Part 15: Episode 15: A Picture Obscured

Even though I started out well, it only took me a month into school to make my first big mistake.

I handed in my recorder instead of my math homework!
What do I do? Is Mr. Nanaki still in the staff room…?


Excuse m--

Huh?

Mr. Nanaki and Dr. Iwamine. I hadn’t expected to see them together.
…And you see nothing peculiar about these numbers?
Nothing at all.
There is a statistical deviation visible in the data on students from the past few years. I had hoped to get some insight from you, but…
It would seem I have overestimated you.
Really? Sorry I couldn’t help, then.

I wasn’t sure what was going on between the two of them, but the air seemed tense. I couldn’t let Mr. Nanaki just get attacked like that!
That’s not very nice, doctor!
…What do you want?
Hello, Lourde. What is it?
Umm, sir. I gave you my recorder earlier instead of my homework!
…So you did. Here you go.
Here’s the workbook! Thank you, sir! Sorry, sir!






School seemed to just keep flying by, and before I knew it another month had passed.

I think I’ll go home and spend some fulfilling TIME before going to bed!

Goon!
Hi, Ryouta!
You know where Mr. Nanaki lives, right?
Yes, but… Why do you ask?

He’s already left, but… You know how slowly he moves. If you hurry, you could catch up to him before he gets home!
I could take it to him, but I need to run some errands for my mother before I go home, so I was wondering if maybe you could…?
Sure! I’m not doing anything.
Thank you!

Mr. Nanaki’s phone… Now that I think about it, I don’t know anything about his personal life. Is he always as spacey as he is at school…?
…He probably spends 97% of his time at home asleep.

…Hmm?

A piece of paper fell out of his phone case.

What’s this…?
…!
The music stops.

It’s a photo.
A photo of a bird, but… I can’t see the face at all. Someone’s scribbled all over it.

Did… Mr. Nanaki do this? It doesn’t seem like him at all.

I’ll just put it back in the case. Maybe I should pretend I didn’t see it…?
Either way, I had to catch up to Mr. Nanaki quickly.




Thankfully, I caught him while he was still walking through the park.

Oh, hello, Lourde. Where are you going? You look like you’re in a hurry.
Sir, you forgot your cellphone!
…So I did! Thank you for coming after me with it, Lourde. That was very nice of you.
No problem at all, sir! Umm…
Hmm? Was there something else?

I can’t help it. I know I shouldn’t have seen it, but I did, and now I want to know why it’s there, what it means.

Sir, I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to look inside, but something… fell out.
Fell out?
Umm, the picture. I…
Aaah, yes, that.
……

But I’m curious!
It was… almost completely marked out.
Yes.
Because I marked it out.

He… he did!? I never would have believed it from someone else, but since it’s him saying so…


And so he left, with a farewell as carefree as if we’d just been talking about the weather.
He… has a side I’ve never seen, doesn’t he…?