Chapter 87
Mieko's father... in stark contrast to the refreshing, gentle smile he had shown Ryosaku earlier, his expression was as stern as a tile from a demon's roof.
(...Mieko-chan's father has a terrifying face, like a completely different person. I've heard that people who are usually quiet can suddenly turn into very scary people when they get angry...)
"Tokiko, let go of your hand. Get away from Ryosaku-kun right now!"
"You! Do you even know what you're saying?! This man... is the one who pushed Mieko into the depths of despair... he's the culprit!"
With that, Mieko's mother grabbed Ryosaku roughly by the collar and even his hair, and began to pull him down.
Ryosaku silently endured the pain, pondering over the greatest "atonement" he could make for the sinful acts he had committed against Mieko.
(...Tokiko-san is right. I'm a cold-hearted, terrible man who, while Mieko-chan was suffering, was the only one who felt good, who fawned on Lisa-chan and Rika-chan, and who secretly got along with them...I don't care if Tokiko-san hits me with all her might. Even if she spat on me, I wouldn't complain...I couldn't say a word.)
"Tokiko...That's enough. Stop it!"
Smack!!
What changed the tense situation was a slap to the side of the face delivered by Mieko's father to his wife, Tokiko.
"Uh, uh... uhhh..."
Mieko's mother collapses to the ground and continues to cry.
Time passes in an oppressive silence.
"Tokiko, I'm sorry. I was so mean as to hit you..."
Tokiko continued crying, looking down in silence.
"But, Tokiko. It's not Ryosaku-kun's fault that Mieko stopped going to school...that such an unfortunate turn of events occurred. The first school Mieko transferred to...everyone there, including the students and teachers, was a bunch of rotten, ridiculous scum. They were just kids, but they were so poisonous...Sooner or later, Mieko was destined to suffer such hardships...You should know that too well, don't you? It was a mistake that we sent Mieko to that school without doing any proper research. In fact, at the next elementary school she transferred to, everyone welcomed her warmly and kindly from the very beginning...It was that first school that was abnormal. Mieko just endured it alone in silence, so as not to worry us...without saying a word bad about Ryosaku-kun..."
Ryosaku still felt the pain of his scalp where it had been pulled, and next to him, Mieko was looking down with a gloomy expression, and he felt even more sorry for her.
"Come on, Tokiko. Let's go inside. You've been worried about a lot of things lately, and I'm sure you're tired. I'm sorry I hit you earlier. I've never hit you once, even since we got married."
Mieko's father said this, and gently picked up his wife...and went inside the house, holding her back.
"Come on, Mieko. Come inside for now. Ryosaku-kun, I'm sorry for putting you through such a difficult situation...Could you wait here for a bit?"
"Yes... Yes. I'm sorry, Minegishi-san... I've caused discomfort to your entire family..."
"Ryosaku-kun, don't worry about it. I told Tokiko earlier that it's not like that. It's not your fault. And Ryosaku-kun... don't call me "Minegishi-san", call me "Dad". Can you call me "Dad"...?"
"Dad..."
"Yeah. That's fine. You see, ever since Mieko was little and I heard her talk about you... I didn't feel like you were a third party. I felt like we had "something in common". I'll bring a note now, so I want you to write down Ryosaku-kun's contact information on it. I'll give you mine too... I'm really sorry that today's reunion with Mieko has been ruined in this way. I'm worried about Tokiko too... so for now, please go home. I'll contact you when the situation has settled down. I'll definitely let you meet Mieko again. I promise... I'm sorry."
Then, both parties exchanged contact information, and Mieko's father once again stated that he would contact Ryosaku once things had settled down, and quietly closed the sliding door.
Ryosaku thought.
("Something in common" with Mieko-chan's father... Could it be what Mieko-chan had mentioned earlier about the "scent" between her and my father...?)
After receiving the precious contact message from Mieko's father, Ryosaku slowly left Mieko's house, pushing his bicycle... Eventually, he passed by the store of Chii Omori, the candy store that had previously given him precious information about Mieko.
At that moment, the sliding door to Mieko's house slid open with a loud noise, and Ryosaku felt someone running towards him with all his might against his back.
