Chương 26: Chapter 7 An Unexpected Encounter(Part 2)

Classes ended as usual, though I barely absorbed anything all day. Considering everything that had happened, concentration was impossible. After packing my textbooks into my bag and getting ready to leave, Yuki announced he was going out with some friends and disappeared almost immediately. As for me, I wanted to get home as soon as possible. I had no idea when Mom or my sister would return.

"Nayuta, let's walk together for a while."

"Sure. As long as we're not making any detours."

"With your uncle's situation, I understand. Besides, if I want to go stare at a Ring, I can do that on my own." Chihiro and I headed to the bicycle parking area. After pulling out our bikes, we walked side by side. The Ring nearest our school was far enough away that neither our commute to nor from school brought us anywhere close to it. Still, judging from the news footage, the thing looked enormous.

"By the way," I asked, "how many of those Rings are there?"

"As far as I know?" Chihiro thought for a moment.

"Two or three per prefecture. Worldwide? Probably countless."

"They all appeared almost simultaneously, glowed for a bit, and then just sat there."

"People on social media are treating them like tourist attractions and posting photos."

"What kind of tourist attraction is that?"

"Who knows? Maybe humanity's first encounter with the unknown." She pulled out her phone and opened a website. Taking it from her, I scrolled through the page. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Someone had created a map of Japan covered in pins marking confirmed Ring locations. Just looking at it was enough to realize there were a lot of them.

"Taito, Setagaya, Adachi... three just in Tokyo."

"Well, lots of people live there."

"Wait. Where exactly is Akihabara?"

"Isn't that one of the twenty-three wards?" Chihiro looked at me as though I'd disappointed her on a fundamental level.

"Akihabara isn't a ward."

"It spans parts of Taito and Chiyoda."

"Akihabara Station and Electric Town are in Chiyoda."

"From here, it's roughly 1, 156 kilometers away."

"Got it."

"I'd like to visit someday." Chatting like that helped ease some of my worries. Eventually we reached the point where our routes split. After saying goodbye, I climbed onto my bike and headed home. Mom would probably be back tonight. And while I didn't know exactly where she was right now, my sister was supposed to be returning as well. Everything would probably go back to normal. Probably. When I arrived home, however, Mom's car wasn't in the driveway. She was likely still at the hospital with Dad.

Thinking that, I inserted my key into the front door. Then paused.

"The door's already unlocked?" The lock had definitely been disengaged. Stepping inside, I was greeted by Nyanta, our cat. Had Mom forgotten to lock up? As I removed my shoes and entered the house, I heard running water. The shower. A burglar taking a shower? Yeah, right. More likely Dad had been discharged and was cleaning up. Speaking of which, I still had yesterday's karate uniform. I should throw it into the washing machine before it evolved into a new lifeform.

"Dad, welcome home."

"How are you feeling?" I entered the changing area and tossed the gi into the washing machine. Just then, the shower stopped. A moment later, the bathroom door opened. It wasn't as though this was unusual. Dad had taken me to hot springs countless times. Seeing him naked wasn't exactly a life-changing experience. We were family.

"So, how are you feeling?"

"Doing bette—" I turned around. And screamed.

"WHAAAAAAAT?!" Standing there was a girl. A stunningly beautiful girl. Her skin was so pale it almost seemed unreal. Not a single blemish. Not a single stray hair. Water dripped from her long wet hair, tracing paths down her body. Crimson eyes calmly stared up at me. Completely naked. The girl placed a hand against her chin. Instead of screaming, panicking, or trying to cover herself, she thought for a moment. Then spoke.

"Welcome home, Nayuta."

"First things first."

"Hand me something to dry off with."

"If you want to keep looking, feel free."

"But the despair won't hit you until later." The way she spoke was strangely masculine. Yet her voice itself was soft. Comforting. Almost soothing. Which somehow made the situation even more confusing.

"W-Who are you?!"

"A burglar?!"

"No." She answered immediately.

"Think about what's most important right now." For some reason, the confidence in her voice made my body move before my brain caught up.... Well. Leaving a naked girl standing around wasn't exactly ideal. And if she started screaming, I'd be the one getting arrested. A naked girl versus a high-school boy. There was no universe where I won that argument. So I grabbed a bath towel and handed it over. The girl accepted it without complaint and began vigorously drying herself.

Meanwhile, Nyanta wandered over and rubbed against her legs. Not a hint of caution. Not even curiosity. As though he'd known her forever.

"It's probably better to explain everything once Rina gets home," she said. Then she casually picked up one of Dad's pairs of boxer shorts, secured it with safety pins, and put it on. After that came one of Dad's oversized T-shirts. No bra. Just the shirt. The clothing hung loosely off her small frame.

"Wait!" I finally shouted.

"Who are you, then?!" She swept her damp hair out from beneath the shirt, looked up at me, and flashed a grin. A familiar grin. Then she said the most impossible thing I had ever heard.

"Kuroe Tsukasa."

"Your father." There was absolutely no way I could believe that.