-yen bills.
"No change."
He stepped out and walked toward the apartment building.
"Um, please—wait for me, ah—!"
Before he had gone far, he heard the taxi drive away and the girl's nervous, pained cry behind him.
Turning around, he saw Yuna had gotten out too and was crouching on the ground again from the ankle pain.
He stopped and looked at her quietly.
"Why are you still following me?"
"I… I thought…"
Her expression shifted from panic to visible loneliness.
"I understand. I'll leave. Alone…"
"Alone to secretly find a place to kill yourself?"
"N-no."
She shook her head quickly.
"I won't kill myself again. I just… don't know where to go."
"You don't have a home?"
A dim look crossed her eyes.
"I don't have one anymore."
Kira watched her for a moment.
"Follow me."
Hope flickered back into her eyes as she hurried to keep up.
---
Kira's apartment was in an old five-story building without an elevator.
He lived on the fifth floor.
Though the climb wasn't long, it was difficult for Yuna.
Click.
He unlocked Room 502.
The lights came on, illuminating the small space.
A narrow entryway. An open kitchen to the left. Bathroom to the right.
Further inside: a neatly made single bed on the left, a desk with a desktop computer on the right, an air conditioner mounted above it, and a small cabinet beside it.
Blue curtains covered the window between the bed and desk.
"No need to change shoes."
He walked straight to the desk.
"Excuse me."
Yuna entered carefully and closed the door.
She hesitated, unsure where to sit. There was only the bed and the chair at the desk.
And this was her first time entering a boy's room alone.
Her heart began beating uncontrollably.
"You can sit on the bed."
Kira, searching through a cabinet, noticed her awkwardness. His calm tone made her even more uneasy.
"Mm…"
She sat carefully on the edge of the bed.
Soon he approached her, holding a small bottle of red liquid.
"What's this?"
"Honghua oil. For sprains. Apply it yourself."
She didn't recognize the name but nodded. She removed her right shoe and black sock, then after hesitating, removed the left as well, revealing a pair of fair feet.
She poured some oil into her hand and gently rubbed it onto her swollen ankle.
Kira ignored her, took off his clerk uniform, and began searching something on his phone.
The oil worked quickly. Soon her ankle and palms felt warm.
Suddenly, he turned the phone screen toward her.
"This is you, right?"
She looked at the wiki page titled "Shimazaki Setsuna."
It was a page compiled by others documenting her alleged plagiarism.
The page that had pushed her toward suicide.
"Yes… it's me."
She clenched her lips.
"They're all fake. I've never done those things…"
"Doesn't matter."
He interrupted calmly.
"Doesn't matter?"
She froze.
"True or false, it doesn't matter. Your skill is real. I don't care whether you plagiarized."
The wiki listed countless accusations, but he only looked at her artwork.
And the works labeled "plagiarized" were often even more refined than the so-called originals.
For a long time, she had simply loved drawing.
Her skills and popularity rose rapidly. She was even about to collaborate with a well-known producer.
But her sudden rise brought jealousy. Other artists accused her of stealing character designs and music, compiled "evidence," and created the wiki. Netizens, unaware of the truth, subjected her to relentless cyberbullying.
She fell into depression. She even doubted her love of drawing.
Now, Kira told her none of that mattered.
Only her skill was real.
He was the first and only person who affirmed her.
She nearly broke down crying, covering her mouth to stop herself.
Kira looked at her calmly.
"I saved you. So asking for some compensation is reasonable, right?"
"What… what do you want?"
Her voice trembled.
"First, I lost my job," he said calmly. "The bookstore where I worked part-time was robbed by a few thugs. The owner fired me."
---