Parent-Teacher Conference (Yamamoto, Flickfang)

Yamamoto was not comfortable in his current predicament. Fighting villains and evil-doers was easier than what he needed to do now.

For all his skills and abilities, Yamamoto was not someone great at doing teacher-parent conferences.

Akane was a straight-A student, and Kyoko was a very independent girl with sharp thinking skills. This made Orochi the troublesome daughter at those conferences.

‘Well, it is a new teacher too.’ Yamamoto knew he could handle Rosethorn in a conversation and disarm most situations, but this new teacher was a total unknown to him.

He made his way to the office of this new teacher. ‘Makura is her name. Arts teacher.’ Those were the only things he knew about her.

He knocked on her office’s door. “Uh. Are you Atsushi-dono?” Called the woman behind the door.

“Yes, I am. I am here to talk about my daughter’s mental health, you said it was a concerning topic..” A topic that has been hard since many years ago. It never got any easier.

Yamamoto heard a loud and tired sigh coming from the teacher. “I see. Yes, Orochi-san’s mental health has raised concern among the staff, especially her homeroom teacher..”

He entered the room. Before him, was a tired bat mutant woman. Yamamoto took the chair before her desk, his appearance composed, he did not let a single breath come out of his lips, he was focused on the topic at hand. The mental health of his baby girl.

Yamamoto had no room for weakness or second-guessing.

While Makura couldn’t accurately tell what Yamamoto was feeling, or his outward reaction, she could guess he was in a stoic position, as he barely made a sound.

She took a deep breath as she took some files from a drawer, as well as a sheet for her to write on.. “Orochi-san has been showing some erratic behavior, and it is affecting her school and social life in Shiketsu.” She did not feel good reading that file, but it was something she needed to do.

“Your daughter, sometimes she just zones out, mostly in classes or when interacting with others. While this would not be a problem in most circumstances, she just stops responding properly to stimuli and gives half-hearted responses.”

Makura rubbed her eyes. “Orochi-san used to be a lot more active and sociable before the dorm system was implemented, she also focused on class a lot more. She refuses to talk to the school’s psychologists or any of the staff, she is isolating herself slowly. Our best guess is that your daughter is suffering from melancholy and stress due to separation anxiety.”

Yamamoto nodded. His mind pieced the puzzle immediately. Makura continued: “Can you talk about how she was back in your house? Her habits, her relationships, if possible.”

“Orochi was close to everyone in the house, she was never in a situation that separated her from us. She always had someone to call on, or to hold when she needed.” Yamamoto withheld the information about Orochi’s grievances towards her mother, as he felt the topic was not needed at that moment.

“In her eyes, she was taken from her home, a place she found safe, and forced to live in dorms with new people, or acquaintances. I think she is feeling stressed because this place, and the people around her, are unfamiliar. She never lived in a situation that forced her school and personal life to intersect.”

He was no psychologist or teacher, but Yamamoto knew enough about people, about his daughter, to have a rough idea of what was happening inside her head.

Even if she had friends to talk with, and keep her company, it was not the same as having her father, and sisters, around. Her personal life and school life were separate topics until very recently. She lacked the time to adapt.

“About relationships, she and her little sister were practically inseparable. The age gap between them is not really big, just three years. They ate together, slept together, and spent their time together. Of course, when they were with their friends, this dynamic changed, but when it was only us, they were really close.”

“If I am allowed to ask, how is the separation affecting her little sister?” While different people, Makura hoped that a glimpse into the mind of Orochi’s younger sister could allow her, and the rest of the staff, to get a better understanding of Orochi’s mindset.

Yamamoto took a deep breath and held his face with one hand. “Kyoko is sad that her sister is gone, she won’t say it out loud but she misses Orochi. They were very close, and kept company to each other.”

Yamamoto spoke in a single, long breath. For a moment, the image of a titanic dragon, the hero who came out of retirement and landed in the top 10 spot almost immediately, crumbled to reveal a tired, and worried father.

Makura felt a pang of pain in her chest. “I see.” Makura took a notebook and started to write down what was said between them. It made sense that Orochi, apparently the emotive sister, would act more erratically and hurt when compared to her more composed sister.

“Orochi… she never had any bad habit. She is headstrong and very stubborn, but she was always a good daughter and student.” Even in her worst days as a delinquent. Makura nodded.

“I see. Well, I have an idea of how to help Orochi, I’m thinking of introducing her to other students, trying to ease her towards other people so she can have more friends, and ways to vent out stress, without bottling it up and having it corrode her from inside.” Makura informed Yamamoto

“I cannot do it without your permission, at least not to the extent I want to do. Orochi needs help, and the way her friendships and past trauma affect her is concerning.” Yamamoto raised an eyebrow, momentarily confused by her words

“She truly loves her friends, this much everyone can see, however, I think that they remind her of her mistakes and past traumas. Maybe a new circle of friends can help her heal her trauma and be less stressed.” Yamamoto nodded.

This has happened before, when her mother and Orochi had their crash out… at that time, her friends at Shiketsu helped her cope and heal.

“If this will help my daughter, you have my permission, teacher.” Makura nodded

“I see. Grade wise… your daughter excels in some topics, far above the average, but she is behind the average. Could it be related to her dorm issues?”

Yamamoto shook his head. “Orochi does what she finds interesting. If she sees no entertaining value, or objective, in a topic, she will just do it half-heartedly. She always has been this way.”

Makura sighed. ‘She likes what she likes, and doesn’t give any sort of effort in what she dislikes. Emotionally attached and needy. Excels in what she likes. Maybe she is in the spectrum?’ Undiagnosed ADHD, maybe a type of autism?

Those things could not be assumed in just a short talk. And Makura knew Orochi would refuse if the school tried to force her to talk with a psychiatrist. She could be a normal girl with troubles, or genuinely be on the spectrum.

Makura would need to bring it up to Rosethorn, and Karaburan. ‘Her older sister… seems well adjusted.’ Akane was well-adjusted, even if she was a bit of a loner type. ‘Well, I should see if we can make the lessons more entertaining, it may help other students as well.’

She wrote down her thoughts.

Orochi, even when she tried to act composed and regal, was a dorky type of girl, from what the school reports said. They could not be farther apart.

“Do you have any questions?” Makura asked Yamamoto, who shook his head.

“I have none.”

“Then, thanks for coming to the conference, Atsushi-dono.” Makura finished writing down. “You are free to go now. Orochi and her class are on their break now. If you want, you can pass by and give her a hello.” Yamamoto nodded and got up.

His tail wagged happily as she exited the room.

Makura stared at the notebook. She had no idea what she wrote down. She just did that to look busy and professional. ‘I hope Karaburan has no problem with me giving a spoken report to her…’

Makura heard a commotion coming out of her room. “DROP ME, YOU OLD BASTARD!”

“C’mon, Snappy! You are still young enough to hide on your father’s shoulder!”

‘Oh. So this is from where Orochi got the dorky genes. Blast Burn-san got their mother’s genes then.’