I don't what could i possible say to ease the tension and awkwardness in the atmosphere between us two, we kept making it more awkward with our silence .
I kept brainstorming in try of finding a good topic to start this conversation with, but just like how it went with my mother, everytime i think i had the right topic in mind, i just can't seem to be able to turn what i had in mind into words .
We stayed like this for over a minute, as i was beginning to lose faith in this conversation ever moving forward, she surprised me with saying :
You sure eat a lot .
She said this in a blunt attitude with a blank expression on her face, i wanted this conversation to began moving on but that wasn't what i expected to hear or had in mind, but it was a starter nonetheless .
" I normally don't eat this much, but i don't know what was going on with me today, maybe it was out of nervousness .
I said in a bit awkward tone, which she replied to by saying :
Is that so ? .
" Yes .
Then our conversation ended and we both went silent once more, making the awkwardness that was just beginning to recede, come back even stronger than before .
I kept on thinking about pardoning myself and leaving this place, but the words about being a good brother that Isuragi-senpai imparted to me kept circling in my mind forcing me to stay fixed in my seat .
" Did you have lunch .
I decided to try and reviving the dead conversation by continue talking about food, even though it was a bit awkward question to ask, she still replied, saying :
Yes .
I thought that she was a girl of few words, but her case was worse than to describe as few words, once again the conversation died the moment it started .
If i were to describe what the current scene looked like in my mind, i would say that we weren't looking at each other, no instead we were looking at the fog in front of us and imagining that we were talking to each other, i was beginning to feel that it was wrong to agree to meet her .
How to break the ice between the two of us, was easier said than done, but i at least had a subject that might help in doing just that, even though i didn't really want to mention or talk about, but i guess dire situations required the use of dire measures .
" From whom did you get my phone number .
I asked even though i already know the answer, but i still asked wanting to start linking with her, she said :
I got it from our father, didn't he tell you about it in the phone this morning ? .
Finally we were getting somewhere, i was surprised to find out that she knew about him calling me this morning and from the looks of it, this wasn't the only thing she knew about me, but before questioning her about this, i believe answering her took the priority, so i said :
" My words might be harsh, but i never knew that you existed before today, much less being told that you have my number .
Her expression was unfathomable, but she shook her head and said :
Those are harsh words indeed, but i don't mind them, i was informed that you don't know much about this so don't worry about it .
I was relieved to at least know that she didn't seem to be bothered by this, but i was now interested about what other things were she told about me, seeing that the conversation might die out in any moment again, i had a question in mind that would at least close the distance between us a little .
But before i even ask my question, i saw her stand up from her seat and bow down in front of me, while saying :
I apologize on behalf of my late mother for any and our inconveniences our existence might have caused to you and your mother .
I was so stunned at what she did and said that i took a few seconds to awake from the shock, the people around us began to look to where we were with weird looks in their eyes and some began to lean towards each other's ears and start to gossip about it, due to the fact that i picked a secluded table to sit on, they were unable to hear or understand anything of what was going on .
Seeing them like this, i was forced to take an action first and think about the consequences later, i took the hand of Urushibara Shizuno and stormed out of the cafeteria through the closest door to me .
I escaped from the cafeteria with her in my hands and found a secluded area for us to continue chatting in .
Due to how fast, i was going and my body still isn't in a peak state, we didn't run far before i was short of breath, so we ended settling in staying not very far from the cafeteria .
Even though she too was out of breath, but she was still taking deep breaths in a bowing position, i began to look at her in a new light and a bit more favorably, i still asked her to raise her head up .
But she still didn't comply, i was forced to raise her head up myself, i didn't know why would i involuntarily go and do such a thing, maybe i was afraid of someone passing by seeing us like this so i didn't think much of it, maybe because she was my half-sister, doing something like this didn't seem that big of a deal .
She finally stopped bowing, i saw that her cheeks were tinged with a bit of red, not out of embarrassment, but most likely out of being short of breath, or maybe both, it was hard for me to read what she was thinking with that blank expression on her face .
Only after we escaped the cafeteria did i finally have a chance to comprehend what she just said, wasting no time, i also bowed down to her and gave her my condolences .
It's fine, it happened a few years ago, she entrusted me with this task on her deathbed, so i really hope that you could have a bit of leniency in both your heart and your mother's to forgive her .
I raised my head and saw that there was no sad expression on her face, but their was a bit of sadness hidden deeply in her eyes, if not for the close distance between the two of us, i would have missed noticing it, she was beginning to bow down again, but i held her shoulder and said :
" You don't have to apologize for anything you know, your mom appearance in his life might have influenced our so-called father mind a bit, but all the blame still fall on him for deciding to abandon his wife and unborn child, so please stop doing that, you and your late mother don't owe us much of an apology, we never held you guys responsible for what happened .
I said this, but i was in fact holding a grudge against her mother before, but now that i knew that she passed away and even remembered to apologize to us on her deathbed, all the resentment that i had held against her vanished instantly, i also continued to say :
" If anything we are actually thankful for your mother appearance, at least i wasn't raised up by a self-centered man like him, so that was really a bonus.
For the first time since i met her, i saw that her expressionless face shift to one of bewildered, she seemed to be a bit surprised by my words, but she soon regained back her composure and just nodded at me .
Sensing something from her reaction, i couldn't stop myself from asking about why it doesn't seem to bother her that i called her father a self-centered, her response left me completely baffled, she said :
Why should i be ?.
" He is after all your father .
He is your father too, isn't he .
" Well, i have my reasons to hold it against him, you see ". i thought that would be the end of this, but she continued to say :
Well, it may be a bit of surprise to you, but i do too and i completely agree with you about him being a selfish person .
I stared at her deeply and a face full of resentment appeared in my sight, realizing that she had lost her composure in a fit of anger, she tried to escape this place, but i was able to barley stop here from leaving at the last moment, i continued to stare at her while wondering if holding her here was really the right thing to do, but i felt entitled to understand what was going on here .
I saw her body seemed to be a bit shaking, so i suggested sitting on a bench near us, i thought she was going to refuse, but she actually nodded her head and begin walking ahead of me .
As we sat down, i thought of giving her enough time, before asking her about it, but as if reading my thoughts, she directly began to say :
Soon after she was born my mom caught him cheating on her with a maid, when she confronted him he denied and even attacked her, days after she filed for divorce, then after they divorced each other, he rarely came to visit after that, my mom kept told me that he visited from time to time just to get some money, i first thought that what he did might have impacted her so much that she was just badmouthing him in front of me .
But after she passed away, this was later proven to be the actual truth, he became my legal guardian and began to use the Urushibara family's name and money to do horrible things, things that luckily were stopped in time, my grandfather kicked out of the family and what deterred him from using brute force was the Urushibara family's connection and influence .
I was then put under the guardianship of my grandfather, then when he died, i willingly choose to abide by the last wishes of my grandfather and agreed to be put under the guardianship of my old half-brother Urushibara Tadanori, it was either this this or going back to be under the guardianship of my father .
Thinking that it would be better that way, as she reached that part, i wasn't able to make much of it, due to the fact that she completely skipped it, what she said made her hurt the most was the fact that she was in his custody for over 6 months, but she never saw him even once .
She then told me that he met her not that long ago and told her about me going to attend the same school, he also gave her the new phone number that he would give me later, she was a bit guarded against me first due to her thinking that i was sent as a piece of some kind of plot against her, but she met with the principal and was told all that she needed to know about me and my mother and our relationship with that Man .
This was the full story of how we came to meet each other, she was a bit tired and wanted to get back home and rest, i myself was both still hungry and also tired, even though i understood that she currently need someone to comfort her, i decided to leave this task to the half-brother she grew up with back home .
When i asked where she was going seeing that she wasn't heading to the Girls Hostel, she told me that she lived in the Urushibara family's mansion near the school, i offered to walk her to the car that will come to pick her up and she agreed .
As we reached the gate, the car had already arrived, just as she was about to get into the car, i remembered a question that i needed an answer for, i asked her about who was older sibling between the two of us, she told me that i was the older between us two, i was born May 1st, she on the other hand was born May 17th .
I was able to see that her mouth curved into a smile barely before she entered the car, the car then moved and till she completely vanished from my sight, i was still standing there looking to where the car vanished, while having one thought in mind, what an awkward situation that was .
I just hope that half-brother of her is trustworthy, she didn't seem to talk about him, i was really beginning to like that half-sister of mine, that girl was having to deal with her own set of troubles, was that icy complexion the result of those problems of her, i wanted to help her, but i don't know if she would appreciate my interfering or just push me away .
At least for now, i believe that we opened to each other a bit more, maybe just try nurturing that bond over time, will be able to remove all the tension between us and allow me to help her if needed, of course .
I was finally ready to leave this place, i was going to head back to the cafeteria, but found that we were so engrossed in talking that time seemed to have slipped by us without knowing, night was already upon us, i was still having the thought of going to the principal office to both thank her for what she did with Urushibara and ask if there was a solution that could allow me to use my original phone .
The reason was because i began to become a bit more guarded towards that Man, i would not be surprised if my calls were being monitored by him, also i'm beginning to feel uncomfortable calling my Mom with that phone, but this would probably have to wait for tomorrow, due to how late the time was .
My hunger was still unsatisfied, but it was at least at the level where it was somehow manageable, i decided to call it a day and head to the Boys Hostel for some very needed rest, i reached the Hostel and flashed my ID Tag to the guard standing in front of the building, he without saying anything, handed me a key card to my room and its number .
My room number was 32 it was in the lower floors, normally i would have taken the stairs, but due to feeling tired physically and mentally, i decided to use the elevator instead .
Just barley before the door closed, i heard unruly voice ordering me to stop the door from closing for him, knowing to whom that familiar voice belonged, i paid him no mind, just a second before the door closed, a tanned hand coated in red Prana outstretched through the tiny bit of gap left between the two sides of the door and stopped the door from closing .
You didn't i tell you to st.... .
He was about to continue yelling but then he saw who was he yelling at and all colors were drained from his face as he stopped and began to retreat backwards, his lackeys finally caught to him and seeing him like that they couldn't help but wonder about what exactly was going on, seeing me they all seemed to have grasped what was going on and they reacted the same way Isuragi Gin did .
I spared them nothing more than a glance and once again pushed the button of the elevator to make it start moving .
I massaged my forehead wondering why that guy just can't act like his older brother, seconds later the elevator door opened indicating that i have reached the designated floor, as i got closer to my new room, my laziness began to increase and the moment i opened the door, the only thing that was mattering to me the most now was to fall asleep, after all i had quite the fulfuilling first day ever, some rest was very much now needed .