" - and then, she made Jun-chan's hand do her stupid gesture, the evil woman, to have me change Jun-chan's diaper! The evil woman is corrupting that sweet baby niece of mine! And you'd think that Naoki-san would be able to stop her but he likes her that way! How in the world can you know that you're with someone like that and like her better that way? How?"

Riku smiled to himself, holding his phone to his ear as Youko continued her rant about her older sister. It had been over a year since he'd moved to Osaka and, though he missed her, he found a simple phone call was almost enough to pretend everything was the same as before. "I don't know, Kumako," he replied, "maybe someone who likes honesty and straightforwardness?" Just like me, he thought to himself. After all those were the traits he told her sister he liked in Youko.

"Who would?"

Riku couldn't hold back his laughter. It took a moment to recover and he could tell Youko was pouting on the other side of the line. "Well, obviously Yoshikawa. And me as well."

"E-eh?"

How cute; he'd caught her off guard. "I like the weird and straightforward Kumako who deals with her 'demon sister' more than I like the regular girl who admires me for a personality I don't have."

It was the same as back then, where the girls made a big deal about him without ever realizing he was just normal. But, then he'd had Youko who ignored his popularity in favor of her sister's circumstances and was so strange he was oddly hooked. Hooked to this day, actually.

"Th-That's because you put up that unapproachable face around other people, when your eyes -"

"I do not."

"You do!"

Riku hummed and drummed the fingers of his spare hand on the floor he was sitting on. "You know, Kumako..."

"What?"

"I'm going to stay with my mother over the summer."

It went quiet on the other side of the line, but Riku knew not to worry too much about it and kept going.

"I'm going to be in Osaka every now and then for band practice, but I'll be spending the weekends and some of the weeks over with my mother, because she missed me. I was thinking…"

"Yes?"

"I'll be able to spend some of that time with you." And maybe, he thought to himself, become official. After all, they'd confessed to each other over a year ago and they'd kept calling one another, but they hadn't really defined their relationship. I like you and you like me, so let's keep calling one another because I miss you. That was the extent of their definition. It was nice, Riku thought, being able to keep in contact with the one he liked, but… to go for over a year in that spot was a bit…

"That would be nice," Youko's voice sounded surprisingly soft. "I miss you."

Riku's smile grew gentle. "I do, too." He paused a moment before changing the topic back. "Let's hope that 'demon sister' of yours won't need you too much, huh?"

"Ugghhh! I hope not. I love Jun-chan, but if she becomes like my sister…! And worse yet, my mother was the one to pass it on to her, my own mother! It's genetic, I swear. Sometimes I think I got it, too, with how I passed along innocent Naoki-san to her jaw, but I think it was overridden by my father's willingness to do anything to himself for another's benefit, poor father. Why do I…"

And there she went again. Riku's eyes closed and he pictured her in his mind, exaggerated expressions and all. The image was a bit fuzzy, though. He'd only seen her in person five months, after all, and had been apart for more than twice that amount. Summer needed to come faster, so he could refresh this image.

I wonder if her hair's grown out. Or if she's taller. How much has she changed with me being too far to see it?