Though Katakura Hayabusa wasn’t short on money, he rented a modest one-bedroom apartment.
After returning with his sister to that ordinary apartment building, Hayabusa immediately changed his bed with fresh sheets, giving his room to his younger sister Kazue, while he went to sleep on the sofa.
“Big Brother Hayabusa.”
In his dreams, he saw again the gentle, lively, and sensible Kazue from the past. In truth, Kazue wasn’t bad-looking. At school, there would’ve been at least five or six boys vying for her affection, maybe even coming to blows. Academically, she never caused any worry. Compared to Hayabusa, whose grades were a complete mess, Kazue’s deviation score was around 65. If her life hadn’t suffered such upheaval, getting into a prestigious school would’ve been a given.
But this younger sister, with her perfect personality, good looks, and excellent academic performance, was precisely the one the Old Man had sold to South Asia.
Hayabusa sat up in anger, gripping his metal baseball bat, ready to smash something. But considering his sister Kazue was now living with him, he had to keep this violent temper in check. Otherwise, Kazue might get scared and never be able to escape the shadows of her past.
“Kazue, please get better soon…”
Around four in the morning, after one final look at Kazue, Hayabusa finally fell asleep. He knew that as a minor caring for another minor, there would be countless difficulties. But he didn’t care. Through wind, frost, rain, or snow, he would take care of Kazue until her smile returned. Now, he needed to untie the knot in Kazue’s heart as soon as possible, to help her remember she was a “person,” not a “dog.”
“Good morning, Kazue.”
At seven in the morning, Hayabusa walked into the room. Kazue blinked her large, almond-shaped eyes, which looked like clear glass beads. She didn’t answer Hayabusa, just staring at the ceiling light on her own.
“Woof, woof.”
Hayabusa imitated a dog’s bark, the kind a very friendly large dog would make. Kazue looked at him, still expressionless.
“Let’s have breakfast first, Kazue.”
Opening the fridge, there were only cans of cola and eggs. Although Hayabusa wasn’t much of a cook, he had watched his girlfriend prepare meals before. If he remembered right… cracking the eggshell, a foul odor hit him.
“Ugh, it’s gone bad.”
Hayabusa, who never made breakfast, tried hard to recall. The eggs in the fridge had been bought about three months ago. How terrible.
Kazue stood to the side, watching Hayabusa with a completely bewildered expression.
“To think you saw such a lame side of your brother… this is so embarrassing.”
Hayabusa tossed the eggshells into the trash bag. Come to think of it, he hadn’t taken out the trash in ages. He dialed his girlfriend’s number.
“Hey, Miyo, do you know what kind of trash eggs are? Oh, combustible trash? And you have to put them out on Thursday, at eight in the morning today? What a hassle. Isn’t trash something you can throw away anytime? What? You’re doubting my Yamato bloodline?”
“By the way, Miyo, could you come over to my place later? I told you before, I’m now taking care of a girl. And please pick up some proper ingredients and make a decent breakfast. I’m begging you. Oh, and eggs are so willful—they go bad after just two or three months. What do you mean I’m willful? Never mind, you women always say weird things.”
After hanging up, Hayabusa stuffed the combustible trash into a plastic bag and took it to the designated spot. Returning home, he patted Kazue’s head.
“Kazue, someone will cook for us soon.”
Maybe Kazue couldn’t even understand Japanese now, but that was fine. He would just teach her from the beginning if needed. And his girlfriend Miyo was an extremely patient woman. He believed that one day, Kazue would return to normal.
About thirty minutes later, the doorbell rang. Hayabusa opened the door to find his girlfriend Yajima Miyo. She was his junior in high school and served as a Discipline Committee Member. Her flaxen, long hair looked dyed, but it was actually her natural color. Her face was gentle and unassuming, ranking twelfth on the school’s “Most Popular Girls” list.
“Good morning, wayward Hayabusa.”
“Good morning, nagging Miyo.”
Hearing the commotion at the door, Katakura Kazue secretly peered through a crack. Her timid demeanor was like that of a small animal constantly on alert in the jungle. Hayabusa took the ingredients his girlfriend had brought from afar.
“Thanks for the trouble.”
“Hayabusa, who can’t do housework, may I use the kitchen?”
“Please, my great girlfriend.”
Yajima Miyo went into the kitchen and began cooking. Soon, she brought out macaroni, vegetable salad, and tamagoyaki. During this time, Hayabusa told Miyo about his sister’s story, not hiding the fact that he was the son of a human trafficker.
“Miyo, as much as I hope this isn’t true, I suspect your sister might have been kidnapped by that Old Man. I’m searching for him with everything I’ve got.”
“When you find him, what will you do?”
“I’ll first use my baseball bat to smash every bone in his body. Then I’ll kill him in the slowest, most painful way possible.”
Yajima Miyo took a sip of miso soup, her beautiful eyes fixed on Hayabusa.
“If you really do something like that, there’s no turning back. I want you to leave this to the police. After all, we’re just ordinary people. We have no right to take another life.”
“Even if your sister were digging through trash to eat in the slums of South Asia, could you still say that?” Hayabusa asked in a calm tone.
“If that were the case, I might not be able to say that. But if you, Hayabusa, kill that scumbag, you’ll be breaking the law, won’t you?” Yajima Miyo pressed her lips together. “From now on, Hayabusa still needs to go to school properly. You promised me, so I won’t allow you to go to prison.”
“Miyo, you advise me not to kill, yet why is there something called murderous intent in your eyes?”
Miyo, the Discipline Committee Member at their high school, now had eyes filled with extreme anger. Her calm tone couldn’t mask what was in her eyes.
“Miyo, this is probably what I love about you.”
Hayabusa placed some of the freshly cooked food into a bowl, then set the bowl on a mat. Next, Kazue ate from the bowl like a pitiful little dog. Although Miyo had learned of Kazue’s condition from their earlier conversation, seeing it with her own eyes still made her heart tremble uncontrollably.
