CHAPTER 5 The Amamizu Family “I’m putting myself in your care, starting today.” Sakuya greeted Asana’s father with his broad, perfect grin, and Koutarou, who was seated at the head of the room, received his greeting with a sour expression. Asana and Sakuya, as well as the members of the Amamizu family, Koutarou, Ukiharu, and Kiriko, had all gathered in the formal tatami-floored room of the Amamizu house. Asana’s grandparents also lived in the house, but they had been in poor health for some time, and lately, they spent most of their time in bed, so they were not in attendance. Asana honestly couldn’t help shrinking away from her grandparents anyway, so she was glad they were absent. After all, Asana’s great-aunt had been murdered by her very own brother, Asana’s grandfather. “If my son permits it, I have no reservations about you staying in this house.” “Yes, sir. Thank you.” Sakuya bowed politely, and Koutarou frowned, looking displeased. Apparently, her father was not even going to try to put on a good front for Sakuya, who had seen him striking Asana after their very first meeting. Sakuya was not bothered in the least by Koutarou’s attitude. “I never thought he would actually come,” grumbled Ukiharu. Asana couldn’t read how he was feeling from his indifferent tone. “I’m serious about the things I say. You can be certain of that.” “You’re a real pain.” “So I’m told.” Once again, Sakuya answered with an enchanting smile. “Mr. Shigure.” “Please, call me Sakuya, Father-in-Law.” “…Mr. Shigure. There are conditions for you being here.” Ignoring Sakuya’s request, Koutarou answered deliberately. “We will enter you into the family register right away and accept the bride-price. The ceremony can come later. If you can’t agree to that, I will ask you to leave immediately.” “No!” Asana, who had been silent until then, raised her voice without thinking. What a tyrannical move. Koutarou was practically declaring that Sakuya had no value to him except for the money. If Sakuya accepted those conditions, he would be immediately stripped of all he had. There was even a possibility that he would be physically in danger. “You keep quiet.” Koutarou barked at her sharply, and Asana flinched. But she couldn’t just sit there silently. “But you keep repeating bride-price this, bride-price that, as if you’re not even adopting the professor into this family, only his money.” “It’s the same thing, isn’t it?” “What…?” Asana was speechless in the wake of such a vulgar statement. It was an extremely rude thing to say to Sakuya. But Koutarou calmly folded his arms and stared at him. “It was the Shigure family who offered such a sizable bride-price in the first place. Since they’re the ones who proposed a sum greater than the offer from Viscount Katsui, surely it’s only natural that our house would proceed with the agreement on that basis.” “…Yes, of course.” Though Sakuya was on the receiving end of her father’s abusive words, his smile never wavered. Koutarou casually insulted him, and Sakuya kept smiling peacefully. To an outsider, it might have appeared that the two men were having a lighthearted chat. “Understood. I have no problem with those conditions. Let’s sign the paperwork right away.” “Professor…” “I have no intention of going back on my decision. So it doesn’t make much of a difference whether I’m entered into your register today, tomorrow, or next year.” Once Sakuya said that, Asana had no choice but to be quiet. In the end, she had failed. She hadn’t accomplished a single thing. Not one thing that would keep Sakuya from getting involved with the Amamizus. …The only thing left is to inform him about my body and accept his scorn. She knew his calm attitude would vanish the moment he learned his fiancée was a monster. No matter how he might try to reason his way through it, there was no doubt he would reject her instinctively. A girl with mermaid’s blood. This was the first time someone with her constitution had ever had such high hopes. After that, the introductory meeting ended, and it was time for the welcome banquet, which also served as that evening’s dinner. However, Asana was sent back to her room. Kiriko, who was still under the impression that Sakuya was an acquaintance of Ukiharu’s, had apparently gone all out in her preparations. Of course, it was a welcome party in name only. Ukiharu and the others hardly said anything as usual, and Koutarou seemed to be happy as long as the money was coming in. It was decided that they would fill out and submit the marriage registration the following day. They arranged for the bride-price to be paid in full to the Amamizu family at the same time. In the distance, Asana occasionally heard Ukiharu’s laughter and Kiriko’s high-pitched voice. They seemed to be offering Sakuya quite a bit of sake. Asana sat in her room, straining her ears intently to listen. “It doesn’t seem like they’re going to try to kill the professor just yet, but…what should I do?” If possible, she would have liked to be by Sakuya’s side, but her family hated having Asana around during mealtimes. She was also prohibited from entering the kitchen because of the mermaid’s blood that flowed through her veins, and they had sworn that if she violated that rule, she would be pulled from school with no room for argument. …I’m powerless. Asana’s room had sliding shoji door panels that faced out onto the corridor, and the interior walls were enclosed in latticework made of thick, dull brown timber. A small door and a paper screen window were set into one wall, and that was it. Inside the room was a desk, futon, vanity, lamp, and dresser. There was absolutely nothing extra. All of it had been provided by her father and brother. Strictly speaking, none of them were hers. The protection of the family—as long as Asana was under the dominion of that pretense, she couldn’t do a thing. But even if she got out from under their protection, she still wouldn’t be able to do anything. Because the only thing Asana had that was her own was her abhorrent body. Even something as simple as keeping her benefactor from getting dragged into the situation had turned out to be so difficult. She clutched her knees and buried her face in them. She didn’t know how much time passed while she sat there like that, not moving a muscle. Before she knew it, the sounds of the party in the sitting room had died down. “—Asana?” Suddenly, she heard Sakuya’s voice from the other side of the sliding door. “Yes?” she answered as she hurried to stand up and opened the door. “Professor, what is it?” “Nothing, I just thought I should talk with you a little…and I heard your room was here, so…” As Sakuya answered, he looked past Asana and gasped. “What’s with this room?” “It’s my room. Please, come inside.” Sakuya looked around the space in astonishment and scowled. “This is more of a cell than a bedroom…” Asana smiled bitterly. He had completely hit the nail on the head. Her room, located deep within the Amamizu mansion, had also been used by her great-aunt. In her time, it had apparently been a true jail cell, kept locked at all times, without even any real furniture. She had been imprisoned in the room until the moment of her death. The room had been furnished after Asana moved in. However, she didn’t go out of her way to say so. “Please, have a seat anywhere. I can’t offer you much in the way of hospitality, though.” “…Sure.” It felt strange to sit facing each other on the tatami floor. Asana had felt like she’d already gotten accustomed to the two of them talking together, and yet she was strangely unsettled now that Sakuya was in her own room. It made her feel restless, and she wanted to get up. “Asana.” “Yes?” “I’m very sorry about today.” Sakuya suddenly bowed his head, which caught Asana off guard. “What—? Um, why should you be sorry?” “I selfishly made up my mind about the wedding without listening to your opinion.” “Ah…” He wasn’t wrong. She had never expected to get married in a day’s time. That said, if he had asked for her consent, Asana definitely would have resisted. Her reasons had nothing to do with her own feelings about him. She would have objected to keep Sakuya from becoming a member of the Amamizu family. “I’m sure you’re aware, then, Professor, my view is that we shouldn’t marry.” “To keep me from getting too close to the Amamizus?” Asana nodded sharply. “Yes. So if you want to follow through on your intentions, Professor, don’t ask me what I think.” Sakuya let out a deep sigh. And then he looked around the room again. “Have you always lived in this room?” he asked. “…Yes, I have. For the past eight years, to be precise.” “Eight years?” Suddenly, Sakuya’s eyes went wide. Asana was surprised by his unexpected reaction. Eight years earlier. That was right when Asana’s birthmark first appeared, and it was also the year she met Sakuya. She wondered if he had possibly remembered something. Feeling a little nervous, Asana asked, “Did something happen eight years ago?” “…Ah, no. You… Was there a reason you moved into this room?” At first, she was annoyed that he had changed the subject, but she reconsidered and saw it might be the perfect opportunity. Their marriage might be formally established the following day. And once the Shigure family paid the Amamizus the bride-price, she couldn’t guarantee he would be safe. In which case, this was Asana’s only chance to tell Sakuya about her physical condition and get him to hate her. “Professor, will you listen to me, please…to my secret?” Asana steadied her breathing and broached the subject. She saw Sakuya nod with a docile look on his face, and Asana pulled off her lace gloves with trembling fingers. She revealed her ugly red birthmark. She wondered what exactly it looked like to his eyes under the light of the lamp. She was sure it was probably very strange and unsettling for him to see the red, scaly pattern that boldly wound its way in a spiral around her wrist and up onto the back of her hand. “Is that…a scar from an injury?” “No. It’s a birthmark of sorts. Hideous, isn’t it? Eight years ago, after this mark appeared, I moved into this room.” She wondered how best to explain it. The matter of the girls with mermaid’s blood. She couldn’t possibly just tell him the unvarnished truth. It wasn’t the sort of thing anyone would believe. The fastest and easiest way would be to have him watch her injure herself and then heal, but… However, their conversation headed in a direction Asana had not foreseen. “…If your mark appeared eight years ago, then that’s the same as mine.” “Huh?” Puzzled, Asana cocked her head. With a resolute expression, Sakuya pulled open the collar of his kimono. “P-Professor!” Asana let out a little squeak and covered her eyes with both hands. That made Sakuya suddenly pause. His cheeks turned faintly red. “Sorry, no, that’s not—! It’s not like that!” he insisted. Then he undid the buttons on the shirt he was wearing underneath the kimono. Starting at the top, he unbuttoned the shirt halfway and bashfully showed Asana his chest. “I’m sorry for being indecent. But I wonder if you would look at this?” Through the gaps between her fingers, Asana stared timidly at Sakuya’s chest. There was nothing indecent about it. If anything, his chest, with just the right amount of supple muscle, was very beautiful. But there was something that drew her eye even more. A flower. It was in a spot a little to the left of center, right above his heart. In that spot was a red flower blossom with large petals. The hands that had been covering Asana’s face automatically returned to her lap. “What a pretty…pretty birthmark.” It was the opposite of Asana’s mark. Something about Sakuya’s birthmark resembled the shape of the familiar camellia flower. The vivid red-flower pattern stood out against his pale skin. All her feelings of embarrassment vanished as she looked at the beautiful mark in front of her. “Actually, it was eight years ago when this mark appeared on me.” “You’re kidding.” “I’m serious. After that, my life completely changed. Even though I was just the mistress’s kid, I was entered into the Shigure family register.” What in the world could this strange coincidence mean? Their marks had appeared in the same year and changed both of their lives. Surprise was too simple a word to express what Asana was feeling. Somehow, this felt like destiny. However, it seemed clear that the marks on Asana and Sakuya were very different. “…This mark I have on me is proof that I’m a girl with mermaid’s blood.” It was difficult. Every time Asana thought about what had happened back then, her eyes were filled with tears. “Girl with mermaid’s…blood?” “For generations, these girls have been born to the Amamizu family. They have certain characteristics.” Keeping her own emotions hidden as best she could, Asana explained things to Sakuya. She told him that she healed immediately from any kind of injury. That she never got sick and that she would recover in no time, even if her limbs were torn off or she was stabbed in the heart. And that— —the blood of the girls with mermaid’s blood is a deadly poison to other humans. “Deadly…poison?” “The blood flowing through my veins is toxic. A single drop of it could kill many people. And someone who can survive with poisonous blood flowing through them—they’re not a person…but a monster.” Her throat felt tight. She had been struggling to keep her composure while she was talking to him, but her voice was shaky. “It’s awful, isn’t it? Revolting. You must not want to be near me. So you can keep your distance from my family and from me.” Asana’s blood would not cause any harm unless it got into someone’s mouth, or mucous membranes, or directly into their body through a wound, or something. Her other body fluids, like her tears and sweat, were completely harmless. But the toxic blood circulated through Asana’s whole body. That meant Asana herself was poisonous, and she was sure no one near her felt comfortable. Her room became a jail cell when the door in the latticework was locked, and her family kept her imprisoned there. That was so Asana could not run away or go out walking around on her own. “A girl with mermaid’s blood is a monster. This mark is proof. It’s evidence that I’m no longer human.” “Asana.” “Hearing me confess something so awful like that… I’m sure you can’t believe it, but—” The hand that bore the dark birthmark trembled with her shame. Even though she was straining to form a smile, Asana could feel her face just spasming, and her vision was blurry with tears. She would no longer be able to spend time with Sakuya. How could he possibly pass the hours peacefully with a girl like her, whose whole body was full of poison? “My mark isn’t pretty like yours, Professor… It’s not pretty at all. It’s disgusting, horrible, and ugly.” She squeezed the words out and hung her head. Then she heard Sakuya ask in a gentle voice, “May I touch your hand?” Asana couldn’t answer. If she said yes, it might’ve sounded like she was saying it was okay for Sakuya to touch her hand and defile himself, and if she said no, it might’ve seemed like she was rejecting him. When Asana was silent, Sakuya reached out without hesitation and touched her left hand where the mark was visible. “No matter what you might say, I think you’re wonderful just as you are now.” “Why…?” Asana asked him the question without thinking, and Sakuya responded with a beautiful, charming smile. “Because of the Mermaid’s Garden and seeing you there. I really love the quiet, soothing time I spent there. If you weren’t around, that never would have happened.” Sakuya’s words didn’t give Asana any peace of mind. He still didn’t have the slightest clue just how different Asana was from other people. That was why he could be so careless and say Asana was wonderful. “You know, I actually really dislike other people,” Sakuya suddenly admitted. Asana blinked several times in surprise. “Huh…you do? You don’t like other people?” “Yes. Up until eight years ago, I lived my whole life in obscurity, as the son of my father’s mistress. And how do you think things have gone for me since this mark appeared? They say I’m the reincarnation of my legendary ancestor, who was born ages ago and lived for two hundred years. And so everyone has done a complete and utter about-face, and I might become my family’s heir, disregarding my older brother, my father’s legitimate son. I came to hate them all, from the bottom of my heart.” Sakuya smiled, but the ends of his eyebrows were drooping. His eyes were cold and not smiling in the least. “I have always hated my father for selfishly abandoning my mother. And anyone like him, who fails to take responsibility for their own actions. And I felt like I was surrounded by those kinds of people.” As Sakuya rearranged his clothing and covered his chest, he spat out his explanation. “If I was so disagreeable to them, they could have kept treating me that way forever. But my relatives sidled up to me like they’d forgotten about their own past words and actions. It made me sick.” “Professor…” “All for their own gain, without so much as a word of apology. My family is full of people who treated me like I had been their dear friend for a decade. I got fed up with other people altogether.” It was understandable. Contrary to Asana, who had had a difficult time because people kept their distance, Sakuya had been hurt by people trying to get too close. Even though their situations were exactly opposite, Asana felt like there was something similar about them. “But the time I spend with you feels very comfortable… I wonder why that is? Maybe because you never tried to force your way in. Instead, you always pulled back a little.” “……” Asana had been desperately trying to protect herself and keep hold of her emotions. If she had allowed Sakuya to sweep her off her feet, it would have been easy for him to convince her to go through with the engagement. She probably would have been the one who dragged Sakuya into the Amamizu house. Asana stood up quietly. She opened a drawer on her vanity and pulled out a book with a blue cover. It was a collection of fairy tales that had originated from other countries and had been translated into Japanese. “Professor, do you know the story of The Little Mermaid?” “I do. It’s a famous fairy tale.” The book was the one and only thing her older brother, Ukiharu, had ever bought for Asana. There were many stories included in the book, but it had been immediately obvious that her brother had purchased it to get Asana to read the story called The Little Mermaid. Eight years earlier, late at night, her brother had come home terribly drunk, which was unusual for him, and had handed her the book. Asana had been delighted and read The Little Mermaid at his recommendation. That night, she hadn’t slept a wink. “This is a good lesson for you. Someday, this will happen to you, too.” The following morning, Ukiharu had said that to her without the slightest bit of emotion in his eyes. It was the tale of a mermaid princess who fell in love with a human prince and pursued him at the expense of losing her voice. But she couldn’t get him to notice her feelings and turned into sea-foam with her last breath. After she turned into bubbles, the mermaid became a spirit, but to Asana, that didn’t seem like real salvation. “The first time I read this story, I really believed that this is what my future would look like.” I want to become water—that was also when she first began to have that desire. She didn’t want to become sea-foam. She didn’t want to become a spirit, either. She just wanted to become a single drop of ocean water and float around forever. “But I wouldn’t mind if it meant you could go through life with a smile, Professor. And so—” “And so you don’t want me to be adopted into the Amamizu family, but to marry some other girl instead?” “Yes.” On that note, silence shrouded the room. There was nothing more Asana could say. All that remained was to see what decision Sakuya would make. Sakuya couldn’t sleep. He lay there staring at the ceiling, face up on his futon. Everything around him was already pitch-dark, and when he turned on a nearby lamp, he could see that his watch said it was nearing midnight. At that hour, everyone else was surely already asleep. It had started to rain right after the banquet’s conclusion. Now the rain had become a downpour. A torrent of large raindrops furiously pounded the roof and walls, while rainwater gushed incessantly down the gutters. From time to time, thunder rumbled faintly in the distance. “You wouldn’t mind if it meant I could go through life with a smile, huh?” Even once he knew the truth, Sakuya didn’t think Asana was a monster. Of course, he had been surprised by her confession, but it had also led him to understand a few things. Now he knew why no signs of being beaten had remained on Asana the day after their first meeting. And why she always wore gloves. And the reason Koutarou, Ukiharu, and Kiriko shunned Asana. The Yaobikuni, mermaids, and mermaid’s blood. And the girls with mermaid’s blood. It made him feel extremely unwell to imagine how terribly Asana had suffered because of this. The thought of it was sickening. “But if you’re not smiling, too, then there’s no point…” Smiling on his own would be meaningless. He couldn’t just cast Asana aside and forget about her while he married some other girl—not after she had endured so much sorrow for his sake. In a way, that would be just like what Sakuya’s despicable father had done. He would be no better than that man who had used his mother to escape reality and responsibilities as the family head, only to abandon her the moment he’d learned she was with child. Suddenly, Sakuya bolted upright, pulled abruptly from his deep thoughts. He thought he heard something, like some noises and people talking outside his room. Sakuya had been provided with a tatami floor room about six mats in size. For a guest room, it was located fairly deep inside the estate, and he assumed it would probably become his and Asana’s room after they were married. He strained his ears against the drumming of the rain. It might have been his imagination. No matter how carefully he listened, he couldn’t hear anything except the sound of rain. Maybe I’m just a little on edge. He knew there was something going on in this house. He bore in mind the warning Shinsuke had given him. If it was something that had anything to do with him, he wanted to know about it, and if possible, he wanted to stay one step ahead of things. For that reason, he figured he was just anxious. But he soon heard the sound again. It was like a scream—a high-pitched, feeble-sounding female voice. But it disappeared into the cacophony of the rain, and he couldn’t be sure. “…Asana? No, her mother maybe?” Well, whoever it was, if Sakuya wasn’t hallucinating the sounds, something alarming was certainly going on. Taking care not to make any noise, Sakuya stood and put his ear against the sliding screen door that opened into the hallway. The sound was extremely distant. The voice didn’t seem to be coming from inside the mansion. He slid the door open. The hallway was pitch-dark, and he could hardly see anything until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. There was only a thick, inky blackness that concealed the space around him and threatened to absorb him, too. I’ve got a basic understanding of the layout of the house, but… Then he heard another faint noise. This time, it was a thud, like a large object had fallen to the floor. However, he felt like the sounds were getting even farther away from him. Confused, he went back into the room and approached the sliding door that opened to the outside. When he opened it, he could see a small hut standing a short distance away. Is that a storeroom? An annex? It looked like it was connected to the main building with a short, covered walkway. Which meant it was indeed an annex. The sounds were coming from there. Sakuya quickly dressed. He had never changed into his nightclothes to begin with, only removed his hakama. Now he fastened the buttons on his loose shirt, straightened the collar on his kimono, and put on his pants. He quickly did up his flowing hair with his favorite ornamental hairpin. In that state, he was ready to leave his room. Walking quickly but stealthily, he proceeded down the corridor. He passed by several other rooms and turned a corner. There were glass panels set into the wooden doors separating the walkway from the outside. They had been battered by the rain and were streaked with water. He could clearly hear people’s voices coming from the hut. He barely caught a man saying something. The voices reminded him of the sounds Asana had made the previous day and how Ukiharu had sounded looming over her. Sakuya felt nervous and impatient. He feared the worst. His heart was pounding so fiercely that it hurt. He didn’t feel any fear at the thought of starting a fight with everyone in the Amamizu family. But he was afraid of what he might see if he continued forward. “The blood flowing through my veins is toxic. A single drop of it could kill many people. And someone who can survive with poisonous blood flowing through them—they’re not a person…but a monster. It’s awful, isn’t it? Revolting. You must not want to be near me. So you can keep your distance from my family and from me.” Asana’s words and the image of her smiling through her tears arose in his mind. He was sure whatever was going on up ahead involved Asana. “There are many unflattering rumors about the Amamizu family. They’ve made a lot of money in the pharmaceutical business, but people say that, behind the scenes, they manufacture poisons… Even if things look good for them now, suppose that, in the future, something happens and they get arrested—if you get adopted into the family, you’ll get dragged into it, too. Be that as it may, the Amamizu house is as bad as they come. The more I look into this Mermaid’s Blood stuff, the more troubling facts come to light.” Recalling his friend’s warnings only fueled his anxiety. The wooden door, dark with the patina of age, was exceptionally heavy. It felt more like a thick wall. However, indecision would get him nowhere. Sakuya flung the door open in one go. “Wh-what…is this…?” The first thing that hit him was an extremely rich, moist, and bloody smell, as thick as the rain. At first, he thought some rain had blown in from outside. But he was wrong. Drip, drip, went the deep crimson drops. It’s really blood. Standing closest to the doorway was Ukiharu, wearing a white robe, a mask, gloves, and protective goggles and holding a lancet. And behind him, Koutarou was kneeling on the floor, holding a small knife, dressed just the same. Both the lancet and the knife were covered in red. “What are you doing? What are you people—?!” “I should be asking you—why are you here?” Ukiharu was the one who answered him. He stared back at Sakuya with wide eyes. “Who cares why I’m here? What the hell is this?” After he shouted back, Sakuya gasped. Against the farthest wall of the annex, strapped to a decrepit chair, slumped over limply was— “Asana!” She looked ragged, dressed in a single thin nightgown. Her head hung low, so he couldn’t see her expression, and her limbs dangled loosely, with no strength in them. Dead—that one word crossed his mind. “Asana, Asana!” He shoved Ukiharu away, pushed Koutarou aside, and ran over to her. “Asana?” He touched her cheeks and found they were still warm, and she was breathing, although faintly. Her body was tied to the chair, which stood in the middle of a large, flat tub. She was covered in cuts, all over her whole body, and lengths of rubber tubing had been thrust into the wounds, through which the blood flowed, ultimately collecting in the tub. It was the very picture of the blood ponds said to exist in Buddhist hell. The extremely ghastly scene was much worse than anything Sakuya had imagined. He forgot to breathe or even blink. “Mermaid’s blood…” “Get back! Keep your hands off the tools of our trade.” Koutarou stood poised with his little blade pointed at Sakuya, who was so stunned that he couldn’t move. “The tools of your trade… Why are you doing something like this?!” Sakuya shouted back, undaunted by the knife. “She’s your own daughter. This— This isn’t something people do!” “The Amamizu house is as bad as they come.” What Shinsuke had said was right. Sakuya’s imagination had been too naive. The illicit sale of poison was by all rights a serious crime, but naturally, Sakuya had never imagined something this awful and immoral. Sakuya untied Asana from the chair, pulled out the rubber tubes, and held her in his arms as he removed her from the tub. A girl with mermaid’s blood. Her special physical makeup had demonstrated its effects already. Just in the time it took him to pick her up, most of the wounds on her body vanished completely, and her skin was once again smooth, as if nothing had marred it. Sakuya laid her distressingly light body down on the floor and called out to her. “Asana, Asana. Come on, wake up.” “……Profe…ssor?” Suddenly, Asana’s eyelids fluttered, and her bluish-black eyes opened. Sakuya was moved to tears with tremendous relief. “Professor, why…?” “Thank goodness I made it in time…” He knew he never could have forgiven himself if he had let this go on unawares. He couldn’t possibly leave Asana in such a place. “Let’s get out of here. You can’t be here.” “But…I…” She must not have had enough blood left in her. Asana was obviously disoriented, and talking seemed to be painful for her. “Just take it easy.” As he was saying that to Asana, someone grabbed Sakuya’s shoulders and slammed him right into the wall. It was Ukiharu. With a stern look on his face, he glared at Sakuya. “Where do you think you’re taking that? Huh? Answer me.” “Anywhere but here. Asana is not a tool. You people, this whole family, you’re wrong. You force her to be a sacrifice, and then you reap the benefits, totally calm about the whole thing.” “After seeing what you just saw, surely you must have realized. Clearly, that thing is not human. It’s a monster that endangers our lives just by existing. So there’s nothing wrong with putting it to good use. It’s no different than livestock. Do you pity every single cow and horse, too?” Sakuya felt his blood rising. Fierce anger instantly shot up within him, swelling until it felt like it might explode. Asana had a mind; she had intelligence. She clearly harbored her own thoughts and feelings and sympathized with other people. She was human. Sakuya couldn’t believe Asana’s family saw her that way. After all, they’d lived with her for sixteen whole years. He thought of Asana’s smiling face, how she looked when she was enjoying a conversation, how happy she was eating sweets. Sakuya couldn’t comprehend how they had the nerve to declare that such a lively girl was nothing but livestock. “Something is wrong with you. ‘Tools of our trade,’ ‘livestock’… Do you feel nothing for her? How could you treat Asana, treat your own family member, this way? ‘Not human’…? You’re the ones who aren’t human!” Ukiharu’s and Koutarou’s faces were devoid of expression. They were just blank, emotionless, empty. They didn’t look like they had understood a single word Sakuya had said. With his scalpel still at the ready, Koutarou nonchalantly declared, “It’s for the business. There’s no other way.” “That’s right. And anyway, that thing would still be an abomination no matter how we treated it. We allow it to live like a human, so we expect some gratitude for that. You’ve got no grounds to complain.” Ukiharu shrugged, without a hint of shame. Sakuya recoiled from their incomprehensible attitudes. It was easy enough to conclude that they had gone mad. However, Asana had told him that girls with mermaid’s blood had been born to the family for generations. In that case, perhaps those ideas were indelibly ingrained into them, and that was what passed for sanity within the Amamizu family. It would be futile to try to teach them otherwise. Sakuya gave up on the conversation. “That’s enough. I’m taking Asana with me.” “I told you we can’t let you do that!” Ukiharu tried to grab him. He brandished the lancet he was holding, but quicker than he could bring it down, Sakuya pulled the hairpin out of his hair and thrust its sharp-pointed tip at Ukiharu’s throat. “If you move any farther, I will stab you.” “H-hey now. Are you saying you’ll commit murder over something like her?” “Oh, don’t worry. With how thin this pin is, if I choose the right place to stab, you won’t die. There will be considerable pain, but…as long as you don’t die, I suppose there won’t be a problem.” The edges of Sakuya’s mouth curled upward. He could make them suffer without killing them. Just as they themselves had been doing to Asana. By no means would he allow them to refuse. Sakuya couldn’t tell whether his intention had made it through to him or not, but Ukiharu dropped his lancet and shut his mouth tight. Just then, Koutarou thrust his scalpel directly at Sakuya’s side, which had been left open. Without allowing Ukiharu to escape, Sakuya used his other hand to grab hold of Koutarou’s hand, the one with the scalpel. With a crushing grip, he forced Koutarou to drop the blade and then kicked it to the corner of the room. “…” Koutarou groaned, but Sakuya continued, delivering a merciless kick to his belly. Koutarou fell to his hands and knees, retching, and couldn’t move. “…How are you able to move like that?” Sakuya frowned. He didn’t understand what Ukiharu was saying. “We mixed sedatives and paralytics into your food. You shouldn’t even be able to open your eyes by now, much less move the way you do.” “Ah, now I see.” It was no wonder they had been so surprised when Sakuya had shown up at the annex. “Unfortunately for you, drugs ceased to have any effect on me eight years ago. Of course, that goes for poisons, too. As well as alcohol, tobacco, any kind of anesthesia… Anything really. They tell me I’m the reincarnation of my ancestor who supposedly lived for two hundred years a long, long time ago, so maybe that’s why.” “Huh? Nonsense!” “Just like her. Just as girls like Asana, who are descendants of the Yaobikuni, are born into your family, people like me have been born into the Shigure family. That’s all there is to it.” Sakuya answered bluntly over his shoulder as he turned away from Ukiharu and kneeled beside Asana, who was lying motionless on the floor. “Asana. Hold on tight.” As he had noticed earlier, when he gathered Asana into his arms, her body was strangely light. Light enough to make it seem as if all the liquid had been drained from her body. He sensed Ukiharu, who was free to move now, approaching. While he was holding Asana, Sakuya probably couldn’t beat him in a fight. Be that as it may, Ukiharu was a physically weak opponent. Sakuya was confident that even while carrying Asana, he could outrun him. Sakuya held her tightly and prepared for the moment when Ukiharu would come at him. But Ukiharu didn’t do anything. Because Koutarou, who had been doubled over on the floor groaning until then, stopped him. “That’s enough. Ukiharu, you can let him go.” “Are you sure, Father?” When Ukiharu questioned him, Koutarou stood up sluggishly and answered laboriously. “It doesn’t matter. After all, that monster can never survive in the outside world. If anything, you’re going to appreciate the fact that we kept her penned up in this house.” Asana stirred in Sakuya’s arms. “Profe…ssor…they’re right… I…,” she murmured. “It’s fine. I’m certain there’s a place where you can live happily.” With Asana in his arms, Sakuya walked toward the annex door. Ukiharu looked at him with cold eyes but didn’t say anything. Sakuya opened the wooden door and took one step out onto the walkway. There, he came to a stop. There was nothing the Amamizu family wanted more than money. They wouldn’t even balk at torturing their own daughter and sister if it made them wealthy. In which case— Still supporting Asana’s body, Sakuya took a single small piece of paper out of his pocket and tossed it unceremoniously onto the floor. “Here. A check. The thing you people wanted most.” “What?!” Koutarou leaped forward, pouncing on the slip of paper enthusiastically. It was almost comical how shameless he was about it, and the look in his eyes changed completely. Sakuya had considered that they might demand his bride-price before things proceeded and had prepared it in advance. “Of course, I don’t mind if you cash it, but if you do, you should prepare yourselves.” Ukiharu was the one who asked the question, almost timidly. “Prepare for what?” Sakuya managed a smile and answered, “If you use the money, that will be it—you people will never see Asana ever again. I will not allow it. Not even if Asana herself wants to see you. If you take that money, you have sold your family member to me.” He swore it firmly in his heart. Everything he had just said, from beginning to end, was said in earnest. It was possible that, out of affection for her family, Asana might not be able to cut ties with them completely. However, if Koutarou and Ukiharu decided they didn’t need Asana as long as they had the money, then there would be no way Sakuya could allow her to have anything more to do with them. With that, Sakuya took Asana with him and left the annex behind. “…You’ll regret this!” Ukiharu shouted after him, his voice full of hatred. “There’s no way that thing can live in the outside world. It’ll be impossible to ever get along peacefully with other people! It won’t take much time. You’ll both learn. The mermaid and you.” Sakuya didn’t turn around. He simply jumped off the walkway and ran, carrying Asana away through the pouring rain. Cold. Asana’s conscious mind had been drifting around somewhere in the void all night. She had been cut many times, and her warm blood had drained away, leaving everything indistinct, as if her frigid body and hazy mind were separated by some kind of thin film. Asana couldn’t tell if it was an especially dark night or if her vision was failing. That was always how it was on the days when she lost a large quantity of blood. Especially recently. She had said she would allow them to take more of her blood only if they would stop the marriage arrangements. Taking her at her word, her father and brother had apparently accepted more orders than usual. Because of that, they had been drawing much more blood. Due to her chronic anemia, Asana had hardly ever been healthy during the past eight years. “Where am I…?” When her mind and body finally reconnected, and her awareness became clear again, Asana discovered she was on someone’s back. It took her ten more seconds or so to grasp that she was being carried. “Professor?” Chilly raindrops, cold as ice, spattered against her face, hard enough to hurt. Sakuya was walking through the downpour, carrying Asana on his back. She felt she mustn’t burden Sakuya. She tried to tell him she could walk on her own, but her body was incredibly heavy, and she couldn’t move even one finger. Pathetic. How pathetic I am. She felt unbearable hatred for herself, for not being able to do anything, and began to cry. “Professor…I’m sorry.” “You don’t have to say anything.” “S-so-sorr-sorry.” Even in her hazy state of consciousness, she had been able to hear the exchange between Sakuya, Koutarou, and Ukiharu. She knew Sakuya had made an enemy of the Amamizu family for her sake. For Asana’s sake. Because she was so worthless, she had worsened Sakuya’s standing in the world. “About…the blood…” She knew that, with how clever he was, he must have realized. He must have figured out just what kind of racket the Amamizu family was running. Though she stumbled over the words, Asana felt like she was finally releasing the awful sludge she had been keeping buried, deep in her heart, for so long. “From the blood…they take the red…take it out. And they sell it as Mermaid’s Tears… They sell it…to people who don’t know any better…” “……” “And behind the scenes, they’re selling…poison. Because my blood…is poison. They sell it illicitly, for a high price…and make lots of money.” The blood of a mermaid was a potent poison. Just one drop was enough to bring certain death. On the other hand, when the iron that made it red was removed from the blood, it became a cure-all, in other words, the Mermaid’s Tears. Because it had to be refined, even if they drew a lot of blood, they could only make a small quantity of medication. That was why they sold it wholesale to drugstores for a high price. However, the Mermaid’s Tears were, in the end, merely their most successful product available to the public. And to even sell it at all, they had to break several laws and convince certain government officials and other important people to overlook what they were doing. The true masterpiece of the Amamizu family was the Mermaid’s Blood. The all-purpose elixir and the all-purpose poison were two sides of the same coin. Asana’s former prospective fiancé, Viscount Katsui, was one of the central people involved in the illegal trade of Mermaid’s Blood, as well as all sorts of other illegal wares. “I’m sorry…for dragging you into this.” Her tears wouldn’t stop. She felt like her memories of her time with the kind, considerate, pure Sakuya were going to be dyed pitch-black. Her chest felt ready to burst with pain, distress, and regret. “I’m sorry, Professor. I’m sorry.” She wished her apology could make things go back to normal, but that wasn’t possible. She couldn’t turn back the clock, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t change the fact that Sakuya was now involved with the Amamizu family. The rain was incessant, almost like they were standing under a waterfall. Asana’s kimono was soaking wet with rainwater, and droplets streamed from her hair. Their two bodies were already as cold as ice. Only in the places where they were touching each other was some faint warmth preserved. Soaked to the skin, Sakuya kept on walking through the pitch-black darkness and the pouring rain, carrying Asana on his back. When Sakuya stumbled into his mother’s home late at night, dripping wet, wearing a single layer of nightclothes, and carrying a woman on his back, his mother, Uiko, came out to meet him, her eyes wide with shock. Uiko didn’t ask a single question. Nevertheless, even though it was the middle of the night, she drew a bath and prepared Western-style towels and clothes for Asana and Sakuya. “Professor, I’m sorry.” “That’s enough. No more apologies.” “…Thank…you.” The Western-style room, with a long, high-pile carpet runner patterned with vines and grass spread across the wooden floor, was absolutely silent. There was no one else around other than Asana and Sakuya, who were sitting on the sofa, and no noise. Uiko had made them some warm tea and gone back to her bedroom. Asana felt terrible for accepting such thorough hospitality after waking her up in the middle of the night. “Right. That’s better.” Sakuya smiled awkwardly, then said, “Sorry,” and reached out for Asana. “P-Professor…!” Sakuya wrapped his arms around her, and she huddled close against his chest. After bathing, their bodies were more or less back to normal temperature. Their hair was still wet. Asana could tell Sakuya’s heart was beating loudly, thump, thump. She knew it was her fault that his heart was beating so quickly, when Sakuya was usually easygoing and calm. “Professor. I’m terribly sorry… Please, let me say it.” “I thought you were dead.” With so many injuries and so much blood removed, a normal person would have died. She thought about how much anxiety it must have caused Sakuya to see a scene like that. “I’m—I’m all right. Thanks to you, Professor. Thank you.” “Yeah.” “Because you saved me.” “…Sure.” Her feelings of guilt only grew as Sakuya gave one-word responses like a child. Professor. I— She couldn’t burden him forever. If they continued with their engagement and later became a married couple, she would keep imposing on Sakuya until the day he died. And yet, and yet… Asana hesitantly put her arms around Sakuya’s back. “Professor, thank you.” Again and again, Sakuya had saved Asana. For the very first time, she realized that when she was in his arms, she felt more secure than anywhere else. When Asana opened the front door, the sky outside was slightly cloudy, and the wind was still blowing, shaking the trees and rattling the window panes on the house. Asana paused and looked hesitantly behind her. “Um, are you sure this is all right…?” Uiko, who had gone to the trouble of coming to see her off, was wearing a soft, gentle smile on her face, which was slender and beautiful like Sakuya’s. “It’s fine. And I’m sure my boy would be upset if you missed school.” After everything that had happened, Sakuya had caught a terrible cold and was laid up in bed. It was no wonder, given he had desperately carried Asana all the way there while being pelted with rain. Moreover, medicine didn’t work on him. Asana was incredibly worried. She felt even more guilty since she was still healthy and energetic. “Would he really?” “Yes, he would. So you go to your classes at school like a good girl and then come back here, okay, Asana?” “…Yes.” This pricked Asana’s conscience, but in this situation, both Sakuya and his mother probably wished she would do as they said and go to school. Happily, she was able to borrow a kimono from Uiko. She didn’t have her school uniform hakama, but Sakuya’s mother lent her a pair in a similar color, which seemed like they would do for the moment. Somehow, they were able to come up with writing implements and notebooks but no textbooks, so Asana would have to get the students sitting next to her to let her look at theirs. Asana could never fully thank Uiko, who had exhausted herself helping in so many ways. “Thank you so much for everything.” Asana offered polite words of gratitude. When she did, Uiko clapped her hands and said, “Oh, that’s right! Here.” She handed Asana a lunch box, wrapped up in a cloth with a cute goldfish pattern on it. In spite of herself, Asana’s eyes went wide, and she stammered, “Oh—oh, no, I couldn’t. After how incredibly well you’ve treated me, and now lunch, too?” “But you must eat a proper lunch. Otherwise, you won’t be able to concentrate on your studies.” Uiko answered her with words of reason, and Asana’s cheeks grew hot. Honestly, she hadn’t even considered lunch. Now that she thought about it more, she realized it was necessary, but she was still very embarrassed. “Well, th-thank you…for the food.” Uiko saw her off with a friendly smile as she waved goodbye, and Asana left the Tsuno house with a small wave back. She walked down the unfamiliar road to the bus stop. She looked around, wondering if perhaps the usual car from the Amamizu house had come to pick her up, but she didn’t see any sign of it. Of course, she was sure the chaperones employed by her family were still watching her, but Asana didn’t expect to be able to spot them. She didn’t think for a second that Koutarou and Ukiharu had completely given up on her, just like that. Even if they were temporarily turning a blind eye for the moment, she was sure that someday they would take her back. This is no good. I’m so nervous. Even if she went to school, she knew she wouldn’t feel like putting any effort into her studies. Asana boarded the bus at the stop and took an unfamiliar route to school. Thinking back on it, she had never commuted to school, start to finish, without an escort before. It was a novel experience to go to school on her own two feet, by her own volition. The feeling reminded her of starting primary school—a little uneasy but happy. “Big Sister?” As she was walking down the road that led up to the Academy, a voice called out to her from behind. “Ah, Tomono…” The girl who trotted up to her was her junior, Tomono. Her expression was charming, as usual, but today, there was a shade of surprise on her face for some reason. “Big Sister, what happened to you? I thought I just saw you walking here from the bus stop…” “Yes. I had a bit of a situation today.” “A situation? So is that why your hakama are different, too?” Tomono had always had a sharp eye. Asana tried to somehow avoid her questions. “Oh, are they? Is there something wrong with them?” “No, nothing’s wrong, but…” Tomono trailed off and tilted her head a little. “I’m sorry if this is too forward, but wouldn’t it be better for you to have your escort from home? You’re so pretty, and you belong to the Amamizu family, after all. It’s not worth the risk of getting kidnapped by some suspicious character. It’s dangerous.” “…Ah, right. Thank you for your concern. But I’m all right.” Really? Asana wasn’t so sure. Tomono’s praise for Asana was always exaggerated, and she didn’t think that such a thing was likely to happen, but she still wondered if Tomono might be right. Asana’s mermaid blood wasn’t a complete secret. Their numbers were very few, but a handful of people, like Viscount Katsui, who did business in the shadows, knew about her. If someone who knew about the mermaid’s blood wanted to get their hands on her… I wouldn’t be surprised if one day, the Amamizu family was replaced by some other group of people who want to imprison and torture me. And there was a possibility she would receive even crueler treatment than she had at the Amamizu house. “Big Sister?” Asana was dazed, deeply lost in thought, when Tomono’s voice brought her back to herself. To not cause any further worry for the younger student, who was the one and only person, other than Sakuya, who cared about her, Asana smiled and shook her head. “I’m sorry, I was just thinking about something for a minute. That’s all.” “As long as that’s all…” Now that she had left home, she could see it. How much of a caged bird she had always been—how she had been protected and spoiled. Of course, the outrageous ways her father and brother had abused Asana had been very painful and difficult for her, and she didn’t approve of their behavior. But even so, they had given her so much. Once Asana was on her own, she would have nothing left except her body. That was the only thing clear to her. Even though she attended her classes, not one bit of information from her lessons made it through to her. She kept the corner of her eye on the teacher standing behind the lectern as she gazed at the gray sky outside the classroom windows. The writing on the blackboard and the instruction from the teacher just passed right through her head. She thought of her family. Sakuya’s condition. And what came next. She didn’t want to go back to the Amamizu house. But she couldn’t impose on Sakuya and Uiko forever. And marriage was out of the question. She wondered if there was anywhere at all for her to go. It was difficult for a woman to live alone. Of course, if Asana could live without bothering anyone else, she would resign herself to her lot in life and accept any hardships that came with it. However, despite her feelings, Asana knew it was not realistic for her to expect to be able to run away from the Amamizu house and make a living all on her own. Moreover, Asana’s body was always full of poison. In a sense, it was like a bomb. She could cause trouble for other people just by living and bleeding around them. I’ll at least stay until the professor is well again. Then once Sakuya recovered— Asana didn’t understand any of her lessons in the least. She just watched the hours pass until lunch. As soon as class ended, Asana’s classmates approached her. She didn’t go to the Mermaid’s Garden. Instead, she ended up eating lunch with friends, in a circle of desks. “They said Professor Shigure is out today, huh?” Once they had all gathered up with their lunch boxes, one of the girls broached the subject. The ones who already knew nodded, and those who hadn’t known shouted in surprise. “I thought I hadn’t seen him around…” “So that’s what’s going on. I wonder what happened?” “I heard he isn’t feeling well. I hope it’s not too serious, though.” As she listened to her friends’ conversation, Asana opened the lunch box Uiko had given her. The contents were largely the same as the lunch Sakuya had brought the other day. Triangular rice balls that were a little more misshapen and irregular than the ones the servants at the Amamizu house made. They had pickles stuck right into the corners. However, she could tell immediately that Uiko had done her very best to make them for her. “Oh, Asana. That’s different from your usual lunch, huh?” Asana felt a little awkward when Kyouko, who was sitting next to her, pointed that out, and she forced herself to smile. “Yes, a bit… A different person made it today.” “Ah, is that what happened?” Each one of the other girls was holding a beautifully packed lunch box. The contents were all different, but compared to the others, Uiko’s lunch didn’t make a very good showing. And yet, for some reason, Asana felt totally unworthy of enjoying it. “Let’s eat.” After pressing her hands together, she removed only the glove on her right hand, picked up a rice ball, and bit into it. “—But the flavor’s not bad.” She recalled Sakuya’s words. Seriously, the seasoning is just right. These are delicious. Moreover, Uiko had pressed them just hard enough because the rice softly came apart in her mouth. It was probably the first time she had ever eaten such delicious rice balls. The simple lunch seemed much tastier than her usual, more elaborate fare. “Kyouko, have you heard anything about Professor Shigure’s condition?” Her friends had already moved on. They didn’t notice how captivated Asana was by her food. When one of them asked about their teacher, Kyouko nodded. “Yes,” she said. “Apparently, he caught a cold. Though it doesn’t sound like it’s too bad.” “Oh my…a cold?” “As long as it’s not too bad, then that’s fortunate. But it is worrying.” That reminded Asana that she had heard Uiko describing Sakuya’s condition on the phone that morning. Uiko said she had been talking to someone from the Shigure household, but maybe that hadn’t been the truth. “In that case, Kyouko, are you going to pay a visit to Professor Shigure’s home?” “I wonder if I should? I would hate to trouble him when he’s ill…” In response to this unpleasant turn in the conversation, Asana unconsciously stopped moving her chopsticks. She wondered if Kyouko knew Sakuya was not at the Shigure main house, but at the Tsuno house. If she did know, and if she ended up going to Sakuya’s house, then they might run into each other there. Even if they managed to avoid doing that, Uiko might let on that Asana was there. However, if Asana interjected at this point, she would be trampling Kyouko’s feelings for her own convenience. “I’m sure Professor Shigure would be happy to receive a visit from you, Kyouko.” One of their friends encouraged her, and Asana nervously watched to see what would happen. “I’d be glad if he was, but…Asana, what do you think?” “Uh, umm…” It’s hard to know when you ask so suddenly. But she couldn’t answer like that, so she racked her brain, desperate to somehow steer the conversation in a different direction. “I think it might not be good to suddenly visit his house after all. Maybe it would be better to send a sympathy card, to wish him well without imposing on him.” “You’re right, of course. If that’s what Asana says, that’s what I’ll do.” Kyouko nodded and smiled, seeming to accept that answer. As soon as the bell rang, Asana immediately left for home. She didn’t consider for a second going to the Mermaid’s Garden. She went straight for the entrance and swiftly left the school building. Quickly— I’ve got to get back quickly. Her stride naturally lengthened, and her pace picked up. She had anxiously awaited the end of the school day like never before. Usually, school was much more comfortable than home. It was a place where she was not ignored and could amuse herself by chatting with her friends. However, Asana had spent the day worrying about all sorts of things, her classes an afterthought. Fortunately, the escort from the Amamizu house didn’t seem to be there. But she couldn’t afford to take her time. She wanted to get back to the Tsuno house quickly and see how Sakuya was doing. She waited impatiently for the transit bus to arrive at the stop, but even once she had boarded, her heart was restless, and she spent the whole trip wondering if the bus couldn’t go any faster. “I’m back.” “Oh, Asana. Welcome home.” Feeling somewhat nervous, Asana gingerly opened the front door, and Uiko poked her head out from the living room to greet her. “Welcome home.” The words sank deeply into her chest. She felt deeply relieved by those words, which had once been so commonplace. It made her realize she had been starved for such trivial greetings. “I’m—I’m back, Uiko.” Though she worried it might be too much, she said it again. When she did, Uiko nodded with a smile. “Welcome home. You must be thirsty. I’ll make some tea, so rest a little.” Then she continued. “And please call me ‘Mom’, okay?” “O-okay! And, um, how is the professor doing…?” “Oh, Sakuya? I went and looked in on him just a little while ago, and it seems like he still has a fever. Though I hope it will come down tomorrow.” It was Asana’s fault that Sakuya was ill. Asana ought to be the one to nurse him. She made up her mind to do so. Kyouko, I’m sorry. Internally, she was filled with guilt for what she had done to keep Kyouko away from the house. Asana felt like she had stolen a head start from her friend. But even so, Asana felt she ought to be the one to take care of Sakuya. He had nothing to do with whatever was going on between Asana and Kyouko. Because, at the moment, he was ill. “Um…” “Yes?” However, there was one big problem with her plan. Asana bowed her head and asked Uiko, “C-could I ask you to teach me how to take care of a sick person?” Asana had caught her last cold when she was very young, and her memories of it were already distant. She had completely forgotten how one usually tended to a sick person. “How to take care of him?” “I have almost no experience dealing with illness, you see…” “Oh, really? Asana, you must be very healthy. Of course, I’m happy to show you.” Asana had expected her to be extremely surprised to hear that. She raised her head at Uiko’s unexpected response. “Y-you don’t think it’s strange?” “Why, isn’t it better not to get sick?” She was right about that, but Uiko answered her so nonchalantly that Asana couldn’t say anything more. It would have been odd for her to keep insisting that she was strange. “I suppose you’re right. Thank you. Please teach me.” She was glad for Uiko’s thoughtfulness, and for her kindness, which came without too many questions. Asana asked her if they could have tea later and requested instruction on some of the basics of nursing. Then she headed for Sakuya’s room, which was deeper inside the house. When she knocked on the door, she got a groan in response. It was not quite an answer, so Asana slowly and quietly entered the room. Sakuya’s room was not that large, only five tatami mats in size. The inside of the room smelled faintly of tobacco. There was a futon and a small desk, and the room was otherwise filled to the brim with countless books. There were books of all sorts, from educational periodicals for children to picture books, dictionaries, as well as more scholarly volumes and collections of research papers. There were even novels for pleasure reading. She was surprised, and impressed, that Sakuya had read all of those many books. “Professor, pardon me.” The futon spread out in the corner of the room bulged with the shape of a person. Asana carefully proceeded from the door through the gaps between the piled-up towers of books and finally arrived beside the futon. “Professor, how are you feeling?” When Asana spoke to him, Sakuya sluggishly sat up. His pajamas were in disarray, and his black hair, which was long enough to reach halfway down his back, spilled over his shoulders. His languid appearance was even more bewitching than usual, and Asana suddenly felt flustered. “…Not all that well, really.” “D-don’t push yourself. Please lie down.” She set a fresh pitcher of water and a cup she had brought with her down on an open spot. The bucket of water for wetting his towel had also gone completely warm, so she noted she would need to change that later. “Same to you. You shouldn’t be worrying yourself over me. You can make yourself at home here.” “I most certainly cannot. After all, this is my fault.” All of this was because Asana had been so naive. And because she hadn’t been able to get Sakuya away from the Amamizu family. “This isn’t something you should feel responsible for. This happened because I stuck my nose where it didn’t belong.” “…No. It’s because I was careless.” With a sigh, Sakuya brushed his long hair back. He looked irritated. Asana worried she might have angered him, but Sakuya let out a wry chuckle. “You’re so stubborn. It’s a good thing, though. I’m sure that’s why you were able to survive everything you’ve gone through, because you have that strength in you.” She wondered how Sakuya could possibly understand. How he knew Asana had resisted with all her might. That even when she had resigned herself to obey Koutarou and Ukiharu, that even when she had grieved for her future, she had tried to keep her deepest heart untouched. That behind her forced smiles, there was courage. No, it’s still the professor’s words that are at my core. She felt like everything she kept hidden inside herself was there thanks to Sakuya. That was how large his presence loomed in her mind and how much he had given her. When Asana sank into silence, Sakuya must have taken it as a sign that he’d hurt her feelings because he seemed flustered as he asked her, “Sorry, I’m talking like I know everything. Did I upset you?” Asana couldn’t help but laugh. “No. Thank you, Professor. You always see the real me.” “Huh?” “Never mind. Don’t worry about it.” If they continued down that path, Asana feared she might get carried away talking to Sakuya and say more and more things she shouldn’t. She made a show of going to change the water in the bucket and fled the room. Her heart was still beating so hard, it was almost painful. Even though Sakuya needed to rest and recuperate, the time she spent with him was pleasant, and it made her want to stay for a long time. How strange… This isn’t the Mermaid’s Garden, and yet… Asana had assumed that the only reason she had enjoyed the time she’d spent during lunch and after school with Sakuya, who had given her her most precious memory, was that they had been sitting in her beloved Mermaid’s Garden. If I was wrong about that— Standing in front of his room, Asana shook her head vigorously. She couldn’t think like that. She was sure those feelings wouldn’t lead to anyone’s happiness. Late that night, Sakuya suddenly opened his eyes. There was an uncomfortable weight on top of his futon. Slowly, he looked around. There he saw Asana, sleeping face down, still gripping the dried-out towel in her hand. She was sleeping peacefully, letting out soft little sighs, and Sakuya reasoned that she must have fallen asleep while she was tending to him. She didn’t look well. She had lost an enormous amount of blood at the Amamizu house. Even Asana couldn’t possibly be back to full health yet. Sakuya sat up carefully, trying not to wake his fiancée, who was sleeping with a cherubic expression. The characteristic dizziness and mental fog that came on with a fever had mostly cleared up. Apparently, his fever had come down considerably. …Somehow, I’m almost sorry it’s gone. Asana had shown incredible concern and constantly devoted herself to him. She had been subjected to that awful treatment for eight whole years, yet it hadn’t broken her. It was enough to make him wonder how she could be so strong. She didn’t seem very confident, but she certainly wasn’t weak. However, that also made him worry that one day, she might suddenly snap at an unexpected moment. Sakuya quietly reached out and brushed aside Asana’s bangs, which had fallen over her eyes. He was well aware that the feelings he had for the girl could not, by any means, be called love. The only people Sakuya truly cared about were his grandfather and mother, his best friend Shinsuke, and a few friends he’d made abroad. Other people were no different than pebbles by the roadside. Even after everything that had happened, if, for example, Asana and his mother were drowning in a river, he would save his mother first, without hesitation. However, Sakuya had a hunch he would regret that choice after the fact. He felt like he would fret over abandoning Asana for the rest of his life. And maybe something different was growing there. “You don’t need to feel responsible for something I did of my own volition.” Sakuya had carried Asana out of the Amamizu house for his own personal reasons. And catching a cold was a consequence of his choice. To put it bluntly, he was pleased with himself. He hadn’t been able to bear seeing Asana suffer, so if he had abandoned her, he would have been plagued by a guilty conscience. That was his only motive, and it was a selfish one. He knew he treasured the time they shared in the Mermaid’s Garden, but then again, if not for that, he might have forgotten about her before too long and gone on living his normal life. Sakuya was not as mature as Asana thought. “You sure are a strange one. There’s no question that you’ve been keeping me at a distance, but then why am I so taken with you? Why do you put so much trust in me?” Every time he looked at Asana, a feeling akin to nostalgia welled up inside of him. At the same time, he also felt something like joy. To make matters worse, there was the affection in her eyes she couldn’t completely hide. It’s my destiny to be married to the girl with mermaid’s blood, huh…? He had always thought it was just an unsubstantial, stale old legend that only his grandfather believed, but maybe that wasn’t the case. Peeking out of the disarrayed collar of Sakuya’s pajamas was the detestable flower birthmark that had thrown his life into chaos. In the past, Shinsuke had called it creepy, but Asana had said it was beautiful. Asana had a mark just like Sakuya did, and she had an unusual constitution just like him. It was possible that the two of them, who had so much in common, were attracted to each other by the power of fate. It was almost like a curse. “But I won’t break the engagement.” Asana was worried about what the Amamizu family might do, but there were many ways of dealing with them. Because of his grandfather’s wishes, he couldn’t just let the Amamizu family be, even if he risked igniting further conflict. While he was at it, he would save Asana, too. “This way, it won’t all be a lie.” Sakuya stroked Asana’s long hair gently, like he was handling something fragile. The following morning, Sakuya’s fever had completely come down, and he dressed himself for work. Asana, who had accidentally fallen asleep on Sakuya’s futon the night before, came out of her room a little bit later. Sakuya had pretended to be asleep when she got up, and she probably didn’t know he had awakened during the night. “Well, shall we?” “Yes. Um, but I wonder if it might start rumors at school if we are seen commuting together?” Asana hesitantly offered this comment, and Sakuya smiled at her. “If you’re worried about it, just walk a little ways behind me,” he replied. “Besides, you know, if we’re ever discovered, we’ll deal with that when it happens.” Asana was afraid it would cause trouble if rumors began circulating at his workplace, but they also weren’t necessarily doing anything unacceptable. If anything, the rumors might cut off his path of retreat and steel his nerve to marry Asana. They had a warped relationship. Asana wanted to get away from Sakuya, while Sakuya only wanted to marry her to fulfill his grandfather’s wishes. “Oh, but, Professor. Will that really be all right? Won’t it make it difficult to do your job?” “It’ll be fine, just fine,” he answered half-heartedly. Then he picked up his bag and walked down the road toward the bus stop. He tried to match his pace with Asana’s, as she followed behind him. After all, he hadn’t noticed. He hadn’t noticed the young woman watching him from around the corner. “…Why is Asana coming out of Sakuya’s house?”
Chapter 5
61 min read