The Wisdom of Children

Sunday couldn't come quick enough for him. That was the agreed upon date for him to help tutor those girls. The reason being that his Saturday obligation took precedence, of course.

Time wasn't the issue, Arata had some level of patience. His issue was the location. Did it really have to be done at Misei's house? Not only had he never been there before, but this would be the first time he was ever in someone's house, as an invited guest.

The doorbell rang, he pushed aside his thoughts to focus on his job. One-by-one, more of the kids that he watched came pouring in. By the end of it, there was only one last kid left to come, and one final teen as well.

"Ah, hello you two." He opened his door once more, greeting the Kikugawa sisters.

"Hello!" The younger of the two cheerfully gave him a hug.

"Oh, it's nice to see you again. Now go and say hello to the others." He directed her to the living room, where the rest were sitting and playing with toys. "Do you want to come in?" He asked Yuriko.

"Idiot, I thought we agreed on this already." She walked in. "So Arata, are we going to the park again today?" She noticed all the toys laying around.

"Wait, am I Arata or Kashimura now?" He noticed the change in the way she referred to him. After the day day at the pool, their time at lunch she called him by last name. What was different now?

"What? I can call you by your first name, right?" She tried to turn it like he was the one with the problem here.

"It's just that, you've been calling me Kashimura all week." In front of the others, he felt like he was in a one-sided relationship with her.

"Whatever, you're not answering my question here." Changing the subject, she reminded him of what she asked for. "So are we going to the park again? It's doesn't look like you've prepared anything."

"No." He replied. "It's not like we can do the same thing every time they come over." That was partially true. However the real reason would be that he forgot to buy sun screen for everyone.

"Fine, I guess I can hang out at your house." She made it sound like this was a chore for her, despite being the one who asked to join him in the first place.

"Sure…" They joined the rest of the children in the living room. Arata's mom was out shopping, meanwhile he dad was traveling again on business. If it wasn't for his responsibilities of watching the kids, having the house to his own would mean watching an entire season of some anime.

Instead, here he was. Keeping his eyes on kids playing on some of his old toys. Sitting next to a rather pretty girl. It wasn't a scenario he'd envision ever in his life.

Actually, he was drawn into her outfit. He usually saw her, and most people only in their school uniforms. Seeing someone outside of school, it was like looking at a new person.

"Hey." She got him back to reality. "Yurisa… She's really gotten more confident, huh?" He turned over to her little sister. Playing with the other kids, she really seemed a far cry from when he first met her. That small shy girl was pretty happy in her surroundings.

"Yeah, she's really gotten out of her shell." He told her. The girl sitting next to him, she was an odd person. Yuriko might be more open about her silver tongue, yet she never tried to talk about anything not related to her sister when she was over. Not until now.

"Say, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead, you don't need to ask."

"What's up with you and Misei?" She asked. He was a little taken aback that she cared that much. "Seriously, it's been so awkward at lunch. Can you just apologize to her so we can get it over with."

"What? How can you assume that it's my fault in the first place?"

"What, do you really think I'm gonna blame the school president of all things?" She might not have been incorrect, but he still felt it was unfair.

"It's not that simple, I didn't do anything wrong." He told her. Explaining to her what exactly caused the rift in the first place, at least what he believed to be the case.

"Sister, what are you two talking about?" Yurisa had overheard their conversation.

"It's not important to you, we're just talking about grown-up stuff."

"Is it about that that girl you're having a problem with?" She directed this at Arata. He wondered how this little girl could even have an idea what he was dealing with?

"Excuse me, but why do you know about that?"

"Because my sister told me." Given Yuriko's reaction, that was clearly supposed to stay a private conversation.

"I never said you can tell him that!" She yelled at her, grabbing the attention of the other children. They gathered with them, wondering what they were talking about.

"You know, if you didn't want anyone else to hear about this, maybe be a little more, I don't know, quieter." He was upset at her, now all of them were curious about his problem.

They were trapped, surrounded by children at all sides. There was no choice, they weren't going to let this go. So Arata had to tell them about his issue with Misei, keeping her name out of it, of course.

"There… Now can all of you go back to playing, please." He basically was begging them to leave.

"Why don't you just say you're sorry?" One of them said.

"Sorry? But it's more complicated than that."

"What's so complicated about that? My teacher always says that you should say apologize to someone if you hurt their feelings." Another one chimed in.

"Well yeah sure, you should listen to your teachers…"

"Or is it because you're scared?" Yurisa spoke up. Scared? It almost felt like odd word choice coming from her. "Because, you're worried that she won't forgive you."

He never thought of that… Or did he? Sure, Misei always tried to avoid conversation with him right now. Any chance he tried to take, she just pushed him away. Except, if he was honest about mending their relationship. Then he'd tried to talk to her no matter what. He was just using those moments as excuses, because in reality. Arata was afraid of the answer.

"I don't think you should be worried. I'm sure she'll forgive you." Said the eldest of the triplets.

"Yeah, you're the world's best babysitter. She's be crazy if she didn't forgive you." The middle one added in.

"And if she doesn't then that's fine too." The youngest summed up their thought.

These kids, they didn't even understand who Misei was, or even Arata for that matter. Yet, he felt the wisdom of their words. No… It wasn't wisdom, but naivety. They didn't know who it was he was talking about. How this girl was the top of the school, while he was at the bottom of the heap.

They didn't care because it didn't matter. Instead of looking at her as the school president, he needed to look at her as a girl. Someone that he wanted to talk with again, not because of her position. Rather that he, himself, desired to converse with her again.

This is what Misao was hinting at, wasn't it? Then it was settled then, now Arata knew what he was going to do tomorrow. When he found the right time… No, he was going to make the right time. He was going to make sure to make things right again.

He thanked the children for their help. Telling them to return to playing before it was time for them to go home again. That time went by quickly, and soon, one-by-one, they started to be picked up by their parents.

Just as they were the last ones to show up. Yuriko and Yurisa were the last ones to leave. Standing at the front door, he opened it and prepared to bid farewell. Yuriko just had one more thing to say, before it was time to say goodbye.

"Can I ask one more question?"

"I already told you, just ask. What do you need?"

"Do you really think that an apology is enough? I mean, in general, not about you specifically." He wasn't expecting that as a question. If that's what she was saying, then she must've felt she had wronged someone.

"You heard them. Even if you're not forgiven, at least you've put it out there. That's all you can really do, I guess." She was there, he figured she should know by now.

"But, what if you really want them to forgive you?" This was uncomfortable for him, mainly because of the way both sisters were. He could tell how hard it was for Yuriko to say this to him. Yurisa's demeanor on the other hand, she seemed to know. However, she learned her lesson from before. It wasn't going to be a secret she'd reveal this time.

The way she was putting this. Arata couldn't help but wonder what exactly it was that she did if she was acting like this. Wondered who it was as well.

"I guess I really don't have an answer for that." He told her. "But if it was me that you were apologizing to, then I'd forgive you for sure." She clenched her fist. He was hoping that it would make her feel better, but it seemed like it made her feelings worse.

"Whatever!" She yelled at him. Yuriko marched past him out the door with Yurisa. "And by the way, we're coming back again next week. You got that?" She said it like he didn't want her.

"Um, sure. I'm not against you coming over… But that's doesn't mean I want it or anything." Hearing those words coming out of his mouth, it was like he heard similar lines somewhere else. "Except for you Yurisa, I'm always glad when you come over." he gave the younger girl a pat on the head.

"Yep, I'm glad that I can come over." She perked up from his touch. "And I know that my big sister likes it too."

"We're going home now!" Yuriko grabbed her and they walked away quickly from his house.

"Right… Good bye now." He tried to send them off, but he was pretty sure they couldn't hear him from their distance now.

While that might've been a strange way to say good bye. That wasn't the time to dwell on. Instead, Arata locked himself in his room. Now was the time to come up with a plan to get Misei's forgiveness.