The Story of Making a Popular Girl Dependent on Me - Chapter 35

Leaving Setsune’s house, I walked alone along the darkening night road to the nearest station, reminiscing about the happy moments just before.

Suddenly, a man appeared in front of me and called out, “Hey, Yukimura-san. Going home alone at this hour?”

“What’s up? Hayato Senagawa-kun. Your house isn’t nearby, right?”

“Haha. Oh, I just had something to do with you. I thought you might have gone to her house after going home with Asahina-san, so I’ve been waiting.”

He probably knew about Setsune’s house, likely from a friend who mentioned it before.

“I see. Must have been tough. So, what’s the matter with me?”

“Don’t rush. Let’s move to the nearby park first.”

Hayato Senagawa said that and walked ahead, keeping a moderate distance from me.

(Doesn’t seem like he’ll let me go. There’s only that park nearby. Can’t help it, I’ll follow.)

After taking a deep breath, I silently followed him, trying not to be noticed, while taking out my phone.

When we reached the park, we stood a bit apart and looked at each other.

“So? What’s the point of changing the location?”

“Well, I really wanted to ask you something. That video… did you upload it on social media?”

“No way. We had no connection, so why would I do that?”

“Isn’t it because you were jealous? It seems like you and Asahina-san are dating, and I’ve been getting closer to her recently.”

This guy is unnecessarily sharp. No, according to Hasegawa-san’s report, his grades seem fine, so he probably guessed from the words I said in passing and my relationship with Setsune.

“I see. Even if that were the reason, so what?”

“Haha. Oh well, my life ends because of one person’s jealousy. And being in a relationship with another girl, it’s disgusting and makes me sick. Ah, poor Asahina-san.”

“Haha. It’s none of your business. Regardless of what others think, as long as Setsune is happy, that’s all that matters, and I’ll make her happy. So, why don’t you go to the juvenile detention center soon and reflect on your actions? Apologize for touching my girl.”

Upon hearing my words, Hayato Senagawa seemed bothered by the fact that I wasn’t intimidated at all. He gritted his teeth, looking like he had just bitten a bitter bug.

“Damn it!! You really piss me off!! Because of you, the police will come to my house, my father will hit me, how will you make up for that?!”

“I don’t know. Isn’t it your fault for doing such things? It’s karma.”

“I see. I’m done. If I’m going to get caught anyway…”

Saying that, he suddenly threw the bag he was holding towards me.

I managed to avoid it since I was alert. But the next moment, I felt a strong impact on my abdomen.

“Ugh!”

“Don’t think I haven’t beaten up various people. Dealing with a weakling like you is a piece of cake.”

I held my aching stomach and knelt down. I had never been hit by someone before, so it was very painful and made it hard to breathe. But I kept my eyes on him without looking away.

“Your eyes make me sick. Should I gouge them out?”

Hayato Senagawa said that and took out a small knife from his pocket.

Then, he aimed the knife at my heart. I tried to roll on the ground to avoid it, but the knife deeply cut my arm, causing blood to flow.

“…!”

“Tch. Stop dodging, it’s annoying.”

The burning pain from my arm spread, and sweat beaded on my forehead.

Taking advantage of the moment I rolled to avoid him, he pushed me to the ground and straddled me.

“Ahaha! You can’t escape now!”

“If you kill me, your life will truly be over.”

“It doesn’t matter. If I go to the juvenile detention center, that record will haunt me for life. So, I’ll kill you and then die.”

“A murder-suicide with you is the worst idea.”

“Don’t worry. I feel the worst too.”

Finally, he said that and swung the knife down towards my face. I watched the approaching knife and thought about what would happen if I died.

(Oh. If I die like this, Setsune will cry. That’s absolutely not okay. I can’t make her cry!)

Summoning my last bit of strength, I managed to grab his wrist with both hands and stop the knife.

“Haha! You still have that much energy left! But you know? You’re a woman, and I’m a man. I have the upper hand in strength!”

I tried desperately to resist, but due to the wound, I couldn’t muster strength, and as he said, the knife slowly approached my face.

“Sorry. Setsune…”

The happiness I had finally found was about to end here, leaving her alone, and tears flowed sadly.

As the final moment approached, Hayato Senagawa was suddenly tackled by someone and rolled on the ground.

“Ugh!!!”

“Rokka!!”

With bright brown hair swaying, the person who appeared in front of me was the one I had been thinking about all along, the most beloved person to me.

“Setsune, is that you…?”

And as she appeared, sirens sounded nearby, and people who seemed like police officers approached. They headed towards Hayato Senagawa and restrained him with a few people.

“Damn it!! Don’t interfere!!! It’s all his fault!! It’s because of him that this happened!!”

He kept making a fuss until the end, but since the police had arrived, there was nothing more he could do.

“Rokka! I’m glad you’re alive!”

Setsune said that, shedding tears, and hugged me.

I reached out with my uninjured arm to wipe away her tears and smiled to reassure her as much as possible.

“I’m sorry for making you cry…”

“That doesn’t matter! We need to treat your wounds quickly!”

“It’s okay… So, don’t cry… And I… prefer to see you smiling, Setsune…”

Smiling one last time, my consciousness faded there and sank into deep darkness.

When I woke up, I saw an unfamiliar white ceiling. Light coming in from the window and a medicinal smell tickled my nostrils.

“Where is this…?”

“Rokka?”

“Mom?”

“You’re awake! I’m so relieved!”

My mother said that, holding my hand while crying. It seemed like she had been very worried, and it took quite some time for my mother to calm down.

“How long was I asleep?”

“About a day. Your arm wound was quite deep, and you lost consciousness due to severe bleeding.”

“I see.”

“Yes. I’m really glad you’re safe. Are you grateful to Setsune-chan too?”

“Speaking of which, where’s Setsune?”

Since my last memory was vague, I didn’t remember much, but Setsune came to help me when I was about to give up.

“Setsune-chan went to school. That girl didn’t want to leave your side, but she’s a student, so I let her go to school. She said she would come as soon as school ended, so she should be here soon.”

Knock, knock, knock.

“Oh, it seems she’s here.”

After my mother finished speaking, the door of the hospital room was knocked, and Setsune entered slowly as she opened the door.

“Good morning, Setsune.”

As I greeted her, Setsune hugged me tightly, tears streaming down her face.

“Rokka, Rokka!”

“Sorry for worrying you, Setsune.”

I wanted to hug her back, but my arm still hurt too much to move, so I continued to stroke her back until she calmed down.

Perhaps my mother understood the situation, as she was no longer in the room, leaving just Setsune and me.

After a while, Setsune finally calmed down and gently kissed me.

After kissing a few times, I had something on my mind from that time, so I decided to ask her.

“By the way, why were you able to come to help me at that time? I remember you were about to go to sleep when I left.”

“Yeah. After you left, I did fall asleep, but I had a dream at that time.”

“A dream?”

“A dream that you died. I woke up because of that, and I had a bad feeling ever since. So, I searched around, and I happened to find you being attacked.”

“I see…”

It was a strange story, but since I actually survived thanks to that dream, I accepted that sometimes things like that happen.

After that, Setsune told me about what happened to Hayato Senagawa after that, how he was taken away by the police, and the current situation at school.

After talking for a while, my mother returned and said it was getting late, so she told Setsune to go home.

Perhaps because she was told by my mother, Setsune obediently left to go home.

After Setsune left, feeling a bit tired, I said a few words to my mother before falling asleep for the day.