"Ugh... can't... breathe..."
Under the blanket, loving no one. She originally just wanted to calm her mind, but she ended up with the blanket over her head. When Busujima Sakurako woke up, she was completely dazed.
Exerting all her strength to peel the blanket—which was about to "naked choke" her—off her head, her face turned red as she frantically breathed the air of freedom. She felt deeply lucky she wouldn't become the first human killed by a summer quilt; otherwise, the embarrassment would be legendary!
"Was I... a bit too sentimental today?"
No one answered her in the dark. Sakurako was used to the isolation of falling asleep at noon and waking up alone in the afternoon or evening; she wasn't too "emo" about it.
Pulling her bothersome phone from beneath her butt, she lay on the pillow, propping up her upper body with her chest, wanting to see what time it was.
However, as the faint light illuminated the room, the first thing that shocked her wasn't the time, but the pillow beneath her chest—distorted in pain and stained with black marks.
This familiar color was undoubtedly...
"Oh no! Oh no!"
Frantically opening the front camera, it was just as she predicted: sleeping with makeup on is absolutely the stupidest choice for a twenty-first-century woman!
Because you never know if your pretty lipstick will smudge onto the sheets, or if eyeshadow will run when mixed with tears—not only making a mess of your face but also ruining the pillow!
"Ughhhh! I'm so stupid! Really, this Yu guy won't make me pay, right? He calls himself a pauper, but to live in such a luxury villa, his bedding must be incredibly expensive!"
"Don't worry, I won't make you pay~"
"Kyaaaa!!!"
She instantly transformed into a "Spinosaurus" form. A voice suddenly coming out of a pitch-black room? Sakurako was a gyaru, not a goddess; of course she'd be scared!
She scrambled against the headboard and pulled up the blanket, gasping several times as she smelled a familiar scent before she realized—
Wait. It wasn't just the scent of the blanket; even the voice just now sounded a bit familiar!
"Yu?"
"Yes~ Is there a problem?"
"Wh-When did you come in?"
Finally daring to peek out, Sakurako wiped her face, and her whole hand turned black. Her eyes, which she had just wiped, seemed to get watery again from the shock.
"Ah, about that."
Turning on the phone flashlight and placing it under his chin, Yuu slightly helpless head appeared in the dim room. "About ten minutes ago? I called you for dinner and got no response, so I wanted to see if you had died on my bed."
"Entering a girl's room without permission! Pervert!"
"I can't argue with that point..."
Looking away guiltily, Yu hadn't intended to eavesdrop. It was just that Sakurako's teary mumbling while she slept—repeating that she didn't want to go home—was far too eye-catching.
Honestly, one sister didn't want to go to school and the other didn't want to go home. Together, wasn't that a kind of "gap moe"?
"Anyway, while you were asleep, I talked to Akiko and found a problem more serious than dinner! Do you want to hear it?"
"Hmm?"
Mentioning her sister made Sakurako resentful. After all, if it weren't for that ungrateful brat, she wouldn't have had to return to Tokyo, only for Akiko to be unappreciative!
If anyone else dared to treat her like that, she would have deleted them, posted about it on social media, and tweeted about it already. But it was her own flesh and blood imouto...
"Does she still refuse to go back to school? But being in a band has no future! Just endure it until college..."
"No!"
Yu frowned seriously. Just as Sakurako was getting anxious, thinking there was some groundbreaking scandal, Yu spoke in a troubled tone. "Our band... seems to be missing an excellent bassist!"
"Eh?"
Her expression froze. Sakurako's train of thought was like a buggy, low-quality racing game—her "mental model" glitched into a twisted mess during the sharp turn!
Weren't they just talking about child education? Why did it sound like they were forming a band right now?!
"Exactly! Although bassists generally have a low presence, they are indeed the indispensable glue of a band!"
"That's not right! Is that the problem?!"
"What else?"
"No... it's just... shouldn't we be thinking about how to get Akiko to go back to school?"
Her expression was extremely confused. Sakurako had to correct herself several times before she could organize her thoughts into a complete sentence.
In response, Yu nonchalantly turned on the overhead light and spread his hands. "About that, I've already talked to Akiko. I'll teach her techniques to survive high school, and she promised to go back to school once she masters them~"
"Eh? Then the band?"
"That's an additional condition for getting my passport back. Rin said since they've already decided on this path, they should at least leave some wonderful memories so it's not all just for nothing."
He sat on the edge of the bed. In fact, if he had to compare, Yu felt Sakurako's problems were much bigger than Akiko's.
The latter was just fed up with control and loneliness, wanting to do something "unique" to prove her existence.
Sakurako, on the other hand, had endured middle school and high school on her own. This seemingly tough trial had actually "tenderized" her personality into something resilient yet twisted, leading to her bad habit of disregarding others' feelings.
"Sakurako, you worked hard to get through high school on your own."
"Hmm? Wh-What are you saying that for..."
The light in her eyes dimmed instantly. Sakurako didn't like being pitied, because every bit of comfort made her relive the helplessness and frustration of high school.
Besides, showing her scars to everyone felt a bit like begging for mercy, something she disdained!
"It's nothing. I just wanted to say you can stay here for the next couple of days. And in the future, you can come visit the PaB Club more often. As long as you don't have bad intentions, no one cares about your past!"
"Heh~ Are you inviting me?"
Her attitude turned playful. Sakurako squinted and tentatively poked Yuu waist twice. Seeing that he was still alert and moved away quickly, she felt a surge of interest.
He knew her past and was willing to help, yet he didn't change his attitude toward her? Interesting!
While it probably had something to do with the "idiot" attribute unique to the PaB Club, she didn't hate this kind of straightforwardness! And the more he resisted, the more excited she became!
"Well~ since it's your invitation, I'll take it. I'll be dropping by the PaB Club often from now on~ But for now..."
Pointing to the door, Sakurako ordered with a fake smile, "Please get out! I need to fix my clothes!"
"Eh?! What kind of person are you! This is my house! I come to comfort you and you act like this!"
Unable to figure out what was going on in Sakurako's head, Yu walked to the door in annoyance before suddenly remembering the unanswered question. He poked his head back in. "What about the band? I heard you used to practice bass to relieve stress, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes! I promise! Now get lost!"
With joy reaching even the tips of her toes, Sakurako waved him away dismissively. Once she was certain Yu was far away, she flopped back onto the messy bed.
Rolling her eyes, flashing a peace sign, and taking a selfie in one fluid motion, she smirked as she scrolled through her contacts. She found the "purple-haired main wife" on Line and sent the photo with the caption:
[Yu is amazing! I can't stand the crying!]
"Even though I'm grateful..."
A wicked smirk played on her lips as she closed her eyes, finding the most irrefutable excuse for her meddling behavior. "But I am a scummy 'bad woman,' after all. Can't break character!"
"Sis, come down for dinner..."
After savoring the familiar scent for another two minutes, Sakurako heard the door open, followed by her sister's timid call.
As everyone knows, after a family fight, whoever speaks first is the one who automatically loses!
She beckoned Akiko to the bedside with an ill-tempered gesture, then suddenly pulled her into a hug, burying the girl's head deep into her "massive evil" as a punishment!
"Mmph! Sis! I can't breathe! What are you doing?!"
"You little ingrate! See how I handle you next time you dare to make your sister angry!"
Not wanting to talk more to the naughty brat, Sakurako gave an "old-school" huff and tossed her sister—who was now dazed with "milk-vision" and swirling eyes—onto the bed.
She didn't even bother to fix her smudged makeup. She walked downstairs barefoot and sat at the dining table, eating like a maniac, scaring the other two little ones into thinking a wild baboon had broken in!
But in any case! It seemed her trip to Tokyo would have a satisfactory beginning...
Ding!
Just as Busujima Sakurako was about to wrap up the first step of her return to Tokyo, her phone notification chime made her exceptionally excited!
That purple-haired woman was so certain she couldn't steal Yu away! Even if it was just a fake photo, seeing her frantic or angry reply would provide enough entertainment for a year...
She quickly tapped it twice. Unfortunately, the chat was empty. There were no accusations or attacks as she had expected. Instead, there was a video with very low visibility.
"Tsk~"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, a message from a friend..."
Clicking her tongue softly, Sakurako disappointedly used her body to block Yuu gaze and tapped on the video. In the darkness of the screen, the muffled murmurs of a woman could be heard.
[Don't want... I, don't want to go home. Save me, please, I don't want to go home!]
"?"
The voice sounded more and more familiar. The next second, the person filming turned on the camera, and Sakurako finally saw exactly what creature was making that "small beast-like" wail.
Wait... do I suck my thumb when I'm asleep? No wonder my fingers are always wet when I wake up, and not just from my eyes...
[Whoever you are, please... help me!]
"Wuuu..."
After a few seconds of stunned silence, her consciousness was finally awakened by a mournful cry in the video.
Quickly turning it off, Sakurako's face turned red from the top of her head down to her neck under the curious gazes of Rin and Xuena—When! When was this video filmed?!
Ding!
[Just thinking about Yu made you cry like a baby? Sakurako really is a child~]
"Aaaaaahhh!!!"
Completely broken by the last message, Sakurako let out a mournful cry toward the sky. With tears in her eyes, she lunged at Miyazawa Yuu, who was sitting there with a calm look, as if he had calculated everything and was in total control.
"Yuu! You pay me back for my perfect Tokyo trip!!!"