Her body is aching all over. The bag feels too heavy on her shoulders. She takes short and heavy steps on the side of the road. Why did her car have to die in the middle of nowhere when she was coming back from a crime scene? She can"t hail a cab. She can"t get a signal from her phone.
Suddenly, a car stops near her. She keeps walking. It could be one of those annoying men mistaking her for a damsel in distress. She"s in distress, but she"s not someone who would spread her legs because they helped her. Besides, it"s not a good idea to get into anyone"s car.
"Iori"s cousin!"
Chiyo turns around when she hears a voice that she didn"t want to hear ever, especially in this circ.u.mstance. She blinks when she sees Kawamoto Ren stepping out of the car. Why is his hair blue?
She snaps out of a daze when she sees him walking toward her. She hasn"t forgotten the embarra.s.sing things that she did around a year ago. She takes long strides away from him.
"Wait, Iori"s cousin." Ren jogs behind her. This woman is always running away whenever she sees him. She wasn"t in her office when he went to get Nina"s body. If they ever come across each other coincidentally, she would take to her heels. What did he do to her?
"Ugh!" Why is this man following her now? Can"t he see that she"s embarra.s.sed to face him? Chiyo increases her pace. She could still hear him yelling behind her. She starts running.
"Iori"s cousin, where are you going?" Ren pants for air as he runs faster. He is not used to running like this. He should have worked out every day like Kiyohira. It"s quite late. This woman is so brave. "I am getting old, I guess."
Ren and Chiyo keep running until the woman stumbles on her feet and falls on the ground. Chiyo hisses in pain. Her elbows and knees are scr.a.p.ed. "F.u.c.k!"
"You are fast on your feet." Ren squats down beside her, gasping for breath. At last, he has managed to catch her. "Iori"s cousin, why are you walking alone on this isolated road? Are you not afraid of coming across bad people? You are still a woman."
Honestly, coming across bad people is better than coming across him. Chiyo feels like crying. "Why is your hair blue?"
"This?" Ren touches his head. "My nephew suggested that I should dye it blue."
"Red was better," She mutters under her breath as she tries to get up. She clenches her teeth when she feels a sharp pain in her ankle. She takes off her shoe and checks the injury. It"s a sprain. "d.a.m.n!"
"Is it broken?" Ren stares at her ankle anxiously. "Iori"s cousin, I will take you to the hospital."
"Why do you keep me calling that?" Chiyo glares at him. Didn"t she get hurt because of him? He should get the idea that she"s trying to avoid him with all her might.
"Calling you what?" Ren looks at her with confusion. Did he say something strange to her? Is that why she"s avoiding him?
"Iori"s cousin." Chiyo knits her brows when she sees his clueless expression. Did he forget her name? She sees him blus.h.i.+ng. Yes, he doesn"t remember her name. Despite the pain, she stands up. "I don"t need help from someone who doesn"t even remember my name."
"Iori"s cousin, you are hurt right now." Though Ren still doesn"t have good feelings toward this woman, he can"t hold ill feelings toward someone for long. There are billions of people with billions of opinions. Iori"s cousin is a type of someone who exists on the other end of the spectrum. It"s inhuman to leave someone wounded on a cold night like this. He would have helped even if it was a stranger. Also, he doesn"t dislike Iori. He doesn"t know what had happened between Takes.h.i.+ and Iori, but he could still sense that Takes.h.i.+ longs for Iori sometimes. "I will only drop you at the hospital or the nearest place where you can get a cab. You won"t get anything here. A few years ago, I was also stuck here and I couldn"t find a cab all night. I had to walk for another five kilometres before I saw a glimpse of a cab."
"I would rather walk," She growls at him.
Ren says nothing and watches her from behind as she takes a step. She winces in pain. When she takes another step, she limps and bends her knee. Chiyo knows that she can"t walk at the moment. But taking help from someone who doesn"t even remember her name is an insult.
He sighs. This scary woman is too stubborn to admit that she needs help. It can"t be helped. He won"t be able to look in the mirror if he leaves someone behind when she needs his help. Ren walks to her and lifts her over his shoulder as if she"s a heavy sack of potatoes. He walks back to the car while she screams and hits his back. He opens the door to the back seat and throws her inside. He closes the door before she could get out.
"Scoundrel!" She yells at him. "Rascal! Idiot!"
Shaking his head, he gets into the driver"s seat. He"s not surprised with her endless insults anymore. He looks in the rear-view mirror. Her dark hair is longer now. It softens her cold image. "Iori"s cousin, how is Iori doing?"
She snorts at him. "Shouldn"t you apologize to me?"
"Why would I do that?" He starts the car. Where"s the nearest hospital now? There"s no network on his phone. He can"t make a call to Iori.
"It"s polite to address someone by her name." Chiyo scowls at him. "If you forgot someone"s name, you should have asked the name first before you offered your help."
"If we are talking about manners and apologies," Ren lets out a low chuckle. "Shouldn"t you be apologizing to me?"
"For what?" Chiyo s.h.i.+fts her gaze. She places her cold hand on her injured ankle. Is he talking about that night?
"For what you said about Nina," Ren tells her with a cold voice. "I can forgive you for what you did to me when you were drunk, but you still have to apologize to Nina for saying those words."
Chiyo exhales. He"s still going on about that. "I apologize."
"Not to me." Ren glances at the mirror again. She"s also looking at the mirror. Her eyes are full of rage. He shrugs and turns his gaze back to the road. "If you want to apologize, then I will take you to her grave."
"Wait." Chiyo raises her hand. "I am not apologizing about her a corpse. I am apologizing for what I did to you when I was drunk. At the station, I said those things to you because I thought that you would speak the truth. You didn"t speak even after you felt the insult for your Nina. The truth couldn"t be hidden for long anyway."
Everything was revealed by Umezaki Rie. She was surprised, but she understood in the end. But it doesn"t mean that she did anything wrong. She provoked him because she wanted to know why. Besides, a dead body doesn"t represent a person. When someone dies, the person is gone.
"If you can"t show some respect to the dead, then don"t expect me to show any respect to you," Ren replies to her with a detached tone. "Iori"s cousin."
She doesn"t retaliate this time. What"s wrong with her words? That"s why she doesn"t like emotional people. They are always trying to find meaning in meaningless things. If the person is gone, it"s gone. The body is lifeless. It can"t speak or smile.
Nina"s corpse was the first corpse with a frozen smile. This man even made a corpse smile.
"Yamas.h.i.+na Chiyo." She tells him, "Don"t forget it again."
"I will remember that, Iori"s cousin." Ren doesn"t have to take a look at the mirror to see that she"s glaring at him like an angry tigress. He won"t call her by her name unless she apologizes to Nina.