CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR – WHAT THE DAYS BRING (NatSuke)
In the days following her father's episode, Natsuki walked a precariously thin line.
Though her father made no move to hit her again, his mood had little improvement. He would bark orders to get him food from the fridge or to clean up a dirty plate that he had finished with whenever he chanced upon her passing by the living room. The number of beer cans and cigarettes around him would often signal Natsuki how much swearwords and threats would come her way whenever she approached him. In spite of her resentment, she had little choice but to oblige; at this point, even the wrong look or choice of words would warrant another beating. Even cleaning up around him when he would fall asleep from drunkenness was frightening, since every grunt and snore from him always made her fearfully anticipate something worse. It had been difficult enough to conceal the bruise near her eye, though she managed to stave off questions about it from her classmates with the excuse that she took a bad fall at home. Still, being the subject of other's scrutiny because of her exposed injury wasn't that bad compared to going home early and not knowing what to expect from her father.
Following the incident, just as she had expected, Daisuke doubled his efforts on keeping her company and cheering her up. Natsuki appreciated his company now more than ever, and it made her resent going home at the end of the day. Still, there were other things that were threatening to keep Daisuke away from her; he had told her before of the matter concerning his father's next visit and how it had caused quite a stir at the Matsuda household. As if this wasn't enough, his best friend Kenta had gotten into trouble for fighting with some senior students. Understandably, Daisuke seemed pressured by all the things that were happening right now, and Natsuki felt a small measure of guilt from contributing to his stress with her experiences at home.
On a different note, Yuri Hoshino had provided a curious little glimmer of relief that she had not expected. The two of them had run into each other at a grocery store recently, and Yuri had surprised her by keeping her company, even inviting her to spend some time with her at one of the book cafés downtown. Natsuki did not think much of Yuri when the two of them met for the first time at the get-together they had weeks ago, but her near-formal cordiality was something that she did not expect from someone as reserved and shy as her. Reflecting on their time at the book café, Natsuki found no reason for Yuri to invite her there other than out of genuine friendliness, and she was surprised to find that she had more in common with the lavender-haired maiden than she had expected when talk turned to their respective interests and likes. Daisuke was both surprised and happy that the two of them seemingly got along after Natsuki had told him about their unplanned jaunt, hoping that the two of them could meet up with Yuri and Naoki one of these days.
After their excursion downtown, though, Natsuki expected Yuri to recede into obscurity, imagining that their interaction would simply become a footnote of casual sociability between mere acquaintances. She rarely saw her at school, and Natsuki mused that apart from future get-togethers with Daisuke and Naoki and the rest, she and Yuri would not run into each other again.
Until today, that is.
After their class adviser had called for a meeting with those who had duties for the school festival, Daisuke told her to eat lunch without him, giving her the bento box that his mother had prepared for her. Taking a random copy of Parfait Girls from her locker with her to read, Natsuki obliged him and went upstairs to the school's rooftop to eat and read there in relative solitude. Other students would undoubtedly be there, but Natsuki knew that it was better than occupying a bench near the field or a table in the cafeteria all alone. When she reached the rooftop, she began scouting for a good, quiet place to sit in when she heard that familiarly timid voice call out to her.
"Ah, Natsuki!"
Even as Natsuki turned around to look, she knew that it was Yuri who had called out to her. Indeed, there she was, sitting in one of the rooftop's quieter corners and away from where most of the other students were. An open book sat on her lap, its pages fluttering lightly against the noontime breeze. Knowing that it would be pointless to ignore Yuri right after she had just acknowledged her call, Natsuki walked over towards her.
"Hey," she said in a quiet tone, waving her hand once.
"H-How are you?" asked Yuri as she attempted to give her a polite smile.
"I'm alright, I guess," Natsuki said in reply. "You alone again?"
"Oh, not really," said Yuri, closing the book on her lap. "N-Naoki went back downstairs earlier to meet up with some of our classmates—something to do with the f-festival, no doubt."
"Okay, then." Natsuki cast a look upon the book on Yuri's lap. This was what she must have shared to her last time about the discussions she had with Naoki.
"How about you? Are you alone?" asked Yuri.
Natsuki glanced back at her. "Yeah, Daisuke had some stuff to take care of too," she replied.
"Ah, I see," said Yuri. "Um, you could sit around here if you don't mind me b-being here."
Though she felt rather hesitant to do so, Natsuki looked around saw that it might be her best option, as the other parts of the rooftop were mostly occupied. Moreover, she was already familiar with who Yuri was compared to the other students around.
"Yeah, sure thing. . ." she mumbled, sitting a few feet away from where Yuri was. "Thanks, I guess."
"You're welcome," said Yuri, smiling.
As she settled down to eat, Natsuki felt awkward; once again she was eating with her back turned to Yuri and the rest of the people on the rooftop, preventing anyone from spotting the injuries on her face. Personally, she would have preferred to eat with Daisuke in one of their personal spots, since she didn't have to hide her face then, but this was a better alternative compared to skipping lunch. Luckily, Yuri left her to her own devices as she carried on reading from the book on her lap, not glancing even once at her. Natsuki imagined that she was doing so out of both habit and politeness. Still, even though she didn't feel too keen on speaking to her like she does with Daisuke, Natsuki wouldn't have minded if Yuri struck up a conversation as she ate.
When she was done eating, Natsuki set aside her bento box and opened her Parfait Girls copy at a random page. Because Daisuke was not around for a discussion, she figured that a haphazard read from the manga was the next best thing to do. Ten minutes into her reading, however, Yuri suddenly spoke up.
"I didn't realize y-you were reading too."
Natsuki looked sideways at her. Yuri had taken her eyes off her book and was gazing curiously upon her Parfait Girls copy.
"Yeah," said Natsuki, sitting up straighter. "Daisuke's not around, so I figured I should just read until the bell rings."
"I see. I-Is that one of your . . . 'shoujo' manga books?" asked Yuri.
Natsuki felt rather wary now. "Y-Yeah, why?"
Yuri frowned thoughtfully. "It looks rather . . ."
Natsuki narrowed her eyes. She had heard such words before from other people, and she did not like what usually followed them. "Rather what? Childish? Stupid?" she snapped.
"Ah!" Yuri winced, evidently taken aback by her tone. "I w-wasn't thinking of it like that!"
"Then what were you thinking of?"
Yuri hesitated, as if fearing another backlash from her. Seeing her look rather fearful made Natsuki feel guilty for being too outright defensive. To soften her stance, she asked in a calmer tone, "So w-what is it?"
"Um. . ." Yuri wrung her hands together nervously. "It's just t-that . . . it looks familiar," she stammered. "I think I've seen it before in one of the bookstores I v-visited in the past. Is it from a popular series . . . ?"
"It's popular in its own way," said Natsuki brusquely. "It's not like one of those mainstream series that you always see online, but it's still got a pretty decent following."
"I see. . . Um, m-may I have a look at it?"
Natsuki stared at her, nonplussed. Knowing how formal and smart Yuri was, she found it odd for her to even take a look at something like Parfait Girls. "Why?" she inquired, her wariness growing.
"Well, I've n-never bothered to look at manga up close before," said Yuri as she closed her own book, "and I admit that I get curious about it at times."
She might make fun of you. "Uh, okay then. . ." Natsuki mumbled.
"Oh, if you want, w-we can swap books right now!" said Yuri a bit more enthusiastically. "From what I remember, you don't read any k-kind of novels, right? Perhaps this can help you decide if you w-want to try it out."
She's definitely gonna make fun of you. Natsuki eyed the book on Yuri's lap once again. Compared to the flashy paperback cover that her copy of Parfait Girls had, with the series' characters striking cute poses in front of a pink and white backdrop, Yuri's novel looked solemn and even rather gloomy. The eerie-looking red eye symbol on the black cover seemed to leer unpleasantly at her.
Natsuki nodded towards the book. "Is that one of your favorite horror novels?"
"Yes," said Yuri, taking a look at her copy and tracing her slender fingers against the eye on the cover. "It's a novel that Naoki and I f-found when we were out looking for books together."
"Sounds like a pretty swell date," Natsuki joked bluntly.
Yuri blushed. "A-Anyway, I don't know if you're familiar with it, since it's a recent release and all," she went on. "It's called The Portrait of Markov."
"Never heard of it," Natsuki mumbled.
"That's okay. Um . . ." Yuri hesitated again for a moment. "S-So do you want to swap for now . . . ?"
Again, Natsuki began thinking, looking for any signal that would tell her that Yuri might make fun of her as soon as she saw how juvenile and silly Parfait Girls might be compared to something as serious and sophisticated as her Markov book. But looking at Yuri's mannerisms and how she spoke, Natsuki somehow sensed that she was always being sincere with her, even if it was only out of civility.
"A-Alright, here," she mumbled, holding out her Parfait Girls copy to Yuri. It reminded her of her first interactions with Daisuke, when she had made the decision to share her manga with him. Since that day, a lot had changed in Natsuki's life, and she wondered if her decision to share with Yuri now would have a similar effect in the future.
Though she was understandably cautious at first, Yuri looked slightly more reassured as she took the book from Natsuki. "H-Here," she said as well, holding out The Portrait of Markov to her.
"Yeah, thanks. . ." Natsuki muttered, weighing the book in her hands. With several quick flicks, she scanned through its pages and saw that—to her slight disappointment—the book had no pictures or art of any kind. Just text—and lots of it too. Here and there were long sentences describing a character's train of thought, or entire sections devoted to describing what a certain place or scene looked like. Somehow, she wasn't surprised. People like Yuri and Naoki would undoubtedly find such writing engaging, writing that appealed to a person's imagination and thoughts and let the mind do the work of visualization. Natsuki had nothing against that kind of reading, since most of the stories that children grew up with were all about shaping one's imagination and whatnot, but it still felt better at times to simply see what she was supposed to see rather than rely on the workings of her mind, which could be distracting at times. The essence of Yuri's novel was in contrast to how manga worked; because there were panels already showing what places and things looked like to the reader, there was no need for lengthy paragraphs of description in manga. Only dialogues and the characters' thoughts needed narration then.
She glanced over at Yuri, who was also leafing through the pages of her Parfait Girls copy with an unfathomable look on her face. Natsuki watched her closely, wondering what was going through her mind. She must be thinking of how silly it is. Part of the reason her former friends in middle school grew out of manga like Parfait Girls had been the romantic and comedic clichés that were rife in its plot. Some would call it predictable and even pointless to read something that followed a seemingly singular pattern or introduced zany scenarios out of nowhere for the heck of it. Natsuki scoffed to herself at the thought. Those who didn't bother to understand the lessons and nuances beneath the series' wacky situations and simplistic plot were simply too closeminded to deal with. With her experiences in dealing with such people before, she wondered if Yuri was like any of them.
"S-So how is it?" she asked her.
Yuri turned her head towards her. "Hmm?" she said for a moment, distracted. "O-Oh, yes, sorry about that! Um . . . it's rather . . . unique, I s-suppose."
"Oh, come on," said Natsuki. "That's a safe answer if I've ever heard one. There's got to be more to it than that, right?"
Glancing back at the book, Yuri looked slightly anxious. Natsuki waited for her reply, trying to predict what it would be before she even spoke it. Slowly, however, she realized that going about this aggressively wasn't the right path to take. She was wary of any untoward criticism that could be directed at her favorite manga, but she also didn't want to scare Yuri away immediately by being too defensive all the time.
"Sorry about that," she said sullenly. "I'm not used to sharing manga like this with anyone e-except Daisuke. I mean, I used to do that, but . . ."
Yuri stared at her for a moment, expecting her to say something else, but when Natsuki didn't continue, she heaved a small sigh. "W-Well, I don't know much about the story's plot or the characters, so I d-don't think I can say much about them. . . The art style is d-definitely eye-catching, though."
Natsuki pondered on her words for a second. "I guess you're right. I don't think you're familiar with any kind of manga characters, so there's no reason you should know Minori or Yukari or Megumi . . ."
"I'm afraid so," Yuri admitted with an apologetic smile. "M-May I ask what the series' p-premise is?"
Natsuki shot her another look. "Why do you wanna know?"
"Just curious, that's all. . ."
Momentarily, Natsuki imagined if Yuri's curiosity was simply borne from her desire to patronize her. Still, there was no harm in a bit of explanation. "Alright, well . . . it doesn't really have a solid premise at first, okay? I know that it might be pretty weird if that's the case, but that's how some manga tend to be. Anyway, Parfait Girls is basically just about a group of girls who work together in a café as waitresses and . . . b-bakers. They all flock around this good-looking guy who was taken in to work with them, and they soon start having a huge crush on him. The series' humor is all about how the girls do all kinds of silly stuff that will try to get the guy's attention, and they all just start one-upping each other from that point on."
Yuri nodded along. "I see, I see. . ."
"People think that it's really stupid at first because it's all about romance and comedies, but the later acts in the series have a bit more drama to them," Natsuki went on, eager to defend that particular aspect of Parfait Girls that most critics and haters attacked. "Some of the characters are revealed to have personal issues about themselves that make them a bit insecure and even sad. It really balances out the quirky stuff, if you get my point. It even teaches readers some life lessons about loving oneself and making friends, that kind of stuff. . . And you learn all sorts of new things too. There are some chapters there that focus a lot on baking, and I—"
Natsuki stopped right there, realizing what she had almost shared out loud in front of Yuri. "Y-You just learn some nice and serious stuff from reading it, that's all," she concluded rather awkwardly.
"I see," said Yuri again. "It does sound rather interesting, now that y-you put it that way."
"It is," said Natsuki. "If people took more time to read stuff like this, they'd appreciate it better."
Yuri nodded. "I understand. It's p-pretty much the same case with me and the horror novels I like."
"Oh yeah?" Natsuki held up The Portrait of Markov and examined it again. "What's the story behind this Markov novel, anyway?"
At that, Yuri sat up straighter, looking eager to do her part now. "I'll do my b-best to explain the novel's premise without droning on or giving too much away. Anyway, it tells the story of this teenaged girl named Libitina, who escapes from a facility run by a religious cult. She reunites with her long-lost sister and some of her friends, who shelter her from the people who are chasing after her. However, it doesn't take long before Libitina starts discovering that there's some kind of dark power growing inside her, and it's affecting both her friends as well as the people who are chasing her. As the story progresses, it shows her struggle to keep this dark power contained as she tries to find answers to her true past and her ties with the cult in general."
For a moment, Natsuki had no words to say. Apart from being a little curious at the novel's premise, she was rather surprised at how Yuri's aura seemed to change as she spoke. She had seen snippets of this before when the two of them were at The Monocle. She sensed that this was what Yuri must actually be like when she's talking about something she likes.
"That sounds pretty dark," she finally mumbled, taking one last look at the novel before handing it back to Yuri. A timid smile flashed across her face, dispelling the refined grace she had exuded only moments ago.
"It does have a somber premise, y-yes," she said as she handed the Parfait Girls copy back to Natsuki as well. "Very different from the atmosphere that your manga has."
"You've got that right. . ."
At that moment, the first post-lunchtime bell rang below them, its tone resonating across the campus. Everyone stood up and began cleaning up where they had eaten as they made ready to go back downstairs to their respective classrooms. After they had finished tidying up where they had been sitting, Natsuki and Yuri returned each other's books.
"It was nice t-talking to you again, Natsuki," said Yuri cordially. "I hope I didn't w-waste your time or anything."
"Don't worry about that, you didn't waste my time," said Natsuki. "It was nice talking to you too."
Yuri smiled. "Perhaps we can do something like this again, a-at school or outside. We can discuss other novels if you want—a-and your other favorite manga series too, of course! Naoki would like that, I'm sure."
"Yeah, Daisuke would like that too," Natsuki muttered. As much as she missed his presence for the day, she was secretly happy that someone like Yuri managed to make her feel less alone while he wasn't around. It lessened the pain that her father had left upon her, and it gave her something to look forward to at school and outside it.
The chill of the water flowing from the kitchen sink's tap bit into Daisuke's hands as he washed the final batch of dirty plates from the diner's last customers. One of their helpers had called in sick for the day, and it fell to Daisuke to pick up the extra work in the meantime after he had gotten home from school. Given that the festival's approach meant less schoolwork for everyone, he always had extra time to help out at the diner and at home.
Then again, even with the less hectic hours he had at school, Daisuke was far from being in a relaxed position. Very rarely did he experience the sensation of being pulled in all directions other than what he had been going through for the past week. From doing his part at the family diner after school to the banners that he was assigned to design for the festival to his father's forthcoming visit, he was starting to feel that there was no respite to be had, no solution to all the stress. Instead, there were only momentary distractions that gave him some relief that never really lasted as long as he wanted it to. To cap it all off, Natsuki's recent injuries at the hands of her deadbeat father had tested his patience to its very limit.
It made him feel even worse to think that Natsuki, the very person he wanted to protect and the one who had gone through so much hurt, had done her best to restrain him and prevent him from doing anything reckless. As much as he wanted to let his rage fly, he knew later on that it would not be the best thing to do, let alone what Natsuki would want, and Daisuke knew that she needed no more problems from anyone right now. Still, it made him wonder how long his patience can hold up. Each day that passed by made him imagine that another incident would occur, that Natsuki would get hurt again at home, and the fact that he couldn't do anything about it made him even more frustrated. He was not a hotheaded and experienced brawler like Kenta, but he knew that if he had been face to face with the poor excuse for a human being that is Natsuki's father, or at least living in the same neighborhood that he was, he would be more than willing to go out and give him a piece of his mind if he ever tried hurting Natsuki again.
Thinking about keeping his cool and not going out seeking a fight brought him to the week's second stumble: Kenta's fight in the gymnasium. When he had received word of the incident from Naoki, Daisuke felt incensed. He knew that in spite of Kenta's penchant for showing off and being loud, he would never pick a fight unless his opponent picked it for him. While Naoki was worried of the possible repercussions that Kenta's actions would bring to his once-tenuous academic standing, Daisuke sympathized with his redheaded comrade in all regards, expecting him to rise to the occasion and get revenge on his aggressors as he often did in middle school. Kenta did no such thing, however, and instead he kept his distance from the rest of the quadrumvirate as he awaited the verdict for his actions. Daisuke understood him better once he had calmed down, though Kenta's treatment and situation left a bad taste in his mouth about how unfair everything was right now.
With all this happening, it had been hard to keep calm and stay focused and happy all week. The only real respite he had was when Akihiro had come along with Sayori to eat at their diner. Their presence helped distract Daisuke even for just a little while, even as their talk that evening turned to more somber topics. Daisuke knew better than to share what had happened to Natsuki while Sayori was around—he had already taken quite a risk letting his friends in on something so private, and while he knew that more people could mean more support, it wasn't something that Natsuki would want right now. Furthermore, the happiness between Akihiro and Sayori then had made him feel rather guilty of sharing his burdens and potentially ruining their evening.
He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder gently, startling him out of his thoughts. Turning around, he saw his mother looking at him rather concernedly. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Daisuke coughed and straightened up. "Y-Yeah, I'm doing fine, why?"
"Really?" His mother nodded towards the sink. "You've been washing that plate over and over for the past minute now."
Looking down at the plate that he had been holding under the running water and the rest that were left unwashed next to the sink, Daisuke sighed. "Sorry about that, Mom," he mumbled, setting the plate aside. "I kinda spaced out there. . ."
With a smile, his mother patted his arm. "I'll take care of the dishes. You go ahead and rest."
"No, Mom, it's fine. I'll handle this," Daisuke insisted. "I just need to clear my head out a bit."
With that, he took another dirty plate and began scrubbing it clean, focusing on the running water to steady his thoughts. His mother was silent for a moment, never leaving his side. No one else was in the kitchen with them, and for that Daisuke was partly thankful; it would have been more awkward if one of their helpers was around to see his discomfiture.
Before he or his mother could say anything else, the door to the kitchen opened, and in walked Hiroko. She stretched her arms with a sigh and looked around, grinning apologetically when she saw the two of them.
"Sorry for being a bit late tonight," she said. "Makoto treated us all out to dinner after work."
"So that's why you weren't replying," said their mother. "You could've told me a bit earlier. I saved you up some dinner too."
"I was supposed to text you guys, but my phone battery died earlier," said Hiroko. "Forgot to charge it at work."
"No wonder," their mother tutted. "I'll just store your dinner in the fridge, then. Anyway, did you ask your bosses about your leave for this Saturday?"
Hiroko sighed, rubbing her eyes wearily. Daisuke listened more intently now; Saturday was the designated day of their father's next—and possibly last—visit. He had wondered before if his sister would go someplace else instead of being with them. Not wanting to rant any further, Hiroko had taken to avoiding any talk involving their father after his visit weeks ago, but she had not been able to dodge their mother's request to have her spend the day with them this Saturday.
"They told me that it's fine, but that doesn't mean I wanna come along, Mom," said Hiroko sternly.
"I know that," said their mother. "But your father keeps asking if you and Daisuke would be there, and . . . it's likely that this will be the last time he'll see us, so I think I can understand why he wants you two to be there. . ."
"Mom, I don't care what he wants. It's bad enough that he wants to bring that . . . t-that woman along, and I'm not gonna sit in any room with the two of them around."
"But you know that I can't do this alone, Hiroko. Do you think I also want to sit there and talk to the two of them? What if . . . w-what if I ask your father not to bring Chizuko along? Would that convince you?"
"If you ask him to never show his face around here again, I might consider it."
"Alright, alright, that's enough, you guys," Daisuke cut in. He set aside the last plate he had just finished washing and dried his hands on a kitchen towel, turning to face his mother and sister. "We can't do this right now. We're all tired from doing a lot of stuff, so let's just talk about this when we've rested up a bit, okay?"
Hiroko shifted uneasily where she stood. "I'll just . . . go upstairs now," she muttered.
When she had left, Daisuke turned to his mother. She sighed. "That was my fault. I shouldn't have asked her about Saturday yet."
"It's alright, Mom," said Daisuke. "Even if you asked tomorrow or any other time, I don't think Hiroko will budge."
His mother looked at him with a sad gleam in her eyes. "I just want to give your father this last chance before he leaves. I know we don't owe him that or anything else after what happened in our family, but . . . if we're really going to get some closure from all of this, now is the best time for it. I'm afraid that your father's recent visit had unearthed a few hatchets that were already buried, but after this, I'm sure they'll stay buried."
"Yeah, I know," Daisuke muttered.
His mother walked closer to him, putting her hand again on his shoulder. "Is that why you look rather tired lately? Because you've been worrying about your dad coming over again?"
"No, n-not really. . ." Daisuke did not know if he could ever tell his mother about the real reason he had been feeling troubled all week. Worrying about Natsuki left little room for him to focus properly on other things. It felt like a delicate balancing act that could set him off at the first sign of trouble, and he was not so sure if he could deal with worrying other things at the moment. The fact that his family's dilemma with his father reminded him of Natsuki's issues did not help either.
"I just don't feel like talking too much about Dad right now," he said, deciding to be a bit honest. "I don't even know if I'll be able to face him properly like I did last time. I mean, of course I wanna keep you company when he drops by again, Mom, but stress has been getting to me nowadays. I'm thinking about a lot of things right now, and I don't need more questions from Dad or Hiroko being cranky at him . . . if she'll be there when he visits, that is. If you guys are fine with me just . . . sitting there while you guys talk, then sure. Any more than that, I don't know. . ."
He bowed his head, feeling ashamed that he couldn't give his mother more reassurance. Had things been different, he would be willing to face his father with the same surprising level of openness he had shown last time. The week's conflict boiled down to one person, and it made his anger flare up again. It's that bastard's fault. If he didn't hurt Natsuki again . . . if he didn't hurt Natsuki ever . . .
His mother's voice calmed his somewhat. "I'll finish cleaning up here. You go on upstairs and rest, alright? After that . . . I don't know. Maybe I'll give your dad a call before the night ends."
"Mom—" Daisuke began, but his mother forestalled his words.
"It's okay, son." She smiled. "It's okay."
Following his mother's wish, Daisuke left the kitchen with a sigh, making his way upstairs to his room. He still needed to continue designing and drawing for those banners that his classmates needed, but at least he would be able to work in silence and reflect on his thoughts privately.
As he reached the top of the stairs, though, he found Hiroko sitting in front of the door of her room, staring up at the ceiling. She turned around when she heard him coming.
"You okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah," replied his sister. "I was just . . . never mind. I'm sorry if I was being really cranky earlier downstairs."
"Nah, that's fine, sis. We understand where you're coming from." Daisuke walked closer to her and sat down on the floor with her. "Like I said, we're all tired right now, so we can't really process things as well as we want to."
Hiroko looked at him. "Trouble at school?"
"I guess you can call it that," Daisuke mumbled.
Silence stretched between them for a few moments. Hiroko spoke up again after a while. "Do you think Dad's really telling the truth this time?"
Daisuke glanced at her, frowning. "About what?"
"About coming back to . . . t-to settle things between him and us before he leaves. Again, I might add. Anyway, you talked to him when he came over, right? Did he look sincere to you?"
"Oh. Well . . . yeah. He seemed pretty honest to me." Sifting through his thoughts about that evening, Daisuke found no proof indeed to show that his father had faked his sincerity about wanting to see and talk to them. "We only managed to talk a bit more before he left. He apologized."
His sister scoffed a little. "I'm sure he did. He didn't talk to you that much when he left. Me, on the other hand . . . well, I was the one who found out about his affair, right? And I'm the eldest child to boot. No wonder he's still trying hard to talk to me after all these years. Maybe that's why Mom also wants me to be there when he comes by again."
Daisuke felt the bitterness lacing his sister's voice, and he knew that she was trying hard not to go on a more aggressive tirade. Hiroko went on, "If he really wanted to talk to me—to us, and Mom—then why didn't he even try calling just to check on us?"
"Well, you would've shut him down as soon as he tried, right?" said Daisuke.
"Maybe, but at least it'd help me see that he actually does care," Hiroko hissed. "It just feels off that he cares all of a sudden now that he's about to move to another city for good with that woman of his. It's why I'm having such a hard time buying into his crap. I mean, he lied to all of us before, right?"
Had he not heard his father's words during his last visit, Daisuke would have an easier time sympathizing with his sister's reasoning. Still, he imagined that perhaps Hiroko was merely looking for more reasons to justify her bitter thoughts about their father—and to soothe the pain that came from his error and departure, no doubt.
"I think we can give him the benefit of the doubt this time," he told Hiroko. "It has to also be difficult on his part to settle things like he wants, right? If he wasn't serious in the first place, then why would he go through all this trouble to talk to us?"
Hiroko scoffed again. "You sound pretty sure. It's like you're not even mad at him anymore for what he did."
"Maybe I'm no longer as mad as you still are, but it doesn't mean I wasn't affected," Daisuke remarked. "There are always times when I imagine how life would've been if Mom and Dad didn't split up. Every time I look at Mom working in the diner, I think about that."
"I see. . ." Hiroko rested her head back against the door to her room. "You and me both, little bro."
Daisuke chuckled softly. "Anyway, why don't you consider being there during his visit? I know that you won't do it for Dad, but at least you can do it for Mom, right? She's gonna feel a lot more comfortable if we were both there with her, I'm sure. Besides, we've got nothing to lose. After this, Dad's not gonna be coming back to bother us or anyone else around here anymore."
Hiroko stared at the floor, looking pensive as she mulled on his words for a few moments. "For Mom, huh?" she finally asked.
"For Mom," Daisuke repeated, giving her a small smile.
Hiroko let out a long sigh. "Alright, I'll think about it," she mumbled in a resigned tone.
"Good," said Daisuke, patting her on the shoulder. "Anyway, I have to go in my room now. Still have a bit of work to do before I tuck myself in."
"I'll try not to play too much loud stuff on my speaker this time," said his sister.
"Eh, I kinda like some of the songs you play," said Daisuke as the two of them stood up. "They're kinda growing on me."
"Well, it's kinda hard not to get accustomed to music when someone's playing it every day in a neighboring room, right?" asked Hiroko.
"True. Maybe everyone down the block is already starting to warm up to your tastes by now. Pretty soon, they'll be blasting music along with you," Daisuke added jokingly.
The two of them laughed lightly. Hiroko pulled him into a one-armed hug. "Thanks for talking to me, Dai," she mumbled. "I really appreciate it."
Daisuke patted her back. "Just don't get too used to it. Little brothers don't do this often."
Hiroko laughed some more at that. "Whatever you say, little bro."
As he made his way into his room at last, Daisuke sighed to himself. Though it felt good to help his sister in reconsidering her thoughts for Saturday, he felt rather regretful that he had not managed to find help for himself regarding his worries, and the thought brought him back down to earth in an instant. On instinct, he went to his phone to see if Natsuki had texted, but then he remembered that she had already gone to sleep for the night. Not wanting to disturb her, he decided to just get on with the banner designing, hoping to find some peace in the lines that he would soon be drawing.