Unseen

Desperation

"Mide. Care to explain where you got that clip?"

Hm...Shit. How do I deal with an not-so-angry looking Kyouka, in the middle of the afternoon.

The only thing that was running through my mind now was try an excuse to get away from the 'sight for sore eyes' . My eyes dart around the room until it lands on a certain clock that reads: 6:35. 

"Um... t-time for dinner!" I stutter trying to change the topic. But suddenly to my aid, my saviour is here.

"Come on guys, I'm starving." Yuki-san pops up out of nowhere with a growling stomach.

"Guys it's only six-forty are you that hungry?" Oya oya. What's this? Kyouka Akajin is going to deny a dinner request from two starving people? How rude.

Kyouka only returned a sigh to us and went to the kitchen, earning herself a grin behind her back from Yuki-san and I. He seemed to have a fake smile plastered across his face, I soon figured out what it was all about. He dropped the whole 'act' and dragged me into his room, shutting the door behind him. 

Kyouka Akajin

I head towards the back kitchen but as soon as I hear Yuki and Mide shut themselves in the room, I break off and follow them.

"Okay. I know you went into the forest, don't worry though, I won't tell grandma." I push my ear against the door and hear Yuki's voice loud and clear with a hint of suspicion I don't take lightly. Of course I did know that Mide went back to the forest again, it's his escape from reality after all.

"I just want to know though, where did you get that clip? Kyouka seemed to know where that is from."

This was what I eavesdropped for. Where exactly did you, Mide Kazuku, get that clip? I was very sure, if my memory serves me right, Yuki's sister used to wear that clip very often during her visits. I don't know if it's just me or my imagination, but I can't remember Yuki's sister. 

Even after hours and hours of playing with her, nothing comes to mind about her; her personality, her appearance, her age, her voice, even the slightest detail about her life. Nothing comes to my head. The only thing I remember is that she existed once, I don't buy Yuki's excuse for her being busy; not one bit. 

I hear barely hear Mide's breathing, but it seems that it picked up the pace, by a lot. I've known Mide for some time now, that means he's hiding something. 

"Oh, um I found it in the forest! I picked it up by one of the trees." His voice sounds fake, even the chuckles he forced out sounded nothing like a real one. 

"Don't lie. I know that you're hiding something." Yuki threatens Mide and I hear a thump on the floor. Not wasting anytime, I run straight to the kitchen. After all, I know how Yuki is when he's angry. Though, it might be worse, he seems desperate.

I dig my way through the over crowded fridge and bring out the cold soba that rested at the back of the fridge, hiding from a hungry grandpa that scavenges the fridge for food way too often. Desperately rushing but trying to look calm, I grab the chopsticks from the drawer and set up the table.

I speed walk to Yuki's room but as I near my destination, I gradually slow down making my footsteps as loud and noticeable as possible. 

"Dinner's ready, hungry brats." I slide the door open trying to stay calm on the inside as I bring out a fake personality that I wear when they are around, "Eat it while it's still fresh. If you're not going now, no dinner for you two."

I seemed to have frighten the both of them as they silently obeyed me. I guess that's the only upside for my 'strict' personality. I follow them to the kitchen, cautious of both their actions and mine. 

They sit down and dig in while I take a seat near the window. I could feel a desperate aura float above the table as I barely spot Yuki's eye tear up as he slurped his noodles louder than usual. That's a sign that he's sad. 

Even though he moved in with us just a few years back, I can't seem to not notice his strange personality, it's fake yet real...he's the same as me. After my parents left me when I went for university, I had to move in with my grandparents because we couldn't afford to pay for an extra dorm, we're too poor. 

Yuki came in with us after I made friends with him through a few books we both took interest in. He looked like he had just lost someone, I later learned that he had lost his whole family. Learning that he had nowhere else to go and that he didn't want to go back to his house, I asked if he would like to live with us since it was lonely with just the three of us living together. 

Obviously, he said yes. 

Now, I naturally take responsibility over him and I feel like I'm close to losing his pure, innocent personality all over again.

Mide Kazuku

"Okay. I know you went into the forest, don't worry though, I won't tell grandma." I let out a sigh of relief but then it was soon destroyed by a curious Yuki-san, "I just want to know though, where did you get that clip? Kyouka seemed to know where that is from."

Should I tell the truth and tell him about Yuki-chan? I just realised that their names sound similar even though 'Yuki-chan' is Yujiro's nickname. Could they be related somehow?

"Oh, um I found it in the forest! I picked it up by one of the trees." I chuckle trying to lie to him. lie my way out of this situation. Although, it was somewhat the truth.

"Don't lie. I know that you're hiding something." Yuki-san's voice suddenly turned stern, serious but desperate. A hint of sadness creep up in his eyes as I barely catch an almost invisible tear fall down, but he quickly blinked it away. 

I sat down on the floor silently but that seemed to disturb Yuki-san even more. "TELL ME PLEASE!"

Yuki-san slammed his hand on the floor as I startle back, throwing my thoughts into the train that was now leaving the platform. 

I mumble Yujiro's name hoping that he didn't hear it, besides it was barely above a whisper. He didn't seem to hear me but his head dropped at my words. Was he reading my lips?

A certain someone burst through the door holding her voice somewhere close to shouting, "Dinner's ready, hungry brats. Eat it while it's still fresh. If you're not going now, no dinner for you two."

I jumped at her stern voice and so did Yuki-san as we both went after her with an unspoken thought of 'she's scary'.

I'm still grateful for her intervening though, his desperation was too much for me. I was very sure that he thought Yujiro was his sister. 

"頂きます(Let's eat)。" We ate in the deafening silence that floated around us. It was too obvious for Kyouka and I to notice, Yuki-san's eyes start tearing up as he slurped his soba. 

I knew he was desperate to find his sister that might not be dead, but I didn't know that he was driving himself mad because of it. 

Dinner passed by and so did an eternity as I left the plates for Kyouka giving myself a silent death glare from her. There was an unspoken 'YOU EXPECT ME TO WASH YOUR PLATES TOO EVEN AFTER MAKING DINNER?!'. Even though I knew she was mad, she went ahead and washed it anyway, thought she needed something to blow of that steamed.

I make a sprint to my room and lay out my futon before Yuki-san could interrogate me further. Pulling out my phone, I get comfy and try to get some shut eye before I could head back to the forest at 9:30. 

Scrolling through Instagram, I find a post about desperation. Wow, just what I need. I swipe right again and again enjoying the cool drawings of cartoons with quotes or either information about desperate people. 

Desperation can really kill you, huh?