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What, Failure to Transition!? Volume 7 Chapter 3
🕑 Added 2024-01-15 04:25:28 +0000 UTCChapter 3 – The Other Todou Yoichi
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After the suspicious trio left, Yoichi was invited to the Todou residence and was served some tea.
“It’s a delayed pregnancy.”
“-! Oh, I see. I’m sorry.”
While sipping the coffee that was served, Yoichi couldn’t help but direct his gaze to the bulging belly of the owner of the house, who was now sitting and resting on the sofa.
Sensing this, the father of the subject couldn’t help but comment, and upon realizing he was being rude then and there, Yoichi found himself apologizing instinctively.
As for the owner of the house – Yasue, perhaps tired from all the exhaustion, she had already entrusted herself to her mother, who sat beside her when she and Yoichi entered the living room, and soon she was peacefully asleep.
However, he couldn’t help but be slightly concerned as he noticed her occasionally furrowing her brows and softly groaning.
“Well, it’s only natural to be worried.”
When Yoichi Todou (Pronounced 藤(Tou)堂(Dou)陽(Yo)一(Ichi), characters meaning 藤(Wisteria)堂(Temple)陽(Yang)一(One)), which is himself, and Yoichi Todou (Pronounced 東(To)堂(Dou)洋(Yo)一(Ichi), characters meaning 東(East)堂(Temple)洋(Open Sea)一(One)) who is the other Todou who was reincarnated before him and is also married to the woman in front of him right now, had an accident together, the latter had mentioned that soon they would have a child when they were transported in the white space which bordered life and death.
There, the younger Todou told Yoichi his dying wish before crossing over, and Yoichi, who was left on Earth, delivered the message to both Yasue herself and her parents.
It has been about two months since then.
(If that’s the case, isn’t it too late?)
His father must have sensed what Yoichi was thinking.
“Originally, it was supposed to be a very premature birth.”
Yoichi recalled the moments in the white space.
When the other Yoichi said to him, “She is due this month,” he was not referring to the general due date but instead to the fact that she would be born the following month, albeit quite early, if she continued on this course.
The general term for the expected date is the 40th week starting from the last menstruation, and if the baby is born before the 36th week, it is considered premature.
After this Yoichi passed away, with everything happening here and there, they realized that Yasue had surpassed the 36th week.
“At first, we were happy, thinking that Yasue would be finally able to deliver a healthy baby.”
Unless there are particular circumstances, term births are less burdensome for both the mother and child compared to premature births.
So, they were relieved when time passed and they reached the 39th week without any signs of birth.
“But around the 41st week, things started to look suspicious…”
So far, there were no abnormalities found in the tests. Still, it’s evident that if the delivery is delayed too much, the fetus will grow too large, and the burden during childbirth increases.
The labor induction – which is prompting the uterus to contract during pregnancy before labor begins on its own – didn’t go well either, and the attending physician soon started recommending a cesarean section.
“…Is it because of the Todou family?”
“Yes, because of those people, we can’t even go to the hospital with peace of mind…”
Apparently, something troublesome was also being done by the Todou family.
〇●〇●
The Todou family seemed to come from a prestigious background in northern Kanto.
Using their influence in the local community, they had produced three generations of parliament(National Diet) members since the post-war era.
One of these is Hirotsugu Todou, who belongs to the third generation of the family, and his eldest son is none other than Yoichi.
“So, those three people from earlier are?”
“Yeah, they were Yoichi’s parents and younger brother.”
The man in the suit was Hirotsugu, Yoichi’s father and a current member of the Lower House of Parliament.
The woman in a kimono was Yoichi’s mother, Yoko.
And the other young man was the second son, Naohiro.
By the way, Hirotsugu used to be the secretary of the late Yozo Todou, the former head of the Todou family. However, he married Yoichi’s only daughter, Yoko, and became her adopted husband, inheriting the family’s political influence.
It’s a common story in the world of politics, both past and present, for a husband to take up the name of the wife’s family if they are more powerful.
“So, why did that influential politician come here again?”
Even more now that when Yoichi passed away, they didn’t even bother visiting; what they only did was send a telegram of condolence and incense that was paid by wire transfer.
In other words, it is to show that they have no interest in Yoichi’s wife, Yasue, or the unborn child.
“Well, there’s going to be an election due to the surprise dissolution of the parliament the other day. Haven’t you heard the news?”
“Election?”
That’s when Yoichi suddenly remembered the wide-ranging TV show that had been playing on the living room TV earlier.
“Oh… I see.”
Why did I suddenly become interested in Yoichi, of all times back then?
Maybe he had unconsciously picked up on the Todou surname, which had been mentioned as a potential candidate on the TV show earlier.
“Seems like that idiot son… ah, not Yoichi, mind you, but the younger son who was here earlier. Because of the various scandals he had caused… no, because his various wrongdoings came to light, it seems he’s on the verge of losing the ruling party’s endorsement this time.”
“Heh…”
Yoichi couldn’t help but chuckle, feeling like he had heard a similar story not too long ago.
“I heard Yoichi used to be quite energetic back in the day…”
In fact, one day during high school, this other Yoichi, who had too much youthful energy, got into a big fight with one of his classmates.
It was a one-on-one brawl, something like an old-fashioned duel, and due to the encouragement of his classmates, who found it entertaining, the fight escalated unexpectedly, resulting in both of them being taken to the hospital.
Afterward, his opponents was expelled, and the student who had the worst reputation among those who had been involved in taunting them, which caused the brawl to escalate, was suspended. Yoichi, on the other hand, escaped any punishment since he was seen as the victim.
“Was it a private school?”
“No, I heard it was a public school.”
“Wow…”
Not satisfied with the school’s disciplinary action, which showed unfair bias on his side, Yoichi stormed into the principal’s office with a letter of withdrawal, but it was never accepted.
He apparently asked Hirotsugu to at least have the classmates’ expulsions and suspensions revoked, but…
“I need to show what happens if anyone dares to touch a member of the Todou family.”
That was the response he received.
“The next day, Yoichi went to the principal’s office and gave him a good thrashing.”
“What the…”
By the time Hirotsugu was summoned by the vice principal and rushed to the principal’s office, he found the principal shrinking in the corner of the room with bruises all over his face and a bloody nose, crying, and his son slumped over the chair where the principal was supposed to be sitting.
It was a blatant, vindictive response.
I tried to let them know what would happen if they went against the wishes of the Toudou family’s heir apparent, but what do you think?
Of course, it was just a way of exacting revenge.
Realizing his son’s intentions, Hirotsugu became furious and approached him without hesitation.
He ended up grabbing him by the collar, only to receive a powerful headbutt to the nose.
As he flinched, Hirotsugu received a body blow to his solar plexus. Then, using this opening, Yoichi tripped him by grabbing his collar and knocking his legs out from under him. He was then thrown to the ground and was mounted, where he was repeatedly punched in the face.
”Even after such a beating, Yoichi’s letter of withdrawal was never accepted, and the expulsions and suspensions of his classmates were never overturned,” Yoichi’s father-in-law explained.
“Huh?”
“By the way, the beaten-up principal received a decent position in the board of education sometime after that. Come to think of it, Yoichi mentioned that he became a city council member when I checked up on him after a long time.”
“…this a story of modern-day Japan, right?”
In response to Yoichi’s incredulous question, Yasue’s father smiled wryly and only shrugged his shoulders.
It was evident that Hirotsugu pulled some strings behind the scenes.
Using [Appraisal+] would probably reveal more details, but Yoichi couldn’t bring himself to do it at the moment.
Since his withdrawal wasn’t accepted even to that extent, Yoichi couldn’t bear to continue attending the same school. He ended up transferring to a private high school but never went to that school once, never setting foot in it as a form of protest.
Yet still, he managed to graduate nonetheless.
“After Yoichi got expelled, he went to Tokyo relying on the relative of one of his expelled classmates. As if showing to his parents that he never had any intention of attending school in the first place.”
Since then, the Todou couple and son have been living in a state similar to that of parents who have disowned a child.
〇●〇●
“Hey! This guy here, this here is a man of integrity. Did you know that after that incident, he punched the principal and his own father and ended up quitting school on his own!!”
At his new workplace, Yoichi’s heroic tales were often brought up as a hot topic.
The one talking was the classmate who had caused a commotion and got expelled due to that mano-a-mano with Yoichi. However, their relationship remained unchanged, and he knew that the classmate didn’t mean any harm.
In fact, Yoichi didn’t mind being talked about it at all.
“But in the end, he still got treated as a high school graduate, right? That shows his father still has love for him.”
However, what he didn’t like was that the conversation usually went in the direction of defending the father of the Todou family, which, to be honest, he found pretty annoying.
“Well, I know this guy’s parents, and they’re kinda a jerk, you know?”
Knowing Yoichi’s dislike of his parents, his classmate would follow up with something like this, but sadly, it would rarely get through to the other person.
“Hey, don’t badmouth someone else’s family. No matter how close you are, that’s not right.”
And what would come next would be a reprimand to the classmate themselves.
But they all know that this line shouldn’t be taken seriously at all. If that’s the case, they shouldn’t bring up the topic in the first place.
However, since word got out at the workplace, they started to ask for the story more often.
Perhaps it was because there was a sense of exhilaration in seeing someone of authority get their ass handed back to them, and yet warms up at the end with the father who got punched chose to transfer his son out of consideration, even giving him the high school diploma. It was a heartwarming ending with a clear and understandable development.
“Well, Yoichi is still young, so he might not understand now, but there will come a day when he realizes his father’s love. When that day comes, don’t be shy about making up with him, okay?”
And so he was told. But having watched his parents for more than a decade as their son, Yochi knows very well that Hirotsugu Todou has nothing but a lust for fame, and Yoko Todou has nothing but pride in the glory of her ancestors.
“Well, you’re right. It would be nice to drink good sake when that happens.”
But even if he were to argue now, he knew he wouldn’t be understood, and his story would be diverted in some directions he didn’t like.
So Yoichi would decide to end the story there, as his senior colleagues at work wished.
It had been almost two years since Yoichi started working at his new workplace when the incident happened.
During a year-end party, as usual, Yoichi’s heroic deeds became a topic of conversation.
“Well, you’re right. It would be nice to drink good sake when that happens.”
And just as usual, they quickly moved on, and the party continued. However, there was something different about that day.
“I don’t want to speak ill of other people’s families, but I think there’s something strange about Yoichi’s parents.”
Suddenly, a murmured comment from a female coworker, which wasn’t particularly loud, was heard. Still, it happened at a moment of silence, so it had an odd impact.
In the delicate atmosphere, the female coworker who received the gaze of almost everyone in the room panicked and lowered her head.
“I-I’m sorry… I said something strange… Um, please forget about it.”
The party quickly became lively again, and her remark was soon forgotten.
But it left a strong impression on Yoichi.
“Hey!”
After the banquet ended, some people thought it wasn’t enough and went on to have another party of their own, while others went home, and Yoichi was invited to join the second party as usual.
But seeing that the female coworker from earlier seemed like she was leaving, he declined the invitation and chased after her to have a little chat.
“Ah… um, I’m sorry about earlier…”
The female coworker turned around when she was called, and seeing Yoichi’s face, she immediately apologized with a remorseful expression.
“Oh, no worries. Actually, I was quite happy.”
“Huh?”
“Well… Honestly, I don’t think my father and I will ever understand each other… Oh, are you headed to the station? I’ll walk you there.”
Saying that, Yoichi started walking ahead of her, and she followed him with a slightly bewildered expression.
“Uhm, about making up with your parents, why is it that, uhm, you know, if I’m not offending you…”
“Well, about that, I know it’s normal for parents to care for their children, but how do I put this… normal people cannot just understand our circumstances, I guess? What’s rather strange is uhm… Miss…?”
“Ah. It’s Fuchigami.”
“Ah, yes, Miss Fuchigami. What I mean to say is that my parents are just out of the norm to be treated as ‘normal.’ Come to think of it, you, too, said something along the lines back there. About my parents being strange. Why is that?”
“Uhm, to tell you the truth, I lost a friend when I was a child.”
They died of abuse.
When she found out that her good friend was killed by her parents, she also became afraid of her own for a while.
She wondered if one day she, too, would be hurt badly.
Although puzzled by their daughter’s situation, her parents went to various places to solve the problem and took time to remove her fears.
Now, she is healed, to the point where she herself cannot understand why she was so afraid of her parents at that time.
But there, she had learned that parents don’t necessarily love their children unconditionally. For that, she began to appreciate her situation more, belonging to the ones who were being loved.
“I’m sorry, I said something strange…um, are you okay?”
“Huh? Why do you ask?”
“Because…”
Instead of continuing her words, Fuchigami gave a wry smile as if she was troubled. Then she took out a handkerchief from the pouch over her shoulder and wiped the corner of Yoichi’s eyes.
Only then did Yoichi realize that he was crying.
“Eh? Huh? Why…?”
Yoichi didn’t know why she was crying.
Is it because her story moved him, is it because he is relieved that she understands his relationship with her parents, which until now was hardly understood, or is there another reason…
“Uguuu… I’m sorry… hic… it’s just… I… why… uuu…”
Not only his tears but also his sobs welled up that he couldn’t form any words.
The girl pulled Yoichi’s hand and started walking.
Yoichi wiped his eyes with the handkerchief she gave him as he walked along with her.
After that, the two stopped in the shadows, where there were few streetlights and few people.
And there, Yoichi felt something soft and warm wrap around him.
“If you don’t mind, stay like this for a moment…”
When Yoichi realized that he was being held in her arms, he continued to cry, letting out her muffled sobs for a while.
Naturally, Yoichi and Yasue became closer after that and started dating.
Although he and his father-in-law got into some ‘playful fistfights’ at first, he quickly became fond of him, to the point that the two of them even had drinks together often.
Before long, the two of them decided to get married.
“Sorry, Yoichi! I tried my best to stop it, but I couldn’t convince them…”
“Well… there’s nothing we can do. It would have been helpful if you had told me in advance, though.”
In the groom’s waiting room on the day of the wedding, Yoichi’s coworker and former classmate, a true friend, bowed his head to Yoichi.
“Even though this is a special beginning for the two of you…”
“Don’t worry about it. The wedding reception is just a formality. We’ll make it up on our honeymoon.”
After the wedding ceremony and during the reception, Yoichi’s parents, Hirotsugu and Yoko Todou, suddenly barged into the venue without warning. In order to avoid an uproar, since the other party is a high-ranking politician, and also to avoid awkwardness that could ruin the celebration, they were soon welcomed in.
“Although it wasn’t part of the original plan, as a surprise, the groom Yoichi’s parents have successfully made it to attend and join this wonderful celebration!!”
As Yoichi had heard about this from his colleague and friend beforehand, as well as Yasue and her parents, whom he had personally briefed on the situation, they weren’t shocked by this, even managing to put on fake smiles.
Truly befitting a member of parliament, Hirotsugu was well aware of how to present himself when he entered. He even gave a speech about how he and his son had grown apart due to some differences of opinion but still loved each other as a family.
“What a touching story!! This emotional reunion can only be made possible through the goodwill of everyone involved!! From this point on, without a doubt, the Todou family, including the new Todou household we are seeing right now, will get together as one big harmonious family!”
After finishing their speeches, Hirotsugu and Yoko left the spotlight immediately.
So much for getting together as one big harmonious family, even to the point of stealing the spotlight dedicated to the very couple of the occasion.
Yoichi planned to ignore them after this, but after being persuaded by the guests who were moved by Hirotsugu’s speech, or more like he was coerced into it, they – the bride and the groom – the very stars of this occasion, stood to see them off.
As if in an instant, the king and queen of the feast turned into a butler and servant, seeing their masters off.
It was as if the two had just come to show the difference in their stature and also to teach them to know their place in this society.
“Let us know when you have a child.”
“What…?”
“Because this time, I’ll raise them to be a respectable heir of the Todou family. Far unlike the failure that is you.”
“You…!!”
“Stop it, Yoichi!”
Yoichi tried to strike his father, but Yasue hugged him tightly, restraining him.
Perhaps recalling past events, Hirotsugu’s face twisted in fear, but only for a moment before managing to force a smile on his face.
“Hmph… resorting to violence again? You never changed.”
“Ugh…”
“There’s no point in hitting you anyway. Being a pathetic man that you are.”
“What did you say…?”
In response to Yasue’s words to Yoichi, Hirotsugu’s face contorted.
And then he directed a sharp gaze at Yasue’s, but she met it head-on.
“Please leave. And never show up in front of us again.”
“You! What audacity…!!”
It was Yoko, the wife, who reacted to Yasue’s words.
“How dare you, who is only his wife, speak to the head of the Todou family like that――”
Smack! A dry sound resonated, interrupting Yoko’s words.
“――Eh?”
In a sudden turn of events, Yoko, who couldn’t understand what had happened, hurriedly returned her gaze. There, she saw Yasue’s mother, Saeko Fuchigami, raising her hand with a smile on her face as if she had just delivered a slap.
“W-What… did you do-guuh?!”
Hirotsugu, who saw it, was about to reprimand Saeko for her action, only to let out a groan instead.
This is because Yoichi’s father-in-law, Shouzo Fuchigami, stepped in between them and delivered an uppercut-like right hook to Hirotsugu’s solar plexus from a low stance.
“What… the…?”
“Cough, cough…Ugh… What… are you doing…”
“Oops, sorry about that. It may not look like it, but this is the Fuchigami family’s way of greeting. We intended to give the best hospitality to you. Was it not to your liking?”
“That’s right. Nonverbal communication is the highest form of communication! Now, now, it’s Mr. Councilor’s turn!!”
Saying so, Shouzo opened his suit in front of Hirotsugu as if to provoke him to fight back, revealing his abdomen.
“Huuh…? What… What on earth are you guys doing…?”
“Cough… really… aren’t you afraid of getting injured?”
“Oh? Injured? And here I thought I sent the message clearly? Our family is used to this sort of thing.”
Yoko and Hirotsugu looked at the Fuchigamis with confusion and fear, not being able to understand what the other person was saying, rather than anger at being hit so suddenly.
“That’s right. Even with Yoichi, we’ve had several times when we greeted each other in this way. Am I right, Yoichi?”
“Eh? Uh, yes.”
Suddenly being asked a question, Yoichi awkwardly replied, and seeing that, Hirotsugu’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“After all, becoming relatives with us means exactly that. If you don’t like it, please never show your face again, Honorable Councilor Todou.”
Finally understanding the intention of the Fuchigami couple now, Hirotsugu wore a bitter expression.
“You… do you think that you can get away with just hitting a member of the council—”
“If it’s to make our son and daughter unhappy, we won’t go easy on you either.”
Regarding Shouzo’s threat, Hirotsugu wore a mocking smile.
“Hmph… What can an ordinary person do?”
“Why don’t you try and see? Maybe join some radical organization or something.”
“Guh…!”
Hirotsugu’s smile froze.
“Mr. Councilor, you should understand. Even now, there are people of our generation who are still acting like students.”
“Quit acting like a fool…!!”
No matter how much they say they have broken off their relationship, it is impossible to dissolve the parent-child relationship, at least under the current Japanese system.
Hirotsugu’s life as a National Diet(Japan Parliament) member would be in jeopardy if his very own son would join an anti-social organization, much less get involved with a radical one.
“Mutual non-interference. How is that for each other’s benefit, Mister Councilor?”
Either way, the fact that they originally asked Yoichi to give them their child, even though it was only a strong connotation of verbal harassment, was the start of the Todou couple’s beginning to distance themselves from their son as well as their daughter-in-law’s parents.
〇●〇●
“Wait, you guys fought to that extent?”
Yoichi asked in disbelief after hearing the story from Yasue’s father, Shouzo.
“Well, it’s not like we fight that frequently! Maybe once a month, at most.”
“Once a month is still quite often…”
Yoichi shook his head lightly with a sigh, sensing a resemblance to Alana’s father, William, and her grandfather, Celestin, in Shouzo’s behavior.
“So, what’s the deal with Councilor Hirotsugu, who cut off ties with you, to end up coming back?”
“That leads us to the issue of his official recognition, as I mentioned earlier.”
Naohiro, Yooichi’s younger brother, had mistakenly believed that he could get away with anything just like his brother, knowing that Yoichi was not held accountable for his actions when he was at school.
As a result, Naohiro had caused numerous troubles since his school days, while Hirotsugu worked hard trying to cover up for him.
But the fact that Yoichi had run away might have triggered something, as this time, Yoko had been overly indulgent towards Naohiro.
In other words, the father didn’t do anything to reprimand his son, and the mother spoiled him rotten, which led to Naohiro becoming what he is today.
It didn’t help even more that this is the era of social media dominance, where no matter how much one tries to cover it up, information would spread unexpectedly in corners you won’t expect.
As such, some of Naohiro’s wrongdoings were quickly brought to light in the timing that would hit him the most: the election period.
“While it never reached the point of being questioned in parliament, it was mentioned a few times in weekly magazines. So, there’s been talk about not endorsing him for the party, even if he doesn’t resign.”
As a last-ditch effort, Hirotsugu came up with the idea of utilizing Yoichi – their deceased eldest son – who had met an untimely death.
They would thoroughly glorify their son’s death as a kind of heroic act, where he sacrificed himself to save a child run over by a truck.
In this way, not only it would “redeem” their reputation as “good” members of the society, they would also have the right to “actively support” Yoichi’s orphaned child and raise them as the successor of the Todou family, thus securing their future generation.
That was Hirotsugu’s plan – and the whole reason he is now pursuing Yoichi and Yasue’s child, even though he had already declared to cut off ties with them.
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