"You're getting the hang of it. Keep it up!"
Daichi left Manjoume alone to watch over the stir-fry. At first, Manjoume looked skeptical that he would do it properly, but he didn't complain. It allowed Daichi to take care of the other things needed for the dish. He was glad to have the extra hands helping him. Every now and then, he made sure to look at Manjoume and keep an eye on him.
During their preparations, Mr. Misawa arrived home. He took only one look at what they were doing before continuing upstairs. Whatever they were cooking, he knew that it would be fine even with Manjoume's help.
"Your family doesn't mind me staying here, right…?" Manjoume asked. His gaze was trained on what he was doing in the frying pan.
"They don't," Daichi answered. "I think my father prefers you to stay with us rather than—"
"Don't. Just… don't mention them."
Daichi understood that. After all, why would Manjoume want to be reminded of his problems at home? "I'll be sure to pass the information. I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable here."
Mr. Misawa returned downstairs after a while. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Thank you for preparing dinner, Daichi. I feel like I'm later than usual coming home tonight."
"It's fine," Daichi assured. "Manjoume has been a wonderful help in preparing this for me." He walked back to Manjoume and touched his shoulder. It surprised him, but Daichi only gave him a smile. He took what Manjoume had made so that he could combine it with what he prepared. "It shouldn't be much longer now."
"How was work?" Manjoume asked.
Mr. Misawa sighed. "A nightmare… I'm hoping they don't call me in for an emergency. I know there's nothing I can do if that happens."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Manjoume said. Daichi was taking some plates to the table, making sure that things were set up right. "That'll only be a worst-case scenario, right?"
"Anything can happen." Mr. Misawa smiled at Manjoume. "Luckily, my worst-case scenario is standing here in my kitchen."
Manjoume gave a laugh, it sounded earnest. Daichi was worried that he wouldn't appreciate the joke, but he was wrong. That was a good sign.
After he served the meal, Daichi hurried up the stairs to get his mother. They would eat like a family, all four of them together. His mother happily got out of bed and followed him back down the stairs. Mrs. Misawa talked excitedly about how delicious she was sure everything was. Daichi hoped it lived up to her expectations. He had never cooked it before and Manjoume had helped. Anything could happen with this dish, so all he could do was hope for the best.
Downstairs, Manjoume and Mr. Misawa were already seated. His mother happily took her seat and popped one of the pieces into her mouth. She hummed in delight, bringing her hands to her cheeks. Daichi couldn't remember the last time she looked so pleased with his cooking. He took a bite for himself and understood her reaction. While he was never confident in his quality of cooking, he knew it was decent enough.
With Manjoume as his helper, he knew that the quality had been improved. Maybe it was the best parts of the dish that Manjoume helped him find. No matter what, it was amazing.
They ate with minimal conversation. Manjoume didn't have anything to say and Mr. Misawa was too tired to speak. Daichi and his mother filled in the silence, talking about a recent show they've been watching or a book that Mrs. Misawa had been reading. Sometimes, the other two would put in a comment, but they were mostly quiet.
Dinner finished, and Mrs. Misawa was pleased with what she had eaten. She yawned and decided to stay in her room for the rest of the night. Mr. Misawa followed his wife, deciding that it would be a good idea for him to rest, too.
That left Daichi and Manjoume alone for the evening.
Before Daichi could grab the dirty dishes, Manjoume had already picked them up and brought them to the sink. He got up from his seat and hurried to the sink. He tried to take the sponge from Manjoume, but he held it far away from him.
"Manjoume, you're a guest here. You don't have to clean anything," Daichi assured.
"It's fine," Manjoume said, turning on the water. "It… it keeps me busy."
Daichi didn't need to ask from what. He had a feeling it was about his brothers or something else equally bad.
With a sigh, Daichi grabbed the drying rag draped over the oven's handle. "Fine. You wash, I'll dry."
Manjoume gave him a small smile, but it disappeared within seconds. Daichi was alright with that. He knew that he couldn't expect things to be fine between them.
The dishes took them half an hour as they worked together. They were all stacked nicely and put away in the right places. It would save Daichi the trouble of having to do it later. He thanked Manjoume for it, but he brushed it off.
Daichi ran his fingers through his hair, trying to come up with something for them to do. He couldn't think of anything. Whatever he came up with seemed boring and uninteresting—especially to Manjoume's usual entertainment.
"Do you want to do anything else?" Daichi asked. "Or would you rather head back to your room and remain alone?"
Manjoume pursed his lips. His hands were gripping the sink's edge and he stared out the window. When Daichi looked out there, he didn't see anything interesting out there. "There's… there's a documentary about marine life coming on. … Do you… want to watch it with me?"
Daichi would love nothing more than to watch a documentary with Manjoume. He missed his chance at seeing Manjoume's excitement thanks to his brothers. "I would love to. Thank you for inviting me."
Manjoume dried his hands with a paper towel. "Would you rather the living room, the guest room, or your own guest room?"
"It's wherever you feel most comfortable."
"We can go to the guest room," Manjoume responded. "If we have a chance, we can play Duel Monsters during the commercial breaks."
He tossed the towel in the garbage while Daichi grabbed his deck and Manjoume's suitcase of cards. They wandered swiftly through the house, walking into the meticulously clean guest room. For some reason, a reason he didn't know, Daichi expected there to be a distinctive touch to the room—something to make Manjoume feel more at home.
Instead, it looked the same as when Daichi brought him to it. Manjoume's bag was most likely in the closet, hidden away to keep the room tidy.
Manjoume took his suitcase from Daichi's hand and returned it to the closet. Daichi sat on the edge of the bed while Manjoume fiddled with the TV and the channels. "Thank you for inviting me to spend some time with you," he said.
"You don't have to thank me," Manjoume replied. He climbed onto the bed, getting comfortable in the middle against the headboard. "This is your house. I'm your guest. It'd be rude of me to not spend time with my host."
Daichi laughed. "Yes, I suppose so. I'm glad that you decided to invite me, though. I have enjoyed spending these little moments with you."
Manjoume snorted. "You mean the moments where I'm not bossing you around, making you do this and that for me?"
He wouldn't have said it that bluntly. Yes, it was true that all their other moments had been nothing but cruel. However, they weren't all bad. There were some moments sprinkled in between them that was good. Like the day at Mrs. Roux's house. Daichi wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world.
After all, Manjoume was labeled as a mean person before anyone got to know him. He seemed misunderstood to Daichi. Deep down, Manjoume wasn't as mean as he put out to be. It was a mask, something to hide behind and hide what was happening in his personal life. It was his only means of survival.
"You don't have to say silent for so long."
"Please don't take it the wrong way, Manjoume," Daichi replied. "There's hardly a nice way of saying otherwise."
Manjoume snorted and shuffled his deck. Daichi hadn't noticed he pulled it out. "I don't need you to always be nice to me. I think I can handle you being a bit mean. It'll probably be like a kitten scratch."
Daichi couldn't do that. Manjoume already had so much stress going on in his life. He didn't want to add on to it, even if Daichi got the approval to do so. "To be honest, I can't. If I had the choice, I'd like to be the one source of a nice thing in your life—something for you to look forward to every day."
The cards that Manjoume were shuffling spilled out onto the bed. When Daichi looked at him, he found his hands covering his red face. "You're… you're a fool…" Daichi could see what looked like a tear at the corner of Manjoume's eye. He decided not to make a comment about it.
"Maybe so," Daichi muttered. He tucked his legs beneath him to face Manjoume better. "Now then, when is the program going to start?"
Manjoume grabbed the remote off the nightstand and turned the TV on. It was already set on Animal Planet. An episode of "Meerkat Manor" was playing, something that Daichi had only seen one of.
"I think it's supposed to start after this," Manjoume answered. "It gives us about twenty minutes to play a few rounds." He gathered his cards together and started to shuffle them again.
Daichi took his own deck in hand and started to shuffle it, too.
They played a few games together. Daichi lost every round they played together. He noticed that his deck and dueling strategies had improved with the help of Manjoume's cards, but they weren't enough. Daichi knew that he couldn't win against him and didn't expect it. After all, Manjoume was the leading junior champion for Duel Monsters. It would be a while before he could even come close to defeating him.
The moment the documentary started, Manjoume folded his hand and placed it to the side. His attention was completely on it and Daichi thought it was interesting. While Manjoume told said he was into marine life, he never expected to see how devoted he was to learn about them. If his life had been different, maybe he would have committed to a life of marine biology instead of Duel Monsters. It would have been better than the life he had now.
During the commercials, they picked the game up to continue where they were at, but Manjoume's attention was elsewhere. Daichi knew that his mind was still on the program they were watching. It was about the loneliest whale in existence, whose voice was so soft to other whales that no one could hear her. He remembered reading about it months ago, but it was still a sad documentary. Watching something was different than reading about it.
Even Manjoume appeared emotional for her and the documentary. It was hard to focus on the game while it was on. Daichi couldn't blame either of them.
Before they knew it, the documentary was over. Their game was long forgotten.
Daichi sighed. "Did you enjoy it, Manjoume?"
Manjoume wiped a few tears that had gathered in his eyes. "It was upsetting, but I liked it." He looked at their abandoned card game and bit his lip.
"We can stop plying if you'd like," Daichi offered. It would be harder for either of them to concentrate on the game, anyway.
"Thanks," Manjoume muttered, already putting his cards away. "I appreciate that."
Daichi pressed his back against the footboard and looked at the clock on the nightstand. It wasn't even ten yet. They had plenty of time to do other things before either of them went to bed. Duel Monsters was officially out of the question and Daichi didn't have any two player games on his computer.
He said the one thing that came to mind that they could do together. "Would you lie to go for a walk?"
Manjoume raised an eyebrow. "Where?"
Daichi shrugged. "Nowhere in particular. We don't need a destination just to take a walk."
"I guess… But isn't it still snowing?" Manjoume asked.
"Have you ever gone for a walk for no reason at all?" Daichi asked with a smile. When Manjoume gave him an incredulous look, he should have known better. Manjoume's life was different from his own. "Perhaps you'll enjoy it. It's more interesting than staying inside and doing nothing at all."
Manjoume tilted his head back and groaned to the ceiling. Leaving the warm house didn't seem interesting at all.
Daichi wouldn't force him to step outside. If he preferred to stay in, then Daichi would go to his own room and practice dueling on his own.
A few moments passed, and Manjoume sighed. He stood up, putting his deck away. "Let's go before I change my mind. I don't know what good this would do, though."
He smiled at Manjoume. Daichi was glad that they would be going for a walk together. As they walked to the house's foyer, he sent a quick message to his father, alerting him that they would be stepping out. It wouldn't do them any good if either of his parents worried about them. They dressed warmly and Daichi opened the door. The burst of cold had them shivering, but they stepped outside, embracing the cold.
The snow had already gathered a fine layer on the sidewalk. They walked down the street and around the neighborhood without a real destination. Neither of them said anything, enjoying the silence of the night. The snow fell quietly, smothering all sounds under a cold blanket. Manjoume buried his face in his scarf, but he didn't mention that he was cold. He continued to walk with Daichi, even as they crossed a bridge far above rushing water blocks away from the Misawa home.
Manjoume moved to the railing and looked down into the water. Daichi stood next to him and waited until he was ready to start walking. It only took another few moments until Manjoume was ready to be on the move. He followed him like a faithful companion.
They walked further on until they reached a park. This time, Daichi took the detour and wandered into it, creating the first path in the freshly fallen snow. He wiped what had gathered on a swing and sat down on it. He hadn't expected Manjoume to do the same, but he did, taking a seat next to him.
The only sounds they heard now were the occasional car and the creak of the swingset. Daichi thought that this was a nice moment for them to share. He enjoyed the gentle silence and their time together right now. It seemed that all the problems Manjoume had initially caused him had melted away.
"Thank you…"
Daichi tilted his head to the side, staring at Manjoume. "Whatever for/"
Manjoume pushed off the ground, accelerating his movements. "I usually only get this kind of peace when I'm with Mrs. Roux. I don't have anyone else to feel this way so… I really appreciate what you're doing for me."
"I should be the one thanking you." Manjoume gave him a confused look and he smiled. "You've been kind enough to let me leave early during these past few weeks. I appreciate you doing so."
"Don't worry about it," Manjoume said. "Your mother is sick. I wouldn't want something bad to happen just because you weren't around to help her…"
He remembered what his father had said about Manjoume's mother—how she had died of some illness when Manjoume was only a child. It must have been a terrible thing to happen to him. Perhaps that was why he had been so kind to Daichi when it involved Mrs. Misawa.
Once again, silence swallowed them whole, but it didn't last for long. Manjoume broke the silence once more.
"My brothers… they get worse during the winter break."
Daichi didn't say anything. He waited for Manjoume to tell him more if he wanted to.
"A lot of my other lessons get canceled until I start school again. They try to keep up with the kind of breaks the school gives me. Once they get canceled, my brothers just get worse. I think they believe it's their way to keep me 'busy'—something they think works effectively well. They don't get so much as physically worse, but their mental berating does. Sometimes it's easier just to stay in bed and pretend I put myself in a coma.
"And that? That hardly works. I've had moments when they've dragged me out of bed just to mess with me. There's a scar somewhere near my hairline from when my head hit my nightstand. You can hardly see it now, but I know it's there."
Daichi's heart clenched as Manjoume spoke. It hurt so much to hear that his brothers became that much worse during this time. And not just this time, either, but during all vacations. Manjoume didn't deserve that at all.
"You offered to give me a place to stay—a sanctuary and it came… it came at just the right time. I couldn't be more grateful…"
Daichi smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."
Manjoume looked at him briefly then looked back down at the ground. "I thought about it a lot. … I thought about when I would take the offer and if it was truly okay. I've only been here for a day and your parents have been nothing but nice to me. I don't think I've ever experienced something like that before." He chuckled. "Okay, maybe I have, but never from my brothers…"
Manjoume must have never opened to someone like this before. Mrs. Roux must be the only exception and he understood why. She made everyone feel comfortable in her presence. To know that Manjoume trusted him like this gave Daichi a warm feeling throughout his body. He felt honored and that he fulfilled Mrs. Roux's wishes and his own.
With some strength, Daichi moved closer until their swings bumped together. Manjoume looked at him with confusion. "Then let's make up for it," Daichi said. "My father should have a day off for himself in two days. Maybe we can all do something together. Something that I think you really need."
Manjoume's nose crinkled. "You mean… like a family outing?"
"If you would like it to be that."
Manjoume looked down at his feet, a frown on his face. "Alright. I think I would like that a lot…"
Daichi jumped out of his swing and stood before Manjoume. "Then why don't we head back? My parents might be asleep, but we can prepare what you would like to do when that day comes."
There was a smile on Manjoume's face, Daichi couldn't remember ever seeing it before. At least, not a true and honest smile. "I would like that a lot…"
Knowing that this would never happen again, Daichi took the chance while he still could. He took Manoume's hand and pulled him to stand. "Then let's go now before it gets too cold."
During the walk home, Manoume discussed things that he had always wanted to do as a family. Sometimes, it involved dinner and a movie while other times involved an amusement park. That was always something they could do later when the weather was warmer. Daichi was sure that he could get his parents to go along with the dinner and movie plan, though.
The house was quiet when they arrived. Daichi knew that his parents were still asleep, and it was their turn now. They parted ways, saying goodnight to one another.
When morning arrived, they told Mr. Misawa their idea.
At first, Mr. Misawa was doubtful that they would be able to accomplish it. It was due to Mrs. Misawa's health in the winter. She was always so much weaker, and he didn't want to risk her getting sick. Specific measures would need to be taken so that they would be able to go through with it. When asked, Mr. Misawa explained to them what they needed to be done.
Daichi and Manjoume made it the next two day's mission to make sure that it could happen. They worked together to be sure that the house was tidy. For the lady of the house, they made sure she took her medicine and that her health was as good as it could get. With all the hard work they put into it, Daichi expected Manjoume to cease their work to make it happen.
However, Manjoume was more determined than Daichi had ever seen him. He managed to do more than him, always remaining a step ahead of him with all the housework. Whether it was doing laundry, cleaning dishes, or even caring for his mother, Manjoume was there. So long as there was something that needed to be done, then he would take care of it. Daichi would always be surprised when he saw him do something completely out of character. It was nice to see, though.
Maybe things were changing between them—or more importantly, changing within Manjoume.
"I'm nervous."
Daichi smiled at Manjoume. "It'll be fine. Dad will think we did an amazing job taking care of the house and mom. He won't deny us anything after seeing us work so hard."
Manjoume ran his fingers through his hair. "And if he doesn't?"
He reached forward and gripped Manjoume's shoulders. It was the most physical interaction that Manjoume seemed comfortable with. "Don't worry. It's going to be all right."
The front door opened, and they jumped out of their seats on Daichi's bed. They both stuck their head out his door, seeing Mr. Misawa at the bottom of the stairs. He looked up at them, an eyebrow raised upon his brow. No words were exchanged between them as Mr. Misawa went to work inspecting the house.
Manjoume was the first one out of the room to go downstairs. Daichi followed after him at a slower pace.
Mr. Misawa was walking around the living room, inspecting every little surface. He made his way into the kitchen and then the hallway, making his way upstairs. His face hadn't twisted into anything of displeasure so Daichi figured that they had done something right.
"There's only one thing I need to check," Mr. Misawa said as he stood before the master bedroom. "Hopefully your mother is healthy and happy."
"You'll be pleased to know that she is," Daichi assured.
Mr. Misawa nodded and entered the room alone. Daichi and Manjoume waited with rapidly beating hearts in their chests. They couldn't hear voices drifting out of the room. Mrs. Misawa must have had the TV on. If Daichi remembered correctly, her favorite show was playing around this time. She would be watching it even with her husband checking her health. Nothing could stop her from her shows.
Manjoume passed back and forth in the hallway, running his fingers through his hair. If he wasn't careful, Daichi was sure that he would rip out his hair. They couldn't have that. It would be a difficult thing to explain to the press and to his brothers.
His father stepped out of the room, a stern expression on his face. At first, the two teenagers thought they had failed in keeping their terms. Mr. Misawa's face broke out into a smile, relieving them both.
"Let's get ready for dinner and a movie," Mr. Misawa happily announced.
As it turned out, Manjoume had the entire day planned for them, with the exception of the movie they would see. He had a restaurant in mind, something that the Misawa family would have never thought of going in their entire lives. He assured them that he would take care of all the expenses, but Mr. Misawa fought him on it. It was an agreement that if Manjoume paid for dinner, then they would pay for the movie expenses.
Daichi messed with his hair in the foyer mirror, making sure that it looked fine. The restaurant they were going to eat at wasn't too fancy, but he still wanted to look nice. His parents were on the couch. They were fully dressed and talking about Mrs. Misawa's health.
Right now, they were waiting for Manjoume. He had disappeared into the guest room some time ago.
Mr. Misawa looked at his watch. "Daichi, if we don't leave now, we won't be able to try the special that Manjoume wanted to try."
He was right. Manjoume had gushed about it before they split up to get ready. "I'll check on him."
Daichi walked through the living room to get to the guest bedroom. His hand was raised, ready to knock on the door—
"You act like this is the first time I've disappeared for my own vacation. After all the things you two put me through, I deserve this break on my own."
The door was open just a crack. Daichi didn't like the idea of spying, but there was a pit in his stomach that told him to do it. He pressed his ear against the crack, listening to the conversation that he could hear.
"I'm not coming back until school starts," Manjoume hissed into the receiver. "There's nothing wrong with me enjoying myself before then. You two canceled all my lessons, remember? I wouldn't have left if you two just left my schedule alone."
His brothers. Daichi should have known that Manjoume was talking to them. He hadn't heard about them since Manjoume first came to his house.
"You're tracking me now?" Manjoume laughed. "What kind of—"
Daichi resisted the urge to run inside and hang the call up for him. A thought came to mind, though. If he was this angry about being tracked down, then Daichi could only imagine how furious he would be if he found out that he was being spied on.
"What? Don't!" Manjoume sighed a frustrated sound that had Daichi's heart aching. "I'll… I'll come home tonight… Just don't do it or anything else so drastic…"
Daichi took a few steps back just to be safe. It sounded like the end of the conversation to him and he didn't want Manjoume to know that he heard him. He had to pretend he had only just arrived to come and get him. Manjoume couldn't know that Daichi had heard him.
He stepped forward again and raised his hand to knock once more. Manjoume opened the door and jumped upon seeing Daichi standing there. Daichi smiled at him, pretending that he hadn't heard the conversation that played out. "We're waiting for you. That special of yours is only available for a limited time, right? You wouldn't want to miss it."
Manjoume nodded his head, pocketing his phone. He followed Daichi to the living room and bowed his head to his parents. "I'm sorry to have made you all wait. I'm ready to go if you all are."
Mrs. Misawa laughed. "We thought you got lost in your wardrobe! We sent Daichi in there to help you out if you needed it.
"Well, he saved me in the nick of time," Manjoume said with a smile.
Daichi had a hard time believing him, and he knew it was because of what he heard.
They all piled into the car and Mr. Misawa drove them to the restaurant of Manjoume's choice. Mrs. Misawa had asked him about going in the limo, but Manjoume said he wanted the full family experience. That included riding in a small car instead of riding in style. He didn't seem to mind and that pleased both of Daichi's parents. It was a nice drive into the city and their destination.
His heart felt heavy, though. Daichi knew that Manjoume would leave tonight and he feared what would happen to him when he left. Throughout their meal, while Manjoume and his parents enjoyed it, Daichi was lost in his thoughts. He tried to come up with a solution to the problem, but nothing came to mind. There would be nothing that could stop Manjoume from leaving and it hurt Daichi to know that he couldn't help him.
"Daichi, are you alright?"
Daichi rose his head from his nearly empty plate. Everyone around him was standing and putting their coats on. He must have zoned out for a lot of the conversation that happened. "I'm sorry, what?"
"We're heading to the movie now," Manjoume explained. He looked so excited and Daichi couldn't understand how. He was going to be taken away later tonight. It had to be exhausting to keep up such a façade. "If we want to get some good seats, we should get going now."
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
All Daichi had to do was survive and keep smiling—for Manjoume's sake.
They had gone and seen Crimson Peak, a horror movie set during the industrial age. The movie theater was a bit crowded, but they were still able to get tickets and score good seats. The movie was over quicker than they had expected. Between enjoying their day together and the scenes of the movie, time slipped by them like sand in an hourglass. It was almost a shame that Daichi knew it would all end too soon.
Amongst the crowd leaving the theater, they talked about the movie—Daichi and Manjoume in front of Mr. and Mrs. Misawa.
"How do you feel?" Mr. Misawa asked, patting his wife's hand on his arm.
"Splendid!" she replied. "We haven't had this much fun in so long. Now, it's a bit too cold for the weather, but why don't we get some sort of dessert, hm? Perhaps some ice cream?"
A limo pulling in front of the theater ruined their plans. It emitted a sinister aura and Daichi felt his heart drop. Beside him, Manjoume turned pale and he chewed on his lip. The driver came around the side and held the door open for him to get in.
Daichi couldn't see what was inside, but he had a terrible feeling about the darkness there. No doubt his brothers were there.
Manjoume took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to take a rain check on dessert." He turned and smiled at them, taking a small step back. "Thank you. I… I really enjoyed myself today with you all."
"I'm glad you did," Mrs. Misawa said. Even she wore a sad smile on her face. "Please, come visit us any time that you'd like. We loved having you."
Manjoume stared at them with tears in his eyes. It looked like he didn't want to go, but it was out of his hands. It was out of all of their hands.
He waved at them and turned away. He hurried towards the limo and climbed inside. The driver slammed the door behind him, closing Manjoume away from the Misawa family. Nothing was said to them as the driver walked back to the car. All Daichi and his parents could do were watch the car drive away from them.
What started as a marvelous day ended on such a terrible note. It left a bitter taste in Daichi's mouth. He had doubts that he would ever be able to get it out, no matter how many times he cleaned his mouth.
His parents placed a hand on his shoulder each. They smiled at him, but even he could tell that it was hard for them to contain their sadness. Daichi turned around and wrapped his arms around them. Their warmth radiated and seeped into his bones. Never could he imagine the loneliness that Manjoume must have felt every day.
They led him back to the car, ready to drive home—to a place that seemed a little emptier now.
He couldn't sleep.
Terrible thoughts about what was happening to Manjoume filled Daichi's head. The worst-case scenario always came first, and it forced him to stay awake. He could be close to falling asleep when it would arrive, startling him awake. After a while of trying to sleep, Daichi decided to sit up and mess around with his computer.
If he could, he would go running to clear his head. It wasn't a permanent solution, but it would at least help him sleep. His mother urged him to stay inside for the rest of the night. He didn't bother asking her why. If she wanted him to stay inside, there had to be a reason for it. The computer was Daichi's next bet of distracting himself from unpleasant thoughts.
His phone buzzed.
Dread filled Daichi.
He wanted to hear from Manjoume, but he was afraid of the message being bad. Then again, Daichi didn't hear his father leave the house. Maybe everything was fine for now. All Daichi was thinking about was the terrible thoughts that could happen. He had to stop that.
Daichi took his phone off the bed and read the message from Manjoume.
I'm sorry that I had to leave. My hands were tied, but I would have preferred to stay within your home. There are just a few things that I need to take care of. If you can, and if your family doesn't mind, please leave my belongings there. Thank you.
It was so vague.
Was he injured?
Did his brothers do something to him?
Daichi wanted to know, but he knew better than to ask. All he could do was wait until Manjoume could come return or tell him that he couldn't come back.
Waiting for it was proving to be impossible, though. How would Daichi survive?