Chapter 95: The Reason
“Responsibility? Classmate Yokota, what on earth are you talking about?” Kazumi was completely bewildered. What was this all about? She had just returned from a date with her boyfriend, arrived at her doorstep, and found a male colleague from the company she had only known for a few days, who had somehow found out her address and was waiting for her. He was saying strange things to her. If she encountered a perverted stalker, she should call the police! Suppressing the urge to take out her phone and call the police, Kazumi took a couple of steps back defensively, looking at the boy with his peculiar beliefs and said. Kazumi knew that Noyoru Yokota wasn’t that kind of pervert, so he must have come to find her because of some misunderstanding.
“Yes, what I mean is, this incident started because of me, so I will face the three years you will be imprisoned and the responsibilities you will have to bear afterwards with you.” Seeing the confusion in the young girl’s eyes, Noyoru Yokota took another step forward and rephrased it in a slightly more normal way.
“Three years? You mean, I’m going to be sentenced to three years?” Hearing Noyoru Yokota’s words, Kazumi roughly understood the real reason the boy had come to find her. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she looked at the boy in front of her, who was a head taller than her.
“Yes, malicious assault causing severe disability will result in a prison sentence of three years or more, even with legal defense. Due to your age, there is a possibility of a suspended sentence, but if it results in a criminal record, it will be difficult to get into a good hero agency.” Noyoru Yokota looked at the girl, who was still clueless about everything, and a hint of unwillingness flashed in his eyes. Regarding the girl’s predicament, he had spent the entire night checking information after returning home, but the results were not good. The consequences of imprisonment were far more than just three years of wasted time. Having a criminal record from prison meant that most hero agencies on the market would close their doors to Kazumi. This would be a huge blow to Kazumi, who graduated from Shikoku High School, and it might even prevent her from graduating because she couldn’t find an agency willing to give her an internship. The subsequent medical expenses and compensation for the injured person would also be a considerable burden for Kazumi, especially after Noyoru Yokota learned about Kazumi’s family background, which made him even more worried. She had originally taken a part-time job at this supermarket just to cover her tuition fees. She had no relatives who could help her, and this solitary girl might be completely destroyed by the consequences of her impulsiveness. Noyoru Yokota was someone who had been through it before; he had tasted the consequences of impulsiveness and knew deeply that everyone needed to pay the price for their actions. The girl’s words and her parting figure were deeply imprinted in his heart, giving him a completely different feeling from the women he had encountered before. It was as if the store manager Masamori had said, “I don’t want to see such a good young man ruined like this.” Now, Noyoru Yokota’s thought was probably that he didn’t want this girl, who gave him a special feeling, to ruin her entire life by making the same mistake he did.
“But other professions are also quite good. With your Shikoku education, you can try to get into a good private university. Private universities are not particularly strict about academic records, and by then, I can sponsor you to complete your university studies. Kazumi Shimizu, life is not that bad, everything is…” Fearing that Kazumi would be shocked by this news, Noyoru Yokota quickly changed the subject and began to enlighten Kazumi. It made sense. What kind of experience would a young girl of this age have? Perhaps upon hearing the word “sentence,” her mind would have gone blank with fear. He lowered his head to comfort the somewhat at a loss girl, but then he noticed that a strange expression was slowly appearing on the girl’s face.
“But I… have already solved it.”
…
Noyoru Yokota felt that things were developing strangely. He had initially wanted to come and help the girl share some of the pressure she was under. But why did it end up with the two of them having dinner together? Sitting in a run-down noodle shop facing the girl with a dazed expression, Noyoru Yokota replied somewhat stiffly to Kazumi’s questions.
“So, the reason you didn’t want girls to work in the store before was just to keep them from getting involved, so you pretended to dislike women? Or, as store manager Masamori said, you just disliked women in general.”
“Yes, I generally don’t like women.” Noyoru Yokota nodded, but then he seemed to realize something inappropriate and added, “I didn’t mean to say I dislike you.”
“Mhm, mhm…” Kazumi picked up her chopsticks and put a few noodles into her mouth. Her cold eyes looked at the somewhat stunned, fierce-looking boy in front of her. After asking around, Kazumi finally understood what had happened. It turned out that Noyoru Yokota, because he thought he would face severe punishment this time, and all of this stemmed from him, so he had come to her house and waited until now. He just wanted to say that he was willing to take responsibility for it and not let Kazumi lose her faith and hope in life.
[He’s really cute in a silly way… Are all boys this age like this?] The image of a certain blond, dense guy inexplicably appeared in her mind. Kazumi looked at the black-haired boy in front of her, who was still looking at her seriously, with a sense of speechlessness. Unlike his fierce appearance, Noyoru Yokota had a kind heart. Perhaps only then could he do such a foolish thing. Although she had resolved the matter by relying on Shinichi Sato’s background, in all seriousness, it was indeed a difficult situation for an ordinary person. Her situation was not much different from what Noyoru Yokota had predicted. Both the blow of imprisonment to her and the huge compensation fees were beyond what a student of her age could afford. He just didn’t expect that she would have such a background to rely on, and that she possessed the power to overturn the table at any time. Seeing Noyoru Yokota still looking clueless and about to say something, Kazumi finally stopped her actions and spoke first.
“I am not someone who acts without thinking. I had already thought of a solution before doing this, so I thank you for caring about me to this extent, but what you said, I’m sorry, I probably won’t be able to use it.” Kazumi stood up and picked up the number plate on the table, intending to walk forward. After all, someone had waited in front of her house for an entire afternoon, so treating him to a meal was acceptable. But before Kazumi could leave, Noyoru Yokota’s voice came from behind.
“Kazumi Shimizu, then… why did you do it?” The boy’s question was simple. Since the girl hadn’t acted on impulse, what was her reason for doing so?
“The reason?” Kazumi murmured to herself twice, then slowly turned around. She looked at the black-haired boy sitting in the chair, whose eyes seemed even stubborn. It was as if she saw the stubborn fool from before who, even with a bruised and swollen face, stared intently at the other person. A trace of reminiscence flickered in her cold eyes, her lips parted slightly, and she said faintly.
“Probably… I just didn’t want to see a tragedy that happened in the past…”
(PS: I’m not feeling well. I forced myself to write this chapter, and I’m not satisfied with how it turned out,呜呜呜.)
