Volume 2 Chapter 32 (2/2)

“Mizuki!”

The lift their face.

Coming toward them, weaving through the crowd, was a tall young man with black hair that looked to be in high school.

“A-kun……”

Mizuki replies in a daze.

“Thank G.o.d you’re alright!  I couldn’t find your name on the roster.  I’ve been worried.”

Calling her, he came closer; and seeing them both under the same blanket, his face became tense.

The young man’s words seemed to be caught in his throat as he stood there staring at the two of them.  Eventually he looks away,

“……..Mizuki, I’d like to talk to you for a bit.  Is it alright?”

“Y, yeah……”

After that, she looks at Yusuke as if to ask if it’s okay.

“Sure, go.”

“…….Okay.”

With Yusuke’s consent, she leaves the blanket.

Prompted by the young man, Mizuki is guided out into the corridor.  Watching them leave,

(I have a feeling he will become troublesome…..)

While watching Takas.h.i.+ sleeping beside him, he thinks.

(It felt like he could have been a boyfriend.  If that’s the case, there will be a fight……)

If you saw your lover huddled under the same blanket with another guy, you wouldn’t be able to remain calm right?  Though it would be good if it didn’t turning into something big.

It was only about 10 minutes.

The young man returned by himself.  He lightly bows his head to Yusuke and speaks.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for Mizuki until now.”

“……  You’re welcome.  What’s she doing?”

At those words, the young man slowly raises his head.

Contrary to his earlier words of thanks, his face was expressionless.

“From here on, I will protect her.  She’ll no longer be a problem for you.”

“…..Ah, is that right.”

Meaning he should no longer a.s.sociate himself with Mizuki.

At those blatant words, Yusuke’s mouth twitches.

The young man responds as if irritated,

“Thanks for protecting her, but now her relatives will a.s.sume that responsibility.  Do you have a problem with that?”

“Nah, not really.  Are you her boyfriend?”

The young man answers with an expressionless face,

“That’s right.  We’re dating.”

“Sigh…..” (TL: “Fuuun…..”)

Yusuke responds apathetically,

“But you know, will you really be able to take care of her properly?  That child is injured.  Do you have enough food?”

Those words seemed to sour the young man’s mood.  He raises his eyebrow,

“…..It seems you don’t get it.”

“?  Get what?”

“The one who runs this place is Makiura sensei.  If I ask, I can get various accommodations.”

Hearing that, he was referring to that female doctor.  So the young man is close to the doctor, who is the top in command at City Hall.

“Until rescue comes, we’ve been having all the new people stay in the west wing of the building.  But if I were to ask my relatives, I can move her to the main building.  The doctors office will be close, and Takas.h.i.+ could easily be moved.  It is definitely a better place than here.”

“……..heee.  That sounds great.”

Somehow his line of sight moved to the sleeping Takas.h.i.+.

This room was overly crowded, and staying warm was a problem.  It was certainly not a very good environment.

“Then….”

Something bitter floated in the young man’s eyes.

“I’ve already expressed my grat.i.tude.  Why is Yuu not here?  I got along well with him.  Also Takas.h.i.+ received these kinds of injuries……. Who is responsible for this?”

“……….”

Yusuke was silent.

If Yusuke hadn’t intervened, the three of them would certainly have starved to death.  If he were to put the blame on Mizuki…

In any case, the man in front of him didn’t deserve a proper answer.

However, Yusuke didn’t refute him.

(….well…… it’s fine right?  If the relatives take care of those two then……)

Yusuke lets out a small sigh,

“……..I get it.  I’ll leave the rest to you.  Where should I take him?”

Standing up and attempting to lift Takas.h.i.+, the young man interrupted.

“I’ll take Takas.h.i.+.  It’s our responsibility to get his name in the roster.  Feel free to use the left over blankets.”

“…….Thanks.”

Suddenly looking, Mizuki could be seen standing in the doorway.  She was looking at them with a panicked expression, not knowing what was going on.

When Yusuke approaches her, the young man vigilantly notices it.  He waves back at her letting her know nothing is going on.

Pa.s.sing through the entrance, Yusuke turns to Mizuki who was looking up at them and speaks.

“Sorry for everything.  You’ll be in his care from now on.”

“Yeah….”

Mizuki answered in a daze.

“See ya.”

Yusuke walked away with the young man talking to Mizuki at his back.

The burial began that morning.

Under the clear sky, several men were a.s.sisting in digging holes.  Since they couldn’t afford to cremate them, the would be buried wrapped in sheets.  In the park, there were countless gravestones made of sticks from the trees.

Yusuke waves his arm, innocently intermingling with the men digging the graves.

Once the grave reached one and a half meters deep, a body wrapped in a sheet would be carried to it on a stretcher.  There were no coffins.  Once the body is pa.s.sed to the men inside the hole and they lower it to the bottom.  The hole is then back-filled.

A middle aged woman and her daughter were watching with vacant expressions.  They appeared to be the family of the deceased.

When the old man’s burial was finished, the men dug a hole for Yuu beside the previous one.  Their arms had tired from digging the first hole, so they began switching out with each other.  Little by little, the hole was dug further down.

Yuu’s sheet wrapped body was light, and Yusuke was able to lower it to the bottom of the hole by himself.  Each time they shoveled dirt into the hole, his body slowly disappeared.

When everything was over, the grave diggers patted him on the back.  Friendly comforting him.  After giving his thanks, Yusuke was the only one remaining.

Crossing his legs and sitting in front of the grave, he began musing to himself.

Thinking about it, Yuu’s burial should have been left to Mizuki and that young man.  They had a much closer relations.h.i.+p than the one between her and Yusuke who she just met.

However, he couldn’t pa.s.s up partic.i.p.ating.

(I wonder if I’ve become a stubborn person…..)

Yusuke takes a breath,

“Looks like your luck’s ran out too huh…..”

Gently patting Yuu’s resting place, Yusuke stands.

(Well then….. before rescue comes, I should release Tokiko-chan huh)

(TL: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS)

Without Yusuke around, there would be no one visiting the first floor of the apartment.  He couldn’t bear to leave her all alone there forever.  It was just his opinion but it was better to let her roam the city freely.

In order to find a point he could leave City Hall without anyone noticing, Yusuke walked around the park.

Ahead on the walkway was a small bridge.  There was a st.u.r.dy barricade built half way across the bridge.  At the base of the bridge were two men holding pipes, talking to each other.  They were monitoring the bridge.

Looking at the far ends of the park, Yusuke thinks to himself.

(I’ll probably be able to get out at night….)

Due to the active security, it wouldn’t be easy to escape.

At that time, a large choking sound was heard.

Turning around, a woman was sitting on a bench in the shade of a tree.

She wasn’t wearing a white coat, so he didn’t recognizer for a moment, but it was definitely the female doctor Makiura.  With her head dropped down, he had severe dark circles around her eyes.  She was wearing a long black skirt and a white s.h.i.+rt with a cardigan over it.  Her web of black hair flowed naturally.

Just looking at her, she had the appearance of an elegant language teacher liked by all the boys.

She takes a drag on her cigarette and begins coughing.  Seemingly noticing Yusuke, she puts her hand up towards him in a ‘please wait a moment’ gesture.

After a moment, she calmed down.

She slightly lowers her head,

“…….Excuse me.”

“Ah, no it’s okay……”

Yusuke was puzzled at their chance meeting.

Not caring about Yusuke’s presence, she fiddles with the cigarette in her hand in silence, but then looks at him,

“Do you smoke?”

At those words, Yusuke responds slightly embarra.s.sed,

“No, I don’t smoke much…… these days.”

“That’s good.  It isn’t very good for you.”

To Yusuke who looked as if he were going to say “Then why are you smoking?”, she tilts her head,

“I thought I needed a change of pace.  There were a lot of people around me who smoked so…  Halfheartedly, I gave it a shot but…… it doesn’t taste that great.”

“Well…. if you’re not used to it, it’s not something that’s very fun.”

Speaking to a doctor, he should use honorifics, but somehow he found it hard to do so.

When the pandemic hit, life became about survival.  In this kind of situation, worrying about social status and changing your speech to match felt awkward.

Makiura speaks indifferently,

“It’s fine to speak however you want.  In this kind of world.  We also look around the same age.”

“No, your the leader around here….. right?  Makiura sensei.”

“Who told you that?”

“A guy mentioned it to me…. he looked to be in high school.”

Makiura mutters something under her breath.

“…….My position is the vice president, but I’m in charge of treatment and counseling, I’m not the top.  The chairman, Mizuhas.h.i.+-san who teaches high school is much more qualified than me in age and experience.”

“Everyone takes their orders from you, or so I was told.”

“That’s, not a good thing…”

“Is… that so.”

A doctor should dedicate themselves to the role of a doctor, anything else would be a waste of time.

Wanting to change the topic, Makiura opens her mouth.

“I watched the burial.  Thanks for your help.”

Yusuke shakes his head,

“You dug a grave for us as well.  You really helped us.”

“……Was he your little brother?”

“No.  He was the brother of…… the kid you were treating in your office before, whether he was the older or younger brother…… I don’t know.”

“Is that so…..”

They fall silent.

Right when Yusuke was thinking it was about time to walk away, Makiura suddenly opens her mouth.

“Today, we buried a man named s.h.i.+nozaki-san……..”

Makiura cuts off her words, looking around with vacant eyes.

“The cause of death was unknown.  I had various ideas of what it could be, but the equipment here sub standard.  I couldn’t treat.. couldn’t do anything…..   I thought that at least I’d be present at the burial, but I didn’t have the courage to look at the family.”

Slowly the words flowed out as if she were whimpering.

He didn’t understand why she would tell him something like this in spite of this being their first time speaking to each other, and kept his mouth shut.

Perhaps realizing this, Makiura lowers her head,

“I’m sorry…….  However, about that boy.  There were no signs of danger.  But, I’m not confident.  There weren’t any signs of s.h.i.+nozaki’s life being in danger either.  If possible, I’d like to keep an eye on him.”

“Ah…… so that’s it.”  (TL: “Aa….. naruhodo”)

Yusuke scratches his face,

“However, we’ve already separated….”

“?  Did something happen?”

“That kids sister….. she met and joined up with her boyfriend.  He said that he would take her and her brother to stay in the main building.”

Makiura furrowed her brows in silence.

Without saying anything, she thinks about Yusuke’s words.

After a while, she nods slightly.

“I understand.  I’ll take responsibility for the matter of looking after him.”

“Thanks for the help.”

“No problem.”

(TL: Couldn’t really think of a good way to translate the two lines above.  Original is: “Tanomimasu” “Ie”)

Makiura spoke while standing.

“It’s about time to get back.  Sorry to have kept you.”

She leaves while waving.  While watching her go, Yusuke lets out a breath.

Across the river stood the quiet cityscape.  A nice breeze was blowing and the sky was blue without a cloud in sight.

“Well, with that……  Time to get back to roaming freely.”

With a crack, he stretches his body.

With this, he didn’t have anymore ties.

He was free to move as he pleased.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t have any worries leaving the two in the man’s hands, but he felt Makiura could be trusted.

As long as he could grasp the location of the Self-defense forces, he didn’t need to wait for the helicopter.  He was able to achieve the goal of making contact with a structured civilization.  (TL: not 100% on this.)

The zombies on the college campus did make him uneasy, but City Hall’s defenses were strong, and even if they couldn’t hold off an attack, rescue was coming in just three days. (TL: It says around 3 days.  Though in my opinion it should be 2 days since one has pa.s.sed.)

“When night comes, I’ll once again return to the city.”

Grasping the positions of the security, Yusuke returns to City Hall.

It’s superficial but Mizuki-san was not NTR’d.

(TL: The author says this at the end of the chapter.)

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