267: Hiratsuka’s Visit

Today is the third day.

It is also the third day that Iroha has taken leave.

A familiar situation arose again, one that Hiratsuka, a teacher with a strong sense of responsibility, could not ignore.

This afternoon, her classes ended early, and she drove directly from the school to visit Isshiki's house again.

Mrs. Isshiki entertained her with concern, just as she had last time.

Without any polite talks, Hiratsuka got straight to the point.

"Mrs. Isshiki, may I ask how Iroha is doing now?"

Before deciding to visit, Hiratsuka had called Mrs. Isshiki in advance. 

She already had a general understanding of Iroha's situation over the past few days, so there was no need to repeat it now.

Mrs. Isshiki sighed.

"It's still the same. She suddenly doesn't want to go to school and spends most of her time huddled in her room." 

"Whether her father and I have something on our minds or if something has happened to her, she won't tell us. She insists on smiling so we don't worry, but how can we not worry about her like this?"

Half-responding and half-asserting, Mrs. Isshiki revealed the truth about her daughter.

In fact, compared to the previous time, Iroha's state this time was much better.

At least aside from not wanting to go to school and locking herself in her room, she seemed relatively normal in other aspects. 

Although she didn't talk much, she could still communicate simply with her parents.

Unlike last time, when it seemed she had encountered an indescribable event that caused extreme psychological trauma. 

Back then, she would often huddle in the corner of her bed, showing a horrified expression and bursting into tears from time to time.

Hiratsuka pondered for a moment and looked upstairs.

"On the bright side, Iroha can still comfort you. Don't worry. This actually shows that the situation may not be as bad as we thought. After all, it means she still has the energy to care about the people or things around her."

Mrs. Isshiki also raised her head and looked upstairs.

"Maybe."

Hiratsuka looked away, but after questioning Iroha's mother, the information she received was still a bit lacking—too one-sided and not specific enough.

She wanted to help her beloved student, so the best way was to contact her directly and face-to-face.

She still have to approach her like last time, going upstairs to her room and communicating directly.

But before that, there were a few small questions that needed to be asked.

"Has Iroha been eating well these days?"

Mrs. Isshiki nodded.

"Well, she eats three meals a day normally, but she doesn't eat much each time."

"It's understandable that you have worries. So, has Iroha made any special requests recently?"

"There doesn't seem to be any specific requests, but she did ask me for money once on the morning of the second day of her leave."

"She asked for money?"

Hiratsuka focused for a moment, and a woman's intuition told her that this seemingly ordinary behavior might be related to Iroha's abnormal behavior.

"Yes."

As if affected by Hiratsuka's sharp gaze, Mrs. Isshiki's previously upright sitting posture became more standard.

She straightened her back, recalled the details of that day, and continued, 

"Actually, this is considered normal. In our family, if Iroha doesn't have enough pocket money, she can ask us for it at any time. Her reason for asking for money that day was legitimate; she wanted to buy books."

"Buying books?"

Hiratsuka raised her eyebrows, surprised by this answer.

"Well, I don't know the specific details, but I was a little worried about Iroha going out alone at that time, so I suggested going with her." 

"I would pay for the books she wanted to buy. She didn't respond to that suggestion; she just nodded and agreed."

"What happened after that?"

"We went to a nearby bookstore together. After Iroha bought several books, we went home directly. After that, she locked herself in her room, which I mentioned to you on the phone before."

"What books did she buy?"

Hiratsuka realized this was the crux of the problem.

"Do you remember?"

"I paid special attention to this at the time and remember it very clearly."

Mrs. Isshiki raised her right hand with the wedding ring on it, holding up a finger after mentioning the name of a book.

"The Complete Book of Six Laws, the Japanese Criminal Code, the General Principles of Civil Law, the Law of Delictual Acts, and the Criminal Facts Record."

After naming the books, Mrs. Isshiki extended all five fingers.

Even someone with a congenital lack of understanding could easily see what the five books she mentioned had in common.

Mrs. Isshiki continued, "I never noticed that she was interested in these complicated books before." 

"In the past, the books she read most were magazines about fashion, but to some extent, this can be considered a good thing."

"Ah... yeah."

After Hiratsuka reluctantly responded, she picked up the coffee on the coffee table and took a sip.

Mrs. Isshiki's expression remained largely unchanged after she mentioned the names of those books.

Hiratsuka understood; after all, she was the child they raised. It's human nature not to think in a negative direction.

She felt it would be better not to share some of her thoughts with Mrs. Isshiki now, to avoid making her already worried even more uneasy.

I hope Iroha is genuinely just interested in the law and not in the troubling situation I'm imagining.

Then there was the last question that slightly concerned Hiratsuka.

Although the possibility was very slim, Japanese society is chaotic right now. What if the ultimate reason for Iroha's behavior was that she was being targeted by some perverts?

So she needed to confirm.

"During this period, Mrs. Isshiki, have you seen any strange people around your house?"

"A strange person?"

"It's... for example, someone who wanders around your house from time to time and behaves suspiciously."

"Hmm…"

Mrs. Isshiki thought for a moment.

"No, the security in our area is quite good. There are police officers patrolling the streets even late at night, so there shouldn't be any suspicious people like you mentioned. But…"

"But?"

"It probably started last Sunday. I did find some things around my house that I hadn't noticed before. It's just that those things have nothing to do with people. They're crows."

"Some crows?"

Hiratsuka once again received an answer she didn't expect.

"Well, in the past few days, I've noticed that there seem to be more crows around here." 

"Perhaps it's because some people in the surrounding area have started to disobey the rules and litter their household garbage outside of the designated collection days, which has caused the crows to come looking for food. That's it," Mrs. Isshiki speculated.

"Oh, by the way, when my husband came back yesterday, he found a crow building a nest under the eaves on the top floor of our house."

This was an unrelated matter, but Hiratsuka simply offered her congratulations. After all, crows building nests at home can signify good luck.

She stood up and spoke to Mrs. Isshiki, "If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Iroha."

"Of course I don't mind. I'm really sorry for bothering you. It's almost dinner time, so please be sure to stay and eat with us later."

"Please don't be so polite. It's my turn to be on duty today, and I have to return to school for my responsibilities later."

After politely declining Mrs. Isshiki's kindness, Hiratsuka walked up to the second floor with familiarity, approached the door to Isshiki's room, and knocked.

"Mother?"

"It's me, your respected Hiratsuka-sensei."

Iroha's voice was not as listless as expected, prompting Hiratsuka to make a little joke.

"...Please wait a moment."

Are you doing something that I can't know about? With this thought in mind, Hiratsuka quietly waited at the door.

Not long after, Iroha opened the door, turned sideways, and invited her into the room.

"Teacher Hiratsuka..."

Unlike the last time she visited, the curtains were properly opened this time, allowing light to flood in. 

The room displayed the bright and fluttering decorations typical of a girl's room, such as the dolls arranged in front of the bedside table and the decorative bow on the dressing table.

What particularly concerned Hiratsuka was that on the desk, the thick "Complete Book of Six Laws" and the "Japanese Criminal Code" were placed on the table, with labels of different colors peeking out from between the pages.

This suggested a conclusion: Iroha did not buy these legal books for casual reading; she was indeed absorbing the knowledge within them and recording her insights.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Hiratsuka-sensei," Iroha said, taking a step forward seemingly casually, blocking Hiratsuka's view of the desk. 

At the same time, she naturally moved the armchair in front of her.

Hiratsuka chose not to sit in the chair but stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed, then reached out and patted the space next to her.

Iroha understood the gesture and walked over to sit down obediently.

"I've been worried about you, same thing with your classmate at school," Hiratsuka began casually. 

She subconsciously reached for a cigarette in her pocket but soon realized she was at a student's house and suppressed the urge.

"Teacher Hiratsuka, don't mind. My dad usually smokes at home. I'll go downstairs to get an ashtray for you."

"No, I didn't come here today just to create secondhand smoke in your room."

At close range, Hiratsuka softened her tone again. "There must be a reason why you suddenly stopped going to school and asked your mother for leave."

"..."

The corners of Iroha's mouth, which she had been forcing herself to raise slightly from the beginning, slowly flattened.

As she gradually lowered her head, her gaze, which had originally met Hiratsuka's, also shifted.

"Still don't want to tell the teacher?"

"..."

Iroha continued to remain silent.

Hiratsuka didn't show any disappointment at her reaction. She smiled gently and, as an elder and teacher, reached out to touch Iroha's head.

The flaxen hair, much like the girl herself, was both slender and soft, making people involuntarily want to care for her.

"Teacher understand that regardless of age, everyone has some secrets they don't want to share or worries that weigh on them." 

"This is normal. I've also experienced this, so I won't pry or force you."

"Thank you, teacher..."

Iroha replied dryly, a smile returning to her face.

Hiratsuka gazed into her eyes, her smile still gentle as she continued speaking as if everything were normal, 

"There's no need to thank me for such a small thing. Your life is in your hands. You can choose whether to open your heart to anyone." 

"Similarly, you can do anything you want without needing everyone's consent; it's best to discuss your decisions with your parents and friends before making any choices."

"..."

Iroha remained silent for a long time, and Hiratsuka was no longer as eager to fill the silence as she had been before.

She turned her gaze toward the clear glass window.

The crows outside were cawing loudly on the telephone pole.

Finding nothing worth paying attention to, she focused most of her attention on Iroha, observing her from the corner of her eye.

From the moment Iroha opened the door and entered the room, Hiratsuka had noticed something different about her—this was usually a lively and cheerful student, now changed.

"Teacher..."

After a long silence, Iroha finally spoke.

"Actually, even if you hadn't come to see me today, I planned to go to school as usual tomorrow. The reason I asked for leave was that I've been feeling a little stressed with the upcoming monthly exams." 

"But after reflecting at home over these past two days, I realized that avoiding my problems won't solve anything. The direction of my life ultimately depends on my hard work and self-discipline."

She spoke these words with a bright smile on her face, making cute gestures by clenching her fists.

The Iroha of the past seemed to be returning.

Hiratsuka smiled happily and patted her head with greater force.

"Since you can think this way, it seems your parents and I don't have to worry anymore. You can officially return to school tomorrow, right?"

"Yes!"

Iroha's response was enthusiastic as she nodded vigorously in confirmation of her teacher's words.

An hour later, Hiratsuka left Isshiki's house with a smile on her face.

As she drove away, the smile slowly faded, and she became calm. 

After lighting a cigarette and taking a deep breath, she felt a wave of restlessness and sadness wash over her again.

"This is not good..."

Hiratsuka murmured to herself.

Eyes are the windows to the soul.

Although Iroha concealed her feelings well and put on an energetic smile to mislead judgment, Hiratsuka saw through it.

Beneath the façade of cheerfulness and normality lay a reality filled with numbness and negativity.

_______

50+ advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta

_______

If any of you noticed an error, please point it out in comments!