"I'm off…", Mei said looking back at the blonde.
Yuzu groggily looked at Mei, giving her a smile and waving at her. "Have a nice day", she weakly said.
"...You too", Mei smiled back at Yuzu.
As she was about to shut the door the older girl suddenly spoke up, "Mei, what… why was your grandfather doing business with the Hayato clan?
After a short silence Mei answered, "Grandfather wanted to improve the school's security, especially after the incident with Amemiya-sensei"
"I see…", Yuzu grit her teeth at the memory of Mei's ex-fiancé.
The younger girl frowned at the unwanted recollection of the memory as well before reluctantly shutting the door behind her. Yuzu was still feeling unwell so she couldn't go back to school yet. Mei sighed as she started making her way to school.
'Maybe I should go home earlier today…'
After school
"President you're going home already?", Himeko asked her best friend. Normally Mei would be the last to leave school due to the amount of student council work she tries to cram into one day.
Mei looked up at her as she put on her shoes "Yeah, I have to go on an errand.."
"Okay, well see you tomorrow then!"
"Yeah…" Mei gave her a curt nod as she put her school slippers on the shelf.
She was a good bit away from school when she received a call from her step mother. "Mei-chan are you still at school?"
"I'm on my way home right now"
"Oh good, then could you do me a favour? I'm going to be late tonight so I won't be able to buy Yuzu's medicine. Would you please stop by the pharmacy to buy her medicine for me, please?"
"Of course, it's no problem at all", Mei said in a calm voice, though she was willing to do anything if it was for her blonde stepsister.
The middle aged woman expressed her gratitude before hanging up. The pharmacy was only a few blocks away from the train station. She would be able to buy Yuzu's medicine and catch the train with time to spare.
When she arrived at the pharmacy she hurriedly bought a bottle of painkillers and antibiotics and quickly left in the direction of the train station. Thankfully she arrived at the train station with around 10 minutes to spare.
It was unusual for the station to be empty as it was around the time students would board the next train home. Counting herself lucky she breathed a sigh of relief and closed her eyes.
Her luck was short lived however, as a familiar voice interrupted her peace, "Well, if it isn't Mei-san".
Mei sighed, annoyed at the arrival of a certain middle schooler. "What do you want, Matsuri?"
She faked a hurt expression, "I just wanted to know how Yuzu-nee is. She didn't go to school today right? Taniguchi-senpai's been whining about it all day"
Deciding to calm down a bit, she answered Matsuri's question, "Yuzu stayed at home today. She's still not feeling so well…"
There was a comfortable silence before Matsuri spoke up again, "I heard what happened… about Yuzu-nee's grandmother I mean. To be honest I'm quite surprised. I didn't think that old hag would ever come back..."
Mei furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"Well, that old hag, who is Yuzu-nee's father's mother, hasn't even talked to her for more than a decade!"
"Why?"
"You should already know these things! Haven't you ever asked Yuzu about her past?", Matsuri asked as she pointed a finger accusatively at Mei.
'No. I haven't'. She looked down in shame. She felt so full of herself, she thought that nothing mattered to Yuzu after she met her. She thought that her past didn't matter as long as Yuzu had Mei. Mei's eyes widened and she felt a sharp pain in her chest.
Matsuri sighed at the older girl's reaction. 'Just be honest with your feelings already'. "Yuzu-nee is the granddaughter of that old hag right? That would make her the heir to the Hayato Clan. Of course, she was also properly trained before… well, before that old hag cut off all ties with her and her mom after Yuzu-nee's dad passed away".
"But why? Why did she abandon Yuzu and mom?"
Matsuri shrugged her shoulder, "I dunno. Yuzu-nee wouldn't- couldn't tell me…"
They sat in silence until the train arrived. Mei slowly stood up and quietl walked towards the doors to the train. She looked back at Matsuri, who was still sitting on the same spot, then turned around and boarded the train without a word.
Mei finally arrived at home and she quietly made her way to the living room where Yuzu sat comfortably, wrapped in blankets.
"Oh, Mei! Welcome home!", the blonde greeted with a smile.
Not even answering her step sister, Mei walked towards Yuzu and hugged the older girl. Yuzu sat in shock at the younger girl's gesture.
"Mei?"
Mei sat quietly as she held on to Yuzu before finally speaking up, "Why did your grandmother treat you like that? Why was she so mean to you? Why… why did she abandon you?".
Yuzu was taken aback by the many questions that shot out of the other girl's mouth. She took a moment to process the questions before finally understanding.
"O-oh that. Well, 'cause… 'cause I keep breaking the school rules! Yeah! I should really dye my hair back…", Yuzu smiled, almost forcing a chuckle.
"...Yuzu-"
The blonde suddenly stood up from the couch and paced towards the kitchen, "So, what do you want for dinner? I'll make you whatever you want since I'm feeling way better now!".
Mei grit her teeth as the clattering of pots could be heard from the kitchen.
"How 'bout some omurice, Mei? It's been awhile since I've made some-"
"Yuzu!", the younger girl interrupted her older stepsister's panicked attempt of evading her questions.
The clattering of pots and sound of pacing ceased.
"Why does she resent you so much?", Mei started to walk towards Yuzu. "Why are you lying to me?"
"I'm not lying…", the older girl stared at the floor. "Besides, how do you know I'm lying?"
Mei stopped right in front of Yuzu, "Because you haven't looked me in the eye since I asked you…"
After a short silence the older girl emitted a heavy sigh, "I… don't want to talk about this…"
The raven haired girl was losing patience. She grabbed Yuzu's arms and shook her slightly, "Why not? Just tell me-!"
"Because I killed my dad!". Yuzu's voice broke in between sobs, "I killed him. I'm the reason he's gone…"
Mei's eyes were wide in shock and confusion as she stared at the girl in front of her.
"That's why she hates me", her voice was barely audible. Yuzu chuckled bitterly, "I mean, who would want to look at the murderer of their son? I can't even look at myself properly without hating my existence…"
Mei's grip on the older girl tightened and she pulled her into a hug, "Yuzu, I'm sorry… I never knew…" 'that you were suffering so much'
Mei was always too busy thinking about her own problems that she didn't even think to stop and realize that Yuzu had her own issues to deal with. 'And yet she always tried her best to help me with mine…'
Yuzu broke off the hug and made her way towards their bedroom. "There's leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry", the blonde said with a hoarse voice.
Mei tried to plead with her as she held onto her shoulder, "Yuzu, please just talk to me"
"I want to be alone right now…", the older girl shook her hand off before leaving.
Mei was stunned but even more so perturbed at Yuzu's estrangement. She stood alone in the middle of the living room, left with her own thoughts. The heavy feeling of rejection made her lose any appetite she had.
The suffocating guilt she felt for forcibly prying into Yuzu's affairs made her nauseous. Mei clenched her fist in an effort to suppress the flurry of emotions that rushed through her. The revelation of Yuzu's past and her uncharacteristic behaviour made her her feel scared, sad and angry all at the same time.
She felt scared and sad because, for the first time ever, she didn't know how to approach Yuzu in this situation. Usually she'd just have to give her older step sister a quick kiss to get her to obey her wishes. No matter what hurtful things she said to the blonde, she'd always just come running back to her.
But this time she couldn't solve this with a kiss. She hurt Yuzu too much, she brought up her most painful memories. Memories that the girl had locked up and wanted to hide forever.
Anger suddenly took over her as tears unconsciously started to fall down her cheeks. She started to sob. 'This is how Yuzu felt when I kept pushing her away'. A low growl escaped her mouth, 'How frustrating it must have been to be unwanted by the one you want the most…'