Youth Unsupervised

Chapter 11-Happy Family

I was pleasantly surprised when Saki knocked on my door the next day a little after noon.

"Hi," I said with a smile, opening the door. "Come in."

She stepped inside, set down the plastic bag she was holding, and took her shoes off. "Is Hiromasa here?"

"Yeah." I shut the door. "Upstairs."

She nodded and headed up the stairs. I followed her up to my room. Hiromasa was sitting on the rug in front of the TV, right where I left him.

"Hey, Saki," Hiromasa said with a grin.

"Here." She thrust the plastic bag at him.

He took it and peered inside. A smile spread over his face. He pulled out a sports drink and a bag of chocolate panda cookies.

"Thanks," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "They aren't for you, idiot. They're for Kanna."

"Oh." His face fell a little. "That's really nice of you. I'm sure she'll like them."

"Oh, don't pout." Saki put a hand on her hip. "I'm sure she'll share with you if you ask nicely."

He nodded with a smile and put the stuff back in the bag.

"Did you actually buy those legally?" I asked.

She looked back at me and glared. "I do buy things with money occasionally, you know?"

I put my hands up. "My mistake."

"How is she doing, by the way?" Saki asked.

"Pretty good." Hiromasa nodded. "She's feeling a lot better and her fever has gone down."

"Good," Saki said. "So what are you losers doing?" She sat down cross legged next to Hiromasa.

"Same old. Same old," Hiromasa said. "Just hanging out and playing video games."

I sat down next to Saki with my legs outstretched. "Plan on sticking around?"

"Yeah, well, I figure I've got to do that stupid homework sometime, not that I mind messing around a little first."

I smiled. "Glad to hear it."

She leaned back on her hands. "You guys are just going to have to get used to having me around." She poked me in the chest. "And you better have plenty of strawberry deserts at the ready."

"Of course." I chuckled.

Saki hung around for the rest of the day and showed up for the next few days after that, which put me in a much better mood. That is, until Monday, when my mother informed me in her obligatory phone call that she would be returning home with my father in a few days. Fantastic.

I suppose it shouldn't have bothered me so much when they came home. It's not like it really affected anything I did. I still stayed holed up my room, occasionally emerging to get food or bathe. The only difference was that two strangers I'd known my whole life roamed around quietly downstairs.

It must have been quite unusual for Saki when she showed up and some middle aged woman with her hair pulled back into a perfect bun answered the front door. I didn't hear her knock. I was leaning against the wall on my bed with earbuds jammed in my ears.

"Kaito," Mother said, knocking softly on my door. "Higoshi is here to see you."

She opened the door. Saki stepped inside and gave my mother a slight bow. My mother nodded and went back downstairs, leaving the door open. This gesture was simply for show. I'm almost positive I could've had sex with a girl downstairs on kitchen counter and neither of my parents would say a word. They would probably just get up quietly and leave the room, because doing otherwise would require them to do some form of active parenting. An act which I didn't believe either of them was capable of anymore.