Episode 17 – Fight with a kind childhood friend

I sat down on the couch and was offered a cup of tea. I took a sip and said simply.

“Two of them came to apologize.”

Runa’s expression moves with a jerk.

“I see…….If you came to my house, did you have an argument with her or something? If you’re uncomfortable, you can come stay with me again. Towa, you said you were going to leave after high school graduation, so you can stay with me until then. ……”

The old me definitely would have done that before.
I was spoiled by Runa, never saw my sisters, and was allowed to stay in the house all the time. ……

“…Towa?”

After several seconds of silence, I had found the right words to say.

“Runa”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for always looking out for me. And sorry…..Because they’re both my siblings”

Despite my thoughts, I respond in a dismissive manner.

These words alone would have conveyed the meaning.

Runa says in a voice that is sincerely surprised and trembling.

“What are you talking about Towa ……? They abused Towa a lot, didn’t they? They did terrible things to you, didn’t they?”

First frustrated face I’ve ever seen.
Everything Runa is saying is correct.

“I just heard why.”
“Why……?”
“They said they liked me so much that they were cold to me on purpose.”
“…… That’s not, that’s not a reason! Just because they like you is no reason to be cold!”
“Runa is right. But I don’t think I could have done anything about it if they had confessed to me that they had fallen in love with their sibling before they became cold. With me left with no answer, the two of them would be cold …… dislike each other, and maybe the result would have been the same.”
“That may be so, but ……. Towa is too kind. You can blame others more, you know? You can say that it’s not your fault, you know?”

Sadness and anger flashed across Runa’s face. It seems I have made her angry. …… Naturally?

“I’ve been thinking a lot about ……. What kind of relationship would I have been satisfied with before they went cold on me? I wanted a normal sibling relationship, sometimes friendly, sometimes fighting. They were very sorry for what they had done, but that did not mean that they had forgiven each other from the bottom of their hearts. But I thought I should give them a chance to start over. So …… I forgave them.”

Runa heard my words to the end this time. She turned her face down and clenched her fists as if enduring something.

Eventually, she slowly opens her mouth.

“I see. …… If Towa is okay with it, I’m fine with it.”

Runa looked up and smiled sadly.

(Runa POV)

Human bonds are fragile.
No matter how thick and strong the thread is, it can be easily broken just by someone getting in between.

As a matter of fact, I have seen that moment many times.

I thought the connection was irrelevant, that it was love, or trust, or bonding, or family.

When I denied it, I detected a faint hint of anger in Towa’s eyes. It was as if he was saying, “Don’t speak ill of my precious Sibling.”

Ah, I realize that’s true.
After all, you can’t beat siblings from the standpoint of a childhood friend.

Sisters who are much more than such childhood friends that it is natural to know them and to be next to them …….

“……, but I won’t give up.”

I breathed in as much as I could and put all my thoughts into my heart.

–Tomorrow, I will confess.