Chapter 14
Naoyuki arrives home and goes straight to his room, closing the door behind him. He fingers the photo in his jacket pocket and pulls it out, then takes out the small piece of paper that had his parents’ new address and phone number scribbled on it. “I’ve written to your parents again,” Shizuyo told him as they rode home from school. “We will go and see them. I promise.” Can I believe her? Naoyuki wonders. He puts the piece of paper down on the table with the photo and pulls pieces of tape off a small roll. I know...I know she doesn’t mean to lie, but... Naoyuki sticks the tape to the back side of the photo and tapes the address to it. What can she do? Naoyuki reasons to himself. If it’s really true that they don’t want to see us... He shakes his head to rid himself of the thought. I can’t believe that. I can’t. It’s not true. He takes the photograph and hides it in the box that holds all of his beads and string. If it comes down to it, I’ll just have to find out for myself what’s going on – whether Uncle wants to help us or not.
A knock on his door startles Naoyuki, and he shoves the box back to the wall before crawling out from underneath his bed. “I hope you’re working on your homework,” Shizuyo calls from outside the room. Only seconds later, Naoyuki hears her footsteps fade down the hallway. He breathes a sigh of relief, then gets up to retrieve his backpack from the far side of the room. If I don’t get this done, she’ll be mad at me, he thinks as he digs out his homework. I sure don’t need anyone else to hate me. Naoyuki spreads out his things on the floor and opens the envelope with the make-up work that Kotaro had given him. He heaves a sorrowful sigh as that thought replays in his head. I definitely...don’t need anyone else to hate me... His thoughts linger on Haruko and Kotaro, who had seemed strangely detached from him at school after lunch. I’d prefer to never have met them...than to have them hate me now. Then it wouldn’t hurt so much.
Naoyuki settles down and gets to work. After he is well into his math homework, the doorbell breaks his concentration. Who’s that? Naoyuki wonders. He flips his pencil around in his fingers as he listens for any more sounds or voices from downstairs. Though he can only faintly hear Shizuyo say something to whoever had rung, the tone in her voice scares him. Heavy footsteps pound below; whoever had rung certainly wasn’t Haruko or Kotaro, or even Kazunori. As the man speaks, Naoyuki recognizes his voice and instantly drops his pencil to scramble over to his bed. He wants the paper, he thinks. He hurriedly yanks his covers down enough to hide the silhouette of the box underneath his bed. If he takes that back, there’s no way I’ll find – ! The heavy footsteps break into his thoughts; they were coming up the stairs now, coming closer and closer. Naoyuki hears Shizuyo yelling frantically down the hall; he scrambles back across the floor and sits back in front of his pile of homework, facing toward the door.
His door flies open and slams into the wall as Mr. Seido steps in. “WHERE IS IT?” he yells. Naoyuki stares as Mr. Seido takes another step toward him. He shrugs and shakes his head in reply, hoping desperately that nothing about the way he appeared gave away the fact that he knew where the address was. “DON’T GIVE ME THAT!” Mr. Seido yells. “If you didn’t have it at MY house and it’s not HERE, then WHERE IS IT?!!”
“He said he doesn’t know!” Shizuyo insists. “It’s probably lost somewhere in the house! Just go and leave us alone!”
As Mr. Seido turns around and snaps a retort, Naoyuki’s eyes flicker over to the bed momentarily, double-checking to make sure he couldn’t see the box. “It would be terribly convenient if the thing just DISAPPEARED somewhere in the house, now WOULDN’T IT?” Mr. Seido roars. He turns back and fixes Naoyuki with an ice-cold stare. “YOU KNOW WHERE IT IS! OUT WITH IT!!!” he commands him.
Naoyuki shakes his head again. Before he can react, Mr. Seido hoists him up by the collar of his jacket and yells, “DON’T YOU LIE TO ME!!” Naoyuki screams and starts kicking and hitting to make him let go.
“PUT HIM DOWN!” Shizuyo screams.
“WHERE IS THE ADDRESS?” Mr. Seido demands as he shakes Naoyuki roughly. Wild with mounting panic, Naoyuki claws at Mr. Seido’s wrists, wriggling and twisting to get free, as he kicks his legs and screams, his eyes wide with terror.
“LET NAOYUKI GO, I SAID!!!” Shizuyo screams.
Naoyuki kicks him in the stomach, and finally, Mr. Seido begins losing his grip and lets him slip to the ground. Naoyuki gets his footing and pulls away from Mr. Seido, who still has him by the arms. When he won’t let go, Naoyuki kicks at his legs and drops to the ground until Mr. Seido finally lets go. Frightened out of his wits, Naoyuki clambers away on his hands and legs until he hits the corner.
Mr. Seido starts after him again when Shizuyo gets between him and Naoyuki and threatens, “I’ll call the police if you lay one more finger on him!”
“HA!” Mr. Seido laughs disdainfully. “That imbecile isn’t even your child! Give me any more trouble, and I’ll have him taken away from you!”
“You can’t do that!” Shizuyo cries.
“As a matter of fact, I can,” Mr. Seido replies. “As a blood relative, I have the authority to place him in the custody of whomever I wish. I could even put him back in a boys’ home if I so wish it. So don’t push me, woman.” As Shizuyo reels in disbelief, he continues, “I’ll give you ‘til tomorrow afternoon. If I don’t have the information back by then, you can say goodbye to your failure of a stepson.” He readjusts his shirt collar and fixes his hair up, then strides out.
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Clacking dishes and forks are all that fill the awkward silence as Shizuyo and Naoyuki eat at the dinner table. Naoyuki hides his face underneath his long dark bangs as he moves his food around his plate, in a daze. “So that’s it, huh?” Shizuyo finally murmurs. “Just like that...it’s over...” She watches Naoyuki take a couple stabs at his potatoes before he drops his fork on the table. “I’m sorry,” she says. “I’m sorry I’ve failed you like this,..Naoyuki.”
Naoyuki shakes his head vigorously, and finally looks up at her, pleadingly.
“Maybe if I could protect you better, or if I kept even half of the promises I make,” Shizuyo rambles on, “maybe then you’d trust me, like you used to – maybe then you’d still talk to me. If only I could’ve kept Aya from leaving in the first place – !” She suddenly falls silent, then picks up her silverware and starts eating slowly.
Naoyuki takes the cue and starts picking at his food, as well. His stare comes to rest on his teacher. Don’t say that, he thinks. It isn’t your fault. I never blamed you for that... He suddenly feels ashamed of himself and forces himself to take his eyes off of Shizuyo. But I did...I called her a liar. I blamed her and Kazu because Uncle said I couldn’t see Mama and Papa anymore.
Finally, Naoyuki finishes his dinner and carries his plate and silverware up to the sink. He returns to the table to pick up Shizuyo’s empty plate and puts that in the sink, too, before turning to walk back up to his bedroom. He pauses just outside the dining room threshold and glances back at Shizuyo, who has gotten up and begun to follow after him. She suddenly kneels down and embraces him, giving way to tears. “I don’t want them to take you away from me,” she sobs.
Naoyuki hesitantly reaches out to hug her back when something catches on his hand. He sees the necklace he’d made for Shizuyo wrapped around his hand. As the memory flashes through his mind, the words, “...For being the best teacher ever,” slip through his lips in a half-whisper.
Shizuyo pulls back in surprise; she slowly caresses his cheek and says, “You do remember...” A small smile inches across her face. She leans forward and hugs him again, and Naoyuki hugs her back. Naoyuki finally came back to me. Why does it have to be now...that I have to tell him goodbye...? She frowns and hugs him closer. “I’ll figure out something...” she murmurs. “I promise.”
