Absent Student | KomaHina

Chapter 29

Hinata's POV

– In the meantime –

Just when they'd taken Komaeda to undergo another interrogation, the potential buyer along with a real estate agent, had arrived. One of them seemed quite delighted while the other simply terrified. The displeased middle-aged lady approached Yuriko-san and I, talking quietly to us, "Excuse me... What is the police doing here? This is ridiculous." She appeared to be vexed.

"Ah, I must've forgotten to mention. It slipped my mind, you see. Just ignore them." She answered dismissively. She didn't tell the real estate agent about it on purpose, didn't she? Then Yuriko-san waved to the young man, who was glancing around the living room, amazed. "It's quite crowded here today, I hope it won't be too much of an inconvenience to you, sir." The man shook his head. "No, no... Actually, it's great. Quite inspiring." He breathed out in wonder. Inspiring what, despair? What a weirdo.

Not wasting time, we took the man on a tour around the mansion. It was quite the bizarre house tour, as the police pretty much made themselves cozy and scattered themselves and their belongings all around. It took a good chunk of our time to show him around, so we were all quite tired by the end of it. Apart from him, who seemed the most energetic and pretty hyped too. "Great... This place is amazing! Just what I need." The man said to himself.

"A-are you... sure about it, sir?" The middle aged lady asked him with strong disbelief. "Why, but of course. I've had my eyes on this property for a long time. It's a beautiful, wonderful, old-fashioned house with an eerie atmosphere to it. As a movie director, I feel obligated to invest in this property and use it for my future productions." Yuriko-san and I looked at each other and shrugged. "Where is the paperwork? I'd like to sign a contract." He asked with strong urgency apparent in his voice. Our eyes lit up. "Sir... you do know what people have been saying about this house, right?" Asked the lady. Why is she constantly trying to discourage him from buying it? If he minded it, he wouldn't be so eager to buy it.

"There's been awful rumors said around and god only knows what the police are doing here. I can only imagine. Shouldn't you give it some time before you hastily make a decision? There's always some truth to what's said around." She appeared to be really uncomfortable about encouraging the purchase. It didn't surprise me but I did wish she'd stay out of it and leave it to us.

The man nodded subtly. "A place with an intriguing backstory, splendid! That kind of setting really sells, no matter if the rumors are true or not. So... Can I get the contract? I really don't want to miss out on this opportunity." As the man was signing the papers, a thought crossed my mind. So... That's it, huh. I wonder how Komaeda will feel after leaving this place for good. Then I chuckled. I'm sure the garden will be the one certain part of this place he'll be sad to leave behind no matter what.

Feeling a little sentimental, I said to the new owner of this house, "I suggest hiring a good gardener to take care of the garden. It'd be a real shame if it were to deteriorate overtime." I felt strongly attached to it. After all, he'd been taking care of it until now, the thought of it getting destroyed by time was very saddening.

***

It was late evening when the cops began packing up their stuff and leaving the house. I waited for Komaeda and thought it was around time the interrogation should be over. Or so I hoped. "Have you seen Komaeda anywhere?" I asked one of the officers who were leaving, since I couldn't spot Yuriko-san anywhere either. I split paths with her at some point after all. "Yeah, he's outside with the rest." I quickly said my thanks and rushed outside, in hopes of catching up with Komaeda.

I supported my palms on my thighs, trying to catch my breath. I glanced around and eventually saw a group of a few policemen heading towards the nearby forest. When I focused my gaze in that direction I saw the silhouettes of both Komaeda and Yuriko-san. Then to my surprise, I received a message.