Conversation was desultory at the next "visitation meal". Beyond "Would you like some more —?" and "Could you please pass —?" the table was silent. And appetites didn't appear that hearty. Mr. Irie was paying a chef top dollar to prepare low-fat tasty meals because his wife had lost both her reason for living and her desire to cook for her family. The rest of the household joined in on his dietary regimen because it was too much trouble to order separate dishes.
He had not yet made contact with his quarry when the day rolled around, but Yuuki decided that he would begin to see how many knots he could tie in the wet noodle who desired to be his sister. He lifted a chunk of delicately seasoned and sautéd tofu and inquired aloud, "Do you remember the mess she made of the tofu when she helped her dad cook that meal?"
You could have heard a pin drop in the dining room. Mr. and Mrs. Irie's implements froze on the way to their mouths as Yuuki nonchalantly chewed and swallowed his food.
"Naoki-san, to whom is Yuuki-kun referring?" Sahoko asked in her usual faint voice.
His brother shot Yuuki a look then mumbled, "Aihara-san and his daughter." He took a healthy swallow of water, an obvious sign that the answer was sufficient and the subject was closed.
Sahoko apparently was oblivious to hints. "Do you mean Kotoko-san? I did enjoy talking with her when we visited."
Mrs. Irie set her wine glass on the table with a snap. "Yes, dear Kotoko-chan. What a darling girl. I believed she would make someone the perfect wife."
"But it seems that she was not perfect," Sahoko countered in a benign manner. "A failure to prepare food properly is a smirch upon her womanhood."
Both Yuuki and Naoki dropped their jaws at the gently catty criticism. It was Mr. Irie who rose to his former tenant's defense. "But Kotoko-chan always had the best intentions, despite her minor flaws. We quite doted on her."
Sahoko bowed her head in deference, and the meal continued in its previous boring pattern. Behind lowered lashes, Yuuki's eyes glinted. So, I might not be alone in this mission after all, eh?
Something had to be done. Irie Shigeki suffered through the remainder of the almost silent repast. It was a relief when Naoki and his oh-so-boring fiancée left to attend some concert or art gala. He had to admit that Noriko had been right. The girl had no personality of her own. She was like the moon, trying to reflect off the sun that she thought was Naoki. However, that particular luminary had burned out and produced no warmth whatsoever. Of a certainty, it was no coincidence that its extinction coincided with the Aiharas' departure.
He opened the folder that he had received from his check-up earlier in the day. Weight was down. Heartbeat was strong. Cholesterol was under control.
I am still the chairman of Pandai, he told himself. I think I need to remind some people of that. But meanwhile, I believe I'll walk an extra kilometer on the treadmill before going to bed.
"You don't make yourself easy to find," Yuuki greeted the girl in the café booth.
"I didn't think you'd come looking for me, Yuuki-kun," Kotoko responded.
"Yeah!" He flopped in the seat opposite. "I staked out your father's restaurant for three days, expecting to see you there."
"Oh!" She looked away. "I'm staying away for awhile." It was difficult to go back in and face Kinnosuke after rejecting his offer of marriage. While she liked him well enough as a friend, as a husband…
"I had to snoop in Mom's phone contacts," he complained further. "Not that it was that difficult, since she's usually asleep."
"Oh, no! Is she ailing? Has she seen a doctor?" Kotoko's face showed her concern.
"It's not illness," Yuuki admitted. "She just drinks a little too much because the house is less lively now that you're gone."
Kotoko's lip trembled. "I'm sorry to hear that. But it was never my home."
"Yes, it was," he muttered. Then louder, "Yes, it was!"
She sat back, startled. "Maybe I thought so at one time, but with Sahoko-san's arrival, I lost whatever place I thought I had."
"Mom doesn't want Sahoko. She wants you!"
Kotoko smiled sadly. "But she's not the one choosing, is she? How is your father?" she asked with false cheer. "I hope he is continuing to improve."
"He is. He acts as if he's on a crusade with the health routine. It's almost as if… No, forget I said anything. So, what have you been up to lately?" He reached over and pulled a book to his side of the table. "Modern Nursing Techniques? Are you kidding me?"
"I know," she ducked her head. "It seems strange for someone as dumb as me to try to be a nurse."
"I wasn't talking about your brains. I meant your klutziness, baka." He slipped back into the easy insulting camaraderie they had enjoyed.
"Well, it's my dumbness that's the problem right now. If I want to join the nursing program, I need to pass a transfer test."
Yuuki thumbed through the book. "It doesn't look that difficult."
"Well, yeah, but you're an Irie."
"You're right. I don't have the freaky memorization brain that Onii-chan does, but I am pretty smart. Say," he suddenly recalled some books that had been hidden on the shared bookshelf in his brother's bedroom, "this doesn't have anything to do with him, does it?"
"Wh-why would you think that? It's just a crazy idea, anyway, that I'd be able to do it." She reached for the book, but discovered that he would not let it go.
"It's not crazy," he told her. "And you will succeed. Do you want to know why?"
Kotoko blinked back tears in his direction as she nodded.
"I'm going to tutor you through it."