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Truth, Lies, and Scum

“…My little sister?”

“Yeah. Rion-chan seems to have come alone… I’ll go down and see what she wants. You stay here, Aoi-kun.”

In truth, I could probably live the rest of my life without ever involving her again. But there are walls you can’t climb without confronting them.

“…No, I’ll go too.”

“…Are you sure?”

Apparently, it was only my younger sister, Rion, who had come. They were always so inseparable, like a single unit, so something must have happened. The fact that she was reaching out to me meant she was really desperate. Or perhaps…

No, I should stop thinking about it.

So, we both took the elevator down.

“Just so you know, Aoi-kun, I’m on your side no matter what happens. When I said I wanted you to meet her before, it wasn’t because I wanted you to get along now. I thought maybe you needed to do it to move forward. Whether you forgive her or not isn’t the issue. I don’t care what her background is, and I don’t intend to forgive what she did to you.”

“…Yeah.”

When we got to the lobby, there stood Rion, soaking wet.

“Aoi, wait here,” Marin said, holding me back as I watched from a distance.

◇Marin POV

“What’s wrong? How did you get so drenched at this hour?”

“…I ran away from home.”

“Why?”

“…I couldn’t take it anymore…”

“I’m sorry. I think I refused before, but I can’t shelter a minor. Besides, we’re both still in high school. I think relying on me is the wrong choice.”

“…But I have no one else to rely on…”

“Sigh… Just wait here for a bit. I’ll talk to Aoi-kun and be right back.”

Then, I gently explained the situation to Aoi.

“What should we do? Personally, I think we should send her away…”

“…Yeah, I think so too. But… can we at least hear what happened?”

I felt a bit sympathetic, perhaps because her situation reminded me of my past.

“Got it. Let’s just hear her out then.”

With that, the three of us took the elevator up to the top floor.

In the tense atmosphere, we brought her into the living room and decided to let her take a bath first.

As I was about to put her discarded school uniform and shirt into the washing machine, I noticed there was a cellphone in the pocket.

“…”

◇

Afterwards, the three of us had dinner together and enjoyed dessert afterward before getting into the main topic.

“…So, what happened?”

“…Um, about two months ago, I developed vocal cord polyps and had surgery. Since then, my throat hasn’t been well… And then, my family started… bullying me, and even Onee-chan started ignoring me…” She trailed off, tears welling up.

“…I see. That’s unfortunate,” Marin said, clearly not expressing genuine sympathy.

“So, um, I was hoping to stay here for a while… But if it’s not possible, that’s okay.”

“Okay? What will you do if we say no?”

“…I’ll stay in the park or somewhere.”

…Marin felt a slight irritation at such thoughtless actions.

“I get that you’re in a tough spot. But are you prepared enough? If a middle schooler tries to live in a park, they’ll be picked up and sent back home. And you probably don’t have much money either, right? So even living in a park might not work.”

“…Then what should I do?”

“I’ll introduce you to an acquaintance. He loves elementary and middle school girls,” Marin smirked.

“He’s in his early forties. He’s quite overweight and looks unkempt, but he’ll give you money, so rest assured.”

“No… No way…”

“Are you complaining? It’s like a paradise where you get money and a place to live. Or were you thinking you could live comfortably here without getting hurt or losing anything? Don’t underestimate people. I’ll never forgive you. We were supposed to keep our distance, but you’ve broken that in just a few months… It’s unacceptable. Even if I show you mercy, it’s impossible, right? What benefit will you provide us by staying here? Later on, your crazy mother and father will probably come barging in here causing trouble… It’s really annoying. Your words, your actions, your thoughts, your very existence,” Marin snapped, unusually angry.

“…”

“Got anything else to say? Then, are you going to leave?”

“…Yes.”

And that’s how Marin decisively sent her away.

◇

“Thank you… for getting angry for my sake.”

“It’s not just that I was angry,” Marin-chan replied as she headed towards the changing room, meticulously searching every corner.

“What are you doing?”

She showed me an unfamiliar pen.

“What’s this?”

“It looks like a spy pen,” she said, immediately tossing it into the trash.

“Spying?”

“They probably intended to spy on me, maybe even take pictures to blackmail me. Coming here soaking wet was all part of their plan. It’s infuriating.”

I was reminded of this once again.

They’re all devils.

Every single one of them.

Just a few months of not seeing them and I’ve already dulled to their tactics.

It’s frustrating. Really infuriating.

Everything that endangered Marin-chan.

Most of all, I’m frustrated with myself.

“… I’m sorry. It’s because of me.”

“… How is any of this your fault?”

“It’s my family… I let them in.”

“… I’m mad at you for two reasons right now. Can you guess why?”

“Um… Because it’s not my fault… or something like that?”