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Tomoko understood that her child was peculiar from a very young age. Most importantly, she understood that they had the potential to attract equally peculiar children, particularly when they started high school. However, the initial wave of friends, or friend, if she was honest with herself, was Koichi, a harmless, polite kid. Tomoko was shocked that one of the first times she came home to see Koichi in her house, he was chiding Josuke for trying to play video games before they had their homework completed.
Koichi didn’t augment his school uniform or wear heavy eyeshadow like her own child, but he rolled with it, unafraid to poke his head in the bathroom and tell Josuke to hurry up when they had somewhere they needed to go. She understood that Josuke was not the type to have a crew of people surrounding them. They were too strange by most high schoolers’ standards and incapable of keeping quiet when something pissed them off, a quality they picked up from their mother. But Koichi seemed unruffled by Josuke and was kind enough that he never had to truly witness Josuke’s wrath.
The next time Tomoko heard of another friend, it was after she and Josuke were trying to cool down from a fight. The confrontation was set off by Josuke coming home well past curfew, their uniform dirty, their face and hands scattered with scratches.
“You better have a damn good explanation for this one, Josuke,” she snapped, unafraid to get on her toes and stare them down.
“I do, all right?!” Josuke replied, wiping at their eyes furiously. Sure enough, when they brought their hand away from their face, their makeup was smudged, trails of mascara and purple glitter mixing under their eyes.
Tomoko backed away, giving her child space. Josuke was never much of an open crier. They typically corralled their sadness inside of themself and kept it in there. While she could never find a broken mirror or furniture to confirm it, she knew that on particularly rough days she heard things shattering late at night and when she saw Josuke the next morning, one or both of their hands were bandaged up. Tomoko truly believed that hers and Josuke’s relationship was strong. There were plenty of things that Josuke was comfortable enough to share. But there were always things that they kept to themself and would probably always keep them there.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Tomoko asked, her tone shifting carefully. Admittedly, part of her ability to get any information from Josuke was through the skills she developed working with her own students, particularly in her tone of voice. It was able to get her to find out the deeper, darker secrets of her students and hopefully it could help her figure out what was consuming Josuke at this moment.
Josuke shrugged, shoving their hands in their pockets. “I don’t know…” they started.
“How about we get you patched up, you take a bath, and then we can talk about it,” she suggested.
“I can do the patching up. I’ll be back.”
Tomoko got dinner set up, waiting patiently for Josuke to come back. When they returned, their makeup was wiped clean and their hair was pulled back into a sloppy bun. She didn’t bait them- the fact that they were out of their usual pompadour before ten o’clock at night was enough of a sign for her that something serious had happened. She began to fill Josuke’s bowl with food and commenced the meal without a word between the two of them.
They ate in relative silence, the occasional sound of utensils scraping against their bowls passing the time. Eventually, Josuke said, “So, like, an officer is probably going to mention to you that I saw a dead body today.”
Tomoko faltered, food dropping from her chopsticks and into her hand. “W-what?” she hissed.
Josuke shrugged, pulling a lock of loose dark hair back behind their ear. “I was able to get them to not call you, but I know someone’s still gonna say something, so I figured I should let you know.”
Tomoko nodded, taking a deep breath. Josuke figured out how to work the legal system at a pretty early age, though they didn’t quite understand how they were able to do it yet. “I’m going to assume you weren’t responsible for the body being dead.”
Josuke quickly shook their head. “No,” they said flatly, “I mean, I’m not gonna lie… I fought the dude. But he messed with Koichi. I wasn’t just. Looking for a fight.”
Tomoko nodded. While her teacher persona was focused on promoting students to not hurt each other, her own personal creed that inevitably rubbed off of Josuke was more along the lines of “don’t let anyone fuck with you or the people you love.” It resulted in days like this, but it was better than some kids who were being continuously beaten up with no way to defend themselves. “So what happened? Whatever you feel comfortable saying.”
Josuke didn’t seem to even hear her as they started to say, “I don’t even feel bad that he’s dead! The guy was a piece of shit. So, like, not only did he do stuff to Koichi, but like… he kept hurting his brother. When Koichi and I were right there. He let him get knocked in the face and said these really awful things about him… and yet, after the guy died, Okuyasu was just like. ‘He tried to protect me!’ and all this…”
Tomoko tried to piece together as much of the story as she could. Slowly, the pieces were starting to fit together. There was an altercation and probably some sort of accident, and the older brother in question died. “What did you say to him?”
“I just… agreed with him,” Josuke replied. They pinched the bridge of their nose, tears still rolling silently down their cheeks. “Like, what was I supposed to do?”
“That wasn’t the time for you to tell someone that their brother was abusive. It was the right call.”
“I just don’t get it,” Josuke said, taking a shaky breath. “How can someone still love someone, even though they treat them like shit?”
Tomoko gingerly reached out. When Josuke didn’t pull away, she wrapped her hands around his bandaged ones and said, “Because sometimes people love others so much they don’t realize that they can hurt them, too.” She was almost thankful that her child could be so naive about something as dark as this.
“Well, Okuyasu deserves better than that prick,” Josuke muttered, “So hopefully he’ll figure that out soon enough.”
Tomoko nodded, hoping this faceless Okuyasu was able to find peace on such a lonely night.
*
Tomoko met Okuyasu several days later as she’s getting ready for her own school day. The kid was chipper, a brilliant beam of sunlight to Josuke’s typically quieter disposition and always made sure to say thank you after Tomoko offered anything.
Her heart ached looking at Okuyasu’s appearance, but she stayed quiet. She was well-aware of the signs of neglect at this point in her teaching career. Between the worn out uniform, the bags under the eyes, and the ugly pair of scars that cut into the child’s face, Tomoko wanted to find any and all of the teachers who weren’t able to help out, even if trying to make a case to protective services was an uphill battle. Instead, she simply smiled, got some introductory information, and quietly filed it away, knowing that she would probably see Okuyasu much more often, even if Josuke seemed inconvenienced by the occurrence.
*
Tomoko didn’t want to be known as a parent who tried to backseat drive a fellow teacher. She hated it when she had students whose parents tried to pull it on herself. In the case of Josuke, she understood the issues with them. They were definitely capable, but incredibly lazy and unfocused. She didn’t envy any of their teachers for that alone. But she felt herself feeling the need to find out more information about Okuyasu and try to figure out where this breakdown in support could have happened.
So she slid her sunglasses up on her nose and made her way into the high school. She quickly evaded students going to their clubs as she slipped into the teachers’ cubicles, closing the door behind her.
“Well, if it isn’t Tomoko Higashikata,” one of the teachers said, perking up from his desk. “Came here to apologize for how atrocious our first years are writing?”
Tomoko sneered. “I can only do so much, Mr. Ueda… and no. I’m trying to get information on a student. Do you or anyone who’s here have Okuyasu Nijimura?”
Another teacher groaned, not even looking up from his desk. “Why would you want to know anything about a kid like that? He’s totally going to drop out in a year or two.”
“Well, his brother just died. I figured someone would be going out to make a home visit and check in,” Tomoko replied, “Are the parents in the picture?”
“His record says his mom’s dead, but his dad’s still alive. I tried calling a few times, but I usually just get the kid coming in the next day saying that his dad didn’t feel well enough to pick up,” the teacher replied.
“Saw he’s hanging out with your kid an awful lot,” Mr. Ueda added, “You want us to try and break that up?”
“No, not at all,” she said, “I just want to figure out what’s his situation. If there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Your son and Koichi Hirose are the only kids I’ve ever seen talk to him and not run away. The other kids are scared of him. We haven’t had to deal with any fights yet, but I assume the kid’s a time bomb,” Mr. Ueda explained, “I mean, have you seen him? He looks like a typical punk.
Tomoko scrunched up her nose at Josuke being referred to as her son. “I mean, I guess. But looking like a punk and acting like a punk are two separate things,” Tomoko replied, glaring at him, “What are his grades like?”
“Abysmal,” the other teacher said, “He just doesn’t understand the concepts we’re going over in math. Apparently, his attendance was really spotty in middle school? I dunno, but it really shows.”
Tomoko nodded. “Hm. All right.”
Both teachers tilted their heads. “That’s all you got to say?” Mr. Ueda asked, “I don’t believe that for a second.”
“That’s all I got,” Tomoko said, “Thanks for the information. I promise to use it for good.” She pushed herself off the wall she was leaning on and waved as she left the school, thankful Okuyasu or Josuke did not see her on the way out.
After tending to her own duties as a teacher, she made her way back home. When she entered the house, she found Josuke, Koichi, and Okuyasu sitting at the table. Koichi was busy doing schoolwork while Josuke was painting Okuyasu’s nails a bright blue color.
Tomoko was intrigued, but made sure to not reveal it in her tone. “Josuke, we’ve been over this. Don’t paint nails at the dinner table without a paper towel,” she mumbled, passing a sheet to them. Josuke wordlessly placed it under their hands, Okuyasu trying to hide within Josuke’s shadow.
“It’s not your fault Josuke forgot the house rules,” she said, facing Okuyasu. Okuyasu didn’t seem relieved by the statement.
“Mom, Okuyasu’s a girl,” Josuke said, not looking up, “So, like, call her a girl and stuff.”
“All right,” Tomoko replied. She could hear Okuyasu audibly sigh with relief. “Sorry for not using the right pronouns before.”
“Eh, you didn’t know,” Okuyasu replied. She pulled her hand from Josuke’s to admire their painting skills. Koichi looked up from his work to take a look and mentioned that the color complimented her uniform.
Tomoko allowed herself to smile before she asked, “So, who’s staying for dinner?”
*
When Josuke initially explained how they felt about their gender, they gestured wildly at western musicians dressed androgynously. Tomoko didn’t entirely understand, and in some ways she figured she never really will, but she was able to understand that in spite of the change in pronouns and the change from their given name, nothing was all that different. They still wore their hair in a pompadour and refused to turn down a trip to the upscale department stores in S City to check out high end makeup. She had accepted back when Josuke was four that she was never going to have the normal daughter, and she was fine with it. When she found out that Josuke wasn’t her daughter, she took it in stride. As long as she was going to be a decent mother to her child, she was doing the best she could.
At one point, she asked Josuke if they knew anything about Okuyasu’s mother and they confirmed what she already assumed- that her mother died so long ago, she couldn’t even remember her, unable to provide any support.
Tomoko knew that even if Okuyasu had very little memories of her mother, she couldn’t replace her. But she could be one of the few adult women in her life who was willing to support her as much as she needed.
Luckily, since Josuke explained that Okuyasu was a girl, she was much more comfortable visiting. Once in awhile, she would arrive early on Sunday morning only to find out that Josuke was not awake. Instead of forcing her to return to her depressing home, Tomoko invited her in, preparing breakfast with her and chatting about whatever. While Okuyasu never seemed particularly confident in leading their exchanges, she was a decent conversationalist for her age. She wasn’t the most articulate, but she was observant, telling stories with precise depictions of people’s poses or the way their faces reacted to the twists and turns in whatever story she was telling.
At one point during one of their conversations, Okuyasu began nervously shaking her leg. “Uh, can I… get dressed in the bathroom or whatever?”
Tomoko raised her eyebrows. “Yeah, that’s not a problem. You know where it is.”
Okuyasu got up, grabbing her bag from the side of the front door and disappearing for several minutes. When she returned, she was wearing her usual pink tank top and green belt with a long black skirt.
“That new?” Tomoko asked.
Okuyasu nodded. “Yeah, I saw it on the clearance rack at this store Josuke took me to, so I bought it. Does it look all right?”
“Yeah, of course,” she replied, reaching over to place her hand on her knee. She studied her face and added, “You put on some makeup, too.”
“Oh, yeah. I got some recently. Just, like, mascara and lip gloss or whatever. Not like Josuke does theirs or anything.”
“No, that’s a pretty specific style,” she replied. “If you need any pointers or anything, let me know. You can ask me anything. In case I haven’t made that clear.”
“I know!” Okuyasu replied, “I just… well, you’re busy a lot of the time. I don’t want to bother you. You have your own kid…”
Tomoko waved her hand. “I have plenty of kids between my own child and my students. I’ve been balancing that for years. Don’t ever feel like you’re a burden to me.” She assumed that her words didn’t mean much to Okuyasu after the years of trauma she endured, but she couldn’t resist reiterating it to her, anyway.
Okuyasu, who was busy trying to figure out where to lay the slit of her skirt against her leg, eventually said, “Thank you,” refusing to make eye contact with her.
They were quiet after that, eventually able to hear feet dragging from upstairs. Josuke staggered down, lunging toward the chair Okuyasu sat in and shoved themself in the space between her and the arm of the chair. Okuyasu tried to keep the mug of coffee in her hand balanced, grousing about their presence briefly before asking how they slept.
Tomoko smirked, concealing her face with her own mug. She was almost disappointed in her lack of observation before that moment. While Josuke got along well with Koichi, they never barged onto Koichi’s chair and insisted on sitting next to him. They also never spoke so close that it was possible their foreheads would bonk into each other. Sure, Josuke mentioned that there were a sizable amount of girls who trailed behind them occasionally. It sounded like the girls were sweet enough, but none of them actually stopped to have an extended conversation with them. The only girl who was willing to do just that was Okuyasu, who was currently lifting her leg and letting Josuke inspect the hemming on her new skirt.
Tomoko waited patiently to insert herself back into the conversation, watching Okuyasu complain every time Josuke tried to get more comfortable, even though she refused to move or kick Josuke out of the spot.
*
Josuke broke curfew again several weeks later, even though it was on a technicality. It was a particularly warm night and Tomoko was beginning to do a lap around various windows and doors, trying to see if she could catch sight of Josuke walking under the streetlights. When she passed by the front door she heard voices from the other side of it. She froze, listening to confirm the sound of Josuke and Okuyasu’s voices.
“...but, like, you said you were into girls, right?” Josuke was saying.
Tomoko shut her eyes, knowing that she should duck away. This was not a conversation for her to overhear, but she couldn’t pull herself away.
“I mean, yeah, I am,” Okuyasu replied, “But I could try to like someone who isn’t a girl. I dunno, dude. You know me. I couldn’t really explore this stuff when Keicho was looking after me. I’m not like you. Knowing all this stuff when you were a kid and all that.”
Tomoko pulled herself away from the conversation after that. Okuyasu opened herself up fairly wide, considering what she went through. The least she could do was allow her to have some secrets.
She sat at the kitchen table, grading exams and waiting for Josuke to come in, technically ten minutes after curfew. Josuke charged into the room, waving their hands and exclaiming, “I was here! I was here! I was just talking to Okuyasu…”
Tomoko raised her own hand. “I know, I heard your voices,” she said, putting her completed exam onto her graded pile. She finally looked at Josuke and asked, “Is everything all right?”
Josuke pulled up a chair, sitting on it backwards. They drummed their hands on the chair for awhile before they said, “I don’t really know?”
Tomoko took her exams and shoved them back into her grading bag. “Give it a shot,” she said.
Josuke did, though it took until Tomoko got up and returned with glasses of water for the two of us. “I’m, like, pretty sure I have a crush on Okuyasu.”
Tomoko leaned into her hand, making sure her mouth was covered. “Uh huh?”
“Yeah… I mean, I dunno. I don’t want to inconvenience you with this, I can just go to bed.”
Tomoko reached out and placed her hand next to Josuke’s on the chair. “You’re not inconveniencing me.”
“Yeah, but, like. You get sad about love stuff…”
“It’s not that,” she said. As foolish as it was, she couldn’t deny that she still had feelings for the foreigner she met seventeen years ago. As brief as the moment was between the two of them, she couldn’t help but find herself absolutely enthralled by her blue eyes and endearingly broken Japanese. “I am not happy about my situation with your mother, but that doesn’t mean that I never want to hear about love ever again. Do you think Okuyasu might like you back?”
Josuke began drumming on the chair again. “I mean, that’s kind of the thing. I don’t even know if she’d be attracted to someone like me. She’s talked about being into girls, but like. I’m not a girl. So I don’t really know if it’s even worth telling her.”
“Did she just flat out say she was only into girls?”
“She said she’d ‘try’ to like someone who isn’t a girl. Like… what am I supposed to do with that? What if I tell her, we try to go out, and then we ruin our friendship?”
“Do you really think Okuyasu is the type of person to have your friendship just drop if that didn’t work out?” she asked.
Josuke bit their lip, looking down at the floor for awhile before they said, “No, she wouldn’t.”
“Then tell her how you feel and follow her lead. Just… remember. You care about her as your friend. Make sure you make that as clear as possible.”
“What if I can’t just be her friend after telling her that?”
Tomoko smiled sadly and said, “You need to find that out for yourself.”
*
Tomoko was straightening out her classroom when she had one of her students stumble in, bowing before he said, “Uh, Ms. Higashikata?”
Tomoko walked over toward the student, furrowing her eyebrows. “What’s going on, sweetheart?”
“U-uh! There’s a high schooler who says he wants to see you?! He’s kind of scary, but no one stopped him from getting in…”
Tomoko shook her head. “Are you sure you aren’t talking about my kid?”
“N-no!” the student choked out, “He’s got these scary scars on his face and all that!”
Tomoko nodded. “Ah, that’s Josuke’s friend, Okuyasu. He’s not as scary as he looks. He’s allowed in. Thank you for letting me know.”
“O-okay!” the student disappeared and returned with Okuyasu in tow, nearly tripping over himself when he left.
“Sorry for scaring your student,” Okuyasu mumbled.
“I teach twelve year olds. They literally cry over everything, including me.” She sat on top of one of the desks and let Okuyasu follow suit.
“I’m sorry I came to your school,” Okuyasu explained, “I just needed to make sure I could speak with you without… uh, Josuke, to be honest.” Her fingers were getting tangled in the loose threads of her belt. She pulled on them, further fraying the material. Tomoko slid off the desk and passed some board cleaner and a stack of dry erase boards she used for review games. “Here, if you want to keep yourself occupied,” she instructed.
Okuyasu nodded, picking one up and beginning to methodically spray the board and proceed to scrub it clean.
“So tell me what’s going on that Josuke apparently can’t be involved in,” she said.
Okuyasu paused scrubbing for a moment and continued again. “I’m sorry I’m even coming to you about this. I should really talk about this with Koichi, but he was busy with cram school and then he said he was going to hang out with Yukako afterwards and I’d talk to Josuke about it, but it’s about Josuke, and my dad can’t really talk, so… I’m sorry.”
“I’ve told you this before, you’re never inconveniencing me.” Was Okuyasu’s circle truly that small? As much as Tomoko understood how such a sweet girl could be so isolated, it still didn’t feel fair to her.
“I know, but I might be now,” she replied, “I, uh, totally botched talking to Josuke about stuff last night. Which, I didn’t even realize was after their curfew until I got home. I’m really sorry about that.”
Tomoko shook her head. “That’s whatever at this point,” she said, “They were on our property by curfew, which is good enough. What were you talking about that you think you messed up?”
Okuyasu accidentally tossed one of the dry erase boards on the pile, causing it to tip. She scrambled to stack them back up again and grabbed another dirty one. “Well, uh…” she turned around to check the door, which was conveniently closed. “I’m into girls. But, like… I think you are, too? Like, Josuke’s other parent is like me, right?”
Tomoko nodded. “Yes, she is. I’m not a lesbian, though, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“Oh, all right,” she replied, “I thought I might be, but I think I’m just into people who aren’t guys. Is that a thing?”
Tomoko shrugged and said, “I wish I was that,” before she remembered that she was still in her teacher mode. “Sorry. I’ve found that I’m into people regardless of their gender. But that doesn’t mean that how you’re attracted to people is wrong.”
“Yeah, right, of course,” Okuyasu replied, “Like… I’m still not really talking about this right. You can kinda see why when I was talking about it to Josuke, I entirely screwed it up.”
“Why do you think you screwed it up?”
“I think I made it sound like I haven’t really thought about being with people who weren’t girls. And, like, I have.” She tossed the rag to the side of her and grumbled, “And I totally just revealed who I’m talking about…”
“I was able to fill in the blanks well enough beforehand,” she replied.
“Ugh, really?” she asked.
Tomoko slid next to her and bumped her shoulder against Okuyasu’s. “You forget that I’m a teacher, sweetheart. It’s my job to know what’s going on with my kids at all times. I’m not offended at all. I’m biased, but I think they’re quite the catch.”
Okuyasu relaxed against her, giggling. “I don’t even know when it happened! We just keep being really close with each other and we held hands when we were walking back to your house last night and…” She covered her face and groaned loudly. “I hate how my brain works, I never get this kind of stuff until it’s way too late. I’m so stupid…”
Tomoko raised her arm and let Okuyasu fit closer into her embrace. She wrapped her arm around her and sighed. She made incoherent soothing noises and rubbed her back, adding, “You’re fine, sweetie, you aren’t stupid… relationships are tough! I don’t even have them figured out.” She pulled Okuyasu back and wiped her tears.
“Has Josuke said anything to you?” Okuyasu asked.
Tomoko’s hand hesitated as she wiped away the last of her tears. “I don’t think it really matters what they said to me, hun. You know that.”
Okuyasu opened her mouth.
“You don’t have to tell them how they feel, but I’m not going to be your point of communication between the two of you. Okay?”
Okuyasu nodded. “Yeah, okay,” she replied. She pulled away and added, “Uh, I’ll leave you alone.”
“Stay. Calm down a little. If you work on your homework, I can check it.”
“Oh, cool. Thanks.” She slid off the desk and sat down at a clearer desk, pulling out her homework. “I’ll just pass it to you when I’m done,” she said.
And with that, Tomoko continued working around the classroom as Okuyasu worked on her homework. It was hard for her to not just tell Okuyasu how Josuke felt, especially when they were on the same page. But she had to have them figure this out together, much like the work she assigned her students.
Eventually, Okuyasu passed her homework up toward Tomoko. Tomoko stopped mid-grading and picked up the piece of paper. “Math homework… let’s see…” She took out an eraser and tried to look at the problems. She hummed to herself as she tried to make sense of the work that Okuyasu did. The process was jumbled together with parts scratched out.
“Hey, Okuyasu, can you show me the steps you did for the first problem?”
Okuyasu got up and pulled up a chair next to her, taking a deep breath. “I mean, uh…” She ran her fingers across the paper, trying to explain her ideas. Her face screwed up and eventually she said, “I don’t know, like, I know what I’m supposed to do, but I can’t really get it all organized and it’s just… really annoying. I hate math.”
“Can I try something?” Tomoko asked.
“Uh, sure, I guess,” Okuyasu said, shrugging.
Tomoko picked up an eraser and began to erase the first problem. She then took out a ruler and began making boxes within the workspace. She passed it back to Okuyasu and said, “Go step by step based on the boxes. See if it’ll help organize your thoughts.”
Okuyasu nodded, following the problem within the boxes. Her face looked less distressed as she was working on it, eventually passing it over toward her again.
“Did it help at all?”
Okuyasu nodded. “Yeah, I think so. It didn’t get all jumbled this time around.”
“Excellent,” Tomoko said, checking the work. She smiled and wrote a check instinctually next to it. “Want me to grid the other ones?”
“It wouldn’t be too much trouble?”
Tomoko smiled and began erasing the work and replacing it with grids. “Here, try it out,” she instructed.
Okuyasu took the paper again and began working on it. She was quiet for awhile before she looked up and said, “So what should I do about the Josuke thing?”
Tomoko tapped the paper, accidentally using her teacher voice to say, “Focus on your work.”
Okuyasu pouted and dipped her head down to continue working on the problems. Tomoko developed a decent rhythm grading her papers until Okuyasu passed the paper back to her. Tomoko checked it, smiling. “Hey, sweetheart?”
“What? Did I screw up?”
“Not at all. You got all these right.”
“Wait, really?!” Okuyasu exclaimed, scrambling next to Tomoko.
“Yeah,” check it out,” she said, showing off the check marks next to the problems. “You know how to do this, you just need to keep your thoughts organized.” She brought her arm across Okuyasu’s and gave her a quick hug. “Make yourself something like this every time you have to answer questions like this and it’ll really help you out.”
“Thank you!” Okuyasu said, shoving her homework back into her bag.
Tomoko watched her, putting her pen down. “And, Okuyasu?”
“Yeah?” she asked.
“If it gets to be too much, tell them,” she instructed, “There’s no need walking around like some kind of martyr.”
Okuyasu stood up, tossing her bag over her shoulder and freezing for a moment. “You’re right,” she said, “Thank you, Ms. Higashikata.” She tapped her foot against the floor and asked, “Should I not talk to you if Josuke doesn’t like me back?”
Tomoko spun her pen around and said, “No. You should. Call me selfish, but I like having you around too much.”
Okuyasu gave her a brilliant smile. “Good,” she replied, “I really don’t want to lose you.”
Tomoko tried to give an implicit, “I don’t either,” by ushering her out and saying, “I’m probably making something sweet for dinner, if you’re interested.”
*
Two weeks went by and Tomoko did not hear anything from Josuke or Okuyasu. While she wanted to know what was happening, or not happening, she decided to focus her time on her students. She went on a barrage of house visits and attended the PTA meetings, listening patiently to whatever the parents had to say about whatever the topics were on the table. She would spend late nights in the office, teachers tapping on her desk and tilting their heads with concern. She knew she used her never ending tasks as a teacher as a means to cope. This was no different from the first month or two after her father died when she would get her lesson plans written up and her exams graded and she still felt the need to organize her desk in a different way before she came home.
She pulled onto her street, checking the time and cringing. She filed through the contents of the fridge in her head and tried to chart through the possible food combinations, trying to factor in what Josuke liked as well as some of the things that Okuyasu preferred, provided she was over. She pulled up to the house and walked to the door, opening up to the sounds of Josuke and Okuyasu yelling incoherently.
She walked into the scene of the two of them watching a horror movie on TV, the two of them huddled next to each other. Tomoko was about to greet them until some ghost appeared on the screen, scaring the protagonist. Josuke shrieked, clinging to Okuyasu.
“If you hate ghosts so much, why did you turn this on?!” Okuyasu exclaimed.
Josuke opened their mouth, looking over and seeing Tomoko standing there. “Uh, hey, Mom,” Josuke said, involuntarily pushing their hair back into place.
Tomoko rolled her eyes. “Did you two eat yet?”
They shook their heads, their eyes focused back on the movie. Okuyasu turned around and said, “Uh, just so you know- I left my homework on the kitchen table? I think it’s okay… if you don’t have time to check it, it’s fine.”
“All right…” Tomoko grumbled, walking past the TV and making her way toward the kitchen. She pulled various items from the corners of her kitchen, placing them on the counter in the order she would need them. As she turned to grab a pan, she saw Josuke standing in the doorway, tapping on the moulding of the door.
“You scare yourself too much?” Tomoko teased. She walked toward the kitchen table and grabbed Okuyasu’s homework. She pulled out a chair and took a seat, glancing at the problems.
“Not exactly,” they replied, continuing to tap against the frame.
Tomoko spun around, searching for a pen. She found on across the table and grabbed it, circling one of the problems. “Can you get this back to Okuyasu? She just has to redo the last problem.”
Josuke shuffled over, grabbing the paper from her. “I can do that,” they replied, “Uh, can I help you with dinner, maybe?”
Tomoko raised her eyebrows.
Josuke’s grip on the paper tightened, crinkling it. “I don’t have to,” they said, huffing.
“You can, I’m sorry… it’s just unusual…”
Josuke nodded. “I know. Hold on.” They disappeared, returning to the entrance two seconds later. “Okuyasu says thanks,” they added.
“I’m glad. Come on in. Clean yourself up and help me chop up vegetables.”
Josuke joined her side, chopping up any carrots Tomoko passed their way while she cored an apple. When she passed another carrot their way and they raised their hand, saying, “Uh, I think I might tell Okuyasu I like her tonight.”
Tomoko looked over her shoulder and smirked. “You sure?” she asked.
“Yeah,” they replied, “It’s just… I hate having this… secret?... between us. I can’t let her hold my hand or hug me without knowing how I feel about her.” They sighed, taking the carrot and resuming chopping it.
“So you spent however many weeks torturing yourself over this?”
“Well, I mean, other stuff was going on, so I was distracted. But yeah, I guess.”
Tomoko shook her head, coring another apple. “Do you know how you’re gonna do it?”
“Probably walk her home and tell her. So she has a away out.” They turned toward her, putting her hand on her shoulder. “Hey, Mom?”
“What is it?” she asked.
“I know you and Okuyasu have gotten pretty close. Like, she talks about you a lot and all that. Just… if she still wants you around even if she doesn’t want me around, can you do that?”
Tomoko nodded her head, pulling them down low enough to kiss her cheek. “Of course,” she said.
It seemed odd discussing her favorite and least favorite qualities of her child, but her favorite quality of Josuke was also her least favorite. In spite of their occasionally prickly appearance, they were incredibly kind toward others. They were not the best at remembering birthdays and Tomoko knew if she gave them any money, they were going to pocket the change, but if Josuke was presented a scenario that would help someone long term as opposed to them, they would choose the other person every time.
If Tomoko wasn’t so aware of the potentially positive scenario in this situation, she would have made it into a life lesson. Instead, she made a note of it and decided that next time would be the time that she would properly look into that aspect.
“Is you being in here helping you? Or do you want to be with her right now?” Tomoko asked.
Josuke opened their mouth as Okuyasu barged into the kitchen. “Is it twenty-seven?!” Okuyasu screamed.
Tomoko sighed, smiling toward her. “Sounds about right. Let me check.”
Okuyasu shoved the paper between Josuke and her and she glanced over it. “Looks correct to me! Good job,” she said. She affectionately bopped her shoulder against Okuyasu’s, making Okuyasu grin wide. She craned her neck over to see the prep work that Josuke and Tomoko were working on. “Uh, do you need any help?”
“You cook at home more than enough,” Tomoko said, “Just hang out.”
“You can play Goldeneye without me yelling at you,” Josuke noted, “I’m gonna try and help cooking tonight.”
“Aw, hell yeah, later,” Okuyasu exclaimed, charging back into the living room.
“Clean off some potatoes and cut them up, please,” Tomoko instructed. Josuke nodded followed her instruction.
*
The rest of the night went fairly normal, which should have been what Tomoko anticipated. There were several moments that Okuyasu got close enough to Josuke that she could see panic in their eyes, but the moment always passed and the conversation went on.
Toward the end of the meal, Tomoko began cleaning up and said, “Hey, Josuke, I heard something about rain in the forecast later tonight. Walk Okuyasu home with an umbrella just in case.”
“It’s not a big deal! I don’t mind getting caught in the rain…” Okuyasu started.
“I can do it,” Josuke said, their voice coming out a little strained, “Don’t worry about it. Uh, let me go grab an umbrella…”
Tomoko continued putting various bowls and utensils into the sink, waving at the two of them from the entrance to the kitchen. “Have a good night, Okuyasu. I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”
Okuyasu waved enthusiastically as Josuke grimaced behind her. “Yeah, of course!” she exclaimed, “Goodnight, Ms. Higashikata!”
Josuke ushered her out, taking one last look at Tomoko with the door partially open. Tomoko mouthed, “Good luck,” as they closed the door behind themself. Tomoko cleaned up the remains of dinner and curled up on the couch, allowing herself to a night of unwinding, as opposed to planning, grading, or generally fretting about the children in her life. A light rain tapped along the roof, a calming summer shower that she muted the TV to listen to intermittently. Eventually, Josuke’s curfew time was coming up and she wondered how Josuke and Okuyasu were doing and more specifically if Josuke was able to have the conversation with Okuyasu.
Twenty minutes after curfew, the door opened, Josuke sheepishly walking in. They sat down next to Tomoko and even willingly leaned against her. She was so surprised she turned off the TV, turning to face them. “So?” she asked.
“Uh, I got a girlfriend,” Josuke replied.
Tomoko grinned, tossing her arms across them and giving them a hug. “I knew she’d say yes!” she exclaimed, hoping Josuke wouldn’t look too far into it. “Be good to her, all right? Just because you were able to get her doesn’t mean that you have to be a slacker.”
“I won’t, I won’t!” they exclaimed, “I figured I’d take her to the cafe and let her get whatever she wants after school tomorrow.”
“Try to come up with unique places, too,” she ordered. She tried to study her child’s face, taking in how excited they looked. When her eyes trailed down she noticed a purple mark at the middle of their neck. She reached over and pulled at the collar of their jacket, frowning.
“Josuke,” she said coolly, watching Josuke squirm underneath her touch.
“Y-yeah?” Josuke asked.
“Do you care to tell me how you got this?”
“Uh, well, a plate hit my neck and…”
“Oh, you are so full of shit,” Tomoko snapped.
Josuke dramatically slipped out of her grasp, running out of the living room. As they charged away, they yelled, “I’m never telling you anything ever again!”
*
Tomoko walked into town the next day, walking with a strange spring in her step. She wasn’t the one starting a new relationship, but she was still excited that her child, her children, rather, were able to start one together.
She was about to enter a store when she heard a familiar voice yell, “Hey, Ms. Higashikata!” When she turned around, she saw Okuyasu waving by the patio area of the local cafe, Josuke trying to pull her back into her seat.
“Have a good time, you two…” she replied, waving back.
“No, come on over!” Okuyasu demanded.
Tomoko walked over toward them, Okuyasu gestured toward the entrance and Tomoko sighed, walking through the cafe to walk out toward the patio. As she got closer to the table, she heard Josuke muttering under their breath.
“I wanted to get you something, because you helped us,” Okuyasu said.
Tomoko laughed. “I’m flattered, my dear, but aren’t you two supposed to be on a date?”
Okuyasu waved her hand. “This isn’t any different from what we did before.” Josuke balked at that. “Seriously, I got some money saved up. It's about time I got something for you after you've fed me so many times.”
Tomoko grinned, allowing herself to get comfortable. “Well, I can’t say no to that, I guess,” she said. Josuke began to comb their hair, trying to take deep breaths.
Because of all the things Tomoko was- a leader, a teacher, a role model-she was also a mother who couldn’t pass up the chance to embarrass one of her children.