I know you can't come to me, but I keep saying these words that will never reach you... ~ You Who Can't Come To Me, Gilgu Bonggu
xxxxxx
Wait a minute. This wasn't included in what Mayu told me yesterday. "How did that happen?"
"Being born in a family of talented detectives and investigators has its quirks, you know. Setsuji-kun took advantage of that to investigate what happened because Uncle Sanjiro was still doubtful about his eldest son's actions. Uncle Sanjiro found out that Setsuji-kun was discreetly hunting the girl that caused my twin brother's death. The reason why Setsuji-kun arrived home full of bruises and wounds was that he ended up beating up the people who were with the girl that happened to be my brother's girlfriend. Setsuji-kun forced them to confess where Kataoka Yuka was but they were tight-lipped about it. They remained like that even though he nearly killed them with punches and kicks full of Setsuji-kun's rage."
To be honest, even in my imagination, I never thought that Setsuji had that kind of dark side in him. The Setsuji I knew was a jerk. He liked to tease people, he was wearing a sneaky smile on his face, a joker sometimes, and... possibly a closet romantic if I would base it on my observation.
But never this vengeful.
"What happened to the girl? Did he find her?"
Kiho nodded but she wasn't looking at me. She was just staring into space. "He did... after it was finally confirmed that Kira was pushed from the rooftop of that building. By that wretched girlfriend of my brother!"
I could feel the extreme anger in her tone that perhaps she was just suppressing within her.
"What happened next?" I needed to coax Kiho to tell the rest of the story. That was the only way I could think of for her to let her emotions all out. It was a good thing that I was the only one who could see it.
"It was summer the next year when Setsuji-kun managed to find Kataoka-san. At first, I thought he would physically hurt her. But we were wrong because we never thought that he did something worst as an act of revenge. What he did was to break her heart in the same manner as Kataoka-san broke that of my brother'sā-only with damage greater than what she had dealt with Kira. Setsuji-kun did it in a way that Kataoka-san would wish she would just die than live without him." Kiho smiled bitterly after that. "And he succeeded..."
Okay... Now that was seriously too much. I never realized that Setsuji was like that. It was understood that he was just angry when he did such a thing. But to hurt a girl like that?
I just couldn't... believe it...
The Mitsuta Setsuji I knew was completely different from the Setsuji that Kiho was telling me at the moment.
"That's why if you noticed, all of the girls that entered Setsuji's life were just for a short time. They were like a pastime for him. But the damage he would leave to them was too much. He said to me once that he would continue doing that until those girls finally learned the lesson that he wanted to impart to them. That those girls had no right to just randomly choose someone to play with and break their hearts in the end. He also said to me that beating up Kira and pushing him from the rooftop wasn't the only sin that Kataoka-san did. That girl destroyed my brother's heart because it so happened that Kataoka-san became my brother's girlfriend as part of a bet. My brother begged Kataoka-san not to leave him but she took no heed of it. She just cruelly laughed at his face that she even called him stupid and pathetic. Not to mention, a fool."
That was when I remembered the things that Setsuji said to me when we were at the Legendary Promise Tree...
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[Flashback]
"But seriously, why bring me here? And how many girls have you brought here, anyway?"
But then I saw his gaze at the tree hardened. Did I say something bad?
"Why would I bring them here when they couldn't even understand my simple fascination with this tree and its legend? They only knew how to make themselves pretty in the face of others, fool around guys that caught their attention, and in the end, they would just destroy those guys' hearts that they played with. They were doing it without them even knowing that it wasn't just innocent hearts that were destroyed but also those people's desire to dream and live their lives much longer."
I had no idea what to say after that. I could feel the disgust and anger in Setsuji's voice as he was saying those words. This wasn't the usual Setsuji I knew. He was certainly different when he firmly spoke those words.
I guessed there were many things that I still didn't know when it comes to this guy.
"So Fukuizumi, don't let that Nakagome guy ruin your life and your dreams. He may have broken your heart but time will help you piece them back together again," he said in a serious tone. But that serious tone was also laced with concern and care that I knew I heard once before...
xxxxxx
So that was why...
All that he said to me that day had some basis. But then, I couldn't help thinking that Setsuji was also pathetic and a fool. "Why was he doing this for your brother? He has his own life to live, for heaven's sake! Was he that mad for him to feel that kind of hate towards your brother's murderer?"
Kiho smiled bitterly once again because of what I said. "Funny... I also told the same thing to him. But do you know how he responded to that? The day those bastards took my brother's life, they also robbed Setsuji-kun of his ability to entrust his heart to anyone except his family and a few selected friends. It was because until the end, what my brother still wished for was for Kataoka-san to be happy. But Setsuji-kun destroyed every reason to make that girl even feel a bit of happiness. They were brothers, in their perception, and brothers look out for each other. But I think what remained in Setsuji-kun's heart was the guilt he felt because, in his perception, he didn't do his job properly as a brother to Kira. So he thought that to stop the same tragedy from repeating itself on his watch, he broke those girls' hearts." And Kiho's story ended with a heavy sigh.
It was 10:03 AM and the sea breeze was, for some reason, suddenly felt calming. I could feel something like that when I looked out to the sea.
"He only chose to break the hearts of the girls that had the same character, attitude, and personality as that of Kataoka-san's..." I whispered to myself when I thought of that. In short, Setsuji was meticulously selecting his victims.
"That's right..." Kiho replied in a soft tone. "He said that he had to teach those girls a lesson they would never forget at all."
"But what about the girls who weren't like the ones he hated but still fell to that jerk's charms?"
"He was rejecting them downright but as discreet as he could. That way, those girls who had nothing to do with his vengeance would be spared. But of course, it couldn't be helped that he would still leave their hearts broken." Then I noticed that she sighed heavily once again before smiling wistfully. "To be honest, I was one of them."
She looked at Kiho in surprise. "You confessed to Setsuji?" What the heck? Were Setsuji's charms that strong for even the likes of Kiho to fall for him?
She nodded. "I did, but he said that it's better that I should stop. I admitted to him that I liked him for a long time. Even now, if I have to say so. But after my confession, I just decided to love him secretly. He said that more than anyone else, I was one of the girls that he doesn't want to see how he takes revenge. I was that important to him, that's why he said that it was for the best if I destroy my feelings for him."
I was truly speechless with what I learned from Kiho. For real. How could a young man bear such an immense grudge in his heart for everything to reach this point? It was unbelievable wherever I would put it. But I guess that everything I saw, observed, and heard from one of the people who truly knew Setsuji was more than enough as proof.
"I confessed to him in hopes of making him stop doing that, but to no avail. That's why after confessing to him and ending up rejected, my wish since then was... I hope... a time will come that Setsuji-kun would meet a girl who would do everything to help him and ultimately free him from his hatred," Kiho continued.
Until Kiho finally turned to face me, I was inwardly surprised at how intent her eyes were on me.
Oh, boy! To be honest, I didn't like what could come next to what she said after that.
"And I think... you could be that girl for him, Rinako."
Say what now? This was seriously insane!
This was what I was talking about. This was called trouble, I tell you!
You got to be kidding me!