Evil Legacy (satosugu)

11. Journey

Even though it was only early spring, the afternoon seemed unbearably hot. Suguru wiped his forehead with the back of hand, brushing away stray strands of hair from his face that had escaped from his messy bun. However, it didn't help for long, because the warm but capricious wind blew his hair into his face again.

A loud, rhythmic sound of hammer echoed throughout the yard, and as the boy was closest to the source of the annoying noise, he began to feel a painful throbbing somewhere beneath his skull. Each painful pulsation corresponded to a single knock. Just when he thought the torment would never end, the hammer stopped.

"Well, I think it's ready" Haibara said, putting down the hammer.

Still keeping his hands on the wooden picket, Suguru shook the fence. The structure stood straight and stable. He nodded in approval and straightened up. He looked at the structure again with his appraising eye.

"I think it looks good." Haibara sighed contentedly, picking up nails and tools from the grass. "Definitely better than before."

"Incomparably better." he smiled broadly, brushing his hair behind his ear. For a moment, they looked at what they had been working on together for several days.

Whenever he did manage to get some time off from work, he would spend that time making minor repairs to Nanako and Mimiko's house. He started with simple tasks that he could do alone, and he often even consulted farmhands, seeking their advice and tips. Recently he asked Haibara to help him repair a fence that was about to collapse. However, when he and Yu took a closer look at the fence, they concluded that there was nothing they could do about it. So, they dismantled the old structure, leaving the old board as firewood. Suguru then bought wood and together they built a new fence. Yu's help turned out to be invaluable, because unlike Suguru, the boy had no idea about tinkering. It took them several days to replace the entire fence.

"I'm glad we managed to finish this before I left" he said thoughtfully.

"Oh, yeah. Your journey" They both walked slowly towards the house. "Isn't it tomorrow?"

Suguru looked at the hut, especially at the terribly bent roof that was threatening to collapse. He promised himself that he would deal with this problem after his return.

After his return.

With this, his mind was once again filled with thoughts of the journey ahead of him, and the young man immediately became gloomy.

"Unfortunately, yes" he finally replied. "I would prefer not to go anywhere. "

"How long will you be gone?"

"Well... Four days of journey. Four days of return. I don't know how long it will take me to treat this kid. If I can treat him at all."

Next to the house, Nanako and Mimiko were sitting on the recently mown grass. Busy in having a picnic, they didn't seem to notice the whole world.

"The journey itself may not be the worst" he continued. "My traveling companion is much worse." He looked at Yu with a sneer. "For some reason he was very insistent on coming with me."

"I can't imagine it. You and Gojo traveling alone for a few days. You won't kill each other?"

"It's very likely." That's all he could say before their conversation was interrupted by Shoko coming to meet them. She stopped on the stone steps, her hand on the door frame.

"Did you finish?"

"Yes! The fence is now so strong and stable that nothing will threaten it" Haibara exclaimed cheerfully. A wide smile flashed on the girl's face, but it faded immediately as she looked at Suguru.