Chapter 45 Proposal
#21MotoKanojoProposal
“Yuuta… I’m ready.”
Three days had passed since Detective Takahashi’s interrogation. Finally, today, we were heading to the place where the time capsule was buried.
I had been getting ready for the trip, but…
I’m sorry—this might be inappropriate, but I can’t help thinking about how adorable Hatsune looks.
She’s wearing a black one-piece dress over a white turtleneck sweater, topped with the gray rib-knit coat she bought when we moved. To complete the look, she has a checkered scarf wrapped around her neck.
Yep… Hatsune really is the cutest in the world.
“Ahaha… Really, Yuuta, you never change.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… No matter what, you always keep your eyes only on me.”
Oh, if that’s what she meant, then of course. That’s only natural.
But… I’m really glad to see Hatsune has finally regained some composure.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
We left our apartment, transferred between trains, and headed toward the park—our destination.
“Wow… This really brings back memories…”
Gazing at the scenery outside the station, Hatsune murmured nostalgically.
Haha… Well, it has been two years since she was last here.
Alright then.
While watching Hatsune out of the corner of my eye, I took out my phone and sent a message.
“Yuuta, what are you doing?”
“Ah, nothing much.”
I gave a vague reply, and Hatsune tilted her head in confusion.
“More importantly, so this is the town where you grew up, huh…?”
“Yeah…”
A gust of wind passed between us, making Hatsune’s lapis lazuli-colored hair dance in the air.
In that brief moment, I caught a glimpse of her expression—there was a certain melancholy in her eyes.
“Ahaha, this way!”
“Okay.”
Following Hatsune’s lead, we made our way through the residential district beyond the station… until we finally arrived at the park.
And there—
“Ah…? Mikoto…?”
“Hatsune-senpai… I’ve been waiting for you.”
Standing there was Mushakoji-san.
“Why… are you here…?”
“Yeah… I asked Mushakoji-san to be here and witness this.”
“Ehh—!?”
As soon as I said that, Hatsune let out a gasp of surprise.
The truth is, I had a feeling the police might be keeping tabs on us when we came to dig up the time capsule today.
After all, hardly anyone should have known that Hatsune and I had moved from that old rundown apartment to our current one, yet Detective Takahashi still showed up.
That means… they’ve been watching us all along.
And with Hatsune’s father, Kakizaki Hodaka, now confirmed dead, the police are probably thinking something like this: If Kakizaki Hatsune was involved in any way, she’s bound to make a move.
Which means they might have been tailing us, waiting to catch us red-handed as we dug up the time capsule.
That’s why—
“Fufu… Naoe-kun contacted me beforehand, so I kept watch to see if anyone was following you two. As expected, there was a detective tailing you… but don’t worry, I took care of that.”
“Ah… Yuuta… Mikoto…”
Yeah… I just want Hatsune to receive whatever message her father might have left behind—without any interference.
“…But even though I dealt with him, we don’t have much time. We need to hurry.”
“U-uh… yeah!”
Hatsune rushed to the tree where the time capsule was buried and pulled a small shovel from her bag.
“I’ll do it.”
“Yuuta… please.”
Taking the shovel from her, I began digging into the soil.
After digging down about thirty centimeters—
Clink
“Ah! There it is!”
I felt the tip of the shovel strike the time capsule and carefully dug around it.
Then—
“Hatsune… here.”
“Yeah… thank you…”
Hatsune took the time capsule, a plastic treasure chest-shaped container.
“Ahaha… This thing is just a toy, so it’s easy to open even without a key… Back when I was a kid, I thought I’d never be able to open it, though…”
Smiling nostalgically, Hatsune placed a ten-yen coin into the groove where the lock was, turned it, and with a small click, the lock popped open.
Inside—
“…A letter, and… is this an SD card?”
“It seems so…”
Hatsune set the plastic container down and began reading the letter with me.
“…You’ve got to be kidding me…!”
Hatsune’s hands trembled as she gripped the letter tightly.
The letter was filled with repeated apologies to Hatsune and stated that the SD card contained everything—
Everything about the massive fraud case.
This… is just about the worst-case scenario I could have imagined.
How much more does this despicable father plan to burden Hatsune with?!
“Hatsune…!”
“Yuuta… Yuuta…!”
Hatsune buried her face in my chest, her body trembling as she tried to stifle her sobs.
This really is… the worst possible outcome…!
“Hatsune-senpai… Naoe-kun…”
Watching us, Mushakoji-san hesitantly called our names, looking apologetic.
She had probably noticed the detective who had been tailing us approaching.
“…Hatsune, let’s go.”
“…Yeah.”
And with the plastic container in our arms, we left the park.
“Hatsune-senpai… what are you going to do now…?”
“…Yeah…”
Mushakoji-san asked hesitantly, but Hatsune could only respond with vague, lifeless murmurs.
“…Hey, Hatsune. Will you listen to me?”
“Yeah…”
“I think we should get rid of that SD card as soon as possible.”
“…Eh?”
Hatsune blinked in confusion, as if unable to comprehend what I had just said.
She was completely overwhelmed—unable to think straight anymore.
“That thing… the burden your father forced onto you… it will only bring you misery. You shouldn’t have to keep it.”
“B-but… this is something my father gave to me… he entrusted it to me…”
“Yeah… I read that in the letter too. But just because he wrote that doesn’t mean you’re obligated to bear it. You don’t have to carry this burden. You should only think about your own happiness.”
“Ah…”
I slowly extended my hand toward Hatsune.
“There are three ways to get rid of it. The first is destroying the SD card and ending this for good. The second is handing it over to the police. The third is leaking it to the media.”
If he went through the trouble of storing this information on an SD card, it must contain things that should never see the light of day…
“…Yuuta, what do you think I should do?”
Hatsune asked in a hollow voice, her eyes distant.
“Hmm… I think we should entrust the SD card to Mushakoji-san and have her deliver it to the right person.”
I proposed an unexpected fourth option.