In Tokyo: They are heavily dependent on me

Chapter 107. Visit

Surely my luck can't be that bad?

After the bus stopped near the platform, it was clear that the air around us was much more oppressive than before, and the sunlight was blocked by huge rain clouds, reducing the brightness of the surroundings by several levels.

"It looks like it's going to rain."

Kobayashi pressed his right hand against his forehead and looked up at the endless cumulonimbus clouds overhead.

"It shouldn't be in the short term. In any case, the most important thing now is to find Ms. Shoko's house."

"However... there aren't any hotels to stay in here if it rains."

"If you keep standing there like a block of wood, I'm not going to care about you anymore."

"Idiot! Wait for me!"

Kaoru quickened her pace, leaving Kobayashi behind her, who had to jog to keep up.

As they entered the rural area, the surroundings became a congested two-lane road, and every now and then, an old man dressed as a farmer would curiously scrutinize the two unfamiliar faces.

As they passed a house enclosed by a fence, they heard the barking of an Akita dog coming from inside. Since they had already walked quite a distance, Kaoru was unsure if she was lost. After politely saying "Excuse me, may I bother you?" to the house, an old woman leaned out from behind the open sliding door and looked at the two people outside the fence.

"Um, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Excuse me, is Shoko's house over there up ahead?"

After receiving an affirmative answer, Xun bowed and replied with "thank you." After another ten minutes of walking, a two-story apartment building came into view.

The doorbell on the first floor rang with a crisp "ding-dong" sound, and soon a "coming" response came from inside.

A series of hurried footsteps sounded, and the owner of the voice quickly appeared before them.

She was a middle-aged woman who was slightly overweight and wearing an apron.

"Who are you two...?"

"Um, hello, I'm Kaoru Hoshino, and I'm Shoko-sensei's student."

If I'm not mistaken, the other person should be Ms. Shoko's mother.

Xun, who held this view, dared not slack off in the slightest.

"I am Chio Kobayashi!"

Kobayashi waved his right hand, a smile he made no attempt to hide on his face.

"A student from Glass...is he from Tokyo?"

"Yes, because I couldn't get through to Ms. Shoko on the phone lately, and it seems she's moved out of her apartment, so I specifically asked for her address."

"I see... Thank you both so much. Please come in."

Thank you.

Upon entering the foyer, Kaoru and Kobayashi bent down to take off their outdoor shoes when a middle-aged woman shouted loudly upstairs.

"Shoko, come down quickly, someone wants to see you."

"I understand."

Soon, Kaoru heard the sound of footsteps on the wooden stairs.

"Mom, why did you suddenly call me...?"

Snapped--

The sound of a book falling to the ground rang out.

Kaoru hesitated before stepping forward, picking up the book with the cover of two muscular men that had fallen to the ground, and handing it to Shoko, who was staring in astonishment and wearing large-framed black glasses.

"Shoko-sensei..."

As if she had come to terms with reality, the surprise on Shoko's face disappeared, replaced by a confused expression.

"Hoshino-san... and Kobayashi-san... why are you two here?"

"Well... that's a long story."

Kaoru stared at Shoko wearing glasses. Judging from the thickness of the lenses, her nearsightedness was quite severe. It turned out that she usually wore contact lenses because they were too much trouble... Seeing her wearing glasses suddenly felt a little strange.

After a brief moment of inner turmoil, Shoko sighed helplessly, as if she had completely given in, and then pointed to the stairs behind her.

"Anyway... let's talk upstairs."

The two followed silently behind.

The surrounding air was eerily quiet. Recalling her last experience alone with Shoko, Kaoru could clearly feel her heart pounding faster and faster.

"Wait a minute, the room hasn't been cleaned in a while..."

Upon arriving at the door of one of the rooms, Shoko fled into the room, which had a sliding door that was slightly ajar. She said "Please wait a moment" to the two people outside the door, and then slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

Outside the door, Kaoru and Kobayashi looked at each other in bewilderment.

Cleaning the bedroom took longer than I expected.

About thirty minutes later, a panting Shoko finally opened the sliding door again.

"Please come in."

"Sorry to bother you..."

Kaoru and Kobayashi walked nervously into the unfamiliar room.

There were no extra decorations; the only furniture visible was a wardrobe embedded in the wall and a bookcase filled with books. Kaoru knew what the books were without even looking at them, so his gaze didn't linger on the bookcase but instead anxiously focused on the tatami floor beneath his feet.

"I'm sorry, we don't have anything else to serve our guests. I'll go pour some tea."

Shoko keenly noticed that Kobayashi seemed to be paying attention to the books on the bookshelf, staring at it intently, so she quickly changed the subject.

"No need for that... Hey, stop staring at me like that."

Kaoru nudged Kobayashi with her elbow. Kobayashi reacted slowly, muttering, "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

"Please be polite; we are guests."

Kaoru responded in a very soft voice.

"Oh... okay."

Xiaolin lowered her head in disappointment.

An awkward silence fell over the room. Kaoru fiddled with her fingers with her head down, while Shoko glanced out the window intentionally or unintentionally. Kobayashi remained seated like a statue until this unsettling moment permeated the entire room. Kaoru then mustered her courage and decided to speak first.

"that!"

"that......"

The sounds rang out simultaneously.

They stared at each other in surprise.

"Sorry, you go first..."

Shoko was the first to react, her face still showing traces of the panic she had just experienced.

"Shoko-sensei... I'm here to apologize... and Kobayashi too."

Calming down a bit, Kaoru looked into her eyes and continued speaking.

"In the past... we often did things that made you unhappy, broke class rules... and made you angry many times. This time, Kobayashi and I want to apologize for the bad things we did! If Shoko-sensei is absent because of me... and us! Please! Please forgive us!"

Kaoru faced Shoko with a "dogeza" (a traditional Chinese kowtow) posture.

Kobayashi, standing beside him, pointed blankly to his own face and spoke somewhat hesitantly.

"Hoshino-san, should I do that too?"

"Stop nagging!"

Please forgive me!

So, Kobayashi followed suit and struck the same pose. Because the movement was too exaggerated, the wig on her head fell off because it wasn't secured.

Seeing this, Shoko's lips parted slightly, but she didn't make a sound until the sound of rolling sand and gravel came from outside, at which point the three of them turned their attention to the scene.

The clouds that had been accumulating in the sky for so long seemed to finally be released, and the rain, falling indiscriminately, poured down on the ground.

The rain came late.