Shimazaki Yuna's pale cherry-colored lips parted slightly.
"I—I can do it..."
Although she said that, the girl's cheeks showed a hint of pain from the ache in her ankle.
Kira Yoshikage gently shook his head and suddenly reached out.
"Forget it. Don't push yourself."
"Huh? Huh~?"
Seeing Kira Yoshikage's large hand draw closer, Shimazaki Yuna nervously closed her eyes, her cheeks flushing red.
But after waiting for quite some time, she still did not feel him take the initiative to pick her up.
The girl opened her eyes in confusion, only to realize that Kira Yoshikage had not reached out to embrace her. He was merely hailing a taxi.
"Beep beep~"
A taxi pulled up by the roadside. Kira Yoshikage opened the rear door and calmly asked:
"Are you getting in?"
"Ah, sorry..."
Shimazaki Yuna seemed to have finally come to her senses and hurried toward the taxi.
But the violent movement made her already sprained ankle hurt even more, causing the girl to crouch down on the ground in pain.
Kira Yoshikage stood expressionlessly to the side, silently watching the girl's pained expression as her fair hands kneaded the ankle wrapped in a black sock.
The female driver turned around and saw this scene. She immediately shouted in displeasure:
"Hey, kid, don't you know how to help your girlfriend?"
A trace of panic flashed across Shimazaki Yuna's face. She hurriedly waved her hands.
"N-No, it's fine. I can do it..."
"Good grief. This is getting ridiculous."
Kira Yoshikage sighed inwardly, took two steps forward, and extended his hand toward the girl.
"Give me your hand."
"Mm~"
Shimazaki Yuna bit her lip lightly, carefully wiped her palm clean with her white dress, and held it out to Kira Yoshikage.
"Eek!"
Kira Yoshikage pulled gently. Amid the girl's soft cry, he lifted her into his arms and placed her in the back seat of the taxi.
Kira Yoshikage immediately followed her into the back seat and closed the door.
"Where to?"
The female driver switched on the meter.
"117 Morioh Street, Ota Ward."
The female driver looked at the boy in the green employee uniform in the back seat with surprise.
Ota Ward was Japan's manufacturing hub, home to numerous clusters of processing technologies related to the machinery and metal industries.
Haneda Airport was also located in Ota Ward, making transportation there quite convenient. As for Morioh Street in Ota Ward, the entire area consisted of apartments funded by Shuchiin Academy, specifically provided for Shuchiin Academy students.
In other words, everyone who lived there was a student of Shuchiin Academy!
Of course, Shuchiin Academy was also divided into Pure Academy and Mixed Academy. The apartment buildings were limited to Mixed Academy students, since Pure Academy students generally lived in luxurious villas in Minato Ward, Shibuya, and Setagaya Ward.
And even being a student of Mixed Academy meant that they already had a bright future ahead of them!
Fifteen minutes later, the taxi reached its destination. The female driver glanced at the meter and said:
"That'll be 2,865 yen."
Kira Yoshikage took out three 1,000-yen bills and handed them to the driver.
"Keep the change."
As he spoke, Kira Yoshikage had already opened the door and gotten out. He walked toward the apartment building by the roadside.
"Um, p-please wait for me! Eek~"
Kira Yoshikage had not gone far when he heard the taxi drive away behind him, along with the girl's nervous, flustered voice and a cry of pain.
When he turned around, he found that Shimazaki Yuna had also gotten out of the taxi. She was crouching on the ground with a pained expression because of her aching ankle.
Kira Yoshikage stopped and silently watched her.
"Why are you still following me?"
"I—I thought..."
The girl looked flustered. Soon, her expression visibly turned desolate, and she murmured in a low voice:
"I understand. I'll leave. By myself..."
"By yourself, so you can secretly find somewhere to kill yourself?"
"N-No, I won't."
Shimazaki Yuna hurriedly shook her head and explained in a quiet voice:
"I won't try to kill myself again. I just don't know where to go..."
"Don't you have a home of your own?"
A trace of gloom flashed through Shimazaki Yuna's eyes, and her voice sank.
"I don't have a home anymore."
Kira Yoshikage looked at her for a while before slowly speaking.
"Come with me."
A glimmer of hope seemed to reappear in the girl's eyes. She hurriedly nodded and followed Kira Yoshikage.
The apartment building where Kira Yoshikage lived was old-fashioned. It was five stories tall and had no elevator.
Kira Yoshikage lived on the fifth floor.
Although the climb was not long, it was quite difficult for Shimazaki Yuna.
Click!
In the fifth-floor hallway, Kira Yoshikage took out his key and opened the door to Room 502.
Click!
He casually pressed the switch beside the entrance, and the bright light completely illuminated the room.
Inside the entrance was a cramped foyer. An "open-plan" "kitchen" stood on the left, while the washroom and bathroom were on the right.
Farther inside, a single bed with neatly spread bedding stood against the wall on the left. On the right was a desk with a desktop computer. An air conditioner hung above the desk, and a small cabinet for miscellaneous items stood beside it.
Between the bed and the desk was a window covered by blue curtains, blocking the view outside.
"You don't need to take off your shoes."
Kira Yoshikage said this indifferently and walked straight toward the desk.
"Excuse me."
Shimazaki Yuna bit her lip lightly and entered the room, politely closing the door behind her.
But once the door was closed, the girl became somewhat at a loss, unsure where she should sit.
There was only one bed and one chair in front of the desk. It seemed as though nowhere was appropriate for her to sit.
Besides, this was her first time entering a boy's room, and she was alone with him...
At the thought, the girl's heart began to beat violently despite herself.
Chapter 6: I Don't Want to Work Part-Time, So I've Decided to Rob Someone
"You can sit on the bed."
Kira Yoshikage, who was rummaging through the cabinet for something, noticed the girl's awkwardness. Yet his calm tone only made her feel even less at ease.
"Mm~"
Shimazaki Yuna carefully sat on the edge of the bed. But as soon as she sat down, she saw Kira Yoshikage come over with a small bottle of red liquid and hold it out to her.
"What is this?"
Shimazaki Yuna froze for a moment and asked softly.
"Safflower Oil."
Kira Yoshikage gave her a term she had never heard before. "It's specifically for bruises and sprains. Apply it yourself."
Shimazaki Yuna nodded as though she understood. She took the bottle of liquid called Safflower Oil, bent down, and removed the small leather shoe and black sock from her right foot. After hesitating, she also removed the shoe and sock from her left foot, revealing a pair of fair, delicate feet.
The girl carefully poured a small amount of Safflower Oil onto her hand and gently rubbed it over her swollen ankle.
Kira Yoshikage ignored her after that. He casually took off the employee uniform he was wearing, then pulled out his phone and began searching for something.
The effect of the Safflower Oil was almost immediate. Before long, Shimazaki Yuna felt a warm, stinging sensation in her ankle and palm.
Just then, Kira Yoshikage suddenly turned his phone screen toward her.
"This is you, right?"
Shimazaki Yuna raised her head. When she saw the wiki page for "Shimazaki Setsuna" displayed on the screen, her expression froze slightly.
It was her wiki page, but she had not created it herself. Other people had compiled it regarding her supposed "plagiarism." Everything recorded on it consisted of her alleged acts of "plagiarism" and the evidence supporting them.
That wiki had also been the direct trigger that drove her to attempt suicide.
"It's me."
Shimazaki Yuna pressed her lips tightly together. The fragile girl, who had never argued with those rumors, suddenly wanted desperately to explain herself.
"All of that is false. I've never done anything like that..."
"It doesn't matter."
Kira Yoshikage calmly cut her off.
"It doesn't matter?"
Shimazaki Yuna, who had once been driven to suicide by this matter, stood frozen in place.
Without looking up, Kira Yoshikage scrolled through the works displayed on the homepage.
"Whether it's true or false, your drawing skills are real. I don't care whether you plagiarized."
The wiki page listed a large amount of "evidence" of plagiarism. But to Kira Yoshikage, the only thing that mattered was Shimazaki Yuna's work. Those works accused of being plagiarized were often even more exquisite than their "originals."
"This kind of thing..."
Shimazaki Yuna's expression grew dazed. All this time, she had simply loved drawing.
And just as Kira Yoshikage had said, she was very talented at it.
Her skill and popularity had risen rapidly, and she was even about to collaborate with a famous producer.
But her sudden rise had also aroused the jealousy of other artists. They accused her without cause of plagiarizing character designs and music. They had even gathered a large amount of "evidence" and created a wiki page named after her. What followed was a sustained campaign of online abuse from countless netizens who knew nothing of the truth.
This had plunged her into depression. She had even begun to doubt the drawing she loved most, eventually developing thoughts of suicide.
And now, Kira Yoshikage was telling her that none of it mattered, and that the only real thing was her drawing ability.
The insults and accusations she had endured for so long had pushed her to the brink of collapse. Kira Yoshikage was the first—and only—person to affirm her...
Shimazaki Yuna felt an urge to burst into sobs, but she still raised her hand to cover her mouth, trying her best not to make a sound.
Kira Yoshikage looked at the girl covering her mouth for no apparent reason and calmly asked:
"I saved your life, so it's only reasonable for me to ask for some compensation, right?"
"What—what do you want?"
Shimazaki Yuna had not yet fully escaped that nearly uncontrollable urge to sob. Her voice still carried a trace of tears.
"First of all, I'm unemployed."
Kira Yoshikage's expression remained calm. "A few thugs robbed the bookstore where I worked part-time, and the store manager chose to fire me."