Freesia 66

Freesia, Volume 10, Chapter 66 (pp. 163~188)


<163>
=Kei-kun's got nothin' to do with this—!
=Ah wuz usin' all 'em drugs mah self—!
Chapter 66: Business Ideology

=Y-
=YO-KO...


<164>
=It wuz all mah fault—!
=Ah'm so sorryyy!

[bubble]GATHUCK

=Let's call it a day.
=We've got a meeting tomorrow morning, so don't be late.

=Hey, did my brother have something to do with this?
=He intimidated YO-KO's agency, didn't he.


<165>
=I don't know what you're talking about... Why would we need to intimidate her?
=You never took the drugs in the first place.

=Isn't that right?

=YO-KO-chan needs to learn her place too. She must've known how crucial a time this is for you,
=But she goes and burdens you like this... It's unbelievable, really.

=You should be more cautious with your choice of women.

=Wh-
=What did you say?

=Careless actions,
=Will eventually come back to haunt you.


<166>
=Hey, wait a sec...!

=L-
=Let go, Bobby!

=Those tears,
=Were definitely real!
SOB

=Uck.

=Don't you get it, Tanaka-kun!?
=You can't force yourself to cry like that...! There's no way she was just pretending!


<167>
=But you're still being all suspicious...!
=I feel so sorry for YO-KO-chan—!

=That concludes our live feed from outside the agency.
=Up next is the weather forecast.


<168>
=This is it?
=You didn't get very much.

=What.


<169>
=Looks like it's gonna snow...

=Is that some sort of metaphor? I don't get it.

=No, I'm just talking about the weather.

=I was wondering why you wanted Keita Tanaka's report, but...//You're quite the challenger, Ms. Higuchi—
=You're seriously planning on setting up an enforcement?

=What does that have to do with snow?
=It has nothing to do with it. We're done talking about the weather. Let's get back to business.


<170>
=This isn't any different from the report made by the professors. It's just the personal history of a degenerate teenager.

=Most of the cases have been settled out of court.
=The only big case that wasn't settled was the abduction and murder of the teenage girl that happened when he was 20.

=Well, even that case was dropped due to lack of evidence.
=His Daddy must've done some work behind the scenes, but... Can't imagine how the victim's parents felt.

=Even if you can't set up the enforcement, just handing this over to the media,
=Would dish out a pretty big blow to them, don't you think—?


<171>
=Are you listening, Ms. Higuchi?

=This woman...
=Really is obsessed with her job...

[bubble]FWHUP


<172>
[screen]Daily programming has concluded

=Oh.
=This late already?

=Shit!
=I can't fall asleep...!


<173>
=BZZ—T
=Status report.
=Front entrance is all clear.
=Not a stray cat in the back, either.

=Good work. Just a little more time till your shift is over.
=Don't get lazy, okay—?

=Yes sir.
=You should get some sleep too, Mr. Bobby—

=Man, it's chilly tonight.
[bubble]TAP

=Geez, that was easy.
[bubble]Huh? Thought I saw something...
=Bobby's men are pretty damn useless.


<174>
=3 chocolate mushrooms, 3 melonpans and 2 Pocky megapacks...
=That'll be 2,600 yen.

=Thanks a bunch—

=Hey, that was YO-KO, wasn't it?
=She cut her hair, but those panda eyes... No doubt about it.

CLACK


<175>
[bubble]SHUFF SHUFF

[x2]=HUCK
[x2]CHOMP

G-G-GRIT


<176>
=Cut down on the junk food.
=Shades at night?
=You're gonna gain weight again.

=The media hasn't staked out your place, huh...
=Lucky you...

=Huh?

=Uck...!

=YO-KO!


<177>
=Geez—I thought I was gonna die...
=You were just standing there all of a sudden...

=Told you not to go out walking at night by yourself...
=It's dangerous, you know—

=But I couldn't fall asleep...//And I got kinda hungry.

=Ohh... You too, huh?
=Stupid doctor won't give me sleeping pills...

=Why'd you cut your hair?
=No reason... Just felt like it.
=Oh yeah—?


<178>
=YO-KO.
=Why didn't you tell them the truth.

=What do you mean...?
=You told me not to say anything!

=Huh?


<179>
=But you're innocent, though...
=Stop flip-flopping like that!

=You always say things just to get away from the spot...!

=Wh-What are you talking about...
=I was just...

=Look, Kei-kun... You're not alone anymore.//Lots of people are involved in your life now. You're not by yourself!
=You can't step down just like that. A lot of people are depending on you.

=My problems are nothing,
=Compared to that.


<180>
=I know what's expected of me. So I know when to make the right decisions.
=It's not about good or bad... It's just what I have to do.

=We're not,
=Little children anymore.

=I just thought big bro got to you first...
=Big bro?


<181>
=Oh yeah—I think my manager was trying to tell me something...

=But I hate taking orders from people, so—
=It doesn't have anything to do with me.

=Huh?

=Whoa!
=Wh-What.

=I never realized,
=You were so mature...

=R-
=Really?


<182>
=Kei-kun...?
=What's wrong?

=Hey...
=Wanna take a walk till the sun goes up?

=A walk?


<186>
=Why this place?


<187>
=I've been here before.//I came here with my mother.

=With your dead mother?
=Then it must've been a long time ago.

=I was still a kid.

=But, nothing's changed.


<188>
=Look at the sky.//The wind.
=The temperature...
=The waves... The light...

=Time stopped flowing—
=Around here.

=It's exactly as it was back then.