"He was bullied?"
"Didn't he tell you about that?"
"...No."
"...I see... I don't blame him. Maybe he wanted to forget about all of that."
The twins were really sad when they were discussing this matter.
"Did the bullying continued for a long time?"
"...Yes. For about 2 years."
2 years!! That's a really long time. He must've been enduring hell all these times.
"He didn't tell you all about it?"
"No, we came to know about it when big brother Ken was in his third years of middle school."
"That's pretty recent."
"Yes. When we came to know about it, our mom was very sad and big sister Anzu was very angry about that."
So that's when their relationship was starting to deteriorate. But there's one thing that was unclear to me.
"Why was your sister angry?"
"...She didn't tell us about it. But mom told us that she was very angry due to big brother Ken hiding the fact about the bullying from big sister Anzu."
Somehow my instinct tells me that there is more to it. She wasn't angry just with that. There must be something else.
"Did your mom tell you something else about the reason behind your big sister's anger?"
"Hmm...Now that I think about it, she said something else. But I can't remember. Machi, do you know what mom said?"
Me and Mai turned our attention to Machi. She tilted her head a bit and started to continuously tap her little index finger onto her chin. She was trying to remember the specified event.
After a few moments, her lips turned into the shape of a smile. I guess she remembered it after all.
"Yes, I know what mom said."
"What was it?"
"If I remember correctly, mom said big sister Anzu was angry because big brother Ken was a coward and too weak to even confront the bully so that he could stop the bullying. If big brother Ken wasn't weak in the beginning, he wouldn't have fallen into this trouble."
"You remembered all of this? You have quite the memorization skill there."
"Thank you big brother Tenma."
I patted her head as a reward. Still, that's one hell of a reason to be angry about. But I can't disagree with her because she has a point.
It's because he was weak that he let himself be bullied, and he didn't inform someone or sought help because he was afraid of being bullied more badly.
But I'm still kind of pissed off at Ken's sister because of her attitude.
At that moment, Kinoshita came in with a tray containing snacks and juice for the twins. They took the snacks fast and ate them without waiting for Kinoshita to put down the tray on a table.
Us four started to talk about funny and embarrassing moments together. About an hour passed by and I needed to talk with Kinoshita.
I gestured the twins to go outside and leave us alone by using the excuse of helping Ken about his relationship with Anzu. The twins understood me and stood up. Mai opened her mouth to say,
"Big brother Ken, we are going to do our homework. We forgot that there was one so we need to hurry up and finish it."
"Okay. Do your best."
"We will. Take care."
The twins left, leaving us two alone. Kinoshita turned to look at me with a happy face.
"What is it?"
"No, it's just that they were acting different today."
"They? Who?"
"Mai and Machi."
"Mai and Machi? Aren't they usually like that?"
"No, they behave like that only when you are around. Normally Machi is shy but she was the most talkative one when we were chatting."
"And Mai? Any change in her?"
"...She showed you a bit of her true self."
"True self? I just find her normal."
"Maybe for you but...usually she isn't like that."
Kinoshita was looking up at his ceiling which was filled with those posters.
"Mai has a mischievous and vicious side to her. And she only shows it to 3 people."
"Who?"
"Me, Machi and you."
I don't quite understand it. If she has another side to her why only show it to only 3 people.
"Why us?"
"You could say that it's her own way of showing interest in someone. But she was interested in you very quickly. For me, she didn't care until I was 15."
So that means that she acts as a perfect model when she is with everyone else?
"Why do you say that she is vicious? I can't visualise her like that."
"...You know that she grabbed the hem of my shirt and wanted to let you in my house."
Oh yeah, I remember. She winked at me for successfully making Ken agree to my request.
"I saw Mai wink at you."
"You saw it? Then you could've refused me."
"I agreed to your request for two reasons. Firstly. I wanted to know why Mai was interested in you very quickly. And secondly. She was actually teasing me as she knew that I didn't want to let you come home."
"She knew that I was not your friend?"
"Yes. And regardless of that fact, she wanted you to come over. Why? Just for the sole reason of making me feel uneasy."
She is a sadist. But a smart and an observant one. Still, why was she intrigued by just with my appearance?
This family is really making my curiosity rise rapidly. Especially Mai and Anzu. Now I need one last thing to be confirmed so that I could proceed with my plan.
"Ken, are you really happy right now?"
"Huh?... What are you talking about?"
"Are you fine the way you are?"
"The way I am? ...Yes, I'm fine."
Kinoshita was really confused about my questions.
"Mai and Machi are good kids. But are you capable of protecting the radiant smiles on their lovely faces?"
His face started to darkened with fear and other negative emotions.
"What are you trying to say?"
"You were bullied in middle school, am I right?"
"...!?"
Ken now looked like as if he was found guilty for murdering someone.
"H-How do you know about that?..."
I snickered while I stood up from Ken's bed. I approached near his chair where he was sitting. Seeing me coming near him, Ken also stood up steadily.
Our eye was at the same level, so we stared at each other before I started to commence my mission of making Kinoshita Ken into my pawn.
"What if, Mai and Machi were to be bullied at school like you?"
I suddenly felt a tight grip on my left hand. I glanced at it for a moment and understood the situation I was in. Across me was Ken's face, who was filled with anger.
"Don't even think about it!"
I sneered at him. Looking at my face, he was even angrier. But his expression soon turned into that of pain and confusion.
It was so fast that Ken didn't notice it himself. He looked down and saw my hand holding his neck tightly. I pushed him near the wall and cornered him with my hand quite brutely.
"Am I supposed to be scared of you?"