Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Before dawn.

“Have you packed everything?”

Her mother, standing in the entryway, deliberately lowered her voice as she asked.

She too intentionally lightened her footsteps, to avoid waking the two sleeping in the bedroom.

“…Yes.”

Supporting herself with a crutch, wearing a thick coat, Fujishima Misao’s fingers gripped her bag tightly until her knuckles turned white. She nodded silently.

The sound of wind and rain from outside grew louder, complementing the deepening night.

“You’ve already said goodbye to your friends tonight, we should get going.”

Looking at her mother who smiled gently as always, Misao let out a quiet sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

Kaori-san noticed her expression and asked with concern.

“…Nothing.”

She shook her head and stepped forward, taking the initiative to push open the door.

The howling, cold wind and rain rushed toward them like a huge wave surging from the deep sea, threatening to swallow them both.

“Are you attached to life here? Actually, Mom feels the same way as Misao.”

Kaori-san’s gaze pierced through the dark night and storm, toward the other side of the windows where no one had survived.

“In the past, the residents of the other five buildings were both our watchers and protectors. But just half a month ago, they were killed or disappeared one after another, eventually replaced by others. And the last person… disappeared tonight as well.”

Fujishima Misao remained silent.

This evening, when she had seen the old man driving an SUV into the complex through her telescope and had become flustered, it wasn’t just because of his strange behavior and actions that suggested he was transporting bodies—more importantly, that person had been completely different from the resident who had always been in Building Three.

“We don’t have much time to waste anymore, we must leave here immediately, leave Tokyo.”

Kaori-san held Misao in her arms and spoke softly in her ear.

“…Mom, why didn’t we leave earlier? You must have noticed already, right?”

Misao murmured, lying in her mother’s embrace. The cold wind and rain from outside were blocked by Kaori-san’s embrace. The girl cherished this remaining warmth.

“Because… I’m an idiot.”

Kaori-san’s fingertips caressed her daughter’s cheek.

“Misao wanted to stay with Maho-chan longer, right? Even if just for one more minute or second… you must have thought that way. I felt the same.”

After embracing for several minutes, Fujishima Kaori released her hands.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“…Mm.”

…

After walking out the door hand in hand, the mother and daughter stopped in their tracks.

Black trench coat, black wide-brimmed hat, black leather shoes. Pale sideburns and eyebrows, with deep wrinkles. An elderly man stood on the small path in the center of the garden, blocking their way.

“I apologize for the late-night intrusion.”

The old man took off his hat and held it to his chest, bowing respectfully to her.

“Do you need something?”

“It’s like this, Fujishima-sama. Please don’t do anything that would trouble us.”

“…Who’s your superior?”

“Strictly speaking, he and I aren’t superior and subordinate, but rather partners.”

The old man’s attitude was friendly.

“Takei-san. I’m sure you remember him? After all, he was your former student.”

“Is that so? Takei… Takei Kazuki, that child has grown into someone important too. That’s right, as the old saying goes, ‘a man should establish himself at thirty.’ Being unsuccessful at this age would rather invite contempt.”

As Fujishima Kaori spoke, Misao’s face turned pale, her body trembling slightly. Mom held a Western umbrella in one hand, ready to open it. Her other free hand gently stroked her rain-soaked hair.

“By the way, if you know Takei, you must have heard about me from him?”

“I’ve heard some things.”

The old man nodded.

“In that case…”

Kaori-san smiled.

“How dare you stand before me alone?”

The moment the old man drew his gun from his hat, Kaori-san’s umbrella tip struck his arm first. The heavy black metal object slipped from his wrist, his hand involuntarily lifting upward. His head shifted with the lost center of gravity, falling to one side.

“Kneel.”

Following was a lightning-quick heavy blow to his knee, making him involuntarily kneel to the ground. The metal tip of a nearby fence, carried by gravity, pierced the soft throat bone from the side.

“Ugh…?!”

He widened his cloudy eyes, desperately turning them from side to side, but his body remained rigidly immobile.

“Don’t speak, and don’t struggle. The wound in your neck has only pierced your muscles, not hitting any arteries. But if you talk carelessly, or try to pull your head out by your own strength and cause blood vessels to rupture, well, who knows what might happen?”

Fujishima Kaori crouched down and spoke in a gentle voice.

“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say, make sure to relay it to those who come to save you—”

“Dogs, if you don’t want to die, it’s better to stay away from us.”

…

“Let’s go.”

Kaori-san no longer paid attention to the old man kneeling pathetically in the mud, frozen like a statue. She stood up and took her daughter’s hand again.

The Western umbrella opened above their heads. The rain flowing from its edges formed like a transparent curtain.

Fujishima Misao looked back at the Western-style house sinking into the rainy night, unconsciously pressing her lips together.

“Don’t worry. They won’t do anything rash before getting definitive news about me. Liang-chan and Maho-chan will be fine.”

As if knowing what she was worried about, Kaori-san spoke in a relaxed tone.

“As long as they know nothing, they won’t get involved in dangerous matters. They know I’m someone who would eliminate both the client and the commissioned, hostages mean nothing to me, they would only draw the government’s attention.”

“…I really can’t stop worrying.”

Misao couldn’t help saying.

Right, if I disappear, will Maho… miss me? Being who she is, of course she will, and she will try hard to search for me.

But in the end, when she can’t find me no matter what, how will she feel about me, and how long will this longing remain in Maho’s memory?

In the peaceful daily life, in the warm world where ordinary people live, surely… even the sadness of forgetting a best friend will gradually fade away.

“Let’s go.”

Kaori-san spoke again.

“This guy’s car looks pretty good.”

“…Mm.”

Taking one last look at the Western-style house, she turned to follow her mother’s footsteps.

Shrouded in the night’s wind and rain, the road to an unknown destination; that was Fujishima Misao’s ambiguous future.