He never did come back to talk to me. He just...disappeared.
I would check the school gates every day, and he would never be there. I would go to the bench by the side of the road, and he would not be waiting for me. Despite this, I would sit there, clinging to the hope that he might just show up out of the blue. But he never did. Soon, I abandoned that hope and stopped coming.
I always wondered what the reason was for his actions on that day. Maybe he really did hate me...I could never really tell what he was thinking.
In the weeks that followed, I thought about him less and less. The frequent misadventures my friends and I kept getting into served as a constant distraction. Occasionally, however, my thoughts would wander, and I would start to wonder where he was and what he was doing at that moment. Soon after, though, something would come up that that would cause me to forget about these thoughts.
It went on like this...until one night. I was leaving the Chinese Diner Aiya after another fruitless attempt at their "Rainy Day Challenge", and I was trying to hurry home before the rain got heavy. It was late, and most everyone had already cleared out of the Shopping District. However, in the distance, I could see a figure in front of me. It looked familiar...I approached it to get a closer look.
It was him.
It looked like he had been in another fight. However, where last time the worst of his injuries was an almost-broken arm, this time it looked like he could barely stand. I quickened my pace and ran up to him. He seemed to notice my approach, and turned to face me. The look in his eyes contained...nothing.
"What happened?" I asked with concern. "Did you get into another fight?" The expression on his face did not change.
After a moment of awkward silence, I spoke up. "It's late. Come with me, you can stay at my house tonight," I said, extending my hand. "Can you walk?" He nodded, but did not take my hand. At the time, it did not even cross my mind what Dojima would think when I came home with a random stranger who looked like he had been beaten within an inch of his life.
I walked slowly home, stopping frequently to make sure he was following. Every so often, he would fall down, and I would have to help him up. I found it odd that he made absolutely no effort to resist my help. There was virtually no trace of his former indignant self in his actions.
As I opened the front door, I found only Nanako there to greet me.
"Dad's working late again tonight," she informed me, before giving Mitsuo a concerned look. "Is he going to be okay?"
"It's all right, I'm helping him out," I replied. "He'll be staying here just for tonight, I promise." Nanako simply nodded.
I took his hand and led him into my bedroom. I told him to sit down on the couch while I made preparations for him.
"I hope you understand this," I said as I set up an extra futon. "I'm going to help you, even if you hate me for it." I went and retrieved the medical supplies, then proceeded to patch him up. The whole time, he just stared at the wall, the same blank expression on his face. Thankfully, most of his injuries didn't seem too serious.
After I was finished, I sat down next to him. "Why do you do these things?" I asked, hoping I sounded serious enough. "Getting into fights when you know you'll just end up getting seriously hurt?"
He did not respond.
"Do you think it's cool? Do you think you'll be cool if you go around instigating fights with dangerous people?" That question sounded angrier than I intended.
Still no response. He was now staring at the floor.
"Well, it's not cool. It's just stupid!" This time, my anger was intentional.
This time, his expression seemed to change slightly...
...
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*"Stupid!"
*Critical Hit!
*"Stupid!"
*Critical Hit!
*"STUPID!"
*Critical Hit!
You fall to the ground.
*"You think you can just do whatever you want when I'm not around and think I won't have a problem with it, huh?"
He waves a paper in front of your face.
*"You see this?"
It's your test from last week.
*"THIS is a testament to how stupid you really are!"
He crumples it up and throws it at you.
*"You should consider yourself lucky that I'm even willing to put up with you!"
He slaps you.
*"Don't expect me to dote on you just because your good-for-nothing parents decided to dump you on me!"
He slaps you again.
You watch through your tears as he leaves the room...
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"Mitsuo!"
He jumped.
"Were you even listening to me?"
"Don't get into fights, don't be stupid..." he said. His voice was nearly a whisper. "What does it matter..."
I looked at him for a moment, then stood up. "In any case, we should probably be getting to bed. It's late," I said as I made up my futon. He said nothing as he stood and got into his.
"Good night," I said as I drifted off to sleep.