Kure-nai - Volume 1 - Chapter 3.3

Volume 1
Chapter 3-3

After classes ended, Shinkurou went back to May Rain Manor to fetch Murasaki so that they could go to the Houzuki’s together. Murasaki admired the passing scenery on the train but as they drew closer to their destination, she became silent and Shinkurou saw that the joy had faded away from Murasaki’s face. This made Shinkurou worried.

“Are you okay? If you’re not feeling well…”

“There is something that I want to confirm.”

Murasaki said this with such a serious tone that Shinkurou stayed silent and waited for her to continue.

“Will you swear to protect me?”

“…How can you say that after all this time. Of course I will protect you.”

“Even if a Houzuki, like that woman Yuno, were to attack me?”

“Well about that…”

“Shinkurou Kurenai, are you my ally?”

If Yuno or someone from her family were to attack Murasaki, Shinkurou would defend Murasaki. Shinkurou thought something like that would only happen if the Sun started rising from the west but from what he saw, Murasaki’s question was sincere.

Deciding to tackle the situation professionally, Shinkurou gave Murasaki a serious answer.

“I am on your side. Whoever it may be, I swear that I will protect you. Is that good enough for you?”

Murasaki looked up at Shinkurou without saying a word. However, her worries had been quelled.

“I am in your hands.”

“You know, we don’t have to go if you don’t want to …”

“I am not going to run away.”

Then, Murasaki declared in a childish voice, “Things I do not like will not disappear even if I run away from them. That is why I have accepted her invitation.”

Shinkurou felt like he had said something similar once before. However, Shinkurou definitely did not have the courage she possessed.

The two of them arrived at the Houzuki house gate. Their home was an old fashioned Japanese home located in a corner suburb a fair distance from the city. It had been built before the war and was solidly made. Shinkurou had been told that the missing roof tiles had fallen off and broken during the Great Kanto earthquake¹. The house was located on a spacious plot of land surrounded by a beautiful gate and could easily be mistaken for the home of a politician or the yakuza². He could easily tell that it was no ordinary home.

Shinkurou opened the gate and the two of them walked through. They arrived at the main building and Shinkurou reached out to press the intercom but stopped himself. He always forgot that he had a spare key to the mansion.

Translation Notes and References

1. The Great Kanto Earthquake was an earthquake of approximately magnitude 8.0 occurring in Japan on 1st September 1923.
2. Yakuza refers to Japanese organized crime syndicates.