Chapter 9.4

"Akira, say, the other day didn't you get a call from the Workshop's son?" 

It was dinner time when Akira's mother Sachiko asked him that.

"Mm, yeah, I did?"

"I thought so," Sachiko said as she set out the bowls of miso soup and took off her apron. "That son of the workshop? It seems he died."

Chopsticks frozen in hand, Akira stared at his mother's face. "...Died?"

"I just heard about it in passing, but. When I went out to do some shopping, I heard them talking about it. At any rate, it seems like they said he died this morning. That's when I thought, didn't you know him?"

Akira was frozen with terror, and Kaori's eyes went wide. 

"But that's... He said if anything happened, he'd let us know!"

"I'm sure he had enough to think about and forgot. The poor thing. Wasn't he still in high school?"

Akira threw down the chopsticks and stood. "What the hell?!"

"What's this about?"

"Onii-chan's dad said he'd call us didn't he?! Adults are all like that! He never planned to contact us about a thing from the start!"

Kaori lingered, watching as Akira rushed out of the living room after saying that. Her mother and father both stared jawed agape.

"Dear... What was that about?" her mother murmured, then as if coming back to her senses, her face furrowed. "What on earth has gotten into him?"

Kaori couldn't answer. Akira's footsteps echoed down the hallway, and they could hear the entryway door roughly opening and slamming shut as he rushed outside. He was most likely storming to Natsuno's house. Or possibly just to anywhere where he could be alone. Even if she went after him, there wasn't anything she could say for him but still she wanted to be by his side, and so Kaori too set down her chopsticks. When she moved to stand up, Sachiko yelled at her.

"Leave him be!"

"...But."

"Leave him be. What's with him all of a sudden. Throwing down his chopsticks, yelling at people. If he doesn't want dinner, let him do whatever he wants. He doesn't care about who made it."

That's not it, Kaori tried to say. Akira wasn't mad at Sachiko, he was mad at Natsuno's father. But Sachiko spoke over her.

"Whatever, you just eat it down too," she said looking to Kaori's father sitting dazed at her side. "Your dad too. You're at home for once, I thought, so I tried to make things you like, so could you not waste it?"

Yeah, her father murmured but even so he just looked to the plate half-heartedly without taking a hand do it. Kaori once again worried about Akira---and Natsuno too, and didn't really feel like taking a hand to her meal. 

"I see. Then just do what you want. You, Akira, your dad" Sachiko said as if spitting out the words. "Just what do you think I am, anyway? I'm not your maid. Day in, day out, I have hot meals on the table for you, and without getting a single cent of payment for it. And yet all of you! I don't even get a thank you from you! You just eat it looking like of course it's going to be there, if you don't feel like eating, you just leave it there!"

Kaori hung her head. 

"And Dad says he's working and doesn't come back until the middle of the night. Working? What kind of work is there to do at the town hall! You're really just going out drinking with everyone from work aren't you? I thought you were working overtime, so I prepared a hot meal for you, but you say you don't want it and go right to bed, then you two, you two, let me tell you, you don't care when dinner is, you just run out to play!"

Her father's head was hung, blinking as if bewildered. 

"I try to keep something warm to put out waiting for you, but no matter how long I wait you don't come back. I ask you to watch the house but you leave, running out to play without helping out at all. You just go to play whatever you want, coming back when you want, you just figure that dinner will obviously be there when you come, don't you?"

"...I'm sorry."

"Spare me your apologies. Just do whatever you want!" she lashed out and then took to her food silently scooping it up. Kaori did a subdued mimicry of her actions. When Sachiko finished eating on her own, she gathered up her own dishes. She washed the dishes in a burst of noise, as if it were an angry outburst. 

"Dad... I'm sorry?" Kaori said in a quiet voice. "We got mom mad. So she got mad at Dad, too."

"...It's fine." her father said in a low voice. Kaori thought his voice seemed oddly lacking in power. He kept his hands near the food, but as was said he didn't actually start eating it.

"What's wrong? You're not eating? If you leave it, Mom will get mad again."

That's right, her father said, but indeed he showed no sign of taking up his chopsticks.

"Dad, are you sick? No appetite?"

"...Yeah." Tanaka murmured and set down his chopsticks. He aimlessly stood.

"...Dad?"

"I'm going to the hospital."

"Are you all right?"

Yeah, Tanaka nodded, taking his coat from where it hung. He took out a card from a satchel of paperwork kept by the TV. 

Kaori tilted her head. It was a patient's registration ticket. She saw "Ebuchi Clinic" writen on it.

"Dad, you've been sick? For a while now?"

Had he been going to the hospital? He must have been keeping it hushed. Kaori looked up at her father but he smiled at her. 

"I'm all right. Anyway, I'm going out for a bit."

Kaori nodded. As her father left she was alone in the living room. It was an unpleasant atmosphere, with the noise Sachiko was kicking up. Normally, this would be when Kaori and her father would try to butter up to her mother. They'd praise the meal, put on a show of eating it as if it were that delicious, express gratitude to her for making it, and to help her a bit as proof of it. But it was true that Kaori and her father had no appetite. It was by no means her mother's fault but with them unable to butter up to her as usual, her mother was only all the more irritated. 

Her father had left the scene. Kaori wanted to escape too, but if at least she didn't eat, she had a feeling things would get worse. She forced herself to eat, even without tasting it. All while worrying about Akira and her father.