A Little Push Leads to a Big Home Visit

Today’s UN Lesson --- Problem solve in multiple ways

A leader's quality is revealed directly by how they solve problems--- a statement inarguably true for a person's character as well. Akihiro Tani is increasingly having to develop both versions of himself.

On days like today, he’s caught himself looking back with a sense of nostalgia to the time when he only had to focus on one of those two.

Everything was much easier as a lone wolf, honing his skills without thinking or worrying about anything else. His abandonment of his middle school friends was quite literally, driven by the pursuit of that single-minded goal. He had never thought it possible to do what he’s doing now, balancing the feelings and needs of the people around him with the ruthless Ambition of becoming the world’s top ranked diplomat.

Yet here he is, no longer running away from what was once thought of as an impossible challenge and instead embracing it. The impact of his current friends has dramatically altered his views on the world in just a few short months.

So today, a full 5 days after the end of the Gogatsusai Festival, Tani returns to his clubroom holding a week’s worth of schoolwork that was given to him by Ume’s homeroom teacher. His childhood friend has not shown up for classes this entire time.

He has been charged to deliver the papers to her home.

If he is going to solve this problem, he’ll have to do it as the leader of his club, and more importantly, he’ll have to do it as a friend.

Even though he knows this, he’ll still need some help pushing him in the right direction…

---------------------

Tani plops himself on his chair at the helm of the U shaped table; he bellows out an agitated sigh, which draws the attention of Mariko and Charl, who are the only club members present due to Anita and Emilia being on cleaning duty.

“Lemme guess,” Mariko asks, “Kimura’s schoolwork?”

“Yeah,” Tani replies, “to think she’d miss this much school, if she isn’t careful, she’ll have to take remedial classes over Summer break. Just what’s her problem anyways?”

Charl sets his pencil on the table and says, “I think that’s pretty obvious.”

“When she texted me the other day, she said she had a bad cold. Do colds normally last so long?? Wait, maybe she’s terminally ill!?”

Mariko tilts her head and says exasperatedly, “C’mon dude, it’s not either of those.”

“But she said---”

“Forget what she said.”

“....”

“Kimura is still embarrassed by what happened at the Festival.”

Tani folds his arms. “All things considered, our booth did really well though. Shirai-sensei told me that both the Principal and TIU’s Dr. Arai was impressed by everyone’s language skills. Ume has nothing to feel embarrassed about.”

Charl chuckles and leans in. “Akihiro-kun, I don’t think Kimura-san was thinking about the success of our booth when she ran off.”

“Then enlighten me.”

Charl points to the stack of papers on the desk and replies, “I’m sure you’ll get your answers once you deliver that school work to her.”

“So about that…” Tani says, leaning back in his chair and looking away. “I was thinking about having one of you two do it instead?”

“I refuse.” --- “Fat chance!”

“Why not??”

Mariko is incensed, Charl is amused. To both of them, the fact that Tani would suggest such a thing means that he isn’t obtuse, and he actually does know why Ume hasn’t been coming to school. He is just choosing not to face it.

Charl pulls out his notebook and begins writing while Mariko speaks up. “Listen, last month, Kimura jumped through hoops and hurdles to cheer ya up just because she thought ya needed it. It’s your time to return the favor.”

Seeing Mariko so assertive and stern comes as a stark reminder of his childish behavior. He’s known full well that Ume has been struggling with the confrontation with her ex, and he’s more or less spent the last few days hoping Ume would be the one to take the initiative and be the one to come talk about it.

Mariko is right to press him on this, he knows it just as well as she does.

“Alright,” Tani replies, “I’ll head over to her place right now.”

“Ngyahh, so easy??”

“Don’t act so surprised. I’m not an idiot.”

“That’s news to me!”

Tani fires a scowl her way and puffs. He grabs the papers and heads to the door, but before leaving he turns to the two and says, “I may be taking off early, but it doesn’t mean your job is done.” While glancing at the clock on the wall he continues, “Anita and Emilia should be back soon, so I’ve automated a pop quiz to be texted to each of you. I will be able to keep track of your progression through the quiz live from my cell, so I’ll be watching and expecting perfect scores while I’m on the train.”

“Ehhh you’re kidding!?”

“I never kid! This was my plan all along in case I was forced to deliver this paperwork to Ume.”

Charl uses the back of his hand to stifle a chuckle and says, “You never cease to amaze me, Akihiro-kun. Always one step ahead for so many things, but always two steps behind for the most important things.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll find that out too. Very soon I imagine.”

Tani squints, yet decides not to reply. He exits the room and shuts the door behind him in a thud.

Now left on their own, Charl returns to his notebook and writes.

“Say,” Mariko mutters, gathering Charl’s attention. “This manga you're drawing... do ya think it'll have a happy ending?”

“Hmm,” Charl contemplates, “I guess it depends on who you're rooting for."

She sits back down on her chair and throws her head onto the desk. She groans, as if the weight of something heavy has made sitting up impossible.

"Something on your mind?" Charl asks.

"Yes, actually," she replies, "I remember why I don't like shoujo mangas... someone always ends up hurt."

---------------------------

‘Ding Dong’

Ume’s door bell rings, and Tani can hear it echo inside her quiet house. It took a lot of effort to work up the courage to be standing right here, and not all of it was just facing Ume. 

The truth is, Ume’s parents are quite overbearing, and exist in a perpetual state of high energy. Though they are extremely kind; for Tani, they were a lot to deal with even as a young child, and now after not seeing them in years, he shivers at the thought of how excited they'll be to see him.

The silence lingers, so Tani rings the bell once more.

‘Ding Dong’

Waiting patiently, Tani plays with the papers in his hand to calm his racing mind when a sound through the speaker by the bell comes out.

“Hello?”

It is Ume, and hearing her voice so suddenly makes his heart skip a beat.

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Tani!? W-W-What are you doing here??”

“I’ve come to give you your homework.”

“Oh…”

“I'm sure you already have some, but I brought cold medicine too.”

“I see…”

A few seconds of silence lingers between the two, which prompts Tani to clear his throat and ask, “Are you going to let me in or what?”

“A-Ah yeah! Sorry, one sec!”

Ume’s two story house is quite big, but somehow Tani can hear the thudding of frantic footsteps racing down the stairs and towards the door from where he stands outside.

The door flings open, and a huffing and puffing Ume greets him.

“....”

“W-What?” Ume asks, her face becoming more flush as she watches his eyes dance from one part of her to the next.

He blinks a few times, adjusting to the sight of her. Her face is framed by thick glasses, and her hair is styled in small twin braids. She wears small shorts that reveal much of her bare legs and sockless feet, but the big, baggy shirt she has on gives her an almost shapeless pillowcase-like appearance.

“I didn’t mean to stare, it’s just that it’s been a while since I’ve last seen you in those glasses.”

“!!”

Ume pats at her face to investigate. It would seem that she didn’t notice that she’s had these giant things on since she only ever wears them in the comfort of her home while she’s alone. Having him see her like this comes as quite the shock.

Her face goes bright red.

“H-H-Hold on one second!”

She slams the door in his face so hard that the wind just about knocks Tani off of the stoop and sending the papers a flight. She rushes back into her house, creating an incredible amount of ruckus while doing so.

Tani is left rattled while collecting both his balance and the falling papers.

Just a second later she returns, opening the door and presenting an entirely different look. Her glasses are gone, and her hair is now cascading to her shoulders in a wave due to the undone braids.

Tani can’t believe how quickly she was able to put her contacts in and fix her hair up.

“You can come in now.” she says, making space for him.

“Okay.”

The two make their way inside, and immediately Tani is overcome with nostalgia; the scent of her house hasn’t changed since he was a kid, and memories come flooding back as he passes each room and makes his way upstairs, trailing behind her.

“Uh,” he stammers, investigating his surroundings. “Where are your parents?”

“Oh, they’re both at work. My mom got a job at a dental clinic once I started high school, she’s not the type of person to want to hang around home all day if she doesn’t have to.”

Tani pauses on the stairs, prompting Ume to turn around and look at him quizzically. When Tani bashfully averts his gaze, Ume realizes what has gotten him so flustered.

“D-Don’t get any funny ideas you perv!”

“Me??”

“Yeah you, you’re the only guy here!”

“You’re the one who invited me inside knowing full well your parents aren’t around!”

“Am I being victim-blamed??”

“Ha! Fine, I’ll leave. I refuse to be subject to abuse for just trying to help you out.”

Tani puffs and turns to walk down the stairs, but he is halted by Ume’s voice pleading to him.

“Wait..!”

He pauses.

She softly says, “Since you’re here to help, I’d like you to stay. Come on.”

Tani doesn’t say a word in reply, his feet seem to move on their own to climb him up the stairs and follow her towards the open door of her room. Upon entering, he’s shocked by what he sees. There are multiple TV screens, each one connected to a different modern game console, an intricate surround sound system is built into the ceiling, and whatever open space left on the walls are covered with posters.

At the center of the room is a bean bag, the perfect spot to play each counsel on each TV, Ume doesn’t hesitate to plop herself right on it, sinking in comfortably.

Tani considers the amount of money that must have been dumped into this room, so he treads lightly, avoiding Gundam figurines and other anime trinkets before setting the paperwork on a cluttered desk, and then sitting astute on her bed in the corner of the room.

“Why are you so far away?” Ume asks.

He's still uneasy about being inside a girl's room without her parents around. Maybe if she kept her nerdy glasses on and her hair braided, he'd see her more like his childhood friend than the attractive model she is. He's spent so many hours of his life in this room that he couldn't possibly count, yet now, it feels as foreign to him as a different world entirely.

Of course, he wouldn't dare tell her that.

“I mean, apparently you’re sick enough to miss 5 days of school, I’m not going anywhere near you.”

Ume sighs and leans back in her bean bag. “I’m not sick, dummy.”

She doesn't seem to notice his lie, but her reply gives him a chance to touch upon the main reason why he's here.

The thought of it is enough to send his heart rate to the moon.

Within his mind he debates it, as if there were an angel and devil on each of his shoulders, one representing the comfort of shelter away from danger and the other representing exposure to the harsh elements ahead.

“Will you tell me what’s wrong?”

The angel wins out.

Ume grabs at her elbows and sucks on her lip, it’s her turn now to battle with the little monsters on her shoulders.

“It depends on who’s asking…”

“Listen, we’re only two weeks away from Summer vacation, if you don’t come back to class next week you’re going to be stuck doing remedial classes. Judging by all these games in your room, that’ll really suck for you.”

A strained smile runs away with her features when she replies, “Sounds like I’m talking to my club president.”

“I am your club president, though.”

“Well, my club president might get a different answer than my friend.”

Tani harkens back to their date where she had said something similar when asked her about why she decided to become a model. He remembers not being satisfied with her answer, but he remembers how nervous he was to potentially get an answer he wasn’t prepared for. 

It's why he decided to ask her as the club president.

This time however, he’s got a better idea of what to expect. There is very obviously something in Ume’s past that is hurting her now, if he doesn’t find out what that is, then he can’t help.

“It can’t be both?” he asks in jest.

“Nope.” Ume answers in a snap.

“If that’s the case…” Tani takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, and then giving her a determined glare. “I’m asking as a friend.”

Ume genuinely smiles this time. She taps on the open space on the bean bag next to her and says, “Come have a seat… I’ll tell you everything.”

To Be Continued!!