"Three weeks after the incident, Mr. Suichi, the victim of a possessed attack, wakes up—"
"Hey"
"Hello"
After saying that, this guy came over to the couch from our living room door and sat down right across from me.
"Our reports indicate that this middle-aged man was attacked while on patrol—"
"This human is still alive, huh."
"We are providing you with live footage from the hospital where Mr. Suichi was treated for the last three weeks—"
"Yeah, that guy has some luck. He survived being attacked by a possessed, and what is even more amazing is that he was not a blessed."
"The doctors claim that Mr. Suichi is experiencing memory loss—"
"Interesting"
I turned to face him and saw that he was wearing an odd expression. Even though there was a tiny smile on his face, his eyes were saying something different.
"Interesting?"
"Mom, these pancakes are delicious." He said, gazing at the TV.
"We tried to talk with Mr. Suichi but we didn't got the permission—"
"Are you mocking me?" I said, gazing directly in his direction.
He seemed to be making fun of me because he said the exact same things that I had told our mother this morning.
"Mocking?"
With that, he turned to face me and looked me in the eye. When we locked gazes, I turned to face the television.
"According to the doctors reminding him of his recent memories might have a negative effect on his brain—"
"Don't act like you do not know what I mean."
I attempted to ask him why, but he remained silent, seemingly attempting to ignore me.
I felt irritated, so I changed the channel in the hopes of getting a response from him. But instead of saying anything, he left the room.
Normally, he would have started fighting me, but he has changed significantly in recent years.
Knowing that he was making every effort to start over, it made me a little sad to see him leave.
"Why am I like this, sigh?"
I turned off the television, shifted my legs across the couch, and sat with my chin resting on my knees and my hand folded over my leg.
"dummy"
As I was thinking pointless thoughts, I heard footsteps approaching me. Izumi was standing in front of me when I looked up.
"Weren't you angry, loser?"
"Angry over what?"
I felt a little relieved that he wasn't angry at me.
"Rika, what is written here?"
His fingers pointed at the lines as he shifted a book across my face.
"Read the author's note."
"Read the authors note."
After saying that, he walked a sat across to me on the couch.
"Don't tell me that staying inside for so long caused your brain to rot to the point where you lost the ability to read."
It has been a few days since Izumi began having brief conversations with us.
But since his argument with father, he has been acting a little strangely. He started repeating things I say and sometimes says irrelevant things during conversations.
Sometimes when I look at him, I feel like he is someone else.
But then again, did I really know him that well in the first place? I think I have known him for five or six years, and even then, he mostly avoided me because he was quiet and timid by nature. Then there were the previous few months, when he stopped communicating with everyone.
During this time, he only went to school and kept himself confined to his room. Mom and dad tried to talk to him about his issues, but he refused to respond.
He then started stealing money from our parents and started buying weird stuffs.
"What are you reading?"
"Hm?"
I leaned closer to him and tilted my head slightly to see what the book's title was.
"Checking the fever of my step-sister."
My thought about he was changed stopped just after I read the books title. He was still the same old weirdo.
"Is something wrong?"
"Why are you reading something like that in the living room?"
I was grossed out and thought about punching him but I wasn't one of those annoying people who make fuss over others preference—.
*Smack*
"Shithead, are you insane? Do not read anything like this here!"
"Ouch. Ok."
He got off the couch and walked out of the room.
"Huh?"
I was thinking all that, when all of a sudden I punched him and said those things to him.
Once more, I moved my legs over the couch, chin resting on my knees, and began to ponder pointless ideas.
"But why, step-sister?" I said this while feeling both confused and weirded out.
During the evening, I felt like going for a walk, so I left the house and began walking around the neighborhood.
I went to the nearest park and spent some time there, and on my way back home, I noticed a cake shop and stopped in to buy some cakes both for myself and the Izumi.
As I opened the door to my house, I noticed Izumi standing near it, as if waiting for someone.
"I'm home"
"Hmm"
"I bought some cakes"
"Hmm"
"Don't tell me you were waiting here just because you thought I was angry at you."
It is possible that he is sincerely trying to improve himself.
"Read the Author's note, please."
"...what?"