Chapter 3
After getting out of the car, he began to wander aimlessly through the city streets. I was worried that if he kept loitering, the police, who were hot on his trail, would catch him soon enough.
…… Worried?
Maybe not.
After all, he can’t keep running forever. He has to atone for his sins and start walking the right path. That’s the way of a human being.
But…….
If I don’t say anything, does he intend to keep running like this? And what about me? What will become of me?
“Hey.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“Do you have somewhere to go?”
My question made him pause sharply.
“…… no, I don’t.”
I don’t really get it, but I feel like robbing a bank isn’t something you do alone. Doesn’t he have any partners?
“None of your business.”
Whoops, he’s snapping back at me?
“Of course it is! We’re together!”
I retorted, refusing to back down.
“…… Ah, yes.”
Perhaps intimidated by my intensity, he nodded obediently. Seriously, what is he trying to do?
“Hey, why did you do this?”
“None of your business.”
“But it’s not like it doesn’t concern me. Besides, you haven’t even decided what you’re going to do from now on, right? That’s a bit haphazard.”
I couldn’t help sounding preachy.
“…I guess so. I feel so pathetic. I thought this was a once-in-a-lifetime big job, but I ended up running away empty-handed. And on top of that, I had nowhere to go, and a woman got mad at me… how pathetic.”
He slumped down right on the spot.
“Pathetic… well, anyone can get desperate and act impulsively, right? If that’s the case, isn’t running around like this pointless?”
I tried to persuade him, using a tone that didn’t blame him. I didn’t want to be held hostage forever either. I wanted to get him to the police safely somehow.
He looked up at me from his crouched position and let out a deep sigh.
“Ah~ yeah, I’m done with this!”
He stood up abruptly and said to me.
“Sorry for scaring you. I’m going to turn myself in. I can’t keep running anyway.”
Ah,
“Wait a minute!”
I blurted out.
“Huh?”
“Ah, no, I understand the part about you turning yourself in. But first, aren’t you hungry? There’s a place I’ve been wanting to try. Since we’re here, why don’t we grab a bite?”
“Huh?”
He looked at me with a strange expression. Well, yeah, me, the hostage, inviting him to eat… this totally sounds like……
“Wait, are you hitting on me……?”
No, I’m not ……?
“No! It’s not that! But, you know, since you’ve reformed, maybe it’d be nice to eat something delicious first? Am I being nosy? Ah, yeah, I’m a nosy person!”
Seeing me ramble on, he laughed.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Ah, his smiling face isn’t bad after all.
Wait, no! That’s not it!
“The place is a bit far, but is that okay?”
That police station is no good.
We have to go to a police station in another jurisdiction.
Or should we just go to a nearby police box instead of going to the police station?
“Anywhere is fine.”
Hearing this, I nodded deeply. I just had to try.
◇
I put the cap I bought along the way on him and headed for the station. There are many security cameras at the station. It may be only a matter of time before we are caught, but I wanted to at least give him a nice meal. Until then, I prayed that no one would come after us.
“Hey… can I ask your name?”
“Huh? Mine?”
I nodded at his surprised look.
“You’re a weird one.”
Yes, yes, I heard that earlier too~.
“I’m Natsumi Hirose. Summer sea, so Natsumi.”
I introduced myself first. He seemed hesitant, but then gave in.
“Shinji. As in the kanji for ‘believe’ and the number two.”
“Right, Shinji-kun.”
Somehow, I suddenly feel a sense of familiarity.
“So, where are we headed?”
The train was heading out to the suburbs. I was going to a Western-style restaurant that I had visited once a long time ago. I hope it’s still there……
When I got off at my stop, I saw that the city had changed dramatically, but I knew I was heading in the right direction.
“Um, excuse me.”
I stopped when someone suddenly called out to me as I turned the corner. It was a woman in a suit. Thinking she might ask for directions, I obediently stopped and,
“Yes?”
I replied.
Then, out of nowhere, a stocky middle-aged man appeared and stood between Shinji and me.
“I’m with the police.”
The woman pulled out a police ID from her pocket. Seeing the name written on it—Kamiya Atsuko—I couldn’t help but gasp, “Ah!”
Even though I wasn’t the one being chased, I felt my whole body tense up. My mind was flooded with questions: Why? How come?
“We’re investigating a bank robbery that took place in Tokyo.”
Hearing those words, Shinji exhaled deeply.
“The Japanese police really are something else, huh?”
He muttered this, then turned back to the man.
“I’m the culprit. Arrest me.”
He thrust both arms forward.
“Oh? You admit it?”
The stocky detective looked at Shinji with a surprised expression.
“Yasuhara-san, hurry up.”
That’s what Kamiya Atsuko called the man.
“Yes, yes, no need to rush.”
The detective called Yasuhara placed a hand on Shinji’s shoulder. Suddenly, Shinji grimaced sharply.
“Huh?”
I stared at the scene, not knowing what was happening.
Shinji clutched his chest and collapsed.
Yasuhara supported him. He laid Shinji flat on his back on the road and told Kamiya to call an ambulance. Shinji wasn’t moving. Why?
“He’s having a heart attack. We can’t leave him like this. Kamiya, the ambulance?”
“They’ll be here in two to three minutes!”
“Find the nearest AED!”
“Yes!”
Kamiya ran off.
Meanwhile, Yasuhara was performing chest compressions on Shinji.
“Hey, pull yourself together! Don’t you dare die!”
He pumped on his chest repeatedly.
He breathed air into Shinji’s lungs, but there was no response.
“Damn it, why?”
In the meantime, Kamiya came running back carrying the AED bag.
“I found it!”
“Okay, get it ready!”
She quickly took the machine out and turned it on. While doing so, Yasuhara pulled up Shinji’s shirt. By the time the electrode pads were attached to the correct positions, a crowd had gathered around.
“Here we go! Three, two, one!”
At Yasuhara’s command, Kamiya pressed the button.
There was an electronic beep, and Shinji’s body jerked. Yasuhara then checked his breathing.
“He’s back!”
Yasuhara continued to perform CPR.
In the distance, I began to hear the sound of ambulance sirens.
“Move! Make way!
Kamiya started directing the onlookers. The ambulance arrived, and the stretcher was clattered inside. Yasuhara spoke with the paramedics. Then, they placed Shinji on the stretcher and said,
“You, come along.”
…and lifted me into the ambulance.
“Pulse?”
“It’s weak.”
Yasuhara asked in the tense atmosphere in the car.
“What are you to him?”
“Eh…? Ah, I was… a hostage….”
“Hostage? Ah, so you’re the one taken from the bank?”
“Yes.”
I nodded, glancing sideways at Shinji as they attached what looked like medical equipment to his body.
“Why are you here? Did he say anything?”
“No… well, I came here to eat.”
“Huh?”
Yasuhara looked puzzled. Understandably so.
“You were brought here against your will, right?”
As he leaned in to ask that, a mechanical beep sounded from the device attached to Shinji’s body.
And then, in the blink of an eye… I was returned to that place.
◇
“Why……”
I couldn’t help but mutter as the man in all black held me in a headlock.
“Shut up!”
Shinji, the one who grabbed me from behind at the bank, said that.
Sads Translates 