Driving through the steel forest, Sakiko felt drowsy as the hot wind brought by the urban heat island effect brushed against her hair. The car radio played 1960s-style American jazz, the low guitar notes sounding somewhat hazy.
[I don't want to set the world on fire.]
[I just want to start a flame in your heart.]
That gaze kept replaying in Sakiko's mind—that gaze that seemed almost full of a compassionate sorrow for the world.
Dr. Kashiwagi was a good person. Even though he had peeked into her secrets, it was impossible to genuinely dislike him.
The Dodge drove down the overpass, bright moonlight spilling down from between the dark clouds, nourishing the earth in beams. They were almost home. If she didn't say something, Dr. Kashiwagi might end up thinking she was a stubborn and inflexible person.
If she was just going to use someone as an outlet...
"Dr. Kashiwagi." After hesitating time and again, Sakiko Toyokawa finally spoke up.
"I'm listening."
"Actually, I..." Before she could even finish half a sentence, a sudden impact sent Sakiko crashing directly against the half-opened car window. The driver gripped the steering wheel to steady himself, slamming on the brakes to keep his beloved Dodge from sliding any further.
Sakiko hadn't fastened her seatbelt properly, and her forehead collided directly with the glass, turning red and swollen. What a wretched look she must be presenting right now.
"Are you kidding me, buddy? Is this your first time driving?" Once the car was safely stopped, Miki Kashiwagi's temper flared instantly. He stepped out of the car, walking toward the vehicle behind while letting loose a tirade. "The two-lane road is completely wide open, yet you still manage to rear-end someone?"
The driver of the offending vehicle didn't get out. Instead, two blonde delinquents tumbled out from the back seat. Even from a distance of nearly five meters, Miki Kashiwagi felt the reek of alcohol assaulting his sense of smell. "Driving too slow, you asshole! Getting killed out here is what you deserve!"
"Can the two of you afford to pay for this, you jerks? This car is older than both of your poorly parenting fathers! After you pay up, you're going to have to kneel down and kowtow to my precious car to apologize..."
Three out-of-control men were engaged in a fierce verbal battle right in the middle of the road, locked in an intense stalemate. Sakiko Toyokawa desperately wanted to step out and get everyone to calm down, but the moment she caught sight of the driver in the rear car, that thought vanished instantly.
Slumped over the steering wheel, covered in stubble and reeking of alcohol, was her father.
Where on earth had he gotten the money to rent this car?
Sakiko was no fool. In an instant, she realized that the money hidden at home must have been taken by her good-for-nothing old man to rent a car, buy alcohol, and go out carousing. The meager seventy or eighty thousand yen left at home—her living expenses for the next half month—had all been turned into a car rental receipt and the vomit her father would soon be leaving in the toilet later tonight.
Tears welled up instantly, spinning in her eyes as her whole body trembled uncontrollably.
She had to calm down. All of this was just a temporary hardship. She had to calm down...
She had to... calm down...
That savior-like, warm gaze and those sharp black pupils appeared in her mind once again.
"Dr. Kashiwagi!" Sakiko Toyokawa's voice suddenly rang out from inside the car. Miki Kashiwagi heard the tremble in her tone and feared she might be injured. Giving the three men in the other car a fierce glare, he said coldly, "Let's just go through insurance. I've memorized your license plate. Get lost."
The three of them were only too glad to escape this disaster. They hauled the drunken driver into the back seat, and the other blonde delinquent stepped on the gas, fleeing the scene.
"What's wrong, Sakiko? You're not hurt, are you... Whoa!" Before Miki Kashiwagi could even settle back into his seat after returning to the car, Sakiko Toyokawa threw herself directly into his arms and burst into loud sobs. Though somewhat baffled, Miki Kashiwagi wrapped his arms around her anyway, gently patting her back to comfort her while wondering if he had done something wrong just now.
The Sakiko of right now wasn't yet the Sakiko of a few months later in the original timeline. This sixteen-year-old high school student had only been beaten down by society for less than half a year, and facing this sudden, massive financial betrayal from Father Sakiko was a first for her. If it were the original timeline, Sakiko would have gotten used to it sooner or later.
But then again, comparison is odious; with the gentle, considerate, and wealthy older-brother figure of Miki Kashiwagi right beside her, facing that useless old man all of a sudden created a sheer, overwhelming sense of contrast.
Miki Kashiwagi could only use one hand to quietly call the insurance company to come to the scene for a damage assessment, while using the other to soothe the tear-drenched Sakiko just like a child.
Fortunately, the scene of the accident was relatively close to Ginza, and the insurance representative arrived promptly. Miki Kashiwagi discussed the insurance matters with him: only one rear headlight and a large patch of paint were ruined. Those drunkards still possessed a shred of self-preservation instinct and hadn't dared to drive fast.
Sakiko Toyokawa sat red-eyed on the roadside curb, hugging her knees and letting out an occasional sob.
In the end, the insurance company towed the car away for repairs and dispatched their legal department to file a lawsuit for compensation based on the license plate number Miki Kashiwagi provided.
With the car towed away, the two of them sat together by the roadside—one smoking downwind, the other sinking into silent emo.
There were no stars or moon in the sky, and the howling wind swept up fallen leaves. Even though the nightlife was just beginning, the terrible weather meant only a scattering of pedestrians were out, and the streetlights cast a spotlight-like glow that highlighted the two of them as if they were in a play.
"Ahem, sorry about this, Sakiko. I didn't expect something like this to happen," Miki Kashiwagi said, stubbing out his cigarette, clearing his throat, and offering her an awkward smile. "I didn't bring enough cash, and heading back to Minato City clearly isn't realistic anymore. Let me call a cab to take you back while I crash at a friend's place for the night."
Anyway, it was Friday, and there was no school tomorrow; going over to a fellow countryman's place for hot pot didn't sound bad at all.
"I don't want to go back." To his surprise, Sakiko refused in a muffled voice. "You can go home by yourself. I'll be fine staying here alone."
How could Miki Kashiwagi possibly feel at ease leaving her by herself? Yet, unable to figure out why Sakiko—who had previously been so eager to return home—suddenly didn't want to go back, he had no choice but to press her for the reason.
"Because... that driver was my father..." After a moment of hesitation, Sakiko Toyokawa finally decided to voice the ordeal she had endured for the past few months. "...He doesn't care about my feelings at all. In his eyes, I'm probably just a walking wallet that generates money."
Having poured out her misery in one breath, Sakiko Toyokawa felt much better, her spirits lifting quite a bit.
To summarize: a divorced family, a heartless mother, a useless old man, and a shattered her.
Yet, from Miki Kashiwagi's perspective, for the fiercely proud Sakiko to actually be willing to pour out her grievances to him—this meant he had truly entered the main storyline.
"If I said I wanted to give you money to help out, you definitely wouldn't accept it, right?"
"Of course. I can make a comeback on my own; I don't need anyone's charity—" Halfway through her sentence, the ringtone of Sakiko's phone cut in. A call was coming through.
"Hello, hi... Eh? Wait, I only—please give me a chance, wait, don't hang up, please—"
The line went dead.
Miki Kashiwagi felt as though he had just watched someone shatter into a million pieces.
"That's rough, man," Miki Kashiwagi muttered in Cantonese with a sigh.