No matter how angry he got, she still wouldn't take it to heart. She would just quietly walk away, then gently call him to dinner that evening.
Takaki Egawa ran out of the dark room. In an instant, the light outside drove away the darkness.
And it wasn't just the Egawa family.
In both the Japan Administrative District and the Great Hua Administrative District, countless people watching the anime were weeping—men holding back tears, women openly crying.
Most of the women were sobbing their eyes out, while the men stubbornly tilted their heads up, refusing to look toward their daughters or sons.
It wasn't just families. Many people watching the anime alone were feeling a lump in their throats.
Yuki Kusano was one of them.
Like many people who had left home to struggle alone in a big city, her vision had grown blurry with tears.
She thought about how she always used work as an excuse, and how she hadn't seen her parents back home in a long time.
Her hometown was a sparsely populated rural place. Its only real claim to fame was its beautiful scenery.
So she had left, heading to Tokyo to pursue her dreams.
She had worked for over a decade and finally achieved a measure of success. Though she worked overtime every day, she felt it was worth it for her career.
But deep down, there was always an emptiness that nothing could fill.
She had no friends she could truly confide in, no boyfriend who doted on her, and, more than anything, no parents who would accept her unconditionally.
Everything was so cold.
Everything was so painfully real.
Yuki Kusano didn't hate the big city, because she had indeed made her dreams come true there.
She knew this was the price she had to pay.
But as she watched this episode, exhaustion suddenly welled up from deep within her.
She thought of her father's rough but warm hands, and his stern, sun-darkened face, which only ever smiled in front of his family.
She thought of her mother, a plump woman who wasn't particularly pretty. Her cooking had always been plain and unremarkable, just like her hometown.
Yet for some reason, Yuki Kusano felt that simple food tasted better than everything she had eaten in the big city.
It was so much more... nostalgic.
Yuki Kusano hadn't been back home in years, because she was afraid her parents would pester her about getting married.
To her alarm, she realized she couldn't remember what her parents had looked like the last time she saw them.
She thought of Uesugi Yuichi's words.
---But parents grow old surprisingly quickly.
Yuki Kusano's heart clenched, and she began to worry about their health.
"...I'll go back tomorrow."
Yuki Kusano murmured, her eyes red.
She pulled out a tissue and wiped her eyes. Once she had composed herself, she called her boss to ask for time off.
"Hello, Kusano?"
Yuki Kusano's boss was a man in his early forties. His voice sounded muffled just then.
"It's me, Boss. Um... I wanted to—"
"You want to take time off, right?"
"Ah, yes. Yes, I do."
"No problem. Go ahead."
As Yuki Kusano sat there in confusion, her boss hung up on her.
Yuki Kusano had no idea that, on the other end of the call...
Her boss quietly lowered his phone.
The middle-aged man sat in his darkened home, watching TV.
He silently lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.
His hand trembled.
A tiny red ember flickered in the darkness.
The man stared blankly at the TV. The anime was still playing, but he couldn't focus on it anymore.
After a long while, he finally made up his mind.
"I should go back, too..."
"...We've been fighting for so many years. It's time to make up."
The man stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and began packing.
Countless similar things were happening across the Japan Administrative District and the Great Hua Administrative District.
But before taking action, most people chose to finish watching the eleventh episode of Alien Baby Hikari-chan.
In the story.
After Uesugi Yuichi finished speaking, silence fell over the room.
"Teacher Uesugi... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said something like that."
Yuzuki Sasaki was indeed a good kid. She had taken Uesugi Yuichi's advice to heart.
But she was still confused.
"I thought about it, and I can understand why my parents did that. But, but... I really want to keep learning from you, Teacher Uesugi."
Yuzuki spoke carefully, trying to show him how much she wanted to continue without letting him realize how she felt.
"...That's exactly why I came."
Uesugi Yuichi said, "Parents and children often disagree. It's not unusual for them to misunderstand each other."
"That's when someone else needs to step in."
Uesugi Yuichi stood up, straightened his clothes, and said calmly:
"And that's exactly where a teacher's duty and responsibility lie."
"Being a teacher means more than just teaching. It also means guiding students."
"That's why this profession holds such a high status, and why it's so respected."
"I may not be a teacher at your school, Sasaki, but since you call me Teacher, I'll see my duty through to the end."
"This is... the bare minimum of a teacher's moral responsibility. Leave it to me, Sasaki. I'll make sure your parents agree to let you keep studying art."
"T-Teacher Uesugi!"
Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!
So cool! He was insanely cool! He was the coolest!
Teacher Uesugi! He's so cool!
Yuzuki Sasaki's cheeks flushed pink, and the little person inside her was tumbling around with excitement.
Section 41: 38 — A Master of Communication
"Sasaki, just you wait."
Uesugi Yuichi smiled confidently, picked up Hikari-chan, and had him fly them back downstairs.
Then, with a determined look, he rang the doorbell.
Footsteps approached and stopped behind the door. Uesugi Yuichi guessed they were looking through the peephole.
Then the footsteps hurried back inside, and faint voices drifted out.
Uesugi Yuichi waited a while before the door finally opened.
Yuzuki's mother stood there, looking troubled, while her father wore an angry expression.
Uesugi Yuichi keenly noticed Yuzuki sneaking a look at them from the stairs.
Don't worry. This will all be settled soon.
He gave Yuzuki a knowing look.
"Hey, you! What the hell are you—huh? A baby?"
Yuzuki's father was about to start yelling when he suddenly saw the adorable baby in Uesugi Yuichi's arms.
He was utterly baffled. This guy wasn't following the script at all!
Yuzuki's mother turned pale and trembled. "D-Don't tell me that's Yuzuki's son?!"
"Idiot! How could it be? We're with our daughter every day. If she'd had a baby, wouldn't we know?"
Yuzuki's father scolded his wife.
"Ah, sorry. I should put him down first."
Only then did Uesugi Yuichi realize that it was pretty strange to still be holding Hikari-chan.
He set Hikari-chan on the floor.
Then he took a deep breath.
The viewers in front of their TVs were waiting for him to turn things around, wondering how he would convince Yuzuki's parents.
Uesugi Yuichi gave them a confident smile.
In an instant—
Tiger Landing Dogeza!
"Please! Let me take Sasaki with me! I promise I'll take good care of her! (I mean, teach her!)"
Uesugi Yuichi didn't disappoint anyone!
He was still the same goofy, handsome middle-aged man!
Uesugi Yuichi shouted with all his might, his voice ringing through the neighborhood.
The neighbors started peeking out to see what was going on.
Yuzuki's mother: "???"
Yuzuki's father: "... (silently pulling out a broom)"
Like a wrathful guardian deity, he raised his weapon and struck. "Hah! So you're the bastard! You're the one who seduced my daughter! Prepare to die!"
"Ugh!"
Pain shot through Uesugi Yuichi's back. Realizing he'd been hit, he quickly covered his head and rolled around, dodging left and right.
Yuzuki's father chased after him, swinging the broom.
"Dad! Stop it!"
Seeing things were about to get out of hand, Yuzuki rushed out and grabbed her father.
Her mother also held her husband back, afraid something would happen.
Uesugi Yuichi lay on the floor. Only when he saw that Yuzuki's father wasn't coming after him did he finally relax.
"Damn it! What on earth is going on? What did I say wrong?!"
He looked completely bewildered.
But he couldn't just lie there forever, so Uesugi Yuichi got back to his feet.
He thought this was all a misunderstanding and decided to explain. "Dad, hear me out!"