Ch.427IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (124)

After that, well.

Naturally, the parents came rushing in.

Some were people I’d never seen before, and others I already knew.

“…It’s been a while.”

Mr. Yamashita said that while looking down at me.

His face didn’t reveal much expression. Not even what you’d commonly call relief or anything like that.

Mr. Yamashita also stared at Yuu, but Yuu turned his head away without meeting his father’s eyes.

His expression was much more uncomfortable than when our eyes had met.

While there was room for my relationship with him to deteriorate, showing such a reaction to his father, Mr. Yamashita, probably meant something had happened between them too.

Could it be that Mr. Yamashita actually got a girlfriend? One who’s almost the same age as us?

In the distance, Harumi was talking with her father, Mr. Fukuda. Harumi seemed oddly irritated, and Mr. Fukuda was responding to her as if he found it ridiculous.

From what I could hear, they were saying things like, “Didn’t I tell you not to fight at school?”, “So I should just stand there? Kotone got hit and you want me to let it go?”, “No, that’s not what I meant…”

Considering that Harumi knew about Yuu’s situation, I thought she might have been involved in that incident from middle school too.

Mako and Mr. Miura weren’t saying anything to each other. Well, they had exchanged some words earlier, but that was it. Mr. Miura didn’t seem particularly angry, but Mako looked like she was suffering from tremendous guilt.

Mr. Miura caught my eye and approached me. Mr. Yamashita slightly moved aside.

“…I’m sorry.”

I said with a deep bow.

It wasn’t about who hit first or anything like that. Maybe I could have resolved it better.

I was just so angry that she said those things, even if it was where Yuu couldn’t see.

…

No, that’s not right.

Considering that Yuu was listening, if I hadn’t intervened, their relationship might have become much more complicated. Not that what I did was right, but still.

“From what I’ve heard, it doesn’t seem to be anyone’s fault in particular.”

That’s what Mr. Miura told me.

I wasn’t sure if he was saying that for my sake, for Mako’s sake, or because of his relationship with me.

But still, hearing those words was a relief.

“…I’ll make sure nothing like this happens again.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed again.

Mr. Miura went back to Mako and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Kotone?”

Koko spoke to me as I stood there looking a bit gloomy. She seemed to be asking if she was the cause.

We all fought actively in our own ways, but Koko was the most effective in hand-to-hand combat.

Without any special techniques, just using her physical abilities to push and dodge, she had those girls flat on the ground. Even without Mr. Miura’s warning, as long as Koko was by my side, they probably wouldn’t mess with me.

Though strange rumors might spread around school, well, I decided not to worry about that.

“It’s not your fault.”

I said, placing my hand on Koko’s.

Seeing Koko looking at me helped me calm down a bit. Right. If I were to lose my composure here, Koko would really get anxious.

She’s perceptive, smart, and strong. She’s learned the ways of the world in her own way.

But I was the one who brought Koko into this world. So I shouldn’t make her anxious by being anxious myself.

“It’s just that those kids—”

But before I could finish my sentence.

“Kotone!?”

I heard a voice calling me, a slightly bigger Koko.

Kagami, who had called out my name desperately, rushed over and looked me up and down.

“Mom.”

“Is it true? That you fought with someone at school? Are you hurt anywhere?”

I get hurt much more often when fighting yokai.

Well, that can’t be helped. At least, I plan to keep fighting until I finish this ‘main story’ and we can be truly happy.

Kagami knows that marks from human attacks barely remain on my body anyway.

“Who would dare…!”

But Kagami seemed angry at the fact that someone had hit me.

Yes, that must be it.

As a parent, it’s upsetting when a firefighter gets slightly burned. But that’s an unavoidable injury that comes with the job. A wound that brings relief that you’re otherwise safe.

But being hit by another person changes the situation. That’s an injury to be outraged about.

“Mom.”

I said as I threw myself into Kagami’s arms.

“Kotone?”

Kagami was a bit surprised when I suddenly hugged her.

I pulled Koko in with one arm and hugged Kagami.

It might be a bit embarrassing for a high school student. Kids in their sensitive years would probably feel even more embarrassed.

But in this world, I feel most at ease in these arms.

Because I know that no matter what I become in this world, Kagami will always be on my side.

And Kagami probably knows what I’m thinking about too.

“…”

After a while of not being able to say anything, Kagami hugged me tightly with both arms.

Only after feeling that warmth did I finally feel like everything was okay. Even though I knew it wasn’t really true, I still felt that these arms were the safest place in the world.

I felt like the surroundings had become a bit quieter.

I stayed hidden from the world in Kagami’s arms for a while.

*

Come to think of it, I realize that my relationships are quite complicated.

No, I don’t mean they’re tangled. If I were to examine each one, they’re just connected in some way.

Dad is Mr. Yamashita’s subordinate. Strictly speaking, it might be better to say “former subordinate,” but he still follows Mr. Yamashita’s requests.

The two of them greeted each other and shook hands as if meeting for the first time, but they couldn’t completely hide their expressions.

Mr. Fukuda greeted Kagami brightly.

Kagami also smiled slightly and gave a small nod to Mr. Fukuda.

It must feel really strange. When Mr. Fukuda first met Kagami, she was still a teenager. Now Kagami was in her late twenties.

He hadn’t seen Kagami for years after watching her grow into her twenties. I tried to imagine how strange it would feel if a once-young niece suddenly appeared in her late twenties, but I couldn’t quite grasp it.

No, rather, thinking about that always reminded me of my family from my previous life, so I quickly stopped those thoughts.

Anyway, things were resolved quite smoothly. Among all the parents who rushed in on our side, Kagami was the only one who looked relatively normal. Even Mr. Miura gave off some subtle aura that seemed to intimidate all the parents on the other side.

The girl who had openly badmouthed the head of the Yamashita family turned completely pale.

Since the parents were called after school hours, we were soon dismissed.

“Kotone.”

But someone called out to stop me from behind.

It was Yuu.

“Let’s talk for a bit.”

“…”

I looked back at Kagami.

“I’ll be waiting for you.”

Kagami said, and Dad nodded. Since Mr. Yamashita didn’t seem like he would interfere with us either, I followed Yuu.

Koko was being held back by Kagami who was hugging her from behind.

“…”

After walking toward the schoolyard for a while, Yuu spoke first.

“Why did you come back?”

I thought about my answer to Yuu’s question for a moment.

“…Because I was planning to come back someday.”

I didn’t think we’d meet like this. But it’s true that I was planning to return someday.

If that had happened, our relationship would have been much more awkward than it is now.

“Won’t you tell me why you left?”

“…I’m sorry. Later, when everything is over, I’ll tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because you seem to have a lot on your mind too.”

“…Hmph.”

At my answer, Yuu made a sound as if he found it ridiculous. But it somehow lacked strength, as if he was acting.

“Well, fine.”

Yuu said that and turned around again.

After that, we didn’t really talk to each other anymore.

We didn’t explicitly say we forgave each other or thank each other or anything like that.

But as we walked across the schoolyard, I felt like Yuu’s mood had softened a bit.

“…You don’t live in this neighborhood, do you?”

Yuu casually asked just before we reached our parents.

“No. It’s a bit of a distance.”

“…I see.”

That was all Yuu said in response.

He could be a bit more honest.

If he said he wanted to come over to my house, I’d be more than willing to invite him.

I wanted to be invited too.

But it seemed like it wasn’t the right time for Yuu yet.

So I decided to be patient too.

At least for today, we’d come this far.