“……Is that so. …No, no a registration isn’t necessary. Satoshi-kun, you are our Hinamizawa Fighters’ promising player! We’ll keep a open seat for you. So come back any time.”
“I don’t know…… I don’t think I’ll be returning anytime soon, so I thought I should resign first…”
Satoshi-kun began asking to quit the Hinamizawa Fighters.
……Since I knew the situation that Satoshi-kun and Satoko-chan were in, …I did thought that he may say this sooner or later…
Satoko-chan and her Aunt relationship is becoming seemingly deadly, with her bullying now more vicious apparently.
Recently, it seems that the Child Protection Services personals have intervened, and for the time being the Aunt has calm down a little but, ……she soon reverted to her malicious harassment in a sly form.
According to the neighbors, there is no night where Aunt’s angry voice and Satoko-chan’s crying cannot be heard, furthermore, it was not rare for the screaming to last late into the night.
The numbers on Satoko-chan’s voluntary weekly fixed-study have slowly grown for the worse, and to counter it, I’ve increased her medication to maintain these numbers, however, ………as long as her relationship with her Aunt does not improve, she will eventually be deranged with near L5 symptoms.
…No, if I’m not mistaken, she isn’t the type to become deranged in the final stages. ……while her heart is harboring her insanity, she is the type that hides it on the surface.
……Just as the year before last, when she pushed her parents, …it is possible that Satoko-chan may kill her Aunt.
Because of the Yamainu’s handy-work, that fall incident was resolved as an accident, and Oishi pulled away but, he continues to suspect something is wrong even now.
……If another incident were to occur in Satoko-chan’s vicinity, ……this time he will forego all leniency on an investigation on her.
……Satoko-chan’s worsening situation is now at a level where I cannot do little about.
Knowing this, for a loving brother like Satoshi-kun to say he would like to spend more time with this sister, isn’t strange at all…
“To tell you the truth, I starting a part-time job. That is why I will not be able to come to practice…”
“A part-time job? Is there something you want to buy…?”
“……Yes. …Soon it will be Satoko’s birthday. There’s a stuff animal that Satoko really wanted, so I thought I get it for her as a present.”
Come to think of it, that’s right.
I remember on her insurance card.
Wasn’t it, 06/24? Just right after the Watanagashi Festival?
“I see. ……Satoshi-kun, you are really a loving brother. I’m sure Satoko-chan will enjoy it.”
“……I’ll be happy, if she enjoyed it.”
The way Satoshi-kun was talking, I assumed that he had much stored anxiety. ……To Satoshi-kun, to see Satoko-chan bullied, is the same as torturing himself…
By moderately exercising through sports, his stress can be relieved, and along with adequate regulated sleep, this will heal the process.
If Satoko-chan is being disciplined nightly by her Aunt, …it is doubtful that Satoshi-kun has been taking adequate amount of sleep.
……Also, I do not know the type of job he took, but unlike playing sports, it will be difficult for him to release his stress, most likely.
…To put it bluntly, for the mentally and physically weaken Satoshi-kun, I could not approve of him taking this job as it could be his final blow.
I thought of giving him some money for the present, but knowing his nature, he will not take the offer.
He wants to award the present himself, so he will believe that he must solely gather the money himself, and refuse my offer.
Since his work is only to buy a present for Satoko-chan, it must be something on the short-term. …If it is only for a short time, it will pressure him too much…
Really, while his mentality is weaken, I would like avoid any increase to his load, but when he bought up that Satoko-chan’s birthday was near, it will be very difficult to stop a loving brother like him.
………Satoshi’s resolve is firm.
If I tell him to quit his job, I could loose his trust.
Because I feared that, I decided to accept this resignation.
“……Oh yea, Coach. …a bat, do you mind if I borrow one?”
I gravely mistaken the meaning behind those words.
…Later, when I heard that he carried that bat as a weapon to protect himself, ……I realized a dangerous indication was definitely emerging in Satoshi-kun, already at that moment.
He had convinced himself the Chain of Bizarre Deaths will continue onto a Fourth Year, …and had no doubt that he will become the next victim.
……He had become strongly obsessed that someone was after his life. That is for sure, a late stage symptom of the Hinamizawa Syndrome.
…But, at this moment, even when I was a person involved in the Hinamizawa Syndrome research, I was careless…
“A bat? What do you plan to use it for?”
Satoshi-kun had a personal bat.
That’s why, he should be asking whether it’s okay to take it home rather than borrow it, but curiously he had asked to borrow it.
…Thinking about it later there was no way for me to understand at this point that he had asked my consent before taking the bat home was to lighten his guilty conscience.
“……No, I mean, ……I may not be able to come to practice, but…… I think I will almost certainly find the time to continue practicing my swings.“
“That’s good! If that’s the case, please take one. When you practice your swing, be sure to pay attention to your surrounding or else it’ll be dangerous. If it won’t bother your neighbors, it would be good practice to hit a hanging a tire.”
Just swinging a bat will be a good stress reliever.
That’s why, by giving him the bat, it will relieve his anxiety, even for a little bit. …or at least I thought.
……………but, …that was a big mistake.
Later, I learned of the unrecoverable stage placed before me…