Even as I gave a clear explanation for my behavior, the shock and curiosity did not drain from his eyes. He was the same cowardly Kiriyuu-kun as always.
I decided I would ask him about his important business when it was time to go home. I was always alone at the end of the day, and so was he. All I had to do was pull him aside and ask him. Or so I thought, but life is just like a father.
In other words, you never get your way.
“Yo, your dad’s a thief, isn’t he?”
It happened during afternoon break. Usually after lunch, when Hitomi-sensei was away and the classroom was noisy, most of the children went to play out in the yard, or to the music room to toy with the piano. But today, several chose to stay and pay a visit to Kiriyuu-kun. Naturally, it was those idiot boys.
Normally I would jump directly into the fray, but for now I chose to watch and let things run their course. Whether the rumors about Kiriyuu’s father were true or not, I knew that people were going to be saying bad things about him from now on. If only he had courage, I thought, he would be able to stave off these terrible things on his own.
I held off on starting a fight to see what Kiriyuu-kun would say, but all he did was hang his head, like always.
This is no good, I thought. These boys’ idiocy was such that, if their opponent said nothing, they mistook it as a sign that they were righteous.
“I heard from my mom that your dad was caught stealing from a supermarket in Ni-chome.”
I pondered this as I watched Kiriyuu-kun’s face. Sure enough, the scene I witnessed at the supermarket had become attributed to Kiriyuu-kun’s father. Still, I did not know if it was true.
Kiriyuu said nothing and looked at no one, still hanging his head.
This did not please the idiots.
“Makes sense some picture-drawing weirdo would have a bad guy for a dad.”
Still Kiriyuu-kun said nothing.
“Oh yeah, when Takahashi’s ruler went missing, bet that was your fault, wasn’t it?”
Nothing still.
“The son of a thief’s gotta be a thief, too. Glad I wasn’t born into a family like yours.”
Ah, sorry I can’t keep waiting, Kiriyuu-kun…
“Are you all really that stupid?” I said.
The idiots’ eyes fell on me all at once.
“Oh? I don’t believe I said who was stupid. I guess you all realized it yourselves.”
“Huh?”
The boys—the chief idiot in particular—glared at me. I wasn’t afraid. What I felt towards Kiriyuu-kun was far stronger than that. I took it out on those boys instead, but the one I really wished to shout at was Kiriyuu-kun.
You coward.
“The child of a thief is a thief? What evidence do you have of that? Did you really think that ‘thief’ was the name of an animal or something? By that logic, that must mean that your mother and father are both idiots, the same as you. But they aren’t idiots. I’m sure even an idiot like you had a proper upbringing—which means that you turned into an idiot all on your own. I feel sorry for your parents, to have such a huge idiot for a child.”
The boy’s face was growing redder and redder. He was angry. Even his reactions were idiotic. Still, I preferred his reaction to Kiriyuu’s. He still could not find it in himself to grow angry, even when the people most precious to him were being ridiculed. It was only my promise to Hitomi-sensei that kept me from saying any of this to Kiriyuu-kun.
The idiot boys looked as if they were ready to throw something at me. But unlike them, I was clever. I had plenty of words to throw back.
“Anyway, it’s just a rumor that Kiriyuu-kun’s dad stole something. You all really are idiots if you’d believe any old rumor without any proof.”
“But people saw him!”
“But you didn’t see him, did you? So those people might’ve mistaken what they saw.”
“This is none of your business!”
“Oh? But it isn’t your business either, is it? Even if it was true—”
As all the words inside of me came spilling out…
“Stop it!”
A loud voice rang through the classroom. At first, I had no idea where it came from. It wasn’t my voice. It wasn’t the idiot boy’s voice. It was a voice I had never heard before.
Just as I realized that the voice had come from Kiriyuu-kun, I also realized that he was, for some reason, looking up at me with those tragic eyes.
He was telling me to stop.
As I stood there, not comprehending why he would have said such a thing, Kiriyuu-kun stood up violently—his chair clattering to the ground with an echoing sound.
Then, while the sound was still ringing, he left the classroom without saying a word. After that, everyone fell silent. Even the blackboard and the desks and the chairs were holding their tongues. That was how quiet the room was.
Even as fifth period began, Kiriyuu-kun did not return. Even as afternoon announcements drew to a close, there was no sign of him.
Hitomi-sensei pulled me aside, and I told her plainly about what had happened during break. I also told her that, despite my fighting in his place, it was me he was glaring at when he left. When I asked her about what I should do, she told me that she would try talking to Kiriyuu-kun, and then sent me home.
Kiriyuu-kun was not at school the next day.
Nor the next day, or the next.
One day, Hitomi-sensei pulled me aside again and told me that Kiriyuu-kun would not be coming back for some time.
“Don’t worry, Koyanagi-san,” she assured me, “It wasn’t your fault.”
Still, I knew. Whenever an adult talked to you in that way, they really meant: “You weren’t entirely wrong, but you were still responsible.”
Even though all I had done was step up on his behalf. As usual, she was slightly off the mark.