Entry 62: I Really Want to Stay at Your House

July 12th: Morning

For the first time in two weeks, I put on clothes that actually belonged to me. "Careful, don't want to hit your tummy~"

"I got it, Celica. I don't need help changing." The blond haired girl's giggle made it hard to stay mad at her however. I'd known that she had taken an internship here at Marou's hospital, but it was another thing to see her actually on the job. At the moment, she was just an errand girl, mostly doing odd jobs for nurses and doctors, but she took her seriously. I knew she was going to be an amazing doctor in the future. "Thanks..."

"No prob! Hehehe, you're so cute when you blush!"

"Shut up." Turning my head away from the aspiring doctor, I looked to my brother and Maki who were conversing. "I'm ready. Can we go now?"

"Of course, lil bro! Want me to give you a piggyback ride." I didn't even bother giving a response as I forced myself to stand with my crutches. "Awww, come on! For old times sake?"

"Is the car ready, Maki?"

"Yeah, it's already downstairs and ready to go."

"You guys are no fun..." Ignoring my brother, I waved goodbye to Cecilia and followed Maki and my brother downstairs. Waiting right next to the car was none other than my personal doctor. "Well, well, well. If it isn't !" My dumbass brother strolled right to Maruo and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "What the hell? I thought you saw me as a son?! Then you hit me with a huge bill? So mean, father!"

My doctor shook of Shiro's arm and dusted off his coat. "Nothing in life is free. And never call me that again. We are business partners. Nothing more, nothing less." I could see tears in brothers eyes as Maruo turned to me. "Are you sure you're ready to go home? I don't mind charging your bother another mil."

"Oi!"

"I'm ready. Thank you for taking care of me, Sir." I tried my best to give him a proper bow, but I was only able to move my upper torso a bit before I felt pain.

"Alright, get better soon. I'd rather not have to deal with you for too long again." With a sigh of exhaustion, he left the three of us once more.

"What a meanie! Anyway, lets go." With Maki's help, I was able to get into the back seat of the small black car while my brother drove and Maki took shotgun. "Okay! So, want to make any stops before we head to your apartment or just head straight there?"

"I just want to lay on my own bed." Both of my companions nodded and started up the car. The familiar hum and slight vibration of the car was a bit disorienting, if I was being honest. It'd been a while since I was in a car, let alone in a car injured. But, closing my eyes, I was able to stave off any motion sickness. "So, anything interesting happen recently?"

It was Maki who answered, I suppose since my brother was focusing on the road. "Well, other than work. Not a single interesting thing has happened in the last two weeks. If you don't count Subaru being an annoying sack of human waste, he does that all the time anyway." Ah, how I missed your intense rudeness.

"You say that, but you still talk to him everyday."

"Someone has to make sure that idiot doesn't do something stupid. Did you know that last week he spent his entire months salary trying to pull-"

"A gacha unit? Probably a cute girl, right?"

"Even in games, he can't get any pussy." Oh my god. I know the universe seems to hate Subaru and all, but it seems like Maki can be the harshest to him. "I mean seriously, does that piece of shit not have any self preservation? If it wasn't for me, he would be eating toenail clippings off the street."

"Well, maybe he just wants to eat your cooking, Maki-roll? They do say the best way into a man's heart is through his-ow!" I don't know what Shiro expected to happen with Maki sitting right next to him. But watching her punch her superior right in his kidney was a sight for sore eyes. "I-I shoulda seen that comin."

"Anyway, that's about it. Unless you want to hear about our search for bitchy mc-bitchface, which is going as good as shit, I got nothin." Well, it's nice to know that everyone in Library had just as exciting few weeks as I did. So she's still out there. Ono...

I'd been trying my best to not think about it, but the Senjo- I mean Ono situation is a bit disheartening. I... I know it's not really I should want or do, but I really do want to give her a good punch in the face for that. But knowing that she's still out there, even now is kind of insane. "You guys got nothing on her?"

"Closest we got is that she used to be a part of Reapers. Some old gang that disbanded a couple years ago." My brother went into his serious mode as he drove. "Could be that she still has a few friends from it and is being harbored by them. Or not, I don't know. Honestly the whole situation is giving me a headache... can we talk about something else?"

"S-Sure. Sorry." Sitting up, I racked my brain for anything that we could talk about. "...why does Koko call you Twinkie?"

"Let's be quiet for a little bit."

Same Day: Noon

Walking into Lunalight would have been a real hassle if it wasn't for Maki and Shiro holding the doors open. Walking into my room, I wasn't really surprised by the party poppers being set off. "Welcome home!" My room was filled by quite a bit of people. Subaru, Seth and Saga were standing in my kitchen. While the Nakano sisters and Taro were siting at my table.. Honestly, it looked cramped, but everyone was making the best out of it. My guests made a way for me and guided me to my bed. I sat on the edge and took a breath.

"First off, I hope you guys don't expect me to clean all this up?"

"Course not, Brogata!" Subaru gave me a toothy smile and he pointed to himself. "I got dishes, Seth's gonna mop and then Maki and Saga are-"

"I'm not cleaning shit." The twin tailed girl yawned before scratching the back of her head. "I'm gonna take a nap... so tired."

"Hey, bitch!" The angry young woman ignored Nino's call and just left my home. "Tch, and here I was going to thank her."

"She's just tired. Out of all of us, She's been working the hardest recently. Other than Shiro, course!" Saga pipped in with a smile and took a sip of her drink. "I'm sure she's gonna snuggle up with Rosey and sleep tight!" The image of Maki sleeping with a cat in her arms was surprisingly cute. But the thought of her finding out I thought that made that image a scary one. What a scary woman. "So! Boss! How ya feelin?"

"...I could go for a melon soda."

"Oh no~ I knew buying you one every time I visited was a bad idea." Yeah, Ichika was probably right. I doubt that drinking soda everyday was good for me, elt alone my recovering body. But the sweetness sure was addicting. "Hehehe, but it's better than Matcha soda, right?"

"Absolutely not! Matcha is the best! Stop trying to brainwash Kuro, Ichika!" Of course, Miku was immediately offended and glared her hardest glare at Ichika. "Matcha forever!"

"Miku...matcha sucks!"

"How dare you." I just dropped my head and resigned myself to watch this horrifying fight.

A few minutes later, as I was silently trying to found a way to fall asleep with my eyes open, I felt someone take a seat next to me. Looking to my side, it was Seth. The young man still wearing an all black outfit. A black sweater, a black pants and a black face mask. "There's no way you aren't hot in that."

"I'm used to it." His monotone voice was kind of refreshing to hear, given how much yelling I had been hearing in the last few minutes. At the center of the room, Miku and Ichika were still going at it, with even Nino and Saga joining in. Saga siding with Miku while Nino sided with Ichika.

"I'm getting tired of you filling Ku's fridge with that matcha shit! We need normal soda dammit!"

"Non! Matcha is a delicious flavor and I believe that you are being a bit disingenuous." Saga crossed her arms and shook her head. Didn't know she liked matcha that much.

"There's a difference between being good, and drinking it every single day! You're addicted, Miku!"

"No I'm not! I can stop anytime!"

"... Do you hear yourself?." At this point, I agreed with Subaru and Nino. But there was no way in hell I was going to take a stand on this issue. So, I turned my head to Seth and shrugged.

"So, what's up? We haven't really gotten the chance to speak a lot recently." It was honestly my fault. I noticed that I had... drifted away from everyone in the Sentinels. Other than Subaru of course. I don't think I could stay away from him if I wanted to, to be honest. Anyway, it was something that I noticed. Maybe it was a subconscious way of trying to get away from that world but...I want to try to rectify it. "How have you been?"

"...been busy." Maybe Seth's not the best person to start with. Man of few words. Almost forgot. If it isn't work, he isn't interested. "Sorry. Kinda tired."

"Don't worry about it. I just... you know. We haven't really spoken recently and... I wanted to remedy that." The normally stoic man flinched before facing me. "Hm? Something wrong?"

"N-Nothing. I just thought that you weren't interested in us anymore."

"Are you kidding me? I love the sisters and Taro, yeah. But you guys are also important, you know? Sure, I've been a bit distant, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to keep you guys in my life." Even if I'm going to leave Library at the end of the school year, that doesn't mean I want to lose everyone. Sure, I might not want to be in this life but... that doesn't mean that I have to throw away everything that life brought me. "Plus, the mystery of what's going on below that mask is too good to let go."

"Hm, then I might as well keep that under wraps for a bit longer." Cheeky fuck. "In my defense, it's always a Ninja's job to stay hard to recognize." I mean, I guess. But it's the 21st century, ninja aren't really necessary anymore."

"Say... why do you like Ninja's so much? What, read to much Naruto as a kid?"

"No. In fact, I think Naruto is a horrible Ninja manga. What they do in there is magic! Not Ninjutsu! Historically, ninja's actually-"

"Seth."

"...okay. I was about to go on a rant. Thank you, boss." Couching into his hand, Seth calmed himself down. "The reason why I like Ninja's so much is because they always seemed so cool. Hiding themselves in plain sight or hiding in the shadows. Being able to affect things in such drastic ways while your enemies don't even know you exist. It's... amazing. Wouldn't you agree?"

Seeing him talk about something in such a excited way was strange, honestly. But, also cute in it's own way. "Yeah, that does sound cool. Though, to be honest, I prefer samurai. The thought of having an epic sword fight at the top of a mountain during a raging storm. Now that's cool!"

"Hmph. Of course you would find that interesting. Samurai are boring. All they do is fight and wear impractical armor."

"Woah, no need to hate. They both are cool, can we agree on that?"

"...no." What did I expect? Why is it that everyone I know is so stubborn?

Same day: Evening

After a few hours, I felt something air change. I was having an honestly headache inducing conversation with Taro when Ichika clapped her hands. "Alright then, guys. It's getting to that time and some people here have to get to sleep before bedtime." Her deep blue eyes were staring at me with such pure smugness that I had to hold in a sigh. "Ain't that right Kuku?"

"I figured out that you were talking about me from the stare."

"I had to make sure. You're not the best a picking up social cues." Wow. The smug girl moved her attention from me to the rest of the quests. "So, it's time to playyyyy, who's gonna babysit Kuro!" Wait what?

"Wait what?" It seemed like the only people out of the loop were myself along with Nino and Miku. Miku stood from her seat and motivated to her sister. "U-Um, Ichika... I thought that Nino and I-"

"Sorry little sis. But I can't, in good conscience, leave you three teenagers to sleep alone together. It was one thing in a hospital with daddy hanging around. But here? No, no, no. I don't trust you three." Honestly, fair. I think I would come to the same conclusion as well. "So~" Ichika went into one of my cabinets and took out a large jar filled with papers. "Everyone who wants to take care of Ku today can take one! When everyone does, then we can start the game."

"Do I have a say in any of this?"

"Nope~ You're the one who went and got yourself hurt. So you have to pay the consequences." Here I thought the pain was enough payment. "Now no more complaining!"

One by one, almost everyone went to take a piece of paper from the jar. The only ones who opted out were Taro, Shiro and Seth. After everyone had a piece of paper, they all stood around Ichika, waiting for the rules of the game. "What the- is this a trumpet?" Subaru opened his piece of paper and showed it to everyone around him. "What does this even mean?"

"Uhhh, I got a steak? Is that good?" Itsuki showed hers to her friend. "Do I get steak? Awww, I could go for one right now..."

The oldest Nakano sister clapped her hands again and showed the group her own paper. "You see how I have a soda bottle on mine? This is very important you see."

Everyone stared at their pieces of paper for a second before Nino looked up from hers and said what I assume they were all thinking. "You're fucking with us, aren't you?"

"Yup~"

"I hate you so fucking much." Everyone except Itsuki crumpled the piece of paper and threw it on the floor. No way Itsuki's drooling over that picture of steak right now. "Alright, what is it then? Clearly you thought about this already."

The aspiring actress smirked and leaned to the side, a hand resting on her hip. "Alright. If it's alright with everyone who volunteered, I already figured out our order. It goes Me, Yotsuba, Itsuki, Suba, Maki and... That's it!" Immediately, the air in the room changed and it was obvious why.

The air around both Nino and Miku was filled with bloodlust. Both sisters staring at their oldest confidant and trusted figure. And she stared down at them with a smirk. "...Ichika..."

"What? Look, I just think that this is the best option at the moment. I did some reflecting and came to the conclusion... that you two might end up killing our little bodyguard here if we leave you unsupervised."

"What does that even mean?!" The ribbon wearing girl's question was met by a single stare. "...look."

"Alright then! Ku~Ro~ Any objections?" And then, all eyes were on me.

"You're insane if you think I'm going to take a stance on this conversation."

"Good Answer~" But my impartial stance still got me a glare from my girlfriends. Sorry.

After about an hour of cleaning up, it was just Ichika and I. The actress stretching after she moved around the furniture to where it was before the party, already in her pajamas. "There we go! So, Kuku, you feeling alright? No pain or anything?"

"I'm good. Just took my meds." I was sitting up in my bed, staring blankly out the window at the night sky of the city. "So, are you going to tell me the real reason why you did all of this or not?" I've known Ichika for over five years now. While yes, she loves playing pranks and teasing her sisters, I don't think banning them from here falls under that umbrella. "You know Nino will spike your food with mushrooms, right?"

"Ugh, don't remind me." Her happy go lucky façade fell as she walked over to my bed and fell face first into it. Missing my feet by just a few inches. "I... don't you think they're being a bit clingy recently?"

"Hm? I don't think so. I mean, even if they were, I did just get pretty badly hurt. I wouldn't leave their side either in those circumstances. Wouldn't you?"

"I mean, yeah but..." The oldest sister pushed herself up and moved over to the right most side of my bed, leaning against the wall as she sat there. "We're growing up, you know. Soon we'll all go our separate ways and... we just don't know where our futures will take us. I don't want them to.. Take it to hard if that happens." She was staring off into my room, not really looking at any one thing.

"Ichika, are you-"

"I'm fine alright. I'm just looking after my sisters." As much as it hurt to hear, she was making sense. And it definitely was something that I'd been thinking about for a while. Miku wants to go to culinary school, Nino's plans are still a mystery to me other than wanting to open a restaurant. All the while, I still don't really know what my future holds. What if my future takes me away from them? What if Nino and Miku end up taking far different roads? What if... this relationship ends? Of course Ichika would want them to not be too attached. But...

"I think it might be a little late for that. I think we're already practically joined at the hip."

"Ahhhhh, yeah. I know. But still." She hit her head against the wall and sighed. "Plus, it's better if we delay the existence of Kuro Jr by as much as possible."

"Who do you think I am? I have more self restraint than that."

"Kuro, I can convince you to buy me a car if I try hard enough. I'm sure it won't take to much work to apples to your inner horny teenager." Hey! I have more control over that than you'd think! "No~ You~ Don't~"

"Screw you." Ignoring her cheeky laughter, I turned away from her and looked back at my apartment. It's good to be home. Even though I've only stayed here for a couple of months, so much has happened here. It really does feel like home. But- I turned my focus back to my 'Older' Sister. "Tell me what's actually wrong."

"Huh? But I just-"

"Ichika. Who do you think you're talking to? I can see through your lies easier than seeing through glass. Well, most of the time, anyway." She stuck her tongue out at me before looking away from me. "Seriously. If there's anything that's bothering you, your little brother is here for you."

When I called myself that, her head made an instant 180 and she looked at me with wide eyes. Soon, she put on a shit eating grin and she scooted over the bed to wrap me into a hug. "Kuroooooo! You finally admitted it!" Ugh, Now I can't back out of this. Whatever, anything that makes her happy. After she hugged me to her heats content, she pulled away from me and stared deep into my eyes. "Okay Kuku. I'll trust you so... you better not tell this to anyone yet, okay? I want to do it myself, okay?"

"I promise. If you want, I would have taken it to my grave."

"It's not that big a secret." Her smile fell into a frown. "And don't freak out. I... I'm gonna drop out of school."

"...what? Ich-"

"I got a really big role but the filming is really far away. I won't have the time to go to school and... this could be my big break. You know? If this goes right then I'll be able to really achieve my dream. I-I'll still be at home though! Just, I'll have to commute a lot and...it won't be possible to finish school."

"Ichika, That's-" I forced myself to stop. What right do I have in telling her what to do? No. that's not even the issue here. This is Ichika's dream. What she's wanted to do since forever. I... "...I'll support you then. I promise that if there's anything you need, I'll get it for you."

"Anything?"

"Anything legal." A small smile came back onto her face. "I'll always have your back, alright? What kind of brother would I be if I didn't?"

Nodding, she rested her head on my chest and took in a deep breath. "Thank you... I really thought you'd get mad at me and try to convince me not to do it."

"I... of course I have mixed feelings about it. I want to graduate with you and everything, but, if this is what you want to do, then I'll do the best I can to help. Better this than you making me buy you a car."

"Welllllll, a car would make commuting way easier. In fact, I could continue-"

"Don't even think about it. I won't be tricked into buying you one. You don't even have a driver's license."

She raised her head and gave me a smirk. "Shiro could get me one quick, right?" My blank stare was more then enough of an answer. "Hehe, alright, alright. I got it, Kuku. I'll settle for a year-long train pass. Pwease?"

"...Fine. But nothing else."

"Hehehe! You really are the sweetest guy in the world, Kuku!" Giving me a kiss on the cheek, Ichika hopped off the bed and stretched. "But seriously, thanks Kuro. I'm glad to have you as a brother. You gave me a lot of courage... thank you."

"No problem." I stretched my bones myself and lay back into my bed. "I'mma head to bed now. Good night, Ichika."

"Good night. Oh, and if you wake up and see me naked, try not to get too excited." God dammit, I forgot about that.

"Keep your clothes on, Ichika."

"No promises~"

AN: Hello once again. First off, apologies for the late update. I was quite busy yesterday and got home quite late. Updating slipped my mind. I'm sorry about that. Anyway, I hope you all had a good week. Honestly, I don't really have much to say this week, other than that I'm excited for this season of anime. I haven't been watching anime a lot recently, other than Cyberpunk. I've mostly just been reading manga and other things. But this season has a lot of big hitters. Bleach, Chainsaw Man, Mob, Blue Lock, etc. I'm pretty excited for it. But, I don't know if I'll have the free time to watch em... eh. Oh well. Thank you all for reading this far once again, and I hope you enjoyed this update and will continue to support this story. Thanks.

TheMist33: Okay, thanks. I was really nervous when it came to writing from Shiro's perspective. I really like him as a character, but given the nature of his character and his role in the story, I don't really get the chance to write him a lot. But, he will get slightly more of a role in the story, so I'm glad for that. I'm happy to hear that you're invested in the future of the story and I hope the way that it goes will be satisfying for you. As for Maruo and Kuro, their dynamic is really fun to write. Maruo's barely disguised anger and hatred is satisfying to write.