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"Reika, can I come in?"
She stays silent. After a long good silence, she softly answers. "Yes."
Ken immediately enters her unlock room to find his little sister hiding under the blankets of her bed.
He doesn't say a thing until he sits on the bed, patting her head under the blanket.
Then he asks the question.
"How long are you going to keep this up?"
She keeps her silence, hiding herself under layers of blankets.
"I'm not ready. I don't want to leave." She sobs, her voice was so fade that Ken had to bring his ears closer to her.
"All because Otousan wants our family to be more well-known to the public. And because Hanyu-ojiisan wants to be in laws with one of the royals descendants family. I have to pay the price?"
"It's not fair. Why don't Saaya-neesan and Jun-niisan marry? Why it has to be me..." She cries again, muffled the sound with her bowlster.
"Gomenasai... I know I shouldn't be like this... Our parents count on me and I..."
It truly breaks Ken's heart to see his little sister crying her heart out like this. It's like he's being torn apart watching Reika having an emotional breakdown, refusing to be someone's wife.
"What about your university?" Ken suddenly had an idea.
She stops her sobs. "Yeah. I want to go to Tohoku University. Staying here. I planned it with Yuzuru-san, as well!"
"That's clever," Ken smiles.
"Un, that way I don't have to leave with Yuzuru-san to Canada... We'll just be long distance husband and wife."
"See, yappari, my little sister is a kashikoi onnanoko¹."
Though, she doesn't looks a hundred percent relieved.
"Let's just... hope everything works out."
***
Yuzuru has been packing for an hour by now. But there's still more stuffs to pack. As he sighs over how troublesome it is, Saaya enters the room.
"Ah, Neesan. Perfect timing." Yuzuru can't hide his happiness. "Can you help me pack?"
Saaya wrinkles her forehead. "Since when do you bring so much stuffs to Toronto?"
"I don't know!" Yuzuru whines and stamps his foot on the floor like a child.
"Psh," she chuckles. "You're hopeless without Okaasan." She sits next to her brother and starts folding his clothes to the suitcase.
