“Yippee! That’s so kind of you!”
“Yippee? Well then, let’s drop by the office first. This way.”
With her heart beating like a drum at the sight of Sayoko’s radiant smile, she took Sayoko’s hand and led her into the office building. The lawyer appointed as Mia’s legal guardian received her immediately, and, after exchanging pleasantries, he checked her bank statements, and handed her several months’ worth of allowance and grocery money. After their usual exchange was over, Mia left the building with the woman in tow.
“…Mia, what kind of business did you have at the lawyer’s office? …Ah, was that question too personal?”
“No,” Mia shook her head to Sayoko’s timid question. “You see, my parents are gone. I’m scraping by with the money that my father has left me. The lawyer I met at the office is my legal guardian. I have to meet with him regularly.”
At Mia’s explanation, a contrite expression overtook Sayoko’s face. “I-I am so sorry! I see… Your parents… You really are incredible, Mia. Despite being burdened with such a sad past, you’re staying so positive. You have such a strong spirit!”
“Yes, because I’m one of ‘the strong’! I cannot allow myself to feel lonely. I feel heartbroken about the fact that they are not with me anymore, but there is something I have promised Father I would see through to completion. I have inherited his will, and in order to honor it, I must push forward. I cannot afford to be negative!” Mia proclaimed passionately, balling her hand into a fist.
“You’re incredible,” Sayoko whispered, seemingly impressed, and lowered her gaze.
After a while, the bus heading to the police station arrived, and the pair hopped on. Inside the moving vehicle, Mia asked Sayoko to tell her more about herself. It turned out that she had come all the way from Kyoto.
“Do you come from a high-class family?” Mia asked eagerly.
To which the woman, biting her lip, answered, “We can hardly be called the elite, but my father is a business owner.”
According to her, her purpose in coming here was not sightseeing, but meeting someone. Also, she didn’t have much time because this was supposed to be a day trip.
“Wow, coming all the way here and having to be back within the day must be hard. You should at least take some time to see Tokyo Tower.”
“I was able to see it the last time I was here. I really wanted to climb Tokyo Skytree though,” Sayoko said wistfully.
Eventually, the bus reached the police station, and the two disembarked after paying for the ride. However, Sayoko just kept on looking towards the police station, seemingly unable to take even one small step in its direction, an air of indecision hanging above her.
“Are you not going?”
“…N-No. Of course, I must go. I must go, and, set things straight,” Sayoko said, but her feet were still rooted to the spot where she stood. The expression on her face was completely unlike the one she wore while she was chatting with Mia. Now it radiated pain. Sayoko suddenly gripped Mia’s hand. As she looked up at her, startled, Sayoko stared her in the eyes imploringly. “C-Can you come with me, Mia, please?”
“Eh?! Um, well, I… I would really rather not—”
“I’m begging you. Walk me up to the doors at least…”
“Don’t make those puppy-dog eyes at me!”
Mia was conflicted. But could she just shake the woman’s hand off like it was nothing? No.
“Up to the doors, okay?” Mia let out a small resigned sigh in answer.
“Thank you,” Sayoko breathed out in relief.
The two entered the station. Mia stepped foot inside, praying she wouldn’t run into the Crow Rangers. The station lobby was abuzz with people’s voices. As Sayoko stepped up to the front desk, she asked a female officer manning it in a trembling voice, “Um, is Mr. Saeki in? I’m aware that he must be busy with work, but there is something I absolutely have to talk to him about.”
“Excuse me, but what is your relation to Mr. Saeki?”
“My name is Sayoko Tougou, and Mr. Saeki is, um, well…he’s my fiancé.”
The bemused female officer gave the woman a long, hard stare, then told her to wait, and dialed a number on the internal line. Within the minute, a man came running down the stairs. Mia flinched at the sight of him.
“Re-Red!”
“Sayoko, why—Wait, what are you doing here?!”
Both Mia and Misaki yelled simultaneously, pointing fingers at each other. Sayoko gave the both of them an astounded stare.
“Mia, Misaki… Do you know each other?”
“Well, we sort of do, I guess… Work-related, you could say,” Misaki said, scratching his head in frustration, clearly at a loss about how to explain this, and fixed Mia with a glare.
Her eyes bore right back into him, saying without words that she’d gladly give him a fight if he wanted one.
“…You didn’t do anything to Sayoko, now, did you?”
“Hmph, not only did I not lay one finger on her, I actually saved her. From dirty hands seeking to defile her, no less! Now, I should expect you would want to express your gratitude to me. Kneel at my feet and say, ‘Please accept my heartfelt thanks, o mighty Supreme Ruler of Evil!’”
“Dream on! And today’s a regular weekday! Why aren’t you at school? If you’re cutting class, you’re in a world of trouble, missy!”
“I had something I needed to do today, so I skipped school! Stop acting like my big brother!”
Sayoko stood there helplessly with her brows knit together, unable to follow their noisy bickering. Misaki, catching on to her change in mood, hastily turned to face her.
“S-Sorry. Anyway, pay this little runt no mind. But, what happened? You didn’t even let me know you were coming. …You came all the way from Kyoto just to see me, right?”
“Y-Yes. Th-There is something I have to talk to you about. …I have to hurry because I don’t have much time. So, can you give me just a little bit of yours?”
Misaki nodded and started walking towards an interview room with Sayoko. However, Sayoko wouldn’t let go of Mia’s hand, so she ended up being dragged there as well.
“Eh?! Am I going there, too?!”
At the doors to the room, Misaki cast a sharp look down at Mia. “How long are you planning on following us?”
“Don’t tell me that! Look at this!”
Mia raised her hand for Misaki to see, it was still joined with Sayoko’s. He stared at it, dumbfounded. “Sayoko, why are you so attached to her?”
“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s just that her presence is reassuring to me, somehow… There’s something very reliable about her, if that makes any sense…”
“I’m here right now, so you don’t need her anymore, right? Didn’t you want to talk to me about something? Let’s talk, just the two of us,” Misaki said sulkily, probably irritated that his lover trusted someone else besides him so much, and opened the door to the room.
After some inner struggle, Sayoko softly let go of Mia’s hand. “Mia, I’m so sorry. Thank you very much for coming with me this far. That was really nice of you.”
“Not at all. I don’t really mind, but…will you be all right?”
“Yes. I have to stand my own ground. Bye-bye and thanks.” Sayoko entered the waiting room, the door clicking shut behind her. Mia stood in front of the door alone, her arms folded over her chest.
I-I’m so curious!
The gloom that hung around the creases of Sayoko’s features told Mia that whatever the woman had to tell Misaki, it wasn’t good. She knew that eavesdropping on people’s private conversations was terribly improper, and yet she couldn’t help but wonder what was going on behind the closed door. After a debate of exactly one minute with herself, Mia carefully pulled the door open a crack. Her curiosity had won out.
Misaki and Sayoko were sitting on a sofa in the office, facing each other. Apparently the beginning of the conversation that she had missed consisted of an exchange of greetings and some small talk.
“So,” Misaki gathered the wits to address the elephant in the room, “What’s up? You didn’t call or text me in advance and you came when I’m on duty… Is something wrong?”
“…Yah. Our time has run out. I’ve agonized over this for weeks, but… I can’t betray my daddy. From the bottom of my heart, I am truly very sorry.”
Misaki’s expression stiffened almost imperceptibly. Sayoko had slipped into Kansai dialect.
“What do you mean?”
“I came here to say goodbye. I love you, I really do! But…we’re not to be. Don’cha know how my father has never approved of us dating? Well, now he says he wants to marry me off.”
“Marry you off?” Misaki’s eyes bulged.
“It’s the president of another company. He buys from our company a lot; he’s a regular customer who spends quite a bit… But recently, he has started asking other companies for estimates. My father wants to ask him to order only from us in the future, so he came up with the idea to arrange our marriage.”
“But, it’s a marriage of convenience then, isn’t it? And you’re thinking of agreeing?!” Misaki said hotly, snapping his mouth shut quickly afterwards, realizing how his words came out as if he was blaming Sayoko for her decision.
Sayoko stared at her knees, a single tear gliding down her cheek. She clenched her fists and then released them, the tension going out of her body.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t go against my daddy’s wishes. When he told me that the company might go bankrupt if I don’t… I couldn’t say ‘no’…” She whispered the words of apology, over and over again, refusing to raise her head, muted sniffles the only other sound coming from her.
Mia gulped audibly at the unexpectedly dismal scene playing out before her, her eyes glued to the people inside the room. Suddenly, she felt a strange tightness in her chest. She dropped her eyes to check what was causing it, and noticed long arms that had snaked around her middle at some point in time.