Kazoku Futarikiri had never placed much value in labels - fat, skinny, loud, quiet, nice, mean. All they were good for was dehumanizing someone, trimming their existence down to a few adjectives.
But she was pretty sure she was a bad person.
Steal...
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After the final bell of the day had rang, I made my way to school gate, excited to go home for the weekend. I wasted no time packing up my items and leaving the building, grinning as a I felt the sunlight hit my skin.
The gate was in view, but a nagging feeling kept me from walking out of it. Leaving Kazoku to walk home alone would be cruel. Despite her stone face I knew she was lonely without Nikko. While I couldn't take that feeling away from her, I could distract her for a few minutes.
So I leaned against a nearby tree, scrolling through my phone to pass the time, glancing up whenever I heard footsteps pass me.
It wasn't long before I saw her. She appeared more put together than she had been the past few days. Part of me insisted it was because she was letting her hope of getting Nikko back fuel her daily life. Another part said it was simply because that's just how she is. Of course she was someone who would be falling apart from the inside out but still paint a misleading smile on her face.
As she approached I grinned at her, feeling my hear race momentarily when her stormy eyes met mine.
"Hey, Futarikiri," I greeted, pushing myself off the bark. I took a step towards her as I shoved my phone into my pants pocket, "I'll walk you home."
"You don't have to," she tried to assure me. I fell into pace beside her, holding my breath for a second when our shoulders brushed together.
"If I didn't want to walk you home, I wouldn't have waited for you," I told her.
"Thanks." Her muttered words made my smile on the inside. Her change in attitude was gradual, but I knew she was slowly opening up. The thought made me feel trustworthy and I was in no hurry to betray it.
Silence passed over us. I took a glance over at Kazoku, noticing her eyebrows knit together slightly as she glared at her feet. The fact that she was deep in thought was obvious. And I knew it was about Nikko.
Since he was taken it had become marginally easier for me to read her, and all the cues on her features led me to conclude that she was worried.
And anxious shiver made her twitch. Before I could bite my tongue I spoke, "Are you cold?" I asked. "It's pretty warm out."
Kazoku shook her head. She crossed her arms, a signal that I took to mean she was cutting herself off again. Her thoughts were running rampant, I could tell by the way her eyes danced with contemplation. But an answer never left her mouth.
