章 196: Forever 1
There were plenty of things going on with Arata's life now. That was obviously going to happen now that he went from being friendless, to being surrounded by quite the cast. And that was all thanks to one certain girl in his life. Erina.
"Do you have any plans for the weekend?" He asked her during their second break. She had come around from her own class to come and see them. Now that he considered thing, what was the point in blackmailing him if she could still just see Yogi during these times.
"I wish I didn't." She responded with a dark expression. That was rare coming out of her, and her issue was worse than any of them were expecting. "I need to go back to my hometown to take care of my dad." As she had mentioned before, the man was a husk of who he used to be after his wife, her mom, abandoned the family for another man. That was why she moved her in the first place.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Said Yogi. "I hope he gets well soon."
"Actually, that's part of why I came here." She continued on. Erina was hoping on asking them if they wanted to come along and help her out. At the very least, some company would be nice.
"I don't want to get in the way of you taking care of your dad." Arata was hesitant of the suggestion. However, his spoken reason wasn't the same as his internal reason. That being he knew Yogi would certainly accept and come along with her. This seemed like prime time for the pair to spend some alone time together. Plus, with a topic like this seemed ripe to lead to some proper romantic development.
"If you need anything, then I'll be there." As expected coming from that boy stating loudly his intent on joining her.
"It would be really nice if you came, Arata." She encouraged him to follow them. Even if it was entirely possible that he might have better things to do that weekend. Though with her pushing it, he did feel a little more willing to join. Apparently she either didn't notice, or didn't care about getting the chance to be alone with the other boy. Odd, but maybe she just figured he could come along to help her with that. It would be just like old times.
"Well, I didn't have anything planned for the weekend anyway." He relented to the begging of Erina and Yogi. Arata chuckled as he thought about all those times when he would come up with an excuse to avoid hanging out with that boy before they became friends. Who knew the only way to get him to do anything was to threaten him with his prized possessions?
So that gave the trio their plans for the weekend. They were going to be making a trip to the next town over to help take care of her dad. Erina didn't describe to them exactly what had happened to the man to require her to head back to check on him. It couldn't have been some little cold, seeing as she also didn't appear to have a positive relationship with the man.
Of course, given what little she had mentioned in terms of her parents. The only thing Arata could figure about it was that she was estranged with both of them. And that was assuming she even saw her mom at all after the incident. This made the young boy more curious about the situation. So he took advantage of this by coming up with an excuse to walk with Yogi after school. Not an easy thing to do, seeing as they didn't even head in the same direction, but he was able to manage.
"So, have you ever met her father?" He asked him after attaining that they were alone. "Not to try and pry into her life too much, but I was just wondering."
"I can't say I've ever met him." He answered. "Though I guess she doesn't like him that much." It was so obvious that even a boy like Yogi couldn't ignore it. "What a shame."
"Agreed." Arata replied. "I can't imagine a time where I hated my dad." Though there were some moments that really annoyed him coming from that man. A certain incident regarding a runaway bicycle came into mind.
"Same here, I love my dad." Since he hadn't met Yogi's dad before, there was nothing Arata could think of to assume that there would be any problems between those two. "You know, since we have the chance. We should try and help her get close with her dad again."
"I doubt it'll be that simple." He responded. Sure, there was nothing more he would've loved to do than help out a friend. However, given the limited details they had about the situation. It was clear her circumstances were more complex than either of them could imagine. Not that this fact was going to deter Yogi in any manner.
"We should still try." He argued. "It's not like either of us have actually met the guy. So maybe there's just a bit misunderstanding." That was easy for him to say. They really don't know who this person was like. For all they knew, he could've been a murderer. Though that was unlikely since Erina wouldn't have invited them to come with her if she knew it to be the case, right?
"I'll give it a shot." Arata was willing to try for their sake. However, he knew that he wasn't going to lose sleep over it if things went sour. "Anyway, I need to go home now." This was where they parted ways as he took the now longer trip back to his own house. It took him more time than usual, which meant his mom was already starting to cook dinner as he came inside.
"I hope you didn't eat before getting back." She commented on his late arrival. "I'm making some real nice stew tonight."
"That's great." He replied, a bit tired from all the walking and talking he did. Not only that, but the idea of taking that weekend trip worried him about its possible outcome. "Say, mom..." Of course, that also meant he needed to ask for permission.
"You're going to another town with Erina and Yogi? Sure, of course you can go." She was more than willing to allow her son to go out with friends. It was probably to make up for all the lost time in regards to his early teen years of being a recluse. "Though I'm not sure if taking care of her dad is going to be that much fun."
"I just wanted to help out." he responded. "She's a good friend of mine, so of course that's what I want to do."
"Is that all she is to you?" His mother teased. This caused him to roll his eyes from typical mom banter about possible crushes as the boy went upstairs to clean up and put away his things. Why did she always feel the need to poke fun at him for possibly liking a girl. Of course, that totally wasn't how he felt about Erina at all. In fact, there were so many girls who liked him, that his mother would be too shocked to move after just hearing about it.
Still, that didn't mean the ones who didn't hold feelings for him didn't matter. As he stated before, Erina was a close friend to him. In fact, in terms of high school, she was his first friend. Perhaps they didn't have the most wholesome of reasons as to how she got him out of his shell. But at least it worked out in the end, which was what mattered most to him.
As he laid on his bed, thinking over what to do during the trip. The boy peered over to the ring he left right on his favorite figurine. It was useful that piece of merchandise was capable of holding onto the ring as if it was meant to be placed there. That was still another thing looming over his head after Hine gave it to him. Was this really meant for him to save until he finally chose, not only just a girlfriend now, but for his future wife? Then there was no way he could just hand it over to someone without thinking deeply.
Still, it was a kind gift she gave him. It made Arata feel like she was really his grandmother, rather than just some elderly for whom he tended their garden. Plus, it would save a lot of money have to buy an engagement ring down the line. So there were plenty of reasons why he cherished what she gave him.
Watching over the figurine holding the ring, as if presenting it to him. This brought a smile to the boy's face. One just because it appeared as if he was the one being purposed to. Yet also because the character was of the one who resembled Erina a lot. So it looked as though that girl herself was the one proposing to him.
How funny, he thought. As if something like that would happen anywhere other than a fantasy.
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