Chapter 115: Don't Give Up on a Smooth Path Over a Small Obstacle (Long Chapter)
"What happened? Kaiko, explain it to me slowly."
Akishin's expression turned grim. Judging by Kaiko's words, it seemed Yuika was planning to drop out of school entirely.
Shizuka, standing behind him, noticed the sudden shift in Akishin's demeanor. She silently slipped her hands into her pockets, watching him as the setting sun cast long shadows and a gentle breeze rustled her long hair.
A heavy silence lingered on the other end of the line for about ten seconds. Just as Akishin began to think the call had dropped, Kaiko's voice broke through, trembling with sobs.
"Chishima-sensei, it's like this... Earlier this afternoon, Yuika suddenly called me out and told me she isn't going back to school. She said she wants to start working to earn money... to take care of her mother and her younger brother."
...
The clock rewinds to four hours prior.
Kimitsu City, Municipal Hospital.
After finishing lunch, Yuika had suddenly turned to Kaiko and said, "Kaiko, let's step outside for a bit. I... I have something I need to tell you."
She then turned to the woman lying in the hospital bed. "Mom, Kaiko and I are going to go talk for a second. We'll be right back."
The woman looked hesitant, a flicker of doubt crossing her face, but she forced a smile nonetheless. "Alright. Just don't go too far."
"We won't. We'll just be in the corridor."
Yuika shook her head with a smile, then gently pulled Kaiko out of the patient room, leading her toward the large window at the turn of the stairwell.
"Yuika, what's this about? Why did we have to come out here?"
Kaiko was bewildered. she glanced around at their surroundings; the air here carried that distinct, unpleasant clinical scent.
Yuika leaned her hands against the windowsill, staring straight ahead at the distant skyscrapers. They were on the fifth floor, and a sharp gust of wind from the open window whipped her long hair messily across her face.
Just outside the glass was a small concrete ledge designed to divert rain. It was a blind spot for the maintenance staff, likely cleaned only once every few months.
Countless cigarette butts were piled up there—at least a thousand of them—clogging the space and turning the small puddles of standing water into a murky, obsidian black.
Some of the filters were ancient, having been soaked by rain and baked by the sun so many times that they had lost their shape, practically fusing into the concrete. Others still retained their bright colors, likely tossed out only a few hours ago.
After a few seconds of silence, Kaiko turned to look at her friend. Her eyes narrowed—tears were streaming down Yuika's face.
"Yuika?"
"Kaiko... I'm planning to... withdraw from school."
"!!!"
Kaiko grabbed Yuika's arm instinctively. "Yuika, what are you saying?!" She suspected she had misheard her, or perhaps she just desperately hoped she had.
Without turning her head, Yuika repeated herself, though this time her voice shook. "Kaiko, I'm... I'm going to... quit school."
"...Why?"
Kaiko's eyes widened in disbelief. Yuika was the one who loved learning more than anyone. Why would she suddenly want to throw it all away?
Then, the image of Yuika's mother in that hospital bed flashed through her mind, followed by the reality of Yuika's family situation. The pieces clicked together, and she realized the reason.
Yuika finally turned around, tears still falling, yet she forced the widest, lightest smile she could muster. "Well, you see... Kaiko, I have to take care of Mom. Soichi still needs to go to school, too, and Grandma is having a hard time getting around. Haha... so... that's why. I want to stop school and work so I can take care of everyone…"
"Kaiko, um... I don't want Mom to know just yet, so... I was wondering if you could help me lie for a bit, and... and…"
The words 'I want to lean on you' died in her throat. Kaiko was her closest friend. In the past, whenever things got hard, she would talk to Kaiko, and the burden would always feel lighter afterward.
Yuika knew she depended on Kaiko far too much, but she had never minded it. This time was no different; after making this choice, the first person she thought of was Kaiko.
Kaiko would keep her secret. Kaiko would listen until the very end. But in the end, she felt that this wasn't a burden she should be dumping on Kaiko's shoulders.
—This was a family matter, after all.
"Yuika…"
Kaiko stared at her, dazed. Her grip on Yuika's arm tightened, yet she felt a terrifying sense of instability, as if she couldn't hold on to her friend at all.
She wanted to say something—anything—but the words wouldn't come. She could only stand there in silence, gritting her teeth.
Should she persuade Yuika to change her mind?
On what grounds?
At the end of the day, Kaiko was just a student living off her parents.
Maybe she was working part-time at Chishima-sensei's place now and didn't have to pay tuition, meaning she barely touched her parents' money anymore, but so what? That didn't mean she could help Yuika.
Should she ask her parents to help? Was that even possible?
Her family was just an average household; their income was barely enough to cover their own expenses. Helping Yuika would mean supporting Yuika's entire family.
It was a staggering cost. Her parents would never agree to it. It wasn't about being kind or cruel; it was simply a matter of cold, hard reality.
"It's okay, Kaiko." Yuika wiped the tears from her cheeks, offering a smile she thought looked casual. "Plenty of people don't go to college. I'm just finishing school a little earlier than most…"
"Besides, I can always reopen the Izakaya. You could call it... inheriting the family business, haha. So, Kaiko, you have to keep this a secret for me for a while, okay?"
"Next... next week, I'm going to school to file the withdrawal. Oh... that's right. There's also Chishima-sensei. I have to tell him, too…"
"Is it... is it really the same, Yuika? You have a real shot at getting into Tokyo University... you have such a bright future ahead of you. You can't just stop here…"
…
After listening to Kaiko's explanation in silence, Akishin remained quiet for a few seconds before asking, "Kaiko, where are you now?"
"At home."
In a room filled with the typical atmosphere of a teenage girl, the lighting was dim. Kaiko sat on her bed, hugging her knees with a devastated expression.
"And where is Kondo?"
"She should... still be at the hospital. Is Chishima-sensei going to talk her out of it?"
"Of course. Whether as her teacher or her boss, it's exactly what I ought to do."
After a few more words with Kaiko, Akishin hung up. He stared at the phone in his hand and let out a long sigh.
"What is it? Did something happen to those two girls from your shop?"
Shizuka asked. She was well aware of who they were, both through Chishimaya and the school records. She actually knew more about them in a school context, given that they were both model students.
"Just one of them. Something happened with Kondo's family. She wants to drop out." Akishin scrolled through his contacts for Kondo Yuika's number and hit dial.
This was a situation that could be described as incredibly simple yet incredibly tedious, depending entirely on whether Yuika was willing to accept his help.
If she accepted, the solution was easy.
It was just a matter of money. And when you actually have money, problems that can be solved with it become the simplest problems in the world.
Once it's spent, you just find a way to make more.
But for someone with nothing, any problem requiring money becomes an insurmountable mountain.
That wasn't some motivational quote; it was just a fact.
The phone rang for a full minute before it was finally picked up. From the other end came Yuika's hesitant voice. "Chishima... Chishima-sensei?"
"It's me."
"..."
A heavy silence fell between them. Half a minute later, Yuika's voice came through, sounding frail. "Um... Chishima-sensei, did you need something?"
"Kaiko told me what's going on."
"...I see. That's so like her. It's fine, Chishima-sensei. It's really just a small thing."
"If it were really a small thing, your voice wouldn't sound like that."
"..."
"Kondo, do you have any other relatives who can help you?"
"...No one."
At the hospital corridor.
The fading light of the sunset filtered through the window like the flickering wick of a dying candle. Kondo Yuika leaned against the wall, her thin frame trembling slightly. She gripped the phone with all her might, fighting back the tears.
No one. There truly was no one else.
Ever since her father passed away, the relatives had vanished. No calls, no visits, not even during the holidays.
Besides, even if there were relatives willing to help, how much could they really do?
Fortunately, the hospital had elevators now, so people rarely used the stairs. No one was there to see the state Kondo Yuika was in.
"No one, huh..."
Akishin took a final drag of his cigarette until it reached the filter, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke. He dropped the butt, crushed it under his heel, then picked it up to toss it into a nearby bin.
He spoke with a sudden, sharp gravity. "Since I already know, I'm obviously going to help. I'm your teacher and your boss. Kondo, I'm only going to ask you one thing. Your teacher has decided to help you—do you accept it, or not?"
"How... how could I...? I can't trouble Chishima-sensei any more than I already have. This is a family matter, and besides, I still have my brother and grandmother to think about..."
Yuika's voice was frantic, laced with anxiety. She was terrified of Akishin helping her. She had thought about reaching out to him, but then she remembered her mother's recent surgery, her elementary-school-aged brother, and her aging grandmother…
She couldn't say it. She truly couldn't. Anyone who helped her family would be taking on a crushing burden.
Yuika didn't want to ruin anyone else's life.
She had already mapped out her future. After dropping out, she'd find a job during the day, and at night, she'd go to Chishimaya to learn basic cooking techniques from Chishima-sensei. She figured he would at least agree to that, and she wouldn't even ask for a wage.
After six months or a year of training, she would move back to her hometown and open an Izakaya. With the skills she learned from him, she was sure the business would thrive.
In the meantime, she'd use her wages to put her brother through school and care for her mother and grandmother... Once her brother was independent, she'd find someone to marry and live out a quiet life.
Whether that life was good or bad was just fate. Living the life she had imagined... it wasn't so bad!
Yuika stumbled through her plan, ending with a shaky laugh over the phone. "See, Chishima-sensei? Isn't it a decent plan? You'll teach me how to cook, right...?"
"Of course. As long as you want to learn, I'll pass down every technique I have to you."
Chishima Akishin sat back on a school bench, lighting another cigarette. Shizuka sat beside him in silence.
"...However, Kondo Yuika, are you truly okay with throwing everything else away? You clearly have the talent to choose whatever future you actually want."
This time, Akishin used her full name. A ten-second silence followed, before a voice filled with a forced cheerfulness responded:
"Ha... just being able to learn from you makes me happy enough. I've seen how much your Izakaya earns; it's more than what top university graduates make. I should consider myself lucky…"
"I'm asking you: are you really okay with it?"
"I... I... I..."
Akishin took the cigarette from his mouth and sighed. "Kondo, there's no one around you right now, is there? Just cry. Let it out... If you're afraid of bothering people, just cry quietly. Don't bottle it up. It's not good for your head or your heart."
"..."
The faint sound of sobbing began to leak through the phone.
Shizuka had pieced together the situation. She looked up at the sky and let out a sigh of her own. That girl is so kind... why does it have to be her?
The crying lasted only a few minutes. Eventually, Yuika's voice returned. "Thank... thank you, Chishima-sensei. But my situation is just too much..."
"Stop talking, Kondo. I've already decided. I'm going to cover your tuition and your brother's, and I'll take care of your mother's medical bills. After this, move your family to Chiba City."
"Don't be so quick to refuse. This comes with a price. First, you need to understand that your teacher isn't exactly short on cash. To be honest, I have a very large Group backing me."
As he said this, Akishin stole a glance at Shizuka.
"...Second, consider this money a loan. And I'm charging interest. The interest will be double—no, triple the principal. If I lend you 1,000,000 yen now, once you graduate and get a job, you owe me 3,000,000 yen."
"It's a much better return than putting it in a bank."
"Think carefully. Are you willing to accept help from a loan shark like me?"
Akishin crushed his cigarette butt on the ground again, put it in the trash, and reached for another.
Before he could light it, Shizuka snatched it from his hand and tossed it straight into the bin. She then swiped the entire pack—which was more than half full—along with his lighter and threw the whole lot away.
"But... but if that happens, and I can't pay it back, wouldn't that be..."
Yuika hesitated. If there was any other choice, of course she wanted to stay in school. She was only sixteen!
Akishin allowed a small smile to form, sensing the crisis was over. "Then you, Kondo, better make sure you get into Tokyo University. Only a degree from a place like that will give you the salary you need to pay me back quickly."
"But... but..."
"No buts. I've made my decision. We'll talk about the details when you're back in Chiba. I'll expect a formal IOU with your seal on it then. Alright, that's enough for now. See you in Chiba."
Without waiting for Yuika's response, Akishin promptly ended the call.
Hospital corridor.
Kondo Yuika, her face stained with tears, stared blankly at the disconnected screen of her phone. She stood there for a long time, unable to process what had just happened.
…
Chishima Akishin never considered himself a "good" person. He didn't do charity, and he never gave money to beggars on the street.
Quite the opposite—he had taken more than enough lives in his previous world.
For the same reason as before, Akishin simply liked this girl named Kondo Yuika. He didn't want to see a bright future snuffed out by something as unfair as this.
To get Akishin's help, you first had to know him and have a decent relationship. Second, your character had to be good enough that he felt the help was "worth" it, even without a return. And lastly, most importantly, Chishima Akishin had to want to help.
You could summarize his philosophy as this: living life exactly how he wanted without feeling the need to explain himself to anyone.
…
Shortly after, Yukino and Yui ran over to discuss club matters with Shizuka.
"Shizuka-chan, I'm heading home too."
"Right. See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
After a brief nod to Yui and Yukino, Akishin turned and walked away. On his way, he sent a text to Sakurai Kaiko explaining that the 'matter was settled,' then began his walk back toward Konishi Street, heading into the sunset.
The daughter of Mrs. Mitsuryou from next door greeted him politely. "Uncle Chishima, good evening."
"Hotaru, good evening."
Chishima Akishin nodded with a smile as he returned to Chishimaya, handing a box of sweets to Mitsuryou Hotaru.
—I feel like there's a smooth road ahead. Why should someone stop walking just because of one tiny hurdle?
—Making a person's limited life more effective... that's essentially the same as extending a human's lifespan.
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