74 3.31 Before the Transformation (1/2)
”What do you think of an Akiya home around here? I saw a sign up for sale or rent and from the outside, the house seemed to be well maintained. Unlike the houses in rural and countryside, the place I saw had an outdoor car park, a garage and a small lawn outside. I'm sure the interior would be well maintained outside... Hope it doesn't represent the owner who wore fresh clothes and had never taken a bath for months... Hahaha...!”
Akira or should I say Akiara looked at me with a shock when I mentioned the owner simply does not bathe and yet wear fresh clothes every day...! The first thing when I mentioned Akiya which means vacant or abandoned homes, she squirmed thinking about scampering rats, spiders, termites and cockroaches.
However the worse the condition, the cheaper it is but unfortunately, it will incur millions of yen just to refurbish it.
”How about an apartment? But there's no option of a garden, garage or anything like that. Just a simple apartment within a flatted housing unit. Hmm... Hmm... Hmm... Choices and decisions to make...”
'Why do you mention about an akiya or even a house at this moment? Are you planning to buy one? How about my aunt's house? We could stay there meantime...”
”Well... We could stay there is if there is no devil that breathes down our necks at this moment. Actually, I want to talk to you regarding this matter during our dinner. We will be reaching the restaurant in a few minutes time.”
A few minutes later, I turned and stopped at a parking alley outside a restaurant. It's a home converted into a restaurant where the first floor is for dining while the upper floor is meant for dwelling.
During our dinner, I opened up the topic of why we are here in the first place. I explained that we need to get away from the hospital and school and go to a place where people don't recognise us and use under an assumed name.
I told her the part that someone has the influence as deadly as a few yakuza clans put together. I told her that her life is in danger even in the hospital because you can never trust any doctors or nurses working there. One moment you could be alive and the next only God knows.
”Someone can give a lethal injection anytime posed as a nurse or doctor.
That's the reason we closed our bank accounts and make a deposit at the self-deposit machine. And with our assumed names, we could use our ATM without anyone tracking our actual whereabouts. Furthermore, we won't go through any plastic surgery to change how we look, just a simple haircut for me and some works on your hair like colouring or perming. What do you think?”
”Sure, just drive to a saloon and let me decide on the design and look. But not today, I want to take photos with us together around the gardens of Imperial Hotel later, OK?”
I nodded in agreement and saw her face lit up with anticipation. Right after dinner we drove for a while and headed to the hotel an hour and a half later.