Kure-nai Vol 1 Chapter 2.01

Volume 1
Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2 – Under One Roof

s.h.i.+nkurou was rather fond of the cla.s.sroom early in the morning.

He pa.s.sed through the nearly vacant shoe racks and corridors, heading for that quiet s.p.a.ce ahead of him. In order to savor the fresh air that filled him with a refreshed feeling, s.h.i.+nkurou always came to school early. Blending in with the students who were partic.i.p.ating in early morning club activities, he pa.s.sed through the school’s gate, but was not the first to arrive at his cla.s.sroom. s.h.i.+nkurou opened the door to the cla.s.sroom. Sitting at a desk with all the lights turned off was a solitary female student who was always there.

As expected, for this morning should be no exception, she was the first to come to Seiryou Academy’s first year, cla.s.s one cla.s.sroom. And as expected, she sat in the room with none of the lights on. Except for the echoing sound of her fingers tapping on her laptop’s keyboard, inside the dim room there was only silence.

s.h.i.+nkurou turned on the lights, and after placing his bag on his seat, he spoke to the girl.

“Good morning.”

She had probably heard him, but she did not look up from her computer screen and instead continued to type. The laptop display reflected on her gla.s.ses which seemed to emphasize her indifference toward s.h.i.+nkurou. While he gave a strained smile at her usual unsociability, s.h.i.+nkurou sat down on the chair in front of her. Finally, she stopped typing and looked up.

“What?”

She glared through her thick gla.s.ses and looked at s.h.i.+nkurou. This wasn’t an expression of anger; she was simply nearsighted. No matter who the other person was, she looked at them in this same way. s.h.i.+nkurou had already known her for more than ten years, but if this were the first time someone was meeting her, would this not make them feel uncomfortable and put them on edge?

Her name was Ginko Murakami. For better or worse, s.h.i.+nkurou had known her from kindergarten up to high school. The two were what one would call childhood friends.

s.h.i.+nkurou handed Ginko a plastic bag with sweet buns inside from a convenience store. He had bought it on his way to school, and sweet buns were about the only thing that she liked. In a very natural manner, she accepted the bag and then proceeded to take out one of her favorite sweet buns and tear the package open.

“If you have something to say, hurry up and say it.”

“I need some information about an incident from yesterday.”

s.h.i.+nkurou was speaking to Ginko about the details of the stalker incident from yesterday. He received job request from her once she had taken them into consideration. Ginko looked back to her screen once again, but it appeared that she was still listening to s.h.i.+nkurou. The laptop was not the school’s, but her own. Although this was not specifically against the rules, she had been warned several times by the teachers that it was a bit excessive to bring her laptop to school. However, Ginko never listened to this and gradually she was permitted to have it. It seemed that there was some sort of deal made behind the scenes, but s.h.i.+nkurou was not well informed on the matter. Ginko had a reputation as the oddball of the cla.s.sroom. Whenever someone addressed her, she would not reply; she was a schoolgirl who completely lacked any sort of cooperative spirit. She was a gloomy girl who would simply type on her laptop even if there was free time. Once, when a certain rumor about her spread, she was avoided by nearly everyone. That slowly went away though.

s.h.i.+nkurou did not think of her as an oddball. This was probably because of how many true oddb.a.l.l.s there were in today’s society and because of his experience with them.

From the perspective of her childhood friend, s.h.i.+nkurou did not believe that there was anyone more normal than Ginko.

“Are you stupid?”

This was the first thing she said after listening to what s.h.i.+nkurou had said to her.

“What’s pathetic is that I didn’t do a thorough job.”

She came to the conclusion that he had reduced his fee by half and seemed exceedingly displeased.

“The things you owe, you pay, and the things you receive, you take. That is the professional way to do things.”

“No, but—”

“When a woman is speaking, just be silent and listen!”

Ginko said this in a thundering voice, and s.h.i.+nkurou shut his mouth.

Ever since kindergarten, she had known that this was s.h.i.+nkurou’s greatest weakness.

Why would knowing about my younger self be embarra.s.sing?

Is it because I was so frank about everything at that time?

As s.h.i.+nkurou thought about this in the recesses of his mind, he listened to Ginko’s preaching.

“By reducing the fee, it’s proof that you don’t have confidence in your work. Who would have faith in a professional who seems like they’ll easily lower their prices?”

She had a very sound argument and s.h.i.+nkurou could not make an objection. It was a simple argument, but he was hardly ever able to win against Ginko. Ever since long ago, she had been superior when it came to information and thinking.

As she stared at s.h.i.+nkurou, Ginko began to nibble on her second sweet bun. Sweet buns were her absolute favorite food and she ate them often, but unexpectedly, she was the thinnest person in their cla.s.s. It seemed like she was somewhat disappointed in her meager proportions and so she recently began increasing the amount of food that she ate. And yet she did so without gaining any weight. It was probably just the nature of her body.

“My main point is that you were mistaken from the start when someone like you began doing something like dispute mediation.”

“This again…”

As s.h.i.+nkurou began getting a bit irritated, he stared at Ginko and shut his mouth. Ever since he had begun his work, Ginko had been opposed to it and she was probably still waiting for the moment when he would be willing to discuss changing his mind.

Once it seemed that Ginko was satisfied and finished saying all that she wanted to say, she turned back to her computer screen. As she nibbled on a sweet bun, her fingers gracefully danced on her keyboard. Although her fingers moved so much, she was very poor when it came to exercise and such things, but s.h.i.+nkurou thought that this was one of her few charms.

“Ginko, I have a bit of a favor to ask you. Is that okay?”

“Is it a job request?”

“I would like you to gather some information—about the Kuhouins. The only information I need are a few things that will clear up some stuff I’m uncertain about.”

As Benika had not made him well informed of the aforementioned, it was necessary for him to investigate it.

Ginko stopped typing, and seeming puzzled, she stared at s.h.i.+nkurou.

“…Kuhouins?”

The Kuhouins, who were a large plutocratic family, and s.h.i.+nkurou; there was no way the two could be connected.

s.h.i.+nkurou briefly explained the situation. To make sure that she understood when he spoke of how he was requested to guard someone apparently from the Kuhouin family, he stopped speaking in an ambiguous manner. He had confidence in Ginko’s abilities. She was a professional information broker and would not give him any substandard information.

Ginko Murakami, a high school girl and also an information broker. Moreover, she was the second generation to have done it. Her grandfather, Ginji Murakami, was a resourceful information broker who secretly maneuvered through the economic bubble1 and the pre- and post-war times. All of his personal connections had since been pa.s.sed down to his granddaughter. But then one might ask, why is she the second generation rather than the third? Originally, the one who would be expected to have inherited this would have been Ginko’s father, but this did not happen because he married the only daughter of a ramen shop.

“That’s strange.”

Ginko, who had listened to s.h.i.+nkurou’s story, did not seem to completely believe it.

“Why?”

“Don’t they have their own private guard for that?”

He had not previously thought about the existence of what Ginko said, but the Kuhouins were more than capable of gathering guards. This seemed like something that the family guards would be able to completely handle. They only needed to be permitted to have firearms and they would have greater war potential than the Self-Defense
Force2.

“Doesn’t it seem like something out of a manga?”

When it came to employed forces, as one would expect from one of the world’s foremost plutocrats, they were on a different scale.

As s.h.i.+nkurou admired this fact he came to a decision.

Ginko’s information was never wrong. They probably did have a private guard. If that were the case, then Murasaki, who was a member of the family, should have her own personal guard. It was rather strange. It was unnatural.

“Who did you get this job from?”

“Benika.”

“…Ah, that person.”

All it took was that for her to frown in discomfort. She did not have a good impression of Benika. It was an occupational disease. In this case, it was solely the rumors Ginko had heard that had caused Benika to earn Ginko’s contempt. It was not as if Benika would be without unfavorable criticism. Though there were fewer good rumors than bad; the underworld and the entertainment world were the same in this respect.

Ginko took some milk from out of a paper bag and after taking one sip, she spoke.

“Seriously, if you a.s.sociate with that kind of person, you’ll get your due reward you know.”

“Is that so?”

“A good death while incarcerated. If you’re unlucky, you will be shot to death, or burned to death, or eaten to death, or chopped into tiny pieces, or tortured until your spirit is broken, or…”

“…I don’t like any of those.”

“Anyway, forget what I said before. Refuse that job. It is way too fishy. Normally, no one would take a job like that. However, you’re an idiot among other things. Seriously, think it over and then act upon it, okay. Got that?”

He hadn’t told her that he had already taken the job.

I knew it, this was a big mistake…

As s.h.i.+nkurou nodded his head uncertainly to show that he had heard Ginko, he thought about what had happened yesterday.

Translation Notes and References

1) After WWII j.a.pan experienced rapid economic growth, which reached its pinnacle between 1989 and 1991, though it ultimately resulted in one of the worst economic depressions in the country due to over speculation of land.

2) j.a.pan is not allowed to have a standing army due to const.i.tutional restrictions. Therefore instead they have the j.a.panese Self-Defense Force (JSDF) which can not partake in acts of aggression.