Rimi didn't speak much after her declaration of wanting to be able to hear again. It's like the more days that went by the more she chose to keep to herself. Maybe she didn't want to speak until she could hear the person speak back. Maybe she just needed space from the rest of us for the time being.
I was happy she wanted to hear again, because in all honesty I just wanted her to hear me say she's beautiful, or everything will be okay, or that I love her. What if she changed once she gained her hearing back? What if I wouldn't be enough for her when she'd be able to do more things?
"You know Uchiha," Kenta started which broke me from my thoughts. "I guess I should thank you for taking care of my sister."
"It really wasn't a big deal."
"I know. And I also know I've been an ass to you for quite a while."
I shrugged. "You were just being protective of Rimi. I know how it is. I have a big brother."
"True," he continued. "But I'm only going to apologize this one time, so I'm sorry for being a dick."
"Accepted."
He almost left it at that, but he chose to keep staring at me for a while which slightly unnerved me. Naruto had left us since he had to get food for home so this was the first time in a long time I was left alone with Rimi's brother. It was bad enough that Rimi was barely speaking to me, but now Kenta decided to start speaking to me. Did they find a way to switch minds or something?
"Listen…now that my name is cleared and I can be around Rimi more again, I want you to be comfortable with me. It doesn't mean we can be all buddy buddy because well, I'm still her over-protective big brother. Just wanna let you know that I have nothing personally against you."
"Thanks?" That's literally the only thing I could think of saying.
"When did she schedule her operation?" he thankfully changed the subject.
"Tomorrow afternoon. She wants it done as soon as possible."
"And how did she know we could afford it?"
I twitched. "She had a good guess."
"Naruto told her," he said sighing.
"Is that a surprise?"
"Well, at least there's one thing that's good about this happening quickly."
I quirked an eyebrow. "And that is?"
"She'll hear you tell her you love her and she'll confidently say it back."