Wheelchair Girl: Chapter 2-6

RAWS: https://novel18.syosetu.com/n2611p/11/

Chapter 2-6: Rain…

―8―

After crying for a bit, she gave her best to hold back the remaining tears and pulled herself away from Kazutaka while sniffling a little.

“Are you okay now?”

She responded to his question by nodding weakly.

“Yeah…”

He wiped her tears away with the back of his hand.

Just like that, they leaned against the shelves close by, in a daze, they put their legs to the front and were just staring at their toes for no particular reason.

The room consisted of her wheelchair that was thrown over and a bunch of jars on the shelves with rather incomprehensible objects inside of them. There were also tools used for experiments.

(TLN: They’re in the physics room)

It was eerily silent.

The chimes that notified us the 5th period passed away a while ago.

While looking at the dust that was dancing in this dimly lit space, Haruka muttered.

“What was the next lesson again?”

“It’s maths, taught by our teacher.”

“Oh, we have to go then.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Let’s skip school for today.”

Kazutaka was giving a rather casual response. On the flipside, he really couldn’t bother to pay attention to the class now and most importantly, they really couldn’t return to this appearance.

(TLN: Kazutaka’s hand was bleeding because the other guy pulled a knife on him and Haruka’s clothes were torn apart during his SA.)

Haruka wore Kazutaka’s uniform jacket. It helped her to cover most of her body but from the crevice, her white translucent skin as well as her pink underwear peeked out. Feeling a bit awkward, Kazutaka quickly averted his gaze.

“Let’s talk with the teacher.”

Kazutaka decided casually that it was the correct timing and suggested this.

It was unacceptable and vicious. Dragging a girl that couldn’t really make any movements herself to a deserted school room and assaulting her there…

Kazutake knew that his teacher wasn’t really that reliable and tended to put on a laissez-faire attitude. But in this case, it was attempted rape, they couldn’t just sweep this under the rug. The police will most likely get involved as well.

(TLN: I hope so…)

However, Haruka shook her head.

(TLN: NO!)

“I mean, it wasn’t really an “attack”, he just tore apart my clothes. It’s not a big deal.”

“But…!”

As Kazutaka was about to object strongly, she replied with a weak: “It’s fine.”

“I… I just want to forget this.”

Kazutaka looked at Haruka’s face.

Her small shoulders were still quivering. Her face was pale.

Perhaps she was afraid of another attack? Revenge? A situation where the culprit is angry at the victim, blaming them. Though, a second rape attempt couldn’t be accepted.

If she really wanted to let it go… Kazutaka held his tongue. He’d make sure that guy would never dare to lay another finger at Haruka from now on. He’ll threaten the living shit out of him.

Kazutaka then recalled the video camera that had fallen on the ground. He got up from his spot, picked it up, and checked its conditions.

The screen was cracked but the memory was still there. The video depicted Haruka being pushed down on the ground, showing an expression of unfathomable fear but also a rather talkative Mayama.

(TLN: Mayama is the guy who attacked her.)

If push comes to the stove, should he threaten that guy with this? It could actually spread this around, having Haruka censored of course.

As Kazutaka was playing around with the camera, Haruka was sighing deeply behind him.

“This body… I understand that I’m treated harshly because of this… but it hurts after all.”

With a listless expression, she stared at her legs so that she wasn’t able to move herself.

Her voice was slightly nasal and she had to sniffle.

Kazutaka stood still and bit his lip. Once again he felt an immense sense of regret.

In this narrow and quiet physics room, it was just the two of them.

“…Don’t give up.”

Kazutaka muttered quietly as she was facing his back. 

“Don’t give up because of this. Don’t stop attending school because of this. Fight back, Fight against all of it.”

Haruka raised her face and quietly looked at Kazutaka’s back.

“Don’t give up here. Have courage. This won’t happen again, I’ll do something about it…”

He wanted to say a lot more, all kinds of feelings were welling up in his chest but he struggled to put his feelings into words.

In a sense, there is an inversely proportional relationship between the heat of one’s heart and the ability to express one’s thoughts. 

(TLN: Author’s words, kept it because it sounded funny. If you’re too passionate/emotional, you suck at talking.)

Most likely there was a bumpy road ahead of her. She’ll face many more difficulties.

Her everyday life consists of various things she trips over, things even a little child could easily overcome.

Unable to adapt in a classroom with “healthy classmates”, she stuck out like a sore thumb.

“But… But he didn’t want her to give up. He wanted her to smile and laugh. He wanted her to shine. He wanted her to play her cards with ease. Challenging everything ahead of her without losing.

If it was for her, he’d gladly plunge into this sea of flames.

These feelings of his were certain.

Don’t give up. Fight.

It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to complain. But never give up. Don’t give in to this harsh world.

“No matter what happens, I’ll protect you again. That’s why, never give up.”

Kazutake uttered such lines while clumsily looking at his own feet. His voice was serious.

She responded with a downcast look.

“…Yes. I understand. I got it.”

Tears welled up again in her eyes but of a different kind this time.

☆

Haruka slapped her cheeks and renewed her resolve. She breathed all the air out of her lungs as if she were letting off all the bad things within her.

“I don’t feel like going to class, so let’s go home early today.”

“I see… don’t you wanna go to the infirmary for some checks first?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

She felt quite refreshed after bawling her eyes out. Her expression showed her resolve. She won’t remain a punching bag forever. Kazutaka nodded.

“Well, then let’s go to pick up your stuff and probably we should get you changed as well.”

“Yeah, thank you.”

Haruka looked at her chest and blushed. She grasped Kazutaka’s jacket tightly.

After getting her permission, he retrieved her wheelchair and pushed her out of the physics room.

They moved through an empty corridor to classroom 3-1.

When they came out of the passage, the wind had calmed down quite a bit. 

The east sky was bright. The rain might calm down soon.

(TLN: In some schools, you have these passages that connect two different school buildings but are outside. I’m sure you’ve seen some anime/manga with this. I assume the author refers to that thing, otherwise, it’d be weird to talk about the wind when they were walking through a corridor earlier.)

He slid open the door of classroom 3-1, it made the usual loud and noisy clattering sound. The teacher who had been writing something on the blackboard as well as all the students simultaneously turned their way.

“What are you doing around this time? Lunch break has already been a long time ago, you know?”

The teacher grumbled, adding that there were also others who hadn’t come back yet while looking around the suspiciously vacant classroom.

Hm, Harukawa and also Mayaba who was on Haruka Duty. Do you know something? 

“Harukawa doesn’t feel well and will thus leave early. I came to pick up her stuff.”

As for Mayama, Kazutaka let his name go through one ear and leave through the other. That guy wasn’t worth thinking about.

As Kazutaka explained, their teacher just replied with a rather casual: “I see” and turned away.

Incidentally, Kazutaka’s hand was wrapped with a blood-dyed handkerchief. The teacher did of course notice but didn’t delve deeper into it and returned to the blackboard, continuing the lesson like usual.

(‘Is Harukawa okay?’ or ‘What happened to your hand?’, you don’t even want to ask that?)

He was someone who didn’t want to involve himself in trouble. Indeed, an unreliable teacher, Kazutaka thought.

Kazutaka headed to Haruka’s desk, tidied away the half-eaten bento which was still there, and picked up her stuff.

As he was about to leave the classroom, he caught something in the corner of his eye on the blackboard: “Haruka Duty.”

It’s because of this teacher who established such a rule that Harukawa had to go through that…

He doubted that there were others like Mayama but who knows? Evil might be lurking at every corner, they’d pretend that they would help Haruka only to sexually harass her later. 

Kazutaka’s face twitched in anger and quickly erased those letters from the blackboard.

“Oi, what are you doing?”

The teacher questioned him.

Kazutaka turned around immediately and faced the whole classroom.

“It might be sudden but I decided to take care of Haruka from now on and watch over her. With this, I declare ‘Haruka Duty’ suspended. That’s it. Welp, see ya.

Just like that, Kazutaka quickly left the classroom and closed the sliding door with a bang behind him.

He overheard the students noisily chatting with each other, wondering what the heck had happened but he ignored them and left the place.

Kazutaka remembered that the student guidance office had spare uniforms and managed to obtain a blouse for Haruka. 

He returned to the physics room.

As he was about to open the door, Kazutaka heard the crying voice of a young girl. 

She was trying her hardest to hold down her voice but it still leaked out from the door.

“…Dad….Mom….”

Even if it was painful, even if it was sad.

She’d give her best and stay strong when she was with Kazutaka. It’d be unreasonable for her to cry to him all the time after all. Unaware of his presence, she continued crying and calling for her parents.

“…No, I have to stay strong… Have to get myself together…”

She was repeating those murmurs to herself and managed to stifle down her voice.

Kazutaka let go of the door handle and stepped back.

He quietly looked at the physics room’s door while guarding it.

 Through this door, he felt like he was seeing a girl stifling her voice and rubbing her eyes.

☆

He picked a suitable time and entered the room with an ‘I’m back’

“Welcome back… Akasaka-kun”

She quickly sat up in her wheelchair.

“I’m sorry for troubling you like this.”

Haruka skillfully remained calm, not giving the impression of someone who was crying earlier. She really didn’t want to worry Kazutaka. She didn’t want him to see her shameful appearance. Hence she pretended that she was fine. Though, her eyes were slightly red.

Kazutaka felt suddenly guilty. It was him who had told her to stay strong but on the flipside, he didn’t want her to force herself like this. He felt perplexed by this situation.

After handing over her stuff and the new uniform, he told her he’d wait outside for her and left the physics room.

Kazutaka leaned against the door and then slid down, flopping himself onto the ground.

He let out a big sigh, the exhaustion finally overtook him.

The school was eerily quiet in the afternoon.

The gentle sound of rain.

The rustling sound of a girl putting on her clothes. (TLN: lol)

Usually, this is the time when we’d be sitting in the classroom, really, what are we doing here… That went through Kazutaka’s head.

He unwound the handkerchief from his left hand. It was completely soaked in blood. He doesn’t think he’d be able to wash this, so he’ll probably buy a new one for her.

After a while, the door opened and Haruka appeared wearing the new clothes.

“I’m sorry for making you wait. Thanks for your jacket.”

“Don’t mind it.”

He got his jacket back.

They reached the staircase together and Kazutaka suddenly recalled something.

“Ah, I messed up.”

He wouldn’t be able to carry Haruka in her wheelchair downstairs, he’d have to carry her again. He really couldn’t ask her to let some other guy touch her after THAT experience.

He looked down at Haruka and asked:

“What do you wanna do? Should I call a female teacher?”

“Hm… especially today I think asking a teacher might make them weirdly suspicious, so I’m actually fine. I’m sorry for the inconvenience but I’d like you to carry me again. Would that be okay, Akasaka-kun?” (TLN: Go get him, girl!)

“Are you really okay with that?”

“With what?”

She tilted her head, honestly not understanding what he was getting at.

Welp, if she says that she’s fine with it, he might as well roll with this. It’d be awkward if he hesitated too much.

Kazutaka squatted down in front of Haruka. He’d carry her small and frail body. As for the wheelchair, it can’t be helped, he’d just go upstairs again to retrieve it.

As they slowly descended the stairs.

“Hey…”

On the staircase where it was just the two of them, she suddenly called out to him.

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

She thanked him with an intonation that slightly indicated a Kansai dialect. 

(TLN: I didn’t write anything in Japanese because it’s the normal Arigatou, the letters don’t indicate the Kansai dialect, it’s in the author’s head.)

She put her arms around Kazutaka’s neck and hugged him tightly, pressing her against his back.

“…Thank you for coming for me.”

He wasn’t able to see her face but her voice more or less gave him a good idea of what kind of face she was making there.

Kazutaka silently responded by gently hitting her arm.

―9―

After he also carried the wheelchair down, the two of them made their way to the shoe racks.

When they left the school building, the rain had weakened quite a bit.

“Should I walk you home?”

As Kazutaka offered that at the school entrance, Haruka quickly shook her head.

“I can’t let you spoil me this much.”

“Then let’s call your parents over.”

“I mean, it wasn’t a big deal. If you’re worried about me, I’m fine. As for tomorrow… It’s the weekend, so I won’t come to school. And on Monday, yes, Harukawa Haruka will make her perfect comeback!”

She answered with a strong-hearted voice and smiled sweetly.

Haruka pulled out an orange umbrella and moved away with her wheelchair, pushing it herself.

Kazutaka stared at her retreating figure for a while. 

Although she had shown her will earlier, her body seemed so small and frail.

With both hands being busy turning the wheels of her wheelchair, Haruka wasn’t able to hold her umbrella well. She was holding it with her thighs actually and fixated it with her neck and shoulders. It was quite unstable.

“Oh…”

A strong wind came by and it felt like the umbrella would be blown away.

(I see… even using an umbrella in a wheelchair was quite difficult.)

Kazutaka hadn’t thought about that.

After all, he couldn’t let alone like this.

Kazutaka sprinted through the rain and caught Haruka’s umbrella.

“…”

“I’ll walk you home after all.”

“…I’m really sorry for everything…”

“Don’t mind, I’m skipping classes as well after all.”

Kazutaka responded casually. He didn’t expect another Maya to appear in front of her but he’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t worried.

I’ll push your wheelchair, so could you hold the umbrella?

“Un got it.”

Kazutaka grasped the grip of the wheelchair and started to push it.

And that’s how the two of them left the school.

Worried about Kazutaka getting his back wet, Haruka did her best to let the umbrella shield him.

“Akasaka-kun, you’re not getting wet, right?”

“Yeah, you don’t have to hold the umbrella that high. I’m fine.”

“But what about your head? You’re so tall…”

“Hey, I’m not a giant, y’know?”

Could this be considered another kind of shared umbrella event?

On the rainy road, instead of walking side by side, they walked close behind each other, sharing an umbrella.

☆

“Phew, pushing a wheelchair in the rain is tough. Did you really think you were able to do it by yourself?”

While pushing the wheelchair, Kazutaka casually began talking to Haruka.

She replied with: ‘Yeah, you’re right’ and looked up to the cloudy sky.

“The wheelchair gets wet, the rain makes it rust, it’s difficult to hold an umbrella… But if you attach an umbrella to it, it becomes doable to some extent.”

“Oh, that’s a thing?”

We had some troubles while moving, so we kind of lost it on the way. Windy days are quite tough as well.

Once in a while, a car drives past them. There weren’t many pedestrians on the schoolway.

Kazutaka looked up to the sky and muttered:

“That being said, it’s raining quite a bit, huh.”

The rain poured down upon them as if trying to wash and purify the world without any favoritism or consideration of their troubles. The rain poured down on them equally.

While trying to stretch her arm as high as possible, Haruka asked:

“Akasaka-kun, do you dislike the rain?”

“I don’t think there is anyone who likes it though. You get all soaked, your clothes stick onto you…”

Even if you’re cautious, you might accidentally walk into a puddle and your pants are soaked as well. It becomes impossible to go out. He wasn’t really a fan of the rain.

To his surprise, Haruka responded with a slightly disappointed look.

“I see… I actually like rainy days.”

“Is that so?”

“I love the sound of the rain, the smell. Even if I get wet like this, I have always been fond of the rain. Some people feel slightly depressed during rainy days, but even so, I like the rain quite a bit.”

Haruka held the umbrella with one hand and used the other to let the raindrops hit her palm.

Raindrops were trickling down her white fingertips.

“You see, I got a new umbrella when I was a kid. After that, I really wanted it to rain and even hung reversed teru-teru-bozu.

Haruka talked in a cheerful tone, albeit forced.

Kazutaka went and replied calmly in a casual manner, as if nothing had happened, and continued to push the wheelchair.

“Reversed teru-teru-bozu?”

“Like this, basically just hanging them upside down, which will in turn make them summon the rain rather than preventing it.”

“Ah, those things.”

“Yeah, and then, when it actually started raining, I quickly pulled out my umbrella, put on my boots, and ran outside. My mother quickly wrapped me inside a raincoat because it was certain that I’d get wet anyway.”

She laughed cheerfully.

Kazutaka responded with a smile: “Well, well, you were perfectly prepared then, weren’t you?”

“Stepping on puddles, looking for snails hiding below leaves, and then seeing the world after the rain, shining and sparkling all over the place. Rainy days are quite enjoyable, I’ll have you know.”

Kazutaka imagined little Haruka in her childhood days.

Kinder garden, Middle school Haruka.

Around that time, she was still able to walk with her own two legs. She was able to run anywhere and everywhere without relying on a wheelchair.

He imagined how that little girl would be happily running around the rain with her new umbrella.

Holding the umbrella in her right hand.

Wearing leather boots.

Covering her body with a colorful raincoat.

With such equipment, that little girl was invincible.

She’d be turning around the umbrella, scattering the raindrops around her. Wielding it like a magic wand. She’d find a puddle and immediately jump into it with her leather boots.

A little girl in the rain, dancing with it, enjoying it.

A few years later, she got into an accident and lost the ability to walk.

Kazutaka looked at the wheelchair girl in front of him. He felt like something was grasping his heart. He felt like he was losing being choked.

Toward such Kazutaka, Haruka playfully continued her story.

“Yeah, I don’t like getting wet in the rain and stuff and my clothes get all sticky. But surely, in your childhood, the rain must have been interesting to you as well, right?”

“Well, I guess it was?”

Indeed, Kazutaka remembered being all hyped in his childhood when typhoons or storms came around. He’d suddenly pull out an unused umbrella and sprint outside. His shoes would get soaked immediately but he recalled enjoying himself.

But at some point, he started to think of the rain as something depressing. When he was a kid, it was pretty much just like a shower, like an attraction brought by you by Mother Nature.

Haruka looked up to the sky and said:

“Yeah, it’s difficult to move around in the rain with this body. However, I still don’t dislike the rain. It feels like I get rewarded after the rainfall ends.”

“Reward? What do you mean?”

As Kazutaka tilted his head, she playfully responded: ‘Oh, what could it be’ and put her index finger on her lips.

☆

The two of them passed by a big park.

“Is Harukawa’s house around here?”

“Yeah, if you go through that park, my house is right around the corner.”

“Gotcha”

Kazutaka pushed the wheelchair through the park.

Usually, children would be playing around here but it was empty due to the rain.

The monkey bars got wet in the rain.

The swing was shaking in the wind.

The slide that was shaped like a penguin… 

Some puddles here and there and a rubber ball left behind in the sandbox.

Why do public parks feel so lonely on rainy days?

The soaked plants gave off a different scent.

As they walked through the park, checking out the various ‘attractions’, Haruka put the umbrella away and looked up to the sky.

“It seems like the rain has stopped.”

Following her words, Kazutaka also looked up to the sky.

The dark clouds split up, the blue sky peeked out and the sun suddenly made its appearance.

Noticing something in the sky after rainfall, Haruka raised her voice.

“What’s up?”

“Hey, look there! It’s a rainbow!”

Haruka pointed towards the horizon.

Her fingers indicated the seven colors of the rainbow. They were vividly and beautifully arching through the sky.

“Beautiful…”

She was viewing the rainbow as if it were some amazing painting. 

Did she mean this as the reward after rainfall?

Kazutaka stopped in his tracks and looked up to the sky. Birds that were taking shelter somewhere suddenly made their appearance and soared through the skies.

(That reminds me, it’s been a while since I’ve last seen a rainbow.)

The water droplets stretch out like bells from the iron bars.

The soaked swing.

The large penguin slides in the center.

The rain droplets formed a sphere on the flowerbed. As Haruka had mentioned, it’s as if the rain was reflecting the light, making the world sparkle and shine.

It was so dazzling, that both of them ended up closing their eyes and then looked up to the sky once more.

Author note:

I’m sorry for those who expected some NTR or rape development. (Not even sure if such people are reading this story here though). I’m really, really bad with NTR or rape, so I’ll do my very best to prevent it. 

Thus, the protagonist made it just in time. 

With this, the serious part is over and we shall switch towards the nyan-nyan route.

Translator’s note:

It’s a massive pain to translate this one because the chapters are long as heck. But I’ll do my best. Don’t expect me to release daily chapters as I did my previous two series.

Also, this story made me remember a good visual novel, though if I’m not mistaken, people had mixed feelings about it. 

>If My Heart Had Wings

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