A Brother's Sacrifice

I woke up lazily from my bed. It was pretty late for me to wake up. I guess I was too tired yesterday so I needed more sleep.

I went to brush my teeth while scratching my head. My sleepiness haven't fade out from me. It was Saturday today, so I could take a rest.

I was starting to feel hungry so I went downstairs. Reika's room and mine are situated on the first floor while for our parents', it was downstairs near the living room.

What came into my sight was my dad sitting at the dining table and quietly eating his breakfast. He saw me and looked at me with an indifferent face for a moment, but went back to eating.

I came close to the table and took my seat. Breakfast consisted of only bread and butter for me but I was satisfied with only that. As I was about to eat, my dad started talking to me.

"How's school."

"Nothing special."

"Made any friends?"

"Yes."

"Someone who knows about your past?"

"...No."

The interrogation ended just like that. And I was almost finished with breakfast. Today I wanted to rest at home but I needed to do something else. So the plan for relaxing at home is cancelled.

"Good morning Dad."

"Good morning Reika."

Reika was coming downstairs and greeted dad when she saw him. Dad had a gentle smile on his face. I looked at his face and got off my seat.

"I'm going to hang out with my friends."

With this excuse, I grabbed Aki's hoodie which I left in my bedroom, opened the door and went out. I couldn't bear to see that scene again. If I would've been there for any longer, my mind would've been influenced by something bad.

But... I felt relieved. The relationship between dad and Reika is good. I don't have to worry about them.

....

I wore Aki's hoodie. It was pretty sunny outside but the sun rays were irritating my eyes. With the help of the hoodie, I covered up my face to prevent the sun rays from coming into my eyes.

I was looking for someone who could fit the descriptions of a person that I want. I went to public places for this reason. I even went to the red-light district to find that particular person but in vain.

I was getting bored of this 'search and find mission' so I went to the arcades to release my stress for a bit. I was keeping a look at the arcade also but couldn't find that specific person.

Searching and searching was making my stomach crave for food. Now that I look at my phone, it was time for lunch. From this point on, I didn't care about the mission so I went to the nearest café.

I ordered some snacks to calm my hunger. I also ordered some chocolate milk which was very delicious.

Taking this opportunity, I started to take a break from these tensions that I have been given from all these stressful matters.

I got a good look at the café and it was very simple but many people like the food and drinks here. Also, it was the weekend today, that explains why there were so many people here.

I looked around calmly to kill my boredom. And to my surprise, I saw Kinoshita sitting at a table of three with two cute girls.

The girls looked quite young, maybe younger than Kinoshita. They were happily chatting with each other. I haven't seen Kinoshita this happy when he was at school.

Looking at them reminded me of Reika and myself. Those were some good memories that I could remember. I wish I could look at them for a long time.

But that wish was short-lived. A guy who was with a girl about the same height as him, but a little shorter, was approaching them. The guy started talking with a menacing tone.

"Hey, could you get off that seat. You see, me and my girlfriend have no place to sit down. And we are kind of having a date. I hope you understand what I'm trying to say."

Kinoshita was getting scared. But most of all, the 2 girls were clinging onto him quite shakily.

When I took a good look at the guy, he seemed quite familiar. I think I saw him fighting with Aki at school.

This guy is starting to make me angry now. He just interrupted the beautiful scenery that I was viewing. Simultaneously, there was an idea that popped up into my mind.

'Well well, aren't I in luck.'

Before I was gonna interrupt them, I checked my purse to see if there was enough money with me.

'All set. Now let's punish them.'

As Kinoshita was about to stand up and give his seat to the other two, I came in front of him.

"Kaburagi...?"

Kinoshita let out that name as he saw the back of me. Hearing that name and seeing my face, the guy stepped back a little. I put my arm around that guy's neck so that he wouldn't escape, and acted friendly.

"Hey, how's it going man! I haven't seen you in a while!"

I looked into that guy's eyes intensively before he could take any action.

"...Y-Yeah. It's...been a while."

"By the way what are you doing?"

"Uh... I'm having a date."

"Wow, You traitor. After you said that we would get girlfriends at the same time. But don't worry, I'm not angry. Say, who's the lucky girl?"

"...It's her."

I took a good look at her and observed her appearance closely. She had calluses on her hands and muscles in her arms. She wore a long-sleeved shirt and I find quite weird. But I presumed that she had hidden her muscles with her sleeves so as to appear weak. After all, who would wear long-sleeves shirt on a sunny day.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Kaburagi Tenma. I'm this idiot's friend."

"Nice to meet you too. My name is Funabashi Masaki. I'm Yasuo's girlfriend."

So this guy's name is Yasuo.

"Excuse me but do you also go to Aomori High School? The same as Yasuo?"

She suddenly asked me a question. Better be careful so as to not alert her that I'm not his friend.

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"No, it was just that Yasuo talked about you a lot of the time. And while listening to all of these things, I started to become a fan of yours."

Don't tell me that he told her about me not being his friend.

"...What did he tell you?"

I looked at Yasuo when asking that question. He was sweating quite a lot.

"Well, the thing about almost killing someone if your friend didn't step in."

"Only that?"

"What! Were there more cool things that you did?"

That's good. My identity hasn't been exposed. But why didn't he tell her about the fight at the rooftop. Perhaps he was too embarrassed to say he was beaten by a girl. Anyway, gotta be careful.

"Yeah, we can discuss it somewhere but not here. How about the restaurant that is a bit further down the street."

"..."

Funabashi didn't say anything. She was suspicious of me. I once again glared at Yasuo.

"Y-Yeah, let's go, Masaki."

"...If you say so."

We walked towards the exit. Before going out, I turned my head towards the three figure at the table. Kinoshita also looked at me. I just smiled at him and moved only my lips, so that the other two wouldn't hear me, which translated into,

'Enjoy.'