"Hey, are you sure this is a good idea?"
Ena and Miura were standing in front of Yotsuba's house. Miura was concerned about what they were planning to do.
"Fuuka has been really moody lately. I want to make sure Yotsuba's okay and doesn't get caught up in all this."
"I still can't believe it though... Feels so weird knowing your sister and Mr. Koiwai are..."
"Yeah, I know." Ena didn't want to listen to what Miura was probably about to say.
"...What do you think? Do you think Mr. Koiwai might be...?"
"No. I had my doubts before, but I don't think he would do that to her. But... I don't think this is good for either of them. All I know is, Yotsuba doesn't deserve what's happening. So, get ready just in case things start to go south."
"...Alright." Miura nodded. She tugged onto the backpack she was wearing. "What if they ask about this?"
"Tell them it's drawing supplies."
"Okay..."
The two of them went up and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, the door opens revealing Mr. Koiwai with Yotsuba not far behind him.
"Hi! Is it alright if we came over and played with Yotsuba?"
"Sure! Is that alright with you, Yotsuba?" Her dad turned to her.
"Okay!" Yotsuba was smiling from ear to ear.
The three went into the living room. There were colored pencils, markers and papers on and around the table in the center. Seemed like Yotsuba was practicing her drawing.
As the three sat down, Yotsuba picked up and revealed what she had been drawing. A bunch of flowers with trees behind them.
"Wow! You've really improved on your drawing!" Ena smiled.
"Thanks!" Yotsuba was beaming with pride.
"You really came a long way since we first met. Haha." Miura joked.
"Miura..." Ena was about to tell her that she wasn't being nice again only to get interrupted by Yotsuba.
"I sure did!"
Ena remembered how Miura hurt Yotsuba's feelings over her drawing when she first met her. Ena tried desperately to fix things but only made things worse. Thankfully, Jumbo came along and complimented Yotsuba's drawing, solving the problem for everyone.
She sighed. "Why do you always pick on her?"
"It's fun! Lighten up!"
"Yeah, lighten up, Ena!
"You're not supposed to agree with her..." Ena muttered.
The three chattered for a while when they all suddenly heard shouting from across the house.
"Fuuka, you can't come in here!"
"Oh, so it's okay that my little sister pops by unannounced, but not me?!"
The three sat there, almost completely afraid to move.
"You know why! Don't pretend you don't! I don't want to be responsible for what happens to you and your family!"
"Don't talk to me like I don't know what the hell I'm doing! How is it fair that I..."
Ena noticed that Yotsuba sat up and was about to make her way towards where her dad and Fuuka were shouting. She looked at Miura, they both nodded, and they each grabbed one of Yotsuba's hands.
"Huh? Wha- What's going on?"
"We're going to my place!" Miura said. "There's something I wanna show you over there!"
"B-but... Dad and Fuuka..."
"Just come with us!" Miura and Ena took Yotsuba outside into the backyard. Miura then took off her backpack and pulled out three pairs of shoes. One for Ena, one for her and a smaller pair of shoes for Yotsuba.
"Put these on! Quick!" She told Yotsuba.
Yotsuba, still slightly confused, took the shoes and put them on.
With their shoes on, they went around the house and onto the street. As they all made their way down the street, Yotsuba looked back at her house. The sounds of her dad and Fuuka shouting could still be heard.
"What's going? Why are they yelling?"
"Don't worry, Yotsuba, it'll be fine. Just keep walking with us." Ena tried to reassure Yotsuba, but she knew this whole thing wasn't going to be easy to explain to her. For now, all she and Miura can do is take Yotsuba to a safe place, away from what's going on.
…
As the three made their way to Miura's apartment, Ena looked at Yotsuba. She was staring at the town from the tenth floor of the apartment building, looking lost and sad. Ena struggled to think of ways of distracting her or, worse case scenario, explaining what's going on.
The three made their way inside.
"Well, looks like you brought your friends over!" Miura's mom greeted them. "Welcome back, Yotsuba. It's been a while!"
"...Yeah..." Yotsuba was quiet.
"Is something wrong?"
Yotsuba shook her head. "...No, I'm fine."
"Well, let me know if you girls need anything."
"Okay, thanks Mom." said Miura.
The three went into Miura's room. Ena sat on the ground with Yotsuba while Miura sat on her bed.
The all sat silently for a while, Ena and Miura both struggled to figure out what to say.
"...So... What was it you wanna show me?" Yotsuba finally spoke. Her voice was quiet.
"Well I..." Miura looked around her room looking for something to show and talk about. "Oh, hey! I got a skateboard!"
She went into her closet and pulled out a skateboard. It was blue and had stickers on it. "Pretty cool huh? You ever ridden one?"
"...No."
"Well, maybe I'll show you how to ride it later! There's a park nearby I like to practice at and..."
"Ena... Miura... What's going on?"
Miura fell silent. Ena's eyes shifted around the room.
"Why are my dad and Fuuka fighting? Why did you take me from my house?"
"Yotsuba..."
"Ever since the two told me they were getting married, everything felt weird. I was happy at first, but then I kept being told to keep things a secret. After that, both my dad and Fuuka have been acting grumpy and things just aren't the same anymore." She began crying. "What should I do? They were both yelling at each other! Did I do something bad? Are they gonna break up because of me?"
Ena went over and hugged Yotsuba. "No. No. You didn't do anything wrong. It's okay..."
"This is their fault! Not yours!"
Yotsuba and Ena looked up to Miura.
"Your dad and Fuuka aren't supposed to be dating! Their age gap is too huge!"
"Age gap?" Yotsuba asked.
"Miura! What are you saying?" Ena turned to Yotsuba. "Don't listen to her, Yotsuba..."
"Ena, c'mon! We can't hide this from her!"
"Miura, stop!"
"What is she talking about?" Yotsuba looked back and forth between the two.
"I'm saying your dad is too old for Fuuka. That's why they're asking you to keep it a secret!"
"Miura! I said stop!"
"Is everything alright in there?" They all could hear Miura's mom outside her room through the door.
"Uh... Everything's alright! We're just playing a game!" Ena did her best to sound cheerful, in hopes that she doesn't come in to investigate what's going on.
"Well, I'm on the phone with Mr. Koiwai. He was asking where you all went and he wants Yotsuba back home."
Ena looked at Miura, hoping that she had a plan in mind.
Miura stammered. "Uh... We're planning to have Yotsuba sleep over here with us! Is that okay?"
"I'll ask him, but I'm pretty sure he wants her back home now."
The three sat silently, waiting for her response.
"...He said it was okay. But he wants to talk to Ena."
Ena gulped. "Oh. Okay..."
Ena went out of Miura's room and got the phone from her mom; she walked a short distance and raised the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Ena... About what happened today..."
There was a short pause as Ena waited to hear him out.
"I'm really sorry for putting you and your family through this. I..."
"No, I know you're not a bad person and I know Fuuka loves you very much. I was... worried about Yotsuba though."
"...Thank you, Ena. What you did gave me a wakeup call and I need to re-evaluate things. Until then, I think Yotsuba needs to be away for a bit. Can I talk to her?"
"...Okay." Ena went back and gave Yotsuba the phone. She could hear what he was saying to her.
"Yotsuba, I just want to let you know that I love you very much and you did nothing wrong. We'll talk about what's happening and we'll all figure something out. Until then, just have fun with your friends tonight. Okay? I'll pick you up tomorrow morning."
"...Okay... Love you, Dad. Good night."
Ena took back the phone and gave it back to Miura's mom.
"Well, okay. I guess I'll order pizza for you girls tonight!"
"Thanks..." They all said.
The three sat there quietly for a bit. Taking everything in. Miura then went over to Yotsuba.
"Yotsuba, I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay." Yotsuba sighed.
As the three sat, Ena placed her hand on Yotsuba's head and looked out the window in the bedroom. She wondered what was going to happen from here on out. What'll happen to her sister? And what will happen to Yotsuba? She was scared to find out.
Earlier...
Fuuka sat up in her room. It was afternoon and she found herself bored with nothing to do. It had been a few days since she last did anything with Yotsuba and her dad, and her family was either out working or in Ena's case, hanging out with friends. Fuuka didn't feel like doing much besides staring out her window. Hoping that she could catch a glimpse of Yousuke again.
She thought long and hard about everything that had transpired up to this point. Can she really keep this sort of thing up? It felt like her mom set up these restrictions in hopes that she would eventually just call the whole thing off. Which made sense, her family was dead set against this from the beginning.
If that were to happen though, what would happen to Yotsuba? Would it really be fair on her knowing that she wouldn't have a mom after all? Would she eventually get over it?
Fuuka didn't want to know the answer to that question. All she knew was, Yotsuba didn't seem happy with having to keep this sort of thing a secret from everybody. She began to question whether this whole thing was a good idea to begin with.
Her eyes began to become unfocused and wandered around for a while. Until she saw something from the corner of her eye.
Fuuka looked down and saw Ena and her friend Miura in front of the Koiwai house. They were standing there talking about something, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She watched as they both eventually went into the house.
Fuuka's right eyebrow raised. Curious, she made her way downstairs, put her shoes on and went outside. She looked to her right and didn't see Ena or Miura. The front door to the Koiwai house was closed.
They must have gone in...
At that point, something snapped in Fuuka. Why was it okay for her sister to go in but not her? She understood that they were Yotsuba's friends, but this was the first time she saw her go to their house in a long time.
She marched her way over and knocked on the door.
The door opened revealing Yousuke. His eyebrows raised.
"Fuuka? What's up?"
"I need to go in."
"Fuuka... You know you can't do that."
She raised her voice. "I said let me in!"
Yousuke leaned back and his voice got louder too. "Fuuka, you can't come in here!"
"Oh, so it's okay that my little sister pops by unannounced, but not me?!"
"You know why! Don't pretend you don't! I don't want to be responsible for what happens to you and your family!"
"Don't talk to me like I don't know what the hell I'm doing! How is it fair that I'm forced to choose between you two?! And you don't do a damn thing about it?!"
"She's not forcing you to do anything. She wants you to be a responsible adult about this!"
Fuuka's voice became louder. "You know that's bullshit!"
"What am I supposed to do, Fuuka? I want to be with you, but I am not in a position to bargain anything with them!"
"Why not?!"
"You know exactly why!"
Fuuka grabbed her hair and pulled on it in frustration. She could feel her head throbbing, her adrenaline pumping.
"Where's Ena, I want to talk to her!" She pushed Koiwai out of the way and ran in.
"Fuuka! Stop!" Koiwai tried to grab her, but she shook him off and made her way to the living room. When she looked inside though, it was empty.
"Ena? Where are you?"
Koiwai walked into the living room. "Yotsuba? ...They were all in here just a minute ago..."
Fuuka began to come back to her senses and made a realization. If Ena and Miura went inside and Yotsuba was gone, something must have happened.
"I'll go check her room."
Fuuka went to Yotsuba's room and found that no one was in there either. Where are they, she thought. She turned around and saw Koiwai going upstairs. She searched the rest of the first floor and found no sign of them.
"Ena? Miura? Yotsuba?" They were both calling out their names.
They eventually met back downstairs.
"They're not upstairs..." said Yousuke.
"They're not down here..." Fuuka replied.
They both stood in silence. Where did they go?
"They must have snuck out..." Yousuke muttered.
"I'll check back at my house." Fuuka ran out of Yousuke's house and back to her own.
She looked around her house and called for them.
"Ena! Yotsuba! Miura! Are you in here?"
She searched all over the house. But they were nowhere to be found. Fuuka ran out of the house and made her way towards the park. She noticed Koiwai was outside too, looking around.
She spent several minutes looking around trying to figure out where they went. Looking in places like the park and the nearby shops. But they were nowhere to be seen.
Eventually, she made her way back home. She went back inside Yousuke's house and found him on the phone.
"Did you find them?"
Koiwai looked up from the phone and nodded. "They're at Miura's place."
Fuuka breathed a huge sigh of relief. She was terrified something bad must have happened to them.
"Yotsuba, I just want to let you know that I love you very much and you did nothing wrong. We'll talk about what's happening and we'll all figure something out. Until then, just have fun with your friends tonight. Okay? I'll pick you up tomorrow morning."
He hung up.
The two stood there for a while and looked at each other. "This has been really hard on Yotsuba..." Yousuke went over and sat down in front of the living room table.
Fuuka continued to stand still though. She couldn't look at him. "I... I'm guessing they left because of us arguing huh?"
"...Yeah."
"...I'm sorry." Fuuka whispered.
"No. This is all my fault. I should have known better than to get myself involved in this sort of thing. All it did was cause you and Yotsuba pain."
Fuuka shifted her gaze back to him. "No! This is my fault! I was the one who pushed you into this!"
He shook his head. "I chose to give in though. I should have been more responsible about this sort of thing."
Fuuka was impressed at how calm he sounded during all this. But deep down, she was hurting knowing that this could be the end of things.
"Can I at least take half of the blame then? I'm an adult now and you shouldn't have to feel solely responsible."
Yousuke sighed. "...Fine."
Fuuka eventually sat on the opposite end of the table from Yousuke. They both sat there a while in silence.
Fuuka looked up at Koiwai. He was staring down at the table. From a glance, he looked like his calm self, but she could tell deep down he's hurting.
"Are you okay...?"
"...I really messed up bad. I'm supposed to protect Yotsuba from this sort of thing and I've let it all get out of control."
"...You had good intentions at heart though. You wanted Yotsuba to have a mom and... so did I."
Yousuke shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I put her in an uncomfortable and confusing situation that she's too young to fully understand. It's not fair for her."
Fuuka started to wring her hands a bit. She knew she had to do something here. She found herself moving her way towards him.
"...Yousuke."
He looked up. "Huh?" This was the first time she said his name to him.
"Yotsuba will understand. We both just need to have faith in her. Once she comes back, we'll both be there to help her get through this."
"But what are we going to do? We can't keep this whole thing a secret anymore. It's too much for her to deal with."
Fuuka placed her hand on his shoulder. "How about we don't keep it a secret anymore? Why not just make the leap of faith already?"
Yousuke looked at her. "...Your parents aren't going to be happy about that."
"Like I said. I can make my own decisions."
"And you can really trust me?"
Fuuka smiled. "Trust you? No, I don't trust you."
"What?"
She waved her arms around the room. "You're still a slob! You still look like a mess! And Yotsuba needs a woman in her life to help guide her and become the best she can be! You're doing a good job, but it's not enough! Yotsuba's going to need both of us if she's gonna succeed later down the line! And you need someone to kick you in the butt every now and again!" She made a kicking motion to emphasize her point.
Koiwai gave her a side glance. "And you need someone to help you watch your weight."
Fuuka's face flushed and she pushed him down. "And you need someone to help you watch that mouth of yours!"
She crawled over him. She stared into his eyes, which ended up shifting to surprise. "I hope I'm not too heavy for you!"
Suddenly, she noticed the position she was in. "...Oh..."
The two were motionless for a while. Fuuka found herself staring deep into Yousuke's eyes. She then felt his hands on her shoulders pulling her down. Soon, her face met his.
"...No... You're not..."
She then felt his lips on hers. And then his arms wrapped around her back, pulling her onto his chest.
She was worried at first, but then she remembered that Yotsuba's sleeping over at Miura's house, and that it would be hours before anybody at her house would come back home. As she felt herself being flipped over and onto the floor, she began to relax and allow herself to get caught up in the moment.
…
...
"...That wasn't quite what I was expecting to happen today..." Fuuka said as she laid there, staring at the ceiling.
"What did you expect to happen?" Yousuke asked.
"Hmmm... I don't know. But... I do know that things aren't going to work out if we keep doing what we have been doing." Fuuka said as she was putting her pants back on. "I'm going to confront my mother and make her accept us being together."
"What if she doesn't?"
"I don't know... I know that even if I leave and live with you, they're still going to be living right next to us."
The two laid there for a while, still half dazed from their exchange of intimacy. Eventually, Fuuka spoke. "We should move."
"What?" Yousuke said.
"I said we should move."
Yousuke turned on his side and looked at Fuuka. "Okay, first off... How would that make things better? That'll just make it look like I manipulated you into going far away from your family."
"No, it wouldn't." Fuuka said as she shook her head. "I can explain that it was my idea." She stood herself back up. "Besides, if we stay, I think we'll only make things worse on everyone. Especially Yotsuba."
Yousuke scratched his head. "And... How would I explain this to Yotsuba?"
"...We'll just have to hope that my mom will be okay with it all. Then you won't have to explain anything to Yotsuba." Fuuka said as she pulled her pants up.
A moment of silence passed. Yousuke sighed. "Alright. I'll trust you on this, Fuuka."
...
Fuuka sat alone in her room, with the past couple of hours still fresh in her mind. She realized that something had to give at some point, and it did. She decided that it was time to finally settle things with her family.
She began to do stuff around the house as she waited for her parents to come home.
Eventually, she heard her car drive in as she was putting away clean dishes. She kept at what as she was doing as she was waiting for her to show up. The entire time, she felt her heart beating.
"I'm home!" She heard her mom call out.
"Hey, Mom! Welcome back!"
Her mom walked into the kitchen and saw what her daughter was doing.
"Oh! Thank you, Fuuka! I was thinking of doing the same when I got home. You're so reliable!"
"No problem, Mom."
"Here, let me help you." Her mom went to her side and started to help unload the dishes from the dishwasher.
"So, how was your day? Did you do anything fun?"
Fun was a bit of an understatement, Fuuka thought.
"I went over next door." She blurted out.
Her mom froze for a moment. Fuuka watched as her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. A few tense moments passed. Finally, her mom spoke.
"Fuuka. We talked about this..."
"I decided to drop out of college and I'm going to live with them now." Fuuka felt the words fly out of her mouth. She knew her words would forever change her life and affect her relationship with her mom. Deep down, she knew there was no turning back.
Her mom turned towards her. Her smile from just second ago was completely gone, replaced with the same face she was giving when she and the rest of the family initially confronted Fuuka. "I told you, that if you wanted to stay a part of this family, then you wouldn't be doing that." Her voice was calm but stern.
Fuuka maintained her composure. "It's not fair what Yotsuba is going through. We can't keep things a secret forever and I want to be with them both."
"What did he say to you?"
"I-"
"What did he do to you?"
Fuuka stood silent. There was no point lying at this point.
Her mom's eyes closed. She took another deep breath.
"Fuuka. You are my daughter. I'm willing to look past this. You are an adult and can make your own decisions, but you must realize that every decision you make has a consequence. I'll allow you to keep coming back here and be with this family if you stop what you're doing right now and never see that man again."
Fuuka's resolve was unwavering. "Then I'm leaving here. Yousuke and I decided to move away if you won't accept."
Fuuka's mom was silent. She looked out the window for a moment and turned back. "Is Yotsuba alright with that? You'll be taking her away from everyone she knows and loves if you do that."
"We'll talk to her about it. She'll understand."
Silence stood between the two. They refused to look at each other.
Fuuka's mom sighed. "...I guess that's that then."
"...Yeah."
"I'll let you stay here for the rest of summer break, but when school starts again, I want you to have your things packed and ready to go."
"...Okay. Thank you."
The two continued to put away the dishes. Later, they had dinner in silence and eventually went to bed.
As soon as Fuuka closed her bedroom door. She started to cry. She made a huge decision and now she had to keep to her word. She was thankful her mother was allowing her to stay the rest of summer break and enjoy the last few days with her family. She wasn't ready to say goodbye though.
She also still had the task of breaking the news to Yotsuba that they would all be moving soon. She'll more than likely be crushed, but Fuuka knew that having to stay next door to a family she left behind would be too painful for both her and Yotsuba. This was the best choice, she thought.
This is the best choice. This was the best choice. She repeated that to herself over and over in her head until she was too tired to think anymore. She began to fall asleep, before she could though, for a brief moment, she wished Yousuke was lying right next to her...