[TaroTre] My Blind Date is My Childhood Friend - Chapter 4

Due to his wife’s accidental death, Taro’s marital status eventually shifted from “married” to “widowed.” He originally had the chance to become “divorced,” but in the end, it didn’t much matter.

The real change was for Taiga, who went from having two parents to being a child of a single-parent household.

Taro still remembered when he broke the news of his wife’s death to Taiga. The boy had only frozen for a split second before quickly returning to his business as if nothing had happened.

Except—

“Hello? Is this Taiga’s father, Mr. Taro? It’s like this: Taiga got into another fight today. Would it be convenient for you to come to the school?”

Yes, “another” fight. At this point, Taro had lost count of how many times the teachers had called him recently because of Taiga’s brawling.

He had been wrong. He shouldn’t have assumed that Taiga’s lack of an initial reaction meant he felt nothing about his mother’s passing. In reality, Taiga had plenty of feelings about it. Now, he was fighting almost every day, doing nothing but wearing out his poor old father. Whenever Taro thought about it, his face became a living mask of pain.

Taro offered his humblest apologies to the teacher over the phone, promising he would head over immediately. After hanging up, he let out a long sigh and slumped into his chair. What did I do to deserve this? he wondered. Has Taiga already reached his rebellious phase?

After sitting for a moment, Taro forced himself to stand, gathered his things, and prepared to head to the school.

“Taro? To the school again?” Ace asked as he walked in. Seeing his younger brother’s somber expression while heading out with his belongings, Ace guessed his destination without much effort.

“Yeah. Taiga got into another fight.” Taro truly didn’t know what had happened to his once-obedient son to make him fight so constantly. However, because there was usually a reason behind it, Taro rarely scolded him. Instead, he would suggest that Taiga try other methods to handle conflict.

Taro’s original intent was to suggest that Taiga tell a teacher if someone was bullying him. Who would have thought that Taiga would take that advice and simply change his tactic from direct brawling to launching sneak attacks when people weren’t looking?

He’s my own flesh and blood… He’s my own flesh and blood… Taro could only keep chanting these words like a mantra. Otherwise, he was genuinely afraid that one day he wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to discipline his son with his own hands.

One look at his brother’s face was enough for Ace to know that Taro was reminiscing about Taiga’s recent combat history. Having had the “privilege” of going to the school on Taro’s behalf once or twice, Ace had to admit that Taiga’s ability to infuriate people was truly top-tier.

“Make sure to keep your cool when you get to the school. No matter what, Taiga wouldn’t fight for no reason. Just make sure you get the full story,” Ace said, patting Taro on the shoulder before making a swift escape back to his office.

Taro had intended to grab Ace by the sleeve and ask if his brother could handle it for him this time, but he hadn’t expected Ace to move so quickly.

Ace’s internal monologue: Nice try. Who would want to go get scolded by your son’s teacher in your place? Isn’t having that experience twice more than enough?