Chapter 10 - Home Visits
(1)
"Good morning, Toya-kun!"
A morning just like any other.
However, I am sleepier than usual this morning.
I wrap the futon around my body, expressing my absolute will not to wake up.
However, Airi had received a secret weapon from Mother.
A frying pan and a ladle. She took out both and began to strike them.
Clang clang!
S-so noisy!
I sit up and tell her to stop.
"Who uses such a classical way of waking someone up..."
"Maya-san did."
I thought as much.
"Go downstairs..."
"Oka~y."
Saying that, she leaves the room.
I space out for a while.
I trace back my memories.
I kissed Kanna.
I don't know what her intent was.
Only that, due to the suddenness of it, my mind went blank.
After that, I studied with Airi, but nothing entered my head.
And then, as usual, I walked her home, kissed Airi, and returned.
"Wouldn't it be bad if your parents saw us?"
"Rie-chan won't say anything about just a kiss. Rather, it seems she wants Toya-kun to be more aggressive,"
she said bashfully.
That aunt could easily say such a thing.
Between her and my mother, is something wrong with them?
Regardless, the fact that I exchanged kisses with two people is a reality.
Am I cheating?
While I was spacing out thinking about such things, Airi's face was suddenly in front of me.
I instinctively look away.
"What's wrong? You haven't changed yet, have you? It's already 45 past."
Damn it!
"Go downstairs, I'll change right away!"
"Oka~y, don't fall asleep this time~"
Saying that, Airi leaves the room.
While hurriedly changing, I was thinking about Kanna.
What kind of face should I make when I see her today?
Composure, composure.
As I pat my face and leave the room, the doorbell rings at the same time.
"Ah, it's Kanna."
"Good morning, Kanna!"
Airi says as she hugs her.
"Good morning, Airi."
Kanna hugs her back.
There seems to be no awkwardness.
Kanna, noticing me observing from the stairs, calls out.
"Yo, Toya. What are you doing? At least fix your bedhead before you come down."
Told that, I hurriedly go to the washroom.
Brush teeth, wash face, fix bedhead...
When I emerge at the entrance again, the clock has passed 8:05.
"We might have a hard time if we don't hurry a bit today. But it's okay, we'll make it."
We head toward school at a brisk pace.
The students around us are also in a rush.
Is it an illusion that despite the brisk pace, they look relaxed?
Kanna and Airi, as usual, are chatting leisurely despite their fast walking speed.
I'm worried about what they are talking about.
If the matter of the kiss with Kanna is leaked, Airi will be angry and sad.
I don't want to see an Airi like that.
But I want to believe that is a needless worry.
There is no merit for Kanna in talking about such a thing.
They were talking about the usual things.
"Hey? Toya-kun, are you listening?"
I am surprised to be suddenly thrown into the conversation.
"Sorry, I wasn't listening."
"Geez... Toya-kun is weird today. Or rather, you've been strange since last night! Did something happen with Kanna?"
"N-nothing in particular happened, right, Kanna?"
"Nothing happened."
Kanna made it so that truly nothing happened.
"Is that so...?"
Airi is still looking at me with suspicious eyes.
"By the way, Toya, you have home visits today, right? Airi and I do too."
"Ah, yeah, that's the matter."
Come to think of it, it is that time of year.
They ask about various things like future paths, school behavior, and academic ability, but the true aim is apparently to confirm the home environment.
I, who do not want my school life to be known too much, was depressed.
"That's such a pain, right? Future paths and such are stories for more than a year from now, right?"
"Kanna, there's only a little over two years left."
"I have no intention of going to high school."
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
Airi and I asked back simultaneously.
"What do you mean, you're not going to high school?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
"You have to at least graduate high school."
"It's impossible with my brain."
"You can make up for that in the next two years."
"Now now, let's leave that conversation at that and hurry to the classroom."
Before I knew it, the preparatory bell had rung.
We ran toward school.
(2)
After school.
We went home together.
Kanna said her parents are home today, so she'll eat at home and won't participate in the study group.
Thinking about it, it's strange; Kanna attends the study group while saying she won't advance in education.
I don't understand what Kanna is thinking.
When I return home, the living room has been cleaned beautifully.
It is usually cleaned, but today it is cleaned everywhere.
After a while, the doorbell rang.
Mother hurriedly pitter-patters toward the entrance.
"H-hello."
It's Mayumi-chan's voice.
"Welcome, please come in. Toya, the teacher has arrived."
Called by Mother, I go downstairs.
"...That's how it is~"
Mayumi-chan is being somewhat overwhelmed by Mother's lighthearted talk.
"Ah, so how is Toya doing at school?"
The initiative of the conversation belonged to Mother.
"Let's see, I think there are no problems. His grades are no problem either; if things continue like this, he'll be fine."
Well, I am living normally.
"Katagiri-kun's desired school is Hofu High School, correct?"
"Yes."
"I see... then that's good."
It's a way of speaking with some hidden meaning.
"Has Katagiri-kun heard anything from Tosaka-san? A change of heart, perhaps?"
The conversation turned to Airi. Moreover, it seems to be something not so good.
"Airi... did something happen to Tosaka-san?"
I asked.
"Tosaka-san... suddenly changed her desired path to Mieno High School."
"What!?"
Airi's grades are originally excellent. She has the ability to easily pass Uenooka or the special-special advanced course at Fujiaki, yet she was supposed to desire Hofu High School because "it would be good to be with Toya-kun," so why suddenly?
"Otonashi-san also says she's not going to high school, so it's a problem, isn't it?"
What a remarkably loose-lipped teacher.
"Ah, I have to go to Otonashi-san's place as well. Well then, I shall take my leave. Thank you for the tea."
With that, she hurriedly left the house.
"I wonder what happened to Tosaka-san, did you hear something?"
Mother asked.
"I don't know, I just found out now too."
"Surely she hasn't started running wild?"
"That's not it, I'll ask her when she comes later."
I was worried too.
Airi, what happened?
(3)
That night, I received contact that Kanna wouldn't be coming.
Apparently, she's having a fight with her mother at home.
Airi will probably come normally... probably.
Though she might be fighting with her parents about her future path.
The doorbell rang.
It's Airi.
I went to the entrance.
"Toya-kun!!"
As soon as I opened the door, Airi suddenly hugged me.
Wa-wait a minute. Here, various things are bad.
"F-for now, let's go upstairs..."
Glancing behind me, Mother and the others are staring intently.
Even after entering the room, she cried for a while.
Mother brings tea.
Taking a sip of that, Airi regained her composure.
"I got scolded by Rie-chan and Papa-san."
So she calls her father Papa-san.
I guess that doesn't matter.
"What happened?"
Though I had mostly guessed without asking.
"I got scolded for changing my desired school to Mieno High School. They told me to stop dating Toya-kun too..."
Is it... my fault?
"But I was told I could easily get into Hofu, so why Mieno High School?"
"Kanna... I wondered if she could get into Mieno?"
Kanna!?
"I thought I wanted the three of us to go to the same school... Then they misunderstood that Toya-kun had become a delinquent and told me not to date him anymore."
I'm surprised you could come here today after that.
"I explained, and Mayumi-chan also said it was different."
"I see, so Kanna is the cause?"
When I said that, Airi nodded.
"But honestly, I think Mieno isn't suited for Airi."
Let me explain.
A deviation value of 1, which is as close to 0 as possible.
A dumping ground for delinquents from Junior High Schools in the prefecture.
Daily classroom collapse... or rather, school collapse.
Any delinquent runs away when they see the Mieno uniform.
If you list the bad rumors, like a 99% employment rate for the yakuza, there's no end to it.
It's not an environment Airi could possibly endure.
"But a place Kanna could likely get into is..."
"You shouldn't say that to Kanna."
"Eh?"
She has a face that asks why.
"That way of thinking is making fun of Kanna. Lowering the rank of your desired school for such a reason is nothing other than an act of insult."
"You don't have to put it that way..."
"Besides, Kanna says she's not going to high school."
"That's it! She has to at least graduate high school. Toya-kun, please persuade her too."
"That's true."
I also want Kanna to at least go to high school.
But is there a way to persuade Kanna, who doesn't want to go?
"Even if I say it, it'll be no use, right..."
Airi's tone drops.
"I get it. I'll persuade her."
"Really! Please do!"
...That said, I wonder what to do?
That night, after finishing study and seeing Airi off, it was just as I was about to head to Kanna's house.
A familiar silhouette.
"Kanna, what's wrong at this hour?"
"Kanna, what happened!?"
When the two of us called out to Kanna, she responded with a "Yo!"
Then, with a solemn face, she bowed her head to Airi.
"Sorry! Can you let me stay over tonight!?"
"Eh! What happened!? So suddenly!"
"Actually..."
Apparently, she had a huge fight with her mother about her future path.
Well, that's normally how it goes.
"But, even if you say it so suddenly..."
Airi is troubled.
Seeing such an Airi, Kanna said something outrageous.
"That's true. It can't be helped, then let Toya let me stay over. It should be fine if it's Toya's house, right?"
I panicked.
Mother would readily agree. Far from that, she might even prepare a futon in the same room.
Airi, who knows Mother's personality, panicked.
"That's no good! I get it, I'll try talking to Rie-chan for a bit."
"Thanks! I owe you! Let's do some girls' talk."
"Yeah, wait a moment."
Saying that, Airi went into the house.
"By the way, do you really intend not to advance in education?"
When I brought that up to Kanna, she made a blatantly displeased face.
"Even Toya is on about that. No matter how much I study, it'll be limited at best. Besides..."
"Besides...?"
"Advancing costs money, right? My house doesn't have that much leeway."
So that's the cause of the parent and child fight.
One thing seems solvable.
"I'm sure there are scholarships, right? If you use those..."
"My academic ability isn't enough."
"I'll handle that part."
"I'll just be a nuisance."
Indeed, in the daily study, Kanna just plays with her smartphone alone.
"I'll look over it every day; that will also be study for me. The rest depends on Kanna's motivation."
"Do I really have to go to high school to that extent?"
"I want to spend high school life with Kanna too!"
Having said it, I thought, "Damn it!"
Kanna is shaken by my words and actions, which could be taken as a sudden confession.
"...If you go that far."
It was a small voice, but she definitely said it.
"But, will it really not be a nuisance?"
"If Kanna does it seriously. For now, let's try it with the next midterm test."
"...Alright."
Kanna nods slightly.
"Kanna! Rie-chan says you can stay over!"
Airi came out of the house.
"Do you not have to go home?"
"Since we're here, I'll enjoy a little girls' night. Toya, you want to participate too?"
Kanna says, laughing.
"It won't be a girls' night, will it?"
"True."
"Kanna! Hurry!!"
Airi urges.
"Well then, see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
Saying that, the two of them went into the house.
I have to explain how I persuaded Kanna.
Maybe I'll send a message later.
For now, I'll go home.
Come to think of it, what was the intent of that kiss?
I forgot to ask.
Well, whatever. I'll ask next time.
At the time, I wasn't thinking about it too deeply.