Vol 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)

SECRET FILES – KIZUNA

each wish: chapter 1 (TRANSLATION NOTES)

1

Takagis.h.i.+ Akemi opened the cla.s.sroom door at the same time as the chime went off and stood at the lectern.

The students were still noisy from the break.

Akemi put both hands on the lectern, looked around the cla.s.sroom and waited for the students to quiet down on their own.

Takagis.h.i.+ knew that if you told children of this age to be quiet, they would just grow noisier.

Children in p.u.b.erty didn’t like being told what to do, even if it was a little thing like that.

Rather than being taught that, Akemi had learnt it naturally through her life as a teacher.

The students grew calmer.

‘Now, let’s start.’

Akemi opened the attendance record and looked around the cla.s.sroom again, when she noticed there was an empty seat.

The second seat from the back of the row by the corridor –

Somebody had been there during homeroom this morning.

'Where’s Saitou-kun?’

Akemi asked that question to all the students.

'Isn’t he just skipping again?’

The one who spoke with blatant dislike was Tsukasa, who sat in the very front row and had a leader role in the cla.s.s.

– Again?

'How long’s he been gone?’

Akemi asked that question to Tsukasa, but the reply was an innocent 'I don’t know’.

'Sacchan, do you know?’

Akemi looked at Sachiko, who sat beside the empty seat.

'Ah, er, he was here until the end of the first cla.s.s, but he left during break… I’m sorry.’

Sachiko spoke like a mother apologising for her child’s misconduct.

'It’s OK. It’s not your fault.’

Though Akemi said that to Sachiko, she sighed.

If he had been gone since the second cla.s.s, there should have been some contact from the other teachers, but n.o.body had noticed that he was gone.

Akemi couldn’t understand at all why something like this had been let pa.s.s.

'Let’s have cla.s.s already. I’m seriously itching to study,’ said Tsukasa.

'Liar!’

Youhei, in the seat right behind Tsukasa, made fun of him.

There was stifled laughter from all over the cla.s.sroom.

Akemi couldn’t stop cla.s.s for one person. She knew that. But –

'Please open to page 168 of the textbook and read that pa.s.sage. I’ll be right back.’

The whole cla.s.s let out a shrill 'Ehhhh!’ at Akemi’s words.

However, she still couldn’t continue cla.s.s while ignoring a student who had skipped.

Akemi wrote the words 'Self Study’ on the blackboard and left the cla.s.sroom.

She knew where he would be.

He was always in the same place, as if waiting for someone to bring him back.

Akemi ran to the end of the corridor, took the stairs up and opened the door to the rooftop.

The dry autumn wind hit her face.

Akemi covered her eyes and went out onto the rooftop.

– Just as I expected.

She saw the back of a male student looking at the scenery while standing by the rooftop fence.

– Saitou Yak.u.mo.

The back looked somewhat sad, as if it was burdened with something.

Akemi slowly walked up to Yak.u.mo.

– Why did you skip cla.s.s?

She knew that she wouldn’t get an answer even if she asked Yak.u.mo.

'Hey.’

Akemi called out to Yak.u.mo’s back.

In response, Yak.u.mo slowly turned around.

He wasn’t that different from Akemi in height. Around 150 centimetres. He was a bit short in comparison to other kids his age.

Akemi looked at Yak.u.mo’s face, at the same height as her own.

Yak.u.mo was slender and had well-defined features, though they still looked slightly childish. However, he was so pale that it made her doubt whether he was really alive.

Furthermore, his eyes were endlessly dark and cold.

Akemi didn’t know what he was thinking. His gaze was as expressionless as a machine’s.

Though p.u.b.escent boys were p.r.o.ne to trying to make themselves look bigger, most of that ended at vanity.

However, it was different for Yak.u.mo.

There was something about Yak.u.mo that didn’t match his fifteen years of age.

'What do you want?’ said Yak.u.mo, running a hand through his hair like he thought this troublesome.

An uncertain voice that had just finished changing –

It felt like there was a rejection there, telling people not to approach him.

Yak.u.mo wasn’t rejecting Akemi because she was his homeroom teacher.

Akemi had never seen Yak.u.mo talk with the other cla.s.smates.

Of course, he talked when absolutely necessary, but that was all. The words that came out of Yak.u.mo’s mouth were only short phrases like 'Ah’ and 'I see’.

What sort of person was Yak.u.mo trying to become? What did he like? What did he dislike? There was probably n.o.body in this school whom he would reply to if asked.

'What are you looking at?’ asked Akemi, forcing herself to smile.

'The cherry blossoms…’ said Yak.u.mo, narrowing his eyes.

Akemi felt like there was something wrong with Yak.u.mo’s words. It was autumn now. There were just dead leaves on the branches.

'Even though the flowers aren’t blossoming?’

'Don’t people say this? That corpses are buried under cherry blossom trees,’ said Yak.u.mo expressionlessly.

– Corpses.

Akemi thought that her heart would leap out of her mouth.

He had suddenly said such a frightening thing.

Come to think of it, she’d read something like that in a story before.

It was a story about a man who had the wild idea that the reason cherry blossoms were beautiful was that there were corpses buried underneath the tree and thought of them as symbolic of tragedy[1].

Did Yak.u.mo think that way –

'So did you find it?’ asked Akemi as a joke.

'Find what?’

'A corpse.’

Yak.u.mo seemed surprised by Akemi’s words, as his cheek twitched.

However, then his expression soon became his usual blank one, and he put his hands in his pockets and walked past Akemi to the door, as if to say he didn’t need anything else from her.

'Do you like it here?’ said Akemi, following Yak.u.mo with her eyes.

The truth was, she didn’t actually want to know that. She just wanted to talk more with Yak.u.mo, even if it was just a little.

If it became a chance for him to open his heart –

It might have been naive, but Akemi had that hope, though it was faint.

'Eh?’

Yak.u.mo stopped right in front of the door.

'Since you’re always here.’

'Please just leave me alone, like everyone else.’

That was Yak.u.mo’s answer.

'There’s no way I could leave you alone!’

Akemi felt irritated by what Yak.u.mo said, and she accidently spoke roughly.

’…’

Yak.u.mo said something, his back still facing her.

However, she couldn’t hear it.

'If you have something you want to say, say it clearly.’

The moment Akemi stepped forward to approach Yak.u.mo, Yak.u.mo turned around.

A chill ran down Akemi’s spine when he looked at her.

It felt like that gaze would freeze her.

Akemi lost her words and just stood there in a daze, like a frog under the gaze of a snake.

'I don’t really care, but you’re annoying.’

After a silence, Yak.u.mo said just that and walked away briskly.

Akemi let out a huge sigh and then stood by the fence and looked at the scenery, as Yak.u.mo had been doing.

She saw a cherry blossom tree in the courtyard.

'Annoying… eh…’

Akemi had come back from maternity leave and had been put in charge of Yak.u.mo’s cla.s.s this spring.

The previous instructor had warned her, saying, 'He’s not really any trouble, but you should leave him alone.’

Yak.u.mo rejected everything besides himself, putting up an invisible wall and watching everything from inside of it.

No matter how she tried to reach out, he wouldn’t come out from behind that wall.

Trying to get involved just invited heartache.

Akemi herself had thought about giving up countless times.

There was a limit to what a schoolteacher could do. She knew that. But she just couldn’t leave Yak.u.mo alone.

She knew that she had always had a meddlesome personality.

But was it just her personality making her concerned about Yak.u.mo?

Akemi just couldn’t think of Yak.u.mo as a stranger.

Naturally, they weren’t related by blood. But there was something else – she felt there was something like a connection.

She might have thought that way because of the rumours about him.

Anyway, there must have been a reason for Yak.u.mo to close off his heart. He might have had problems in his family environment.

Come to think of it, Akemi only knew the Yak.u.mo at school.

– Maybe I’ll go visit his house today.

Akemi made that decision.

2

The door opened quietly and Yak.u.mo returned to the cla.s.sroom.

– I’m glad.

Though this always happened, Sachiko felt relieved.

Every time Yak.u.mo disappeared, Sachiko felt nervous. She would worry about whether he was causing trouble and feel anxious about whether he wouldn’t return to the cla.s.sroom.

However, that was just Sachiko. The other students had a different response.

Everyone silently looked at Yak.u.mo with scorn.

Someone who stuck out, throwing everyone’s circle out of order. It felt like they were blaming him that way.

However, Yak.u.mo didn’t seem to care as he sat next to Sachiko’s seat and took a book as thick as a novel from his desk, flipping it open to a bookmark and then reading it with a serious expression.

At the same time, other people started talking.

'I really wish that guy would stop it already.’

'It’s kinda annoying.’

'But his grades are good.’

'He’s cheating, right?’

'Clairvoyance?’

'Ah, that might be true. In elementary school, there was a rumour that he could see ghosts.’

'Seriously?’

'And his eye’s actually red, says the rumours.’

'And his parents are missing.’

'I heard about that. He killed them or something.’

'Murderer.’

– It’s started again.

Sachiko wanted to cover her eyes.

It was Tsukasa and the others. They said awful things loudly on purpose so that Yak.u.mo could hear them. It made sense for Yak.u.mo to want to leave the cla.s.sroom if he was treated this way.

Sachiko felt angry, but unfortunately, she wasn’t brave enough to say it aloud.

She glanced at Yak.u.mo, in the seat beside her.

As if he hadn’t heard the gossip at all, Yak.u.mo was focussed on reading. This was how Yak.u.mo was different from the other students. He didn’t pay any attention to the backbiting cla.s.smates.

– Like an adult.

It was hard to think that he was the same age as Tsukasa, who was clearly showing his ill intent.

'They’re just jealous – don’t pay any attention to them,’ Sachiko told Yak.u.mo.

Yak.u.mo just lifted his head slightly without saying anybody.

He looked at her.

That was enough to make Sachiko’s heart race faster.

– When did I start paying attention to Yak.u.mo?

That thought suddenly came to Sachiko’s mind. She couldn’t remember clearly, but when she noticed, she was already engrossed.

It wasn’t like they had particularly friendly conversations, but just looking at Yak.u.mo was enough to make her happy for the rest of the day.

However, she had never talked about that with anybody.

Even when friends asked her if she had anybody she liked, she told them that she didn’t.

Everyone thought Yak.u.mo was creepy because of all the really irritating rumours about him – that he could see ghosts, that his eye was red, that his parents had abandoned him, that he had killed them.

If Sachiko consulted anybody, she could tell that they would say she was creepy for liking a guy like that.

However, Sachiko knew that there were other hidden Yak.u.mo fans besides herself.

Yak.u.mo was cool, mysterious and had an inexplicable charm.

'Hey, Saitou. I hear you can see ghosts.’

Tsukasa’s voice brought Sachiko back to reality.

When she looked up, she saw that Tsukasa was standing in front of Yak.u.mo. He had his hands on the belt at his waist as he looked down on Yak.u.mo pompously.

– The unpleasant guy’s here.

Sachiko hated Tsukasa. She had a number of reasons.

First, he didn’t wear his uniform properly. His s.h.i.+rt b.u.t.tons were open to his chest, and his necktie hung underneath that. He might have been trying to look rough, but when Tsukasa did it, it was just cla.s.sless.

Furthermore, he always acted high and mighty and said he was good in a fight.

More than anything, Sachiko couldn’t bear how he always picked fights with Yak.u.mo.

'Answer me. Can you really see ghosts?’

Tsukasa spoke quickly as he pressed Yak.u.mo for a reply.

However, Yak.u.mo just stared at his book. He didn’t even lift his head.

'Oi, you listening!?’

Tsukasa flew into a rage and smacked both of his hands on the desk, bringing his face so close to Yak.u.mo’s that their noses were almost touching. He was clearly picking a fight.

'Hey, stop it.’

Sachiko couldn’t bear it – she grabbed Tsukasa’s arm. Tsukasa brushed her hand aside and glared.

'I’m just talking to him.’

'He obviously doesn’t like it.’

'Why are you covering for him?’

'Eh?’

Sachiko was lost for words.

She couldn’t answer that question.

'Do you like him?’

'That’s not it!’

When Tsukasa hit the bull’s-eye, she took it too seriously and spoke in a loud voice.

Everyone turned towards her, and her face grew hot in embarra.s.sment.

'Oi, oi. Do you really like him?’

Tsukasa looked at Sachiko’s face.

– Don’t get so close to me. It’s creepy.

Sachiko leant back, putting as much distance between her and Tsukasa as she could.

'So what if I can see them?’

Somebody interrupted. It was Yak.u.mo.

Tsukasa looked towards Yak.u.mo again.

– Did he cover for me?

'Oh, so you can see them. Then come with me for a bit,’ said Tsukasa.

'For what?’

The complete opposite of Tsukasa, who was speaking threateningly, Yak.u.mo spoke in a flat tone, as if he were reading a book.

'You’ve heard of it, right? The rumour that there’s a ghost at this school.’

Sachiko knew the rumour too.

When night fell, you could hear a creepy crying voice. A male student in the next cla.s.s had made a fuss a while back about how he’d seen a man covered in blood.

'I don’t know it.’

'There’s a rumour like that!’

When Yak.u.mo gave a disinterested tone, Tsukasa was obviously irritated.

'That so.’

'Let me see if you can really see ghosts.’

'And?’

'Tonight, we’re sneaking into the school to have a test of courage.’

'So?’

'You’re coming too,’ said Tsukasa with a smirk.

Sachiko thought it was in bad taste. It puzzled her how he could come up with something so boring.

'Got it.’

Yak.u.mo suddenly looked up and said that quietly.

'Eh?’

Sachiko spoke up without thinking.

She had thought Yak.u.mo would definitely refuse Tsukasa’s invitation.

It wasn’t just Sachiko who was surprised. Even Tsukasa, who had been the one who asked, had his mouth wide open at Yak.u.mo’s unexpected reply.

'Do you need anything else?’ Yak.u.mo said expressionlessly.

Sachiko couldn’t understand why Yak.u.mo had agreed to Tsukasa’s invitation.

'Ah, no… We’re meeting up at eight today at the school gates.’

'Got it.’

Tsukasa gave the instructions in his confusion, and Yak.u.mo gave a short reply.

'Wait, just stop this idiocy.’

Sachiko couldn’t help but interrupt.

Since it was Tsukasa, he would definitely do something mean to Yak.u.mo. Going along with him in such a carefree manner was like jumping into the fire.

'Sachiko. You come too.’

Tsukasa looked at Sachiko.

'Eh?’

When the conversation suddenly turned to her, Sachiko couldn’t understand right away.

'I said, you come too.’

'Me?’

'Yeah. You.’

'No, but…’

– I don’t want to.

It would be easy to refuse, but Sachiko couldn’t reply.

'OK, we’re starting cla.s.s again.’

The door opened, and Akemi came back into the cla.s.sroom.

'You have to come. Don’t run away.’

Tsukasa left those parting words and returned to his own seat.

– The whole thing’s become a bit strange.

Sachiko looked at Yak.u.mo’s profile again.

Though he had well-defined features, he was as expressionless as a machine. She couldn’t tell what he felt or thought at all.

Come to think of it, this was the only expression Sachiko had ever seen Yak.u.mo make.

Perhaps she would be able to see another expression of his by partic.i.p.ating in Tsukasa’s test of courage.

Looking at it a different way, this could be a chance.

Sachiko felt her heart beating more quickly –

3

'd.a.m.n it! He p.i.s.ses me off!’

Gotou, who had returned to his seat, slammed his fists on the desk and then lit a cigarette.

The new chief was called Ideuchi. What the h.e.l.l was he planning? He didn’t know anything about the scene. They wouldn’t be able to investigate with the personnel distributed like hat.

'd.a.m.n it.’

Gotou spat that out again and leant back on his chair, loosening his necktie.

'Don’t make such a fuss.’

Gotou turned around at the thick voice. It was Gotou’s boss, Miyagawa.

Miyagawa had a small frame, but with his bald head and sharp glance, he looked just like a yakuza.

With his hands in his pockets and that stiff expression, it made him look even more so. If he was walking around the street like that, everyone would avoid him.

'What is it?’

'That’s my line. You’re acting like some rebellious brat.’

Miyagawa said that curtly and took a cigarette out of his pocket. He flicked the filter as he bit down on it.

'I’m not really.’

Gotou swallowed his irritation and offered his lighter to Miyagawa.

'You really can’t hide anything.’

Miyagawa looked exasperated as he lit his cigarette.

Gotou couldn’t deny it. He knew himself that his thoughts showed right through in his att.i.tude, just as Miyagawa said.

He’d been in Miyagawa’s care since he was a new recruit, so Miyagawa probably saw that in a more exaggerated fas.h.i.+on than most.

'So what are you so angry about?’ asked Miyagawa, slowly blowing out smoke.

Just earlier, Gotou had been angry enough to flip the table, but he felt himself calming down.

It wasn’t just this time. When he talked with Miyagawa, his mental state would become more stable.

No matter what the situation, it made him feel like things would work out. It might have been because of the absolute trust Gotou had in Miyagawa.

'No, I was just thinking about going on a diet.’

'Don’t talk like you’re asleep. If you’re going to try to fool me, say something better.’

Just as Miyagawa said, Gotou himself felt no persuasive power in what he’d told him.

'That’s right.’

'Well, whatever. Since it’s you, you probably just don’t get along with the new chief.’

Miyagawa could even see through to the type of people Gotou liked and disliked.

Instead of agreeing, Gotou scratched his head and frowned.

'Come with me for a bit.’

'Eh?’

'We’re going.’

Miyagawa ignored Gotou’s confusion and pressed his cigarette into the ashtray. Then, he started walking away briskly.

'Please wait.’

Gotou grabbed the jacket on his chair and hurriedly ran after Miyagawa.

'Where are you going?’

'The investigation, obviously.’

'Investigation?’

'Two men of our age wouldn’t be going for tea. Think about it a bit.’

That really would have been unpleasant, but Gotou still didn’t understand.

'What is the investigation for?’

When Gotou said that, Miyagawa smacked the back of Gotou’s head.

'You’re so noisy!’

Miyagawa glared at him with a click of his tongue.

'But…’

Gotou started speaking, but then Miyagawa slung an arm around Gotou’s shoulders and pulled him close. Then, they continued like that down the corridor.

After looking around to confirm that n.o.body was there, Miyagawa started speaking in a quiet voice.

'There was a tip-off just earlier.’

Though he spoke quietly, the pressure from his voice was still there.

'A tip? What were the contents?’

'The contents aren’t the problem. It’s just a bit strange.’

'Strange?’

Gotou’s expression was dubious.

Miyagawa was a veteran. He’d been on this path for twenty years. He probably wouldn’t be surprised by most things. That Miyagawa was saying it was strange.

Something bad was going to happen. Gotou had that feeling.

'Actually, the person who tipped us off called the detective department directly and even asked for me.’

'Do you have an idea about who it is?’

'I don’t. That’s why I’m concerned.’

It made sense for Miyagawa to think it was strange.

When civilians reported things to the police, they usually chose to call 110 or the consultation window at the local police box.

It’d have been different for a personal informer, but going out of their way to contact the detective department and call out the head there really was strange.

And Miyagawa had no idea who it was –

'Was it a man, or a woman?’

'I don’t know,’ Miyagawa replied immediately.

'What do you mean?’

'It was a voice whatchamacallit.’

'A voice changer?’

'Yes. They changed their voice with that.’

Miyagawa looked peevish as he scratched his neck.

Looked like the person had even used a voice changer to hide their ident.i.ty. They really were concerned –

'So what were the contents?’ asked Gotou, which made Miyagawa look even grimmer.

'Well, the contents were a bit strange too…’

Miyagawa started to speak, but then he saw another investigation member walking down the corridor and shut his mouth.

From that reaction, it looked like he hadn’t told anybody about the tip yet.

'Anyway, let’s move elsewhere and talk.’

Miyagawa said that, hunching over as he started to walk with a quick gait.

4

When Akemi arrived there, it was already seven.

She had left school before five, but she had had to ask a friend to take in her daughter and call a number of people, which made her go past her intended time.

Akemi climbed the slope lined with gingko trees and stopped in front of a temple’s gates. She checked the address once more.

There was no doubt about it. Which meant that his home was a temple –

Akemi was confused as she walked up to the priests’ quarters, ahead of the gravel garden.

She had called ahead of time to say that she would be visiting. Somebody who was probably his father had answered and agreed to it pleasantly.

She was visiting because she thought that perhaps one of the reasons Yak.u.mo had shut off his heart like that was his family environment.

That was why she had been prepared for a refusal. It had been anticlimactic.

She stood in front of the entrance and pressed the doorbell.

After a while, the sliding door opened to reveal a man with a bald head probably in his thirties, wearing a priest’s working clothes.

'Ah, I’ve been waiting,’ he said with a smile.

It was a gentle expression, like Maitreya’s. Akemi felt a sense of deja vu.

– I’ve seen this face before.

Akemi looked at his face. She knew somebody who looked very like him. Should she say something? But she could just be mistaking him for somebody else –

'Is there something on my face?’

He c.o.c.ked his head, like he thought that Akemi’s staring was odd.

'Ah, sorry. I’m the one who called. I’m Yak.u.mo-kun’s homeroom teacher, Takagis.h.i.+.’

Akemi came back to her senses and hurriedly bowed her head.

This time, he furrowed his brows and peered at Akemi’s face, as if he sensed something.

Finally, he clapped his hands together, like he had come to an understanding.

'Could you be Takagis.h.i.+ Akemi-san?’ he said.

He knew his name. There was no doubt about it. This person was –

'Iss.h.i.+n-san,’ said Akemi, almost jumping up.

Iss.h.i.+n had been Akemi’s tutor when she was in the third year of high school.

Though she had thought something was different since now he had shaved his head bald, now that she remembered, the memories came back to her, as fresh as if they had happened yesterday.

Her heart returned to those times, filling her with bittersweet feelings.

'Ah, this is nostalgic.’

Iss.h.i.+n nodded a number of times.

'It has been a really long time.’

Akemi felt a bit embarra.s.sed by this unexpected reunion and looked down.

'Are your parents well?’ said Iss.h.i.+n with his usual smile.

When Iss.h.i.+n was her tutor, Akemi’s parents had liked him a lot as well. Her mother had even said, 'If you’re going to get a boyfriend, get one like that.’

The truth was that Akemi would have liked to reminisce with her mother too, but that wasn’t possible.

'They died last year in an accident.’

The car that her parents had been in had been hit directly by a truck with a dozing driver. Her father, the driver, had died immediately. Her mother had been unconscious for a week before dying.

It had been a sudden incident right when Akemi had been in sinking spirits, when she had found out she was pregnant.

If her parents had still been healthy and alive, Akemi’s decision might have been very different, but that was only a hypothetical story.

Nothing would start from regret.

'That is.. a terrible loss. I’ve asked something inappropriate.’

Iss.h.i.+n put his hands together and looked down quietly.

'No…’

Akemi shook her head while the events that had happened ran through her head like a revolving lantern. The corners of her eyes felt warm.

'Let’s not just stand and talk; please come inside,’ said Iss.h.i.+n, waving away the solemn atmosphere.

'Ah, yes.’

She hadn’t come here today to talk about herself. Akemi put the current mood behind her.

Iss.h.i.+n invited her into the living room by the entrance.

Akemi knelt on the cus.h.i.+on and had just relaxed when memories from the past came back to her again.

Iss.h.i.+n hadn’t changed at all.

At the time, Iss.h.i.+n had been a university student, but he had had a calm demeanour and tolerance – or attractive force? – back then inappropriate for his age.

It was fun for Akemi to take lessons from Iss.h.i.+n.

She would be fidgety all day on the days Iss.h.i.+n was supposed to come, and she would take care in her hairstyle and clothing.

She tried not to think about why. If she thought about that during her lessons, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to study.

– If I’d told him my feelings then, how would it have gone?

'Sorry.’

Interrupting Akemi’s fantasies, Iss.h.i.+n came back with a tray that had teacups on it.

'Ah, no.’

Akemi looked up.

'It looks like Yak.u.mo went off somewhere right after coming back.’

Iss.h.i.+n placed the tea in front of Akemi and said that with a sigh as he sat down.

'No, it’s fine I wanted to talk with his guardian today.’

She couldn’t let herself drown in nostalgia.

Akemi sat up straight and faced Iss.h.i.+n.

'But you’ve become a teacher, Akemi-chan. I’m surprised,’ said Iss.h.i.+n earnestly. He sipped his tea.

'I was surprised too. I never would have thought that you were Yak.u.mo-kun’s father, Iss.h.i.+n-san.’

Iss.h.i.+n laughed aloud at Akemi’s words.

Akemi didn’t understand why he was laughing.

'Is that something to laugh at?’

'No, I was just thinking that I’m at the age where I would look like that.’

Iss.h.i.+n crossed his arms and nodded.

'Eh…’

'I’m not Yak.u.mo’s real father.’

'Which means…’

A child from his partner’s previous marriage?

Akemi c.o.c.ked her head.

'Though I’m acting as his parent, Yak.u.mo’s not my child. Unfortunately, I’m still single. Well, I am his G.o.dparent,’ said Iss.h.i.+n with hearty laughter.

Now that he said that, it would have been unnatural. Iss.h.i.+n was four years older than Akemi. He was too young to have a fifteen year old child.

'Then…’

– Whose child is he?

'Yak.u.mo is my older sister’s child.’

'Your older sister…’

Iss.h.i.+n nodded.

Why had Iss.h.i.+n taken in his older sister’s child? Akemi was curious, but she felt like she couldn’t ask.

Akemi had things she wouldn’t want other people to ask too.

'So you’ve come about Yak.u.mo today.’

Instead of Akemi, who was lost for words, Iss.h.i.+n brought up the topic at hand.

'Yes.’

'Yak.u.mo’s caused a problem at school then,’ said Iss.h.i.+n.

There was a slight shadow in his expression. The way he said it made it seem like he had been prepared for Yak.u.mo to cause a problem at some time.

'Though it would be exaggerated to call it a problem…’

'What is it?’

'He skips cla.s.s.’

That was Yak.u.mo’s only problem. His grades were good, and he didn’t smoke or act violently.

The previous teacher had told her to leave him along because his actions didn’t cause the school any harm.