After Being Betrayed by My Girlfriend, I Kiss Her Little Sister - Chapter 14

Brunch for Two

Third Person POV

“Ah, Kumiko, over here!”

“Waa~! It’s the real Yurie! Long time no see!”

“Ehh, what do you mean ‘the real’?”

“Fufu.”

It’s just past 11AM when the two of them greets each other at a café in the downtown area.

After placing their orders, Kumiko is the first to speak.

“Yurie, how’s work? Going well?”

“Yeah, still busy as always, but I’ve gotten used to it. I guess they really can’t do it without me after all.”

“I’m glad to hear that, I knew you’d be able to handle it…and, umm, are you okay? I know it’s not the best topic to bring up, but as a friend, I can’t help but worry…”

“Yeah, you don’t have to worry anymore. It’s all over now…and Hina has moved to the city too.”

Hearing that, Kumiko lets out a relieved sigh. She smiles as she slowly cut into her steak.

“That’s right. Yurie, do you know?”

“What is it?”

“The other day, Hina-chan called me and casually asked for Kanata’s address.”

“I see. Hina and Kanata have been really close since they were little. But why did Kanata suddenly move to the city? I understand that the Miyauchi family moved to the city because of work, but according to Hina…isn’t he supposed to move after graduating high school?”

“Ah, that…”

Kumiko can’t help but bite her lower lip.

She slowly puts her fork down on the table and meets Yurie’s eyes.

“Did something happen?”

“That kid…he used to be so kind when he was in grade school. I don’t know what happened, but when he entered middle school, he suddenly started getting into fights…and his homeroom teacher called me almost every day.”

“F-Fights…? That Kanata?”

Yurie is a little flustered, as he is completely different to the Kanata she remembered.

He was always by Hina’s side, listening to whatever she had to say. To Hina, Kanata was like an older brother who would always protect her. The two was really close with each other. Yurie thought that she knew his gentle way of speaking and kind personality better than anyone, so she can’t believe what she’s hearing.

“That’s right. Let me think, when was it…I think it was in his second year of middle school when I suddenly got a call from the teacher saying Kanata got into a fight with some school delinquents…”

“Eh?”

“There were about five of them…I was really worried about what would happen if he got hurt. But for some reason, the delinquents were the ones who got badly beaten, and that day, I was the one who had to apologize…”

“Eh…?”

“Kanata was injured pretty badly too, but those kids…they were crying the whole time…”

“But why did Kanata get into a fight?”

“I wanted to know that too…neither the delinquents nor Kanata ever told me the reason, so to this day, I still don’t know.”

Kumiko lets out a sigh as she says so.

“After that…he keeps getting into fights every month until he graduated from middle school. I was always going to school because of it.”

“T-That must have been tough—”

Suddenly, Yurie seems to remember something and stares at the table in deep thought.

“When I asked him why he was always getting into fights, he just got mad at me, saying, ‘You don’t know anything, Mom’. Isn’t that awful?”

“……”

“I was embarrassed to keep apologizing to the teachers all the time, and I couldn’t take it anymore. So I asked him if he wanted to be separated with Hina-chan and go to the city with his dad. And he just answered ‘Yes’ so easily.”

“……”

“They had been practically inseparable since kindergarten. But when I saw Kanata give up on Hina-chan so easily, I was at a loss for words…I wanted to be mad at him, but at that moment…I have no idea what he was thinking. In the end, I just gave up on getting angry.”

“……”

Yurie is in a daze, listening to Kumiko’s story without paying much attention.

“Yurie?”

“……”

“Yurie? What’s wrong?”

“Eh? A-Ah…just thinking about work. Sorry. But…I feel like Kanata must have his own reason for it.”

“A reason? Yeah, I wanted to know that reason too…but even when Kanata had bruises all over his body and a bloody nose, he never stopped fighting. No matter how much I asked, he never told me the reason why. Not even once.”

“I see…”

“Now that he’s in high school, it seems like he’s stopped fighting, so I feel relieved…”

Then, as if remembering something, Kumiko clasps her hands together.

“That’s right! Now that I think about it…I remember him saying, ‘I had no choice’.”

“’I had no choice’…”

“I don’t really understand what he meant, though…”

“Yeah…”

“But don’t worry! Kanata told me that now his grades are good, he’s stopped fighting, and he’s enjoying his school life.”

“Yeah. I would never doubt Kanata. He’s a good kid, Kumiko.”

And with that, the two of them finish their meal.

“Kumiko.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Why do kind people always fall for those who aren’t?”

“…who are you talking about?”

“Ah, never mind.”

“……”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Brunch is on me, Kumiko. I’m really glad we got to talk again after such a long time. Let’s do this again when we have time.”

“Eh!? N-No, it’s okay! I’ll pay!”

“Then you can treat me next time. I have work now, so I’ll go first. Sorry!”

“Okay! G-Good luck!”

“Thanks~! I’ll contact you again later.”

With those words, Yurie leaves the café first. As Kumiko watches her back, an old memory comes to her mind.

‘Why!? Why!? Why!? Why are you always fighting, Kanata?! Mom is tired of all of this…just stop already…Please…’

‘I’m sorry…’

‘Sorry isn’t enough! You always say you’re sorry! Just stop fighting! Kanata…instead of apologizing, at least tell me why you’re fighting…why are you always like this…?’

‘Because they are the ones in the wrong and they won’t apologize! I told them to stop, I really did! But they just laughed and ignored me…so until they apologized…I have no choice but to hit them.’

‘Do you really think you can win against that many people alone? Your arms, your legs, your stomach…you’re covered in wounds, Kanata…’

‘It doesn’t matter if I can win or not. I just have to be ready to die while throwing punches… Otherwise—’

It’s a memory of a mother and son arguing while in tears.

“……”

Kumiko can’t understand why Kanata had said such things.

No matter how much she thinks about it, she can’t figure it out.

Because Kanata never told her the reason—

“……”

And so, she lets out a quiet sigh.