Don’t Act Like This Is Some Touching Finale on Your Own
“Welcome back, Yume. Are you alright? Nothing happened, right?”
“I’m home, Dad. Nothing happened. We just talked.”
When Yume returned, Kyousuke let out a sigh of relief and patted his chest.
Yuuki, meanwhile, kept cleaning while glancing in Yume’s direction.
“Yuuki-kun, it’s fine. I didn’t do anything.”
“I’m not particularly concerned.”
Yuuki wasn’t worried about Arisa or what Yume might have talked to her about. He was simply uneasy at the thought that something might have happened to Yume, Kyousuke’s daughter, and that was why he had been looking her way.
So in truth, Yuuki really wasn’t concerned about it.
“Let’s stop with this gloomy atmosphere and get back to work. Though it’s almost closing time anyway.”
As if to clear away the heavy air, Yume said that and walked to the back room to change clothes.
“Yuuki-kun, I know I’ve said this many times and you might find it annoying, but I’ll help however I can. If there’s anything you need me to do, just say it, alright? I’ve already filed a complaint with the school, and if necessary, I’ll bring in a lawyer.”
“Thank you very much.”
Feeling a little guilty again about Kyousuke’s kindness, Yuuki bowed deeply.
After that, Yuuki’s part-time shift ended without incident, and he headed home. But as always, he found himself hesitating to open the front door.
Still, he had no choice but to go in, so he reluctantly opened the door, took off his shoes, and was about to go straight to his room when his younger sister, Rei, appeared in front of him.
“Nii-san.”
Rei spoke as she stood there, but Yuuki saw no reason to stop and started up the stairs.
“Nii-san, did something happen at school again? I go to the same school, so I kind of understand what you’re going through.”
Rei kept talking to Yuuki, who never stopped walking.
“Is there anything we can do to help? Mom and I both want to support you. So you can rely on us a little more, you know?”
Since Rei went to the same school as Yuuki, she had a rough idea of what was happening. She knew that Yuuki and Ayaka had broken up and that he was being bullied.
She also knew that Ayaka was the cause of Yuuki’s current state.
“Back then, I doubted you, but it’s different now. I’ll never betray you again, Nii-san.”
After saying that, Rei looked up at Yuuki as he climbed to the second floor.
Until that moment, Yuuki hadn’t once looked in her direction, but finally, he turned his gaze toward her.
Rei felt a rush of relief and happiness at that.
But,
“It’s already too late. And you’re noisy, so be quiet.”
Without looking back again, Yuuki went straight into his room