Chapter 8
“I…… I’m sorry.”
Shinji suddenly pulled away from my lips and apologized.
“Oh, no, I’m the one who should be sorry.”
“No, I’m the one who dragged you into this by pulling off a robbery and all.”
“Well, that’s true, but Shinji-kun, I don’t think the time loop is really your fault……”
Honestly, I had absolutely no idea why things had turned out this way.
“I’ll do my best to make it through the morning without dying.”
“…… Isn’t it safe here? It’s not like a bear is going to attack us or a meteorite is going to fall on us, right?”
“Hey, don’t set up any weird flags.”
Shinji waved his hands frantically.
“Y, yeah, you’re right.”
I obediently kept my mouth shut.
I checked the time, it was after ten at night. This loop has been going on for quite a while now. Is it really this blissful to move forward without repeating the past? I’ll make sure I never think, “I want to go back to the past”, ever again!
“As for you…….”
Perhaps growing tired of the silence, Shinji suddenly started a conversation.
“Huh?”
“I shouldn’t just talk about myself. How did you get to where you are now?”
Ah, young man, you wish to hear about my life? Unfortunately, there is little to tell you.
“Ordinary.”
Four syllables when spoken. O-R-D-I-N-A-R-Y.
“…… Huh?”
“No, sorry. Seriously, there might just be too little to talk about. I grew up in an ordinary family, had my share of relationships and jobs, and here I am today. That’s about it. I’ve always just kind of longed to be ‘extraordinary,’ you know?”
“So, have you escaped the ordinary and found yourself in the midst of something extraordinary?”
Ugh….
“Well… sort of…”
But that’s not it. The extraordinary I was looking for isn’t this.
“Ahaha, that’s funny.”
Shinji’s smiling face is just so nice to look at.
“At first, I kept thinking, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ But seeing your smile like this, Shinji-kun, makes me think this isn’t so bad after all.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean? Roughing it out with a robber? There’s no way that’s a good thing! Are you out of your mind or something?”
He must be trying to hide his embarrassment; he glared at me as he said that.
“It’s Natsumi.”
Even though I properly introduced myself, he hasn’t called me by my name even once.
“U, um, what’s that?”
“Hirose Natsumi. Oh, now that you mention it, Shinji-kun, I don’t know your last name either.”
“It’s Furuya. Furuya Shinji.”
“I see, Furuya Shinji.”
“That’s right, Hirose-san.”
“Huh? You’re actually calling me by my last name?”
“B, but isn’t that normal? It’s weird to suddenly call someone by their first name…”
How innocent!
“But I’ve been calling you Shinji-kun the whole time.”
“That’s ’cause you’ve been doing it on your own… Hirose-san, you’ve been calling me that on your own, haven’t you?”
I find teasing Shinji so amusing that I can’t help but push it a little further.
“I wish I could be called by my name too. I want to be called Natsumi.”
I pout dramatically on purpose.
“Ugh, what’s a grown adult throwing a tantrum in the dark for?”
“Tch. Cheapskate.”
I puffed out my cheeks and looked straight ahead. I sat cross-legged and rested my chin on my knees.
All around me, it was quiet, and I could hear nothing but the chirping of insects and the rustling of trees. I was struck anew by just how quiet the night really is.
“When tomorrow comes….”
Shinji began to speak, his voice trailing off.
“Huh?”
“I’m going to the police.”
“…… I see.”
“I’m going to face up to what I’ve done and start my life over from scratch.”
“Yes, that’s the right thing to do.”
I said that and smiled.
“I’ll go visit you, you know.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I might even bring you some treats.”
“Seriously?”
“Is there anything you want?”
“Karaage!”
Eagerly, like a little kid, Shinji leaned forward.
“I, want to eat karaage and tamagoyaki! Oh, and the tamagoyaki has to be sweet!”
“Hehe, I get it. I have to practice.”
“Oh, so it’s karaage and tamagoyaki. I’m looking forward to it.”
Shinji seemed genuinely excited about it.
We spent the whole night chatting about trivial things. I realized that even someone living an ordinary life like me actually has quite a few things to talk about. We kept rambling on, and before we knew it, morning arrived.
The sky began to change color.
Night faded away, and it gradually started to get lighter.
“Should we catch the first train?”
“Okay.”
Shinji and I decided to leave the shrine.
Facing the main shrine, we clasped our hands together and offered our thanks. This time, Shinji joined in. Then we descended the stone steps.
We walked hand in hand along the path to the station. I don’t remember who reached out first. It just happened so naturally.
“Ah, there it is.”
As usual, there were no station attendants, but the station building stood there, bathed in the morning light. I bought a coffee from the vending machine and handed it to Shinji. Come to think of it, since that whole thing happened before I could withdraw money, I don’t have much cash on me. I wonder if I’ll have enough for the train fare home.
“I’m hungry. I’d like to grab some breakfast somewhere.”
I made that suggestion while sipping my canned coffee. I muttered to myself, “You wouldn’t expect a hostage about to head to the police station to say something like that”.
“The Last Supper, huh?”
“That’s a bit dramatic. You’re going to eat my karaage and tamagoyaki in prison, right?”
“It hasn’t been decided yet that I’m going to be imprisoned!”
“Ahaha.”
Shinji and I boarded the first train. Lulled by the pleasant swaying, we leaned against each other and fell asleep. I started to feel like I wanted to stay like this forever.
◇
Upon entering the police station, Shinji approached the reception desk and,
“Excuse me. I’m here to turn myself in.”
…he said.
For a moment, the officer behind the desk and the officer standing near the entrance stiffened.
“…… Turn yourself in?”
“Yes, I think it was on the news yesterday, the bank robbery thing. That was me.”
After he said this with a solemn expression, the officer standing by—perhaps deciding it wasn’t a prank—stepped forward and stood behind him.
“And the woman over there?”
When asked that, I blurted out,
“I was a hostage until just a moment ago.”
…giving a somewhat flippant reply. What should I have said? But this isn’t wrong… I hope.
“Hold on a moment, I’ll check now.”
With that, the officer at the front desk began making a call to confirm something.
“Yes… yes, he says he’s turning himself in. Yes, the woman claiming to be the hostage is here with him. Yes, that’s right.”
While the officers around us exuded a tense atmosphere, Shinji and I stood there holding hands, looking just like a couple who’d come to pick up something they’d forgotten.
Soon after, when I saw the two people running in, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of unease. Because…….
“Yasuhara-san……”
Shinji didn’t miss my murmur. Since I’d told him everything that had happened so far, Shinji knew there was a detective named Yasuhara. And standing next to him was Kamiya, that female detective.
“Are these the two?”
When Yasuhara asked at the reception desk, the officer nodded deeply. Yasuhara stared intently at Shinji,
“Please come with us.”
He said, touching Shinji’s shoulder.
“Ugh.”
As if it were a signal, Shinji clutched his chest, and his face contorted in agony.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
I rushed to support Shinji. But he dropped to his knees and collapsed right there.
“Hey! Hey, what’s wrong!”
“He’s having a heart attack! Quick, call an ambulance! Shinji-kun! Hey, Shinji-kun, hang in there!”
My voice echoed through the police station in the early morning.
Sads Translates 