Osaka Rain || N. Yuta [Completed (✓)]

七

Unasked Questions
未確認の質問

It had been over fifteen minutes since Sei had left them waiting—giving the excuse of going to the washroom. Haruna was seated on a belt swing, calling Sei numerous times just to find her number busy and her brother was strolling in front of her, repeating the same route again and again.

"I should have tagged along with her," she spoke, seeing how worried Yuta seemed. It was very rare to see those wrinkles on his forehead given he was the type to always be laid back in any kind of situation other than sports.

"Haru," he bent down to get on his knees in front of her, "Can you be a good girl and listen to your brother for once?" Haruna never knew that nodding as the response to his question would get her jailed in the children's corner.

It wouldn't even have happened in the first place if you hadn't come, Yuta-nii.

Yuta was searching for Sei through the whole place, rushing everywhere now that he was relieved to secure Haruna by asking the person in charge to never let her get out of that room.

The sight of the kids surrounding his fourteen years old sister was quite hilarious. But he could not enjoy it because of Sei being missing.

Yuta was still on the first floor, asking people if they had seen Sei by giving the description of her outfit, wondering how he would find her in such a huge mall. Something inside him knew that she was not in the washroom.

The sign in all capital letters stole his attention that said―ONLY EMPLOYEES. He looked around before giving a little push to the already opened door.

Sei was there―sitting in the dark―hugging her knees close to her body―burrying her head between them. Yuta locked the door behind him. The faint noise made her raise her head. She turned on the flashlight of her phone and pointed it towards him.

Yuta let out a grown as the blinding light landed directly on his eyes. The brunette giggled to see him grimacing. "I am sorry," she sweetly apologised.

"For ditching us back there or for almost killing me with your flashlight slash weapon just now?" Yuta plopped down beside her on the floor.

Her face lost it's color, remembering it. "I actually wanted to go to the washroom but I couldn't find it since it's my first time coming here. I also set my phone on airplane mode to avoid you two. Then I saw this storage type room—which was dark and empty. So I thought—"

"I won't ask anything," Yuta interrupted her monologue which was out of her desperate wish to give a plausible explanation. "So just tell me whatever you consider to be alright to let out. If you don't want to say anything and just sit like this in silence, that's okay too," he nodded as he spoke—trying to convince himself as well.

Sei exhaled deeply—making it seem that she was about to spill her whole life in front of him but instead, she asked, "Where is Haruna? Has she left already?"

Yuta let out a sigh—almost scoffing—then mentally rebuking himself. So much for being patient. "Someplace safe," he muttered—avoiding eye contact with the female.

Sei fiddled with the laces of her sneakers before drawing circles on the surface of them with her index finger. "I—uh—" It was clearly visible that she did not have this kind of talk with anyone before. Yuta kept staring at her the whole time whereas Sei was looking ahead.

"My parents got divorced last year," it was the first thing she managed to say. "Mom wasn't like this always. It happened after they had parted. People around me—my uncles, aunts, grandparents—my parents' friends, classmates and colleagues—they used to talk about how much they were in love with each other. But—"

Sei took a pause to breathe. A dejected smile adorned itself on her lips as she spoke again, "It's hard to believe—'cause I—only remember them yelling their lungs out at each other."

She shook her head before glancing at Yuta. "I'm so selfish, no? Forgetting the things they did to make me happy and recollecting just the things that hurt me."

Yuta did not say anything. For some reason, he felt that if he did, Sei would not reveal anything more about her. But it started itching him soon enough when she also fell quiet. He wanted to know more.

Would you choose to stay with your dad?

"Is that why, you left Miyagi?"

"No." Sei nonchalantly shrugged. "Miyagi is mom's hometown." Yuta pursed his lips, not being able to pry out the answers to his questions. "Then where did you live during middle school?"

"Yokohama—that's where dad lives."

Why did you leave Miyagi then?

The words got stuck in his throat as Sei's breath hit his face.