Chapter 60: Chapter 60

With no more passengers boarding, the train began to glide forward, swaying just enough to throw off my balance.

Then, before I could take a single step, Yuri dropped her PSP and bolted toward the next carriage.

I ran after her, and so did she. Most of the passengers were either asleep or lazily fiddling with their phones, making it easy for her to move around.

Meanwhile, I was slightly hindered because people were starting to wake up and get annoyed by the commotion Yuri was causing.

“Hey! What’s all this noise!?”

Continuing the chase, luck was on my side. The number of carriages was, of course, limited, so before long, Yuri hit a dead end, and in a rush, I managed to grab her wrist.

I was panting for breath.

“Yuri… I’ve already heard the story from Kuro.”

She didn’t answer right away. Chuckling bitterly, with her free hand she kept turning the handle of the last carriage door back and forth, though it was clear it was already locked.

Realizing the futility of her actions, her chest rose and fell, and a voice finally escaped her lips.

“…In that case, please let me go.”

Maybe because I was panicking, maybe because I was afraid she’d run away the moment I released her, hearing Yuri’s request only made my grip on her tighten.

As a result, she let out a whimper.

A fog clouded my head. All sorts of unclear thoughts made it hard to focus on anything.

Sweat trickled down my cheek slowly, accompanied by a coldness that seemed to freeze time.

My mouth moved awkwardly.

But only one word came out, and even that was clumsy.

With that, I let her go.

Yuri rubbed the part of her arm where I had been holding her. Her bangs once again covered part of her face, along with her expression.

“L-Listen, I’m sorry if this sounds like I’m lecturing you, but I don’t think this problem will be solved if you keep running away…”

What exactly… was I trying to say?

I didn’t even understand myself. All I knew was that random words kept coming out whenever I thought they might calm her down.

“Will it be solved if I go back?”

Of course not. There’s no way something could be resolved just like that, right?

A slight jolt ran through the train as it sped up. It tapped lightly against my chest, and I took a deep breath, trying to clear my head and find the right words.

“But Yuri… what will you do if you run away ? Kuro was really worried when he was looking for you earlier. Your mother must also—”

“That woman would never worry about me!”

Yuri shouted, freezing my body again.

Her shoulders trembled, and the grinding of her teeth was loud enough for me to hear from here.

Then, when she turned her head to look at me again, I braced myself to hear her shout once more.

Taking in a sharp breath through her nose, Yuri’s eyes turned red, gathering tears that reflected my blurry silhouette.

I don’t know either, Yuri.

Wiping her face with her arm as if she didn’t care that it dirtied her uniform, she spoke again.

“Everything is gone. All the games I loved, all the games I’ve made up until now—the only thing that connected me to Dad… Mom threw them all away. What should I do now?”

Because I thought I had gone through something similar to her, I chased her without thinking. But… what was the result? I did nothing.

Only staring at her as she stood broken, fragile, and on the verge of shattering.

“I… I want to leave, Ren…”

My fists clenched, though I didn’t even know who I wanted to hit. Most likely, myself.

“…Where do you want to go?”

“Somewhere far away.”

I reached out my hand, hoping to hold hers again. This time without force; just the tips of my fingers touching hers, as a gentle invitation.

“All right. Let’s go.”

She lifted her head, her eyes wide. But then she lowered it again, saying nothing.

Only her hand’s returned grip gave me an answer.

The lights shone dimly, surrounded by insects, in this place that could barely be called a “station.” Taking a deep breath, the cold air filled my lungs the moment we stepped off.

The hiss of the train doors closing sounded almost like a farewell before it moved on again, leaving me and Yuri in the stillness.

“…Well, haven’t we gone a bit too far?”

Taking out my phone, I couldn’t even get enough signal to check where we were, which only made me more worried we might be truly lost.

Turning to Yuri, I saw her face looked a little better. Though traces of exhaustion from the long trip were still visible.

“Maybe. It’s a little sca—I mean, a little cold, yes. But at least it’s not as suffocating as the city.”

I then looked far to both the right and left.

“Look, Yuri, isn’t this station surrounded by rice fields? This is a great chance for us if we can take a vacation somewhere close to nature .”

Yuri stayed silent, eyes cast downward. But maybe I understood why.

After all, vacation? Here? Let alone an inn, I wasn’t even sure there were any houses around.

Unfortunately, I was the most “adult” one here. I had the duty to stay calm and positive, so that things would still feel hopeful no matter the situation.

If only I could stop my legs from shaking before thinking like that…

I cleared my throat and rubbed my chin.

"Hmm, since there’s no room to shield us from the wind, spending the night at the station isn’t really a good option. We might be in a bit of trouble, but… there’s no other choice, Yuri. We’ll stay here for the night until the sun ri—"

“There’s a path over there that might lead to a village.”

Yuri pointed to the side exit of the station, a place I had been avoiding all this time because my trusty bad feeling alarm was screaming for me to stay away.

“A-Are you sure? It’s still four in the morning. Even if there is a village at the end of that road… there’s no way anyone would help us…”

I’d rather freeze to death here than walk through a pitch-black road to who-knows-where like that!

"My father came from the countryside, and for as long as he lived ... he would always take me to visit Grandpa’s house. That's why, I know very well that country folks would never be that cold. They would always open their doors to anyone in need."

Lifting our still-interlocked hands, Yuri spoke again.

“I’ll keep holding you, Ren. So, let’s go.”

I had no other choice, did I? Steeling myself, I followed her lead.

Also, your face is getting even paler, Yuri. Are you sure you’re okay?