"But Eri and I both promised her," Shuichi Hayashi said matter-of-factly. "We told Ruri we'd keep an eye on you until she comes back to Tokyo to marry—er, I mean, be married to you!"
"Tch, that girl's just like Eri—thick glasses, always studying, not cute at all," Kogoro Mouri scoffed. "No way I'd date her!"
"No need to date her—just marry her," Shuichi said with a grin. "You don't know this, but Aunt Mouri found out about Ruri's confession. When she heard you turned her down, she was so mad she said you're doomed to be a bachelor forever."
"No way, really?" Kogoro's confidence wavered. "Shuichi, I'm not that hopeless at finding a girlfriend, am I?"
"Who knows?" Shuichi countered. "How many times have you been confessed to growing up?"
"Thre—" Kogoro started to boast but caught himself, facing his childhood friend who knew him too well. "Just Ruri that one time," he admitted glumly.
"There you go. Aunt Mouri's got a point," Shuichi said with a sigh. "Honestly, Ruri's really pretty without her glasses."
"She's been wearing glasses since elementary school," Kogoro said skeptically. "When have you ever seen her without them?"
"The day she confessed to you after junior high graduation and you rejected her, she ran off crying," Shuichi said, exasperated. "You were too dense to chase after her and comfort her, so Eri and I had to clean up your mess."
"When we caught up to her, she'd taken off her glasses and was wiping her tears."
"Ruri cried?" Kogoro blinked, stunned. "No way. I remember her smiling when she left."
"She got rejected by you! Was she supposed to cry in front of you?" Shuichi said, rolling his eyes. "I don't even know what she sees in you."
"…Anyway, I'm not dating Ruri," Kogoro huffed. "Didn't you say yourself, 'a good horse doesn't eat grass it's already passed'? I'll find a girl way prettier than her—"
Before he could finish, a loud crash echoed from upstairs, like something shattering.
"Hey, Shuichi, shouldn't we check on them?" Kogoro asked, worried. "What if something happens?"
"Eri's got some restraint, right?" Shuichi said, though he sounded unsure. "Let's go take a look."
The two crept upstairs to the second-floor door, intending to peek inside, but Shuichi froze.
"Open the door already!" Kogoro urged. "If we wait any longer, Yukiko's gonna get clobbered by Eri!"
"Yukiko took the key. I can't open it," Shuichi said helplessly.
"Now what?" Kogoro was out of ideas.
"Guess we knock," Shuichi said with a sigh. "Can't let them trash my place."
He rang the doorbell.
Moments later, Eri Hii opened the door. "What're you doing up here?"
"I—"
Shuichi started to answer but stopped. Shouldn't he be asking them what they were doing? And where was Kogoro? He glanced around—his friend had vanished, the traitor!
"I'm here to stop you from fighting," Shuichi said, steeling himself as he stepped inside. "Girls shouldn't be so rough. Can't we just talk it out—huh? Reiko, you're awake?"
"Onii-chan," Reiko greeted with a sweet smile.
"Who said we were fighting?" Eri snapped.
"I heard someone scream downstairs…"
"Sorry, Onii-chan," Reiko said sheepishly. "I woke up and went to the bathroom. When I opened the door, I saw two strangers in the house and screamed without thinking."
"What about that crash?" Shuichi asked, looking around. "What did you break?"
"The vase in the corner of the living room," Eri said, looking away. "I bumped into it by accident."
"And where's Yukiko?" Shuichi asked, puzzled. "I don't see her."
"She was tired, so I let her rest in the bedroom," Eri said, her expression unshaken. "She's probably asleep by now."
"Yeah," Reiko nodded. "That big sister was really sleepy. She passed out as soon as she lay down."
"Really?"
Shuichi eyed the two suspiciously. These two, who usually bickered at the sight of each other, were suddenly getting along? That didn't add up.
"By the way, Eri, that uniform looks great on you," Shuichi said sincerely. "Yukiko made it for you?"
"Yeah," Eri said, her expression darkening as she nodded.
"Why so glum?" Shuichi said, genuinely impressed. "You look amazing in it."
"I don't think so," Eri huffed, but as Shuichi looked away, a smile tugged at her lips.
"Alright, I'll head downstairs to prep for tonight's service. You two—"
Before he could finish, a loud thump-thump came from the bedroom door.
"Yukiko's awake?"
Shuichi moved to open it, but Reiko darted in front of him. "Onii-chan, go downstairs. I'll get the door for big sister."
"Reiko's right," Eri added, urging him. "You don't want to delay the izakaya's opening tonight."
"You two…"
The more Shuichi thought about it, the fishier it seemed. He pretended to head for the door, taking a few steps to lower their guard. Then he spun around, dashed back, and flung open the bedroom door.
"Uh… what…"
The sight inside left him speechless.
Yukiko Fujimine was tied to a chair with rope, her face covered in messy doodles, a towel stuffed in her mouth. She looked at him with teary, aggrieved eyes, whimpering.
"Who did this?" Shuichi turned, frowning at the pair.
"It was Eri-neesan's idea!" Reiko blurted out. "She said we should get back at big sister for tricking her by drawing a fox on her face!"
Seeing Shuichi's stern look, Eri gave a nervous laugh. "I just wanted to prank her face a bit. It was Reiko who brought out the rope and suggested tying her up!"
"Huh?" Shuichi glared at his little cousin.
"Eri-neesan said she was struggling too much, so I mentioned the rope!" Reiko shot back. "Oh, and Eri-neesan was worried she'd yell, so she told me to stuff the towel in her mouth!"
"No way, that was you!"
"It was you!"
"You!"
The two started bickering again, but Shuichi ignored them, stepping forward to untie Yukiko and remove the towel. "Sorry, they went too far with their prank."
"Wah…" Yukiko wiped her tears, sobbing pitifully. "I was just trying to be nice, and they did this to me…"
(End of Chapter)
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