Episode 92 – On Board

“He was rather friendly.”

I entered Hisui’s phone number, which I had obtained shortly after I got home, and pressed the call button. I had just finished my conversation with Hisui. At first he was in total disbelief, but when I mentioned my name and Yukihana’s, he listened to me without hesitation.

But of course, that’s not enough to gain his trust. So I enlisted the help of another person.

[He’s a surprisingly good listener. Like the type of person who enjoys playing with words.]

“Anyway, let me thank you.”

[No, I only acted as an intermediary.]

Yes, I asked Nanase Natsume for help on this call. Of course, without revealing everything, I just told her that I wanted to get in touch with Yukihana Hisui, and asked her.

How could we talk to each other when we were so far apart? The answer was quite simple, I asked for my sister’s phone and borrowed it. I connected the call with Nanase on my sister’s phone, and I connected the call with Hisui and asked him to talk face-to-face.

[Even so, Senpai, outcasting me at a crucial point is terrible !]

“You’re the one who said you’d cooperate, right? In that case, it’s also helpful not to carelessly step into important conversations.”

[That may be true, but it’s strangely disturbing…I mean, I didn’t want to hear the story, so I pulled away from my phone, but I could hear Hisui’s yelling.]

The reason I bothered to contact Hisui was to make a proposal. After some persuasion, I was able to convince him, but he was skeptical about a lot of things. I wondered if it was really possible. That’s why he snapped at me with a tremendous volume of voice right after I made the proposal.

While I was talking about this, I heard footsteps approaching my room on the second floor. It was probably my sister. I hung up the call with Nanase and sat down on my desk with my phone as if nothing had happened. Of course, I delete all the call history.

Knock-knock

Then the door is opened just as there’s a knock at the door. Then my sister, who looked a little grumpy, peeked out. As expected, I don’t think it’s a good idea to open the door and come in at almost the same time as knocking, just because we’re siblings.

“Hey, can I have my phone back soon?”

“Yes.”

“Good grief, I don’t think you have a shred of delicacy to ask me to lend you my phone out of the blue.”

Saying that, my sister opened her smartphone and swiped. She seems to be checking to see if I’m doing anything weird. I’m sure nothing will come out since all the remaining evidence has been deleted.

“Speaking of which, how come you know the password to my phone?”

“Oh, the one that combines your birthday and attendance number?”

“Like I said, how the hell do you know that !”

“The password is eight digits, and I thought you might be the type to incorporate that kind of easy-to-understand number.”

I only learned the rough number from the movement of her fingers as she played with her phone while we ate our meals across from each other. An evolution of social engineering, you might say? Either way, for someone who is so clumsy, she is easy to figure out.

“…..I’m gonna change my password.”

“Good luck. You’d probably change it to a time-based one next time, anyway.”

“Don’t anticipate my every thought !”

With that, she left the room. It seemed that I had offended her. I was afraid that it might have some effect on the dinner, but I would accept it as my revenge against Shinya.

“And now I just have to make sure I don’t make a mistake in timing when I teach her ‘this’.”

I got this information from Miura. Just giving this to Yukihana will make a big difference. That’s why I have to choose the right time to give it to her very carefully. If possible, I would wait until Yukihana was a little more mentally cornered before I gave it to her. Maybe I should consider harassing her in some way to break her spirit. The more I push her, the more likely it is that Yukihana will resort to this.

“Well, tomorrow is a holiday, so it’s a good time to move things along.”

I then went through the closet. I’m going to take action now, and I don’t want anyone to know that I’m Shiina Kanata. This means that I need to be in perfect disguise. That was the condition I had agreed to with Hisui.

“I never thought I would have the chance to wear this, which I had brought along out of habit.”

I pulled out a suit my father used to wear. He had stopped wearing it soon after, so it was preserved almost without wrinkles or stains, but I had never thought I would be wearing the same clothes as my father. But now that I’m here, I feel relieved that I was right not to throw it away.

“It’s a shame to have to wear the same clothes as him, but I guess you can’t change what you can’t change, right?”

The truth is, I don’t want to keep this legacy of the past. The reason why I brought it with me was because I thought I might be able to get some extra money by selling it on an online auction or at a thrift store. But after I moved out of the house, I didn’t have the energy to do that, and I had almost forgotten about it myself.

“I’d like to settle this before he comes out from behind bars.”

I don’t think he’ll interfere now, but I should make every assumption. Either way, I don’t really want anything more to do with my former family.

“I’ll have to learn how to tie a tie.”

I switch my mind to what I have to do tomorrow. What I need to do now is not to dwell on the past, but to uncover the facts. To achieve this, I will use any means, no matter how dirty or how against the law or morals, to do so.

—

And so the next day arrived. I was dressed in a suit I was not used to and headed to a certain place on foot. Of course, I did this without my sister’s knowledge, and I tried to choose a place where there were as few people as possible.

“I’ve never worn sunglasses before.”

I shoved my hands into my pockets and stroked my hair, which I rarely touched. Normally my hair is shaggy and unkempt, but on this particular day I had waxed it and brushed it back in an all-back style. I have a little makeup on my face, so it would be hard for anyone to tell it was me. It seems that my disguise skills are still alive and well.

“All I had to do was keep my promise. But if I made a mistake before that, it’s all over.”

Thinking about what would happen in that case, I headed toward my destination. On the way there, my phone vibrated, signaling a call. It’s…..Yukihana Hisui.

“Hello.”

[Yo. You’re really coming, right?]

“That was the promise. Actually, I’ll be there in a few more minutes.”

[Tch…..there’s a back door at the end of a side alley. People don’t usually go there. Enter from there.]

“Okay.”

So I kept the call connected and kept walking for a while. Then, the building I was looking for began to appear in my field of vision. This is the second time I’ve been here, but it gives me a different impression than the last time.

“Yukihana house. It’s early in the morning, so isn’t there a lookout as expected?”

Yes, I was heading for the Yukihana family, Yukihana’s parents’ house this time. If I get lost here, I’ll probably gather all kinds of information about the Yukihana family. Perhaps he’s not comfortable providing information about his sister. So I decided to get in directly. After some persuasion, I was able to get permission to blend in with the Yukihana family.

“Here I am.”

I entered the side alley I had been told to go down, and after a short while I found the kitchen door that fit the description. The door is poorly fitted and dirty, indicating that it has not been used very often. Once I enter the next door, there will be no turning back. But if he won’t give me information, I will have to act.

Beyond there, I believe I have the answers I seek. I’m going to hunt those men down.

“Now, let’s get in.”

With that, I put my hand on the kitchen door.