Volume 1 - CH 3

“Himekawa, hey”

I call out to her and tell her that the cops are on their way here by looking at her.

“What should I do? I’m going to be arrested…”

“If anyone calls out to you, don’t say a word”

A cop walking towards us.

If we stayed in this place, there was a good chance they would ask us a lot of questions, or worse, contact our school or parents.

If we were to be arrested here, Himekawa and I would be in trouble.

The school would find out, and what would the others in the class say?

And if that information got to my parents or something, I wouldn’t be able to look at them in the eyes.

I was thinking what should we do to get out from here.

The only way to get out of this is for us to disappear from the cops in front of us in the first place.

I got my answer quickly and called out to Himekawa.

“Himekawa, we’re moving”

I took Himekawa’s Boston bag and started walking towards the ticket gate.

I walk a little faster from the bench, but the cops are still watching us from a distance.

I guess we’d better move out of sight as soon as possible.

Without saying a word, Himekawa followed me. The policeman took his eyes off us after confirming that we had both entered the station’s ticket gate together.

At any rate, it was late at night. We can’t stay in the station forever.

“So, what do we do now?　Do you have a plan?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be here”

It’s a pain in the ass. I didn’t want to get involved, but I did.

She wasn’t a complete stranger, and she was in my class. I suddenly thought that I could do something about it for once.

“I have a condition. I won’t tell anyone about today, And I’m not going to tell anyone about what we’re going to do”

“What are the terms?”

“Follow me and you’ll see”

I half-heartedly took Himekawa’s bag and headed for the platform.

Himekawa follows me silently, but I’m sure she’s wary of me.

We boarded the train and got off at the usual station.

After exiting the ticket gate, we continued walking in silence, not saying a word to each other.

After a while, we arrived at a house. The lights were off and there was no sign of people. The house was a bit old, giving the impression of the Showa era.

“Where are we?”

Himekawa speaks to me.

I silently point to a sooty sign. I point to a sooty sign that says “Gohashi Boarding House” on it.

“A boarding house?”

“Yes, a boarding house. Anyway, let’s go in”

I stuck the key into the darkened front door of the boarding house and opened it.

The door rattles open horizontally, something you don’t often see in modern houses.

When I turned on the light, you found a rather spacious entrance with a shoebox.

Welcome to the Gohashi Boarding House.

I called out to Himekawa and gestured for her to come in.

I put the bag in my hand on the door and took off my shoes.

“Close the door quickly. The bugs will get in, right?”

Himekawa enters the front door and closes it.

She takes just one step inside the front door and looks around curiously at the wooden clogs, the floor, and the ceiling.

The house was quiet, no sound could be heard. That means no human voices either.

“Is there anyone else here?”

I put my belongings on the floor and put my shoes in the shoe box.

I walked down the hallway and turned on the light in the back room.

“No one is there. I live here all by myself”

“So, …Why am I here?”

I half forced Himekawa, who was sitting alone on a bench in front of the station, to come with me.

If something went wrong in front of the station, I would definitely be the last witness.

That would be very problematic and would threaten my school life.

“Uh, there’s no deeper meaning. I don’t want to do anything to you, and I don’t like being a bother to you. If I didn’t do anything about you, it was going to be a big problem, so I brought you here. If you have any questions feel free to ask”

I walked out of the backroom into the hallway and headed for the washroom at the end of the hall.

I wash my hands and gargle. This is the first thing I do when I get home.

“Don’t just stand there, wash your hands and gargle too”

I called out to Himekawa, who was standing in the doorway with a blank expression on her face.

She took off her shoes and put them in the same shoe box as I did.

“I’m sorry to disturb you…”

Then she followed me and washed her hands.

It’s so strange. There is no one living in this house but me.

I can’t help but feel uncomfortable with Himekawa in front of me.

For now, I’ll offer you some tea. What do you want, coffee, tea, or water?”

“Oh, uh, black tea”

I guided Himekawa into the living room and sat down on a chair at the dining table.

The kettle rings, telling me that the water is boiling.

I put the tea in front of Himekawa, and I put the coffee in front of myself.

“Itadakimasu…”

Himekawa holds the cup in both hands and slowly begins to drink.

I sit down in front of Himekawa, and we spend some time in silence.

“So, can we talk? Or do you not want to talk about it? You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to”

I asked Himekawa bluntly.

She puts her cup on the saucer, puts her hands on her knees, and looks directly at me.

“Can you keep what I’m about to tell you a secret?”

I nodded silently with my coffee in my hand.