A journey to reach Hikaru.

After leaving Tonomura and Vestra in the principles office I contemplate my next action regarding Hikaru. 'Since I've already skipped the majority of my classes for today, I decide it's probably best for me to head to Hikaru's now.' Without bothering with my final classes, I leave the school grounds in search of Hikaru Miyazawa's place of residence, long before the school's bell can announce the end of the day. Using a map on my phone as a guide, I wander in the direction that I hope will be Hikaru's home.

As I walk through the streets, I study the document Tonomura gave me and note the names of Hikaru's guardians, Waragai Jun-san and Waragai Chie-san.  There isn't much in the way of information about them, aside from their home address and a series of contact numbers.

As I continue walking, I realise that it's taking longer than I expected. My legs and feet are starting to ache from all of the walking and I can't help but be reminded about the differences in my capabilities in this world compared to the Other World. 'Maybe I should start taking up some fitness activities, build up my strength in this world too.'

In an effort to distract myself from my aching legs and feet I fiddle with my phone's map and start comparing the distances between my apartment and Hikaru's home from Muzukashii. After some observations and calculations, it dawns on me that Hikaru's home is much further away from the school than my own apartment.

Using some of the map's features I find out that Hikaru doesn't have it any easier either, despite her having access to public transport close by her home, the indicated routes show that it would take longer to reach Muzukashii than walking would. 'Hell, I've already been walking for a couple hours now, and I still haven't reached my destination.' Looking through the map some more, I see that there are two other schools closer by that she could have attended instead of Muzukashii. 'Then again, they don't have the prestige that Muzukashii does.'

As my walk is nears its end, I can see the sun getting closer to the horizon, 'I have to tell Hikaru everything I've learned and what to expect in the future.' While walking through the streets I can't help but admire the scenery surrounding the neighborhood. 'The area around Hikaru's is really nice.' While I continue to observe the neighborhood around me, I reflect on the key words Tonomura said to me concerning Hikaru. 'Reassure her, Guide her, Comfort her, and the one that resonated with me the most, Protect her.'

I reach the front of the Waragai's home to see a lovely two-story family house. Reflecting on my journey to reach this place, I realise that Hikaru has to leave for school three hours early, just to arrive on time for class. Taking a moment to catch my breath, I double-check the document to ensure I'm at the right house. Once confirmed, I walk in through the gate up to the front door, after I take in a deep breath I press the door bell. After sounds of the door's locks shifting, the front door opens slightly, behind it nice looking woman with long brown hair asks me who I am.

"Hello. I'm sorry for bothering you. My name is Takashi Osada, I'm a classmate of Miyazawa-san's." The woman, whom I suspect is Chie Waragai, eyes me suspiciously before nearly closing the door to undo the door's chain lock and opening the door wider.

"You're from Musukashii High?" Chie-san looks me up and down as I nod in response to her question, her suspicion keeping her guarded against me. "You mentioned being Hikaru's classmate. How did you find this address?" 'This woman is really cautious against me, if I can't get inside, I can't talk to Hikaru. I need to approach this carefully and play it right if I'm to get inside the house.'

"Miyazawa-san has been absent for the last couple days, and I wanted to know if she is okay. So I asked Kocho Tonomura Sensei about Miyazawa-san, out of concern himself, he provided me your address so that I could check on her." 'Chie-san relaxes slightly, but not enough to trust me yet. I need to go a step further.' I reach into my bag and retrieve the class assignments and present them to Chie-san. "I haven't come empty-handed either, I thought to bring her some school work from our classes, and a copy of my notes for her as well."

To my relief, upon seeing the paperwork, Chie-san lowers her guard. Good thing too, as the sun has since dropped to the edge of the horizon, casting an orange glow in the sky behind me. Chie-san opens the door wide and invites me inside. With a bow and a grateful thank you to Chie-san, I step inside the house and remove my shoes, Chie-san guides me to the living room where her husband, Jun Waragai-san, is lying across a small brown couch, engrossed in watching TV with one of his legs hanging over the arm rest.

"Jun!" The way she says his name surprises me—it was quick and with a sense of urgency, and I noticed a hint of harshness to it. Afterward, her tone shifts to a more welcoming and pleasant one. "We have a guest here to see Hikaru." Chie-san speaks while gesturing towards me, Jun-san barely lifts his head above the couch to look at me, he lazily lifts his right arm to give me a disinterested single wave to welcome me, before dropping it back down and returning his full attention to the TV.

Jun's actions irritate me to the point where a flash of memory enters my mind—the sight of my father lying on a tatami mat floor in a similar position to Jun's. He stares at the small TV in the corner of the room ignoring both my mother and me. The memory fades along with my irritation, Chie-san huffs at her husband's behavior before returning her attention to me.

"Sorry about him, rough days at work." Chie-san leads me up the stairs towards Hikaru's room, I can't help but admire the structure of the house and the decorations the Waragais have added to it as we head up the stairs. We reach Hikaru's room door and my attention is drawn to the tray of uneaten food sitting at the base of it, Chie-san clicks her tongue and lets out an exasperated sigh as she looks down at the tray of food. "What is wrong with this girl, what am I going to do with her." Chie-san crouches down to grab the tray to take it downstairs.

"I cooked this for her this afternoon, but she hasn't taken a single bite. I'll take care of this and allow you a chance to talk to her alone. Maybe you can find out what's wrong with her. However, let me make one thing clear. If I catch you two getting up to something that I don't like, I will not hesitate to throw you out of my house before you realise you've made a mistake."

Chie-san lays on the intimidation quite thick, but it doesn't faze me in the slightest. Still, I need to play the part here, so I visibly gulp and put on a nervous smile, which she buys. I watch her as she walks to and down the stairs, I keep up the act until she is out of sight, once she's gone, my expression turns serious as I reflect on everything I've seen so far. The house is nice, but its inhabitants are setting off warning bells in my head. 'Jun is disinterested, and if anything, he reminds me of my father, which I don't like and is not good for Hikaru.' I turn back and look down at the floor, remembering the tray with its untouched food.

'Then there's Chie-san, she looks and acts nice, but my senses tell me it's all an act, there's something about her that makes me feel uneasy. Then there was the food on the tray, from it's unappetising look to its arrangement, it had probably been sitting there since breakfast this morning.' I take in a deep breath as I stand in front of Hikaru's room, with a steady exhale, I gently knock on the door.

"Miyazawa-san. It's me, Osada." I use a calm and gentle voice and addressing her with our last names in the hopes it will resonate with her. I listen intently waiting for a response, but I barely hear anything aside from the sound of shuffling behind the door. "I came here to see if you were okay... Even Tonomura Sensei is worried about you." I struggle to hear the sound of shuffling behind the door again:; it almost sounds like Hikaru is trying to approach the door only to give up and backing away. "Miyazawa-san... Is it okay if I come in?" I hear nothing from inside and I'm starting to worry, she might be so closed off now that she wont let anyone in or near her.

"Come in."