---
Arriving at the apartment, the door opened. New… residents joined Emi in the apartment.
"Did you bring all your bags?" Emi asked the two siblings, who only nodded.
"Well, if my phone's with me, then I've got everything in my bags," Suzuki Misaki, a somewhat rebellious and cheeky girl, said as she entered the apartment and left her bag sprawled across the floor.
"Hey! You're not at home anymore! You can't just throw your stuff around like that!" Suzuki Yuujin, a calmer boy who hates mess, confronted his sister.
"My stuff isn't junk. Maybe junk is your collection of toy cars," Misaki flopped onto the sofa, clearly showing she was messy.
"I agree with Yuujin, and that's pretty rare coming from me," Emi said sarcastically.
"Doesn't really feel like it," Yuujin retorted, slightly annoyed. "I'll take my things to my room. So… where are they, Aunt Emi?" he asked, holding his bag.
"They're past the bathroom. That's where your rooms are," Emi replied, picking up her phone and checking messages.
"'Yours'?" Yuujin said, a little unsure.
"You thought my apartment was small? Huh, I'm offended!" Emi said jokingly. "Go on, grab your sister's stuff too, because if she leaves it there, it'll just rot."
"That's not fair! She should get it herself! Aaahhh!" Yuujin grabbed Misaki's bags and took them to a room, leaving everything scattered, while taking his own bags to his room and organizing his new setup.
Yuujin looked out the window, taking in the view of Tokyo's bustling streets.
The city was beautiful… The activity reminded him of central Osaka.
The boy observed everything with interest and curiosity before turning back to organize his belongings.
"Kiki, you need to pack your things too!" Emi said, sounding a little annoyed as she squeezed an orange to make juice.
"What kind of nickname is that? I'll get to it!" Misaki exclaimed, getting up from the sofa and taking a photo with Emi.
"Ouch! My eye! Who leaves the flash on?" Emi asked, slightly dazed by the light.
"I did. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pack that mess of yours," Misaki muttered, heading toward her room, but stopped when she saw Yuujin organizing his cars.
She crept up to him, moving slowly, ready to startle him.
"Not gonna work, Misaki," Yuujin said, already used to her antics.
Misaki then grabbed his phone, trying to unlock it.
"Ha, as if you'd guess the password," he said, unconcerned, adjusting his cars and picking up materials to assemble a new display shelf.
"I got it! Now I'm going to snoop," Misaki said, running to her room with her brother's phone.
"HOW DID YOU?! HEY!!!" He ran after her.
When he arrived, he saw her scrolling through his private conversations.
"You have some weird contacts. Who's Yurina?" Misaki asked as Yuujin arrived.
Yuujin blushed slightly and tried to snatch the phone.
"Damn, you meddler! What's your problem?!" Yuujin shouted, as Emi came over to see what was happening.
"Stop being like that, you jerk!" She stepped back and kept scrolling until she found the contact of their parents.
She froze, shocked.
Yuujin snatched the phone from her hands and saw her stunned expression.
"Did you see a ghost or something?" Yuujin asked, annoyed.
"Maybe… your hair is white, and you're paler than a polar bear," Emi teased.
"You're siding with her?!" he shouted at Emi.
"No, no. I'm just having fun with what you started yourself," she laughed, and Yuujin turned his attention back to Misaki.
"Yuujin… you still haven't deleted Mom and Dad's contact?" Misaki asked, shocked.
"You… Ah… No… I didn't delete it…" Yuujin admitted.
Emi knew very well how heavily that weighed on the mood.
Both siblings had stayed home while their parents went shopping and got into an accident on the way, which resulted in their deaths. They couldn't survive, so Yuujin and Misaki had to move in with Emi, their closest relative capable of caring for them.
"Look… I don't want to interfere, but since I am… I think it's better to at least archive it… better than… reliving that difficult moment," Emi said, stepping away from their sight.
"I agree with Aunt Emi, Yuujin," Misaki said, leaving the room as well.
Yuujin was trapped in his own thoughts, remembering the news when they first received it.
...
"Yuujin, someone's at the door!" Misaki yelled from her room.
"OPEN IT!" Yuujin shouted, lying on the sofa, watching TV.
"No! You go! You're closer," she yelled back.
Yuujin grumbled and got up, opening the door to find a police officer.
"Suzuki Yuujin, right?" the officer asked, and Yuujin froze.
"Yes… that's me…" Yuujin said, nervous.
"I have news about… your parents…" the officer said, his voice trembling.
After explaining everything, Yuujin and Misaki were left in shock, feeling completely devastated.
"They… they… did they survive? At least are they in the hospital?!" Yuujin asked desperately.
"No… I'm sorry. They didn't make it," the officer confirmed, his voice heavy with the pain of delivering such news to the siblings, who collapsed into tears.
...
"That day… was brutal…" Yuujin muttered to himself, leaving Misaki's room and returning to his own, feeling down.
Later, the three were sitting at the table, talking.
"Ugh, school is such a drag!" Misaki exclaimed, mumbling as she distractedly ate while on her phone.
"I don't want to make new friends," Yuujin said, slightly irritated, as usual.
"Unfortunately, that's how it is. I hated going to school too, but look! I survived, so you guys will too. I'll check for openings tomorrow," Emi said, taking another bite.
"Did it really have to be dinner time for that news?" Yuujin asked, trying to eat without thinking too much about it.
"Of course, it's the only time your sister has a LITTLE more attention. And not even then will she look at us," Emi said, giving Misaki a gentle tap to get her to focus.
"Huh… what did they say? I don't want to go to a new school," Misaki said, going back to her phone, ignoring everything.
"Yeah… you're right. I hope… the people are nicer," Yuujin said.
After a while, Yuujin helped Emi wash the dishes, while Misaki was in her room, scrolling through her phone as usual.
"You know how to wash dishes better than I do," Emi smiled at Yuujin, happy for the help.
"It's a habit. I used to help… my mom too," he said.
The mood became slightly heavier after Yuujin's comment.
"Oh, no, no! Sorry! I didn't mean to make you remember it! Not like that, and…," Emi struggled to find the right words, making it worse.
"It's okay, I'll just finish and go to bed. You can rest," Yuujin said, and Emi thanked him, stepping away and letting him wash the dishes alone.
He washed everything, thinking about what his new life in Tokyo would be like with his sister and aunt.
When he finished, he organized everything, brushed his teeth, and collapsed onto his bed.
"At least she made the beds before we got here…" he murmured, curling up, knowing tomorrow would be a new day… the day Emi would enroll them in a new school, and they weren't exactly looking forward to it.
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To be continued...