Irresistibly You | A Haitani Rindou Fanfic

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ

୨⎯ Watering a Bud Isn't So Fun ⎯୧

"Haruchiyo!! Where are you going?! Don't you dare leave this house!" Takeomi shouted as he stopped my brother from stepping outside the front door. He just looked at him in his eyes. With a black mask over his mouth, I couldn't tell if he was smiling at him or was nonchalant about this whole situation.

Takeomi then shifted his glare to my direction and spoke with a raised voice, "Hey, don't you care about your brother?! Are you not gonna stop him from leaving?"

"I do care... That's why I'm letting him make his own decisions. Haru-nii isn't a kid anymore. Why are you getting so heated up about this anyway? All you ever do in this house is verbally and mentally abuse us. When Haru-nii isn't going outside his room anymore, your hurtful words all went to me!" I said, slapping him with reality as if he was never shown the light of what our life had been for the past years.

By the time I finished my sentence and let him reflect, Haruchiyo was no longer by the doorstep. Takeomi slammed his hand on the drawer as he spoke in fury, "Ah, shit! That brat!" Haruchiyo successfully used me in getting away from the chains our dear brother had strapped us in. I wonder where he is headed to.

Why didn't you take me with you, Haru-nii?

A struck of lightning went through my mind. Something in me really hated this person completely. It really made me realize how bad of a person Takeomi is.

He was no longer our brother when our parents left us for good. It was only as if he was obligated to feed us. Other than that, he would do anything he wanted. Flame was engulfing my heart to the point that nothing could extinguish it. I was starting to hate this world too.

At some point though, I thought to myself, "He also lost his parents... Not just Haru-nii and I. He's only doing his best to be a big brother to the both of us. Knowing he currently doesn't have a stable job, feeding us and himself isn't so easy." but I'm sorry I couldn't be a soft-hearted person.

The damage has been done and he has shattered my heart to pieces, that's why I turned out to be this kind of person. A person full of hatred. A person who can never know how it is to be truly satisfied with life. Everything is temporary after all. Everybody will leave someday. Including me.

"I heard from Seishu you were beaten up to a pulp yesterday." Yuzuha said as she inspected my face carefully, cupping my cheeks into her palms. I replied with a not-so-convincing expression, "I-It's not that bad... Really." All of the pain in my body began to creep up on me.

Thanks for making me remember, Yuzuha.

Yuzuha exhaled a breath as she distanced her face from mine. She then crossed her arms and said with an attitude, "Will you stop associating yourself with those filthy gangs? It's only ruining you more and more. Physically." A drop of sweat glided down the side of my forehead with a forced smile flashed on my lips.

I didn't know what to say. Being a part of a gang, fighting, and watching battles are the only things keeping me entertained and distracted from what I've been shouldering.

I changed the topic, relocating her concerns to somewhere else until it had vanished. I asked with a bright expression on my face, "Yuzu, do we have a classmate named Haitani Rindou?"

She undid her arms as she now looked a bit surprised for me to ask such a question. Then, she snapped her fingers and said with a clueless thought, "I have never heard of that name before."

"You really had me there, Yuzu. I thought you had an idea." I responded. Yuzuha sat on top of my desk and continued the conversation with an interested look in her gaze, "You don't usually ask about other people. What is that person like?"