Before long, Yuuto made his way home. As the bully had promised, this was the place—he confirmed it by the 'Sakurai' label on the entrance. About ten minutes from the basketball park.
'Here we go,' he thought, letting out a sigh as he stepped forward. He pulled the house key from his pocket, inserted it, and twisted. The door clicked open.
The aroma of cooking hit him as he closed the door behind him. Glancing to his right, he spotted the kitchen, and a figure standing inside. She was dressed modestly, and the cool air from the air conditioner drifted around her.
'So, that must be the mom,' he thought, giving her a quick glance. Hearing the door close, she turned to see her son, Yuuto.
[IMAGE]
A smooth, youthful face and the whitest of teeth, paired with a well-endowed body. But what truly caught his eye were her soft, tired, yet deep green eyes that flickered in the noon light, framed by neat locks of jet-black hair.
"Yuuto, you're back...!" she called with a weak smile, looking as though she was moments away from falling asleep on her feet. He noticed the subtle dark bags under her eyes. "I'm just making lunch..."
'Damn. She's really beautiful,' Yuuto thought, seeing the character come to life before his eyes. 'Good thing I'm the son, or I might've gotten turned on by her.' He didn't realize he was staring a beat too long, his gaze blank. Something in her expression, those partially open eyes, pulled him in.
'Is it me... or does she look... really tired?' he wondered.
"Yuuto, are you okay?" she asked, noticing his silence and that empty stare. She took a deep breath, turning fully to face him.
"...No, I'm good. Lunch sounds great. Don't overwork yourself. I'll go clean up," Yuuto replied blankly, turning to head upstairs, still carrying his newly purchased duffle bag.
She gasped lightly as she watched him head upstairs. 'Did something happen to him...? I've never seen him... so... calm before.' Confusion and worry filled her thoughts, yet she couldn't ignore the slight sense of relief as she watched him walk away.
'And... "Don't overwork yourself"? Since when does he say things like that?'
"Yuuto...?" she called, causing him to stop halfway up the stairs.
"Yeah?" he responded, turning to face her.
'The way he just meets my eyes so directly... What is this? Something is wrong...' she thought, concern deepening. She half wanted to return to her duties, but her instincts urged her to probe further.
"What's... that bag for?" she asked, her voice uncertain.
"Oh, this? Just the latest Nikrey bag. Thought I'd grab one before the stores closed," he murmured casually.
"I... I see. The latest in fashion, then... It seems you're taking some inspiration from your sister, with how fashionable she's become lately..." she said hesitantly, forcing a weak smile as memories of her daughter's increasing femininity flashed in her mind.
"Something like that. If that's all, I'm going up," he muttered.
"A-ah... Oh... Well, alright," she muttered, reaching out, trying to say more, but before she could manage, he had already vanished into the darkness upstairs. Reluctantly, she turned back to the kitchen and resumed her duties.
'Am... Am I overthinking it..? Maybe he's just... growing up or something like that?' she thought, trying to justify his distant behavior, yet unable to stop frowning as she combined the words "growing up" and "Yuuto."
They just never fit. There was never an interaction where she didn't feel drained in one way or another, considering she always had to console him.
But the little energy she had left was needed for cooking, so she pushed the interaction to the back of her mind and resumed her focus.
'There's no real need to try and overcomplicate things with her,' Yuuto thought as he tossed the duffle bag in his room. After going over all the rooms upstairs, he entered the bathroom, grabbing a haircut machine. 'After all, this will be a pretty quick job. I'll just reveal the bully and leave this world soon. No need to make connections, or think too hard about our interactions. She might notice something off, but that's fine. I'll be gone from this world before next week,' he reasoned.
'Now, for more pressing matters, you neglected freakshow,' he thought as he looked at himself in the mirror, turning on the hair-cutting machine.
'Time to lose this greasejob of a hair.'
Thirty minutes later...
'Done. Now... Something's been bothering me... My eyes feel a bit... dry,' he thought, squinting at his reflection for the umpteenth time.
'When I woke up at the basketball court, I dismissed it as just irritation from the sun or the wind, but it's still bothering me,' he thought as he forcefully rubbed his eyes...
... Noticing two objects fall out, clattering against the sink.
'W-what the... Contact lenses!?' he thought as his vision blurred heavily. He immediately felt around for the lenses, failing to find them.
'JESUS, SO NOT ONLY DO I HAVE THE BODY OF A WIMP, HE EVEN HAS THE EYES OF A WIMP, TOO!?' he growled.
'Tsk... I'll have to go back to his room. If he has contact lenses, there must be glasses somewhere,' Yuuto reasoned as he followed through with the plan. After feeling around the room for about ten minutes, he opened a drawer, noticing a notebook sitting unevenly.
Suspicious, he moved the notebook, revealing a pair of square glasses, which he quickly put on.
'So dusty... Was he ashamed of them? Is that why he hid them away like this?' he thought as he walked back to the bathroom, cleaning the glasses and brushing away the hair he had cut.
'How can you be ashamed of glasses this badass?' he thought, staring at his reflection once more, a subtle smirk of satisfaction playing on his lips.
[IMAGE]
'You really were a wimp, Lesser Yuuto,' he thought, feeling his body itch all over from the strands of hair he had just cut.
'... I'll take a shower now.'
Another twenty minutes went by... The door of the Sakurai household flicked open once more as the short-haired, tomboyish sister almost bolted in.
"MOM!" she called out, rushing toward her mother, who had just finished washing her hands after preparing lunch.
"Oh, there you are...!" her mother called weakly, offering a faint smile. But the smile was short-lived as she noticed the distress on her daughter's face.
"Did something happen?" she asked.
"YUUTO...!! Where is he!? Is he here!?" she shouted, her voice booming with urgency.
"Yes... He's in the shower upstairs... Is everything alright...?" she murmured, but her daughter had already dashed upstairs in a hurry.
'Did something happen between them...?' the mother wondered, rubbing her temple.
'Amnesia...?! Seriously!?' she thought, her mind racing. 'He said Yuuto fell and bumped his head... and that he just wanted him to tell him where we lived... Damn it, why didn't he help him get here!? That annoying trash!' she fumed, but even then, she couldn't ignore the subtle throb in her heart as she recalled the bully's smile—the expertise he displayed when he returned to her side.
'... I'll have to talk to him about it later...' she thought as her expression softened. She walked up to the bathroom and slammed her fist repeatedly against the door.
"HEY! YUUTO! YOU THERE?! OPEN UP!" she yelled hurriedly, her voice loud and urgent. Moments later, Yuuto opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom.
'Jeez, that annoying kid... Getting himself hurt like that! And now, amnesia?!' she thought, folding her arms with a sigh.
"Oh, it's you," Yuuto said casually as he stepped out, his tone surprisingly nonchalant. The sound of his voice made her eyes snap open.
'It's you...?' she echoed in her thoughts, staring at him. He stood there, fully clothed, with a long-sleeved shirt hiding his bruises, but something about him felt... different.
'Who... Who are you?' she wondered, taking in his clean, neatly styled hair and the glasses he once hated wearing. His piercing gaze met hers without hesitation.
"Y-Yuuto?" she asked, her voice trailing off.
"Yeah, hello. Nice choker, sis," he said dismissively as he walked past. "It really fits you like a condom—" his voice dripped with disdain—"I mean, glove."
She instinctively clenched her fist, her anger flaring. She knew when someone was mocking her.
"What was that, you damn—!" she started to snap but stopped herself, remembering this was her brother.
'Damn it, I just reacted by instinct... Something about the way he said that pissed me off,' she thought, glaring after him.
'But... it's Yuuto. There's no way he meant anything by that...' She loosened her grip, her expression softening.
'Was he just embarrassed when he complimented me? Did I mishear it...?' she reasoned. 'Yeah, that has to be it. He's my brother... But... he's just...' Her mind flashed to the bully's touch and demeanor.
'... He's just not a man,' she thought. She took a deep breath as Yuuto walked further away. 'Not the kind of man who would do something like that. Yeah, that.' She gulped, trying to calm herself.
"Yuuto, I heard you have amnesia, so I rushed here... Is it true?" she murmured, unsure of what to feel.
"Oh...? So, he went straight to you with that information, huh?" he murmured, one brow raised, unimpressed.
"Ah...!" she muttered, lowering her gaze. 'Fuck...!! I messed up..! What if he finds out me and him are...'
"Jesus," he sighed, "Is there anything wrong with you hanging out with my former bully?" he asked, turning to face her.
"Don't... Don't say it like that..." she muttered, looking down, embarrassed.
'What is up with him?! He was never... this direct before...!'
"I... I guess not..." she mumbled, trying to rationalize. 'He did say they're friends now, so... I guess everything's fine.'
Yuuto clicked his tongue sharply, causing her head to snap up. But as soon as their eyes met, he turned away.
"Huh...?" she murmured, unsure of his expression. "Yuuto...?"
"Anyway, I'll freshen up and go downstairs. Mom made some food, after all," he dismissed her with a wave, concealing his other hand, which clenched tightly, gripping his bubbling anger.
'That was supposed to be a rhetorical question, you failure of a sister,' he fumed internally, gritting his teeth as he walked into his room, releasing the tension only when the door shut behind him.
'If you're going to screw the bully, fine. But don't you dare pretend you're some caring sister while doing it, acting like you give a fuck when you're actually putting your own happiness above your family's emotional stability. If there's one thing I hate as much as weaklings, it's hypocrites.' He breathed deeply.
'Calm down,' he told himself as he went over to the duffle bag, pulling out the camera and connecting it to the small computer in the room. 'I'll be out of this world in just a day or two once I send this footage to the school faculty. Honestly, I couldn't care less about what she's doing or her and the original main character's relationship,' he thought as he sent the footage, double-checking before sending it to the teacher staff's emails, which were relatively easy to find.
'Ah... Right... I wanted to talk to him about the amnesia... But... He seems to remember me... Then, did that guy lie...?' she reasoned as she stood bewildered outside the door to his room. '... I'll just talk to Yuuto about it later... Something definitely happened, with how he's behaving...!'
Before long, they all sat down for dinner. The mother still wore her tired expression as the two sat across from each other at the table, the sister taking the third seat on the side of it. It was a very silent meal, but the tension was palpable. The sister couldn't help but occasionally glance at Yuuto, sensing something was off. Their mother shared the same feeling, though her looks were less intense, weighed down by exhaustion.
'He... Wears his glasses. I thought he hated them,' his mother thought, lowering her gaze again.
Once, just once, Yuuto raised his eyes to look at her as well.
'... She really is tired. It's not just me. I thought maybe that's just how his family looks, but while the sister resembles her mother, she doesn't have that same look of exhaustion... Is the mother overworked...? Something else?' he wondered, before shrugging a moment later and turning his gaze back to his food. 'Oh well. Excuse me, but whatever burden you seem to carry, I'm about to intensify it when we're done eating. It's for a good cause. I'll get to return to my original world.'
As they finished dinner, the mother took a deep breath before speaking. "Yuuto," she called out loud, drawing both of her children's attention. "Is everything alright...? For a while now, you've been avoiding us..." she murmured, already bracing for the usual response: "Yeah, everything's fine, Mom... D-don't worry about me."
The sister, who had been considering talking to her brother, hesitated. She felt reluctant to pry into what Yuuto might be going through. After all, she was content with her life. She was in a loving relationship with a cute boy who made her feel feminine, cherished, and longed for—more than anyone else. She was happy every time they were together. If her brother said he was fine, there was no need to dig deeper. She reasoned that there was no harm in letting things be, even if she was entangled with his bully in secret.
But Yuuto had something else in mind. He stood up in response to their mother's question. "There's something I want to show you both. I can't ignore it anymore, nor can I keep pretending." His eyes lowered as he spoke, causing both women to snap their attention toward him, curious and confused.
"Yuuto...? What are you—" the mother began, but before she could finish, Yuuto had already pulled off his shirt, revealing his bare torso.
Both women froze, their eating utensils slipping from their fingers in shock.
Dozens, if not more—blue, red, black, and purple bruises covered his torso. His ribs looked swollen, his abdomen grazed. More injuries marked his sides and shoulders.
"Who... Who... Wha..." his sister's breath hitched, eyes wide as she took in the sight. Meanwhile, their mother's face contorted in horror, her pulse racing as she struggled to steady her breath.
'This boy... He's been bullied again...? For... for how long has he kept it a secret...?' she thought, her eyes trembling with concern as they moved across the extent of his injuries. 'Why...' she wondered, her fist clenching subtly beneath the table. 'Why can't he be like everyone else...? God, why can't this kid just be left alone...? This is... This is too much...' she thought, as her daughter's fury began to rise.
"WHO THE FUCK DID THAT?! I SWEAR, I'LL FIND THAT BASTARD AND KILL HIM—!" she screamed, but Yuuto turned to her, his eyes almost glaring into hers.
"Who do you think did that, sis?" he asked, causing her to go pale and fall silent as the realization struck. She thought of her new boyfriend.
'N-no way... I... I thought... I thought he stopped... No...'
Their mother, noticing the way Yuuto had asked the question, spoke softly. "...Could it be... the boy who did that to you was the same one from before...?" She looked at Yuuto with concern.
Yuuto met her gaze, and softly nodded.
'... She isn't even getting up,' Yuuto thought as he glanced at his mother. 'Almost like seeing this is something she got used to over the years... No way. The reason why she's so tired is... because of Lesser Yuuto and how he's bullied all the time?' The realization hit him hard.
"Yeah... It was him." Yuuto affirmed, causing her to frown deeply.
'So that's why you didn't tell her? Because she's heard it so many times, it's practically overflooded her ears, pushing her to fight your wars for you... and wearing her out?' he thought.
"But this time, you don't have to take my word for it. Or try to convince anyone, or protect me," Yuuto added as he began putting his shirt back on, causing both his mother and sister to narrow their eyes at him.
"I took steps. I have evidence. I've already sent it to the faculty staff. All you need to do is be there when he gets what's coming, and when you're inevitably called alongside his parents. You don't have to explain anything," he reassured. The mother felt some of the tension leave her shoulders as she looked over to her daughter, who met her gaze with an anxious, confused, and frustrated expression.
His mother blinked, her mouth opening slightly. The cold efficiency in his voice was unfamiliar—alien. This wasn't the Yuuto she knew, the one who cried in her arms when the bullying started.
He sounded almost... detached.
'To think... it drove Yuuto to do this much... To become someone completely different...' the mother thought, feeling her strength leave her as tears welled up in her eyes. 'Am I... a failure as a mother, after all? Have I failed this one...?' she questioned silently as she looked at him.
"For now, I'm alright. Everything will be over on Monday. Everything," Yuuto concluded, his tone firm and definite, as his sister lowered her gaze in shame.
A while later, the sister, downtrodden, went up the stairs. It was then that Yuuto stopped her. "Stop a second, sis," he called out, following her up the steps.
"Yuuto... I swear, even after he's punished... that guy... I'll... I'll make sure he's..." she murmured hesitantly.
"You don't have to promise me anything," he said calmly. "I'm gonna send you the footage now. I have it on my phone."
"Yuuto... I believe you! I... I don't need to see some footage to—"
"You don't?" he cut her off. "Sis... I'm not a fool. I know you two are together. It's been quite a while now," he confessed.
"You... You knew...?" she murmured in reluctance, her heart pounding as she looked away in shame.
"I figured, if you were happy... I didn't want to say anything. But... That's not important right now," he muttered, causing her to gasp.
'Something like that... Is not important right now...?' she echoed in her thoughts.
"You see, I'm still... afraid," Yuuto said, his voice quieter. "Afraid he'll twist the narrative somehow... or lie about everything to you." He made sure she saw the concern in his eyes.
"Please..." Yuuto murmured, "just... just don't talk to him until then, alright?" he pleaded.
"Al... Pfft," she let out a chuckle, tapping his shoulder. "I did something pretty messed up... but... have faith in your sister. I'll... I'll always..." She trailed off, recalling his injuries. "I'll always stand by you, Yuuto!" she said confidently.
"Now, get some sleep! I promise, I won't let that bastard near me," she reassured him before turning around and walking upstairs.
'That should keep everything quiet until Monday,' Yuuto thought as he went upstairs and got ready for bed, leaving their mother to clean alone downstairs.
'I might've come off as rash... but again, I don't have to stay here for long. Just until I take him out and that's it. Last thing I want is to be forced into some mosaic or incestuous love to clear this scenario.' He shuddered once more at the thought as he entered his room.
Upstairs, the sister sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her phone. Her fingers twitched, her thoughts racing. The bully, Yuuno, had sent her a single message.
[Hey, miss you.]
She saw the notification flash across her screen. For a split second, her heart jumped, and her fingers instinctively hovered over the screen, ready to reply after she tapped the message and entered the chatroom. But then, the image of Yuuto's bruised body flashed through her mind—his swollen ribs, the cuts on his side; and his plea. The rage and guilt surged up again, tightening her chest.
'No. I promised him,' she thought, biting her lip hard, almost enough to draw blood. But the words on her phone seemed to pull her in. He'd been so sweet to her before... hadn't he? He couldn't be bad. There has to be more to the story... Maybe if she heard his side, then...
No.
He had to have been the one at fault.
Yuuto wasn't the type to lie, after all. That sweet, harmless brother of hers.
But then again, she recalled how he was today. Detached, calculative, cold. Almost like an entirely different person.
With a frustrated growl, she threw the phone aside. It landed on her bed with a soft thud, leaving her thoughts in chaos.
She sat there, fists clenched in her lap, battling the urge to respond. 'I promised Yuuto,' she reminded herself. 'I won't let that bastard near me again. Disorder or not... those bruises...' Her grip tightened. 'You don't get to use your 'DISORDER' as an excuse anymore!!'
Her mind flashed back to the video Yuuto had sent her—the brutal footage of his own beatdown.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the bully sat in his room, staring at his phone. He saw that she had read the message, but she hadn't responded.
'Something's wrong with this bitch...' he thought, his smile fading. But then, a smirk crept back across his lips. 'I'll just do this <3' He sent another message:
[What's up?]
Another one followed quickly:
[You okay?]
And then:
[I'm so worried about you...]
He knew she was weak to attention like this. He had played her like a violin before, and he was confident he could do it again. She'll give up eventually, he mused, continuing to bombard her with texts. One after another, they came—each one designed to chip away at her willpower. He knew she would crack.
The notifications continued to ping softly, like an insistent knock she couldn't ignore.
'Why won't he stop...?!' she thought, her heart racing as she fought to look away from her phone. Beads of sweat formed on her brow as she struggled to resist. Her phone sat there, lighting up with every new message.
Again, her hand twitched, her fingers brushing against the screen. She glanced at the chatroom, where dozens of unread messages piled up—each one more pleading than the last, each one echoing in her head.
A familiar ache rose in her chest.
'I can't...' She told herself, but the weight of his soft, comforting words lingered in her mind. 'But... He was kind to me once... wasn't he?'' Her heart tugged at the memory, even as the image of Yuuto's bruises burned in her mind. 'No... But this isn't about me... Yuuto...! Yuuto suffered alone..! Just... Just stop, please...!'
For hours, his messages piled up, and eventually, he tried calling. The phone rang once, twice, three times—before she finally answered.
Her voice was tight with fury as she answered, "I swear to God—!" But his voice slipped through the phone like silk, wrapping around her anger, calming her.
"Hey, hey, take it easy... I was just worried about you. What's going on?"
Her anger faltered. He had that effect on her, and before she could stop herself, she blurted out everything; although she wasn't entirely calm. She said everything about Yuuto—his bruises, his pleas, his fears, and that damn, damn video. She ended her venting with: "You get it, you fucking bastard!!!? You will NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS!!! FOR... FOR HAVING YOUR WAY WITH ME WHILE DOING THAT TO HIM!!!" She shouted.
The bully listened quietly, his smile growing wider with each detail. 'Oh my... I honestly didn't know he had that in him.' He chuckled to himself. 'My, Yuuto... My Yuuto <3 How crafty. But...' His eyes gleamed with malice. 'That just makes me wanna break you even more~'
He paused for a moment, then spoke again, his voice lowering, as if confessing something deeply personal. "I see... I understand. I didn't want to tell you because I thought it would stay between us... But the reason I did it... it's not just because of my disorder. Or because I wanted to," he murmured, his tone soft, almost conspiratorial.
A heavy silence fell between them as she processed his words, her heart pounding in her chest. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN!?" she shouted, her voice trembling with disbelief and anger.
But despite her promise...
She leaned in.
And he whispered something to her.
For quite some time.
Sunday came and went, and throughout the day, the sister hadn't left her room. She only left once. Just once.
It was to go to their mother's room, in the middle of the night, while Yuuto slept—staying there for a couple of hours.
Before long, Monday arrived. Yuuto woke up to an empty house. He hadn't seen either his mother or his sister that morning, but he assumed they must have been called to the school.
"Now... Let's finish this," Yuuto muttered to himself as he stepped outside, neat and clean, his school backpack slung over his shoulder.