Support me on
P
A
T
R
E
O
N
pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq
After school I had to help out Yukinoshita. We were headed to a nursery to talk to some faculty there about the upcoming raffle and bake sale. When we got there however Yukinoshita completely abandoned me and went on ahead. It was her usual style.
I glanced around the nursery. Kids were playing with blocks and running around and screaming. Kids kids kids. I probably would never have any. I was schizoaffective. That shit was genetic. I couldn't condemn someone to that whom I was supposed to love.
I'm pretty sure it was my face. The reason Yukinoshita went ahead I mean. My eyes were dead. I couldn't be frightening the children and whatnot. It was better to hang back and wait.
A long time ago, I once had a part time job that lasted a day for the exhibition of a model room of an apartment complex where the only thing I had to do was continue standing for some number of hours holding an advertisement sign under the blazing sun. For someone like me with that kind of experience, this much was a breeze. I was able to kill about 8 hours by just standing around absentmindedly. It was actually a pretty tough job and there was also the time when I shed a few tears because the various deductions from being dispatched and insurance had me going 'woow… my pay's really low, isn't it…?'
Compared to then, there was a roof, walls and the time was shorter. Just those alone made me think it was a good environment… Woow, my affinity as a corporate slave's really high, isn't it…? It was that moment when I was standing there spacing out while going through repetitions of worthless thoughts in my head. The door of a nearby classroom silently inched opened.
What's this? As I thought that, I took a look and a single little girl tip-toed out of the room. The little girl made advances towards the entrance stealthily and began restlessly looking around. She tried her best to look outside with cute, nimble gestures such as stretching upwards while standing on her toes and jumping up, but once she realized that she couldn't see anything, she disappointingly trudged back. The little girl's darkish blue hair was bounded by hair ties that split it into two. Her features displayed an innocence that made her look extremely sweet.
When she noticed me, she let out an "ah" and approached me. After that, she pulled on the sleeve of my blazer and popped open her mouth as she looked up. Not good, was this that? Like how the situation would blow up into something bigger from a report that I called out to her? But then again, we're inside the nursery and there was no one around, so it should be okay, right…?
"…What's wrong?" At this point, I couldn't really ignore her so I put some effort to speak to her in a calm demeanor. When I did, the little girl pulled on my sleeve further, so I slowly crouched down. After dropping to about her eye level, the little girl spoke with a troubled tone.
"Um, see, Saa-chan isn't here yet."
"Ooh, I see."
What's Saa-chan…? Could she be referring to her mom, I wonder…? Little kids typically tended to pronounce their words incorrectly. When Komachi was small, she'd say oi-chan instead of onii-chan too. For a split second, I thought for sure she was referring to Tora-san.
Still, even if I had built some resistance to younger people thanks to Komachi, for a kid this young, I really couldn't remember how to deal with them. I was once that small too. Now then, just how should I deal with her…? For the time being, it'd be trouble if I let her go outside alone. I guess I'll take her to the classroom.
"It'll be just a bit longer until Saa-chan comes. So let's go play over there until then." I gently pushed her small shoulders and brought her to the front of the classroom. The little girl was unexpectedly obedient as she did what she was told and followed me up to the classroom. Just as I was about to place my hands on the glass sliding door, the little girl pulled on my sleeve again.
"Ah! Um, you see, that's Saa-chan." As she said that, she pointed at the crayon pictures posted on the classroom wall. I had no clue which picture she was pointing at… Maybe it was a picture drawn by her mom? Still, there was quite a few of them so I couldn't tell which one it was.
"Which one's from Saa-chan, hmm?"
"That!" The little girl vaguely pointed at the wall. But on the wall were numerous pictures so in the end, I still didn't have a clue. Hmm… Which one could it be, I wonder…? I crouched down again and met my eyes with hers.
"…Okay, I got it. This one is right. And this one is left." I raised my right and left hand in succession in front of her and the little girl nodded her head and then repeated the motions.
"Right, left."
"Yep, yep. Okay, raise your right." When I said, the little girl energetically raised her right hand. "Raise your left."
This time she energetically jumped with her left hand. Fumu, it looked like she knew her right from her left. That being the case, I pointed to the wall earlier with the pictures posted.
"Now then, here's a riddle. Just how many of these are Saa-chan's starting from the right?" The little girl's eyes sparkled as she went "oooh!" to the new game. After that, she began counting with her fingers.
"Ummm… there's four!"
"Correct. Very good job!"
As I said that, I lightly patted her head. I see, so that's Saa-chan… Yeah, I still don't get it. In the end, I couldn't figure out which picture it was. But since I accompanied her for a bit, that should've cheered her up a bit. Just as I was about to urge her to head on in to the classroom, a kind voice called out from behind.
"Kei-chan." When I turned around, a person I could remember very well was there. It was my classmate, Kawasaki Saki. The little girl's face perked up brightly when Kei-chan was called and she rushed up to her.
"Saa-chan!" After jumping into her arms, Kawasaki affectionately caressed Kei-chan's hair. After that, she shot me a suspicious stare.
"…Why are you here?"
"Er, well, work…" In fact, I was the one who wanted to ask her why she was here, but she managed to say it first. She made a discrete look behind me.
"Uh huh… What about Yukinoshita and Yuigahama?"
I knew she was going to ask that. If it was work that I mentioned, that would imply activities of the Service Club or student council. For Kawasaki who had been involved with us before, that was a natural question to ask. However, there wasn't a need to explain the details to her. It's not like she asked about it and telling her the specifics would just be a bother to Kawasaki too. That's why my answer was simple.
"…Yukinoshita is here. I'm waiting for her you see."
"…I see." Kawasaki stared at me and after a short reply, she looked away in disinterest.
"How about you?" This time I asked her and Kawasaki lightly and caressingly grabbed ahold of the shoulders of the girl who she called Kei-chan. She then mumbled embarrassingly.
"I'm… here to pick up my little sister."
"Hoh." Aah, so this Kei-chan was her little sister, huh? I'm glad… I thought for a second there she was her daughter…
Still, after she said it and I thought about it, I see. Their features looked rather similar. She definitely had a bright future ahead of her, I'd say. If there was one thing I'd wish for, it'd be for her to be brought up gracefully. That's because her onee-chan's really scary.
As I prayed for that in my head, I looked between the Kawasaki sisters. I wasn't sure how she interpreted the intentions of my stare, but Kawasaki spoke up in a fluster. "Ah, um, she's my little sister Keika… C'mon, Kei-chan, say your name."
"Kawasaki Keika!" When she was urged, Keika energetically shot up her arms.
"I'm Hachiman." As I thought about how pleasant Keika's vigor was, I named myself as well. When I did, Keika blinked her big eyes in surprise.
"…Hachi, man…? Weird name!"
"H-Hey! Kei-chan!" Kawasaki warned Keika in a panic. Even so, her softhearted tone didn't change. Unlike her usual self, she gave off a very gentle impression. She was surprisingly quite the older sister. She seemed different from her brocon self too.
"No, I think my name's pretty weird too, so it's fine. Still, picking up your sister, huh? Must be rough." When I said so, Kawasaki was blunt.
"Not really… Usually my parents do it. It's just I come on the days when I don't have prep school."
"But I remember your place was pretty far, wasn't it?" Our middle school districts may have been different, but the distance between our houses shouldn't have been all that great. Going from there would take about one or two train stops at the most. I wasn't too sure about the relevant distance was for them to entrust their child here, but it definitely wasn't in the neighborhood. That point alone seemed tough. Still, Kawasaki spoke in a small voice as she stroked her long hair.
"That's right, but when we drop her off, it's usually by car… Right now, the nursery's limited in space, but this city one is cheaper apparently."
"Haa, I see." She seemed kind of domesticated. As I looked at her admiringly, the bag of things she brought in her hand came into sight. It looked like she came here right after doing the shopping for dinner as there was a leek sticking out of the bag. This made her look even more domesticated.
"I had part time jobs the entire time before so I couldn't really come…"
"Aah, that did happen, huh?"
"Yeah…" Kawasaki answered with a voice that was warm and what filled her gaze was Keika. She suddenly directed that gaze at me. She glanced at me reservedly and looked like she was having trouble trying to say something with her mouth squirming about. It looked like she wouldn't say anything even if I waited for her, but with her staring at me like that, it made think there might be something after all. It's a bit embarrassing so I'd like it if could stop…
"…What is it?"
"N-Nothing." When I asked, Kawasaki shook her head. While she did, her ponytail would swing side to side and Keika would follow it with her eyes like a cat.
"Hikigaya-kun what are you doing?" Yukinoshita came up to us.
"Small talk?" I answered her question with another question. I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing.
"Well come on. We're finished here. The faculty agreed to assist us in the bake sale."
"Great. Fantastic."
I said that then Kawasaki flicked her hair away and turned around. She put her hands on the sliding door. After she greeted the teacher, she looked like she was planning to head home.
"…See you." She turned her upper half, said that and she pulled Keika's hand. Keika squeezed her hand back and made a big wave with her free hand.
"Bye, bye, Haa-chan!"
"Oooh, see you." I lightly raised my hand and waved back. Still, what's this Haa-chan about? Maybe she didn't remember my name? You have to make sure to properly remember people's names, okay? Even if you remember it wrong, don't be random about it and use something like Hachisomething, okay?
"I didn't know you were good with children," Yukinoshita leaned in on me. There was no escape. I had to look at her. I flushed a little.
"I'm not. Don't read into it."
"Hm. I wonder if that's true. I think I will read into it."
"I can't stop you. Just know whatever you're figuring is wrong."
pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq
-WG
