All three of us have finally finished eating breakfast. We were all full, so we sat at the dining table for a few minutes.
[A]"Yui-san, could you take care of my brother for a while?"
[Y]"Sure, but why?"
[A]"I was planning on hanging out with my friends today. It's not that I'm forcing this on you. You could decline if you don't want to."
[Y]"Oh, no big deal. I also wanted to talk to him. That's the reason I came here."
[Why am I being treated like I'm a helpless child.]
*Aoi cleans up the table.
[A]"I'll head out after washing the dishes. I'll be back by 3:00 PM. Is that okay?"
[Y]"Sure, no worries, I had nothing to do today anyway."
[A]"Thanks, I'll try to get something for you when I come back."
[Y]"It's okay, you don't need to."
[Aoi had just finished washing the dishes and is preparing to head out.]
[A]"Brother, how about you?"
[T]"Me?"
[A]"Of course, I don't have any brothers do I?"
[T]"No, I d-don't n-need anything."
[A]"Are you sure?"
[T]"Yes."
[A]"Oh, Yui-san, if my brother tries to do anything with you. Call me."
[Y]"Sure, I will."
[T]"I'm n-not a p-pervert."
[A]"It's just for safety measures."
[T]"Just go already."
[Y]"See you later, Aoi-san."
[A]"I'll be going then."
Aoi finally left. I can finally enjoy a day without her babbling about everything. I guess it's all thanks to Yui-san for coming over. What is it that she wanted to talk about personally anyway?
It's been a few hours, but Yui-san still hasn't told me anything important. There are only two hours left before Aoi comes back. Could it be that she forgot? Or is she having second thoughts about telling me?
[T]"Yui-san."
[Y]"Yeah?"
[T]"A w-while ago. W-what did you w-want to t-tell me?"
[Y]"When?"
[T]"You t-told me you w-wanted to talk p-personally."
[Y]"Oh, this morning."
[T]"Yeah."
[Y]"I forgot. Hehe."
[T]"Ehh?"
[Y]"I'm serious. I forgot what I was going to tell you."
[T]"Then why d-did you c-come here in the first p-place?"
[Y]"I don't know, but I had the random urge to visit."
[T]"My p-place is not a vacation h-house, you k-know?"
[Y]"Well, to be honest, I came to visit because everything is tense in our place."
[T]"So, you c-came to our p-place to run?"
[Y]"To put it bluntly, yes."
[T]"Did you really f-forget what y-you were going to s-say?"
[Yui-san's tone turned serious.]
[Y]"I lied..."
[T]"Why?..."
[Y]"Back home. Everything was chaotic, but also silent."
[T]"I don't g-get it."
[Y]"I had never seen my mom looked so depressed. Whenever I talk to her, she has this forced smile on her face. I asked her about my sister, but she just shrugged me off and said that everything was fine. It was a lie that even a kid could tell. She kept me in the dark about what was happening. That's why I came here. I couldn't take it anymore. I felt like I was a burden."
[T]"Yui-san..."
[Then Yui-san's tone suddenly turned into a cheerful one.]
[Y]"Then I'll be staying in your place for the night."
[T]"What? Eh?! You're j-joking?"
[Y]"I'm not."
[T]"What a-about change of c-clothes?"
[Y]"I'll just borrow some of yours."
[T]"No, you w-wont."
[Y]"Hehe."
[She changed the flow of our conversation. I haven't even noticed.]
[T]"I guess y-you are s-sisters."
[Y]"What do you mean?"
[T]'Well, first y-you're both g-good at lying.
[Y]"Was that supposed to be a compliment?"
[T]"Of course n-not. I c-can't help b-but notice."
[Y]"Notice what?"
[T]"You both f-force yourself to s-smile for s-someone else's sake."
[Y]"It's just your imagination."
[T]"I'm p-pretty sure it's n-not."
[Y]"By the way, do you have any extra futons?"
[T]"That's an h-horrible way to c-change a topic."
[Y]"Change what?"
[T]"The t-topic. You know w-what, never m-mind."
[Y]"Hehe."
Ah, girls are a pain in the ass. I can't even understand what they want. Why would Yui-san even want to stay here? She could've just stayed at one of her friend's houses. Well, I can't do anything about it now.
After a few hours, Aoi finally returned home.
[A]"I'm home."
[Y]"Oh, Aoi-san, welcome back."
[A]"Did my brother do anything to you?"
[T]"Oy, I c-can hear y-you."
[Y]"Actually, he asked me to sleep with him."
[T]"No! I d-didn't!"
[Y]"I was joking."
[A]"You both seem awfully close. Did something happen when I wasn't around?"
[Y]"A while ago, he confessed his love for me."
[T]"At this point, I'm just gonna stay silent."
[Y]"Fine, I'll stop, haha."
[A]"By the way, I got some ingredients for dinner."
[Y]"I can help you out with that."
[A]" Thanks, that would be great."
The two went to the kitchen to cook dinner. Finally, I can now have my peaceful time. Just when I thought I would have my rest, I received a text message. It was Hasegawa-san. I was shocked. After all that happened, I don't know how to respond. I mustered all the courage I had, and I proceeded to open her message.
[H]"Do you have time later?"
[T]"What brought this on? And what the heck is happening?"
[H]"A lot, I just wanted to talk to you about something."
[T]"I thought you were locked up in your room."
[H]"So, Yui told you? So, I guess you know what happened?"
[T]"Actually, no, even Yui-san doesn't know. Tell me what's going on."
[H]"I'll answer your questions later, but first answer my question. Do you have time later?"
[T]"Are we meeting?"
[H]"I mean, can you walk?"
[T]"I'll have to use crutches, but I can. As long as it's not far."
[H]"How about at the park? Is it okay if we meet there?"
[T]"It's fine, I can get there."
[H]"I'll meet you later at 10:00 PM then."
[T]"Sure."
Did something really happen to Hasegawa-san? She didn't seem so different in her way of speaking. She was casual about everything. I guess I'll have to go meet up with her to confirm it then.
Then I heard a whisper behind me.
[Y]"Dinner's ready..."
[T]"Ah! Don't s-scare me l-like that."
[Y]"Well, you looked so busy on your phone, and I didn't want to interrupt you."
[T]"Wait, D-did you see i-it?"
[Y]"See what?"
[T]"Oh, n-nevermind t-then. Let's go e-eat d-dinner."
[Y]"Sure."
[Yui-san and I head to the kitchen.]
[A]"Took you so long. The food is almost cold."
[T]"Sorry, m-my bad."
[Y]"Shall we eat then?"
[A]"Sure, I'm starving."
After dinner, Yui-san mentioned her stay to my sister.
[A]"So, sudden. I mean, it's fine, but are you sure you want to stay at our place?"
[Y]"Positive."
[A]"What about your parents. Did you tell them you were staying over?"
[Aoi doesn't know of the situation about Hasegawa-san.]
[Y]"Yeah, I already told them."
[T]"Lies..." I whispered.
[Before I realized it, Yui-san elbowed me to the gut.]
[A]"Well, you can use our guest room upstairs."
[Y]"Thanks."
So, I'm meeting Hasegawa-san later, huh? But why would she call me instead of Yui-san? Hopefully, meeting her would resolve all this tension. Now all that is left for me to do is wait.