You sit on the bench, swinging your feet. You take a lick at the chocolate lollipop and sigh, placing the entire thing in your mouth. Eli bites at a pink one in his hand. You furrow your eyebrows, staring at him in disgust.
"You know what I think..." Eli starts.
"Hm?" You hum, leaning forward to see his whole face. He looks at you and places the entire lollipop in his mouth.
"I think your mom can't break up with him..."
"What makes you say that?" You ask, pulling the lollipop out of your mouth.
"Maybe she's afraid...?" He implies. You stare down at the lollipop in your hand, examining all the ridges in it.
"... maybe." You softly say.
"You should get stronger..." Eli states, flexing his non-existent muscles. You look at his arm, then sigh, leaning back on the bench.
"Mhm..."
"Wait- haven't you been training with your grandpa? It's been a while since you last practiced..." Eli sighs. He rubs his head and then takes a deep breath.
"Yeah, but... I'm not strong still..." You quietly state.
"But how-"
"I don't know Eli..." You huff. He stares at you for a bit before sighing.
"Eventually-"
"I'm going to head back home..." You interrupt.
"Oh... are you sure?" He slowly says, reaching his hand out towards you.
"Yeah- I'm tired, and I think I prefer going home and resting..." You slowly answer. You turn around, leaving him. He watches as you walk off.
You walk for a bit, losing track of time. You drag your feet as you walk. You feel raindrops hit your face, causing you to flinch. You look up at the sky. More raindrops fall on your face. You sigh, hanging your hands to your side. Your right hand is still gripping the lollipop.
"... I come to the past, and I already feel so lost..." You quietly say to yourself. "What was I supposed to do? Save Takemichi... save Mikey... save my mother... save everyone... save- everyone..." You sigh, rubbing your eyes.
"I feel so overstimulated!" You shout, throwing the lollipop on the ground. You watch it break in half. Your eyes relax. You slowly walk up towards the lollipop, lifting it off the ground. You stare at the clean break. You open your mouth, preparing to put the broken lollipop in your mouth.
"Hey... aren't you Hikari's niece?" A voice says. You slowly look up to see Shinichiro and Mikey standing in front of you. They're both holding umbrellas. You stare at them a bit. You grab the piece of the lollipop from the ground, preparing to place it in your mouth.
"HEY! I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD DO THAT!" Shinichiro says, holding his hand out towards you. You flinch hard, causing the piece to fall out of your hand. Shinichiro's eyes widen after watching you flinch. You stare at the piece of candy that's on the ground. You slowly look up at him, glaring up at him.
"Just let the weirdo eat candy off the ground... I don't know why you're so worried about a random..." Mikey calmly says, walking off.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to scare you... it's just- I mean... you shouldn't eat off the ground- you don't know what was right there before the rain washed it up..."
"I don't have enough money to get another one..." You quietly say.
"I'll buy you another one then..." Shinichiro motions. "As long as you promise me you won't try eating stuff from off the ground." He awkwardly chuckles. Your eyes widen. You quickly look up towards him. Your mind fills with a faint memory. A memory of your mom's boyfriend comforting you after you dropped your ice cream. He offers to buy you a new one. A strawberry ice cream... one with extra sprinkles.
"I want one with extra sprinkles..." You say, grabbing his hand. Shinichiro's eyes widen, then relax.
"Okay." He smiles.
You sit on a chair, wrapped up in a towel. Mikey glares at you from across the table. A bowl of ice cream is in front of him. You hold a strawberry ice cream in a waffle cone, licking the sprinkles off. Shinichiro walks into the kitchen, holding a pair of dry clothes.
"I'm sure Emma wouldn't mind if you borrowed her clothes..." He says, placing the clothes down in front of you.
"I'm sure she would mind..." Mikey sighs. You stop licking the ice cream, staring at him. You look at Shinichiro and smile.
"Thank you for the ice cream." You softly say. Mikey narrows his eyes at you.
"Of course." Shinichiro smiles back. "When you finish, you can change into those clothes. I'll go give your aunt a call... ok?" He motions towards a bathroom and then quickly looks back at you, waiting for your response.
"Okay." You slowly nod. You watch as Shinichiro walks away, disappearing behind a door. Mikey sighs, causing you to look towards him.
"I wouldn't be here if Shin wasn't so persistent with me staying..." Mikey whispers to himself. He scoops some ice cream, slowly licking it off the spoon.
"Why is he persistent with you staying?" You ask. Mikey slowly looks towards you, narrowing his eyes.
"... you're nosy-" He replies in a low tone. You flinch when you hear a door shut.
"... Yuki... right?" Shinichiro says.
"Yeah..."
"Hikari won't be able to come get you... and the rain is starting to pick up... so I'm going to get you home before it gets worse, ok?" You nod. You begin to bite at the ice cream, trying to consume it faster.
"Mikey- stay inside... please..." Shinichiro motions. "I need to go get Emma too..." He quickly walks out of the room and into another room. You shove the rest of the ice cream into your mouth and quickly grab the clothes, walking into the bathroom.
After you get dressed, you walk back into the dining area where Mikey is still eating his ice cream. You stare at him, your eyebrows furrowing.
"Do you have a staring problem?" He sighs. You tilt your head and cross your arms.
"We just met, and you keep acting rudely to me..."
"I find it annoying that your aunt constantly stalks my brother around... and now- there's another..."
"You think I'm a stalker?" You ask. He takes a deep breath.
"No idea... are you?"
"..."
"Alright... you ready, Yuki?" Shinichiro asks as he walks back into the dining area.
"Yeah..." You slowly say. Your eyes stay on him as you slowly turn away. You look up at Shinichiro and smile, bowing a bit. "Thank you for the ice cream."
"Oh- of course... now let's go before the storm gets worse." He motions for you to walk in front of him. He opens the front of the house, and you both walk out. Before he closes the door, he shouts out to Mikey. "STAY INSIDE!" He shuts the door and motions you to a car.
You stare out the window, looking at the lights as he drives down the street. He turns on the road the bakery is on, stopping in front of it.
"Wait... this is the place?" He asks. You nod. "Oh, okay-" He nods back. You stare at him through the mirror as you unbuckle your seat belt. You pause as your hand grips the door.
"Shinichiro?" You say in a quiet tone.
"Hm?" He looks at you through the rearview mirror.
"If you wanted to save someone... what would you do?"
"... save them..." He answers slowly, confused by your question.
"How would you do that?" You question. He stares at you through the mirror a bit before answering.
"By any means necessary..." He responds. Your eyes shift towards the window. You pull at the handle, pushing the door open.
"Yuki."
"Yeah...?" You look at him through the crack of the seat. He's still staring at you through the rearview.
"Is this man hurting you?" He asks. Your eyes relax, and you push yourself off the car seat.
"Thank you for the ride home." You say in a low tone. You close the door and quickly run towards the bakery, pulling the door open. Your grandma looks at you with wide eyes. She rushes over towards you, rubbing your head. Shinichiro pulls off, and you watch the car through the bakery window as it slowly disappears out of your view.
"I was worried... you know that there's a really bad storm outside..."
"I know." You softly say.
"Who was that who just dropped you off...?" Your grandmother asks.
"Hikari's boyfriend." You quietly say.
"Hikari's boyfriend? She has a boyfriend?" Your grandmother asks in shock.
"Where's mom?" You question.
"Oh... I don't know... I think she said she's working overtime." She shrugs. You pull away from your grandmother and towards the back of the bakery.
"Do you want to stay with me tonight? I will let your mom know..."
"No... I'm ok." You quietly say as you disappear behind the counter and up the stairs. You open the door to the living room and close the door behind you. You pull off your shoes and quickly pull off the borrowed clothes you're wearing, stripping down to just your panties. You walk into the room and climb under the blankets, not bothering to put on a new change of clothes. You curl up under the blanket, forcing yourself to fall asleep.
The smell of sweet food causes your mouth to water. You roll to your side, lifting the blanket up. The sky outside is grey. You push yourself up, rubbing your eyes. You climb out of bed, wrapping yourself in a blanket and walking out of your room. You pause when you see Hikari sitting at the table in front of the couch.
"Yuki..." Hikari sighs.
"Good morning." Your mother says in a soft tone. You slowly look towards your mom, who's making breakfast.
"Good... morning." You say slowly, feeling a bit confused.
"Why were you with Shinichiro?" Hikari asks, her eyes showing a slight irritation.
"He offered me ice cream." You softly answer.
"Huh?" Hikari looks at you, confused.
"Is that how he lured you in also... Hikari- with ice cream? You know- that's how predators move." You say.
"WHAT?" Your mother gasps.
"HUH?" Hikari leans forward, staring at you with wide eyes.
"Hikari is messing around with a guy who can legally drink..."
"..." Your mother glares at Hikari.
"HEY! WHY ARE YOU SNITCHING!" Hikari shouts. "WHAT DID I DO FOR YOU TO SNITCH?!"
"Be here." You sigh, walking towards the bathroom.
"You're dating a grown man?" Your mother asks Hikari, glaring at her.
"SHUT UP! DIDN'T YOU HAVE A KID AT SEVENTEEN?!" Hikari shouts.
"Okay?"
"AND HER DAD IS LIKE OLDER THAN YOU!"
"He's a year older than me." Your mother sighs. You stand at the bathroom door, staring at both of them.
"AND I'M OLD ENOUGH! I'M OF AGE!"
"Just because you're old enough to have sex... doesn't mean you're old enough to be with a grown man." Your mother says, waving the tongs in her hand.
"Tch. I don't want to hear it from you."
"You say that yet you're here..."
"Yes! Because I can! This is MOM'S building, NOT YOUR PERSONAL HOUSE! YOU DON'T EVEN PAY FOR RENT!" She shouts.
"..." Your mother glares at her. "I pay water bills and electricity..."
"BARELY!"
"HIKARI! YOU CAN LEAVE IF YOU'RE GOING TO ACT LIKE A BITCH!"
"I DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE HERE!" Hikari shouts. Your eyes widen when the door to the stairs opens. Your grandma walks in with a confused look on her face.
"MOM! TELL YOUR DAUGHTER TO LEAVE!"
"Why? Why are you both yelling at each other?" Your grandmother questions.
"YOU DON'T OWN THE PLACE! SO I CAN BE WHEREVER I WANT!"
"LEAVE."
"DOES THIS PLACE SAY HANAMI ON IT? NO!" Hikari yells, standing up from the table. Your mother slams the tongs on the counter.
"Mom... tell your daughter to leave." Your mother struggles to say. She looks like she's about to blow a fuse.
"WHY ARE YOU BOTH YELLING!?" Your grandmother shouts. Hikari glares at your mother and then slowly looks at your grandma.
"She came in being rude- running her mouth." Your mother seethes.
"Yeah... well- your daughter is going around telling my friends that your scummy boyfriend beats you and her!" Hikari grumbles. You relax your eyes at Hikari.
"What?"
"What? Your boyfriend put his hands on Yuki?" Your grandma asks your mom.
"That's none-"
"I can't control who you mess around with... nor can I protect you when you clearly want to continue to mess around with that fool- but now he's putting his hands on my granddaughter." Your grandma says in a loud and angry tone.
"Stay out of my business..."
"How!? NOW MY FRIEND KNOWS MY NIECE IS GETTING HIT!"
"SHUT UP, HIKARI!"
"NO!"
"STOP YELLING AT HER!" Your grandmother shouts at your mother.
"I WOULDN'T BE YELLING IF-"
CRASH
Everyone goes quiet and quickly looks towards you. You're clenching onto your finger, blood dripping from it. There's a broken glass covered in a jam paste on the ground. Your eyes narrow as you clench your finger.
"Yuki!" Your grandma rushes towards you.
"Don't touch me." You quietly say, avoiding contact with her. Your grandma stops walking, staring at you with wide eyes. The blanket drops around you. You step away from the counter and into the bedroom. You close the door behind you. You grab the clothes that you borrowed, throwing them down on the bed. You pull open a drawer, pulling out a random outfit from the drawer, not caring what it is.
"Yuki." A soft voice comes from out of the room. You quickly put on your clothes, grabbing the borrowed ones from the bed and rushing out of the bedroom, walking past your mother. You quickly put your shoes on, grabbing onto the door.
"Where are you going?" Hikari asks.
"Yuki... wait- I'm sorry for yelling... can we talk?" Your mother asks.
"You're bleeding all over... let me clean-"
"I'd rather be at the park." You answer in a low tone.
"It's raining." Your mother softly says.
"I don't care." You pull open the door, pulling it close behind you. You quickly rush down the stairs and out the back door.