Standard disclaimers apply
The walk to the infirmary was quiet, with only Izumiko's stifled sobs piercing the tense group environment. Miyuki, whose chest Izumiko was sobbing into, glared at the crowd's curious gazes, as if daring them to bother the distraught girl seeking comfort in his arms.
Behind the Sagara men and Izumiko followed Mayura and Manatsu, who'd refused to leave Izumiko's side. It would have turned into an argument if Miyuki hadn't intervened, saying that the siblings were their roommates and that they could help Izumiko calm down.
While Yukimasa examined Izumiko, Mayura talked to the frightened princess about the book report they had been assigned for literature. Thanks to her roommate's distraction, Izumiko's focus was not centered on the exam, thus allowing her to calm down. Once it was clear to the Souda siblings that they were no longer needed, they left the infirmary to finish up their assignments in their respective dorm room.
Yukimasa sighed as Izumiko was finally getting some much needed rest after the Kawaguchi incident. The mountain monk couldn't help the proud look on his face as Miyuki held the girl's hand and rubbed his thumb unconsciously over the top of it, obviously in an attempt to assure the frightened girl that he was still there.
While he left the unofficial couple alone, he turned his angry gaze to the medical report he'd filled out on Suzahara. As much as he wished the purple bruise was the only thing that had harmed Izumiko that simply was not the case. While Yukimasa had been examining her, he had noted signs of slight psychological trauma; based on the message Miyuki had Mayura pass along to him about his concerns with the overt attention the male population was giving her, it was obvious what source had wrought this.
"Miyuki," stated Yukimasa as his son turned a neutral gaze on his old man, "I just wanted to say that I'm proud of how you handled this situation." Surprise flitted across Miyuki's face; before suspicion could set in, Yukimasa continued:
"I really mean it. In the past, I would have expected you to handle the situation on your own and bring Suzahara to the clinic after the fact. Instead, you took steps to not only neutralize the threat as quickly as possible but to bring it to the attention of the adults so we could take the appropriate steps in resolving the matter." Miyuki's gaze remained neutral as he gazed at his father. As Miyuki turned to face Izumiko however, his gaze morphed into one of worry and . . . guilt?
"If I did the right thing . . . then why do I feel so guilty?" Yukimara listened with interest as his son spoke on the matter.
"This has been going on since the start of the year." Miyuki's jaw clenched as he recalled times he, Souda, and Manatsu had needed to scare off overly zealous admirers from Izumiko; "It had even gotten to the point where Mayura threatened the boys with reports of harassment if they continued to bother Izumiko in homeroom. But the only thing that accomplished was their strategy shifting from homeroom to the hallways between classes." Before Yukimasa could cut his son off to scold him, he noticed tears gathering at the corners of his eyes and streaming down his face unnoticed.
"How could I have let them do this to her?!" Much like before in the library, Yukimasa resisted his first instinct to scold Miyuki. It was obvious that any lectures he wanted to give the boy would pale in comparison to the guilt weighing down on him.
"We all make mistakes son." Miyuki closed his eyes, as if suddenly realizing just who he was crying in front of; internally, Yukimasa sighed. He knew that he and Miyuki were a lot more alike than even he was willing to admit. Both were the type of people that are willing to admit their limits and shortcomings; yet deep down, both men were proud and despised failure. It was probably for this reason that both father and son had such a hard time connecting. Yukimasa always told his son how much of a failure he felt he was when all Miyuki desired was his father's approval.
"But, the important thing to do when these things happen is to learn from them and make an effort to do better next time." Yukimasa stood up, pulled his office chair toward his crying son and sat down while he held him. After mentally chanting a healing mantra to bring some peace to his little boy . . . no, young man, his thoughts turned to the extraordinary changes occurring in his son. To think . . . all that was needed for him to grow up was for him to fall in love with Izumiko.