An Unexpected Visitor - Part 2

Contrary to the usually relaxed and somewhat careless atmosphere that tends to emanate from this agency, right now it was the complete opposite. The tension was such that everyone, even without knowing exactly what was going on, was incredibly nervous.

Yu and his mother, Mrs. Rina Takahashi, were sitting on the sofas, facing each other. Mrs. Takahashi simply stared at her son with cold eyes, as if silently judging him, while Yu, on the other hand, only looked down, waiting for his angry mother to say something. However, he was the one who ended up breaking the silence.

“D-did you come to see me, Mom… w-what brings you here?” he asked nervously.

“Don’t give me that. You know perfectly well.”

Silence settled again after Yu’s frightened squeal, lasting a little longer. No one dared interrupt such a peculiar family dispute, but we didn’t have much time.

“Mrs. Takahashi,” said Miss Usagi. “I understand you have matters to attend to with Mr. Takahiro, but I’m afraid we’re short on time. A fog dome is about to appear, and we have to go deal with it.”

Mrs. Takahashi turned to look at Miss Usagi with a stern expression, but after giving it some thought, she seemed to understand that the situation wasn’t ideal.

“I see. Yes, this is something you must handle promptly.”

Everything seemed to calm down from there. Mrs. Takahashi’s expression softened a little, and Yu also looked less tense, although I could notice something else.

It was a feeling I could understand despite how different our situations were. It wasn’t something related to being hunters, but something tied to family itself.

“Yu, would it be alright if I go with them alone?”

“Eh? Why all of a sudden, Touka?”

“It would be rude to make the visit of someone important go to waste. You stay with her, I’ll be careful.”

Yu thought about it for a moment, and then nodded with a conflicted smile.

“Alright. I’m counting on you, Daisuke, Usagi. If anything happens to my intern, I swear I’ll come after you!”

“Of course!”

The three of us bowed slightly to Mrs. Takahashi, who returned the gesture, and finally left the agency. Breathing fresh air after such a tense situation was truly liberating.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Miss Usagi asked with concern.

“Yes. I may be just an intern, but I’ve learned a few things from Yu in all this time,” I replied while stretching. “Besides, I thought it was what Yu wanted.”

“He wanted to stay? Considering how complicated the situation seemed, I assumed Mr. Takahiro would take any excuse to escape. That’s usually what Daisuke does.”

“Hey!”

“Well, that too… But when the fog dome was mentioned, he looked a bit down. I lost my parents when I was little, so I know how important it is to spend as much time with them as possible. I just felt… that Yu also wanted to spend time with his mother.”

After my explanation, a very warm smile appeared on Miss Usagi’s face. I always had a rather strict and tough impression of her, so seeing her make expressions like that was incredibly rare.

“That was very sweet of you.”

“It seems you’re finally starting to understand Yu. Though, I’m not sure if that’s good or… Ouch!”

Before he could finish saying something inappropriate, Miss Usagi silenced Daisuke with a jab to the side. Yes, that was the Miss Usagi I was used to.

“Anyway. Let’s not waste more time and go.”

“Wait, isn’t Miyu coming?”

“She’s at the guild right now learning about the true torture of hunters… office work,” Daisuke explained.

Apparently, unlike me—who almost always does fieldwork during my internship—Miyu also has to handle and review paperwork, as well as forms, reports, and other tasks.

For things like that, I’m grateful I ended up working with Yu.

Once everything was settled, the three of us headed toward the area indicated by the machine’s prediction. I hope Yu is alright, whatever the reason his mother is so angry.

♂♂♂

Once Mom and I were alone in the agency, she let out a long, heavy sigh. I can’t blame her for being so angry; after all, I did exactly what she told me not to do.

“You sure drew attention, huh?”

Yes. A long time ago, Mom told me that under no circumstances should I draw too much attention from people. I had promised I wouldn’t, but things spun out of control last week with the whole incident involving the monsters at Touka’s academy.

After everything that happened—and after showing part of my true abilities, even some I didn’t know I had—everyone ran after me like crazy, asking questions or trying to recruit me into their guilds. I was lucky to escape before the journalists arrived, but even so, I can’t say I went unnoticed.

“I know, I’m sorry…”

“Listen, Yu, I want you to remember that if the truth were ever revealed, none of us would be safe no matter how far we ran. We’d be fugitives for life, so be more careful next time.”

The truth is… yes, if it ever came out, there wouldn’t be a place in the world where we could live peacefully.

“Yes, Mom. I understand, but I couldn’t control myself this time. The Pritan attacked Touka, she was badly hurt, and I… I just stopped thinking and went to save her,” I explained, then lowered my gaze, expecting the scolding to continue. “I couldn’t stand seeing her like that.”

Mom stayed silent for a few moments. Then, instead of continuing with the scolding as I expected, she just sighed and came closer, gently patting my head.

“You really are a troublesome son. Even so, I’m proud that you’re so strong and kind. I was afraid that becoming a hunter would change that about you, but fortunately I was wrong.”

Hearing such words from my mother, along with her gentle touch, filled me with warmth and confidence. It’s not something that happens often—not because we get along poorly, but because we rarely see each other due to Mom’s importance as a researcher. She’s always busy, and since I have to keep a low profile, it’s not a good idea for us to meet frequently either.

That’s how things are between us, so I try to enjoy the few moments I have with her.

“By the way, what about that girl… Touka?” she asked after returning to her seat.

“She’s a student from Tokyo Academy, doing her internship here. She finally understood the charm of TV dramas!”

After a conflicted look from my mother, she continued speaking. She also doesn’t quite understand my fascination with those kinds of shows.

“At first glance, she seems to have quite a bit of character and can be pretty serious. Hasn’t it been troublesome dealing with her?”

As expected from a researcher like her, she can pick up on hunters’ details the moment she sees them thanks to her extensive experience interacting with them.

“Well, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have trouble at first… but she’s not my first apprentice with that kind of personality. Kenshi was pretty bitter too—honestly, I’d say even more than Touka.”

I still remember how, even after helping him in the beginning, he got mad at me for supposedly taking his prey. Back then he was quite young and going through a hard time, so I decided to train him and look after him for a while. I suppose that experience helped me figure out how to deal with Touka, within reason.

“But I’m fine. She’s a really sweet and good girl. She just needs a bit of guidance to bring out her full potential.”

After my explanation, Mom smiled and simply replied with a “I see,” along with a relieved look. I guess knowing that, despite the initial issues, everything was fine made her feel calmer.

“Now that you’re here, how about we buy some sweets?! There’s a bakery nearby that’s really good!”

“Son… you haven’t been eating well, have you?”

“W-what?!”

Right on target.

To save time—and maybe thanks to a bit of laziness—I almost always eat instant noodles from the convenience store across the street or go out somewhere quick. And not to mention that whenever I have money, I usually spend it on sweets or pastries.

Mom sighed again, irritated.

“Oh, this child of mine…”

After that, Mom gave me another lecture about proper nutrition and how it affects a hunter’s performance—quite a detailed one, I must say. She’s always well informed.

Eventually, she had to leave to take care of some work matters, though she promised she would visit more often, which made me happy.

And even though it was a bit of a shame, I also had things to take care of.

“Yes… I’m sure I’ll leave Touka speechless.”

And with that declaration, I left the agency.