Chapter 16 Like Mother, Like Daughter

Like Mother, Like Daughter

It was almost 23:00.

It was already late at night. At least for Ichika, a junior high school student, it was time to go home.

She probably understands that. She looks at the clock…but the reason why she doesn’t want to go home might be that she hasn’t sorted out her feelings yet.

(…What should I say to her?)

To be honest, the second time Takeshi and Kaori cheated on me doesn’t change the depth of the hurt. It’s only natural because yesterday when I was at the scene, it was much more of a shock.

Therefore, it’s Ichika who is hurt in the current situation. As an older and neighborhood brother, I would like to comfort this girl, but…unfortunately, I had no idea what to do.

Should I just laugh it off and say I don’t care?

But she would see right away that I was lying.

Should I shun her and tell her it’s none of her business?

But she was so ashamed of his brother’s mistake as if it was her own…family’s shame. She also regrets that she deliberately estranged herself from me. Telling her that it’s none of her business in such a situation is useless because she doesn’t feel the same way.

So what should I do?

What should I do to make Ichika feel better?

When I thought about it…she made this suggestion.

“Can I take the responsibility?”

“…What do you mean by responsibility?”

“Responsibility for Takumi-nii’s unhappiness, you know.”

Saying that she got up from the sofa and…sat down on the floor.

I now look down at the woman sitting on the floor.

…It was a posture I had seen recently and it was fresh in my mind.

“Wait, you don’t have to go that far.”

I quickly tried to stop her, but it was too late.

She had already bowed deeply.

“Please let me help Takumi-nii to be happy…If I don’t——I’m sure I won’t be able to forgive myself.”

The proposal was for my sake, of course.

But it also seems to be for her sake.

“Actually, I have been in love with Takumi-nii…for a long time.”

And so the sudden confession began.

She slowly raised her head, looked me straight in the eye, and began to speak.

“Of course, I didn’t mean that I liked you as a man, I was just a kid back then, so I just thought of you as a cool neighborhood older brother.”

“…So that’s what you mean.”

“Did I startle you? I’m sorry for suddenly…but I backed off because I was sure that if we continued to be close, I would fall in love with you romantically as well.”

Maybe the timing coincided with when I told her about Kaori. Maybe Ichika made the decision to distance herself from me because she realized how much I was in love with her and how she felt about me.

“I didn’t want to bother Takumi-nii. I wanted you to be happy…Besides, I couldn’t muster the courage to stay by your side, so I ran away.”

“I don’t think it’s…Anyway, it’s true that you ran away. But I know Chika-chan was thinking about me.”

“Hehe. I’m glad you said that. But it’s also true that I wanted to run away. That’s why I regret it right now.”

She bites her lip when she says this. She seemed to sincerely regret her decision, and yet her face looked a bit angry…which reminded me of the past.

Come to think of it, Ichika was a surprisingly competitive girl——