Someone once said that humans are creatures of adaptation.
It's been almost a month since I started taking care of Eto, and childcare has completely settled into my daily routine.
I covered my lack of living expenses by doing a side job from home, making artificial flowers.
Having always been handy, I thought I'd manage easily, but it turned out to be harder than expected.
How do other moms think about taking on side jobs while raising a child? Suddenly I have so much respect for them.
There was an incident where Eto, fascinated by seeing flowers made from plastic and other materials, dove into a pile of finished artificial flowers and almost cost me more in damages than I made in wages, but let's let that slide.
But it seems I wasn't the only one who got used to caring for Eto.
For example, at school…
Waaaaah!
"Teacher! Eto is…"
"Does she need a diaper change? Go take care of it."
…or something like that.
Bwaaah!
"Teacher!"
"She's hungry, isn't she? Go feed her."
…or something.
Eeeh!
"Teac—"
"Go on, take her."
Somehow, the teachers at school could tell exactly what Eto needed just by her cry. Oh, and most of them are married, right? Is this the power of adults?
Anyway, I feel bad toward the people at school who took a liking to Eto, but today I managed to fulfill all the attendance days required for graduation.
I was a little sad thinking Eto had made friends, but having a ghoul baby among humans isn't exactly wise, at least until Eto herself can hide that she's a ghoul.
Starting today until graduation, I plan to skip school with various excuses and devote everything to my part-time job and Eto's care.
I left the school gate feeling a weight in my chest I couldn't quite express—knowing today was the last time I'd spend with my classmates.
"Hey there, Koma!"
The moment I stepped out of the school gate, Hitokawa Tomoru waved at me, leaning against the fence. Then he saw me and, looking stunned, said,
"…But why the sunglasses?"
"Fashion."
"Do you really need to put them on for Eto too?"
"Because it's fashion."
Hitokawa was puzzled because both Eto and I were wearing oversized sunglasses that didn't suit us at all.
Sunglasses over school uniforms—enough to make me look weird, but for a baby? And when the sun wasn't even that strong?
Eto still can't control her Kakugan from manifesting. It always appears when she's hungry, and it could come at any time otherwise too.
So I decided to put sunglasses on Eto. That way I could hide her Kakugan whenever it surfaced.
But only putting sunglasses on the baby felt like I was hiding something and would only arouse suspicion.
So I wore sunglasses too.
That way it looked less like I was hiding something and more like I was just a weirdo making the baby copy me.
Thanks to that, I had to go through daily rap battles with the student affairs director over my outfit, but… those end today.
"By the way, why are you in plain clothes? Didn't you come to school today?"
I'd wondered why I didn't see him at school, and seeing Hitokawa in street clothes, I realized he hadn't come either. When did the guy, more diligent than me, slack off?
"I just applied to the Investigator Academy. Turns out today was the application deadline. My homeroom teacher told me about it yesterday, so I hustled here, skipping school, to submit it."
Hitokawa had always dreamed of becoming a ghoul investigator.
Part of me wanted to cheer on a friend chasing his dream, while another part of me felt a pang at the growing distance between a guy raising a baby and a friend who wanted to join the CCG.
Hiding my worries, I forced a bright tone and said,
"Oh, so the exams are coming up? When is it?"
"In three days there's a written exam, then a practical test a week later. I hear the practical's difficulty has gone way up."
That figures. No matter how smart you are, you'd have to put your body on the line when fighting ghouls.
"So I'm taking tomorrow off school, reviewing everything I learned as hard as I can, then taking the exam. I'll tell you the results when I come back to school next time!"
…Oh, right.
I realized I wouldn't be running into him at school anymore.
His house is quite far from my place, so we only ever ran into each other at school.
I told people at school that I was just babysitting a relative's child, but…
"…I'm not coming to school anymore starting tomorrow."
"What?"
Maybe I could tell him a bit of the truth? At least say goodbye to the friend I'd known since childhood.
"Actually, this kid isn't a relative's. She's the daughter of someone I know. I can't say more, but I don't know when that person will come to take her back. So I'm focusing on raising her for the time being."
Hitokawa couldn't hide his surprise and said,
"Raising her… You're still a student, aren't you? You're about to graduate high school! At a time when you should be preparing to enter society, you're going to raise a kid? That's—"
'Did you just say I'm giving up on my life?'… Hitokawa didn't finish, but I didn't need to hear more to know what he was going to say.
"I'm not giving up. I'll find what I want to do while juggling childcare. It's just a bit harder than living alone."
"A bit harder? You're kidding! Is your friend sane? How could someone…"
"It wasn't an easy decision."
Hitokawa started to yell, but my cold voice cut him off.
I knew he was angry for my sake, but I had to say this.
"That person didn't decide lightly to leave their daughter with me. They were backed into a corner, desperate, before entrusting her. Same for me. I understood their feelings, agonized and hesitated before I finally accepted. So…"
I paused for a moment and gave a bitter smile.
"…Don't be so mad. You'll scare Eto."
Hearing that, Hitokawa seemed to notice Eto who was about to cry from his anger and flinched.
I soothed Eto and then said,
"Thanks for being angry because you care about me. Anyway, given my situation, it'll be hard to see each other for a while. Understand if I can't see you off when you go to the exam."
Just as I turned to leave, saying "Well then,"
"Wait!"
I looked back at the decisive tone in his voice, puzzled.
Suddenly he pulled out his wallet. He emptied it of bills and coins, then thrust the wad of cash at me.
"Take this and at least buy some formula."
"What? I don't need it."
"Just take it! My baby was just born and I know how expensive it is!"
Hitokawa strode over and forcibly shoved the money into my pocket as I tried to refuse.
"And stop acting like you'll never see me again! Didn't we make a promise ages ago? You said we'd throw a party at your place if I passed the investigator exam!"
Oh, right?
Since I took in Eto, my mind's been all over the place and I'd completely forgotten.
"I'll proudly come by with my certificate, so wait for me! Got it?"
Finger raised, Hitokawa declared that, then turned and strode off.
I watched his retreating figure, feeling like I'd just been smacked in the head…
Pfft!
Suddenly I burst out laughing.
The thought that the distance between a guy raising a baby and a would-be investigator had grown seemed ridiculous.
"Hehehaha!! Ahahahahaha!!!"
No matter what I'm raising or what he becomes, he and I were still friends.
Knowing that, the weight in my chest lifted and I felt a pleasant relief.
"Heh? Hehe!"
Eto saw me laughing and looked at me strangely, then eventually started giggling along.
Oh, and this was something I found out later…
"Damn, he even gave me subway fare. …How am I supposed to get home now?"
My friend is a good person but a total idiot.