Hʏᴏ̄ᴍᴀ's Wɪɴᴛᴇʀ Pʀᴏᴍɪsᴇ | Chigiri Hyōma √

06: Jealous

"You!" Ego's voice cut through the air, startling Ohara, who was engrossed in watching the soccer practice from her usual spot on the bleachers. Her heart raced as if it were trying to escape her chest.

"Uncle, could you please keep it down?" She sighed in exasperation. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"I thought your heart was already attacked and shattered by that Itoshi." Ego settled beside her, keeping his eyes on his team's play.

"Uncle!" She hissed, not wanting to dwell on that topic. "I'm trying to move on, but you're not making it easy."

"I see you're different now," he observed, adjusting his spectacles with two fingers. "Not as gloomy."

Conversations like these were rare between Ego and his niece in the Ego household. Initially uncertain how to raise Ohara when he first became her foster parent, he remembered her devoid of a smile until he began to show her how interesting was soccer. Despite Ohara not being particularly adept at playing soccer, Ego did his best to teach her when she was a child. Every evening, he played with her, unaware of how to be a foster parent. He believed that spending time with her, even without many words exchanged, might help build their bond from nothing to something.

As she grew up, their relationship evolved into something akin to friends rather than a typical father-daughter dynamic. They often bantered, mostly about Ego's unhealthy meals or her annoyance at his sarcastic jokes. Although Ego always 'tsk'-ed whenever Ohara's smile brightened the room, deep down, he was grateful to have saved her from the turmoil she experienced because of his elder brother.

He never attempted to contact his brother, knowing the dire situation Ohara and her mother were in. He silently prayed for things to return to normalcy and admired Ohara for her resilience, especially considering her mother's illness.

Until Itoshi entered their lives and turned Ohara's world upside down, undoing years of Ego's efforts to cheer her up. From the moment he took Ohara in, Ego knew his life would never be the same. Nevertheless, having her by his side made him feel content, knowing there was someone who truly cared for him, even if Ohara didn't openly display it.

"My friends dragged me to watch them play two weeks ago," Ohara responded to her uncle, her attention still fixed on the game. "That's when I realized how much I missed this feeling of happiness."

Ego 'tsk'-ed at her comment, surprised to see her smiling instead of getting irritated by his teasing. He playfully tapped her temple with two fingers, playfully causing Ohara to shout "Ouch!" as she turned to him with a scowl.

"Hey, I was talking to you," he raised his brow.

"Can't you see I'm busy, Jinpachi?" She retorted, a playful scowl on her face.

"Is that how you talk to your uncle?"

"Oh, you remembered something at last!" She rolled her eyes.

"Just like you remembered you've got brains!"

Their banter continued, and despite the sarcastic exchanges, they both secretly enjoyed these silly arguments.

"Oh, whatever." She rolled her eyes. "But don't forget your team is waiting, Mr. Coach."

She stuck her tongue out and walked over to the cement stairs where spectators typically sat. Ego refrained from smiling outwardly, content to see her breaking free from the shell that Itoshi and her mother's death had confined her in.

"Look at them, having family squabbles," Reo remarked, observing the bickering between uncle and niece from a distance. The others nodded in agreement, finding solace in the familial dynamics.