Red Data Girl: My First Familiar
By Noriko Ogiwara
A Translation
Red Data Girl: My First Familiar
Chapter 3: Yukimasa
Part 4 (1 of 2)
"...Mr. Sagara?"
It took a moment for Izumiko to believe what she was seeing. She had been so scared that it felt like her heart would stop, but now it felt as if she had been rescued from a bad dream by the break of dawn. The moment was still tense. But, looking back on it later, there had been no reason for it to be.
"Why are you here, Mr. Sagara?"
Although Izumiko didn't notice it, Miyuki still hadn't relaxed.
"Don't come any closer,"
Miyuki's tone was unforgiving as he spoke to Sagara and it was enough to make the man stop.
"If you're really Yukimasa, prove it to me,"
"You're being unreasonable, Miyuki," Izumiko said.
"I'm sorry, but Izumiko knows exactly who I am, don't you?" Yukimasa said flatly.
Miyuki looked at Izumiko as his father spoke. Izumiko returned his look. They were still holding hands. They could feel each other's confusion through their palms. They didn't need to speak.
"You were scared out of your mind. The evil we felt before has to be Yukimasa, so why are you accepting him now?!"
"But it's really Mr. Sagara. I don't know how I can tell, but I must have been mistaken about why I was so scared up until now..."
"Stop joking. Does that make any sense to you?!"
Miyuki yanked his hand away from her. Izumiko supposed it was only to be expected. Even she didn't know how things had come to this.
"Izumiko wasn't exactly scared for no reason. There are other grounds for her feelings," Sagara said softly as he finished climbing the stairs.
"Actually, the fact that Izumiko was so scared proves that it's really me,"
Izumiko gazed at Sagara. Even now, he still looked like an actor who had just walked off of a movie set.
"Mr. Sagara, are you saying that I only thought I was running away but in reality, I was actually doing the opposite?"
"That's how the ascetic monks catch you, I suppose."
Sagara's words were soft.
Izumiko continued, "When we were running away from the bad thing, I could really feel it. There were a lot of dark shadows and they had found us. I was really frightened. Until we saw you, I really thought whatever it was, was about to show its face,"
Sagara nodded at her words.
"You probably felt more than just me. When you leave the protection of Tamakura Shrine, many different things begin to target you. This is even truer when you come to a place like Tokyo. But this time, I was the strongest force in the area and I was able to reach you the fastest and that's the end of it. I'm sure it was a difficult experience, but there are still things that you're not aware of. I think that's why Yukariko called you here to Tokyo."
"Why are they targeting me?
"Because you're the important charge under the ascetic monks' protection that we've been hiding."
Izumiko was still thinking of what to ask, but a question flowed from her lips automatically.
"If everything you just said is true, are you one of the people after me?"
Sagara laughed and leaned forward under the umbrella so that he was looking at Izumiko.
"That's not my intention. You can think of me more as guarding you. I can't tell you my plans just yet, but don't be scared of me, alright?"
"...Alright,"
Izumiko nodded although she took a step away from him. Even if she didn't know what sort of power Sagara was hiding, she didn't exactly consider him someone to be afraid of.
Miyuki let out a large sigh and said to Sagara, "Were you responsible for everything that's kept us from meeting Yukariko?"
"That wasn't me,"
Sagara turned and looked at the rain. The worst of the downpour had passed and now it had changed to a calm drizzle.
"I have a rough idea of what you've run into on your way to Yukariko's house. Let's go the rest of the way. At the very least, you need to dry off before you can go back to your field trip."
"Do you want us to follow you?"
Miyuki was audibly upset with the idea, but Sagara responded nonchalantly.
"We'll go together. But I should warn you. Yukariko isn't there. When she couldn't meet you at the Municipal Government Building, she gave up trying to meet you all together. Still, there's a barrier around her house, so she knew whatever was scaring Izumiko couldn't enter there. She thought it would be a good place for you to rest."
The house was nothing special.
It was located on a long street of apartment buildings. It was the only standalone house in the area. Yukariko's home seemed to be built so close to its neighbors that the eaves practically touched them. It was an unremarkable, two-story, cream colored house with no front lawn. It wasn't particularly old, nor was it particularly new, and it looked like just about any other house that had been built and sold at any point.
Sagara pulled the key out of his pocket and easily let them in. There was no one inside to greet them. The power outage had ended at some point and the lights in the living room were quickly turned on. However, even with the lights on, it didn't feel like anyone lived there.
Mom wasn't planning to meet us here. She probably sent that message from somewhere else...
Izumiko thought as she looked around the house. The layout of the rooms and the placement of the furniture was not unlike Izumiko's house. Beyond the kitchen counter was a dining room table with enough room for six. There was a sofa and two arm chairs which sat by the window. Their color and design were rather average as they were the sort of furniture any family could buy easily.
But there was no scent of a family here. There were no signs of life, no knickknacks, no magazines. There was a feel of nothing being out of place. It was too orderly, put together like a set for a tv drama.
Izumiko had been told that there was a barrier around the house, but she couldn't find any physical evidence of one. Inside of the house, all she could feel was emptiness and disappointment. Her shoulders slumped.
"Mom really isn't here..."
She might have known it, but it was still a shock to see the truth for herself. Izumiko couldn't help but feel a bit upset.
On top of that, Miyuki seemed angry with her. He hadn't said much since Sagara's arrival and had been avoiding Izumiko's gaze. This didn't help to make things easier.
The only person in a good mood was Sagara. If he had a key, he had clearly been to the house many times. He sat down on the couch, making himself at home immediately.
"Yukariko broke her word, but you shouldn't hold it against her. She was putting herself in a serious situation just to meet you. That's the way it's always been. She has a lot of responsibility on her shoulders that prevents her from seeing you like most parents would see their child, Izumiko."
Izumiko grimaced a little and looked at Sagara, who was speaking so politely.
"Mom's busy because she works in the public safety division,"
"It was a smart choice. She can disappear easily and she has access to government level secrets. Not to mention, with her abilities, she can buy favors from the government. Mostly, she can use her work as a pretext to hide herself. It's not easy for people to find her."
After pausing a moment, Sagara continued.
"It's even hard for me to find her,"
"So even you don't know when we can meet Mom?"
"That seems to be the case. If she doesn't want to be found..."
At some point, her mother hadn't felt like seeing her anymore Izumiko thought tiredly. Her wet blouse, skirt, and socks were uncomfortable. She had a number of different reasons for being unhappy.
Sagara finally noticed that Izumiko and Miyuki were still standing.
"Izumiko, if you go up to the second floor, you can probably find some clothes to wear while your own dry. Go look. And feel free to rest on the bed. You don't look well. Miyuki and I won't go upstairs, so relax and take your time."
He had given her the directions using his usual charm. Going upstairs and doing what he had said sounded so good, that she couldn't help herself. She had been through so much that day that it seemed impossible that her body could even bring her up the stairs, but she would try. All her power went into the action to the point she forgot about her mother's absence.
There's a lot of things I want Mr. Sagara to explain... But first I want to rest. After I feel better, I'll ask him anything I want. It shouldn't be too late...
As she thought, she followed Sagara's instructions and went upstairs. There was no point in wearing her wet uniform anymore. She needed to find something dry now. But it wasn't just her. Miyuki needed to do the same.
The big bedroom on the second floor was tied together in shades of blue and it didn't really seem like a woman's room. However, the walk in closet was packed tightly with women's clothes. They were all still in bags from the cleaners.
Izumiko didn't have much desire to look into Yukariko's fashion sense, but she noticed that the prices were still on most of the clothes. There was even a Japanese style chest of drawers which held a number of kimono. Izumiko couldn't remember ever seeing Yukariko in a kimono.
After a bit of searching, Izumiko found a shirt and pair of pants that she could wear. If she could find a bathroom with a drying rack, she could hang her wet clothes out to dry.
Once she found the bathroom, it was time to change clothes. Only then did she finally take off her hat. As soon as her braids were released, Izumiko realized that they had been the cause of much of her discomfort. She hadn't noticed, but the hat had faithfully done its job, holding them on top of her head throughout the whole ordeal.
As she looked at the white hat in her hand, something occurred to her.
This hat kept them hidden for me the whole time. I haven't thought about it until now, but this is the first time I've felt like Miyuki's been so nice to me...
As soon as she saw the neatly prepared bed in the bedroom, Izumiko couldn't win against the temptation to climb in. Her whole body felt heavy and she doubted she could stay awake much longer. When Izumiko had had told Sagara that her clothes were drying in the bathroom, he had nodded.
"It'll take an hour or so for your clothes to dry, so we'll stay here for that hour. I'll wake you when it stops raining. Right now getting your rest is most important. Go sleep."
~*~