Chapter 20: The Girl Who Collects Trash

Yawning, Utaka arrived on the street. Today, his classmates had dragged him to a karaoke box. To be honest, the size of private karaoke rooms in this island nation was truly hard to describe.

A room meant for five people was about the same size as the restroom in a large karaoke box Utaka remembered from the mainland—quite cramped indeed.

Even stepping outside to use the restroom was a hassle...

Moreover, time was very limited. In this country, minors under sixteen could only use karaoke establishments before 6 p.m. After that, staff would come to kick them out.

However, the rules weren’t always strictly enforced. Usually, if you claimed to be seventeen, you’d be allowed to stay until around ten.

But wanting to play past ten? Forget it. If someone reported you, the consequences would be far worse than a simple fine.

Fortunately, Utaka was already an adult but still needed to catch the late bus.

Bidding farewell to Saburo Fuyuki and the others, Utaka headed toward the bus stop.

If there was one good thing about this island nation, it was probably the long operating hours of public transportation like trams and buses, usually running until midnight.

Given the small area and population, extending service hours was the only way to minimize losses—thinking this way, it made sense.

After a leisurely bus ride near his home, Utaka stopped by a convenience store to buy some snacks and drinks, planning to restock his fridge.

Fujie was definitely coming over tomorrow, and if he hadn’t prepared, she would surely lose her temper and send him out to shop again.

Little Fujie also liked snacks, but compared to Fujie, she was much easier to please.

Two packs of chips would fill her up, and she’d cuddle up beside him, humming softly, unwilling to move.

Since discovering this, Utaka rarely cooked special meals for little Fujie. After all, if a few snacks could solve the problem, why bother with complicated cooking?

Besides, snacks came in many flavors and varieties, offering more choices.

Of course, if little Fujie insisted on a proper meal, Utaka would happily prepare one and share some with her—it was a simple matter.

Carrying his snacks home, the streetlights segmented the narrow street into distinct sections.

In an alley some distance from home, a figure suddenly appeared ahead.

If it weren’t for the person stepping under a streetlamp and revealing their silhouette, Utaka might not have noticed them at all—perhaps this was the secret to ninja stealth in the dark.

Now he understood why villains in island nation anime often emerged from shadows beyond the streetlamp’s reach—because the lighting coverage here was truly limited!

The figure ahead seemed to be a girl, carrying a large black bag filled with items.

Looking closer, she appeared to be rummaging through the grass along the roadside, as if picking up trash.

Realizing what she was doing, Utaka was taken aback—not out of disdain for a girl collecting trash, but surprise that someone would actually do this here.

You see, picking up trash in this country was illegal and could even be considered freeloading public resources!

This was the first time Utaka had learned of such a law, and he was utterly shocked—criminalizing something like this was unheard of.

Thinking this over, he couldn’t help but admire her courage.

More importantly, scavenging trash here wasn’t easy. Without being allowed to overturn trash bins, one had to rely on luck in crowded places.

Garbage that had already been sorted and processed was strictly off-limits for unauthorized collection.

It was getting late, and judging by the fullness of her bag, she must have covered quite a bit of ground to gather all that.

Noticing he still had a can in his hand, Utaka took a swig, then jogged forward.

“Hello, I have a can here, do you need it...?”

The girl turned around, surprised and grateful.

“Arigatou...”

“Kayako?”

Hearing the name, Kayako stiffened, her eyes wide with disbelief and panic as she slowly looked up.

“Ka...Kaya-kun...”

Listening to the slight tremor in her voice, Utaka glanced at the heavy recycling bag she was holding.

“What are you doing...”

“Don’t... don’t!!”

Before Utaka could finish, Kayako’s eyes suddenly welled with tears, and she shook her head repeatedly, stepping back a few paces before suddenly turning and running forward.

In her panic, she even stumbled heavily.

Her sudden flight left Utaka stunned, but he quickly realized she was afraid he would look down on her. He immediately dropped the snacks and chased after her.

“Kayako! Kayako, wait!!”

“No, Kaya-kun, please don’t look at me!!”

Her sobbing carried a cry of self-loathing as she ran ahead.

But the fall had clearly hurt her leg, and limping badly, she was soon caught by Utaka, who grabbed her firmly.

“Why are you running? Don’t you realize you’re hurt?!”

Faced with his scolding, Kayako just pressed her lips tightly and shook her head.

“No... no...”

She muttered helplessly, trying to pull her hand free from his grasp.

Utaka frowned.

“Don’t move!”

“No...”

Despite his sharp tone, Kayako simply continued to mumble and struggle, trapped in her emotions.

Looking down at the blood on her knee, Utaka spoke gently.

“Stay here and wait for me. I’ll go get you some bandages.”

Just as he turned to leave, Kayako suddenly grabbed him from behind, her voice trembling with a heartbreaking plea.

“Kaya-kun... please... don’t hate me...”

Utaka froze, unable to turn around in time, but heard her crying entreaty.

“I... I won’t pick up trash anymore... Kaya-kun, please don’t hate me... I beg you...”

Turning back, he saw Kayako’s tear-streaked face, her eyes filled with timid desperation.

For some reason, Utaka suddenly felt as though she were a stray dog, abandoned and wandering the streets without a master.

This thought softened his heart inexplicably.

“I won’t hate you. Never. Please don’t cry...”

Immersed in fear and worry, Kayako couldn’t tell if Utaka’s words were sincere; she just clung tightly to his arm, pleading in a low voice that he not hate her.

People with emotional struggles often couldn’t hear the outside world clearly.

Kayako was obviously in that state. Seeing her clutching him and quietly sobbing, Utaka sighed and gently pulled her into his arms.

“Don’t cry. I won’t hate you.”

With his tender comfort, Kayako’s emotions gradually calmed.

Outside, the darkness that consumed everything began to retreat from the windows of nearby houses.