Chihayafuru - Vol. 41 Ch. 211

[MangaDex]

 

[codetaku]

So if I'm reading this right... Suou won't go home simply because... he can't stand seeing his mother in even more advanced stages of vision loss than he's in? :/

Jesus that's even more depressing than when we found out he was going blind himself.

 

[Ncrdrg]

@codetaku - I don't think he's avoiding going back home because he can't stand seeing his mother's illness. I think he's avoiding going home so she doesn't learn he inherited her illness. Because then, she would probably feel responsible for it.

 

[codetaku]

That may be a realistic interpretation if this were real life but I don't think it's what the author was going for. After all, a parent can feel responsible for their child going through such a thing even if it has nothing to do with genetics--the fact that Mashima didn't come to that conclusion before meeting the mother means he isn't considering that as a possibility (and in cases like this, the author is usually not noticeably more insightful than the character).

 

[Mentholatum]

According to the family tree on page 8, Yukiko is not the Meijin's mother.

Yukiko (兼子) is the third name on the second line (from the left). The only one in that generation that didn't marry.

The Meijin (Hisashi - 久志) is the only son of the rightmost couple.

If she is the mother (and I think her reaction when she asks about him is the only thing that could sort of point in that direction), there's a lot more drama involved.