"Yuki! Come down, quick! We need to go! I have Kenta's journal!" Ren shouted, aiming at the second-floor window, unaware that Yuki had already gone downstairs.
His action amused Yuki's mother. She was delighted to see that the two boys still shared such a strong bond.
"Why don't you come inside first? Yuki just woke up, and I don't think he'd be ready soon," Yuki's mother suggested as she put down the garden hose and opened the gate.
"I might get in the way, Mito-san," Ren said shyly.
"Of course, you won't. You're always welcome here. Come on in. Take your bike inside," she added, standing behind the gate, ready to close it once Ren was inside.
"I miss your cooking, Mito-san, and I haven't had breakfast yet," Ren jested while propping his bike against the wall.
"Really? Why don't you join Yuki in the kitchen? I'm pretty sure he's having breakfast," Mito responded, concerned.
"I'm just kidding, Mito-san. I've eaten. Okaasan would kill me if I left home with an empty stomach," Ren confessed, smirking. Yuki's mother gave him a skeptical look.
"Are you sure? You can have a second breakfast if you like," she insisted while slowly reaching for the broom and dustpan from the other wall. She wasn't done sweeping.
"No, I'm good, Mito-san. Arigato. It'll be hard to drive with a full stomach," Ren clarified as he backpedaled into the house.
"Okay then, if you say so. I made raisin bread. You can take some for later," Mito offered.
"Thanks, Mito-san. I'll take one then," Ren accepted.
"Good morning, Masato-san!" Ren greeted Yuki's father, who was watching TV and reading the newspaper in the living room.
Like most houses, Yuki's was unremarkable. Its design blended well with the neighborhood. It didn't feature a grand front entrance or a flashy walkway.
Instead, it had a standard panel door lodged into the corner of the garage. A small yard separated most of the house from the street.
They once had a narrow engawa that stretched toward the yard's edge but removed it to create more open ground space.
The garage was the only structure directly connecting the house to the road. The interior garage door and the exterior entrance door both led to the living room, where Ren had found Yuki's father.
"Ohayou, Ren! Have you eaten? Wait, where's that kid? Yuki! Ren's here." Masato briefly put down the newspaper and tried to stand up to peer into the kitchen. The living room was connected to the kitchen through a hallway that used to extend to the engawa.
"It's okay, Masato-san. I'll look for him. I think he's in the kitchen," Ren interrupted as he entered the hallway. He walked past Masato's home office, which was sandwiched between the living room and the kitchen.
He felt tempted to peek inside to see Yuki's unimpressive painting displayed on the wall but changed his mind when he noticed the door was closed. Ren was worried that Masato might hear the door slide if he opened it, so he tied his hands.
He found Yuki calmly grabbing a bite and sipping coffee at the kitchen table. Yuki's shirt was still unbuttoned, and his necktie was shoddily knotted.
YOU ARE READING
Killing Yuki
Horror...fully exposing his well-sculpted physique. The fine hair near the bulging bicep creates a stark contrast with the smooth, radish-white armpit. The bright light in the room failed to obscure the fine groove dividing his well-defined chest in half...
