CH 261

Chapter 261 – Shakuhara’s Tragedy

TL: Potential trigger warning: this backstory chapter could be traumatizing to some readers due to depicted rape scenes. Read on at your own caution.

On the day we graduated from high school, I called Ryoji out to the back of the school.

Ever since we were little, Riwa, him, and I were always together. We were tied together like family.

But despite that, I was attracted to Ryoji’s straightforward and gentle nature. And finally, I decided to express my feelings to him. So I gathered my resolve and called Ryoji out to the back of the school.

“I-I like you, Ryoji! Please go out with me!” (Shakuhara)

Of course, this was the first time I had ever confessed to someone in my life. I was so nervous and scared that I thought my heart would beat out of my chest.

“Ah. I love you too, Keika.” (Oshikura)

It felt like I could ascend to the heavens. It was mutual love. Nothing could have made me happier.

Ryoji and I became lovers, and we immediately told Riwa, who supported us.

Riwa hugged me and was happy for me as if it were her own good fortune.

Thus, I had managed to start a new relationship with Ryoji.

We went shopping together… We went to the beach, the mountains, and even dates at each other’s houses.

It was so much fun. He wasn’t just a kind, gentle lover, but also one of my best friends whom I could rely on. I was enjoying life so much that I thought I might be the happiest person in the world.

But then—that time came.

The time had come for Ryoji and I to travel together for the first time, and I had made up my mind.

We were staying overnight. I had mentally prepared myself… We would be staying in the same bed that night.

I was a little scared, but I was also hopeful that Ryoji might be up for it too.

The moment I’d entered the hotel that Ryoji had arranged for us, I couldn’t believe my own eyes.

There were men I hadn’t seen before. And there were other naked women whose bodies were being violated by those men.

“U-Uhhh… R-Ryoji…?” (Shakuhara)

I looked to Ryoji for help, thinking that he must have gotten the wrong room.

“Come on, Keika. The guests are waiting.” (Oshikura)

“…Eh…?” (Shakuhara)

“Well, virgins sell for quite a lot. Keika… You’ll do your best for my sake, won’t you?” (Oshikura)

He was smiling. But it was different from his smiling expression that I liked so much. It was horrible and distorted, ugly and filled with selfishness.

“Ah, it’ll be alright. I’ll give love to you afterwards. Come on now.” (Oshikura)

With those words, my hell began.

My clothes were ripped off by a man I didn’t even know, and as I cried and sobbed, that stranger pressed me down beneath him.

“No… No!! Ryoji! Save me! Save me, Ryoji!” (Shakuahra)

But once again, I doubted my own eyes. Ryoji was satisfying his own lust, raping another woman right before me.

“No… No way… This can’t be happening…” (Shakuhara)

I didn’t know how many times I called out for help. No matter how much I cried out, no one came to save me.

The men took turns violating me. Of course, Ryoji too.

“Come, Keika. Let us love each other.” (Oshikura)

Again, again, and again.

When I regained my senses, Riwa was in front of me. Her face was filled with grief and sorrow as she looked at me, as if someone she cherished had died.

I was betrayed by Ryoji, and he’d sold my body.

Once Riwa found out about it, she cried even more than me.

After a while, Riwa calmed down and told me what happened.

Apparently, three days had passed since that hell began, and I had been wrapped up in a worn-out bathrobe and left in a back alley.

The only reason she was able to find me was because she received a call from some unknown man on a private phone number telling her where I was.

By that point, Riwa had already been anxious since she hadn’t been able to get in contact with me, so she immediately ran out. And then she found me.

That unknown man who called her was probably one of the men with Ryoji.

Of course, I told Riwa how Ryoji had deceived me and defiled my body.

Naturally, Riwa was livid and immediately tried to contact Ryoji, but he had disappeared without a trace and couldn’t be found.

There were rumors that Ryoji had connections with the yakuza and had gone overseas. We never saw him after that.

We asked for help from the police, but we weren’t able to get any favorable response from them. Ryoji’s only parent, his mother, had also disappeared.

After that, I became terrified of men. For about a year, I shut myself in at home and only managed to live through Riwa diligently supporting me.

One day, Riwa suggested that we go for a walk. So I mustered up my courage, and we went out to a park nearby.

But there, we ran into problems with some men again. While I was in the bathroom, Riwa was being aggressively hit on by two men.

When I came out and saw what was happening, I was filled with fear that what happened to me would also happen to Riwa. I picked up a stick and began to swing it at the men.

Unable to put up a fight, the men ran away, and I was able to protect Riwa.

I think it was from this moment that my fear of men turned into hatred.

I felt a strong anger and hatred toward Ryoji. More than wanting to take these feelings out on him, I felt more that I never wanted to see a man like him ever again.

Then, another year passed, and the world underwent a sudden change.

The world became the way it was today.

""

With the way the world was, I thought that my connection with Ryoji would be cut off even more thoroughly. Even if he was still around somewhere, I thought that I would never see him ever again.

—But I did.