socalfunplaces Page 12
Page 12
As expected of his mother, Kotori Itsuka, her speed in taking action is astonishing.
"And regarding the school, I'd like to ask you and Aunt Yaeko to go with them to their homeroom teacher and the head of the grade. If the teachers get involved, at least the overt bullying can be suppressed."
“Of course.” Kotori dialed the number, briefly explained the situation to the other party, nodded and agreed, and finalized the meeting for the weekend in just a few words.
“That’s not all.” She hung up the phone and looked at Yuto. “I want them to call their parents. In front of all the teachers and parents, I want to hear how these children’s parents raised such vicious daughters. I want them to know that there are consequences for not being able to control their mouths.”
Yuto Itsuka gave a thumbs up, "Protecting the best mother in the world!"
Upon hearing this, Kotori poked his forehead with her finger and said with a laugh, "Now you know I'm alright? Let me tell you, I'm helping you not only because of my son's request for help, but also because of Shoko."
"If you ever dare to treat Shoko badly or cause her any distress, you'll see how I deal with you. Don't blame me for being ruthless then."
"Okay, okay." Itsuka Yuto chuckled and rubbed his forehead.
"Alright, go and call Aunt Yaeko and Shoko over for dinner." Kotori put her apron back on and turned back to the kitchen. "I made a few extra dishes. After dinner, I'll have a proper talk with Yaeko about this. Don't worry, even if the sky falls, we adults will hold it up."
Yuto Itsuka responded and turned to leave.
……
……
The rumors spread much faster than Yuto Itsuka had imagined.
Just one day later, the incident of "Nishimiya Shoko from Class C crying on the rooftop" had evolved into several versions at the school.
Some say she was scolded by the teacher for failing the exam, others say she was dumped by Itsuka Yuto from Class A, but the most widely circulated version is the one that came from within Class C.
"Have you heard? That 'earless girl' in Class C is a jinx."
"Yeah, Wuhe from Class A keeps running to Class C. I really don't know what he's thinking."
"It's all because of her that Itsuka-kun is being dragged down! If it weren't for her, how could someone as outstanding as Itsuka-kun be constantly being pointed at and gossiped about?"
"I heard she was crying on the rooftop yesterday because Itsuka-kun scolded her, saying she was too troublesome."
These rumors are everywhere; Shoko can't hear them, but she can see them.
She could see the girls abruptly stop talking and look at her with disdain and disgust as she walked by.
Shoko tried to borrow her notes from a girl who sat in front of her and was usually quite friendly to her.
But when the girl saw it was her, she immediately made up an excuse and refused with an unnatural expression.
Shoko didn't insist any further. She had realized how she was perceived by everyone—a trouble, a burden, and a source of misfortune.
If it weren't for me, Yuto-kun wouldn't be disliked by everyone, right?
I'm just a burden, I only cause trouble for Yuto-kun.
Shoko's inner defenses crumbled little by little amidst this alienation, accusations, and self-reproach.
She began to suffer from insomnia night after night, lost her appetite, and became frighteningly pale.
Her younger sister, Yuzuru Nishimiya, thought she was sick and wanted to take care of her, but she refused, saying it was because she was studying late into the night.
She shut herself off and stopped communicating with anyone, including her mother, her sister, and Yuto-kun.
She felt like a despicable person, unworthy of Yuto's care and protection.
She was overwhelmed by intense feelings of inferiority and despair.
A terrible thought quietly took root in her mind—if I disappear, will Yuto be able to get rid of all this trouble?
……
……
Yuto Itsuka noticed that something was wrong with Shoko Nishimiya.
In the past, although she didn't like to talk, her eyes were bright and lively. She would smile when he told jokes and her eyes would sparkle when he encouraged her.
But now, she's like a fish on a chopping board, as if she knows she's about to be slaughtered; her eyes are empty, like a stagnant pool, devoid of life.
He went to find her in Class C, but she always kept her head down, pretending to be reading or writing something.
He asked her in sign language, but she would simply shake her head or write some perfunctory words in her notebook.
【I'm fine】
Don't worry about me.
I want to be alone for a while.
During lunch break, she no longer went to the rooftop to eat with him, but instead chose to hide in a corner of the classroom, or simply said that she had no appetite.
After school, she no longer waited for him at the school gate to go home together as before. Instead, she would sneak away alone when he wasn't paying attention.
After he found out, he asked her why she wouldn't say anything.
Yuto Itsuka sensed that something was wrong.
Could it be that the girls in Class C are bullying Shoko again?
Or is it that Shoko feels sad and inferior because she can't participate in class activities?
It's also possible that the homeroom teacher did something strange again, just like Mr. Takeuchi did in elementary school.
There are too many possibilities.
He tried to find out what was going on from Shoko, but she always avoided the topic and even started to deliberately avoid him.
He then started asking around among his classmates.
Although the girls in his class deliberately distanced themselves from him because of the rumors and stopped talking to him, they were still willing to make a move if Yuto Itsuka took the initiative.
However, he did not find out any valuable information.
……
The next day after school, Yuto Itsuka arrived at the entrance of Class C a few minutes early, hoping to stop Shoko and have a good talk with her.
However, he was too late. Shoko's seat was already empty.
"Where's Nishimiya-kun?" Itsuka Yuto asked, grabbing a girl from Class C who was about to leave.
"She...she left a long time ago." The girl glanced at him fearfully and said softly.
Yuto Itsuka frowned, thanked him, and then left the teaching building.
He walked home along the familiar road.
When he arrived at his doorstep, he thought for a moment, then walked to the neighboring Nishimiya family's house and knocked on the door.
After a series of "thump-thump-thump" footsteps, the door opened, and a little girl with short black hair peeked out. Upon seeing him, she exclaimed, "It's Yuto-nii-san!"
The little girl is Nishimiya Shoko's biological younger sister, Nishimiya Yuzuru, and is an elementary school student.
Yuto Itsuka smiled and was about to speak when the little girl asked again, "Brother Yuto, didn't my sister go home with you?"
Boom, boom, boom!
Book 1: Chapter 16: Beyond the Fear of Death
Didn't Shoko go home?
Yuto Itsuka forced a smile and said to Yuzuru Nishimiya, "Well, Shoko was kept behind by the teacher to do chores, so I came back first."
Yuzuru Nishimiya tilted her head and looked at him. "How strange. Is this the first time that Yuto-nii has gone home without waiting for his sister?"
"Ah, because there's a lot of homework today, it'll be difficult if we don't start early."
I made up a reason on the spot.
"Oh, so why did you come to my house, Yuto-nii? You never used to come over when my sister wasn't home!"
"What nonsense are you talking about! Your brother clearly cares about Yuzuru too." Yuto Itsuka couldn't help but pat Yuzuru's head.
"Dong dong dong."
What sounds good is a good start.
wrong!
Now is not the time to think about this!
I need to find the glass first!
Yuto Itsuka abruptly withdrew his hand and quickly said, "Brother, I'm going back to do my homework now. Goodbye, Yuzuru!"
After saying that, he immediately ran home.
"Yuto-nii is such a weirdo," Yuzuru Nishimiya muttered, closing the door behind him.
Hearing the noise from behind the wall, Itsuka Yuuto peeked out and, after confirming that the Nishimiya family's door was closed, he didn't hesitate for a moment and ran wildly towards the school.
……
The school was deserted.
The park I frequent is deserted.
The milk tea shop on the street was empty.
Bookstores, coffee shops, sewers...
There was nobody there.
He tried to grab a passerby and ask, "Excuse me, have you seen a middle school girl with flaxen hair, about this tall, wearing our school uniform?"
The answer received was invariably a shake of the head.
Where did Shoko go? Why doesn't she come home?
Did something happen to her?
Yuto Itsuka shook his head forcefully, forcing himself to calm down.
He began to carefully recall every place they had ever been together.
Sudden.
A place name flashed through his mind—Shuimen River!
That was when they were in elementary school, and it was the first time he saved her from the caged dog, Vorsi VIII.
There was a small bridge over the river, with rushing water flowing beneath it. Shoko almost fell in because of her curiosity.
It's also a place she once said where, standing on the bridge and looking at the river below, she felt a wonderful sense of peace.
Did the glass go there?
Without thinking twice, he took off running towards the direction of the Shuimen River that he remembered.
That kind of place is too easy for people to associate with bad things.
……
……
The Water Gate Bridge spans the wide river, and the water beneath it surges and churns in the twilight, its depths unfathomable.
When Itsuki Yuto arrived, panting, the setting sun was casting its last rays on the bridge, stretching the lone figure in the center of the bridge into a very long shadow.
Nishimiya Shoko was standing on the outside of the bridge railing, with her back to him and her face towards the dark river.
Her sailor suit skirt fluttered slightly in the wind, and her slender body seemed as if it could be blown away at any moment.
She opened her arms, seemingly embracing something.
On the bridge surface at her feet lay a pair of small hearing aids.
……
Shoko gazed at the rushing river below the bridge.
It's so deep, I can't see the bottom at all.
If I jump, will everything end?
She remembered a rumor she had heard a long, long time ago, from who-knows-where.
Her father abandoned her mother and Yuzuru, who was still in her mother's womb, because he disliked her for being a child with a hearing impairment.