Aiko and Shinji sat together in the dim light of their room, the soft hum of the city outside serving as a distant background to their quiet conversation. Aiko leaned in slightly, her eyes focused on Shinji as he spoke about his past.
"So, how's your brother doing? And the orphanage?" Aiko asked, her voice gentle but curious, her fingers fidgeting slightly on her lap. She knew how difficult it was for Shinji to open up about his life, but she wanted to understand more about him, especially the parts he didn't often share.
Shinji took a deep breath, staring at the floor as if the answer was somewhere in the fading wood beneath them. His thoughts seemed to drift back to the orphanage, the place he once called home. "They're okay, I guess. My brother… he's strong, but I worry about him. The orphanage is struggling a bit more now, though. Funds are tight. I've been sending them some of what I can save."
His voice cracked slightly, the weight of responsibility clear in his tone. Aiko's heart ached as she listened, sensing the burden that Shinji carried alone. She wanted to comfort him, but words felt inadequate. Instead, she reached out and placed her hand on his, squeezing it gently.
Just then, they both noticed something odd—a shadow moving just outside their room, lingering too close to the door. The faint sound of someone shifting on their feet followed. Shinji's expression hardened, and Aiko's eyes darted to the door, suspicion filling the air between them.
"Do you think…?" Aiko whispered, stopping mid-sentence as the tension built.
Before they could say anything else, the door creaked open, and Akari, her face flushed with embarrassment, stumbled into the room. She had clearly been caught red-handed. "I-I'm sorry! It was an accident, I swear!" she stammered, her eyes wide with fake innocence.
Aiko and Shinji exchanged a quick glance, knowing full well that this was no accident. Akari had been eavesdropping on their conversation, no doubt trying to gather information to use against them. Shinji sighed, his jaw clenched, while Aiko, though furious, remained calm.
"Akari, next time just knock," Aiko said, her voice cold but composed. "We don't appreciate being spied on."
Akari scrambled to her feet, brushing off her dress and trying to maintain some sense of dignity. "It really was a mistake, I didn't mean to listen in," she muttered, before awkwardly excusing herself and leaving the room in a hurry. But as she disappeared down the hallway, both Aiko and Shinji were left with the same thought: she had definitely overheard something.
Once the door clicked shut, Aiko sighed and turned to Shinji. "Do you think she heard much?"
Shinji shook his head, though his eyes betrayed a hint of worry. "I don't know, but we need to be more careful from now on."
Meanwhile, Akari, flustered and annoyed, rushed down the hallway and straight into her mother's room. Her face still red, she found Aiko's mom, sitting on her lavish armchair, sipping tea, with Shinichi lounging on the bed nearby.
"What happened?" Aiko's mother asked, her tone sharp and demanding.
Akari threw herself down on a chair and sighed dramatically. "I tried listening in on them, but I got caught. I couldn't hear much."
Shinichi rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he leaned back. "I told you, Akari. You're too obvious. If we want to get rid of him, we need to be smarter than this."
Aiko's mom, always the calculating one, looked thoughtful as she placed her teacup down. "It's clear that just making his life difficult isn't working fast enough. If it were, he would have left the house by now."
Akari nodded. "Exactly. He's tougher than he looks, I'll give him that. But something has to break him."
Shinichi's face lit up with an idea. "We need to find something on him. Something that'll make Dad see him as a complete loser. We need to make him look irresponsible, a danger to the family reputation."
Aiko's mother's lips curled into a smile. "Yes, that's exactly it. Your father won't tolerate anyone who puts the family name at risk."
"But what do we do?" Akari asked, eager to see Shinji out of their lives for good.
Shinichi leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "It's simple. We dig up dirt on him. We need to monitor everything he does. Every step, every move. There has to be something in his past, or something he's hiding now, that will be enough to destroy him in Dad's eyes."
Akari looked eager to jump on the plan, nodding enthusiastically. "That's a good idea! We could start spying on him more often. Maybe even follow him when he goes out."
Their mother, more composed than her children, simply smiled and nodded. "I think it's time I give Mr. Shinpachi a call. He's a reliable investigator, and he'll find out exactly what we need."
As the sinister plan was set into motion, Shinji and Aiko remained blissfully unaware of the danger lurking just outside their door. But it was only a matter of time before the truth came crashing down around them.