Chapter 08 - Fallen Leaves

Note: I'm extremely sorry for uploading a chapter twice. It was a mistake from my side. Please enjoy the chapter!

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Her life was ruined.

Amamiya Kaede, aged 21, should have had nothing to fear from life. She was beautiful, popular, athletic, and enjoyed the protection and favor of a sugar daddy who'd not only made her aware of her own desirable assets, but also the joys of sex.

And yet, just two years later, everything had come crashing down.

"I'm afraid we will have to ask you not to return this coming semester, Miss Amamiya. The university simply cannot be seen to have any ongoing ties to any associates of Mister Marada."

Two sentences.

Two sentences had effectively seen her wiped from the university's admissions registry. The only kindness they'd shown her was in allowing her current credits to stand, but they refused to let her attend any longer. And, in coming weeks, she realized no university she applied to seemed interested in any way to take her in, either.

She'd been blackballed.

Why?

Because her sugar daddy had finally crossed one line too far.

She knew, of course, of his inappropriate and aggressive behavior towards young women – she herself had been a victim of his, back in high school. Whenever he bounced to another school over the years, he'd lay his hands on some young thing here and there, then switch schools before the attention got too hot. Only Kaede had stuck around in all that time.

And because of that, when she'd tried to play the victim angle as well, no one believed her.

This time, unlike before, Coach Marada had laid his hands on the wrong young woman and her parents had effectively dropped the hammer of God on him. With such a powerful and connected family spearheading his prosecution, Marada's many sins came to light, and once Kaede's existence became public knowledge, everything good and stable about her life vanished practically overnight.

Her university had expelled her. Her parents disowned her. Her friends refused to return her calls. Marada was in prison. Her neighbors looked down their noses at her. Her part-time jobs never lasted more than a few weeks before the negative publicity pushed the management to let her go.

In the age of the internet, public recrimination for shameful behavior could outlast the sin for decades, as she was coming to find out.

Despair clawed at her as she basically became a recluse in the apartment Marada and she had shared – though even that was in danger of being repossessed given his mounting legal costs and the stack of overdue bills sitting on the kitchen table. What had been a bright, shiny life of pleasure and success had come crashing down in a matter of moments, and why?

…because she had chosen to tie her fate to that of her rapist.

Because she had chosen dick over a loving boyfriend who would never have cheated on her, who would've treated her like a goddess, who would've probably bent over backwards to make her happy.

And in that moment, Kaede had an idea. A final, desperate idea to help her extricate herself from the downward spiral that was her life.

Desperate and frantic, she practically tore the house upside down as she searched for the letters she knew Yuuichi, the ex-boyfriend she'd betrayed, had written her over the past few years. She knew Marada kept them because he enjoyed toying with her and mocking her ex.

Eventually, she found them stashed in his closet, hidden away from the other "trophies" he'd collected over the years – all of which had already been seized by the police as evidence of his malfeasance.

One by one, Kaede read the letters, looking for the most recent one…and found it. It was dated a year ago, actually, prompting a frown. Would that mean he was no longer where the letter was posted from? According to Marada, her ex kept changing jobs and moving from prefecture to prefecture.

She quickly perused the contents, jotting down the address, gathering as much of her belongings and money as she could, and made for the train station, gritting her teeth in frustration at every glare, sneer, and look of disgust she was subjected to by passerby's and neighbors as she was recognized. She didn't need to hear them to know what they whispered under their breath at her.

Slut. Whore. Enabler. Accomplice. Monster.

Much of the outrage following Marada's arrest had stemmed from the fact that she hadn't been arrested as well. For many on the internet, both in Japan and abroad, Kaede was just as liable as he'd been in his crimes because she'd known what he was like and chose to stay silent about it. Hell, the only reason she hadn't been arrested, she knew, was because no one could prove she'd known about his other rapes.

It had been the one silver lining in the whole fracas.

Fortunately, the ticket vendor was automatic, so she didn't need to deal with a judgmental seller as she bought her ticket to Nakatsugawa. Even so, she took special care to hide her face behind a face mask as she boarded the train, not wanting to be accosted while on the way.

Four hours later, she had reached her destination – Yuuichi's last known location.

"What do you mean he's gone?!"

Only to find nothing.

The factory floor manager glowered at her, her mask having continued to hide her identity successfully. "Look, lady, I don't know what to tell you – yeah, that kid worked here for a spell, but he's gone now. Quit after about six months."

Kaede grit her teeth, unwilling to believe that Yuuichi's patheticness had led her astray like this. He'd been her last hope, damnit! And now, because he was too much of a spineless—!

"Pity, too. He was a good worker."

Kaede blinked. "Eh?"

The man scratched the back of his head. "Yeah – I mean, you must've known, right? Seeing as you're his friend and all – lucky dog! I tell ya, the boy was some kind of worker! First one in, last one out! And the other guys—man! I think they loved him more than they do me! I tell ya, if he hadn't left…hell, maybe it's best he did, 'cause he would've probably taken my job by now!" he laughed.

Kaede stared at the floor manager in shock. Yuuichi…was a good worker? He was…thriving?

That…that wasn't what Marada told her. He told her Yuuichi was barely hanging on in his jobs! That he kept switching because of the trauma she'd inflicted on him!

"Oi, boss!"

Kaede and the floor manager turned to see another of the workers come up. "Ryu says…hello, there! Who's this?"

The floor manager rolled his eyes before gesturing at her. "Says she's a friend of Yuuichi. Remember him?"

When Kaede saw the worker's face light up, she felt sick to her stomach.

"'Course I do!" he exclaimed, grinning in her direction. "Man, that was a good dude. Helped me out in a pinch I had with the missus about a month before he quit. Really saved my bacon there!"

The floor manager nodded sagely before gesturing at her again. "Says she's looking for him."

The worker looked at her for a moment and, for a moment, Kaede felt her chest tighten as he narrowed his eyes. Had he figured out who she was? The moment quickly passed, though, as he nodded.

"Last I heard, he's living in Hassakacho," the worker said. "Near the university."

Kaede's eyes widened as the worker revealed what was perhaps the first tangible, credible clue as to Yuuichi's location and upon her urging, he agreed to share the information, glad to help two friends reconnect. Then, after getting his details, Kaede quickly rushed over to the train station again and, three hours later, was finally within reach of her goal.

And it was infuriating.

Before her stood a nice, two-floor detached house with white façade and clean walls and windows. A car was parked in the driveway with space for another one. Miscellaneous decorations and an abandoned ball lay next to the pathway leading to the house, and Kaede felt a sick feeling grow in her stomach.

No way. No fucking way.

Fortunately for her, no one appeared to be around right now, so no one got to see her shaken by what she was seeing, nor the trembling in her hands as she gradually began to accept a truth that promised to bring a futile end to her best laid plans.

She knocked on the door.

"Coming!"

A woman's voice.

No. No way.

The door opened. An attractive woman, a head shorter than her, answered the door, smiling up at her.

"Oh! Hi, there! How can I help you?" she asked.

Kaede could barely hear herself think, drowned out by the roar of her emotions rapidly swirling out of control.

"Is…Does…Does Sugimura Yuuichi live here?" she finally was able to rasp out.

The woman looked her up and down and seemed to finally notice how shifty she looked, for her gaze narrowed slightly. "May I ask who's asking?"

"I…I'm a friend."

"And does the friend have a name?" the woman asked archly.

"Amamiya Kaede."

The voice behind her made her freeze on the spot, even as the woman before her brightened up like the sun and smiled brilliantly at whoever was behind her.

"Welcome home!" she greeted, prompting Kaede to slowly turn around to see exactly who she now feared to see.

She watched him smile at the woman and say "I'm home!" before turning to look at her with cold eyes. "Hi, Kaede."

Sugumiya Yuuichi, in the flesh.

Kaede stared dumbly at the cup of tea on the kitchen table before her. Opposite her sat Yuuichi, while the other woman was somewhere upstairs, apparently.

The moment of silence that passed between them was deafening and made her feel sick.

"It's been a while."

Kaede nodded silently, still staring at the cup of tea. Another moment of silence passed, broken only by the sounds of Yuuichi drinking from his own cup. Unlike her, he seemed perfectly at ease with himself.

Eventually, however, she couldn't handle it anymore.

"Who is she?" she asked.

Yuuichi raised a hand, causing her to look up, and she saw the ring on his finger.

"She's my fiancée," he told her simply. "Mia."

Unacceptable. Utterly unacceptable.

So while she had had her life turned upside down and gotten blackballed by everyone who mattered in her life, Yuuichi – pathetic, second-rate Yuuichi – got to live in a nice house? With a fiancée?

Unacceptable!

"Forgot me pretty quick, huh?" she couldn't help but snark.

"I'd say six months is pretty long, to be honest," he replied calmly.

She frowned. That wasn't right. "The last letter you sent was a year ago!"

He shrugged. "And you clearly didn't read it."

"I…!"

"If you had, you'd know it said I'd moved on and made peace with losing you," he continued undeterred. "Call it a final act of catharsis."

Kaede grit her teeth as she glowered at him, but he seemed unaffected. Instead, he just stared her down with…with pity.

Unacceptable!

"Why are you here, Kaede?" he asked her flatly.

So flatly, in fact, that it caught her off guard. "I…" she stuttered, suddenly unable to put her thoughts into words. "I…"

She paused a took a deep breath before trying to face him with the same calmness he was showing her. "I need your help."

He eyed her impassively. "Considering our history, that's a bit rich. But I'll bite: with?"

Kaede's hands balled into fists on her thighs, but she kept her cool. "I need some place to lay low."

"Ah, yes, I imagine so. Because of that animal, Marada."

It took Kaede considerable effort to restrain herself from lashing out at him and pointing out that at least Marada had the balls to pursue and value her, unlike him! Still, she managed to keep her cool again.

"Something like that," she conceded through gritted teeth.

Yuuichi eyed her for a moment before folding his hands on the table. "And why is that my problem?"

Kaede reeled from the question.

"What do you mean, how is that your problem?!" she snapped back at him. "Are you serious?!"

"Very," Yuuichi retorted flatly. "You are not my girlfriend, Kaede. You made that abundantly clear back in senior year. Hell, we're not even friends. So, why should I spend a gram of effort helping you after what you did to me?"

Kaede stared at him helplessly as she processed what he said. He was right, of course, and she knew that. But she'd banked on him being as pathetic as Marada had made him out to be in his summary of Yuuichi's letters. If he'd been that pathetic, then it would've been a simple matter of seducing him and working him to the bone while she laid low.

But that wasn't the Yuuichi she was faced with. This Yuuichi was fulfilled, had a home and an attractive fiancée – probably even a job where his peers respected him. And sure, maybe the other woman wasn't the bombshell Kaede was, but given he'd shown not an ounce of lustful interest in her since seeing each other outside, she was pretty certain the seduction angle was out of the window from the outset.

All that was left was the last thing she wanted to do.

Beg.

"I…I know I hurt you, Yuuichi!" she pleaded as she reached over to grasp his hands. "Please! I…I was a victim, too, remember?!"

"I also remember that he victimized three more girls after you and you never reported his behavior," Yuuichi replied coldly. "Believe it or not, Kaede, I do follow the news."

"T-Then you know! He was aggressive, threatening!"

"And yet you were the only one who stuck by his side. None of the others did," Yuuichi again riposted. "And – and I can't believe I have to say this, but…your misery doesn't give you a free pass to cause misery unto others, Kaede!"

She stared at him, eyes watering from her despair as she could metaphorically see her life finally collapsing with absolute finality before her.

"Now, please get out. I've caused enough pain to Mia by even agreeing to hear you out in our home," he told her. "And, if you ever truly did care about me, never show yourself before me or my family ever again. I am happy, and the last thing I need is you to come mess that up."

Kaede could barely think as she was ushered out of the house. Even long after the front door closed behind her, she found her couldn't move from her spot. Only the sound of a nearby cat meowing finally broke her out of her reverie, and even then – she was still lost.

Her final plan was gone. She had nothing more to try. Her parents hadn't spoken to her since the scandal broke out and no amount of pleading had gotten them to hear her side of the story. Yuuichi's parents, for their part, had slandered her to anyone close or far willing to hear, so even in her old neighborhood she was persona non grata. Old classmates had also promptly cut off contact, as had her college friends.

She had no one. No one at all.

And all because she had made the wrong choice. Because she had caved in to Marada's temptation.

Because she had betrayed her boyfriend in the cruelest way possible.

And now, because of all of that, her life, much like the leaves of a dying tree, had come crashing down to the ground.

And it was all her own fault.