Mother's Forgiveness

"So she's not here?" Arata, along with Yurime, had made their way back to Yuriko's house.

"No." Her mother replied, tightly holding onto her other daughter. "I'm a little worried, but are you sure that-"

"Of course I'm sure." He said. Yurime stood besides him, trying their best not to get soaked under this rain. Arata understood that now that he knew the truth. Yuriko's parents may feel a bit concerned about how he would take the news. They had learned about his identity after Yuriko told them. Reminding them of that painful time in their lives.

It was possible that she might not let Yurisa be in his care, if she had known earlier. However, in the end, she was glad that she did. He truly was a kind boy.

"The weather's pretty bad, so I'd hate to think she's just out there." Her mother voiced more concern. "She used to do this when she was younger, but never since she came back."

"I know. She's probably really upset with me." He said, but truthfully. He knew that she was actually mad at herself.

"But it's okay. We'll find her, no problem." Yurime did her best to keep their morale up. With everything going on, they were going to need it.

"Are you sure everything will be okay?" Yurisa asked, unsure of how this was going to play out. In response, Arata knelt down to her, putting his hand over her head.

"We've got some things to work out, but I promise that everything will be okay when we get back." With that, the two rushed out and went to find places where she could possibly have gone to.

But the most important place at the moment, was definitely at Arata's house. Because his mom was with an unexpected guest.

"Oh dear, did something happen?" His mom asked. Yuriko stood before her, completely doused by the rain. "Is Arata all right?"

"…" At first, Yuriko was silent. If it wasn't for the rain, then his mother would see just how much she was crying. The longer she stood there, continuing this idle silence. The more his mom got concerned that something serious had happened to him. "...He's fine." That was a relief to hear.

"Then why are you here?" Again, there was a long pause from Yuriko. Honestly, she wasn't exactly sure why she came here. It was all a daze starting with when she ran away from him. Maybe she simply got confused and went to the wrong house. Or maybe, her heart wanted to be here, for one simple reason.

"I'm sorry." She said, after some contemplation. "I don't think that your son will want to be friends with me anymore."

"Nonsense." His mother replied. "Now come in, you'll catch a cold with this weather." She ushered the girl inside. It was a strange feeling, almost like she was taking in a runaway or something. But Arata's mom was no stranger to teenage problems. She had her fair share growing up, and two kids to take care of.

Yuriko was sat onto the couch. A towel to cover her wet hair, and a blanket to keep her warm. Arata's mom walked up to her, and handed her a fresh cup of steaming hot tea. The girl didn't accept the offer, and it lay atop the table. The young girl's reflection shone from its liquid.

"Honey, you can't just sit there without saying anything." His mom prodded her a little. "You say that my son's fine, but then you say that he doesn't want to be your friend. I don't understand what's going on." Again, Yuriko stayed in silence, but his mom was about to get her answer another way.

The phone rang, she went to go pick it up. It was Arata. He told her everything, well pretty much everything she needed to know.

"I see." She responded to him. "Well, stay safe out there." His mom turned to the girl after she placed the phone back down. Yuriko could tell what she knew now, quickly she attempted to stand up. However, his mom was quickly, and placed a hand over her shoulder. Stopping the girl in her tracks. "Don't be scared, I wasn't thinking of doing anything bad."

"Aren't you mad?" She asked, sitting herself back down. "Why do you want me to stay?" Yuriko knew she didn't tell Arata of her whereabouts, why?

"I might be a little upset at hearing this." She answered. "But, the two of us should have a little talk." Her smile showed that she had no ill will towards her, something that Yuriko couldn't understand why at all.

"You two are the same." She said, lifting her knees up to cover her face. "Why are you so eager to forgive me? What I did was awful, wasn't it?"

"I can't deny that it really hurt the family." Those were tough times indeed. It even had an impact on their lives for years after it happened, Arata most of all. "That's why I was so happy to see him make friends after all that time."

"I'm sorry about that." Yuriko quietly said. Every time they brought it up, the worse she felt about it. "It's my fault things turned out like that, isn't it?"

"Sure, you might've harmed him. But you weren't alone. Right?" Yuriko nodded her head slightly, but the fact that she was in a group that attacked him wasn't what was being infered. "What happened to us, we played a role of the aftermath ourselves."

"I don't understand." She looked over with a puzzled look in her eyes.

"I mean, he didn't have to shut himself off because of it. And perhaps, no definitely, as a mother. I should've done more to prevent that." This was something she had learned as an adult, that some on the younger side might not yet understand. How there's always more than just one person, that influences how things turn out.

To shoulder Yuriko with all the blame, that would be wildly immature of her. Especially now after all she had seen.

"So, I think that if you're worried that I'm angry at you. Or that I would want you to stop being friends with my son. You shouldn't be." His mom put an arm around the girl's shoulder, giving a soft embrace.

"You really are just going to forgive me, just like that?"

"So doubtful." She sighed, getting up to look at some photos on their bookshelves. "You remind me of myself when I was your age."

"I don't think we're that similar." Yuriko finally took the cup, and sipped it. "You're very nice."

"Heh, not when I was your age." She chuckled softly. "Back then I was a huge troublemaker. I didn't think I needed anyone else, but me." Thinking back on it, she realized that perhaps her son might've taken a little bit of that after her.

"I already know about how you met your husband. You changed when you fell in love, right?"

"I didn't change because I fell in love with him." She corrected her. "I fell in love with him because he changed me."

Their relationship may have moved slowly by high school standards. After all, a year is a long time when you're in high school. At first, he was just an annoying classmate. One that turned into an acquaintance that she didn't exactly hate being around. Soon, that turned to a friend that had her back, one whose back was covered by her as well.

Eventually, it turned to love. Something that she felt first, and him a lot later. Or perhaps, he also felt the same. but just like her, was too scared to admit it.

"You've gotten close to Arata, haven't you?"

"Not that close." The girl turned her head away, hiding the blushes. "I'm sure that he's closer to the others than me."

"But, you're the only one that walks to school with him in the morning. Plus, you watch the kids with him too." His mom walked back to her, and gave her a pat on the head. "He's never tried to do anything like that before, and I think that maybe you changed him for the better. More than you think."

"Doesn't matter anymore." She retracted away from the woman's hand. "He hates me now that he knows the truth."

"I don't think that's the truth at all." His mom had more than just faith in her son. She could tell from the voice from when he called eariler. "Right now, my son is searching everywhere for you. Through the cold, through all this rain. All that pain doesn't matter, because on the inside. There's something that hurts more to him right now."

"…" Yuriko wasn't sure what to make of it. It honestly sounded like she was causing more suffering. But his mom did say that he made his own choices. That meant, he chose do all that, for her sake.

"I just wanted you to hear my piece first, before you talk to him." His mother went back for the phone. "The two of you should talk it out, but I'm certain things are a lot better than you think."

However, she didn't need to make a phone call. The door slammed open, water splashed into the recently cleaned floors. It was Arata, along with Yurime. The two of them were completely soaked to the bone. Their breaths were heavy, thanks to all of the running in cold weather that they just did.

"Mom! I've looked everywhere, we couldn't find her." He yelled out loud, not realizing how close his mother was to him. "I think we need to…" He was about to suggest calling the authorities, when his eyes spied the person he was looking this whole time for.

Yuriko returned the look. Her eyes spelled dread, as she wondered one major question.

How will this confrontation end?