CH 45

Kazemiya Kuon (2)

Translated by Dawn

Kazemiya Kuon (2)

I contacted Kazemiya through a messaging app, and Kuon-san and I moved to a nearby park.

It was because if the renowned Kazemiya Kuon, or Kuon, were known to be present, it would cause a commotion.

“Did you inform Kohaku-chan properly? That we would be talking alone.”

“Yes, I did. Although I feel a little guilty.”

“Hahaha. Yeah, I suppose so. Even though I suggested it myself, I feel a slight sense of wrongdoing.”

Considering Kazemiya’s feelings, I initially thought it would be best to avoid meeting Kuon-san alone… However, I also wanted to discuss matters regarding Kuon-san and Kazemiya’s mother, as well as the running away from the home incident. There was a possibility that discussing these topics could cause further pain to Kazemiya’s heart. So, I accepted Kuon-san’s invitation.

“…So, what do you want to talk about?”

What do you mean by ‘You and I are alike’?

“What do you mean by ‘You and I are alike’?”

Without uttering those words aloud, she voiced the exact same question that I had kept in my heart.

“…You seem eager to know.”

“…Are you perhaps a psychic? Can you read minds?”

“No way. It’s just a mere inference, a prediction based on observations of behavior, expressions, gaze, conversation, the accompanying flow of emotions, and various other factors. Just a skill, nothing more.”

“Rather, it’s more impressive than a clumsy psychic ability.”

“Well, since I was a child prodigy, you know? Dealing with the swarm of filthy adults who try to get close, these skills and abilities naturally developed. Now it has become my expertise—understanding human beings.”

Her oddly insightful gaze, as if she had realized something, glimmered softly under the moonlight.

“That’s why I understand. I understand you, too.”

Her azure and golden eyes mercilessly stripped away the outer shell of Narumi Kouta, piercing into the depths of his heart.

“You fundamentally lack interest in the concept of ‘family,’ don’t you?”

“……………………”

“You’re detached from the framework of ‘family.’ You see it as a hassle, as shackles. Ah, in your case, Kohaku-chan is an exception… The cause of it all is your mother… No, perhaps it’s your father? Poor thing. It must have worn you out.”

…Damn it. Don’t say it.

It was true to the extent that it made me feel sorry for myself.

“Well, let’s leave that for now. Let’s get to the main topic.”

Narumi Kouta and Kazemiya Kuon resemble each other—Perhaps she brought up this topic to take the lead in the upcoming discussion. She didn’t hold back. But here I was, just an ordinary high school boy.

“My mother, she broke down.”

“Broke down?”

“Yeah. I stripped her of her title as my manager and forced her out of the industry. To put it bluntly, I trampled over everything she was fixated on, everything she had built up…everything she had dreamed of.”

“…So, she didn’t break down, you broke her?”

“Oh, you got it. But well, your perception isn’t wrong. In fact, I did it with that intention. I wonder what she’s doing now? Given her personality… Maybe she’s still holed up at home, muttering to herself.”

“Does Kazemiya know about it?”

“There’s no way she would know. But she’ll find out eventually. After she escapes from reality for a while, she’ll cling to Kohaku-chan. Yeah… Within a few days, she’ll track down Kohaku-chan.”

Her azure and golden eyes, as if seeing through everything, illuminated with an enigmatic gleam.

The “prediction” that Kazemiya Kuon just uttered has planted a creeping conviction within me that it will become a “reality.”

“And then, she will make a request to Kohaku-chan like this. ‘Kohaku, persuade Kuon to forgive me.’ ‘That child should listen to what you say.’ And then she will say this. ‘I have been harsh on you all this time.’ ‘But there was no other choice, it was for Kuon.’ ‘Do you have any complaints? Mom will change.’… Something like that.”

Kuon effortlessly articulated her “predictions” as if reading from a script. Under normal circumstances, one might doubt and ask, “Is she really going to say something like that?” However, there was an undeniable pressure emanating from this person, and I was starting to understand what she wanted to convey.

“…Are you suggesting that I manipulate Kazemiya into not forgiving her mother?”

“No, no. I just want her to not be swayed by emotions.”

“It’s the same thing.”

“No, it’s different. If she forgives our mother out of sentiment, it means that without those emotions, she wouldn’t forgive her. In other words, it reveals her true feelings… Kohaku-chan has always had a lingering attachment and hunger for the concept of ‘family.’ Those attachments and hunger have become a collar called ‘family affection,’ binding Kohaku-chan. Despite being unjustly scolded, constantly having expectations placed on her, and inevitably being disappointed, she has remained in that house. She has been swayed by emotions and has chosen to become a part of Mother’s family. She needs to break free from that. She has to escape from a life of suffering dictated by emotions.”

…………Ah, I see.

“Each time, Kohaku-chan has been hurt. That angel who gave me songs, a pure and beloved angel, that Goddess (Mother) inflicted wounds, trampled over her, plucked her wings, and stained them with blood. You can’t forgive something like that, can you? It’s impossible to forgive, right?”

This person… Kazemiya Kuon…?

“Kohaku-chan is my angel. She gave me songs even at the cost of her own pain, an irreplaceable angel. I will destroy everything that causes sadness to my angel. I will erase it all. That’s why I destroyed that mother. That’s why I…”

“—You intend to disappear from Kazemiya’s life.”

A silence as if time had frozen. Riding on the dry wind of the restless night, I verbalized my intuition.

“You mentioned it before, didn’t you? There are two people who make Kazemiya unhappy. One is Kazemiya’s mother and the other… is Kazemiya Kuon. You can’t forgive yourself. That’s why… you’re trying to erase the ‘family’ itself, including yourself, from Kazemiya’s life to make her happy.”

After that, how much time passed? Maybe a few seconds or a few minutes.

It felt both short and long at the same time. In the delicate void where the intervals of time become ambiguous…

“I like you, after all.”

Kazemiya Kuon quietly smiled.

“…Is it what Kazemiya wants, for you to disappear?”

“She probably doesn’t want that. But I will disappear. After Kohaku-chan completely cuts ties with Mother.”

“Are you intending to leave Kazemiya alone?”

“Kohaku-chan has you now. There’s no need to worry about her daily life. I’ll leave enough money for her to live comfortably, and I’ve prepared a new place for her to live. Kohaku-chan will start a happy life there. In a home as pure as newly fallen snow, where there’s nothing to torment her, she doesn’t have to go back to that house anymore.”

She was serious. This person was genuinely planning to disappear from Kazemiya’s life.

“You don’t consider that Kazemiya might try to stop you?”

“It’s impossible. Kohaku-chan is weak. She’s much weaker than me. That’s why she can’t stop me. That’s something I understand, and I think you understand it too.”

She seemed to want to say that we were similar.

Indeed, to some extent, I could sympathize with this person’s feelings. While I found her methods of destroying her mother terrifying, I could imagine myself doing the same if I were in a similar situation, to some extent, I could empathize.

But… there was one point where we clearly differ.

“No, I can’t understand.”

In terms of Kazemiya Kohaku, I couldn’t empathize with this person’s words.

“I don’t think Kazemiya is beneath you. I don’t think she can’t beat you.”

“Perhaps we have a misunderstanding.”

I wonder what expression Kazemiya Kuon had as she spoke those words. I didn’t know. She quickly turned her back to me and started walking.

“Well, as long as you’re by her side, anything will be fine. I only came here today to report that I destroyed that mother and to ask about Kohaku-chan.”

“Aren’t you going to see Kazemiya?”

“She’s very happy right now. I shouldn’t interfere. …Although, just being alone with you is already interfering.”

She was fading away. Kazemiya Kuon, into the darkness of the night.

“See you later, Narumi Kouta-kun. Take care of Kohaku-chan for me.”