Famima!

Chapter 4

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During lesson 1.

「Second year cla.s.s 6 Kazuki Outaki-kun. Please come to the student guidance room.」

During lesson 2

「Second year cla.s.s 6 Kazuki Outaki-kun. Please come to the student guidance room immediately.」

During lesson 3.

「Second year cla.s.s 6 Kazuki Outaki-kun. Please come to the student guidance room as soon as you can.」

During lesson 4.

「Second year cla.s.s 6 Kazuki Outaki-kun. Please come to the student guidance room at the speed of ligh– kyaaaa.」

–––.

–––––––.

And now, it was after school.

"I"m sorry for the trouble."

Kazuki bowed his head and closed the students guidance room"s door,

"Ha..."

He sighed so deeply it felt like ectoplasm would leak out of his body.

Tug tug. There was someone tugging at Kazuki"s uniform sleeve.

"Onii-chan, what"s the matter?"

She had clear white skin with blond twin tails.

"If something is troubling you, then I will help."

The girl who was wearing the same school uniform as Kazuki was holding a briefcase that didn"t suit her.

She was the source of his troubles: Sabrina.

"...?"

It looked like she couldn"t understand that she was the source. She looked back at Kazuki"s pleading facial expression, puzzled.

He thought it would only be for a day; however, thanks to his parents, Sabrina had already been enrolled in the school and was now in attendance.

Sabrina, who just entered first year, attracted a lot of the boys" attention and hearts with her cute appearance. She was even well received by the girls for defeating the PE teacher Kitajawa. Obviously, she didn"t care at all about the attention. She acted just like before; not paying attention to anyone but Kazuki.

Even though Sabrina was warmly received by the students, due to her severe lack of common sense, she was continuously in trouble. Sabrina wasn"t an easy student for the teachers to deal with.

The school had taken emergency measures and placed Sabrina in Kazuki"s cla.s.s for self-studies, because she would only listen to him. She was so behind on her j.a.panese, English, and mathematics that she was given worksheets to do.

However, she wasn"t completely quiet. She caused all sorts of trouble, like throwing b.a.l.l.s like a cannon in PE cla.s.s, throwing a knife at a cla.s.smate who approached her from behind during cooking cla.s.s, and biting Saki"s hand while she was trying to teach her.

Because of her behavior, Kazuki and Sabrina have become regulars at the Student Guidance Room.

Even today, the two of them were lectured until school closed (Sabrina was expressionless as usual, so she didn"t seem to mind).

"They called us here again. But I didn"t want to trouble you..."

Sabrina looked down as she weakly grabbed Kazuki"s sleeve. She usually didn"t care what other people thought of her, but it looked like she didn"t want Kazuki to dislike her.

Prior to living in Kazuki"s house, Sabrina was training to become an a.s.sa.s.sin, and was forbidden from leaving.

It wasn"t surprising to see her struggling to adapt to her new environment. Sabrina was doing her best, so it was impossible for Kazuki to be angry at her.

"It"s ok, you can adapt bit by bit."

When he patted her head, her expression lit up slightly. Sabrina was able to understand if Kazuki explained it properly. Sabrina would be able to fit in and get accustomed to her life here someday.

However;

"Si, today I learned that you are not allowed to make a dry ice bomb in the school"s home economics room."

"Uuu... I see. You"ll get used to it."

But that "someday" seemed so far away.

On their way back from school, the siblings headed towards the shopping district.

Since it was nearly dinner time, a lot of people were on the streets. The street was rowdy with shopkeepers doing cooking demonstrations and holding various other events to attract customers. The smell of delicious food was in the air.

"Sabrina."

"Si?"

When Kazuki said her name, Sabrina who was standing still turned around.

"Are you alright? Did anything happen? You seem to be really out of it today."

"No."

"Then is there anything that you want to eat? I"m still undecided on what to have for dinner."

"I don"t mind what we have, as long as I"m with you, Onii-chan."

"I"m really happy to hear that, but.... I wonder what we should have for dinner."

Saying "hmm," Kazuki thought about what he should cook.

"He–y, Kazuki."

Someone called out to Kazuki. Across the road at a different shop, Kazuki"s cla.s.smate Ryouta poked his head out.

"Oh, it"s you Ryouta. Looking after the shop?"

"Something like that. They caught me, on my day off from my clubs, too."

The shop 「Miyamoto Butchers」 was run by Ryouta"s parents. They were famous for their cheap and delicious meat.

"I"m bored, so just buy something from us."

"Wait, that"s completely unrelated. But hmm, meat huh..."

"Take a look, this is a really good cut of meat. Right now..."

Peek. From behind Kazuki"s back, Sabrina peeked out. Ryouta, who was just about to say the price, had a weak spot for cute girls and quickly turned his eyes away.

"–It"s free! Take it, you thieves!"

"Free!? But this looks pretty expensive, is this okay?"

"Don"t sweat the small stuff, it"s alright. Anyways, these expensive cuts don"t get sold unless it"s a special occasion. Moreover, my dad only displayed these for his own satisfaction. Also, the meat probably wants to be eaten by Sabrina. Think of this as my present to Sabrina. Please accept it."

Sabrina"s eyes lit up with a shine.

Ryouta was beaming at Sabrina when suddenly; a thick and hairy arm appeared behind him and held him in a headlock.

"Kugh, father! Ahhhhhhh."

And just like a vise, Ryouta"s head started to get crushed.

Ryouta"s face changed colors like the traffic lights. Kazuki quickly realized what was going on.

"Ah, h.e.l.lo Mr. Miyamoto."

He had forgotten to greet the shop owner when he first came in. Ryouta"s father raised his hand in a "hey" gesture.

"That"s not what you should be saying! Save– ughh."

Ryouta"s father held his son in a headlock and started to tighten it mercilessly.

"Uh, I"m sorry about that. I wasn"t thinking of taking it for free anyway..."

Kazuki gently tried to refuse, but Ryouta"s father told him "no" with his hands. With a series of elaborate gestures, Ryouta"s father said a man does not go back on his word.

Kazuki refused again and again, but in the end he wasn"t able to win against Ryouta"s father.

After being pressured, Kazuki took the high cla.s.s meat.

"Then I"ll gratefully take this, thank you very much. Sabrina, you should say thank you as well."

When Kazuki urged her, Sabrina also bowed her head in thanks.

"Eh heh heh. It"s alright. Anyway, come visit us again. Next time we"ll give you even more service than today. But father, why are you dragging me inside the shop... whoa–aaaaaa."

The desperate cry for help from his friend could be heard even outside the shop, but Kazuki decided it was just his imagination.

Sabrina walked around Kazuki and stood in front of him.

"Onii-chan, who was that person? He seems to know me."

"..."

Ryouta... you"re such a pitiful guy.

With that thought, he and Sabrina left the Miyamoto Butchers.

"Hey Sabrina, what should I cook with this meat?"

"Yakiniku[1] of course! We"ve done it daddy! It"s a homerun for tonight!"

Someone jumped on his back from behind. Something bouncy and soft wrapped around his head. Kazuki jumped forward to see who it was.

"I-Izuna-san!?"

The thing wrapped around his head were a pair of b.r.e.a.s.t.s. When he realized this, Kazuki blushed furiously.

"Hey Kazuki-kun. Ah, by the way Sabrina, when I say ‘It"s a homerun for tonight"...."

"Who–ah. Don"t teach her anything funny please!"

Kazuki spoke loudly enough to cancel out Izuna"s voice.

Izuna was a poor nun who put on an innocent face while hugging Kazuki or while committing s.e.xual hara.s.sment (physically or mentally).

She had moved into a cathedral near Kazuki"s house and visited his house frequently for food.

"h.e.l.lo."

From behind Izuna"s back, a girl wearing the same school uniform as Kazuki appeared shyly.

It was Saki Kinos.h.i.ta - Kazuki"s cla.s.smate, who was popular because of her pa.s.sion for looking after people and because she didn"t discriminate between males and females. Kazuki actually had feelings for her.

"You"re coming back from school quite late today. ...Oh, were you grocery shopping?"

"Y-yeah. I was..."

Ah... Kinos.h.i.ta was really pretty.

While the two of them were talking about dinner, Kazuki imagined Saki in an ap.r.o.n. It really suited her.

It looked too good... if only he could see it in real life.

But what if Kinos.h.i.ta"s cooking didn"t taste good? No, there"s no way that"s possible.

For some reason, he accepted it to some extent.

Whenever Saki was near him, Kazuki always got nervous. To avoid being found out, he started a conversation.

"W-what are you doing here Kinos.h.i.ta, Izuna-san? I-it"s a strange pair. Did you have something to do?"

"Yeah. I went to Izuna-san"s cathedral and helped her plant the seeds. I"ve been visiting a lot these days to nurture them."

Saying "Take a look," Saki showed him the bucket that she held in her hands.

Inside, there were a pair of work gloves, various shovels, a plant nutrient package and various other things.

Gardening was Saki"s hobby, which she inherited from her mother (who is a gardening teacher).

"I-I see. It must be hard work."

"Not at all. The cathedral has a large yard, so it"s rewarding to work with it. It"s quite fun."

From Saki"s face, a smile bloomed.

Kazuki was able to talk to Saki because he stayed after school thanks to Sabrina. With that, it felt like he had been repaid for his effort and the trouble he went through today.

"Did the seeds you planted sprout already?"

"They did sprout... but before they grew any larger, Izuna-san ate them."

"Nya ha ha. I was hungry, you see."

"Are you a wild beast that attacks agriculture?!"

Kazuki yelled at Izuna who was scratching her head in embarra.s.sment.

"Even if you"re hungry, you shouldn"t eat seedlings! You didn"t need to eat them anyway! What happened to that?"

"That?"

"You won the raffle at the store three days ago."

Actually, while he was pa.s.sing through the shopping district a few days ago, Kazuki saw Izuna winning the third prize - 10kg of rice. Kazuki remembered it clearly because Izuna started squealing and jumped on Kazuki out of excitement.

"Ah- you mean that. I ate it all bit by bit... in 1 day."

"No, that can"t be right, how much do you eat in one day!? You"re a religious leader, right? Have some self-control!"

It seemed like poverty made her stomach grow to suit her irregular lifestyle.

Shiver.

While he was occupied with Izuna, Kazuki noticed an unusual atmosphere. It was coming from Sabrina and Saki who were looking... no, to be precise, who were glaring at each other.

Sparks flew between them, but Kazuki only felt the chilly atmosphere, not the reason for it.

"Uuu..."

"... (Stare)."

"Did something happen between you two?"

"Uuu– oh, it"s nothing Outaki-kun."

"Si. No problem."

Squish. Sabrina"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s pressed onto him.

"Ah!"

Saki widened her eyes with and let out a small yelp.

"W-what? What did I do?"

"N- no, it"s not like that. It"s nothing. Anyways, Outaki-kun and Sabrina are always together, aren"t you?"

"Si. Of course."

"Since you"re just siblings."

"..."

As if she was trying to cut off Sabrina, Saki smiled brightly at her. However, Sabrina wasn"t intimidated. Although she was expressionless, her eyes gave off a sense of leisure.

"Si. We"re just siblings. Non blood-related siblings, at that."

"Eeep."

Being countered by Sabrina, Saki was taken aback so much that her eyes started tearing up.

"We sometimes sleep together."

Sabrina subtly added something that was a huge deal.

"Ehh-!?"

"Wait– Sabrina."

The Omertà that he formed with Sabrina had extended into their everyday life. The 7th rule was:「Sabrina can sleep with Kazuki when there is a thunderstorm or when she has a nightmare and can"t sleep by herself.」

"You"re... lying!?"

Saki lost the strength in her legs and kneeled.

"K-Kinos.h.i.ta, i-it"s not like that! We did sleep together, but there was a good reason for it. And like I said before, she"s just my sister, so I wouldn"t do anything strange to her!"

"...I can"t believe... that the two of you have developed your relationship like this... at this rate... no, I can"t give up.... No, Saki! Your cousin Hiroyuki-kun"s manga had that line ‘It"s game over the instant you give up.""

"So just listen to me–"

Saki was in a monologue with herself, so Kazuki"s words didn"t reach her.

Izuna crouched down and gently wrapped her hands around Saki and Kazuki"s shoulders.

"You two, in the bible, there is this saying... ‘be fruitful and multiply." I"m sure bigamy is allowed."

"Izuna-san should quit being a nun!"

She held her thumb up, but she held it in a different way. It was slightly indecent.

After separating from Saki and Izuna, the siblings left the shopping district and were walking home. It was just over 6 o"clock and there was no-one on the streets. The evenly s.p.a.ced out street lamps were useless, but they lit up the path. Every now and then, the street lamps flickered, adding to the gloominess of the lonely street.

"Ha... I really need to clear up the misunderstanding sometime."

Being misunderstood by the girl he liked was so cruel. Kazuki was still shocked and he was wobbling as he walked, but abruptly Sabrina stopped walking.

She stood under the street lamp.

"... What"s wrong?"

"What do you want from us?"

"Eh? What do y–"

Sabrina was looking at Kazuki... no, she wasn"t looking at him, she was speaking to what looked like an empty s.p.a.ce.

Her voice sounded stiff and nervous.

Now that he thought about, Sabrina had been acting strange; looking behind her once in a while and not paying attention to Kazuki.

Kazuki looked around him, but he couldn"t spot anyone.

"Sabrina, what"s going on–"

The flickering street lamp turned off.

Push.

Sabrina gently pushed Kazuki. He was pushed back about the distance of a single footstep.

Then a shadow pa.s.sed between them, followed by the sound of something hard breaking.

"Huh?"

Kazuki was puzzled. He looked down at his feet.

The asphalt was cracked, and next to the crack there was a shadow from a kneeling human.

It was this person who made the crack in the street.

The shadow threw a punch straight away.

It was fast.

Kazuki couldn"t respond to the punch at all.

"Ugh!"

He didn"t even have a chance to blink.

Slowly, as if he was watching in slow motion, the punch headed straight towards Kazuki.

However.

Before the punch came into contact with him, Sabrina swung her briefcase, or her ‘toolbox", at the shadow.

"––!"

The shadow leapt backwards. But as it did, it threw something at them.

Whatever it was flashed before Kazuki"s eyes.

At the same time, his view was covered by something.

It was Sabrina who swung her briefcase in front of his face.

With the sound of a metal clashing, a slim knife fell to the ground.

While Sabrina was blocking the knife, the shadow leapt up and prepared its next attack.

The shadow was only aiming for Kazuki.

Shortening the distance, the shadow launched a spin kick at him.

Sabrina blocked the kick and countered by swinging her briefcase.

Clang.

The sound of metal on metal rang out again while sparks flew. The shadow must have installed metal plates on its shoes.

Sabrina and her opponent"s strength were almost equal... no, the opponent was slightly stronger.

Sabrina was flung and lost her balance slightly.

The shadow didn"t miss the opportunity, and swung its fist once more at Kazuki.

Sabrina let go of her briefcase (which was the reason for her imbalance) and pushed Kazuki away from the punch.

Whoosh!

The punch nearly scratched Kazuki"s cheek.

With her free hand, Sabrina launched a backhand at the shadow.

"Tsk."

The shadow clicked its tongue and crouched down. At the same time, it performed a low kick which was like the scythe of a grim reaper at Sabrina.

Predicting the low kick, Sabrina jumped about 20cms off the ground.

The kick cut through the empty s.p.a.ce.

Both their attack and defense were flawless.

Stepping away from the shadow, Sabrina prepared herself and launched a chop at the shadow. The shadow arched its back to avoid it. It grabbed Sabrina"s hand that was attacking and threw her away.

As Sabrina was sent flying, she spun in midair and landed closer to the shadow than she was before.

The shadow responded to that.

"... Uuu."

"Ha!"

Flash.

They pa.s.sed each other. But neither of them received any damage.

Turning back, both Sabrina and the shadow removed a pistol from their sleeves, instantly taking aim at each other.

The guns were aimed at each other simultaneously.

The two of them stopped moving.

"..."

The atmosphere froze with the pair eyeing each other.

Finally, Kazuki had a chance to come back to his senses.

Huh? Huh? What the h.e.l.l"s going on?

Was it aiming for me!?

I haven"t got a clue as to what"s going on!

While Kazuki was trying to comprehend the situation, the street lamp turned back on. The ident.i.ty of the shadow was revealed by its light.

She was wearing a tight black suit that blended into darkness. She had semi-long silver hair that reflected the lamp"s light and a pair of bright grey eyes that looked cool.

She was wearing adult like clothes, but she barely looked over 20 years old.

"What are you doing Sofia[2]?"

"Sofia...? Sabrina, do you know her?"

"Si. She was in charge of my education back in Italy."

Sabrina"s education?

As Sabrina looked at Sofia, Kazuki could see the pain on her face. It was an expression he had never seen her make before.

"That"s what I should be asking you, Sabrina."

Sofia spoke with an elegant voice. She stopped pointing the gun and glared at Kazuki.

"I was just trying to remove the evil person who"s seducing you."

"Seduce!? I seduced Sabrina!? What are you saying!?"

"Silence, you dirty person. You don"t have the right to retort. How dare you kidnap my lovely Sabrina?"

"Kidnap!? It"s a misunderstanding!"

While Kazuki was getting grilled by Sofia, whose eyes were threatening enough to kill, Sabrina extended her help.

"No. I wasn"t kidnapped."

Sofia, who had been interrogating Kazuki at a frightening speed, stopped talking upon hearing her words.

"If you didn"t get kidnapped... you were abducted?"

"No."

"Were you taken by force?"

"No."

"Did they lure you with candy?"

"No."

"You"re just asking if she was kidnapped!"

"You shut up. Then Sabrina, are you telling the truth?"

"Si."

Sofia crossed her arms and thought for a bit.

"...Why don"t you tell me in detail."

The group was now in the living room of Kazuki"s house. Kazuki and Sabrina sat on one side of the table, while Sofia sat on the other. Sabrina was clinging to Kazuki as usual.

Kazuki explained to Sofia how Sabrina came to his household. Sofia continuously checked with Sabrina for confirmation.

"So, you really didn"t get kidnapped?"

"No."

After repeating the question multiple times, Sofia believed them for now.

"...I heard that Sabrina was abducted, but it seems like the information was wrong. If Sabrina hadn"t been there, I would"ve killed you for no reason."

"No, no! I don"t want to be killed for no reason!"

"Do you have a complaint?"

Flinch.

"No, I"m glad that the misunderstanding was cleared up..."

He stood up to complain, but when Sofia glared at him, he quietly sat back down.

Sofia drank the coffee that Kazuki brought out.

"So, how is it?"

She asked while biting onto the cup.

"Eh?"

Kazuki didn"t know what she meant. Sofia quietly asked the puzzled Kazuki.

"I understand that you didn"t kidnap her, but I want to complain about you stealing my one and only Sabrina, who is only mine, and doing indecent things to her. "

"What? Indecent acts—!? I-I-I-I don"t! Moreover, it"s been bothering me for a while that you"ve been saying "my lovely" and "only mine" while talking about Sabrina!"

"Oh, so what? My j.a.panese is perfect. I was speaking my thoughts honestly."

"But, both of you are females..."

"Gender does not matter when it comes to love. My love for her is genuine and platonic."

While saying that, with a fluid motion, she ran her fingers through her hair.

"As an educator, Sofia is slightly obsessed with her duties."

Kazuki thought that was an understatement, but didn"t say anything to Sabrina. In this world, some things are better left unsaid.

"Anyway, did you really not do anything indecent to Sabrina?"

"I won"t forgive you if you lie," was the expression Sofia had on her face.

"I-I haven"t!"

Sofia narrowed her eyes and glared at Kazuki.

"Like looking at her naked body?"

"... Ha ha, ha."

"Or going in the bath together?"

"... N-no way."

"Or maybe sleeping under the same quilt?"

"..."

"Or stealing Sabrina"s underwear?"

"I didn"t go that far! ...Ah."

He dug his own grave. Kazuki started sweating like a waterfall.

"..."

Ka chunk.

"Whoa—! Please don"t pull out your gun like it"s nothing!"

"... Underwear. Umm, Onii-chan, if you"re interested... I wouldn"t really min— upp."

"Just be quiet and don"t make the situation worse!"

Kazuki hurriedly blocked Sabrina"s mouth with his hand.

"I understand. As expected, you used this situation to your advantage and did such things to Sabrina... and to release your l.u.s.t, you went to Sabrina every night and— pfft."

Sofia started to get a nose bleed. She held a handkerchief in her hand and tried to stop it.

"... I got too excited thinking about it."

What happened to her pure and platonic love?

"Got any complaints?"

"... No."

Facing Sofia"s menacing glare, Kazuki looked away.

"A-anyhow, those things happened, but they couldn"t be helped! What Sofia-san is imagining didn"t happen at all, so please don"t be so concerned!"

Sofia looked at Kazuki like a predator looking at prey, but she then sighed loudly.

"Well, I guess it"ll be fine. My introduction is a little bit late, but my name is Sofia Olivia. I am the capo[3] of the soldiers in the Jevini Family, and I"m in charge of Sabrina"s education and training."

"Soldiers? Capo?"

"Don"t you know anything about the mafia?"

She scrunched her eyebrows at Kazuki, who had a question mark hovering above his head.

"Listen carefully. The mafia has the following hierarchy in descending order: the boss, underboss, consigliere and the solder. Mafia is a word to describe this group and other secret organizations that follow a similar rank pyramid. Mafia groups are referred to as a "Family". Each Family has their own unique "Code of Submission" and "Code of Silence" (Omertà), and that"s what keeps the mafia families so closely bonded to each other."

"Right... I see. So there are a lot of different types of mafia. Since Sofia-san is a soldier in the hierarchy..."

"Got something to say about that?"

Sofia pointed the gun at him.

"I don"t! I told you to put that away!"

"Hmph, I"ll move up soon. I can"t stay still in my current ranking for long."

She muttered to herself and placed her gun back.

"Ah, my name is—"

"I know, you"re Kazuki Outaki."

"Eh? How did you know?"

"I looked into it. Well, as expected, there wasn"t that much information."

Sofia cleared her throat in dissatisfaction.

She looked into it? As expected? Kazuki wanted to know.

"Thank you again, for looking after Sabrina. Son of the "Happy Crown"."

"Pardon? Happy... what?"

""The One who Ridicules Death". I"m talking about your parents. They"re quite famous in the underworld."

"Famous!? My parents are!?"

"There isn"t a single person in our world that doesn"t fear the name "Happy Crown". They are famous for destroying a gang just for b.u.mping into them on the street, or for making the boss of a Family kneel to them while skydiving 2000 meters off the ground, or even for making every single cat in Italy follow them."

"Wait, what was the last one just now!?"

"Well, I wouldn"t want to go against them either."

He was completely ignored.

How saddening... but before that, his parents.

Kazuki has always thought it was very suspicious for his parents to be treasure hunters, but it seemed like his parents were big shots in the underworld. The couple spreads trouble, not only for their son, but across the globe as well.

Kazuki felt like he should apologize for his parents" actions.

"But aren"t you the successor of your parents and the mafia? How come you don"t know anything about them?"

"I"m just a normal civilian!"

At Kazuki"s outburst, Sofia hung her mouth wide open.

"You"re joking?"

"I"m serious!"

Kazuki yelled out.

"Do you even know how much I prepared when I heard that Sabrina was kidnapped?!"

"Unfortunately, I"m just a normal person. I don"t intend to succeed them."

Kazuki curtly replied. Sofia could only look at Kazuki blankly.

"Right, just a civilian..."

Sofia raised her shoulders like she just lost interest and turned her gaze back to Sabrina.

"Sabrina, pack your bags. We"re going back to Italy."

"Huh, what are you..."

Going back to Italy?

Even though she just said something very important, Sofia put on a relaxed face. As Kazuki sat there astonished, Sabrina asked:

"What"s going on?"

"The boss"s will has been found. To summarize, he wrote that he"s giving "everything" to you."

"Everything...? Does he mean his wealth?"

Not understanding just how much "everything" was, Kazuki asked.

"That"s not all. As I said, he"s giving her "everything". To be precise, Sabrina is now the boss of the Jevini Family."

"Boss!? Sabrina is!?"

"Sabrina is a hidden child that only a few people know about even in the family, so some of the members won"t accept that she"s becoming the boss. Without a boss, other mafia families will attack us, so our underboss has been working hard to protect Sabrina. Now, he sent me over to collect Sabrina."

After saying that, she smiled at Sabrina.

As if she was looking at her lovable little sister.

"Sabrina, you"ve always been treated as an outcast and hidden child, but now, you"re the boss of the Jevini Family. So, you don"t need to stay here any longer."

Sofia looked happy, like it was her own business. Sabrina looked at her wordlessly.

Kazuki thought about it...

Sabrina will receive "everything" from the dead boss.

However, Sabrina"s life will be in danger because of the current family members and the other families.

But was there a way for Sabrina not to go back to Italy...?

— That"s" right.

He reflected on the past few days.

This situation couldn"t last forever, but for it to end so abruptly...

But this couldn"t... be... helped... right?

I had to let her go.

I had to, but...

Inside Kazuki"s mind, there were fog like thoughts deterring his natural thought process.

"Pack your bags right now. Your stuff is upstai..."

"No."

Sabrina briskly cut Sofia off.

Her answer was negative.

"Sabrina?"

Sabrina pulled Kazuki"s sleeve.

"I won"t go back."

She curtly replied.

"Wha—"

Sofia covered her mouth in shock.

"Sabrina? Do you even know what you"re saying?"

She couldn"t hide her shock. It wasn"t surprising, because Kazuki was in the same.

"Si. I don"t need something like inheritance. I"m not interested in becoming the boss, either. Please follow the will for everything else."

"... Sabrina, it"s not something that can be decided so simply. It doesn"t work like that."

"No, I won"t go back. I"m staying here."

"Why are you so attached to a place like this when you could go anywhere you wanted, and hold the entire world in your hands?"

"I don"t need anything."

"Are you serious?"

"Si."

She wasn"t kidding, she really planned to remain here. Sofia looked at Sabrina"s hand that was holding onto Kazuki"s sleeves. She looked up to glare at Kazuki. Kazuki felt a chill run through his entire body.

Without even trying to hide her rage, Sofia asked Sabrina.

"What do you plan to do with the family members? They"re all waiting for you."

"I don"t really care. It"s bothersome for me to even have them."

The atmosphere became colder as Sofia got angrier.

Sofia lowered her tone.

"Even when this boy will be in danger if you stay any longer?"

"... Si. I"ll protect him then."

"Sabrina!"

Sofia raised her voice. Sabrina didn"t even flinch at her. But she held Kazuki"s sleeves even tighter.

"U-umm—."

Sofia fiercely looked at Kazuki as he interrupted their talk. Kazuki shrank like a frog being glared at by a snake.

"... Let"s go back together."

"No."

"I see... you don"t want to go back. Then, I"ve got my own methods as well."

Sabrina and Sofia took out their guns. The situation was about to explode.

Ding dong.

At that moment, the doorbell rang.

"..."

Sofia sighed and the heavy atmosphere in the room lifted.

Kazuki realized that he forgot to breathe.

"... We were interrupted, so I"ll leave for today. Sabrina, think hard about who and what you are."

Sabrina didn"t reply. Without moving, she was on her guard against Sofia.

Kazuki went to see Sofia off. She appeared to be slightly lonely.

When he opened the door, there was Saki and Izuna on the porch. They must have been the ones that rang the door bell just now.

"I"ve felt this for a while... but now, I"m certain."

As Sofia put on her shoes, she looked at Kazuki.

"I don"t like you."

"Ehh?"

Sofia said something like that as if it were nothing, again.

"It means that I want to strangle you to death."

"Isn"t that even worse than before!?"

"Oh, you heard that earlier? You are really fast witted."

"Now what are you saying..."

He really couldn"t think of anything else to say. Sofia pointed her finger at Kazuki.

And she declared.

"You"re taking advantage of my Sabrina! That"s why you"re the enemy!"

"Uuu... why is it like that..."

"Well, watch your back at night."

Sofia smiled evilly. She didn"t appear to be joking.

"And one more thing..."

She leaned towards Kazuki"s ear.

He felt her breath on his skin. His heart started to beat faster, thinking that she was about to kiss him.

Whooo. Her fresh breath that smelled like Eau de Cologne tickled his nose.

"You and Sabrina live in different worlds. It won"t turn out well in the end."

Sofia whispered that in his ear.

In a cold and frightening voice.

She turned away and pa.s.sed Saki and Izuna while saying "excuse me."

Sofia didn"t do anything to Kazuki; however, he felt as if Sofia had been gripping his heart. That feeling wouldn"t stop as he clenched his chest with his sweaty hand.

"Oh, there was a guest? Did we disturb you?"

"No.... Not really... did you need something?"

"I thought Kazuki-kun might be troubled. So I came here to counsel you."

"Huh?"

Izuna said something completely unexpected.

Could she have overheard his conversation with Sofia?

Kazuki thought that discussing his situation with Izuna might be helpful.

However, his expectations went up in flames.

""Cause you know, you have so much meat, you two can"t possibly eat it all. So, I came here to help you out."

Izuna took out a pair of chopsticks and a bowl from the sleeves of her habit[4].

He completely misunderstood.

Saki was in shock, she didn"t know what to do as she stood next to the smiling nun.

"W-wait Izuna-san! You told me that Kazuki-kun invited you! "

"I said that it would be nice IF he invited me, but Saki agreed to it immediately. I couldn"t bear to tell you after seeing you get excited like that. Te-hee☆"

"Ehh—hh!?"

Saki crouched down with her hands covering her ears and screamed. Kazuki noticed that Saki wasn"t in her school uniform like the time he met her at the shopping district. She was wearing a casual blouse with a tiered skirt, which went well with her gentle personality. This was his first time seeing her in casual clothes and it was spectacular. Without thinking, Kazuki thanked the G.o.ds for this opportunity.

"It"s ok Saki. There"s this saying in the bible. "There is nothing to be afraid of. Just have faith.""

"This isn"t the time for that! We just came here uninvited! Sorry, Outaki-kun. I"ll go back home—."

"No!"

Kazuki hurriedly stopped Saki as she was about to leave. Although the extra baggage was there, this was a once in a life time opportunity for him. He couldn"t let this go.

"Well, it"s a bit messy, but come in— huh, what!"

While he was ushering them in, he saw Sabrina, who should"ve been in the living room, standing there.

Sabrina didn"t give off the same tense atmosphere she did when Sofia was here.

... In fact, it was worse.

"Onii-chan, why are we having dinner with those two?"

"Well, Izuna barged into our house."

"But I just saw you welcoming them in."

"Umm... well we can"t eat all that meat by ourselves. After all, we only got it thanks to Ryouta"s sacri... no, his generosity. So, let"s share some with these two as well. Ok?"

"..."

"Food tastes better when eaten with friends, right?"

"..."

"I like little sisters who have a big and kind heart."

"...Uuu."

Hug. Sabrina hugged him.

"Sabrina?"

"Si. I want to be a little sister who lives up to your expectations. So the four of us can eat together. I received a mental shock from it just now; so, I want to recover from the shock. Please give me some time."

"J- just for reference, how long do you need?"

"I need about 3 hours."

"That"s too long! Dinner time will be over by then!"

In the end, the four of them had dinner together. With the meat, Kazuki granted Izuna"s wish and cooked yakiniku. With Sabrina recovering from her shock while holding on to Kazuki, he brought the hot plate out from the kitchen.

When he placed the slices of meat on the heated plate, the appetizing sound and the smell of meat filled the room. This meat really was worthy of being called the best cut by the butchers.

"Deli—cious. It"s gotta be yakiniku! Oh, I found a nice piece of cooked meat!"

"... Uuu, Izuna, that"s a piece that I cooked so I can give it to my brother. Return it right now."

"Sabrina, I don"t mind. Whoa, please don"t open your mouth while you"re chewing Izuna-san!"

"Uh- umm, Outaki-kun, if you want, you can have this pie— ouch."

"Whoa—. What are you doing Sabrina!"

"Si. I just saw some delicious wings."

"There were none! You shouldn"t bite other people!"

"Ah, this meat"s mine as well!"

"Kyaa, Izuna-san, that was mine!"

The kitchen table was noisy. Sabrina didn"t get angry as much as usual, and Saki and Izuna looked happy.

Kazuki was laughing as well.

— You and Sabrina live in different worlds. It won"t turn out well in the end.

But the words Sofia spoke to him before she left were circulating in Kazuki"s head.

_____________________________________________________________________

Reference

1. Yakiniku - Literally "grilled meat." ↩

2. Sofia - The name "Sofia" is the Italian equivalent of Sophia. ↩

3. Capo - A captain in the Mafia. Usually one of several Caporegime, they lead a group of soldiers. ↩

4. Habit - The robes nuns wear, including the nifty nun hat. ↩

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