Chapter 25 - Kotone 2

"Kotone. I'm sorry. It's everyone's job, and the boss' business that was at stake." The manager tries her best to console Kotone.

While she does not care much about firing a new employee, she still feels for Kotone's experience, having experienced the same thing herself.

"I'm gonna call some friends, maybe I can get you a job somewhere else." She promises.

"T-that will be great, manager." Kotone can only swallow her grievance.

"Uhn. And I advise you to not work this type of job again." The manager says.

"I'm sorry, Miss Kotone. I wish I could have done something." The bouncer apologizes too.

"It's fine…" Kotone waves the apology off.

"Thank you for giving me a job, manager. It's just my luck." She can only end her relationship with the bar in good terms to keep some good reference for her next job interview.

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>

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An hour later

*Beep* *beep*

"I'm home!" Kotone enters her small studio apartment in a slightly better mood after taking a walk from the train station.

"Hm? Haruto? … Is he out?" She gets worried, not finding her younger brother in the living room.

Suddenly, *flush* "Nee-san!" Haruto gets out of the bathroom and, "You're home…", he greets Kotone.

"Uhn." Kotone nods in relief.

"You're still up? It's 10 already." She says as she sits on the hardwood floor.

"Ugh… Why are you wearing that skimpy dress?! You should change! I'll step out for a moment." Haruto says in disgust looking at Kotone's legs.

"Later. Let this old sis rest her legs, okay?" Kotone does not care about Haruto's discomfort and she stretches her legs against the floor.

"Good grief." Haruto can only say as he goes to open the fridge to grab a can of beer.

"How was school?" Kotone asks.

"Great…" Haruto says as he hands the beer to Kotone.

"Thanks. You still haven't laid out your futon. Shouldn't you be sleeping by now?" Kotone asks.

"Not sleepy. I fell asleep at the hospital." Haruto says.

"Oh…" Kotone's heart gets heavy. "Haruto." She then calls out.

"Hm?" Haruto then sits down on the floor, curious at Kotone's serious expression.

"Hold out for longer, hm? Once I've saved up, we'll go back to Doctor Noguchi to heal your kidneys. No more dialysis then." Kotone says.

"I'm sorry sis." Haruto feels guilty.

Even though most of his dialysis treatment is covered by the government, he knows that Kotone is still working very hard to afford the rest of what he needs.

"I'll help you save up! I already have savings from my part time jobs!" He cheers up his sister.

"Oh… good boy." Kotone teases.

"Hey, I'm serious! I have some savings." Haruto argues.

"Fine. Fine. Just save it. We might need it in the future." Kotone's heart feels lighter because of Haruto.

"Okay. Step out for a moment." She then orders Haruto.

"Finally. You should stop drinking with your bosses. Even though you're not that pretty, there are a lot of perverts around." Haruto says before leaving to allow Kotone to change.

"… Don't worry, Haruto. I won't anymore…" She can only sigh as soon as the door shut.

A few minutes later. Kotone has changed to her sleepwear combo; a pair of very loose-fitting jogging pants and extra-large shirt. Haruto has also spread out his and Kotone's futon for them to sleep.

"Sleep well." Kotone bids her brother good night before going to the door.

"Uhn… You're going out again?" Haruto asks as he lays down.

"I'll get some air." Kotone says.

"Alright… Be careful." Haruto knows that Kotone would sometimes go out for a few minutes to an hour before going to bed.

Kotone did not go far from her apartment and is now seated at a swing in the neighborhood playground while scrolling through her phone.

"Haaaa… I'll run out soon if I'll just do my part-time jobs…" She can only sigh as she looks up at the stars, anxious after looking at the balance in her bank account.

Suddenly, "That jerk… *sniff*", tears roll down from her eyes as the events of the night replay in her mind.

"That human garbage… euhhghgh.." She starts sobbing, finally releasing the grievance she has been holding back.

"I'vE gIvEn aWaY my dIgnItY… *sob* … that's not even enough. *sob*"

"Ahhh… What a pitiful sight." She gets startled by a male voice next to her and she almost falls off the swing.

She then looks beside her to find a tall man in his 40s, wearing what looks to be high quality kimono and haori, sitting on the swing beside hers.

"I'm sorry. You've been crying for minutes now. I was worried." The man says.

"W-who are you?" Kotone tries to compose herself as quick as she can, embarrassed of showing her vulnerable state to the man.

"No one… Anyways. You should go home now, young lady. Something might have happened to your brother." The man says.

This causes Kotone to get her bearings immediately and looks at the direction of her house in fear.

She is about to ask the man what he meant, but as she looks back at where the man is supposed to be, the man is no longer there, only leaving a vacant swing behind as if no one just sat there.

Kotone in worry, starts to run back home.

"HARUTO!" Kotone calls out in worry right after barging in her apartment.

"NEE-SAN!" Haruto too, calls out to his sister in worry.

"You're fine!" Kotone collapses in relief, looking at her brother seated on his futon.

"I'm fine! Nee-san! Sit! Something weird just happened!" Haruto tells Kotone.

"Same here! What happened to you?" Kotone sits close to Haruto and gives him a once over in worry.

"Nee-san, when you left, there's this weird guy who entered. I thought he was you at first. When I realized that he's not you, I was about to call for help." Haruto says as he distances himself a bit from Kotone.

"So? What happened? Did he hurt you?" Kotone asks.

"Well… I don't…" Haruto struggles to answer as his answer would be complicated.

"Haruto. Did he hurt you or not?" Kotone asks, her worry increasing.

"No. I'm fine, actually." Haruto says, calming his sister down.

"Well. He did something that made me lose my voice and paralyzed me for a moment… And then… And then… his palms suddenly glowed. Then he touched me on my lower back." Haruto starts to narrate everything immediately.

"And then?" Kotone is now more confused than worried.

"Then I felt this cold and warm feeling. It felt good actually." Haruto says.

"Good? What…"

"Yes. He had his palms on my back, as if he's fixing my kidneys. I felt it." Haruto continues, and Kotone decides to stay quiet for now.

"After a minute, he laid me back down, then I got back the control over my body and the choking feeling on my throat was gone. Then he asked… 'how do you feel, boy'?"

"Well? How do you feel?" Kotone asks in hope and anticipation.

"Great … Actually… I feel awake!" Kotone sees her brother's eyes and expression become brighter.

"And light! I've never felt this great before!" Haruto says as he waves his hands in the air and tens of pebbles materialize in the air.

"Look! I can make them go fast now!" He continues to twirl his fingers in the air and the pebbles swish and dance in the air.

"…" Kotone is stunned looking at her brother's unprecedented display of his abilities.

"Okay… Wait! Wait! Where did the man go then?" She asks, getting back to the subject.

Haruto then disables his ability. "Oh. Wait… Where was I again?" Haruto tries to recall. "Oh that's right. He asked 'how do you feel, boy'? I can't answer him because I immediately felt the effects of whatever he did. He then just looked at me for a few seconds and then… he just left." He concludes his story.

"He just left?" Kotone is dumbfounded.

"UHN! OH!" Haruto suddenly remembers something and he materializes two pebbles, zooms them atop the shoe cabinet beside the door, and with the pebbles, he picks up an envelope. He then retrieves the pebbles and the envelope.

"Here! Before leaving, he said I should show this to you." He hands the envelope to Kotone.

Kotone is about to open the envelope but, "Wait! He said they're just for you. I shouldn't look at it." Haruto stops her.

A moment later, Kotone is now outside her apartment door and she hurriedly opens the envelope.

She sees five 10,000 yen bills and a business card. She is immediately tempted by the 50,000 yen, but she stops her temptation out of wariness.

"There has to be a catch." She then takes out the business card and reads it.

"Iwai Kichirou – Muscle Masters, **** **** Street. Nerima City." She then flips the card around and sees that there is a handwritten note in it.

"Have your brother checked by another nephrologist. If you have any questions, come to my shop anytime, alone."

…

"Welcome, dear guest!" Fumio is excited to see as the first customer in two days since Musume46, enters the doors of the shop.

He has been bored out of his mind all morning and didn't even have lunch as he had nothing to do and therefore did not spend any energy.

"Uhh… I'm not a customer." Kotone mutters as she cautiously walks in the shop. "Oh… It wasn't you." She almost mistakes Fumio for Red because of Fumio's black kimono.

"What was that, dear customer?" Fumio did not hear Kotone clearly.

"I'm here to see Mr. Iwai?" Kotone says.

"Oh? Here for a massage? In case you don't know, there is the price for a full body massage from the owner." Fumio asks as he points at the only price on the black board behind him.

Kotone reads the price and, "40,000…" her eyes widen, and she steps back in shock. "N-no… I'm not here for a massage." She waves off her hands in refusal.

She then takes out Red's business card and hands it to Fumio.

"H-he left this for me two nights ago." She says.

Fumio then picks up the business card and reads it. A few seconds later, his accommodating mood turns into that of caution as he looks at Kotone.

"So… It's you, huh." Fumio says, even his tone changing to an almost unfriendly one.

"Uhh… What?" Kotone gets startled by the sudden change in Fumio's attitude.

"Miss Kotone?" Kotone is rescued by Red calling out to her as he steps to the lounge area.

"Y-you…" Kotone does not know what to say. While she did not see Red's face clearly two nights ago, she recognizes him by his Kimono and overall physique. She also suspects that Red is the same man that visited Haruto.

"Fumio. Serve her a drink, please." Red orders Fumio before, "Miss Kotone, join me.", inviting Kotone to one of the sofas at the lounge area.

Kotone can only follow.

Soon, Red and Kotone are now seated at the opposite ends of the sofa.

While Red is already sipping on his tea, Kotone is not in the mood to enjoy hers.

"It's nice to see you again. You're here earlier than I thought." Red breaks the silence.

"…Yes?" Kotone is confused by contextless words.

"So. Did you bring young Haruto for a check-up?" Red asks instead.

Kotone's eyes widen. While she already made connections that the man she met at the kids' playground is the same as the one who Haruto met, she is still in shock.

"I-it was you?" She asks for certainty at the revelation.

"Uh-huh… What did the doctor say?" Red asks.

"H-he's fine…" Kotone is still trying to comprehend her situation, but for now, she composes herself to talk to Red.

"The doctor said that his kidneys are very healthy. When we told the doctor that Haruto had kidney failure and had been in dialysis treatment for almost ten years, she accused us of pulling her leg." She reports.

"That's good then." Red nods, already expecting the results of his healing.

"S-so… uh… You were the one who healed him, right?" Kotone asks to make sure that she is about to express her gratitude to the right person.

"Yes. Who else could it be?" Red nods before taking a sip of his tea once again.

Kotone then stands up straight, puts her hands to her stomach and takes a 90-degree bow.

"I want to thank you, mister. For giving my brother his life back." She says.

"Stand straight, young lady. Don't be too quick to thank me yet." Red says.

As if being drenched in a bucket's worth of ice water, she freezes.. She does not want to stand straight, afraid to look at Red, afraid of the price she suspects Red is about to ask.