“…That’s how it started, and I never went home again.”
Tears formed in Sayu’s eyes as she spoke.
Asami and I listened, our gazes on the floor.
“At first, I thought he might be letting me stay out of the goodness of his heart, but that wasn’t true. A few days later, he straight up asked me for sex… I would have done anything to avoid going home, so I agreed,” she said with a wry grin. She looked fed up with herself.
“I’m so stupid. I don’t even remember the name of the first man I slept with.”
“Sayu…”
Asami gripped Sayu’s hand tightly. Her voice was shaking.
“After that, it’s just like I told Mr. Yoshida. I’d already done it once, so I figured it didn’t matter how many more times I did it. If I offered men my body, I’d get a place to stay. So that’s what I did, moving from one spot to the next. I kept running endlessly…until I met Mr. Yoshida.”
Sayu looked over at me just as a tear ran down her cheek.
The sight got me all choked up again.
“That’s everything I wanted to tell you about my past—my journey from the time I left Hokkaido until I met Mr. Yoshida… The whole story.”
Sayu looked slightly more relaxed now that she’d gotten everything off her chest.
That was the one saving grace in this situation.
“…I see,” I said, letting out a slow breath and nodding. “…Thanks for telling us.”
Sayu nodded a few times as well.
“Thanks for listening.”
“Sayu,” Asami piped up. We both turned toward her. She looked Sayu right in the eye and said, “You’ve fought so hard all this time.”
I could see Sayu’s eyes begin to tremble with emotion at Asami’s words. Soon, tears were welling up at their corners.
“Yeah,” Sayu said with a nod.
“I’m mad impressed.”
Asami nodded, too, and pulled Sayu’s head into her chest with her right arm, using her left to pat the other girl’s back.
With her face buried in Asami’s chest, Sayu nodded again.
“…Yeah. I fought really hard,” she said.
Sayu wrapped her arms around Asami’s shoulders and began to sniffle. Before I knew it, she was weeping out loud.
I could feel my own eyes watering, but I managed to stifle my tears.
Sayu continued sobbing for a few minutes before falling asleep in Asami’s embrace.
“…Telling a story like that would tire anyone out,” Asami said as she lifted Sayu off her chest and laid her down on the carpet.
“She’d probably be comfier in bed, but if I lift her up, I’ll wake her.”
“Yeah… Let’s leave her there for now.”
I gently draped Sayu’s usual blanket over her as she slept, then went back to my seat on the carpet.
I let out a long, slow breath.
My thoughts were all over the place. The story of Sayu’s past and the look on her face as she told it swirled around in my head, disappearing, then coming back again with a vengeance.
“…I need a smoke. Do you mind?” I asked Asami.
She looked perplexed for a moment, but it wasn’t long before the corners of her mouth turned up in a grin.
“You do you, bro. I’ll come with, actually.”
“Don’t… You’ll wind up smelling like cigarette smoke.”
“I don’t mind. It’ll only be for a minute,” she stated, unperturbed.
The two of us stepped out onto the veranda together.
I took out a cigarette and lit it with my Zippo lighter. I breathed in the smoke, then exhaled.
Going through this ritual made me feel strangely calmer.
“Feeling a little more relaxed?”
Asami cast me a sidelong glance from where she stood on the veranda.
“You’re one to talk,” I said back, earning a wry smile.
“Yeah, I’m pretty shook.” She leaned against the railing and looked down at the ground below. “I always thought something bad happened to her. But to be honest, I never imagined it would be that heavy.”
“…Yeah, same here.”
I took another drag of my cigarette, letting out a puff of smoke before continuing.
“She only had one friend, and that friend passed away. And then her mother, who should’ve been the one closest to her, didn’t even have her back… That’d be hard for an adult, let alone a kid.”
“And she was only in her second year of high school…” Asami sighed. “…It was really brave of her to run away. No matter what it took.”
She gave me a sudden pat on the back.
“She deserved to meet somebody like you after fighting so hard, Yoshi.”
“What do you mean, somebody like me?” I asked, scowling.
Asami flashed me a self-satisfied smile and jabbed me meaningfully in my side with her elbow.
“Somebody who’d let a high school girl stay with them and not take advantage.”
“You’re so annoying. Knock it off…”
“I’m just hyping you up.” Asami snorted, before her expression suddenly went serious again. “So what are you going to do?”
“About what?” I replied. Asami looked taken aback.
“About Sasa, of course! Are you gonna give in and let her leave?”
“Her brother came to pick her up, so I don’t have any choice. It’s not my place to argue—none of this has anything to do with me.”
In truth, after hearing Sayu’s story, I’d started to seriously doubt that sending her home was the right choice.
That said, at the end of the day, it was none of my business. Now that Sayu’s older brother—who was basically her guardian—had shown up, I didn’t think there was anything more I could do.
“It has nothing to do with you, huh?” Asami was frowning. I tapped my cigarette on the ashtray and looked over at her.
“What?”
“Nooothing.”
Asami smiled wryly and shot me another sidelong glance. Our eyes met.
“I just find it weird that you’re still saying that, considering how involved you are.”
“Well…I don’t disagree with you, but…in the end, this is a family matter.”
“I mean, sure. That’d be all well and good if her family actually stuck up for her.”
I knew exactly what Asami was trying to say.
She was hoping I’d continue to support Sayu in some way.
But from an adult standpoint, it felt more than a little presumptuous to intrude any further into Sayu’s life. Whatever the case may be, she needed to go back home eventually.
Now that time had come, and I had to deal with it whether I liked it or not. That was all there was to it, right?