This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame-Chapter 601 - 376. Past Events (4000 words)_2

Beichuan Si did not answer the question.

He simply looked at Inagaki Kaori with a calm gaze.

Since Beichuan Si did not answer, Inagaki Kaori took it as an implicit agreement.

She bit her lower lip, and a sigh seemed to leak from her lips, "Why... why have you, who abandoned Xiangli, come knocking now...? You didn’t even attend Xiangli’s funeral... Why do you have the gall to come here?"

Abandon Shindai Xiangli?

Not even attend the funeral?

Beichuan Si’s expression flickered slightly.

He looked up at Inagaki Kaori and noticed her eyes were reddening at the edges.

Tears were gathering.

In her gaze was a faint resentment.

Her expression seemed to be questioning Beichuan Si.

’Why couldn’t you come earlier?’

Beichuan Si remained silent.

"I’m sorry, I’ve lost my composure," Inagaki Kaori said, wiping at the corner of her eyes, her voice ragged with a hint of hoarseness.

It seemed Inagaki Kaori knew that even with her display of emotion, it was already too late to change anything. She finally steadied her emotions and asked gently, "Mr. Beichuan, you said it just now, didn’t you? You wanted to see my daughter... right?"

"Yes," Beichuan Si nodded.

Inagaki Kaori took a deep breath, stood up under Beichuan Si’s gaze, and said with a mournful tone,

"Please come this way."

Beichuan Si stood up and followed behind Inagaki Kaori.

Under her lead, Beichuan Si arrived at the small room he had seen before.

But now the small room was pitch-black, with no source of light.

Inagaki Kaori reached out and turned on the light.

What appeared before Beichuan Si was a small, man-height cabinet.

Under Beichuan Si’s scrutiny, Inagaki Kaori bowed her head and pulled open a small door of the cabinet.

It turns out it was not a cabinet at all.

It was a spiritual shrine.

Atop the shrine were two black and white photographs.

One was of a little girl with a peaceful expression but no hair.

The other was a little girl with her hair in braids, holding a ragged Hyakunin Isshu karuta.

Inagaki Jing... and Shindai Xiangli.

"My daughters... have long passed away."

Inagaki Kaori’s voice came from behind him.

Her face showed no expression.

Indeed.

There was no expression to be seen.

She was just numbly... tenderly stroking the black and white photographs.

As Beichuan Si had feared...

The worst had happened.

...

Through Inagaki Kaori’s narrative, Beichuan Si finally understood the whole story.

Her daughter, Inagaki Jing, had been born with a congenital heart defect.

Her frail daughter had always been very self-conscious, and as her illness grew severe, she had dropped out of elementary school and was sent to Adachi District... to Inagaki’s Longhouse to recuperate.

"That was my daughter’s dream," said Inagaki Kaori, with reddened eyes, "She told me she wanted to see the Sky Tree up close... to live with everyone... to feel the sense of a big family..."

That was why the Inagaki family had left their house in the harbor district and moved to the Adachi District.

As the conversation reached this point, Inagaki Kaori’s voice choked up, and she had difficulty completing her sentences.

After much consideration, given Inagaki Jing’s hopes, the Inagaki family had decided to rent out the second floor of the longhouse.

It was then they met the Shindai family, who were eager to settle in Tokyo.

A man, a woman... and the little, adorable, well-behaved Shindai Xiangli.

"They seemed very kind, so I rented the room to them..." Inagaki Kaori didn’t finish her sentence before Beichuan Si took over the conversation.

"But Ms. Inagaki, you did not expect that all of that was a facade, did you?" Beichuan Si asked.

Inagaki Kaori nodded and continued her story.

What were the names of Shindai Xiangli’s parents... and what exactly was their story, she had long forgotten.

But their actions had left a deep impression in Inagaki Kaori’s memory.

Why was Shindai Xiangli always wearing an old, shabby red and white cotton-padded jacket?

That was because... nearly every few days, the Inagaki family could hear from the second floor... the raging rebukes and painful scolding of a man.

When the tirades ended, they could hear Shindai Kanari and her mother covering their mouths, suppressing their agony, and sobbing quietly.

Yes...

Shindai Kanari’s father seemed to show symptoms of mania, taking pleasure in beating and berating her and her mother.

The intimidating voice and the cries of the women made it unbearable for the Inagaki family.

But the Inagaki family did not drive this family away.

Because Shindai Kanari was simply too...

Inagaki Kaori wiped the corners of her eyes, "No matter what violence she suffered the day before, Kanari would always come the next day to play with Jing, who was completely unaware of the situation..."

Shindai Kanari knew that Inagaki Jing could not go out to play with other children because of her health.

So, she ran to Inagaki Jing’s room every day, carrying her battered deck of one hundred poems.

Inagaki Kaori actually knew.

The movements of Shindai Kanari, enduring pain, scarcely able to pick up the cards.

The slight turn of her small body as she secretly wiped away her tears.

The red and white cotton jacket she wore grew more tattered by the day.

Yet the Inagaki family did not know what to do.

Indeed, there were child protection facilities in society, and the Inagaki family had actually reported the abuse anonymously once.

But that only resulted in a useless investigation and even more brutal beatings for Shindai Kanari and her mother.

Since then, the Inagaki family had been afraid to take further action.

They could only watch as Shindai Kanari endured inhuman devastation.

Helpless...

This was a situation of true powerlessness.

"Kanari gave Jing courage... Jing, who originally resisted treatment and was afraid of surgery... also took the first step. But we simply cannot do anything for Kanari. She’s just a nine-year-old girl, why does she have to suffer like this?"

Inagaki Kaori’s tears flowed freely as she spoke.

And Beichuan Si did not know how to respond beside her.

The truth of Shindai Kanari’s domestic abuse was indeed exposed after her death, and this was recorded in the documents.

But... justice that arrives too late is hardly justice at all.

By then, the abuser had vanished from Tokyo, leaving the spirit of the little girl lingering on the outskirts of the Longhouse, waiting for a promise that could never be fulfilled.

Under the guidance of her peer, Shindai Kanari, Inagaki Jing’s condition showed significant improvement.

The Inagaki family saw hope anew.

Seeing Kanari every day, always greeted with a smile, having her stay for meals... and even overnight stays had become the norm.

After all... it was better to keep Shindai Kanari at their home as long as possible, rather than let her go home to face beatings.

Every time it was time for a bath, Shindai Kanari always asked to enter the bathroom alone.

The Inagaki family knew all too well.

The little girl just wanted to hide her battered body.

Once, as Inagaki Kaori passed by the bathroom, she could even hear the sound of Shindai Kanari wincing as she poured hot water over her body.

That time, Inagaki Kaori covered her mouth, feeling shame for the first time about her inaction and because maintaining the status quo meant her daughter could be saved.

Hearing the pitiful gasps, Inagaki Kaori made up her mind.

She wanted to adopt Shindai Kanari.

After discussing it with her husband, he too was very much in favor of the idea.

Rather than let such a little angel suffer in hell, why not have them adopt her into their home?

After several negotiations, and some overt threats from the Inagaki family, Shindai Kanari’s father finally compromised.

After all, the fact that he had been abusive was established, and if the Inagaki family were willing to spend money to investigate and delve deeper, he would lose more than just custody—he would suffer what is commonly known as social death.

"That negotiation... it would be more apt to call it a trade."

Inagaki Kaori gripped her teacup, her voice filled with indignation.

The Inagaki family agreed to pay a monthly sum to Shindai Kanari’s father, and then the negotiations were finally concluded.

Though the negotiations were settled, unfortunately...

Pushing Kanari back and forth because of money was inherently bad for her development.

"Even when she found out about our adoption at that time... Kanari seemed somewhat unhappy... To be precise, somewhat worried."

Inagaki Kaori took a deep breath.

"She told us... it couldn’t be like this."

"If she came to our house, what would happen to her mother?"

Yes.

That was Shindai Kanari.

A small, kind-hearted child.