As I Know Anything About You, I'll Be The One To Your Girlfriend, Aren't I? - Volume 1 Chapter 5.8

What Red Means to You 8

Kujo’s PoV

“If the Wi-Fi… I mean, if he connects to the net, then the latest ‘current location’ information should be sent to me immediately. But it hasn’t come. So, Miyashiro-kun probably didn’t go that way… the likelihood is, well, high, I guess.”

“Can I say what I’m thinking?”

“…Please do.”

“I’ll say it as many times as necessary, you’re simply a criminal.”

“…Good kids shouldn’t try this at home, okay?”

Misusing technology is wrong. I’m a bad example.

“…When I think about it calmly, we’re really something, aren’t we?”

“…I feel sorry for Kuuya.”

“But, there are two bad women here, so, maybe two negatives make a positive?”

“…Senpai, you’re an interesting person. No, I don’t mean that in a bad way.”

“That’s right, surprisingly so.”

While having such a conversation, we decided on the direction to head. If it seemed unlikely he went east or west on the main street, then it was the path that led south.

Rushing together, we moved down the path flanked by groves…

“I don’t know how far Kuuya has gone, but it’s best to find him as soon as possible. Let’s hurry. Beyond this point is… oh, wait, Senpai?”

“Tha, thaT’s a tEmpLe oVer thEre isn’t iT…”

“What?”

What? No!

“I, it’s too fast…! I, I can’t, move, that, fast, what, what are you…?”

She’s too fast. Does this woman have an engine in her legs?

“Ah, I’m, sorry…”

“Going out with, Kuuya, and, …haa, ha, oh, it can’t be, like this, right…?”

“I don’t do that when I’m with Kuuya! I walk at the optimal speed that matches him! I can usually tell his physical condition by his facial expression, tone of voice, and gestures on that day!”

“Eww, that’s creepy…”

“Watch your words!”

“Oops, the truth slipped out. But, you know, Miyashiro-kun, he’s not, very good at sports, right…? Haha, we’re alike, …ehehe.”

“Eww, that’s creepy…”

“Mind your language…!”

Before we knew it, the day had already started to fade, and the world was being dyed red by the sunset.

The color he fears. It felt as though the world was cornering him, not just because of the exercise, but also an uncomfortable sweat formed on my back.

Ado-san beside me seemed the same. Despite our bickering, her expression was tense.

It would be fine if nothing happened. If all of today’s concerns turned out to be needless worry. …But if something had happened.

“…Ado-san, there.”

“Ah, …right, so this path leads there.”

What came into view was probably the tallest building in the area. I don’t know how many floors it has, but it’s a strangely elongated grey building.

“That’s supposed to be abandoned now, right?”

“Yes. It used to house some company, but due to various issues with the landowner, it’s now uninhabited and unmanaged.”

In rural towns, it’s not uncommon for such buildings to continue standing without being demolished. That building is likely one of them.

“…He might be there.”

I thought I was the one who said it, but it was Ado-san’s words.

“High places are closer to the sky. Kuuya likes the sky.”

I had heard that too.

“Though, the current color of the sky isn’t something Kuuya would want to approach…”

“No, but I think we should check it out.”

We agreed on that at least.

Soon, we arrived at the base of the building. The entrance was technically sealed, but various broken windows made it meaningless.

“Let’s go.”

Ado-san entered through the largest broken window without making a sound. It was so seamless it almost seemed like the official way in.

“You’re like a ninja. You don’t sneak into Miyashiro-kun’s house like that, do you?”

“I don’t! I have a key!”

“Deny the sneaking part, not the key. To think he gave you a key…”

How terrifying. Maybe I should change the locks on my own initiative.

Thinking this, I carefully entered the building, mindful of the glass shards. The strange mugginess made me grimace.

“Ah…! There are footprints!”

“No way, …Ah? Where…?”

I couldn’t see them. After all, it’s a deserted building with no lights, and the only thing we could rely on for visibility was the fading sunlight.

“The dust accumulated on the floor has definitely been disturbed in the shape of feet. And this size… it’s like Kuuya’s… The pattern of the soles of the shoes Kuuya often wears is… I kind of remember… but probably…”

Ado-san muttered to herself. Standing beside her, I had to reassess my opinion of her. Even I hadn’t noticed the pattern on the soles of shoes…

“Anyway, the footprints are heading towards the stairs! Let’s go!”

No sooner had she said it than Ado-san headed to the staircase and began ascending. I was left behind, both physically and mentally.

I hurried after her.

First floor, second floor, third floor… and more. We raced up the dim and dangerous staircase, littered with broken glass, to what seemed to be the top floor, the seventh.

“Here…? No, probably not…”

“Yes, the footprints go up further.”

So, even if it was the top floor, there was still somewhere else to go.

The place closest to the sky, the rooftop.

At the end of the last set of stairs, there was a door. Broken glass was scattered around the feet, reflecting the sunset and staining red like blood.

And the door was ajar.

As Ado-san touched it, it creaked open.

──On the rooftop, he was there.

“…Kuuya!”

His familiar back. Even I recognized it immediately, so for Ado-san, there was no doubt.

He was standing near the edge of the rooftop, gazing absentmindedly at the sky. There was a fence to prevent falls, but it was low and rusted, unreliable.

“Kuuya, it’s dangerous there! Let’s go home with me, ”

Ado-san’s voice froze mid-sentence. Behind her, I felt the same chill run down my spine.

“…Suika? And Kujo-san too…?”

He turned towards us. His voice was unnaturally flat.

“What are you doing here?”

As he asked us that, his hands were stained red. The red dripped onto the floor, slowly increasing its surface area.

It was a piece of glass. Miyashiro-kun was clutching it in his right hand, and blood was overflowing from the torn areas.

His right hand was his dominant hand.

“Ku-…Kuuya, what are you doing here?”

I honestly thought it was amazing.

“It’s getting dark soon, it’s time to go home. How about dinner at Ado’s house tonight?”

With a single breath, she completely suppressed her own movements and spoke to Miyashiro-kun in a tone as if she were making casual small talk.

The flowing blood, the proximity to the rooftop’s edge, the cold, flat voice, and the dimly shining eyes.