Chapter 39: The Burning Sky

Chapter 39: The Burning Sky

Before the old security door, there were obvious rust stains.

This was not something worth paying attention to. After all, the entire apartment building was more or less the same.

It was just that the bright red paint, and the countless extra words demanding repayment, seemed to belong to this household alone.

Yatsuno Gen frowned. He did not immediately knock on this door or directly take out the key. Instead, he first returned to his own room, put down his schoolbag, and briefly changed clothes.

Only then did he come next door and knock.

At first, there was no response, nor any sound of a wheelchair approaching the door.

Yatsuno Gen did not waste time. Since that key had not been returned anyway, he opened the door.

The room was very quiet. It was already evening, but no one had turned on the lights. The drawn curtains kept even the dim yellow light from shining in, as though this room had become the only place the sunlight had forgotten. Perhaps this atmosphere also made the room seem like the only place untouched by any favor from fate.

Yatsuno Gen somewhat understood the thoughts of many people who had not been favored by fate. Some gradually grew used to it, then turned a blind eye to those misfortunes, firmly believing that as long as they lived, they would eventually rise. Like undying trees, even bent at the waist, they still had to grow.

There were also some people who tried to make those sufferings appear even more obvious, making themselves seem as if they were the most miserable person in the world. They sank down and could not find an exit.

This could not be called mockery or arrogant judgment, because most of them were unwilling to drag down the people around them, so they were willing to make themselves look like an incurable swamp.

Yatsuno Gen found her in her bedroom.

The door to the room was open, and the lights were not on. Only the open laptop illuminated her numb-looking face.

There were no traces of tears, but she also turned a blind eye to the sound of his footsteps clearly approaching.

It was as if time had frozen, fixing her there, turning her into a statue in a story.

Until Yatsuno Gen spoke calmly.

“Have you eaten?”

Her shoulders trembled slightly, then she turned her head and saw Yatsuno Gen.

It was that familiar, cold expression, as though there were no emotional fluctuations inside it. She opened her mouth, as though she wanted to say something, yet did not know what to say.

Dejectedly, she shook her head.

“Is it because you can’t write what you want to write? Do you want me to take a look for you?”

Yatsuno Gen walked straight into her bedroom, without any sense of boundaries such as boys not casually entering a girl’s private room.

Or rather, the relationship between the two of them had long since stopped applying to such rules. There were too many parts of her life where if he let her be, if he blindly respected her choices, she would make a complete mess of herself.

Kiyono Mitsuki quickly closed the computer and turned her face toward him.

“It’s nothing.”

Yatsuno Gen did not try to open her computer either. He merely leaned against the desk beside her and looked down at her from above.

“I saw those two people downstairs. Were they here to collect debt?”

Hearing this, Kiyono Mitsuki inevitably reacted. She stared fixedly at Yatsuno Gen, looking from his face down to his body.

His arms.

His legs.

“Did they... do anything to you?”

“What could they do to me? They don’t even know me. Rather, you were trying to pretend nothing happened but couldn’t do it properly, so why bother going to all that effort?”

Faced with the young man’s joke-like question,

Kiyono Mitsuki shook her head.

“Anyway, you’d see the marks on the door too.”

“You knew they splashed paint on it?”

“That’s a very normal thing, isn’t it? I’m used to it.”

Kiyono Mitsuki somewhat weakly raised a hand and brushed the hair before her forehead. She seemed to give off a sense of exhaustion, as though she were a young person who had just wanted to work hard and make progress, only to suddenly hear bad news from home. For a moment, she did not know where to put her strength, and in the end discovered she was powerless against everything.

“That’s all?”

Yatsuno Gen’s tone also seemed very relaxed, as though what had happened was not worth mentioning.

Kiyono Mitsuki found it strange. Of course she could say that herself, but wasn’t he treating himself a little too much like an outsider? No... he was an outsider to begin with.

What was going on? She had clearly thought very firmly at the beginning that she absolutely could not drag him into this, yet now she instead hoped he could help her.

This was probably what it meant to be beyond saving. Like drowning, one would treat everything around them as aid, even if it were only a single straw.

“...There was also a letter.”

She took the letter out from beneath the desk.

For some reason, she had originally planned not to show it to him no matter what, but the moment he asked, she could not help taking it out.

It was as though she was worried deep inside that he would truly just casually ignore her, clearly having no obligation to help, yet still making her instinctively depend on him.

She was becoming weaker and weaker.

She thought somewhat sadly.

Yatsuno Gen picked up the letter. It was a very common style of threat letter.

The sinister cover was even stained with some bright red pigment to imitate blood. No, this was not a movie. Did the props need to be so realistic?

The contents were even simpler.

They gave Kiyono Mitsuki a final two weeks to raise around thirty million yen.

Otherwise, they would take everything from Kiyono Mitsuki, even Kiyono Mitsuki herself.

Some threatening words were very common. Yatsuno Gen quickly finished reading, then looked at the cold and elegant girl staring at him.

“How interesting. What do they want with a disabled person like you? Charity work?”

“...Perhaps.”

Kiyono Mitsuki was somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, but she was also very used to his “hell jokes.” Or rather, only when he made jokes like this could she, for a moment, feel as though she had no defects at all. His feelings toward her were not entirely sympathy either.

“Thirty million is absolutely not something you can repay. Even selling everything you own wouldn’t do it. How much did your father borrow a year ago?”

Kiyono Mitsuki took a deep breath.

“I remember it was around ten million yen.”

Yatsuno Gen frowned.

“Even if your father had technical skills then, and even if he had partners, for someone to feel comfortable lending your father that much, I’m afraid they never planned on letting your father repay properly from the start. It went from ten million to over thirty million in one year. That’s also clearly not intended to let you repay it.”

Kiyono Mitsuki also thought of something.

She glanced at her numb legs and smiled bitterly.

“They probably didn’t expect that I would become like this either. But judging from things now, even though I’m disabled, it seems they still don’t plan to let me off.”

The young girl, at an age when youth should have been blooming at its brightest, smiled like a hundred flowers withering.

It truly was an expression that made one feel pity.

Yatsuno Gen glanced at her.

“What do you plan to do?”

Kiyono Mitsuki looked at him.

“I’ll think of a way. Don’t... don’t go near them.”

Yatsuno Gen met her gaze. On the surface, she was usually cold, but inside, she was extremely soft. She would very easily become timid, and it took very little effort to see through her disguise.

But now, she was not looking at him with much force, and even her tone seemed very even. Yet her gaze was very firm.

Yatsuno Gen thought for a moment.

“Then if I want to see you in the future, won’t I only be able to patronize your business?”

“You!”

A blush surfaced on Kiyono Mitsuki’s face. Clearly, she was somewhat angered by this joke.

Did he really think jokes could solve every problem?

Even if she felt a little better now, the trouble would still arrive on schedule, wouldn’t it?

What way did she have?

She had no way at all. If it truly came to that point, in order not to drag this young man down, she would only have the most extreme choice.

It seemed death could wipe out debt in the simplest way.

Yatsuno Gen glanced at her.

“Don’t worry too much. Such a high interest rate isn’t legally protected to begin with. Recently, I met a pretty decent police officer, and perhaps she can help. Also, don’t think I’ll single-handedly go looking for trouble with them, or drag myself into a whirlpool because of your matter. I’m not a saint. I also treasure my life. Just wait.”

If Yatsuno Gen had blindly comforted her by saying tomorrow would be better, that nothing would happen, and so on,

Kiyono Mitsuki would be extremely worried that this young man was going to do something extreme. She might not admit that she was someone important to Yatsuno Gen, but even if there was only a one percent possibility, she would not allow him to take such a huge risk for her.

Compared to herself, whose life had been nearly half destroyed, his life had only just begun.

But precisely because Yatsuno Gen said it this way, the girl became somewhat doubtful.

“Those people are very troublesome. They’re practically fearless because they have backing. Ordinary police may not necessarily be able to do anything.”

“We still have to try, don’t we? Otherwise, do you really want me to patronize your business?”

“Stop saying that!”

Kiyono Mitsuki was so angry she tried to stand up, but unfortunately, even in anger, people could not do just anything.

Yatsuno Gen pressed down her shoulders, which had hunched up like a hissing kitten, and gently kneaded them as though giving her a massage. The strength was just right. While she felt a little pain, she could also perceive a certain comfort amid the pain.

Could she really be some kind of masochist?

After slightly soothing her emotions, Yatsuno Gen stood behind her and spoke in a warm voice like a flowing stream.

“As long as things haven’t reached a dead end, never think of the most extreme outcome. That debt was never something you should have had to bear, and you’ve never been all alone.”

The young man’s voice always flowed into her heart with just the right timing.

His words were never something one could ignore.

Although she understood that this matter was practically like a nightmare wrapped around her, and that truly resolving it would be very troublesome, she still always wanted to believe everything he said.

She leaned weakly against the back of the wheelchair.

Yatsuno Gen smiled and said,

“While the sunset still hasn’t ended, let’s go out for a walk.”

“Hm?”

Before the girl could refuse, Yatsuno Gen pushed her all the way out and downstairs.

During that time, Kiyono Mitsuki was still struggling.

“No... I haven’t even changed clothes. Wait a moment. At least let me wash my face!”

The moment she went outside, she felt as though her entire body was full of flaws. She could not face other people’s gazes, much less appear honestly in any light together with this young man.

But Yatsuno Gen ignored all that and said with a smile,

“By the time you finish washing your face, the moon will be out. What sunset would we be watching then? The daylilies will be cold by then.”

“But... I...”

She did not know how to say it. She felt that herself beside him was practically disheveled and no different from a beggar.

She was afraid of seeing other people look at her with pity, and even more afraid of seeing other people look at Yatsuno Gen with sympathy.

But as soon as they went downstairs,

the old grandmother who always returned from grocery shopping at this time saw the two of them. As soon as she saw them, a wrinkled but very kind smile appeared on her face.

“Going out again?”

Kiyono Mitsuki directly buried her face down, wishing she could hide inside her own legs.

Yatsuno Gen smiled and replied,

“Yes, we’re going out for a walk.”

What kind of walk could someone in a wheelchair like her take?

But the old grandmother before them nodded repeatedly.

“That’s nice. Every time I see you two, I think of my old man. How happy... You must take good care of little Mitsuki. The days of companionship are the plainest, but also the most precious, Yatsuno.”

“Of course.”

As the wheelchair moved forward,

Kiyono Mitsuki raised her head little by little. She looked somewhat bewildered.

And Yatsuno Gen’s voice sounded from behind her, as steady as the way he pushed her.

“Being alive, and still being able to see the sunlight, is already a very fortunate thing. Even if it’s the setting sun.”

Kiyono Mitsuki subconsciously raised her head.

She saw the horizon.

Fire burned across the splendid clouds. That light, which should have belonged to dusk, instead seemed to possess vigorous vitality.

Burning.

Spreading like wildfire.