Side Story, Part 1; One ordinary morning with Haru. (5.5)

Haru's point of view.

One year ago.

I scrambled the eggs well to ensure they had an appetizing texture, while making sure the toast didn't burn. I also kept an eye on the chocolate to prevent it from overflowing once it boiled.

Still... I remember the first days when I made breakfast for my sisters, it was a complete mess back then.

After my mother's death from exhaustion, it seems I had no choice but to take care of my sisters.

It's not that I disliked it, it's just... I haven't even had time to mourn my mother since then.

"Food, food," came from the dining table, accompanied by some small taps.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I said from the kitchen side.

Their faces had stopped being dark and gloomy, giving way to joyful and smiling faces, things were a little better these days.

We often went out with Ryu, my best friend, to play at arcades or do some other activity they suggested.

I took two plates, divided the scrambled eggs already made in half, one on each plate, and the two toasts, one on each plate, and three glasses of chocolate, while I placed everything on a tray to take it to the table, a glass fell, spilling all the chocolate.

"I'll clean it up later," I said, scratching my head.

I took the tray, carefully carrying everything to the table.

Wobbling and step by step, I reached the dining room.

"Finally! Haru-oni's food," they both said cheerfully, stopping tapping the table.

I took a plate and placed it in front of Lily, then did the same with Nae, respectively with the chocolate, left the tray in the center of the table, and sat at the table, waiting for them to eat before taking everything back to the kitchen.

"Aren't you eating?" Nae asked.

"Ah, no, I already ate while I was cooking," I said, scratching the back of my head.

"Are you sure?" Lily asked, taking a bite of her toast.

"Yes, I'm sure," I replied.

"I think you two will go out once you're done eating, right?" I asked, getting up from the chair.

"Yes, right?" Lily asked, looking at Nae.

"Yes, right," she replied.

"Well, I'll look for your lunch then," I replied, walking away from the table to get the food, it was a little cold, I had prepared it a couple of hours ago.

I usually wake up at 4 am to be able to make them food, I prepare dinner and their lunch because I work after school, but not  breakfast, I waited for the girls to wake up to go to school, so they could eat something hot before going to school.

After preparing, I washed the dirty clothes they left lying around, the washing machine apparently some mice had eaten some cables and it was necessary to send it for repair.

It was frozen, so I told them that it could only be used by using a little trick, so they left the clothes there in the washing machine, and I washed it in the morning or at night when they were asleep.

After washing clothes, I cleaned the house, because if I didn't do it in the morning, I would probably arrive from work after school very tired, so I wouldn't do it.

After cleaning, I went for a jog, so that when I returned, the girls would be awake.

Just as I reached the kitchen, a liquid ran down my throat and settled in my mouth, I quickly looked for the sink in the bathroom.

"Whoahh!" I said, vomiting a mouthful of blood.

Lately, my stomach hurts and I'm throwing up blood in different ways, when I go to the bathroom or vomiting directly.

I went to a pharmacy clerk who was a friend of my mother, who told me that it was most likely an ulcer.

I turned on the tap, and the blood went down the drain.

I guess... it was unavoidable.

Since I started high school, I work part-time and full-time on Saturdays and Sundays, so I spend some days without eating anything.

I have to save for my sisters' college, I want them to go to a good one.

Lately... I feel like quitting studying and dedicating myself to work directly.

But... thinking about leaving my friends... makes me hesitate.

Am I greedy?

That blood is divine punishment for the sin of greed, a mere human believing that he can grasp more than what God has given him.

"Brother... are you okay?" Nae's voice asked from the other side of the bathroom door, vaguely looking at her silhouette standing in front of the door.

"Yes, I'm fine... just brushing my teeth," I said, looking for something behind the bathroom mirror at that moment.

Some pills I had bought for the ulcer, or whatever it was that made me bleed.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, looking at myself in the mirror, somewhat weary.

"He's calling.... Uncle Eto," she said.

Ugh.

That guy.

A brother of my mother.

A somewhat unpleasant guy.

My mother's family... was somewhat complicated.

My mother was originally from a good family.

But... apparently, she gave up her surname to marry my father.

He was the typical school delinquent, I don't know what my mother saw in that guy.

I vaguely remember him.

He was... somewhat clumsy, or he is, I don't even know if he's still alive.

She apparently tried to fix that guy, and apparently he let her to a certain extent.

An aunt told me that after all... he was arrested for attempted fraud.

He left my mother alone, with three children and a restaurant, she fought to the end, worked and worked... but she died.

"I'll be right there, I'll answer," I told Nae, grabbing three pills and putting them in my mouth, and took the water.

The unpleasant taste of the pill flooded my mouth.

I opened the door, and she was there waiting with the phone in her hand, on the call interface.

I grabbed the phone, it was an old flip phone.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hi, how are you?" he asked.

"Fine, anything you need?" I asked.

"You know, the same question as always," he said.

"No, I won't sell my mother's house, nor will I send Nae or Lily with you, I'll take care of everything myself, their education, their well-being, everything," I said, bluntly and directly.

"Well, like father, like son, right?" he responded.

"YOU HAVE TO!!!" - he shouted, I immediately hung up when I heard he was going to start shouting.

I'll hit him if he comes near the house again.

I'm not that damn kid he humiliated that day with his mother.

I'll kill him if he comes to mess up my life.

Now... I'm not that damned brat who humiliated him that day with his mother.

"Brother... are you okay?" Nae asked. Once again.

I looked at my face in the mirror.

Somewhat somber, dark. "Wait," I said.

"It's nothing, it's nothing," I said.

I remembered something just now," I said, "Oh, Lily, greetings from your uncles," I said cheerfully as if nothing had happened, laughing in a way that made me seem like a complete idiot.

"Well, it's time for you to go, isn't it?" I asked.

"Hm," Nae nodded.

The two of them grabbed their respective lunch boxes from the kitchen and went to get their backpacks from their rooms.

The house had two rooms, I slept in the living room, wanting to give the girls some privacy.

After all, everyone has things they don't want anyone else to know.

Of course, I made sure those things weren't anything bad.

Well... I guess it's time for me to go too.

About 5 minutes later.

On the slope of a small, slightly inclined hill that we had to climb to finally reach the meeting point where we usually met Ryu.

Walking uphill, with some difficulty, my eyes started to see something blurry.

I looked up, and the morning sun blinded my eyes, I vaguely saw the silhouette of a slightly tall guy, with long, dark green hair.

He waved his hand gently while shouting something.

Slowly, I began to hear more of what he was shouting.

"Heyyyyy, Haruuuuu."

Finally, somewhat exhausted, I reached the top.

I looked at Haru, with his shirt in hand.

"What's up, what were you doing?" I asked.

"Hm?" He grunted in a curious, tired way.

"You look a bit out of breath and a little tired, did it cost you so much to climb the hill?" I asked, while continuing to speak a bit — "I understand, I'm still not—" I didn't finish speaking as he responded, interrupting me.

"I was doing some exercise, going up and down this hill," he said.

A girl approached us.

Looking at Haru in a somewhat curious way.

"Oni-chan, oni-chan, why were you going up and down the hill so much?" she asked.

I was a little... shocked.

I knew Ryu was a physical monster, he was the best at everything related to sports, also academically.

But... I didn't expect this level of difference.

Maybe because I normally didn't eat breakfast, but it was so hard for me to climb that hill... it's hard for me every day.

I found it hard to accept.

I was a bit envious of the people around me.

I'm a horrible person, don't you think?

It's not like I have a bad envy.

I just... feel like I want to do the same things they do.

"Because Oni-chan was bored," he said.

Just because he was bored... huh?

"Hey girl, are you lost?" Ryu asked.

I just watched them furtively.

"No... Ui left and didn't wait for me..." she replied.

"So, who's Ui?" he asked her.

"Usually... we walk together and meet the others on that corner over there," she said, pointing beyond the hill.

"Do you want us to accompany you?" Ryu asked, looking at me.

Huh? Is he waiting for me to say something?

The girl started to squeeze her eyes shut as she cried apparently.

"Hey, you have more experience in these kinds of things," he said.

"Ah?" I asked, somewhat puzzled.

"You have two sisters, right?" Ryu asked.

"Yeah..."

"Then you have more experience calming crying girls, don't you?"

I suppose... he's right.

Knowing Ryu, he won't be able to do anything, he's good at being insensitive and making bad jokes, but not in this kind of situation.

"You know I'm not good at this kind of thing," Ryu said.

"Yes, more or less," I said, pushing him aside.

"Tell me..." I said, crouching down to the girl's eye level, touching her head.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"My name is... Rina..." the girl said, sobbing and rubbing her eyes, crying like any elementary school girl in this kind of situation.

She must be... around ten years old.

She was still small, getting lost in a city makes you realize how small you are compared to the world.

This made me remember when Nae got lost... after mom's funeral...

It gave me a little more empathy with the girl.

"Rina... do you want us to accompany you to where you meet your friends?" I asked.

"But... but..." she sobbed between tears.

"Believe me... they're still waiting for you," I said, trying to calm her.

"But... but... Ui said... Ui said... she wouldn't wait for me..."

"Did she really say that? What a mean girl..." Ryu said.

I turned to look at him with a look like I was looking at a stupid person.

The girl started crying more.

"Waaaahhh, waaaahhh, Ui is a meanie!!!"

"Oh, I messed up, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he apologized repeatedly, with a face like he wanted the ground to swallow him up.

He really... was a clumsy person, when it came to sensitivity and reading the atmosphere.

"You're a complete idiot," I told him.

"You're right, I'm sorry!" he said, bowing down, clapping and clasping his hands together.

"At least put your shirt on," I told him.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm coming," he said.

"Go over there, don't say anything else," I told Ryu, trying to prevent him from saying things that could hurt the girl even more.

He walked away as if he had been told the most disappointing thing in the world, kicking dust off the ground, with a dead face.

"Of course... since Ryu is an idiot," he said as he shook his foot.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I said.

The girl let out a little laugh, while shedding a few tears.

"What's wrong, crying or laughing?" Ryu asked.

"It's just that you guys... are like a comedy show my dad watches," she said.

"Do we look like clowns?" Ryu asked.

"A little," the girl said.

"Hey, brat, you want trouble?" he asked, as if he were some kind of thug.

"Stop it!" I said, giving him a slap with my open hand on the head.

Again, the girl started laughing.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's just... there's one taller than the other," she said.

Right, now that I'm in front of Ryu, I see that I have to raise my gaze a bit to reach him.

"Well, Rina-chan..." I spoke looking at her — "Now that you've calmed down a bit, do you want us to accompany you?" I asked her.

"Sure..." she said.

"Well, shall we?" I replied.

"Yes, we're going to be late because of this brat," Ryu said.

"Hey, don't make things more complicated," I said.

"Okay, okay," he said.

We walked alongside Rina, Ryu on the left side and me on the right side.

As we walked, Rina took my hand and Ryu's hand.

"Hm?" Ryu grunted a bit.

Rina looked at both of us with a smile as we walked.

"You guys are really good friends, aren't you?" she asked.

"Hmm..." I said.

"Aren't we?!" Ryu asked a bit excitedly, at my apparent doubt.

"Hahaha," I laughed — "I knew you'd do that," I commented.

"Really, we're very good friends," I said.

Arriving at a corner, I saw a group of girls talking among themselves.

One was surrounded by the others.

"Ui!" Rina shouted, letting go of our hands.

Running, she reached the group of friends.

Another girl welcomed her with a hug.

"Rina... Rina... I'll never say that again..." she said.

"No, no, I'm sorry for saying that too," Rina said.

"But... but..." as she cried, Ui lamented.

"Besides, these guys helped me," Rina said, pointing to us.

"How great!!!" the girl said, with a face as if her soul had been stolen.

"And so handsome!" another one pointed at me.

I felt my shirt being pulled.

Rina looked at me as if she wanted to say something.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Thank you," she said, walking away, running.

"Hey, girls, let's go!" she shouted to her friends.

The girls ran after Rina.

"We're going to be late!" one of them said.

Ryu, looking at his watch, shouted something.

"Shit! We're going to be late!" he said. "Let's go, Haru!" he spoke to me.

"Hm, I'm following you," I said, starting to run after him too.