Using a navigation app on my smartphone, we finally arrived at Yamazaki-kun’s house, which was an extremely commonplace detached house with a tiled roof. It wasn’t particularly new, nor was it particularly old. Likely having been built towards the latter half of the Shōwa era, it was such that if you walked around Fukui then you would see a house similar in appearance every fifty metres or so (but only in the urban area). On the somewhat seasoned wooden name plate, we could make out the fading Yamazaki family name.
I dropped Yua off in front of the house and left the bicycle in a corner of a nearby parking lot. Yua shot me a glance as if to ask「Now what?」, but I didn’t hesitate to press the intercom.
Pi-n, Po-n.
The intercom bell rang, its sound also commonplace. I buttoned my shirt all the way up, and fixed my loosened necktie. Taking Yua by the hand, I made her stand right next to me. After about ten seconds, we heard a wary voice.
『…Yes?』
「Good day! I’m Chitose Saku, Kenta-kun’s friend. We’re in the same second year class and I’ve become the class representative, so I’m here to deliver some printouts!」
Choosing language that was polite but not too formal, I gave the intercom camera an invigorating smile.
With a few taps, I lightly nudged Yua’s back from an angle that wouldn’t be seen by the camera.
「Pleased to meet you. My name is Uchida Yua. He doesn’t seem to have been coming to school lately, so I was a little worried if Kenta-kun was doing alright…」
As expected of Yua.
A step more reserved and graceful than myself, but getting to the heart of the matter while giving it a nuance of familiarity. This is exactly why she was the first person I asked.
『To have come all this way, oh my goodness! One moment, I’ll be there in a short while.』
After a brief period of hustle and bustle resounding from the other side of the door, the pitter patter of light footsteps approached. She had probably been hurrying to clean up whatever was in sight.
「Sorry to have kept you waiting. I’m Kenta’s mother.」
A woman in her mid-forties peeked out at us, looking slightly battered. Her wrists and cheeks looked more haggard rather than slender, and her hurriedly bundled hair was also parched, with conspicuous strands of grey. As if performing an evaluation, she subtly looked at us from head to toe, then returned her gaze to our faces once more.
「Our apologies for the sudden intrusion. I hope we didn’t bother you.」
While bowing slightly, I intentionally gave her a refreshing smile. Next to me, Yua also lowered her head.
「You aren’t being a bother at all, far from it! It’s a little messy, but please feel free to enter.」
Speaking in a voice that had now risen about two tones higher, Yamazaki-kun’s mother laid out slippers for the both of us. The fact that her son had friends who came to visit him out of concern was one tone. Perhaps how they appeared to be by all accounts a handsome couple popular at school was the second tone.
At times like these, it’s useful to look presentable. It allows you to enthusiastically skip a number of the steps required to gain the other side’s trust during the first meeting. Moreover, parents inevitably draw a line when faced with a teacher, but they’re usually welcoming if it’s friends of their son. Kura-sen had probably considered this too, hence why he came to me instead.
She led us into the living room, and after sitting down on the sofa, we were offered cups of teas with tea bags in them. I drank from my cup as-is, while Yua accepted some milk and turned hers into milk tea before taking a sip.
「Before I forget. These are today’s handouts.」
I held out the set of printouts that Kura-sen had entrusted to me, and Yamazaki-kun’s mother took them in her hand, looked them over briefly, then heaved a big sigh.
「My son has really caused you a lot of trouble…」
Cutting off those words, I folded my hands in my lap and mumbled while looking down.
「Is Kenta-kun well? It’s been bothering me for a long time, but I wasn’t sure what to say, and while I was stuck on that, time passed. …I really wish we could have come much sooner.」
「I’m really sorry that he’s caused you such concern. Even I haven’t managed to find the words to say, so it’s only natural.」
Yamazaki-kun’s mother raised her head and looked at me.
「As his mother, I’m really glad that his friends have come to visit. I’ve always been worried that he’s all alone at school.」
I did hear he had friends at school who shared his interests, so there’s no mistaking the fact that he wasn’t alone. Well, it’s true that the two of us might be a bit more flamboyant than his actual friends, though.
「Has Kenta-kun not said anything to you either? Um… about the reason why he doesn’t want to come to school.」
Yua spoke hesitantly as she asked the question.
「It’s embarrassing, but he hasn’t told me anything. In January this year, he suddenly said he wanted to take time off from school, and since then he’s locked himself up in his room. I leave food in front of his room at particular times, and he does seem to eat. It also looks like he leaves his room when I’m out shopping and in the middle of the night, but…」
「It’s reassuring to hear that he’s eating well.」
Sensing that the atmosphere was about to get heavy, Yua skilfully cut in.
「I’m really sorry. There’s a pretty young lady like you worrying about him, and yet…」
Seeing a guilty look rise to Yua’s face, I took control of the conversation.
「No, no, for a guy of our age, it’s deathly embarrassing to whine to your parents, so that’s completely normal. In fact, it’d be more of a concern if he talked to you every day about his problems.」
As lighthearted as possible, as if nothing was wrong.
「Is that…so. He’s my son, and yet I don’t quite understand him.」
「Well of course. Even we don’t understand ourselves that well. If you don’t mind, would you allow us to have a short chat with Kenta? If possible, among Kenta, myself, and Uchida, just the three of us. I think he might be stubborn if his mother is around.」
「That is actually something I would request of you here, but it might be too demanding even for you. Even when his homeroom teacher was here last year, he said he didn’t want to talk to them and told me to turn them away.」
「I don’t mean to be rude, but a homeroom teacher is the same as a parent. There are some things that high school students can only talk to high school students about. He might still be stubborn towards us, but we don’t plan to give up. I want us to graduate together, and don’t care how many times we have to come here. So afterwards, would you mind just watching over what we do in silence for a while?」
Yamazaki-kun’s mother gasped in surprise and nodded with slight tears in her eyes.
…Piece of cake.
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What a oily slippery tongue riaju
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