Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Episode 44: The Good Person Who Never Moved Forward

“I feel so useless,” the Class Rep said with a bitter smile.

The two were climbing the spiraling staircase. The journey was unexpectedly long, creating an illusion of inverted space. Beads of sweat dotted the girl’s forehead as she followed behind him, breathing heavily.

“Whenever something unexpected happens, my head feels like it’s filled with cement. I can’t think straight at all.”

The Novelist glanced at her and replied softly.

“You get good grades, don’t you, Class Rep? So your mind must work well.”

“That’s just memorization, it’s different from how Liang-kun thinks…”

“No. I think the Class Rep simply never wants to think too deeply about things.”

A decisive answer.

“…Eh?”

Itou Maho’s eyes widened, seemingly surprised by the Novelist’s tone.

“Earlier, when I was opening the emergency exit, you probably quickly realized ‘if the door could be opened, why did I send the other students elsewhere in the mansion,’ which is why you had that worried expression… right? It shows your reactions are much quicker than most people. But after that, you stopped thinking and just waited for my explanation. Why is that?”

“…”

The Class Rep remained silent, looking flustered as if her thoughts had been exposed.

“—Because you realized the unpleasant possibilities.”

The Novelist continued without hesitation.

“‘I might be an accomplice of the criminal,’ ‘I’m deceiving everyone,’ ‘I might do something bad to you when others aren’t around’… that’s why you stopped thinking and just waited to see what would happen, hoping I would explain myself, isn’t it?”

“Ugh…!”

“I admit this way of thinking is convenient, but I don’t think it’s a good habit. Being too self-deprecating might lead to unfortunate results in the future.”

The Class Rep sighed softly.

“…Liang-kun, those words hurt more than just calling me stupid…”

“Ahaha, sorry about that.”

As if to lighten the mood, he casually changed the subject.

“By the way, why did you develop feelings for Niwa-san? It couldn’t have been because of that flower pot at the back of the classroom?”

“Ah! That way you deliberately poke at people’s embarrassing points is so cruel! And of course it wasn’t that easy!”

The Class Rep quickly explained how she had come to “like” Niwa Takahito. It had been a chance encounter identical to the beginning of any typical romantic comedy.

One evening during the break before starting high school, the Class Rep had been riding her bicycle past a park when it broke down. None of the passersby had been willing to help her. When she had been troubled, the person who had come to her aid was Niwa Takahito.

A month later, the Class Rep had been surprised to discover that the boy who had left such an impression on her was her classmate, and moreover, a kind person who helped everyone unconditionally.

“Besides, everyone says we’re similar… I mean, there’s nothing strange about it, right?”

Mmhmm.

That was right.

Being helped during their first meeting; a surprising reunion; then long-term interaction. There had been both an initial spark and a year’s worth of emotional buildup.

It had been quite a “reasonable” development.

Even the world’s most “proper” romantic comedy couldn’t have been more perfect than this.

…

They hadn’t encountered anyone else along the way, and the door to the rooftop waited silently at the end.

Then, just as his hand reached for the handle, the two standing at the door heard Niwa-san’s voice coming from the rooftop.

The Novelist and the Class Rep stopped in their tracks.

*

Damn it…

Niwa Takahito breathed heavily, trying to calm himself down.

The earlier plan had only succeeded halfway. He hadn’t expected them to make it to the rooftop… and now he had completely lost his escape route.

What should he do?

What can I do?

The police should be coming soon, right?

Should I try to buy time?

“…Um… I-I already told you, didn’t I? Haruko committed suicide…”

He could only try talking first…

“Of course I know that!”

Standing before him like a volcano of accumulated rage, Miki Yu interrupted with a deep roar.

“But! You must know too, right?! Why Haruko chose suicide! That cheerful, always-smiling child, why she would end her life in such an extreme way… you know very well, don’t you?!”

Even though more than a year had passed since his sister’s death, the wound in his heart still bled as if freshly carved open.

Miki Yu had been awakened countless times in the dead of night by dreams of his relative’s death. Only to find that reality was the true nightmare.

“…Alone in the park, humiliated by a group of strange men… even when she called for help loudly… no one came to save her…”

Thinking of the cruel treatment his sister had endured before her suicide, he bit his lip in regret until it bled, though he hardly noticed. He had been away at school then, and his parents hadn’t told him about it…

Three days later, after suffering such profound humiliation, Haruko had chosen to end her life by jumping.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t do anything bad at all, right?”

But hearing about Haruko, Niwa Takahito seemed to become angry, his voice no longer trembling as he returned to his usual demeanor.

“How could I have known Haruko would commit suicide over something like that! I absolutely didn’t want that to happen! And about revenge, didn’t I already accomplish that for Haruko? Even using privileges, I got those scum sent to prison…!”

Seeing the other’s somewhat unexpected reaction, Miki Yu gradually calmed down.

…Did this person feel no guilt at all?

Finding it incomprehensible, Miki Yu spoke softly.

“Haruko choosing suicide wasn’t just because of the humiliation… because she had a strong personality, she had family support, and also…”

As if suppressing his disgust, he continued.

“And also, she had a boyfriend who loved her very much, didn’t she? Haruko really loved that person so much, always talking about him to me, telling me how they met, how she was drawn to him, saying he was such a kind and gentle person, and that she was always worried he might be deceived or hurt by others… That wholehearted attitude made even me a bit jealous.”

Miki Yu showed a bitter, nostalgic smile.

“Then, Haruko even loved him enough to want to have his child… but that was her biggest mistake. She was only a middle school student, if she really had a child, how would she manage her future life? Was that really a responsibility a teenager could bear? Even though she said her boyfriend’s family was wealthy and she wouldn’t have to worry about living expenses, I still tried hard to discourage her…!”

As he spoke to this point, “Ugh…” this haggard and sorrowful young man forcefully covered his mouth and slowly crouched down.

It seemed he was choking up, or perhaps forcibly suppressing the urge to vomit. Spilling out the words accumulated in his heart all at once like that was also a painful ordeal for his spirit.

After a long silence.

Miki Yu, still hanging his head, asked the youth confronting him in a low, hoarse voice.

“…Hey, Niwa. Tell me, did you ever really love Haruko?”

—”Of course.”

An unhesitating answer.

The youth’s voice was passionate and sincere. Perhaps no one would have doubted the authenticity of the emotions contained in those words. But Miki Yu only felt the churning nausea in his stomach grow stronger.

Why was it like this?

How could he still wear such an expression?

At the same time, unprecedented exhaustion and powerlessness welled up in his heart.

“…This is the pregnancy certificate from the hospital.”

But the truth had to be told.

No matter what, he wanted to know this person’s true thoughts… why, at that time, had he chosen to ‘do nothing’?

Miki Yu took out a crumpled document.

“It was found on my sister. From when she returned until her suicide, she carried this with her the whole time… Young Master Niwa, do you know what this means?”

That was right.

Since receiving the news of his sister’s tragedy, he had rushed home and learned about the incident from the police, quickly sensing that “something wasn’t right.”

His sister had indeed been humiliated by a group of scum and then chosen suicide… but the truth they had received wasn’t complete, something was missing, making it impossible to see the full picture of the incident.

But in those deliberately hidden fragments, one flaw remained.

“Carrying this document with her the whole time… this means that my sister likely went out that day to get a medical examination and obtain this certificate from the hospital.”

Miki Yu spoke coldly.

“Based on what Haruko had told me before, she and her boyfriend had already made their decision, so no one could interfere with them… In that case, if Haruko really went to the hospital to check if she was pregnant, how could she have gone alone when she had a supportive boyfriend?”

Even if they would be viewed strangely by society and face inevitable difficulties with an early pregnancy, as long as they were together, there would be no regrets. The joy of having created life would definitely be shared with her boyfriend. That must have been what Haruko had planned.

“Which means, until she left the hospital, stayed in the park, and was targeted by those scum, you should have been with her the whole time. But after that—she•was•completely•alone.”

Miki Yu took a step forward.

“Hey, tell me honestly.”

His heart, which had been pumping poison and rage for over a year, had already reached its breaking point. He trembled uncontrollably, feeling he might lose his reason at any moment—

“Tell me, that winter two years ago… November 23rd, what exactly were you doing? Did you abandon Haruko alone in the park?! Did your ‘doing nothing’—lead to her suicide?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! How could I abandon my girlfriend? I see, so you’ve arbitrarily decided I didn’t do the right thing, and that’s why you want revenge… is that it? But that’s not correct. At that time, because she was surrounded, I immediately ran to get help, and fortunately our family driver was near the park, so there definitely would have been enough time! Haruko said so too.”

His face showed no trace of lying. Perhaps everything he had said was true?

“…What about after that?”

If that was the case, there should have been enough time… could it be that he had been blocked by those people’s companions on the way?

“Didn’t I tell you? I didn’t do anything bad, just the same as usual.”

Niwa Takahito answered without hesitation, his expression unchanged from usual—

“Though, when I was about to leave the park, I saw a girl standing under a tree looking troubled, so I went to ask what was wrong and then helped her fix her broken bicycle. After I started high school, she even became my classmate and friend. An interesting coincidence, right?”

…

…

…

Huh?

Wait.

What?

Hold on a minute.

…What was he saying?

He had left the pregnant Haruko alone in the park, and on his way to get help, he had stopped to help a stranger with their broken bicycle…?

“I’ve been saying all along, I didn’t do anything bad. I just helped others like I always do. Haruko said that’s what she loved most about me. Though later, when I finally found the driver and rushed back…”

…

His subsequent words could no longer be heard.

No, rather, the youth’s voice continued to enter Miki Yu’s ears. But he could no longer comprehend their meaning. Only meaningless, broken syllables remained.

At that moment.

From the rooftop door behind Miki Yu came the sound of the handle turning.

The two outsiders who had heard everything from behind the door stared stiffly at each other.