Chapter 8 Circumstances

Circumstances

“…(shake shake)”

The woman shook her head, her expression clouded with sorrow.

“I-I think calling the police would definitely be better, you know? Before something happens…”

“…”

She bit her lip and lowered her gaze.

Just why is this person so determined to avoid the police?

Could it be… she’s a criminal…? No, that can’t be it…

But, the words she shouted earlier…

“And what good would that do? No matter where I go, they’ll find me, chase me down, corner me, harass me in every way imaginable, and take away my place to belong!”

“You’re just like them, aren’t you!? You think the world would be better off without me… don’t you!? Someone like me… someone like me…!”

So… this woman is being harassed by someone. And from the sound of it, they’re seriously obsessive.

That’s not all. It’s like she’s convinced herself that even I hold the same disdain for her.

…Alright.

“Um… may I ask, have we, uh… met before…?”

“N-No…”

“Then why did you assume I thought it’d be better if you disappeared…?”

“!?”

Ah… I guess I asked something I shouldn’t have…

“I-I mean! You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to!”

Realizing my mistake, I hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

I didn’t want to pry unnecessarily, and besides… she looked like she might cry again…

And yet.

“…Once you get to know me, you’ll think the same thing.”

She murmured this quietly, her gaze dropping.

Her trembling hands gripped the mug tightly.

I…

“…That’s not true.”

For some reason, I found myself saying that.

After all, I don’t avoid certain people—I avoid pretty much everyone.

So, no matter what I learn about her, it wouldn’t change things any further than they already are.

“You’re lying.”

She glared at me sharply, her voice cutting through any room for rebuttal.

And then.

“Would you still say that after hearing my name?”

“Your name…?”

Not understanding what she meant, I instinctively asked back.

Was she implying her name was cursed or something?

She clenched her fist tightly, as if gathering her resolve, and took a deep breath.

“…My name is Kakizaki Hatsune.”

She told me.

“Uh, um… should I call you Kakizaki-san…?”

“…You can call me whatever you like. I don’t care.”

Even after confirming her name, it didn’t ring any bells for me. And apparently, my lack of reaction annoyed her.

“More importantly, doesn’t the surname ‘Kakizaki’ sound familiar to you?”

“Kakizaki? The surname…?”

“…If you search online, you’ll understand.”

Seeing my puzzled expression, she urged me to look it up.

Doing as I was told, I pulled out my smartphone and searched for “Kakizaki”… and… huh?

The only results that came up were news articles from two years ago.

It was about a massive fraud case involving a company called “Kakizaki Farm.”

“…Could it be…?”

“Fufu… That’s right. The president of Kakizaki Farm, the one behind that fraud case, is my father.”

Kakizaki-san curled her lips into a wry smile.

“See? You’re disappointed, aren’t you? I’m the daughter of a conman. And yet, I take no responsibility, don’t repay the people he deceived, and just live my life as if nothing happened.”

“…”

She shrugged her shoulders, laughing bitterly at herself.

But… there was something off about her words.

“…Then, those suspicious people earlier, are they the ones hounding you because of this?”

“Fufu… yes. They find out where I live, expose it online, and keep harassing me. They leave hateful, abusive letters in my mailbox and, at their worst, even graffiti my door.”

“…”

“That’s not all. They dig up where I work and anonymously tell everyone I’m ‘the daughter of a conman,’ making it impossible for me to stay.”

Ah… I’ve heard before that families of criminals are endlessly pursued like this, treated as if they don’t even have basic human rights…

“Why don’t you call the police?”

“Fufu… I did, during a similar incident before. Do you know what they said to me? ‘You’re the family of a criminal, so you’ll have to put up with a little of this.’”

What the heck is that…? The people who are supposed to protect others, why are they complicit in the harassment…?

“And if the police get involved again, I’ll have to move out of here, too…”

I see… even the landlord wouldn’t want to deal with trouble, huh…

“Fufu… But now that they’ve found me, it’s only a matter of time before I have to leave anyway…”

Saying this, she glanced toward the door and forced a bitter smile.

But those deep sapphire eyes of hers were brimming with tears…

And then.

“…I’m just… so tired…”

As she whispered this with a faint smile, a single tear traced its way down her cheek.

Ahaha… when I opened the lid, it really was incredibly troublesome…!

—BANG!

Without thinking, I struck the wall with my fist as hard as I could.

What the hell is this…? She’s had to face even more absurdity than someone like me.

She’s been through far worse pain than I have.

“…I’ll return to my room now.”

With that, she quickly stood up. She probably assumed that, like everyone else, I’d come to despise her.

Ugh… What the heck am I doing…?

“I-I’m sorry…! When I hit the wall, it wasn’t out of anger at you, Kakizaki-san. It was because of… those people who chase you and the police…”

“!?”

As I bowed deeply and apologized, I heard the sound of her catching her breath.

“B-But! I-I’m the daughter of a conman, and you don’t even want to breathe the same air as me, right…?”

“That’s not true at all…”

“B-But you’re keeping your distance from me…”

“Haha… The truth is, I’m… not great with people. Especially women…”

I said this with a self-deprecating smile.

“In any case… What I understand is that the one who committed the crime was your father, the president of Kakizaki Farm, and you yourself… are also a victim.”

“Ah…”

The moment I said that, tears began to pour from her eyes.

“I-I’m the daughter of the conman who committed fraud… I have to make amends to the people he hurt…!”

“Why? If I may say so, isn’t the one who’s at fault your father? He’s the one who should atone, isn’t he?”

“But! I have to be unhappy for the sake of the victims! That’s what everyone… says! Everyone does!”

“I don’t care what everyone says. At the very least, I don’t think, even for a second, that you need to be unhappy.”

“I… I… Aahhhhhhhhhhh!”

And then… she buried her face in her hands and broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.