Love and Hate ‒ ʰᶦᵗᵒˢʰᶦ ˢ.

twenty two

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
Let's Start To Fix Things Up

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AND SO HITOSHI AND YOU STARTED CLEANING UP YOUR HOUSE. You cleaned your own room first while Hitoshi went to fix things in the living room. Slowly picking up pieces of the remnants of what used to be a perfect household, you felt your heart start to ache again as you slowly put your boxes back to its cabinets and the clothes back to the closet. You took a deep breath and closed your eyes, only opening them when Hitoshi called out to you from the living room. Seeing that you have finished arranging some of your things, you walked out of your bedroom to see Hitoshi holding up a baby picture of you.

"Where the fuck did you get that?!" You exclaimed as you went down as quickly as possible. "And how the fuck were you able to clean half the living room in just minutes?" Hitoshi shrugged as he flipped your picture for you to fully see it. "I just know how to arrange things. I've stayed here for two months, in case you forgot."

"Right, right..." you nodded as you squinted your eyes, slowly picking the picture and sliding it off Hitoshi's fingers. "I remember this place. We used to live here before dad got the promotion." You smiled slowly, the good times flowing back to your mind as you chuckled slowly. "If only Eri was around at this time, everything would have been so much nicer!" The smile on your face was wiped off as you heard the opening of the front door. Hitoshi's eyes widened as he slowly gulped, watching your figure slowly stare at the small living room entrance, waiting for whoever it is that arrived.

"Oh, it's nice to see you kids are here!" Yshi gushed as she dragged a drunk Naomi into the living room couch. Apparently, the two had been bar hopping the past 2 hours and Naomi was the only one who got drunk after the first drink at the first bar. "And I see you decided to clean the place up..."

"Was it always a mess?" You asked as you tilted your head, the female nodding her head in response. "What's that you're holding?" Yshi had pointed to the picture in your hand and you cocked your eyebrows in surprise, stuttering in response. "O-oh, Hitoshi found it while cleaning the living room. I think it belongs t-to dad..." Hitoshi excused himself from the conversation and continued to clean the remaining mess in the living room. "I miss Shota!" Naomi had now screamed and cried on the sofa as the female slowly made her way to lay down. "My whole family's a mess, Ms. Yshi. I don't know what to do. I feel like this is partly my fault," you sighed as you looked down, facing the picture to the taller female.

"I can't say it is your fault but I also can't say it isn't. I can see why you reacted that way and why you got upset. And I can also see why your father does the things he does." Yshi placed a hand on top of your head. "Yes, I know he's always an overkill but both of you just wanted to prove to one another how you love each other. However, the communication may have gone terribly wrong and you had misunderstandings along the way." You nodded and she continued. "But before we actually figure out what to do next, can we try to sober your mom up?"

"Ms. Yshi?"

"Yes?" As the female turned to look at you, she felt the pang in her heart increase in volume as you intently stared right into her eyes. "Can my family stay here again?" The request was rather simple to say but for it to happen, especially if Naomi sobers up, might be a little too hard to put into action. "What made you change your mind, (your name)?"

"Hitoshi talked some sense into me earlier and he said that even if I couldn't forgive my dad, I should look at the people who still need him too. My mom still loves him and of course, she needs him as well. My sister wants to come home too," you sighed. "It hurts to see your family torn apart by yourself and your father." Yshi chuckled, understanding your predicament well. She told you to go get changed for a while before all of you would have a small meeting before Shota arrives. Yshi was sure he had a lot of paperwork today so he would probably come home late.