My Girlfriend is a Death Row Inmate - Chapter 18 - Bind the fox

Chapter 18 – Bind the fox

If only something went wrong again, Kusune would have been forced to go there instead. But in this country, things rarely go awry due to the good public safety. She ended up coming all the way to my house. I crossed my arms and pondered what to do in my mind. I thought she might dislike being familiarly toyed with by a guy who isn’t her lover, but that also backfired. When I said “embarrassing,” she let go, but I’m sure she wouldn’t try to distance herself from me with half-hearted means.

It would be a lie to say I’m not happy, but it’s a complicated feeling. Shizuku is at home. Since she has that mysterious sense focused on Shizuku, I can’t feel safe even with a physical barrier.

“Is this Sakisaka-kun’s house?”

“Nothing much to see here.”

“…Shouldn’t I greet your family to protect you after all?”

“No no no! You don’t have to go that far! Thanks for today! Goodbye! See you tomorrow! Yeah, see you tomorrow!”

Knowing she’s a woman, I tried to push her away with all my might by getting close, but Kusune remained unfazed. The difference in power, though the conditions should be the same, was baffling. Has her foot just taken root on the spot?

“It’s okay now! If we start greeting each other’s families, we might as well become lovers!”

“If it’s to protect you, it can’t be helped.”

“I’m not okay with that!”

“It’s better than being killed, isn’t it?”

It was a problem before the super sense even came into play. Still, it’s suspicious if I didn’t anticipate something like this. I didn’t have precise predictions, but knowing her strong will, it’s not hard to imagine her refusing to yield even when making strange proposals again.

I never thought she wouldn’t yield physically to this extent.

“Gu-nu-nu-nu*… Come on, I said I’m fine now! So, ah!”

(e/n: struggling sounds?? idk he’s trying to push her away)

“That’s not how it’s going to go. If something happens…”

“Onii, what are you doing in front of the house?”

Where did I accidentally glance to meet Medusa’s eyes, or perhaps was the owner of that voice indeed the famous snake-like monster? My entire body petrified. But it wasn’t an instant thing. The petrification that started from my feet surged up to my upper body like the tide, solidifying everything except my head in no time. Still, I managed to move my neck safely and turned around to at least confirm the identity of the monster.

“Ru, Ruri…………”

My entire body petrified. If not for the miraculous cracks that appeared, I might have died on the spot. While I love my sister the most among my family, at this moment, she was the last person I wanted to see. Well, maybe not as much as Shizuku. It might be about the same, actually.

Initially, her gaze was directed at me, but since it’s quite rare for a student to visit the Sakisaka household, her attention quickly shifted—to Kusune Rinbara.

“…………”

“Hello. You must be Sakisaka-kun’s sister. Nice to meet you, I’m Kusune Rinbara. Sakisaka-kun and I are classmates.”

“…………”

No, it was Ruri who was petrified. Without blinking, without moving a muscle, she processed information with only one focal point in sight.

“Sakisaka-kun. Your sister seems to have fallen silent. What’s wrong?”

“W-what’s wrong…? She’s not exactly your fan, but… You know, you’re kind of famous, right? There are people who admire you, sort of.”

“I see. Regardless of what aspect of me they admire, in such situations, proper greetings are necessary.”

Though I tried to push back as usual, my efforts easily succumbed to Kusune’s actions. Ignoring me, who collapsed on the spot, she approached Ruri and knelt down to her eye level.

“May I inquire about your name?”

“…………I-It’s Ruri!”

Her usual lethargy vanished. Her crisp speech and noticeable nervousness, not characteristic of my sister, were apparent even to bystanders. It’s so amusing; I almost wanted to show this to our parents, but they wouldn’t believe anything coming from a habitual liar like me. Too bad.

“Yes, Ruri-san, is it? Would you mind if I asked about Sakisaka-kun’s usual demeanor?”

“Uh… um… my… Onii… um…”

“Wait a minute. Are you prying into my private life? My privacy is off-limits.”

“It’s okay to talk about other topics, but I don’t know much about Ruri-san. It’d be easier to talk if we discuss Sakisaka-kun.”

She just won’t stop, will she? Unable to stop her, I decided to head home first. I don’t know what she’s trying to find out, but if Ruri was the one being pressed, then no one else will be inconvenienced, so it’s a win-win situation. It seemed like she hasn’t noticed Shizuku’s existence yet, so it’s quite fortunate for me.

―――Every cloud has a silver lining.

Returning to my room in complete silence, Shizuku-san was nowhere to be found.

“…Eh?”

I felt the blood drain from my face… from my entire body. I had assumed she was just wrapped up in the futon, but clearly, there was no bulge indicating her presence. So where could she have gone? I never imagined she would be reckless enough to go out alone. Regardless of when she left, Kusune was at the front door right now. I wonder if she has a plan to return.

“…Isn’t this bad?”

I’m not one to speak to myself, but when things take such an unexpected turn, words tend to escape me. Clearly distressed, I sat down on the bed for the time being. It was a moment when I had to consider my next move.

All the windows in the room were open. Was this deliberate harassment, or simply my forgetfulness when I left for school? It’s unlikely since Shizuku would surely have been careful to lock up, but it’s not impossible. Ever since I inexplicably became popular at school, I couldn’t trust my own memories.

The green curtains swayed gently. A gentle breeze from outside entered the room. It was both comforting and unsettling. But I couldn’t bring myself to be angry. I had imagined the consequences of hiding Shizuku. Whether it succeeded or failed, if there was hell on earth, I was surely bound for it.

“…Phew.”

The moment I let out a deep sigh, all the windows closed simultaneously.

The curtains corresponding to the windows also spread out simultaneously, and in an instant, complete darkness engulfed my room. Even though I hadn’t touched the remote control, the ceiling light flickered, distorting my vision. I had heard on TV that there was a form of torture where a room was left with nothing but flashing lights.

“Uwaaah!”

I tried to leave the room immediately, but it was difficult to gauge the distance. Somehow, my hand reached the doorknob, but the door didn’t open, as if someone on the other side was pushing against it. The room had become completely sealed.

Returning to the torture story from earlier, it seems that when humans are trapped in a room with only flickering lights for a long time, they start to see hallucinations. It’s said that they eventually suffer mental breakdowns.

Why am I going through this? I tried slamming into the door, but if it opened with just that, then the house’s door must be seriously damaged. After about five minutes of banging into it, I almost dislocated my shoulder. Giving up, I leaned against the door and looked into the depths of the room.

“Huh?”

A figure was standing there. As soon as I realized that it was something sinister, it slowly approached me. The reason I couldn’t make out detailed features at this close range wasn’t due to my vision. It was because the darkness that emerged when the lights went out formed a human-shaped silhouette. As the lights flickered on and off, steadily closing the distance, despite the slow steps, the rapid tempo of the flickering made its actual speed quite fast.

“W-What the hell?”

My legs went weak. It was already a locked room, but now there was no escape. I wanted to at least confirm its identity, so I stared at the figure while tears streamed down my face—

Fade to black.

Ten seconds later, it faded back in. Shizuku was sitting in front of me.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah… I…”

If it was her doing, I couldn’t imagine her being so concerned about me like this. So, what was that just now?

I don’t know.

I don’t want to know.

Like a young child clinging to their mother in tears, I leaped into Shizuku’s arms.

“There, there, you must have been scared. It’s okay now, you don’t need to be afraid anymore. I’ll kill anything that scares you. So relax, come here… See? I’ll give you a hug.”

“……”

High school student Sakisaka Ryuma, embraced while having his back rubbed by a death row inmate. It’s not fair to simply call him pitiful. Given that he feels at ease in the presence of a mass murderer, one could argue that he is surprisingly composed.

To distract myself from the fear, I also touched various places on Shizuku. I tried my best to avoid touching her in naughty places, but I still touched her so much that I could recognize her whole body with my sense of touch. Shizuku accepted my touch without saying a word.

“…I’ll ask just to be sure, but this isn’t the work of Shizuku, right?”

“Of course I didn’t do it. There’s no benefit in scaring you. I want you to believe in me, but if I do that kind of thing, you won’t believe me, will you?”

“…You’re not lying, right?”

“Of course not. I would never lie to you… But even saying that is a form of deception, isn’t it? However, the me who is comforting you is genuine. I’ve proved that to you, right?”

“…Yes, you’re right.”

“―――I wonder if Kusune whispered something to you again. No matter how many times I say it, she won’t hesitate to use any means to catch me. You’d better think that all of her words are lies. She’s undergone special training… Yeah, you could say she’s like a soldier.”

“A soldier, you say?”

“That’s right. Kusune is someone who can become rational as much as needed for her goals. If direct persuasion is difficult, she’ll surround her target or buy off people who are somewhat related, making them play the role of pursuing the ideal she wants… Well, in simple terms, it’s like improvising extras. Convince them that they’ll be unhappy if they leave her, and happiness will come if they stay. Gradually make them believe and depend on her over a long period. That’s her method. Got it? You shouldn’t believe anything.”

“……………………”

“Got it? You shouldn’t believe anything.”

“………………Yes.”

Shizuku released me from her grip, then looked into my eyes and said,

“Okay? You shouldn’t believe anything. Do you understand?”

Then she smiled as if to say she’d do something nice. My mind was filled with thoughts of Shizuku. I couldn’t think of anything else…