Read Online Book Girl and the Famished Spirit by Mizuki Nomura - Free Book Online

president.
    “The official story is that he lived abroad for a long time, and he busted his tail over there. There’s no question he’s a capable man, and ever since he took over, the company has been doing better and better. And he’s very popular with the female employees. I mean, he’s still young; he’s single; he looks all right; and he has this aura that strangely titillates a girl’s heart. His hair is dyed, and he wears lightly tinted sunglasses because his eyes are sensitive or something, but they look good on him and it works for him, believe me. The older board members can’t stand his hair, but the rest of us really like it. When the last president was still alive, Mr. Kurosaki had black hair, but the day he took over as president, he showed up with his hair like that. It stunned the board members.
    “Everything he does is flashy, though, so maybe he just makes a lot of enemies. The rumor that he killed the last boss has been going around ever since the day he took over, and none of us would be surprised if the cops came one day and took him away. I think we might be expecting it.”
    What terrible things to say about a person. Amemiya’s guardian was sounding like a very shady man.
    “Oh! But lately Mr. Kurosaki has been acting weird.”
    “Weird how?” Ryuto leaned forward.
    “I talked to his secretary, and she said he’s barely been eating for the last month or so. He’s been so busy with work that he’s been staying at a condo near the office, so maybe he just doesn’t have time for a leisurely meal. But he has to eat with clients for work, right? Well, when that happens, she told me that he goes to thebathroom after he eats and throws up. She said she saw a sore on his finger from throwing up so much.”
    Ryuto and I exchanged shocked glances.
    Throwing up like that sounded a lot like an eating disorder. What did it mean if Amemiya and her uncle had the same affliction?
    Saeko crinkled her beautifully shaped eyebrows.
    “Also… I guess it was at the beginning of this year? He got a call from the hospital and got
really
worked up, just screaming at them: ‘Run the tests again!’ ‘That’s impossible!’ Stuff like that. Mr. Kurosaki is usually pretty calm, and he’s one of those people who doesn’t show his emotions. But that day, he was howling. I heard it was incredible.
    “That and you remember that day last month when it rained real hard? The gusts of wind were so strong that the trains stopped running, and it was a huge mess. That day, this secretary went to Mr. Kurosaki’s office, and she told me he had his windows wide open and was staring outside. The rain and wind were blowing in, and the room was a disaster. He was soaked to the skin, but his eyes were flashing, and she said he was muttering ‘There’s no more time’ and cursing. He was totally gone. I guess it must have been pretty terrifying. She thought he was going to jump out the window any second. She was so scared she couldn’t call out to him. She panicked.
    “Maybe he’s sick. But it must be serious, like he doesn’t know whether the day ahead will be his last. Maybe before the police can arrest him, he’ll cough up blood and keel over.”
    Saeko sounded like she was joking, but neither Ryuto nor I could laugh.
    After we had thanked the girls and seen them out of the restaurant, Ryuto leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, looking grim.
    “So the guy trailin’ me was Hotaru’s guardian, Kurosaki, right? Light hair, light sunglasses—his build and features all match up. When I went to Hotaru’s house, it seemed totally deserted, and Igot scared thinkin’ she lived all alone in this massive house. I didn’t even know she lived with her uncle until a couple days ago. Hotaru doesn’t like to talk about it.”
    “Why would her uncle follow you around?”
    Was he worried about her? If so, following someone around on all of her dates was going way too far. Was hiring mobsters to threaten Ryuto and