Chapter 5: A Disturbing Sight

Back to the present.

Daiki Matsuda was walking ahead of me, in the same direction I was headed. I followed at a distance, hands full of camping supplies, hoping he’d turn off somewhere.

He didn’t.

He can’t be going the same way all the way home, can he? I’m practically already there.

I kept my distance and watched. Sure enough, he turned toward the Inoues’ house. He rang the doorbell.

Yuki came out.

My heart dropped.

What’s going on? Is he threatening her?

They talked for a while. And then —

They look… happy. A pang of something twisted in my chest.

After a while, Daiki left. Yuki went back indoors. I waited a moment before walking up to the Inoues’ and ringing the bell.

Thud. Thud. Thud. The door opened. Yuki’s expression was bright — until she saw me. Something shifted in her face. She glanced briefly at the street.

"Good morning, Yuki-chan."

"Good morning, Ryo-kun. What’s the matter? Kenji and Hana aren’t home."

"I know… I just wanted to check if you were alright."

Yuki’s brows drew together. "Alright? I’m fine. Did something happen?"

What did they talk about? Should I ask her? She looked happy just now. She’s probably fine. But why was Matsuda-san—

"Nothing. Nothing happened. I— I got the supplies already! Looking forward to the camp!" I smiled, perhaps a beat too wide.

"Oh! That’s great, Ryo-kun. Yeah… I’m looking forward to it."

A pause.

"If there’s nothing else… I have a few things to prepare." She smiled politely.

"Of course. See you tomorrow morning at the bus stop." I stepped back from the porch.

The door clicked shut. But my head was already running. The incident resurfaced. Scenarios played out.

Surely. Surely they’re not friends.

The rest of the day passed agonisingly slowly. By evening, Sachi finally came home. She took one look at me.

"Onii-chan. You look like a dead fish. Are you sick?"

"No. A different kind of sick." I paused. "Guess who I saw today."

"Who? You don’t have many friends. A teacher?"

"Matsuda-san. Talking to Yuki-chan."

That got her attention. "What? Where? What did they say?"

"I didn’t hear anything. I was… a distance away. But he went up to her house. And then I went over to check on Yuki-chan, and she just… pretended nothing happened." I looked at Sachi. She seemed lost in thought. "Sachi? Hello?"

Sachi had gone quiet. Her brows knitted together. "Onii-chan… They’re…" She looked away, fists clenched at her sides.

"They’re what?"

"They’re… probably friends, onii-chan." Her eyes were on the floor. "I’m sorry. I know how you feel about Matsuda-san." Her fists stayed clenched.

"What?! Seriously? Does Yuki-chan even know what kind of person he is?"

Silence. It was a question that answered itself. I’d never told anyone directly who had bullied me. But it was an open secret among those who knew me well. They could tell from the way I reacted to him.

"She’s not the only one who should know who’s better for who." Sachi looked straight at me. "Onii-chan. You’re an idiot, do you know that?" She turned and walked to her room, shutting the door behind her.

I stood there.

What on earth is going on?

Dinner was strangely normal. Sachi and I walked Mum through the camping plans until she was satisfied. She reminded us to watch the weather — it had been unpredictable lately.

After dishes, Sachi and I did a final check of the bags and supplies. Everything was sorted. We were ready to leave at first light.

"Good night, onii-chan. Let’s have a good camping trip tomorrow."

"Good night, Sachi."

* * *

— Sachi —

She called Kenji the moment her door was shut.

"Kenji. We have a situation."

"Hey, Sachi. What is it?"

"A ‘big’ situation."

"Just spill it."

"Onii-chan saw Matsuda-san today. Talking to Yuki-san. At your doorstep."

"Oh." A pause. "That really is a big situation. So, what happened next?"

"He went up to Yuki-san afterwards to check on her."

"…Go on. Don’t pause."

"Yuki-san didn’t tell him anything. Just pretended everything was fine."

One could practically hear Kenji facepalming. "For the love of — how dense could these two be?!"

Sachi’s voice dropped. "Kenji… I nearly told him."

A brief silence.

"He deserves to know… This isn’t right." Her voice was starting to heat up.

"Sachi… I know it’s difficult. It’s difficult for me too. But let’s give Yuki-chan one more day. Give her the chance to sort things out at the camp tomorrow." Kenji, caught squarely between a rock and a hard place.

"…One more day, Kenji. Just one. And in the meantime, I’m making backup plans. For Hana-chan."

A pause on his end. "Backup plans? How is Hana-chan related to any of this?"

"She’s a lot better for onii-chan. Don’t you think so?"

"Well. I’m not going to argue that. But… she has to actually like Ryo-kun first, right?"

"Shush. Just trust me and help."

"Are you sure this is a good —"

"Kenji Inoue." The dangerous sweetness in her voice did its job.

"Alright, alright. I'll help."

"Thank you, darling. I knew you’d come around. See you tomorrow!" Sachi hung up, sounding extremely pleased with herself.

Kenji stared at his phone for a moment, then sighed.