Sweet Part Three
Naoko couldn't see any help for it. It felt a bit wrong to bring up a conversation like this to a woman she'd never met, but with circumstances being what they are, she couldn't help feeling like she didn't have a choice.
With Haru safely out of the way at school, more or less, Naoko tapped on the contact Haru had installed on her phone last night. It rang twice before someone answered.
"Yes?" the woman on the other side asked tightly, as if she was expecting something about the warranty of her car to be the topic.
"Hello, Bushida-san? This is Yoshioka Naoko, Haru's mother," the red head introduced herself politely.
"Oh! What a pleasure!" Bushida-san's tone immediately warmed up. "I would like to say here and now that you are very blessed in her. She has been such a blessing to me these past few weeks."
That made Naoko grin. She never got tired of how people's tune changed the minute they found out who her daughter was. "Haru likes you a lot, too. I was initially a bit nervous about how much time she's been spending at your place after school, but I've been informed why you need her." At that, she couldn't help but lose her good mood. "I'm sorry about your son. Haru's passed on some of the stories you've told about him."
"Thank you. I can't and won't replace Hikaru for anything, but your daughter is as good as medicine at this point. I always feel better when she's around."
Naoko couldn't help grinning again at the praise for her child. "I know this is a bit self-serving, but you've probably guessed I have an ulterior motive to calling you."
"I'm all ears."
"You see, I found out yesterday that I'll be in Australia for a week-long convention in two months. Haru can't afford to take that kind of time off from school-"
"I'll take her," Bushida-san volunteered before she could be asked. "I have a guest room that she would like, and I'd be delighted for a whole week with her!"
Naoko couldn't help relaxing that she didn't need to finish her sentence. "It's not that I don't trust Haru to be alone for that long, I've had to do it before and asked her best friend's parents to check in on her. But considering the business with her math teacher, I'd rather not take chances."
"What's that about her math teacher?" the woman asked sharply.
Naoko blinked. "Haru didn't tell you? Wait, of course she wouldn't have told you," she muttered almost under her breath furiously. "She wouldn't want to give you more to worry about than what's already on your plate."
"What's wrong with her math teacher?" Bushida-san repeated in a low growl, much the way Naoko had done when Hiromi had spilled the beans against Haru's wishes.
"… He's apparently got feelings for her," Naoko spat angrily. "Hiromi insists that all the students in their class have noticed since he's been taking extra pains to spend as much time in the same place as Haru as possible. He's from England and appreciates Haru speaks his language so well thanks to my sweet Harry. But he apparently makes her talk even more than being his interpreter in class and is always calling on her over anyone else to answer questions or get advice on living in Japan when he could ask anyone or look it up himself. When in detention, his eyes never leave her for a second, and even some of the other teachers have noticed. I've already brought my concerns to the principal, but he insists we were beyond lucky to get a professor of his caliber at our school, and he is a gifted instructor. What's worse is that there's a lot of rumors about why he came here in such a hurry after Nori-sensei had to retire early thanks to his accident. None of the rumors exactly paint him in a good light. The other students have been taking extra care to make sure Haru is never alone on school grounds, and Hiromi's been militant about walking her to your place, if you recall?"
"So that's why the girl's been inviting herself in with Haru. So she can walk Haru to your place as well?"
"That's right. There's also been an extra teacher in the detention room to 'assist' despite his protests, and Haru's been weaponizing both regulations and a fake obliviousness to keep him at bay. You can see why the idea of Haru being all alone at home for a week makes me want to pack her in my suitcase instead."
"I see," Bushida-san agreed darkly before taking in a calming breath. "Tell me, Yoshioka-san. Do you have plans for this Sunday?"
Naoko blinked. "Sleeping, mostly. Do you want to meet?"
"I'd like to invite both you and Haru over for an early dinner. I can show you where I would have Haru staying, I can show you my surveillance cameras, and I can show you my weapon cabinet."
"Weapon- right! You're a retired martial arts instructor!" Naoko suddenly remembered with delight. 'Didn't Haru say the only reason she stopped was because of a health scare?'
"I think I may need to take the week to teach Haru some simple tricks, and maybe progress from there depending on her aptitude. Don't get me wrong; she's perfect the way she is, but would it be so bad if that math teacher found out the hard way she could flip him like a pancake if he tries anything stupid?"
Naoko's grin was almost bigger than the Grinch's. "You know, Bushida-san? I think Haru's done both of us an injustice by not introducing us sooner."
"A minor scolding with an easy solution. Oh, would you be terribly upset if I invited two of my son's friends over as well? They've made it their personal business to keep an eye on me since I practically raised them as well, and they're growing very fond of Haru for being so kind to me merely because she likes me and wants to help me through this difficult time."
Naoko closed her eyes trying to remember the names. "Toto and Muta, correct? I don't mind at all. If nothing else, I'll see for myself if Haru was exaggerating when talking about how they fight-"
"She wasn't. I promise you, she wasn't," the woman groaned almost comically. "But I would like you to see for yourself how protective they'll be about her once I tell them about this math teacher. I wouldn't be shocked if one or both of them decide to live here during the week as well, just to be sure. I pity the poor fool that would try to mess with her with bodyguards like them and myself."
Naoko was nearly swooning in her seat. "I'm sure I'll like the boys just fine, then. What time sounds good to have us?"
"Does four sound all right? Oh, and could you ask Haru to bring dessert? I don't care what she makes, but everything she's made for me and the boys has been magic. I don't know how she stays that skinny when she's such a sugar queen!"
"Oh that's easy," Naoko laughed warmly. "On top of her running to school every morning, I put a limit on her only making dessert on Sundays, and not to make so much that we still have leftovers the following Sunday. It's great because she's got a whole list of recipes and ideas she wants to try out, so I rarely have the same dessert twice unless I ask for it, and because she can't make a lot, she can pour the extra energy into making the dessert a work of art as well as taste. You've heard what she wants to do with her talents, right?"
"Own a bakery? She'll make a killing," Bushida-san gushed happily. "Muta's threatening to support her business without help."
"She told me about that," Naoko laughed while leaning back. "As long as she's happy. I'm impressed she's already eyeing business classes at the college so that she can handle the paper side as well as the sugar side."
Which was unfortunately the reason she was doing well enough in math to make it easy for the professor to give her so much attention.
"Yes. I'm just sad that she never got to team up with my son," the woman noted sadly. "If he'd gotten to open his tea shop and had her cakes at his disposal, they'd have been set for life. I still have his tea recipes, but it's not the same as him making it."
Naoko sighed just as sadly. "Haru's made comments like that, too. She says she likes the plans Hikaru had for his cafe. It probably wouldn't have taken much to talk her into a team up, if things were a little different."
"If only," Bushida-san whispered longingly.
Naoko wanted to think of something to say, but what could be said? So she sat there, thinking about what she might do, if she were ever in Bushida-san's shoes.
She shuddered, praying hard that she would never have to find out what life was like without her sweet daughter.
"… So we're agreed? Four o-clock on Sunday?" the woman asked, as if suddenly remembering that she was on the phone.
"Four o'clock," Naoko agreed gently. "See you then."