"...Feel free to treat them as your friend, they won't mind. Right, Aki-nii, Ryu-nii?" Chiyo smiled at the two boys daring them not to say 'yes' with her eyes. Yura smiled shyly, but heavily fangirling with these three beautiful childhood friends. Her mind slowly plays scenarios, one after the other, of what could happen if any of these two guys fell for Chiyo. She blush just imagining it...
But then, Akihiko turned serious. "What happened? and what do you want to do?" It really is rare for Chiyo to see Akihiko getting serious. Chiyo has only seen it when he taught her self-defense and when the situation is Dangerous or life-threatening. Life-threatening like, I could only remember, the time when he visit me after my discharge in the hospital twice. First was when I suddenly got sick when I was five and the second time was that a few days after that traumatic day. Most of the time, even when she's mad, Aki-nii will always show a warm smile for Chiyo. At first, Chiyo thought it's because she saved him from being molested before. But their even now that he saved her from a group of perverts before. Now, Chiyo always feel like it's much more deeper... Akihiko's reason for sticking to a girl five years younger than them seems much more complicated than she initially thought.
And moments like these where Aki-nii gets serious all of a sudden, is When Chiyo feels that Akihiko is not really what he make himself out to be. Chiyo gets nervous seeing him like this. Like facing a stranger. Chiyo straighten her body and showed Akihiko the video she got from the Camera Keychain. it's not the best quality but 2 faces got caught in it. And she also heard a few names. Akihiko glanced at the video, haphazardly. Like he doesn't care at all, Chiyo was stunned. "You don't have to bother with those pigs. Tomorrow, you won't be seeing them anyway." Akihiko said, Taking his eyes off Chiyo and Her hard-earned video evidence. He started wiping the table when he heard a waiter with a trolley headed their way. Chiyo watch his fastidious way of cleaning the table before laying the orders, Confused. "Aki-nii... What do you mean?"
Ryu-nii is the one that answered, saying... "Chi, You don't know how tired I was typing in l a computer last night... It was a nightmare! Akihiko won't let me sleep not until we checked every classmates of yours through any kind of social media. I'm so tired..." Ryu complained, While weakly cutting a piece from his Hamburger Steak to look pitiful. And he did look pitiful with his eyebags underneath his eyes. But this is not the answer to her question. Chiyo stared at Akihiko, With an equally serious face like his. Akihiko didn't budge, but instead continued. "I asked a friend of mine to fix it... We already know who they are. And the two in your video are just a part of the group..." Akihiko added, pushing the squid near Chiyo. Chiyo took the squid and looked at Yura... "Yura-chan, Did you know anything about this group? Why is there so many? How many are there, Aki-nii?"
"No need to learn about it. We already dealt with it this morning. Today is their last day of bullying." Akihiko said, then took a bite of his smoked salmon. He chewed, elegantly, which even embarrass the two girls with how carefree they eat. Yura looks busy eating her spaghetti, but her eyes kept on looking at Akihiko, Fangirling with how handsome he eats. "Aki-nii, I asked what you mean by 'Fix it'? Stop giving me vague answers" Chiyo demanded. She needs to know. 'Why is this brat being so mysterious all of a sudden!' Chiyo flip a table in her head, gritting her teeth in her mind with so much frustration. This can't be! After she wasted all her efforts not to scare those bullies away, She didn't even get to slap any faces tomorrow?!
Akihiko looked at her, He clearly saw her disappointment but he still kept his mouth shut. Ryu also didn't dare to answer. For him, Chiyo can get mad but not as mad as Akihiko. If he say unnecessary things, Not to mention friendship maybe even his face will end up broken. The things they did last night needed to be kept secret. Heck, He's lucky Akihiko let's him know that secret. And he thought, he knows everything about the Matsuoka family.
After their meal, Akihiko ordered some desserts. The reason is mainly to appease Chiyo using sweets. Even though, he is serious with this matter about Chiyo getting bullied. But he can't bring himself to go home with Chiyo in a bad mood. When dessert is over, Ryu expertly lured Yura away from Chiyo and Akihiko with the premise of walking her home to keep her safe. Since, he too has grown into a strong guy. Basketball did a lot adding muscles to his body making him no longer like a pushover that he is before.
Walking to Chiyo's home, with just the two of them. Akihiko sighed. "It's my family's secret. We can't disclose it to other-" Akihiko tried explaining but Chiyo cut him off with a statement, "But Ryu-nii knows, am I right?" Akihiko doesn't know what to say, so he nodded instead. Chiyo doesn't know why she's being childish all of a sudden, But in her heart the disappointment to something won't go away... "It's okay. You guys are friends since Grade school. I guess... that's just how it is." Embarrassed with what came out from her mouth, Chiyo wanted to run home. But before she can run, Akihiko grabbed her arm. "Chiyo... I want to tell you, but my parents won't allow it. I only did what I did... because I don't want you to get hurt! Physically nor Emotionally. You're important to me, Chi. Please don't get mad at me." Chiyo look straight at Akihiko's eyes, it's filled with complicated emotions. He really looked torn about it. So, Chiyo took a deep breath and smiled. She decided to push this matter behind her head. "Okay... I'm sorry, Aki-nii. I'm being Childish."
Akihiko shook his head saying, "No, Hime is young. So it's okay to be Childish. Sometimes, I fear that you're too sensible... So it's okay to be Childish. It's just that Aki-nii has a complicated Household... I'll tell Hime when you get older." With this, the gloomy atmosphere dispersed. Chiyo and Akihiko smiled at each other then continued their walk to Chiyo's home.
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In a far distance, A familiar figure of a man watches the back of Chiyo and Akihiko as they walk further away from where he's standing. A sneer can be seen in his face. Tilting his head as he think, 'What should I do to that girl? hmm...'