Kibishi's POV

  Cling!

  "To humanity!" Everyone in the room shouted in unison.

  Gsses cshed against one another. The sound of ughter was all around.

  "Yeah, to humanity, haha!" "This stuff is great!"

  "I can't believe that we managed to get some progress done!" "I can't wait to tell my wife and kids about this!"

  "My son will love this syrup if I bring it home with me!" "This is delicious!"

  I could hear the commotion of the pancakes loud and clear. It seemed like everyone enjoyed them! I looked around with my orange juice in hand.

  Everywhere I looked, I could see everyone having a good time. Even those that I hadn't seen before were having fun.

  Even The Founder and Mato, who were sitting next to him, were enjoying the stuff that I created. The sight of that warmed my heart. And while that gave me some peace of mind, I still hadn't had it in me to apologize for my actions.

  I stared at Mato and slowly took a sip of my orange juice.

  I frowned and looked at the gss of juice once I finished it. Why am I like this? Why am I avoiding the problem instead of trying to solve it? Speaking of problems, when Tao tried to feed me the pancake, I ended up denying the officer. Seeing her sad made my heart ache, you know?

  I told her that she did more than enough, yet I didn't even have the guts to be like my old self again around her.

  I hated to admit it, but something had changed about me...

  I didn't like it. I hated it. I hated that idea.

  Why? Why must I change? Why do I have to feel this way?

  "Why?" I whispered as my vision began to blur.

  I scoffed and wiped my eyes. It seemed like tears were trying to form around my eyes when I least expected them. I took a deep breath and then breathed out. I couldn't waste any more time on this.

  I thought that, but my body wouldn't move.

  My friends were gathering something from somewhere. I knew that was vague, but that's because it was. They didn't tell me where they were going or who they were meeting. That's if they were doing the second part, that is.

  I continued to stare at the orange juice in my hand.

  The funny part of that was that I didn't particurly like orange juice. But... I think it reminded me of Tao, which was why I picked it.

  Ah.

  There I went again.

  Picking something that reminded me of my best friend. I slowly took out the same pstic bag with the heart-shaped pancake inside. Once it was within sight, I started to feel butterflies in my stomach. I liked and sort of hated this feeling. Before, it was the greatest feeling that I ever felt. But now? It was something that made me feel conflicted about myself.

  "I already told myself that no one would want me. Besides, there's no time for that type of thing," I whispered.

  Honestly, that was something I told myself to convince myself all this time. Maybe... maybe I just—

  "No! Stop it, Kibishi!" I scolded myself.

  I tightened my grip on the pstic bag.

  You can't. You won't.

  You can't make assumptions. You can't make mistakes!

  "... It'll be okay. It always does..." I whispered as I slowly looked at the roof.

  The happy sound of the cheering was disappearing as I could basically see nothing but darkness at this point.

  Like back then, there was nothing for me.

  My old life and interests had died within that bloodshed back in the day.

  There was no need to have such a thought! Besides, I had Tao by my side now! Yeah... yeah! Tao would never leave me alone in the darkness. Tao would never—

  "..." I felt my eyes shake in fear.

  I lowered my head as I continued to see the darkness.

  "... I should've gone with my friends..." I whispered in regret.

  Being alone wasn't fun at all. And David and Riley weren't there for me either. I knew they had their own lives, and they shouldn't worry about a guy like me, but still, I missed my friends.

  I missed my friends.

  I missed my family.

  I missed... my big sister—

  Ba-bump!

  I felt my heart race all of a sudden. I clutched it in a panic.

  What was that? Why did my heart skip a beat—?

  Tap.

  I felt a finger tap my shoulder.

  "Huh?!" I jolted back to reality.

  I looked to the side and saw Yosei with a bright smile and two cans of drinks.

  "Here!" Yosei grinned at me.

  "H-huh?" I stared at the drink.

  "What? Don't worry, it's not poison!" Yosei teased me as she pushed the drink into my free hand.

  "U-um, I already got a drink for myself so—"

  "Yoink!" Yosei grabbed the gss I held and drank the orange juice like it was nothing.

  "W-what?!" I blushed intensely.

  "All gone!" Yosei made the gss disappear, and then we heard a noise from inside the kitchen. I looked and saw the gss that I had just held, which was clean and neatly shelved away.

  "Now, you've only got one drink!~" Yosei stood next to me and opened her drink.

  "You can't just drink out of a guy's cup! T-that's an indirect kiss!" I panicked but didn't raise my voice loudly in case any adults were nearby.

  "Ah, don't sweat the small stuff! Besides, that thing isn't real!" Yosei pyfully bumped her shoulder against mine. This made me lose my bance a little bit, but I managed to regain it and stand up straight again.

  I blinked and stared at Yosei in awe.

  I saw her drinking her can and sigh dramatically as she raised her hand.

  "Ah! That hit the spot! Those pancakes were really good, Ki!" Yosei smiled brightly at me.

  "Um, thanks..." I slowly nodded.

  "Why so formal?! Come on, we're friends, right?!" Yosei patted my back.

  "Oof!" I steadied myself and narrowed my eyes at Yosei. "You weren't like that when you scolded me alongside The Founder..."

  "Come on! It was a misunderstanding! We thought you were cheating, that's all!" Yosei joked.

  "You can't cheat when you're not— never mind." I sighed and held my head.

  I heard Yosei scoff, and then she began ughing at me.

  "Ahaha!" Yosei ughed and ughed. Seeing that made me a bit angry.

  But— her company was welcoming, so I powered through it. Besides, I wasn't alone anymore, and I didn't want to drive away the person who was willing to stand by my side...

  "You miss them, don't you?" I heard Yosei's voice.

  I looked and saw Yosei look a bit sadder than before. I wondered why, though?

  "Who? Tao and the others? Well, I do, but now you're here so—"

  "I meant your family." Yosei interrupted me. Yosei looked at me with concern in her eyes as she tried to smile at me. "Don't you miss them? Your mom? Your dad? Your older sister? Don't you... hate the idea that you're all alone in this world without your family?"

  "..." I lowered my head, and my eyes automatically looked at my neckce.

  Inside it was an old picture of my whole family before they were gone. I grabbed the neckce softly and rubbed the gold part of it.

  "Don't you miss them?" Yosei asked me.

  Wow.

  I never thought that I would see the day that someone would ask me that.

  But since we were on the topic, I supposed I'd answer honestly...

  "Yeah. I miss them. Mom, Dad, and my older sister. I miss them a lot. I wish there were a way to bring them back to life, you know?"

  Press.

  Release.

  I made the gold neckce open and reveal the photo of my family.

  My mom and dad were out of frame, but my older sister was hugging me from behind as I grinned stupidly in front of the camera.

  "But they're gone. They can't be brought back to life..." I bluntly stated to Yosei.

  "Sorry to hear that..." Yosei closed her eyes in shame as she lowered her can.

  "But..." I slowly smiled.

  "Hmm?" Yosei opened her eyes curiously.

  "My sister. She might be alive." I turned to Yosei and showed it to her. "I might find her someday! After all, she wouldn't leave her home without a good reason!"

  "..." Yosei stared at the photo.

  Then, as if by instinct, she took the photo and stared daggers at my sister.

  "What kind of sister runs away from her family? Only a wicked person would leave her family to die." Yosei spoke so coldly and with anger. She must have been mad at the idea of my sister running away.

  "Someone who does that doesn't deserve your attention, Ki. I learned that the hard way."

  The hard way? Did she lose her family that day, too?

  If that was the case, then it was no wonder she would feel that way.

  "Does that mean Kevin isn't your real father?" I asked.

  "No, but I do love him the same as my real family. But... they're gone now. The creatures killed them when I was a child..." Yosei gripped the photo. "I... I miss them, too..."

  "Yosei..." I whispered.

  Yosei raised her brows and then looked at me in an embarrassed way. "A-at any rate, that sister of yours doesn't deserve your love! She ran away from you! From your family!"

  "..." I blinked.

  I looked at the floor.

  Yeah, Yosei was right. My sister ran away from her family for some unknown reason. It could have been a selfish one at that, too. But still—

  "...I can't bring myself to hate her, Yosei." I blurted out my honest feeling.

  "H-huh? Why not?" Yosei wondered.

  "Because I understand my sister more than anyone out there. Her intentions must be good." I smiled at Yosei.

  Yosei looked taken aback by my statement. But still, I continued.

  "I know it's a good reason. It has to be. After all, I haven't seen her dead body. And... and..." I smiled brightly. "The sister I know would NEVER be a bad person who would up and run away without a good reason behind it! That's what I believe."

  Yosei froze in pce.

  I ughed and scratched the back of my neck.

  "My sister isn't a bad person. Sure, she's a bit of a tease and can be a pain in the neck with those teasings, but she was always there to cheer me up whenever I was alone or down, so—"

  Cng!

  "Huh?"

  I saw Yosei drop her can without looking away from me. I then saw her hands shaking rapidly.

  "Huh? Yosei? Are you—"

  Thump!

  Yosei fell to her knees.

  "H-hey!" I went down on one knee. "Are you okay— huh?"

  What I saw— what I saw was something that surprised me. I never thought I would see such an expression from Yosei herself. The face she was making... was a very sad one.

  Her cheeks were red, her nose and ears as well. And for some reason, she kept clinging onto my photo. I also saw tears falling from her eyes. With her eyelids shut, I could hear her whisper.

  "Wow... wow. You would still...?"

  She whispered this over and over again.

  Wait, why was she crying?!

  "Yosei?" I whispered.

  "Why? How come?! S-she...!" Yosei covered her face as she continued to cry. "She abandoned you, yet you still love her?!"

  "Yosei..." I lowered my eyelids.

  Ah. Now I saw.

  What I said before must have triggered something inside of her. An emotion that had been hiding, I bet. I could sense some eyes staring at us.

  "Yosei. It's okay. You're not at fault here."

  "H-huh?" Yosei looked at me in awe.

  "Yeah, it's not your fault. It's not your fault that my family is gone now. And it's not your fault that my sister went missing that day, too."

  "..." Yosei lowered her head.

  "I know it must have brought back bad memories, and I'm sorry for that. But it's okay. You did nothing wrong. And what you feel about my sister's actions is valid, too. After all, she left without saying anything."

  "..." Yosei blinked and then scoffed.

  "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry about that." Yosei apologized.

  "It's nothing. I understand that you got completely emotional from my story." I offered my hand to her.

  Yosei stared at it and then smiled.

  "Yeah. You're a sweet guy, Ki. That sister of yours is lucky to have you as a little brother." Yosei grabbed hold of my hand, and I pulled her up.

  "Yosei!" I heard Mato's voice.

  I saw him rushing our way as fast as he could. Not only him, but Kevin as well, I believed.

  Once they made it, they both hovered over Yosei like concerned parents.

  "How are you feeling?!" Mato panicked.

  "Did that punk do anything to you that you didn't like?!" Kevin stared daggers at me.

  "Huh?! N-no—"

  Chop!

  Yosei lightly chopped Kevin's head.

  "Dad! Stop being mean to my friend!"

  "W-well, you were crying, so..." Kevin scratched the side of his face.

  "I'm fine, you two. Besides," Yosei looked at me. "Ki wouldn't hurt a fly!" Yosei's cheeks turned red as she mentioned that.

  I could feel my cheeks burning as well.

  Well, at least she was okay.

  "Is that so..." Mato looked at me.

  "Um, yeah!" I scratched the back of my neck.

  "Hmm... I still don't trust him, but I'll take your word for it for now." Kevin mumbled.

  "Dad!" Yosei made a pouty face.

  "Well, at least you're okay then!" Mato sighed in relief.

  I chuckled at that response.

  But then I frowned at the fact that I still hadn't apologized to Mato up to now. Should I do it or...?

  "Kibishi." Mato called out to me.

  "Y-yes!" I stiffened.

  "..." Mato just stared at me.

  Moments ter, he smiled and closed his eyes.

  "... Thanks for... sticking around. I know we had our fight and all, but I still wanted to show my appreciation for standing up for Yosei." Mato said.

  "Oh, no worries." I waved my hands at Mato.

  "Yeah, thanks. I still don't fully trust you, but I'm gd that my daughter wasn't really hurt." Kevin bowed to me. "Thanks for being her friend..."

  "Ah! N-no need to be formal! I did it because I wanted to!"

  I shook my head.

  "Yosei is a great friend and leader. I'm just doing my part!" I smiled.

  "I see. Well, that's good to hear." Kevin patted Yosei's long, yellow hair.

  "Right," Mato nodded.

  "O-oh, right! Mato!" I called out to him.

  "Hmm?" Mato looked at me.

  "..." I scratched my neck once more. I decided to carefully think about my words before I spoke again. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I hope we can put this behind us and... be friends once more, please? If you want to, that is."

  Mato stared at me.

  The stare was making me nervous.

  And to be honest, I didn't expect him to—

  "What are you talking about? We've been friends." Mato looked away casually, as if our fight hadn't fazed him.

  "Huh?" I blinked.

  "I mean, we fight, we argue, and then we go our separate ways. I sleep on it, and now it's a new day. I don't see the point in overthinking this, Kibishi." Mato said in a pyful way. He then smiled once more. "Of course, we're friends again. Friends sometimes have fights, you know? Let's just forget about it, alright?"

  "A-are you sure?! I was—!"

  "Eh. You're a teenager, and I'm an adult. There's nothing to think about. We acted our age, that's all." Mato started to walk away alongside Kevin. "Anyway, the pancake was great! I'd love to have them again!"

  Mato waved at us.

  It didn't take long before Mato and Kevin blended in with the crowd once again.

  Thump!

  It was my turn to go down on my knees and hold my heart.

  I could hear my heart still beating like no tomorrow. And just like me with Yosei, she went down on one knee and patted my back to calm me down.

  "Are you feeling better now?" Yosei whispered.

  "..." I scoffed and then suddenly ughed softly. "Of course, I am. I can't believe that he forgave me like that. He's... he's a good guy..."

  "Of course! Mato isn't the type to hold any grudges!"

  Drip!

  I felt tears falling.

  "Thank goodness..." I hugged myself as I softly cried to myself.

  I then felt Yosei wrap her arms around my neck.

  "It's okay. You did well to be strong, Ki." Yosei whispered in my ear.

  The tears wouldn't stop. I couldn't believe this. It was over. The guilt of ruining my friendship with Mato was finally over. I still had a lot to take in from his answer, but at least it was over.

  I didn't know how much longer I could have taken it if I had waited any longer.

  It was over.

  It was... over.