When I Saved a Lost Plushie, I Got Close to a Young Lady From a Yakuza Family
โWelcome back, young lady. You’re back later than usual today.”
โShut up.โ
โHiii, โฆโฆ?
The day I went to a cafe after school with Sagara-kun.
I was very angry with Matsuda who greeted me when I returned home.
โ You were in such a good mood yesterday, what’s wrong with you today? I’m worried.”
“The young lady has her own reasons, we’ll leave her alone.”
Right now, I can’t do anything to repay the kindness I hear from behind me.
I can tell that I’m causing trouble for Sagara-kun and that he’s upset.
I go back to my room and slump down on the spot.
I love this house.
My grandfather who loves me, the gang members who took care of me, they are all my precious family.
But in the eyes of the world, I am a gangster, a gangster’s gangster, and someone to be feared.
I knew that, but Sagara-kun treated me so normally that I closed my eyes.
“Banira-chanโฆโฆ”
I took out the stuffed animal โBanira-chanโ that I had tucked away in the pocket of my school uniform and looked at it.
–Today was fun.
I went to a fashionable cafe with Sagara-kun and ate trendy food.
I can’t go with him to such places because the gang members look tough and many restaurants have a โno gang members allowedโ sign.
When I went to drink tapioca alone before, I was envious of the sight of my friends happily taking pictures with each other.
[It is nice to be able to share the fun right away]
ใใ
Today I took a picture with Banira-chan, and Sagara-kun took a picture of us together, and it was really fun to be able to do the activity I had envisioned.
I ruined that.
I will never forget Sagara-kun’s puzzled expression.
I didn’t have an appetite, so I didn’t eat and took a shower as if to wash away the gloomy air that clung to me.
I went to bed, feeling not the least bit refreshed.
I realized that it was midnight. My phone trembled and the display showed an Insta push notification.
He was the only one who knew about my account.
[We had a good time today, didn’t we?]
My chest tightened.
I wondered how much effort he had put in to send me this one word.
Sagara-kun must have felt the same way I did.
The warmth of my happy feelings was slowly being eroded by the coldness of my heart.
I can’t believe that we share the same feelings, but we can’t share them in the same way.
The friends I used to play with when I was a child without worrying about names, but was close to me, are suddenly gone.
ใ
I don’t mean that they moved away or disappeared.
one day, they started talking to me in a way that made me look at them.
Whenever I said anything to her, she would affirm it, and whenever I called out to her, she would look at me with fear in her eyes.
That girl I was close to was no longer that girl.
The reason for this was because I was the daughter of a Yakuza family.
One day, I heard her crying and telling another girl that her parents told her not to misbehave and be in good shape.
I stopped getting involved so as not to cause her any more trouble.
Then she started smiling and talking to the other girls.
ใ
Her smile was no longer directed at me, but I was fine with that.
It wasn’t that I was ignored or that the bullying had begun.
Everyone thinks they are in danger if they do that.
It was a miracle that I was able to play like a normal high school student, I thought, and went to sleep with the precious memories I had received today.
The next day, I went to school and noticed Sagara-kun in the shoe box.
But it was better not to get involved anymore.
“โฆ G-good morning.โ
He greeted me falteringly.
It was cute that he turned his head a little and I wanted to greet him right back, but I didn’t want to look at him because it would shake my resolve.
I really wanted to jump up and down and be happy, because I had never had someone say hello to me before.
I forgot my textbook in fourth period.
This doesn’t usually happen to me, but it’s because I was thinking yesterday.
Even though I pretended to be asleep during break, I could see Sagara-kun’s expression light up as he glanced at me as if he was asking me a question. He’s so cute.
Oh, I shouldn’t do that.
โDo you want to join me?โ
My heart almost skipped a beat.
I had never experienced such a thrilling situation before.
I want to depend on him so much, I want to press our desks together and, taking advantage of the confusion, press my shoulders up to his, and feel his body heat, forgetting about class.
But I never took him up on his offer.
During lunch break, I quickly slipped out of the classroom.
It was hard for everyone in the classroom to eat when I was there, so I always used the back of the gymnasium, even though I really wanted to eat on the roof or in the classroom.
It was a place where not many people usually came, but after rumors started spreading that I was using it, no one came anymore.
I heard someone step into this place, which is off-limits during lunch break, and I ducked into the bushes.
I could see Sagara-kun looking around the area with a furtive glance.
I found myself inappropriately happy to see him.
After a while, he slumped his shoulders and left.
ใ
After school, when I thought I was safe, he chased after me.
It was too much to think that he was just in a hurry to get home, since his house was close to mine.
“Uruwashi san!โ
If he called my name out loud in the street, he might think I was related to the gang and get me in trouble.
So I turned around and crowded him. To make it look like he was threatened by me
“Why are you coming after me?โ
Then he didn’t step back, no matter how much I threatened him.
No matter how hard I tried, he wouldn’t back down.
“Ten chan.”
“Eh?โ
ใ
At first I wondered what he was talking about.
It took me a while to realize that it was my name.
“Then I’ll call Uruwashi ‘Ten-chan’ outside of school from now on. That way, people won’t notice, right?”
What is this person talking about? He looks so confident that changing the way he calls me is a good idea, even though it would cause trouble for him to get involved with me.
But strangely enough, I didn’t dislike it. In fact, I would rather he call me more โฆโฆ.
This wish may have been heard and he called me many times, but I covered his mouth as quickly as I could because I felt like I would go crazy with excitement if he called me any more.
At that time, his lips were very soft to the touch.
โ
โWelcome back, young lady, you’re early today~”
“I’m sorry about yesterday.”
I apologized to Matsuda, who greeted me at the door with the same attitude as yesterday
“Eh!? It’s fine. More importantly, I’m glad you’re in a better mood.”
Matsuda smiled a friendly smile as if nothing had happened.
“Thank you.”
“Dinner is ready, young lady. Today’s dish is your favorite, boiled flatfish.”
Iwahashi appears in an apron with a ladle in one hand.
I always laugh a little at his unproportionate attire.
“Oh, Iwahashi-san, I like your flatfish too. You haven’t eaten anything since yesterday, young lady. Come on, let’s eat.”
ใ
Uruwashi clan members often serve rice to the lower-ranking members, and the higher the rank, the better the cooking tends to be. I learned a lot of my cooking from everyone.
ใ
My grandfather used to say that the clan is a family and we are the parents to the younger members, and that parents have to feed their children because a hungry child is a hungry child.
Many of the gang members had various family backgrounds and entered the world of Yakuza. Among them, being able to eat a full meal is a blessing and should be a priority.
Family is nice, I think and realize.
-Yes, we should be a family.
This is how I can stay close and together with Sagara-kun for a long time to come.ใ
โWhat’s wrong with you, young ladyโฆ?โ
“Eh?”
โYou’re always a beautiful young lady, but today I’d say you’re horrifyingly beautiful. โฆโฆ”
I look at my face in the mirror at the entrance.
There I saw myself smiling with an ecstasy that I had never seen even in myself.