Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 7 - Chapter 1.2

2

The next thing he knew, the sky in the west was red. The cold of night was about to swallow the last of the sun.

The red of the sunset mingled with the black of night, and when Sakuta glanced up at it from the window, it looked like the end of the world.

“That might be preferable…”

He hadn’t spoken in hours, and the sound of his own voice reminded him that he was still here. He couldn’t remember what he’d been doing. Had he been sleeping? Just sitting still? Everything since he’d arrived home was a blank.

He was on the floor, and there was something in his lap. A tricolored cat. Nasuno. He could feel her warmth and the softness of her fur. The parts of him touching Nasuno were the only parts that felt real.

Their eyes met. Nasuno meowed.

She was probably asking for food, since she hadn’t been fed since yesterday.

Sakuta tried to get up but felt woozy. He grabbed the kotatsu for support and barely managed to avoid falling. He must have been sitting completely still for a long time. All his joints hurt.

He didn’t seem to have much strength left. Like Nasuno, Sakuta hadn’t eaten for at least a day. He was dehydrated, and his whole body felt sluggish, like he was running a mild fever.

Sakuta carefully let go of the kotatsu and stood up. Nasuno was rubbing against his feet, and he headed for the kitchen to answer her demand.

He got the bag of dry cat food out of the cabinet and poured some into Nasuno’s bowl. The portion size was a little bigger than usual. Nasuno peeled herself off his feet and started eating.

Sakuta stroked her back. The fur was soft. He could feel her warmth against his palm. But that was all it was. There was no comfort for him here. He didn’t feel drawn to the tender sensation the way he normally would on any other winter day.

It didn’t reach his heart at all.

There was a void in his chest, and he was numb to the world.

Nothing but emptiness floating inside. Sakuta wasn’t even sure that sensation belonged to him.

He petted the cat for a while and after some time, he heard a noise outside. The intercom rang.

His body didn’t react at all. Instead, Nasuno stopped eating and looked up.

“…It isn’t locked,” said a voice in the distance. No, it most likely wasn’t that far away. He couldn’t tell exactly. And he honestly didn’t care.

“Kunimi, we can’t just go in—”

“Sakuta! You here? I’m coming in.”

He could hear two sets of footsteps. One was stomping down the hall and the other was following at a light trot. They came down the short hallway into the living room.

“Sakuta.”

“Azusagawa…”

His guests found him kneeling next to Nasuno, and both called his name. He’d heard their voices somewhere before. They seemed familiar.

He looked up blearily. Two people were standing over him. A tall boy, Yuuma Kunimi, and a short girl with glasses, Rio Futaba.

They were his friends.

Yuuma took one look at him and seemed momentarily relieved. This was soon replaced with an expression of grief. Like he was barely keeping it together.

“What’s wrong?” Sakuta asked. Unfocused.

“…We saw the news. About the accident,” Rio said.

“We’ve been worried. Tried calling you all day,” Yuuma added.

“Oh.”

He looked at the phone, and the light was flashing on the answering machine. There were messages waiting.

Nasuno decided these visitors weren’t very interesting and went back to her food. Sakuta stood up and went over to the phone.

He pressed the button next to the flashing light.

“You have four messages,” the phone announced in very professional tones.

The first had been left that morning, at 7:03. It was from his father. (Naturally, they still didn’t live together.) He spoke calmly, merely saying that he’d seen the news and was worried. Sakuta could hear Kaede talking in the background, demanding a chance to say something.

Their father must have handed her the phone.

“Sakuta, it’s not true, right? This can’t happen… Not to Mai!”

Kaede was all choked up. It was obvious she still hadn’t accepted the news. She kept talking until the emotions overwhelmed her. Words failed her, and she dissolved into tears. Sobbing and sniffling, like a child throwing a tantrum.

After a minute, his father took the phone back.

“Sakuta, if you get this message, call us back. Doesn’t matter what you say, just let us hear from you. We’ll be waiting.”

He hung up. His father never once asked if he was okay. He knew full well Sakuta wasn’t. His father wasn’t one to ask pointless questions.

The second message was left at 10:11. From Rio.

“Azusagawa, where are you?” she asked, clearly stifling her emotions. “Kunimi and I are worried. We’ll come over later.”

The third was a minute later, from Yuuma.

“Sakuta? I know Futaba just called, but we’re coming, so let us know if you need anything. If you wanna talk for any reason, don’t wait—gimme a call.”

The fourth call was that afternoon. The time said 2:32.

He recognized this voice, too. It was a first-year student from his school who worked at the same restaurant he did: Tomoe Koga.

“It’s Koga. Senpai…you can talk to me. I dunno if I’ll be much help, but…I can listen.”

The more she talked, the less steady her voice was. Her concern was plain as day. He could tell she was trying not to cry.

“I’ll call again. Let’s talk then if you’re feeling up to it.”

Her nose sounded stuffed by the end of her message.

“Messages concluded,” the answering machine said.

A deathly silence settled over the living room.

Sakuta had been staring fixedly at the button this whole time. He pressed it again. There were only four messages, but the machine’s history had logged a lot more calls. Ten in all. Half from his father’s number. The rest from Rio and Yuuma.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’ve been making you all worry about me.”

He hadn’t consciously decided to say that. His heart wasn’t in it. It was simply an automated response to the situation at hand.

Yuuma grabbed his arm with a firm grip.

“Stop being stupid. Come on.”

He pulled Sakuta toward the door.

“Come where?”

“There’s a ton of photos and videos of the accident online,” Rio said. “You’re in a lot of them.”

“Oh.”

Sakuta sounded convinced, but his mind didn’t follow. No matter what they said, his heart did not respond, and he made no effort to think.

“Everyone’s saying Sakurajima was on a date with her boyfriend when it happened,” Yuuma growled, glaring at the floor in open anger. “They’re blaming you for it.”

“For the time being, you’re staying with me, Azusagawa. The media will be swarming this place in no time.” Rio wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“……Okay.”

Once again, he responded without any real understanding.

He just didn’t have the energy to argue.

Sakuta had completely lost all capacity to think for himself or disagree.

He just went with whatever seemed easiest and let the chips fall where they may.

“But I should call Kaede and Koga back…”

The last remaining thread of consciousness drew those words out of him.

“I’ll talk to Koga,” Yuuma said.

He put his phone to his ear. She must have picked up right away.

“Koga, it’s Kunimi. Yeah, I’m at his place. Don’t worry, he’s with us. Mm.”

He moved away, talking.

Rio was loading Nasuno into a cat carrier. She packed up the bag of cat food and Nasuno’s dish, too.

When that was done, she said, “I’ll be in your room,” and vanished without waiting for an answer.

A few minutes later, she came back with a tote bag stuffed with spare clothes.

Rio had stayed here awhile over summer, so she seemed to have a good grasp on where everything was.

“Call your family on the move,” Yuuma said, hanging up. He pocketed the phone and picked up Nasuno’s cage and the plastic bag filled with cat stuff. “Let’s go.”

He gave Sakuta a nudge in the direction of the door. Sakuta followed like someone was pulling his strings.

They put their shoes on while Rio checked that all the windows were shut and locked. She took the door key from Sakuta, and he and Yuuma went out into the hall ahead of her.

The skies were dark.

Night was already here.