The next day was Saturday.
Sayu usually got up much earlier than I did, but that day, she slept in. She was probably tired after staying out so late with Mishima the night before.
Even when she stayed in bed, the sound of me getting up was usually enough to wake her—a common occurrence on weekends. This time, however, the creaking of my bed had no effect, and Sayu carried on sleeping soundly in her futon, her breathing even.
Her expression was peaceful, so I didn’t think she was having a nightmare. That reassured me somewhat.
I looked at the clock: It was just past ten AM.
I gingerly got out of bed and headed for the kitchen. I’d just woken up, but my stomach already felt empty.
As I was checking the fridge, the doorbell suddenly rang, startling me.
In a panic, I looked over at Sayu. But not even that had been enough to wake her.
Relieved, I headed into the entryway and opened the door.
“Yes? What do you—? Oh.”
“Sorry to bother you.”
Sayu’s brother, Issa, was standing at the door.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“No, I was just wondering how Sayu was holding up…and I had some business with you.”
“Me?” I asked, stepping out of the apartment for a moment and shutting the door behind me. “Sayu’s sleeping like a log in there—she’s probably tired. So we’d better take this conversation outside.”
Issa nodded, then stared at me for a moment and asked, “Have you had breakfast yet? If you’d like, we could go get some now. There’s something I want to discuss.”
I had no particular reason to turn down this offer.
“Sure. Just give me a second to get dressed.”
I rushed back inside and changed out of my pajamas as quietly as I could. I heard Sayu turn in her sleep a few times, but she didn’t wake up.
I deliberated over whether to shave my beard but decided against it, thinking the sound of the electric razor would probably disturb Sayu.
Then I shoved my wallet and phone in my pocket and left the apartment.
“Choose whatever you’d like. It’s on me.”
“O-okay…”
I self-consciously scratched my stubbly chin. I hadn’t expected him to drive me to an expensive French restaurant. I knew I should’ve shaved.
The menu was almost unintelligible to me, but eventually I found something I thought I might like and ordered it.
Soon after, a waiter brought over our premeal drinks. As soon as I started sipping at mine, Issa launched into the conversation.
“First of all, I’d like to express my sincere apologies once again for my extremely distasteful choice of words last time we met.”
He suddenly lowered his head in a bow.
“No, please don’t apologize,” I responded, flustered. “It’s fine, really.”
“It’s not… That was an incredibly rude thing to say to someone who has treated my little sister with such kindness.”
“No, no. I was actually pleased to see you were so worried about her,” I replied.
Issa lifted his head and stared at me. A relaxed smile spread across his face. It reminded me a little of Sayu’s.
“You’re certainly an intriguing individual… I can’t imagine any other man your age taking in a high school girl only to start seeing her as his own daughter. Can you?”
“…I find it harder to believe an adult would approach a high school girl for her body.”
“I feel the same.” Issa nodded, taking a sip of his drink. He seemed genuinely relieved. “It’s quite fortunate that Sayu was able to find someone like you.”
“I don’t think I’m all tha—”
“I’m not exaggerating.”
He was smiling, but I could see his expression clouding over.
“If she hadn’t met you and stayed on the run, ‘paying her way’ as she went…she would have lost her faith in other people…” Issa stopped there and looked straight at me. “She would have been hurt in ways that would never heal. She might have carried that burden for the rest of her life.”
The last time I saw Issa, I didn’t ask him anything about this subject. But going by what he’d just said, I could tell that he knew all about the path Sayu had taken to get here.
“Sayu really did meet you just in the nick of time.”
“I’m honored you would say so…but, I mean, I didn’t do anything special… In the end, I kind of just helped her maintain the status quo… If you hadn’t shown up, I think I would’ve let her keep running away indefinitely.”
Issa let out a short sigh and smiled a little, then cocked his head to one side.
“Um… This may seem unimportant, but I’d still like to ask,” he said. “Why are you…so kind to Sayu? I would understand if you thought she was cute and desired her…and so you acted nice as a front, but…”
In other words, he was asking me why I was being kind, despite not wanting to date her or sleep with her.
“Why did you feel the need to treat a high school runaway you met by chance with such kindness?” he asked again.
I sucked in a deep breath.
I didn’t have a clear answer for that myself.
Why had I let her stay with me in the first place?
“That day…I was drunk.”
The words came out one by one as I tried to put my mind in order.
“This is embarrassing, but I’d been rejected, and my heart was broken…,” I said, chuckling to myself. “I drowned my sorrows in alcohol, and on my way home, I came across Sayu.”
Issa listened with a serious expression. I didn’t think what I was saying deserved such earnest attention, but I wasn’t about to poke fun at him for it.