Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 9 - Chapter 1.6

6

That evening, his dad called again. After talking to their mother’s doctor, they’d recommended waiting until Kaede had graduated from junior high.

Naturally, this suggestion was made with an eye on Kaede’s well-being.

Her graduation was set for next week, March 9.

Sakuta had no objections and agreed readily enough.

“Are you coming to her graduation?”

March 9 was a Monday. A regular old weekday.

Kaede was hovering near the phone, very curious.

“I’ll be there.”

“Okay. Good.”

He gave Kaede the nod, and she managed an awkward smile. Her reaction said she was glad he was coming but also embarrassed by it. It looked like relief was winning out. She picked Nasuno up and gave her a hug.

If their father hadn’t gone, Sakuta had planned on attending, but no such luck. A perfect excuse to ditch school went right out the window.

“I’ll talk to your mother and settle on a date to visit.”

That likely involved keeping a close eye on her condition.

“Got it,” he said.

Sakuta hung up, leaving his own opinions unsaid.

For the next few days, they tried to act like everything was normal—but the meeting with their mother was on their minds.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, they both got up and went to school. Sakuta was doing his best to apply himself in classes and hitting his flash cards on breaks and the commute. He also worked a few shifts and went to school again the next day. A busy schedule.

Yet at the slightest opportunity, Sakuta’s head would fill with thoughts of his mother. Anytime he passed a mom of her generation, anytime he saw a mom her height at the grocery store…

Especially if he saw a mom out with a daughter who was Kaede’s age. Seeing these families laughing together made him hope Kaede and their mother could act like that again someday.

He’d felt like that for a long time.

But reality was far from that ideal, and so much had happened with the other Kaede, so he’d forced it out of his mind. At one point, he’d completely given up on it. But giving up didn’t mean those feelings had gone away.

And the world was filled with triggers to remind him. There were so many ordinary families.

He spent his whole Saturday at work. In the evening, Mai called from a shoot somewhere in Yamanashi.

“How’d the college thing go, Mai?”

The exam results were posted today, March 7.

“I’m in.”

She’d sounded excited from the get-go, so he’d figured as much. There was never really any doubt she’d pass. Mai Sakurajima didn’t fail.

“Congrats, Mai.”

“Thanks.”

“……”

“……”

“Oh? No ‘You’ve gotta do your part, Sakuta’?”

“I know you are.”

“So if I don’t get in next year, you won’t be mad?”

“I’d wait one more year if I had to.”

“I don’t want to be stuck studying that long. Best I pass the first time.”

She’d manipulated him into promising. If this was “The North Wind and the Sun,” she’d have gone with the sun strategy.

Pleased with her victory, Mai said good night and hung up.

The next day was Sunday, March 8, yet Sakuta took Kaede out of the house bright and early.

They rode a train from Fujisawa Station for a solid hour and wound up in the heart of Shinjuku. They were here for a remote-learning school’s presentation.

It lasted a good hour and a half, but Kaede listened with rapt attention, taking furious notes. She was doing her best to pick the right school for herself.

When that was over, their dad caught up with them, and they had some individual consultations. This school didn’t claim to offer cutting-edge online classes for no reason; as long as they applied by the end of March, she’d be counted as a freshman that April. Three more weeks to decide. The teacher who met with Kaede said, “You’ve got time to think. No need to rush.” Unlike conventional schools, this one had no real cap on admissions and no need to demand paperwork early.

Their father and Sakuta both thought Kaede would want to go home and sleep on it, but she proved them wrong.

As the meeting ended and they rose to leave, Kaede said, “I want to go here.” She made her feelings known right away.

It didn’t seem like she was rushing into it or at all uncertain. She looked pleased with herself, like she’d said what she’d been thinking the whole time.

The teacher got a laptop ready, and they filled out the online application.

The school itself would take a few days to reach a decision, but this effectively settled Kaede’s high school plans.

Glad to have that out of the way, the next day she set off for graduation in high spirits.

As promised, their father was there, and Mai sneaked in, too. Sakuta didn’t find out until he got home.

Mai had walked home from graduation with Kaede and was still with her. She’d come back from Yamanashi first thing that morning. She had her hair tied up and draped over one shoulder. She was wearing fake glasses and a drab formal jacket. He’d almost never seen her in a pencil skirt, so he seared that into his eyeballs, and she silently stomped his foot.

Nodoka joined them that evening, once her idol lessons were done, and they had their second low-key graduation party.

Kaede had successfully attended graduation, and her next school was lined up, so she was looking a lot more confident. She was talking with Mai and Nodoka, at least 20 percent more chatty than usual.

With Kaede free of junior high, they were now in “wait for Dad to call” mode. But they couldn’t exactly stand by the phone 24-7, so Sakuta was busy going to school and sitting the final exams of his second year.

Even when he was home, he was mostly studying; the next day, he’d be back at school for another test. Rinse and repeat all week long without much else happening.

The only other incident of note arrived when he checked the mailbox after exams and found a letter from Shouko in Okinawa.

It included a photo of her looking healthy, a beautiful Okinawan ocean behind her. She was wearing a short-sleeved white sundress and a straw hat. The letter said it had been nearly 80 degrees out.

A big difference from Kanto, which was barely starting to show signs of spring.

 I’ll write again.

The letter ended with that and made no mention of Adolescence Syndrome. Sakuta figured that meant Shouko knew nothing about the new scar on his side or the little girl who looked just like Mai.

“Well, if she doesn’t know, she’s better off not knowing.”

He’d have to write back. For the moment, he put the letter away in a drawer.

And then the weekend arrived.

Saturday, March 14.

Nodoka had invited them to a concert venue in Yokohama. Sweet Bullet was performing. Mai was back in Yamanashi, shooting that TV show.

This was doubling as Nodoka’s birthday concert, so it was a shame Mai couldn’t be there, but her fans were cheering extra hard, and she worked up a real sweat, clearly having a great time.

After the concert, since it was also White Day, there was a meet and greet where the group members passed out cookies.

You could get a single cookie from whichever member was your favorite.

Sakuta got in line for Sweet Bullet’s leader, Uzuki Hirokawa. He got a cookie and a handshake. Apparently, she always went all out no matter what she was doing, which explained why his hand was still throbbing.

Naturally, Nodoka was all, “Why’d you get in Zukki’s line?!”

“Wanted to thank her for her help with Kaede’s high school.”

A pretty legitimate reason.

“…That’s it?”

“I also like idols who don’t wear panties.”

Equally legitimate.

“She wears them!”

Kaede had come with him, and she got in Nodoka’s line.

As they were getting ready to leave, Uzuki made time for them to thank her again, which involved another full-power handshake. It was past nine by the time they left.

Kaede was almost never out after dark, so walking the streets at night must have been a thrill for her.

“You were amazing, Nodoka!”

“Well, yeah.”

“Uzuki was really cool, too.”

“Yep.”

“I wanna go to more concerts.”

Clearly, she was a big fan.

It was after ten before they made it home.

“We’re baaack,” he said, and Nasuno poked her face out from the living room, meowing at them.

He gave her a late dinner, and Kaede called, “Sakuta, there’s a message on the machine.”

He looked up. The red light was flashing.

Maybe Mai had called while on location.

“……”

But he saw an anxious look in Kaede’s eyes.

He didn’t have to ask why. The same thought had crossed his mind. There was only one other person likely to call.

He was feeling nervous already. He could sense a wave of tension rising up inside him. Before it got too much, he moved to the phone and pressed the button.

 One message. 8:21 PM.

Neither of them took their eyes off the phone. Neither of them could.

“About visiting you mother—”

Their father’s voice.

“She’s in good shape right now. I know it’s sudden, but would tomorrow afternoon work?”

He got right to the point, no wasted words.

“I’ll call back later.”

The message ended, and the room got real quiet.

“Well, Kaede?”

“……”

Rather than answer, she just nodded. No hesitation.

“Okay. Guess we’ll see her tomorrow.”

He picked up the phone and called their dad back.

“Dad? It’s me—”