Chapter 2: Kiyono Mitsuki

Chapter 2: Kiyono Mitsuki

“Wow! He won again? Where the hell did this kid come from?!”

“Boss, what kind of person did you find? Can this mahjong even be played with him sitting at the table?!”

Inside the mahjong parlour, filled with the smells of smoke and tea.

The young man counting his money wore a faint smile.

“We were indeed suitable opponents. I look forward to another exciting match with you in the future.”

“To hell with that!”

“You won everything! A dog would play with you again!!”

“Get lost! Don’t let me see you again!”

By the time he pocketed the money and left the mahjong parlour, night had already fallen.

Within the richly painted night sky, it seemed as though savage beasts lurked in the darkness, peering down at the human world.

Yatsuno Gen walked home beneath the streetlights illuminating his short black hair.

Working a normal job was impossible, so he could only earn some living expenses through Japanese mahjong. Although the scholarships provided by Shoujitsu Private High School were quite generous and he earned one almost every time through his exam results, having more sources of income was always a good thing.

After all, he was an orphan with no one to rely on.

Though that identity suited his current self quite well.

The surroundings felt both unfamiliar and familiar.

It clearly resembled the Japan in his memories, yet it was called Neon.

It was clearly the nation’s capital, yet instead of Tokyo, it was called Shoujitsu.

A parallel world, huh?

He could not be bothered to think about it further.

The old apartment building looked worn down. Even the elevator creaked and groaned as it ascended, as though it might plummet at any moment.

Still, with his current income, this was one of the few places in Shoujitsu he could afford to call home.

In truth, Yatsuno Gen had not come straight home.

He had stopped by the supermarket and bought some fruit and vegetables along the way.

Before returning to his rented apartment, he saw the door next to his own.

There was a great deal of “graffiti” on it.

Words such as “Pay back the money” and “We’ll kill your whole family” were scrawled across it in glaring letters.

Today, it seemed someone had even splashed on a fresh layer of bright red paint, resembling freshly spilled chicken blood.

Yatsuno Gen merely glanced at it before taking out his key and opening his own door.

Not long afterward, the sounds of cooking and frying drifted out from inside, accompanied by a rich aroma.

When Yatsuno Gen emerged from his room again, both his hands were full.

Two food containers and a bag of fruit.

He walked to the old door covered in graffiti.

Knock knock knock.

He knocked.

There was no response from inside.

Yet the young man persisted, seeming utterly convinced that someone was there.

Knock knock knock!

Knock knock knock!

“...Who is it?”

Only then did a cold voice finally emerge from within.

“It’s me. Open the door.”

“...Didn’t I tell you not to come anymore?”

The voice trembled with coldness.

Yet Yatsuno Gen’s expression remained unchanged.

“I never agreed to that. Come on, open the door. I brought you dinner.”

“...No need. I won’t open the door. Please don’t come anymore in the future.”

“Then I’ll just let myself in.”

“Huh?”

Ignoring the bewildered voice inside.

Yatsuno Gen had one hand carrying the plastic bag while his palm steadily supported the two rather heavy food containers.

His other hand casually slipped into his pocket and produced a brand-new key.

Then he openly unlocked a door that did not belong to him.

The lights were on inside.

Directly facing the entrance sat a young girl.

She possessed pure yet cold beauty, with long, elegantly curled eyelashes, but her temperament was so gloomy and indifferent.

Even her long hair seemed like a dark forest, draped messily across her shoulders.

Wearing only a floral dress despite the weather, she sat in a cold wheelchair.

Both hands tightly gripped the hem of her skirt.

She stared fixedly at the young man, her eyes filled with something that was difficult to identify as either anger or helpless resignation.

“Where did you get that key?”

She asked coldly.

Yatsuno Gen answered easily.

“I made a copy the last time I came here. After all, you always have moments when you’re this disobedient.”

He walked directly behind her and, ignoring the warning in her eyes, pushed her wheelchair deeper into the room.

The angle was rather subtle.

Not only could he see the thick hair atop her head, but looking lower, he could also see her collar and the graceful curves beneath it.

You can lack many things, but nutrition isn’t one of them.

The young man thought shamelessly.

“Don’t touch me. How many times have I said it? You don’t need to come here anymore. Do you realize secretly copying my house key is illegal?”

“Then call the police. Oh right, I forgot. Your phone service is probably suspended for unpaid bills now. Hmm... can you even push yourself all the way to the police station?”

That was clearly a joke in terrible taste.

The anger in the girl’s eyes became even more obvious.

“Did you come here specifically to humiliate me? Are you showing me your sympathy because it gives you a sense of superiority over someone disabled like me?”

Her tremblingly cold voice was becoming harder and harder to control, causing blood to rush into her cheeks.

It made her already cold and beautiful face even more captivating, like Rome awaiting conquest.

After pushing her to the table, Yatsuno Gen set down the food containers.

Then he looked at her and revealed a warm smile.

“Of course I’m not here to humiliate you. I just know you can’t stand my kindness. So if insulting you a few times makes you feel better, I’m willing to do that.”

“...Get out of my house. If you try coming in again, I’ll have no choice but to move away.”

Faced with the girl’s cold words, Yatsuno Gen simply opened the food containers one by one.

Then he sat opposite her, picked up his chopsticks, and asked with a smile,

“Kiyono Mitsuki, if you leave here, where else can you go?”

The young man’s question caused Kiyono Mitsuki to bite her lower lip involuntarily.

Because of an accident, she had not only lost her parents but had nearly lost both legs as well. The doctors had declared that she would never stand again.

A girl left utterly alone.

If she lost even this tiny rented apartment, she truly would have nowhere left to go.

She was someone who did not even have the qualification to wander.

If not for him, perhaps surviving even one more day would have been torture.

But precisely because of that...

...she could not allow him to remain here.

Thus she still gritted her teeth and replied in a cold, stiff voice,

“That’s none of your concern.”

“Then I won’t concern myself with it. First, eat. Do you want to eat by yourself, or should I feed you?”

Yatsuno Gen’s overly direct suggestion made Kiyono Mitsuki raise her head in shock.

Her face immediately flushed a little redder.

“I’m not eating!”

“That isn’t one of the options. Either you eat by yourself, or I feed you.”

The young man was still smiling, but his eyes clearly conveyed that he meant every word.

Kiyono Mitsuki picked up her chopsticks.

With her head lowered and cheeks flushed, she ate slowly and carefully.

Only then did Yatsuno Gen begin eating as well.

Throughout the meal, Kiyono Mitsuki barely spoke.

It was mostly Yatsuno Gen chatting idly about everyday trivialities and meaningless topics.

At most, Kiyono Mitsuki would occasionally raise her head and coldly refuse to respond, as though such indifference could drive the young man away.

As though it could make him realize that his so-called help was merely pointless self-sacrifice.

A waste.

Yet from beginning to end, even after the meal was finished, Yatsuno Gen’s expression never changed in the slightest.

He remained as calm and gentle as ever.

As though nothing in the world could ever destroy that mask.

Even after they finished eating, Yatsuno Gen cleaned up the table and placed the fruit he had brought before her.

“Want some fruit? Vitamins are good for you too.”

“Good for me?”

Kiyono Mitsuki could not help letting out a mocking laugh. A trace of desolation appeared on her pure and beautiful face.

“What could possibly help someone like me? If anything, anyone who tries helping me only falls into a bottomless pit. If you’re being kind because you feel sorry for my face, which still looks decent right now, then you can sleep with me. Just promise you’ll never come here again afterward.”

She bit her lip hard and forced herself to say those words despite the heat flooding her cheeks.

Yatsuno Gen considered it seriously.

“The idea that you don’t have much time left, that you don’t want to die a virgin, so you decide to give yourself to a handsome young man who helps you often, while also experiencing what romance between a man and woman feels like. That’s not a bad reason. I could consider it.”

The temperature she had been struggling to control instantly boiled over from just a few words.

“I’M NOT TRYING TO EXPERIENCE THAT!”

Her face became red almost instantly.

Kiyono Mitsuki’s embarrassment and anger were so intense that it seemed she might stand up from her wheelchair and perform a medical miracle on the spot.

“Then why would you think I need your body?”

Yatsuno Gen’s expression became arrogant.

He looked down at her from above.

It was practically an act of bullying by a healthy person against someone disabled.

“A handsome, eighteen-year-old student like me, with good grades and good character, has beautiful girls lining up to throw themselves at me. You can’t even stand. There are plenty of positions you couldn’t cooperate with. Why would I need your body as a reason to take care of you?”

“...”

Kiyono Mitsuki opened her mouth yet found herself speechless.

What could she possibly say to that?!

He had spoken such shameless and vulgar words with complete righteousness.

Yet every bit of it was true!

She felt so aggrieved she was almost on the verge of tears.

But at that moment, Yatsuno Gen walked over to her side and turned her wheelchair around so that she faced him.

Then he revealed a smile like that of an angel.

“So, stop thinking so highly of yourself. I’m not some great saint, nor am I coveting your little bit of beauty.”

“I...”

“Alright, roll up your skirt first.”

Kiyono Mitsuki:???