STANDING before Shizuku’s hospital room, I took a deep breath to steel myself. I looked up at the door, nodded, and stretched a smile across my face. One, two…
I swung the door open. “Shizuku, I’m here!”
She turned to look at me, one leg in her pants, the other awkwardly hovering in mid-air.
I gently closed the door.
Before you ask—yes, I do usually knock before entering my little sister’s room. This time, I just had a lot on my mind, unsure of how to face her after our last encounter, so I kind of forgot proper manners.
Disappointed at myself, I hung my head low and opened the door once more.
“Mio. What are you doing?” she asked.
“Um. I don’t know. Sorry.”
“I was a little surprised but it’s fine,” she said, obviously trying to cheer me up. “Did you come to see me, or did you come to awkwardly hang out in the hospital corridor? Come on, you don’t have all day. Or do you?”
“I do, actually, for once.”
Shizuku returned to her room and sat on her bed. I headed to the kitchen first to peel the apples I brought her. Yep, it surprised me too how casually I could just refer to the private kitchen in the private hospital room like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Mio,” came Shizuku’s voice. “I guess ‘for once’ means you’re usually pretty busy?”
“Hm? Oh, um, yeah. My part-time job, remember?”
“The modeling one?”
“Yeah, that one. The one Cousin— Miss Shizuki introduced me.”
That. Was. Close. Hopefully, she didn’t catch on to what I almost said. Of course, the real job Shizuki had introduced me to was the villainess one, but Shizuku couldn’t know about that. Just another lie I had to tell to keep her from worrying.
I returned to her room with fresh apple slices. “Here you go.”
“Thank youuuu.” Shizuku picked up a fork-speared apple slice and stuffed her cheeks, happily chewing away.
I couldn’t help but think she looked more…lively than usual. But I had to remind myself that Shizuku was a master of deception, her outward appearance was rarely a reflection of how she felt. However, I was sure that the prospect of a cure was at least a small sliver of hope if nothing else.
I’m going to make sure you receive that treatment, Shizuku.
“Why’re you clenching your fists so tight?”
“Huh? Oh! Nothing.”
Shizuku raised a suspicious eyebrow.
I gotta be more careful.
“Okay,” she said skeptically. “You said this Ms. Shizuki introduced you to your modeling job?”
“Yeah. All the clothes I model are from Sakurazaka Group-affiliated brands.”
“Oh, really? You know, I heard the photographer you work with is this young prodigy. He climbed his way to the top and absolutely hates playing favorites. So, I don’t know, it’s kinda hard to believe he’d take you on just because Ms. Shizuki said so.”
“How… How do you know that?”
“What, I can’t look out for my big sister?” She jerked her head away, a hint of a pout on her lips. Overwhelmed by her adorableness, I pulled her into a big hug. “M-Mio?”
“Hehe,” I giggled. “Your big sister appreciates your concern!”
“I-I can’t breathe!” she exclaimed, pushing me off with both hands. But she was smiling, the cuddle bug.
Suddenly, she started coughing.
“Shizuku?! Are you all right?!”
“I’m… I’m fine. I choked on my own spit is all.” She flashed me another smile. But something about it seemed forced.
“You’re not feeling any better, are you?” I questioned.
“I am. Seriously. I’m fine.”
She’d forgive me if I didn’t believe her. It was clear she didn’t want me to worry, a thought that gripped my heart tight. At the same time, I didn’t want to dismiss her efforts. I just smiled at her and said, “Okay. But make sure you tell someone if you’re feeling worse for wear.”
Gently stroking her chest, Shizuku returned my smile with a slightly wry one. “How about you just worry about yourself?” she said teasingly. “I said I’m fine.” She paused. “Yeah. I’m all right.”
“But—”
“For now, anyway.”
My heart shattered. “Shizuku…”
“I promise I’ll tell you if it becomes too much for me. I just…don’t like how I’m sitting here doing nothing while you run yourself ragged for my sake.”
“Running myself ragged. Really, Shizuku, it’s nothing so—”
“You honestly think I wouldn’t notice?”
Hearing her quiet, almost defeated reply, I gently held back my own. Shizuku probably realized that I was going to extremes for her, but would she ever guess that these extremes involved becoming a villainess and dying for her? Silence, I thought, would be my best bet to get her off my back, and yet…
She scoffed. “You know, this happened last time, too. You’re usually so quick to deny, but whenever it comes to this you just clam up. Like what could be so bad that you don’t even want to talk about it?”
Shizuku was growing more astute by the day. As I wondered how I might extricate myself from this line of questioning, my phone suddenly buzzed. “Sorry, I gotta take this. One sec.” Excusing myself, I hurried out of her room and into the hallway leading out to the lounge, when I ran into two familiar faces.
“Mom? Dad?”
“Mio…” My dad’s eyes widened when he saw me. Without another word, I rushed into their arms, embracing them tightly.
“Um, Mio? Are you sure you should be doing this?” Dad asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
When I first became a Sakurazaka, I was instructed to keep my origins as a Sato a secret. However, this was all part of a plan to trap those who dared to investigate my background. Now that the trap had been sprung and my origins revealed, there was no longer any need for me to maintain the pretense. After roughly explaining this to my parents, they hugged me back.
“It feels like so long since we last saw each other like this,” I admitted.
Dad smiled, glancing down at me. “Is it just me, or have you grown taller?”
“Okay, not that long, Dad.”
“Really? It sure feels like it. You’ve been doing okay?”
“Yeah. You too? Mom?” I turned to her, noticing her hand pressed to her mouth, her eyes glistening as if she might cry. Gently, I nuzzled my cheek against hers; she squeezed me tighter.
“Mio,” Mom said. “You’re doing fine? Like really, really fine?”
“Yes, Mom. Like I told you on the phone, I’ve been fine.”
“Okay, okay,” she said. “Sorry, I know I’m being fussy.”
Her hand on my back was quivering. Just how worried was she about my new life as an adoptee? “No, you’re not. But trust me, I’m fine.” I tried my best to reassure her, patting her back gently. She took a deep breath and released me from her arms.
“How you’ve grown since the last time I saw you,” she admired.
“Um, Dad just said that.”
“No, no, I meant more like…you’ve matured.” She paused and gave me a warm smile. “Did we catch you on your way out?”
“Oh my gosh, I forgot—I was supposed to be replying to a text. Can we do the rest of our catching up in a bit?”
“Of course, take your time. We’ll be with Shizuku,” Mom said.
“Okay. I’ll join you in a sec.” I waved them off and pulled out my phone, seeing a message from Shannon asking for a call when I was available. “Hey Shannon, I saw your message. Did something happen?”
“There’s been a development at the academy,” she reported.
An interesting tidbit must have reached one of the many students under the patronage of the Sakurazaka family. “It must be urgent if you’re reaching out to me like this?” I ventured.
“Not very,” Shannon replied. “It’s just that I am well aware of trouble’s penchant for finding you, so I thought it prudent to warn you before it takes you by surprise.”
“Yeah. Good looking out,” I said, only a little bitterly. But I couldn’t not acknowledge her point—not after what happened with Ruki at my old job and Nonoka at the entrance exam. Oh well, it can’t hurt to be more informed. “So? What is it?”
“It’s Azumaji and Saionji.”