He pushed open the door.
Saionji Mina was already standing in the corridor, waiting.
“Is this… all right?”
She tugged uneasily at the hem of her clothes.
After rummaging through the wardrobe for a while, she had finally changed into a dark gray tracksuit.
Though the style was a bit old, like a school uniform from her college days, it was loose and comfortable.
On her feet was a pair of white sneakers, and her hair was tied into a simple ponytail, revealing her smooth forehead.
She looked much more pleasing to the eye than that timid office lady.
“It’ll do.”
Kiryu Kazusuke nodded, very satisfied.
The two of them went downstairs one after the other.
It was already half past nine at night.
The streets of Maebashi City were not as noisy through the night as Tokyo’s.
Aside from a few main roads and shopping streets that were still lit, most residential areas had already fallen asleep.
Kiryu Kazusuke did not call a taxi.
The starting fare for taxis had just been raised to 600 yen this year, and once it passed ten at night, there would be an additional twenty-percent late-night surcharge.
Besides, walking helped with blood circulation.
It could also help the woman beside him, who was so nervous she was about to forget how to walk, calm down a little.
The two walked along the sidewalk.
Saionji Mina kept half a step behind him the entire time, head lowered, staring at Kiryu Kazusuke’s heels, afraid she would lose him, yet not daring to get too close.
After walking for about fifteen minutes,
the scenery around them began to change.
From low residential neighborhoods, it gradually shifted into an administrative district with neatly lined roadside trees and broad streets.
Saionji Mina raised her head and glanced at a road sign by the roadside.
Her steps faltered.
This road…
She was far too familiar with it.
Every morning, dragging her heavy steps, she would blend into the stream of expressionless office workers and follow this road toward that gray building.
It was the road to hell.
It was also the road to the Citizens’ Affairs Section of City Hall.
Why was Kiryu-san bringing her here? Did he need to handle some paperwork?
But it was already night. City Hall had long since closed, and even that security guard uncle who only knew how to roll his eyes at her had already gone home.
“Um… Kiryu-san…”
Saionji Mina spoke softly, wanting to stop the person ahead and ask for an explanation.
But Kiryu Kazusuke did not stop walking. He only tilted his head slightly.
“What, can’t walk anymore?”
“N-no…”
Saionji Mina swallowed the words that had reached her lips.
Maybe they were just passing by.
Or perhaps they were going somewhere near City Hall.
After all, that area was the city center, and there were quite a few shops around that stayed open all night.
The two continued forward.
When they passed a hardware and general goods store that was still open, Kiryu Kazusuke stopped.
Traditional general stores like this could be seen everywhere on Japanese streets in the ’90s. Brooms, buckets, and all kinds of daily necessities were piled up at the entrance.
The shopkeeper was a gray-haired old man, sitting behind the counter and listening to a baseball game broadcast on the radio.
Kiryu Kazusuke turned around and looked at Saionji Mina.
“Did you bring money?”
“Huh? I did, I did.”
Saionji Mina hurriedly pulled a small coin purse out of the pocket of her track pants.
“Give me 3,000 yen.”
Kiryu Kazusuke held out his hand, utterly matter-of-fact.
Although Saionji Mina had no idea why he was suddenly asking her for money, she obediently took three thousand-yen bills from her wallet and placed them in his palm.
“Wait here.”
Kiryu Kazusuke took the money and walked into the general store.
Less than two minutes later, he came back out.
There was something new in his hand.
An aluminum alloy baseball bat that gleamed with a cold silver-white light.
Although wooden bats were still the first choice of professional players, among amateurs and high school students, this kind of metal bat—light, springy, with a crisp sound when it struck the ball—was more popular.
Most importantly, it was hard enough.
Kiryu Kazusuke swung it twice, slicing through the air with a whooshing sound.
“Feels pretty good. Want to try it first? If you’re not satisfied, we can still exchange it.”
“No, no, there’s no need…”
Saionji Mina hurriedly took two steps back.
Why buy a baseball bat?
Were they going to play baseball?
But at this hour, what baseball field would still be open?
And besides…
The sight of Kiryu-san carrying a baseball bat on his shoulder did not look like he was going to exercise no matter how she looked at it. If anything, he looked like one of those delinquents about to get into a street fight.
He was even more oppressive than those delinquents.
“Then let’s go.”
Kiryu Kazusuke rested the bat on his shoulder, stuck his other hand in his pocket, and continued forward.
After another two intersections,
that familiar and suffocating gray building appeared at the end of their vision.
Maebashi City Hall.
The enormous concrete box stood in the night. Without the daytime clamor and crowds, it was now as silent as a massive tombstone.
Only the two streetlights at the front entrance were still shining with pale light.
Saionji Mina’s breathing began to quicken.
Even though work had ended, even though there was no one here now, the moment she saw this building, a surge of sourness would instinctively rise in her stomach.
Chief Yoshino’s shrieks, her colleagues’ sneers and mockery, and those reports that could never be finished…
Those memories surged up like a tide, making her want to turn and flee.
Kiryu Kazusuke stopped in the plaza in front of City Hall.
It was very open.
Because this was the administrative district, there were almost no pedestrians at night. Only the occasional passing vehicle left two red afterimages of taillights on the asphalt road.
“Hold this.”
Kiryu Kazusuke turned around and handed the baseball bat in his hand to her.
“Eh?”
Saionji Mina took it reflexively.
It was a little heavy.
The chill of the aluminum alloy spread through her palm and throughout her body.
She gripped the handle of the bat with both hands, her face full of bewilderment and confusion.
“Grip it tighter.”
Kiryu Kazusuke pointed ahead.
She looked in the direction of his finger.
Beside the flower bed to the left of City Hall’s main entrance stood a half-person-tall general information board made of a stainless-steel frame and tempered glass.
Inside were posted all kinds of municipal notices and floor maps for the various departments.
Of course, there was also the display board for outstanding employees of the Citizens’ Affairs Section.
Although she could not see the photos clearly from this distance,
Saionji Mina knew that Yoshino Keiko’s photo was pasted in the most conspicuous position, smiling in a way that made her want to vomit.
“Kiryu-san, this is?”
She had a very bad premonition, so much so that her voice trembled as she spoke.
“Why are you looking at me?”
“Huh?”
“The baseball bat is already in your hands. Go smash it.”
“Hah?”
Saionji Mina’s hands trembled, and the bat almost fell to the ground.
Wasn’t this a crime?
Wasn’t this damaging public property?
Wouldn’t the police arrest her for this?
“No! No, no, no!”
Saionji Mina kept backing away.
Right now, she only wanted to turn around, run home, hide under her blanket, and never come out again.
“Why not?” Kiryu Kazusuke asked in return.
Saionji Mina froze. “Because it’s illegal.”
“So what?” Kiryu Kazusuke cut her off. “There’s no one here right now.”
“And there are no surveillance cameras.”
“As long as you don’t say anything and I don’t say anything, who would know it was you?”
In this era, when surveillance systems had not yet spread across every street and alley like they would in later years, the city at night truly had large blind spots.
Saionji Mina shook her head like a rattle drum.
She understood the logic, but she did not dare.
She was a law-abiding citizen who had been domesticated for twenty-four years, someone who did not even dare step into a crosswalk until two seconds after the light turned green. How could she possibly do something this insane?