After Reaching the Happy Ending, I Was Locked up by the Extremely Possessive Heroines I Had Conquered - Chapter 57.2: Satori is There Even at the End of the Escape

Chapter 57.2: Satori is There Even at the End of the Escape

“I understand. It’s typical of Senpai to be careless…”

“Sorry. I’ll catch up soon, so wait for me at Tokyo Station.”

“You absolutely have to, okay? You absolutely have to come back to me, got it?”

Toa’s pressing voice rang in my ear.

She sounded strong, but there was also a hint of worry mixed in, and I strongly felt I couldn’t make her anxious any more.

“Toa, don’t worry. I will definitely make it to Tokyo, to both of you. So—”

That was the moment.

Slow footsteps sounded from behind me.

Then a soft, sweet shampoo scent drifted over.

It was the same scent I had used that morning in the shower—meaning it belonged to someone who had stayed at the Jindaiji hotel.

“Akira?”

A voice suddenly called my name.

My hand holding the phone trembled slightly, but I fearfully turned around.

Silver hair sparkled under the lights, filling my vision.

The strands swayed with the movement, and her lips parted a little.

“Is that Toa-chan on the phone?”

“Senpai? Are you okay?”

Toa’s worried voice came from the phone. But right now I had no room to answer.

Because Satori was right in front of me.

“It’s Toa.”

“…I see.”

She gave a faint smile.

I had no idea what that smile meant.

Was it mercy, or some other emotion?

Either way, it was certain she wasn’t going to let me go.

“End the call.”

She slowly stepped closer as she spoke.

In her right hand she held handcuffs, and she pointed them toward my left hand that held the phone.

“We’re going home.”

And the next thing I knew, I was restrained.

When I looked again at my wrist, the handcuffs were perfectly locked in place, gleaming as if that was exactly where they belonged.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

The phone slipped from my hand and rolled across the floor with a clatter.

Toa was probably confused on the other end. I heard her call “Senpai,” but Satori picked up the phone and cut the call with a click.

“……………………”

Silence wrapped around us.

“We’re going home, Akira.”

“Wait. At least tell me how you caught up.”

Satori pulled hard on my arm, and I resisted while asking.

“I just caught up normally.”

“Huh? But I boarded the train first, didn’t I?”

“I took the Shinkansen ahead to Toyohashi and waited.”

“The Shinkansen!? Sure, that would let you catch up… But how did you know I would change trains at Toyohashi?”

That was the biggest question.

But Satori answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world, dropping a shocking line.

“I can see through everything you do, Akira.”

“You can see through…?”

Was I really being tracked by location after all? If so, no matter how much I ran it would be pointless.

No matter how I shook her off, she would eventually catch me.

In other words, this wasn’t tag. It was one-sided capture.

“About that part, could you explain in more—”

“Anyway, we’re getting off at the next station.”

“No, I really don’t recommend the next station.”

“Why not?”

If things kept going like this, she would drag me off at the next stop, so I hurriedly rattled off an explanation.

“Because the Nozomi doesn’t stop there. See, the Hikari stops at all sorts of stations, right? It would be faster to go all the way to Tokyo first and then take a Nozomi toward Okayama.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Honestly, it was pretty iffy. Shin-Yokohama wouldn’t make much difference, but going all the way to Tokyo would take time.

Turning back at the next station would be safer.

But right now logic didn’t matter. Everything depended on whether Satori believed me.

So I just had to push that story and get through this.

“…Suspicious.”

She gave me a doubtful look, but I wasn’t the type to look away here.

No matter how intense her glare, I kept staring straight into her eyes.

“Besides, we went to the trouble of getting green car seats, so getting off after one stop would be a waste, don’t you think?”

“…That’s true, but…”

I didn’t miss the moment she looked away and immediately continued.

“Once we pass Aichi we enter Shizuoka, and that’s where Mount Fuji is. The tallest mountain in Japan. You’ve heard of it, right, Satori?”

“I have, but…”

“Don’t you want to see it at least once? You can see it beautifully from the Shinkansen window. Come on. Since we’re here anyway, I want to see it together with you.”

“………………………………”

“Please. Let’s watch Mount Fuji together from the green car.”

“………………………………”

Satori said nothing for a while.

Only the steady clatter of the train filled the air.

We stared at each other in silence, and then the train apparently stopped at the next station.

People got on and off around us. I thought she would pull me out of the train, but surprisingly she didn’t move an inch. She didn’t even twitch an eyebrow; she just kept staring into my eyes.

“Ah…”

Then I heard the doors close, and right after that the train started moving again.

It was no longer possible to get off.

“…Fine.”

Satori muttered quietly,

“I’ll go along with you for a little while.”

She continued with a slightly ticklish expression.

There seemed to be kindness mixed with a tiny bit of embarrassment in her voice, and for just a second my heart skipped a beat.