Remaster: Step Toward the Future, Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Nothing to Hide
Also available on Archive of Our Own
Rating: M/Adult
Warning: Sexual content.
Author’s Note: Smut at the beginning.
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Yagami Koji’s eyes slowly opened, his vision faintly trying to adjust to the light. Blinking, he looked beside him to find Yamachi Popuri still fast asleep. Koji sat up and rubbed his face, stretching. Damn, he hadn’t meant to fall asleep in the first place… It was something he imagined one should grow out of over time. You don’t just have random mood shifts caused by literally nothing. He’d been just fine when he woke up this morning but he briefly recalled something and it was all downhill from there. Not one day in his life had he snapped at Jill during these ‘spells’ but she somehow realized his temperament and left him alone. Just…he wasn’t sure he wanted to be left alone. Sometimes, rare as it was, he just wanted to kind of talk. Koji was more than certain Jill advised he just needed time to pull himself together to Popuri but she came to him anyway… …He hadn’t even been thinking about college or work and, at this rate, he was going to be working in a pie shop if he lagged too long. He swore he wouldn’t get distracted…
The pink-haired woman suddenly yawned, waking up and looking around lightly in confusion. He cleared his throat, “Good evening.” “Mm, good evening…” she murmured, looking at him, “Are you feeling better?” He nodded, glancing toward his door. It was open… “Yea. Thank you for coming to check on me.” Popuri sat up a bit against his pillows, smiling softly, “I don’t know if I helped any--” “You did” he assured, standing and walking out of the room toward the steps. Dark. It was about six so his siblings weren’t going to show up for another hour and apparently his sister went somewhere. Biting his lip, he turned back to where Popuri was sitting up, stretching. She had on a white boatneck shirt and a maroon pleated skirt with leggings. He loved a pleated skirt, he thought absently. “So, before my brothers get here, you want to come?” “…What?” Koji shrugged as she stared at him, flabbergasted. “I wanna make you come. If you’re interested.” “…Are you some kind of brutally straightforward perv or something?” “Oh, I am that” he grinned wickedly, walking toward her. Popuri pouted as he planted his hands on the bed on either side of her hips. “…I thought we said--” “Popuri, it’s a very simple question” he purred, whispering into her ear, “Do you want to come or not? I’ll accept if you’re not in the mood.” She flustered, pressing her hands to his chest, “A-As nice as that may be, I--” He raised a brow when she paused, idly looking around, “…Well, J-Jill’s not here?” “Nope.” Popuri anxiously stood up, apparently starting to undress herself, “L-Let’s make it quick then.” Scoffing, Koji caught her arms that were about to yank off her shirt, “Wait…” She leered at him quizzically as he reached up, managing to unsnap her bra with one hand. Nibbling his lip as he maneuvered it from her shirt, he was pleased with how taut the material was around her nipples. He groaned. “Oh man, I’m fantasizing again.” “Come on!” she blurted, trying to take the skirt off. Koji held her hands, stopping her and shaking his head, “No, no, keep the skirt on…” “…Perv.” Oh, he was, it was no doubt, hugging her around her bare thighs to pick up and lie her back against the pillows once more. Flipping the skirt, he admired the lacy black panties she was wearing. Popuri pinkened as she rubbed her inner thigh, leaning over to kiss the flesh teasingly. “K-Koji--” Apparently she was worried about someone showing up but he believed in good foreplay. “Relax…” He got out an oil from his nightstand, dripping it down the inside of her legs before running his hands up and down the flesh. She closed her eyes, her body slowly easing. Good, good, he thought, pleased, as he reached down and ran his knuckle up her clothed sex. Popuri inhaled softly, her eyes opening some. He ran his fingertips over the lace, squeezing gently before moving the panties aside… Koji licked his lips, running his fingers down the loose skin slowly, folding them back to run his fingers around the inside. Her mouth softly opened, her eyes shut as he stroked her clit. Not quite… “Mm” she rasped as he used his free fingers to fold back the ‘hood’ for more access. ‘There we go’, he thought absently, watching her face shift into pleasure. Her tongue ran along the corner of her lip as he gave her one last stroke over the panties before removing them completely. He liked it slow but they didn’t have all day. Popuri nibbled her finger as he thumbed her clit with oil. Petting her thigh, he whispered in her ear, “You like that?” “Mm…” “No?” “I do…” She bit her lip as he used his free hand to slip his finger inside of her, continuing the perusal with his other hand around her nub. “I don’t know…you could be way wetter.” “Mmph--” she groaned as he pumped his finger between her folds, adding one more just for good measure. Popuri relaxed her legs open more, her hips bucking off the bed. He grimaced as she grasped her breasts, little chirps escaping her lips. No, no, the intention was to show you don’t have to get off too…of course, now his mind had wandered to how he wanted to be inside of her more than this. “Koji…?” “Hmm?” She was gazing at him, her scarlet eyes blazing with a strange intensity. He swallowed hard as she reached for his crotch, unbuttoning his jeans and stroking him over his boxers. Oh boy. “T-That’s not--” His eyes widened as she jerked him out and started to immediately suck him. Shit. “P-Popuri--” It was a very awkward posing until she basically made him get into his favorite numerical position. He was going to come all over her face though, he groaned to himself, leaning down to run his tongue around her clit. She moaned over his cock. Yea, this wasn’t the way he planned this in his head… Koji barely had time to roll a condom on before she was on top of him, riding him hard. He found himself moaning, grasping her ass in his hands as she bounced up and down, grinding. “Mmph—mm, Koji!” Yea, he must have been fantasizing again, he droned to himself as he ran his hands down his face. His current view was of her, breasts released from the hem of her shirt with that skirt still on, riding the fuck out of him. He had seen porn less plotted out than this. “Ah-h!!” she choked, playing with her nipples and getting wetter with every stroke. He rubbed her clit, moaning into his fist as his eyes rolled back. Man, but with a condom though? She was dangerous. She cried out his name, falling back and quivering as she came, her legs closing around his penis and he shot his seed not much later…he shakily jerked out of her, unraveling the condom. His mind went to another universe when she suddenly kneaded his balls, sucking the cum off his shaft playfully. Staring at her speechlessly, he tried to calculate if they had time for…one more go. …Oh, hell yea, he was now completely and absolutely distracted.
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Jill went to get some things from the grocery store, chatting some with Karen as the woman rang her up. Idly looking her over, Jill found herself musing. She was brunette with light blond highlights and the most piercing green eyes. They were about the same height and build but Karen seemed more ‘graceful’. Karen advised her during a previous visit she aspired to be a dancer but her parents couldn’t afford to send her to school. Smiling, Jill bowed and bid her farewell, going out into the brisk weather. She was Tony’s type, actually. Her brothers all had types… Going to the beach where the ferry came in, she smiled grimly as her brothers came off the boat, fussing. Tony looked queasy, holding his stomach. Her poor twin wasn’t great on random motions. “Hey, guys!” Yagami Shin smiled, shifting an army green duffel bag on his shoulder. “Hello, imoto-chan. I hope we’re not showing up too short notice.” “Oh, no, you guys called with enough time for me to prepare” she assured, giving him a hug. Nelly absently looked around at the beach, his brows raising. “…This is where mom and dad had their wedding, right?” “Eh? Did they?” “I guess you were still pretty young then” Nelly mused. Shin nodded in confirmation. Oh. She had been here before? Weird. Tony looked very unimpressed, shivering as they walked off the beach after a particularly brisk breeze. “There is literally nothing here. You aside, why is Koji even staying here?” Jill smirked widely at her twin’s mostly correct assessment. To Koji’s defense, he probably had assumed he’d come to this country wasteland in comparison to the city they were used to and be free of all distractions that enticed him. He’d have been able to make a quick decision and would leave to execute it. Little did he know, he’d meet the epitome of distractions.
“Well, you all do seem to recall that Koji came here as a child, correct? And perhaps he met his future wife at the tender age of ten?” The one that started the very beginning of life with Koji paused, his brows instantly furrowing. “…You’re kidding, right?” Shaking her head, Nelly gawked, “What? He just randomly picks up with his childhood love?! How and why??” That was the sort of amazing part about Popuri. As she said, all her brothers had a type. She droned, “What’s Koji’s type? You know, physically and personally?” “…He likes women with the unusual hair colors. Preferably pink. And the different eye colors too” Shin rolled his eyes around. “Boobs” Shaun yawned. “Boobs have to be impressive in some fashion.” Nelly crossed his arms, “…Generally he gets along best with women that share some of his interests but also can kind of be the ying to his absurd amount of yang. What are you getting at?” “Oh, just…keep those things in mind.” When they got to the farmhouse, Jill smiled and blinked slowly as Popuri was standing in the kitchen, setting trays of rice balls and other dishes Jill had made out on the table. The woman looked up, smiling, “Ah, Jill, my mom wanted to thank you for the food.” “No problem” Jill nodded, closing the door behind her silenced brothers. “Where’s Koji?” “Oh, he said something about Heineken and he’ll be right back” Popuri smiled nervously, approaching the mini crowd. Of course. Jill held out her hand, tilting her head, “Popuri, I’d like you to meet my other brothers. This is my oldest brother, Shin. Koji’s twin brother, Nerimaru—Nelly. This is my twin, Tony. And this is the youngest, Shaun.” “A-Ah, it’s nice to meet you all. I’ve heard so much about all of you” Popuri blurted, bowing. There was a long moment of silence. Nelly stared at her before remarking, “…If there is a God, he does work in mysterious ways.” “Eh?” “It’s nice to finally meet you as well” Nelly smiled, bowing, “We have…heard a lot about you too.” Shin shook her hand, smiling as well. Tony just nodded his head while Shaun stroked his chin thoughtfully, “…So like, did Koji just really know his type when he was in elementary school or what?” “I have no type.” Popuri jumped a little as Koji appeared at the door, holding a large case of beer. He had a cigarette hanging limply from his lips, appearing nonplussed. Nelly smirked at him widely and knowingly, “Hey, futago. How’s it going? Made any decisions yet?” Jill smirked as well as Koji gave his twin a dark look but Nelly just grinned. While she did feel close to Tony, that close ‘twinship’ in their little group definitely went to Koji and Nelly. He had probably assessed immediately that Koji had probably spent very little time doing anything he intended to do. “Bite me, Nelly.” “Oh, w-well, maybe I should go” Popuri said quickly. “Don’t be silly” Koji replied, passing to go put the beer in the fridge. “I am going to very smoothly attempt to shift attention and ask where Cliff is.” Oh. Jill glowered at him and Tony leered, “Oh yea, he is living with you. Where’s he at?” “U-Uh, he had to run off for a work emergency. He’ll be gone for some days.” Koji raised a brow at her as he shifted off his coat. Yea, it…probably wasn’t good. “You didn’t want to go with him? He might get lonely” Shaun teased. “He can get lonely all by himself” Tony leered. Jill groaned, giving Tony a look as she had everyone sit at the table, running to get the rest of the food. Koji pulled out chilled glasses for everyone…except Shaun. Shaun pouted deeply, “Oh, c’mon, nii-san!” “No.” “I drink at parties now all the time! And you let me drink before anyway! I drank at Shin’s bachelor party!” “Liquor. We let you drink liquor. Your picky ass doesn’t like beer” Koji grunted, handing the Heineken to the others. Shaun pursed his lips tightly, looking irritated, “…So it’s not the drinking, it’s because I’ll waste your precious beer?” “Precisely.” Tony snickered, cracking the top on his Heineken, and pouring it into the glass, “I will vouch for him and say he does drink Heineken.” “He needs it with a lime, by the way” Nelly smirked, taking a long sip of his. “You don’t put a fucking lime in Heineken!” Koji glowered, going back to the fridge regardless and retrieving another glass. Jill groaned for the fiftieth time already, setting plates in front of everyone. “What is the big deal about alcohol anyway? It doesn’t even taste that good.” Shin gave Shaun a bland expression when Koji tossed a lime into his glass and handed him the beer, saying under his breath ‘you waste my beer, I’ll waste you’. “It’s not a necessity of life, Jill. We just enjoy the occasional drink every now and then.” Occasional?! “You guys drink at every possible occasion!” Popuri suddenly came and turned so she wasn’t facing anyone at the table, whispering, “So-o-o-o we don’t want the Seagrams cooler?” “Well, of course we—” Jill paused before grimacing, squeezing her nose, “…Yes, I do want a wine cooler.” Just as expected, most of her brothers started complaining and ‘ohh’-ing. She stuck out her tongue at them, “Shaddap. You guys wouldn’t dare drink a wine cooler. They may as well be like drinking juice.” “Oh, you got us there, that’s for sure” Nelly blinked, his brows raising. Koji pulled out a chair beside him for Popuri. She shyly smiled and took it, popping the lid on the bottle. Koji picked up the main dish of chicken and vegetables, dipping some out onto a plate. “I’m sure this is weird, Popuri, but we’re just used to passing the food around and having one plate. We hate doing dishes.” “Oh, no, I understand!” “Mm, I’ll have to get the compartmentalized dishes for you, Jill. Lyla got some recently” Shin said, getting some pickled vegetables. Jill nodded, taking the plate from Popuri when she was done, “That’d be nice, nii-san. Oh yea, Popuri, uh, you don’t talk to your aunt or Lyla, right?” Popuri raised a brow but shook her head, “No, I’ve never met either of them. Is it the same Lyla?” Nodding, Koji stretched, “Yea, I made the connection when I was a kid. She also has pink hair and her mom’s name is Lillian.” “Oh…strange.” Jill blinked at the woman who looked a little uncomfortable and Shin smiled some. “It’s okay. Lyla has about the same response when it comes up.” “O-Oh, I don’t want it to seem like that. I’m sure she’s a very nice person. How long have you all known her?” “Oh, almost twenty years now. She’s been our neighbor since we were kids” Nelly replied, “Now she’s Shin’s wife.” “Oh! Wow…I did wonder sometimes what it was that kept my mama from speaking with her sister. I guess it could be a city-country thing.” Biting her lip, Jill glanced to Koji who simply nodded…even though they knew it was nothing like that and more that Lyla’s mother had a verbally and sometimes physically abusive husband that kept them trapped. It took trickery and Shin to get both of them out. “So, how are things going with you and ol’ Blondie, imoto?” Nelly questioned. “They’re going fine” Jill assured. Tony cut his eyes at her, probably reading that ambiguous tone. Things were going fine…except for his little ‘problem’ they weren’t addressing. She smiled coyly, folding her hands and blinking at Nelly, “What about you, nii-san? Have you found a girlfriend yet?” Nelly’s eyes closed some, turning his head in that ‘seriously?’ expression. “C’mon, even Koji gets into relationships.” “Koji does get into relationships. I do not” he assured. “Because you’re a monstrous manwhore” Koji droned, eating a bit of chicken. “Um, the fuck?” Shaun laughed, reaching into his pocket for something, “That is serious calling the kettle black.” Popuri smirked as Koji rolled his eyes around, waving a hand, “Okay, maybe I do have a few notches on the ol’ bedpost but I’m not the one swearing off meaningful relationships.” “Yea, yea.” They all chattered during dinner. While Koji generally got the dishes, Shin volunteered and picked up everyone’s plates. Jill groaned again and Popuri glanced back, wide-eyed, “You have such mannerable brothers!” Tony grinned, “Oops, we made a fake impression.” “And how” Koji smirked, glancing at his watch, “Hmm, wanna play cards? I can go get us some Ciroc.” Again, more drinking. Nelly looked perplexed, “You can get Ciroc here?” “I know a guy” Koji said before standing, rubbing Popuri’s shoulder, “You gonna hang with us a little longer?” “I probably should get home…” Jill pouted, “Aww, just do one hand with us.” “Well…okay…” Koji smiled, going to the door with Nelly following, the two grabbing their coats off the hook nearby. “We’ll be back shortly. Anybody want anything else?” Captain Morgan and Parrot Bay was thrown out there. Just…so much booze. Jill stared blankly before grumbling, “…Hennessey.” Her brothers gave her a questioning look, probably not suspecting she even knew what that was. No, she was surrounded by apparently the spirit of alcohol so maybe…maybe her confusion was her problem. Maybe…she just needed to get an understanding.
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“So seriously…you come here and get involved back with your little gumdrop love of your life?” Yagami Koji blew into his hands as he led the way to Doug’s Inn where the eponymous Doug ran a little auxiliary liquor shop. He was advised to keep it quiet since Doug wasn’t supposed to and that Duke would lose his mind with that kind of competition. Koji didn’t mind wine but, well, he was always a fan of booze. “Well?” “I dunno, Nelly” Koji groaned, “Did you see her? It’s like someone handpicked perfection and set me up to have a chance with her. I was blown away when I saw her again.” His twin nodded, “She is pretty hot, I have to say. But exactly how platonic are we speaking right now?” “Yea, we’re at ‘we might have banged twice before you got here’ platonic. Where is that at?” Nelly shook his head, sighing, “So you have done it. So is this the normal ‘we’re just messing around’ or is it something else?” “…I mean, I think I’d like to try a relationship but I think she’s against it for some reason. Maybe something to do with her dad. She doesn’t want to put any titles on it which I can respect but, I mean, this keeps up and I probably will want to address her as my girlfriend” Koji murmured, turning near the blacksmith. Nodding, Nelly looked around, “But really, Koji, where are you at with school? I mean, you’re allowed to fall in love and want relationships but that’s not exactly what you came here for. What did you decide?” “I can get a job, Nell, but I can’t guarantee I’ll get to where I want with my current credentials” Koji sighed, “But, because I’ve waited so long, I’m going to end up starting in the Summer if I go to Amherst and it’s going to be another two years of school.” “So you are going with Amherst.” The University of Massachusetts Amherst, to be exact. There wasn’t anything wrong with a Japanese university but the idea of studying abroad had always kind of appealed to him. Plus, it definitely would make his resume look very diverse and like he had experience dealing with other people. Just, that placed him at close to sixteen to twenty plus hours away from home which was insanity. Even the time difference was something like fourteen hours. The possibility of maintaining that long distance a relationship aside, if anything went down here with his family, he was essentially a nonfactor in being able to help anything about it. That concerned him. “Maybe I’ll just go to Tokyo and call it a day. It’s a smaller commute and I can come check on Jill and Popuri” Koji mused. Nelly sucked his cheek, “That’s a pretty big opportunity, Koji. And with no tuition to pay back going to Amherst? You really need to consider it.” Ugh! He had been, he just…
…Was concerned.
It was a weird sensation. He hadn’t had it often but sometimes he’d be asleep and, for whatever reason, he was like within himself and outside of himself at the same time and caught himself snoring. Then his mind jolted like, ‘whoa, I snore?’ and then he’d end up waking himself up to confirm this phenomenon. Koji’s head snapped up, startled by this oddity and looked around the room. All the lights were still on and everyone was still in the living room but in varying states of sleeping. Tony, Jill, and Shaun were knocked out on the couch, Shin was asleep on the recliner, and Nelly was asleep on the floor near his feet. Popuri was curled into his side again where he was leaning on the couch…he absently kissed her forehead and rested her head on a pillow. Warily, he looked to Shin before whistling lowly under his breath. As he expected, the oldest’ eyes opened quickly and cut toward him. Figured. “It’s too cold for us all to be down here like this. Let’s get everyone to bed.” Shin stretched, lifting his arms above his head and grimaced, “Mm, okay.” …Ugh. If the others weren’t here, Popuri could sleep with him but he didn’t want to alarm her. Best bet was Jill’s room. Shin picked Jill up while he carefully moved Popuri. Settling them in bed, he and Shin quietly closed the door as they exited. Now… Koji nudged Nelly with his foot, grunting, “Wake up, baka.” Nelly lifted his head, apparently also startled before looking around, “Wha…?” “C’mon. I already volunteered that you could stay in my room” he sighed. There were enough rooms but there weren’t enough beds. Shin had to sleep alone… Getting all of the brothers moving in a foggy stupor, Koji made sure Shaun and Tony were settled before returning to his bedroom where Nelly had already stretched like an idiot across the whole bed. Rubbing his face, Koji wandered over and shoved Nelly to the side he usually didn’t occupy. Settling into bed, he stared at the ceiling for some quiet minutes. He wondered… They had been drinking pretty casually before the Hennessey got on the table. Boy, he was shocked when his itty bitty sister requested it, especially given he had only seen her drink wine and wine coolers since he got here. But, as always, he obliged and poured everyone a glass of the stuff. He heard something about ‘don’t mix brown and light’ but it sounded like some garbage or even weirdly racist? But yea, they probably more were talking about the blackout factor. When Jill had about two glasses of the stuff in her system on top of the previous beverages, she started rambling about how Cliff ‘sneaks to drink that stuff nii-san don’t drink’ or ‘he finishes a whole bottle by himself in a day!’.
A whole bottle, Koji could do at one party. If he was in that particular mood. Also, he was probably not going to drink another whole bottle the next day. Koji could be honest with himself: he probably did have a problem. Sometimes he did enjoy booze a little too much. Just, at the same time, he had limits. That was probably his only saving factor: he had a stopping point and he also had a ‘I don’t need this every day’ point. He’d really on some occasions gone two or three months without even having a beer. A daily bottle? That…that was a different shade of the same color.
Cliff had his points of contention. Koji grew irritated that he still didn’t seem to help Jill much. Jill was still doing a grown man’s laundry. Or, she was always doing it, they weren’t sharing the responsibility. Or, if they shared any responsibility. Cliff really had fallen off on even the one thing Koji had seen him do which was cook. Now that he worked, he’d come home, settle on the couch and invite Jill to watch television with him, even though there was food to be made, cleaning to be done, and a whole variety of adult responsibilities. Sometimes Jill would concede and sometimes she’d turn him down to do all of it while he just sat back and apparently had himself a whole bottle of Wild Turkey. This. This was what he was talking about. Cliff might have very well been having a rough phase and shape up into the guy that Koji did see pieces of underneath it all. When he passed the vineyard once, he saw Cliff working exceedingly hard while the Duke guy just sat back and yelled at him. Hell, it went against Koji’s norm but even he wanted to go over and say something about that. But yea, if Cliff was literally dry lifting dozens of hundred pound cases of wine bottles, he could see where the guy might be a little tired after his shift. And he did work hard and he did start treating Jill to dates and whatnot…Koji could tell the dude was really into his sister. Just… Koji sighed, pulling the blanket over himself and Nelly. Just, he…had some concerns.
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“You guys certainly never hid your drinking…” “There was nothing to hide.” Yagami Jill slowly opened her eyes, grimacing at the bright sun coming in through her window. Yeesh. She looked next to her, a little shocked to find Popuri. Sitting up, she scratched the back of her head, bending her back. She last recalled they were all drinking casually together, playing ‘Go Fish’ and ‘BS’ before getting into a game of Kings. It…was fun. They were having some drinks and they were playing a game and talking. That…
To say drinking was ‘normal’ would probably be incorrect. It was not normal to want to drink something that affected your sensibilities and apparently made them all fall asleep at some point to where she couldn’t remember walking or getting carried in here. Just, if she had to compare having a drink at a hangout with her friend and brothers where that wasn’t the actual mission versus her boyfriend waking up after they had sex to go drink half a bottle while she slept by himself, one might seem more normal than the other. Hell, if he had woken her up, said he was going to get a drink, maybe that would be slightly okay too. …Her brothers openly drank in front of her last night. With her. There was nothing to hide because it…it wasn’t some strange secret. Biting her lip, she glanced at the alarm clock. It was eight so she was late on her chores. Starting to get up, she had to pause. Wait… Jill smiled a little mischievously, wondering if she was going to finally get to catch this goldmine again after all these years. Shaking Popuri’s shoulder, she murmured, “Hey, Popuri, wake up.” Popuri opened her eyes sleepily and looked confused, “Jill…?”
She sat up, rubbing her brow, “…Wow, I don’t remember coming in here at all.” “I’m sure the boys carried us in” Jill assured, climbing out of bed to go through the dresser, “So, Nelly sleeps really wild, right? So Koji volunteered to let him sleep with him.” “Mm hmm…” Pleased when she located her small camera, she grinned, “C’mon. Koji hates sleeping with Nelly. And here’s why…” Popuri raised an eyebrow but followed her up the stairs. There was a very small chance the two were already awake and gone about their business but she doubted it on a Saturday. Coming to Koji’s door, she tipped her head to get Popuri to come closer. The woman still looked confused as Jill eased the door open. Jackpot.
Koji and Nelly were curled up, Koji hand outstretched over Nelly’s head which was resting almost on top of Koji’s chest. Popuri gasped a little and Jill whispered, snickering silently, “When they were little, they used to sleep like this. Mom said they’d done it even when they were babies. And it doesn’t even matter if one is already asleep when the other comes, they’re like magnets. It’s just so funny and blackmail worthy…” Popuri bit her lip, clearly a little amused but hissed, “Jill, that’s terrible! It’s cute!” “Oh, it’s freakin’ adorable. And then, it’s also them so-o-o-o…” Popuri laughed when Jill snapped the picture. Koji and Shin slept like they weren’t even asleep most of the time thus the former’s eyes popped open with the bright flash. He stared at Jill, shocked, and she winked. “Sleep well, big bwuders?” she cooed. He looked absolutely confused for a moment before his eyes widened and he glared. “Give me that camera…” “Wha-a-a? What camera?”
Jill and Popuri squealed, giggling and running when Koji dove out of bed. Rushing back down the steps, Jill knew Koji was right on her heels so she tossed the memory card to Popuri when they reached the landing. Koji stopped his chase, leering, and looked to Popuri expectantly, holding his hand out. “All right, princess, hand it over…” Jill gawked when Popuri smiled, replying, “Okay.” Oh, c’mon, Popuri! However, just as she appeared to be handing it to him, she redirected her hand…and dropped it into the crevice of her breasts. The look on Koji’s face was absolutely priceless and Jill laughed heavily. Popuri shimmied her bosom, teasing, “It’s all yours.” Koji gaped and opened his mouth a couple times before closing it again. Koji was generally not speechless, Jill snickered. A few seconds later, Nelly came down, sleepily looking at them, “What’s going on? What’s all the noise?” “…They have a picture of us sleeping” Koji groaned. “The hell? Did you delete it?” demanded Nelly. Popuri smiled and arched her chest forward, giving Koji flirty look. “Koji can have the card back whenever he wants…”
Aww, darn, Jill wished she had another SD card to catch this, Koji actually blushed. Sputtering, he walked away, “F-Forget it. Keep the stupid picture.” “Excuse you? Where is the card?” demanded Nelly. “I dunno, Koji, you might want to reconsider. I’m sure Nelly would fish it out of the peaks without hesitation” grinned Jill. “‘Fish it out of the peaks’? What does that…” he started before his eyes widened, staring at Popuri, “…Oh.”
Popuri grinned and crossed her arms, boosting up her bountiful chest more. Nelly stared before clearing his throat, his eyes moving back and forth, actually reaching like he was in a daze, “I mean, if…if all parties are cool with it--” “No, no, not all parties are cool with it, dumbass!” Koji snapped, coming back over and slapping Nelly’s hand down. Jill was almost in tears, Popuri also laughing as Koji glared daggers at Nelly. Nelly flustered, waving a hand, “Right, right, that’s-that’s not cool, no.” “I don’t see what the big deal is, Koji seems to like my boobs any other time” Popuri said in a mock-musing tone. “Yea, but that is private time and not propaganda retrieval.” “I guess you can cut your losses then” she winked. Koji leered…before he did reach in between her breasts. “What the hell, Koji?” They all jumped, Jill’s sides starting to hurt from the levels of escalation this simple prank was taking on as Shin and the rest of the brothers appeared. The eldest’s eyes were narrowed halfway, having made the remark, shaking his head, while Shaun smirked. “Yea, this is the level of debauchery that I miss.” “Th-they have a picture of us!” blurted Koji, his face bright red. “Is it of anything as heinous as this?” Shin droned. Jill could have died because Koji’s hand was still buried in between Popuri’s breast as they had this conversation, making it all the more ridiculous. Popuri chuckled, “Not at all. I found it cute.” Of course, with all this jostling, the card had a slight chance of sliding down Popuri’s shirt if it could get past the boobs. Apparently, it had slid to a part of her bra where it could break free and the woman slyly pulled it out and slipped it back to her. Jill smiled and tauntingly held the card up. “Yea, he means this.” Nelly looked up drably as Koji appeared shocked, “So…we’re just diving for pearls for no reason?” Popuri bit her lip, cracking up, as Koji proclaimed, pulling his hand back, “I watched her put it down there!” “Uh huh” Shin blinked languidly. “You know what? I’ll fight all of you, watch me.” Tony smirked, stretching, “I don’t know if I miss these random games of nonsense, honestly…or that is until this type of shit happens.” Jill popped the card back into her camera, smirking widely, and showed the twins her deleting the picture…after she had finagled it into the camera’s internal memory. Like she’d let such a rare gem go. “Well, this has been a spectacular morning ritual” Popuri snickered, bowing, “I need to be going home and doing the farm chores though. Thank you all for having me.” “Aww, chill with that, Popuri. You should come have dinner with us again tonight” Jill waved a hand. Popuri flustered, “W-Well, I mean, I’m sure you guys want family time--” “Believe me, we’ll be over each other in the next three hours” Shaun assured. Jill rolled her eyes around as there were rumbles of agreement and Popuri looked surprised. “O-Oh, okay. Well, we’ll see.” “I’ll walk you home” Koji said, walking to get his coat. “Oh, you don’t have to. I’m sure you’re upset with me” Popuri insisted quickly. Koji looked confused, “Upset with you? About what?” “W-Well…the…picture boobs?” Scoffing, Koji handed her coat over, shaking his head. “Nah, lady. Like Tony said, that’s just our average sibling antics. You were just involved.” Popuri looked honestly surprised. There were a lot of family things the woman seemed to view as foreign so maybe that was one of them. Popuri bid them goodbye and they both left, Koji actually holding her hand as they made their way off the farm. Tony whistled. “Didn’t think I’d see Koji with another girlfriend again, that’s crazy.” Shin nodded as he walked into the kitchen, “It’s a good sign, I’d say. I’ll start on breakfast.” Jill smiled some as the remaining brothers went to get dressed to help her tend to her animals, her only task since she was prepared for Spring but the winter ground was still too hard. Soon, it’d have been a year. A year since she came here and a year since she met her boyfriend… She’d talk to Cliff when he got back. She’d tell him that if he wanted to drink, just don’t make it a secret. Maybe…cut back a little. He didn’t have to worry about her judging him for drinking, she was very much used to that from these jokers. However, he…he was causing her concern. Usually, she wouldn’t even feel comfortable bringing something like this up but… Maybe Koji’s relationship status wasn’t the only thing due for a change.
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“Futago, can you see marrying? And marrying Popuri?” Nelly was doing the dishes while Koji cleaned the stove, the others going to shower and get more dressed. There was talk of going to the mainland for a little while or one of the more commercial neighboring islands. Koji didn’t look up but he shrugged. “…Dunno. It’s a little soon for that, you know?” “Hypothetically then.” “…Sure. I mean, a little down the road, I wouldn’t mind with the right person.” The right person. Nelly shuffled along the streets, receiving confused stares from some of the town natives. Koji was his identical twin but there was still something a little different about them. Mostly he didn’t dress like a storm cloud and he was, of course, the hot twin. The right person though? While Koji caught most of the family flack for being terrible with relationships, at least if Koji did get into one, they tended to be long-term…unless extenuating circumstances intervened. Nelly, on the other hand, he rarely dated at all. Casual hookups and little flings here and there. The idea didn’t interest him, of just having a ‘someone’. It seemed very novel and unlikely that he’d be happy with just one person. He saw his parents, it seemed to work for them. It worked for Shin and Lyla. But…him? That person was going to have to be… He paused, his brows furrowing. Standing in front of what had to be a bakery from the delicious smells was a young woman. Had to be young, her face was, but she was wearing very… old-looking clothes. She had on a ruffled light blue top and a long navy blue skirt with an apron and a brooch under what appeared to be a wool shawl. Weird. His eyes widened when her head turned. Her brown hair was short, a little above her shoulders, and she had big round dark eyes. There was something very comfortable about the way she looked… Eh? She stared back at him because he was already being weird and staring before she nodded shortly, “…Yagami-san.” “Oh, uh, you know me?” “What? You came for a checkup the other day at the clinic.” Good to know Koji was still responsible with his health. And she was a doctor? “Mm, that was my twin brother, Koji. I’m Nerimaru.” …Nerimaru? He never introduced himself with his real name. She raised an eyebrow at him and drawled, “…I don’t believe I’ve heard that name before.” “It’s rare. Like, very rare. So, uh, what’s good here?” he questioned, looking at the bakery display. “Everything.” Hmm? He blinked at that rather droll response. However, when he looked at her expression, he found…misery. Oh, she meant ‘everything’. “So I guess you’d say I can’t go wrong with anything I choose.” She nodded in confirmation. “So, you’ve already gotten something, I take it?” “No. I’m on a diet.” He couldn’t really tell with what she was wearing but he was skeptical she needed anything like that whatsoever. “Well, when that’s not fun, maybe we can get cake and coffee sometimes.” The woman looked at him, surprised. She glowered after a moment, crossing her arms, “Are you making fun of me?” “No, not at all” he echoed, confused. “…Very well, Nerimaru. Maybe tomorrow?” Great, now he had someone calling him by his actual legal name. “Uh, I-I don’t know why I led with that. I generally go by ‘Nelly’.” Her brow rose, perplexed, “…Isn’t that generally a girl’s name in English?” “Um, possibly.” “Nerimaru will suffice” she said shortly, “Good day, Nerimaru.” Damn it. “I, uh, didn’t catch your name, actually.” Pausing, she looked back at him and blinked, “…My name is Yamaguchi Elli.” …Yea, maybe ‘Nelly’ wasn’t very comfortable right there then. “It’s nice to meet you, Yamaguchi-san. Tomorrow, same time?” “…Very well.” Nelly watched her meander away, honestly a little perturbed. That was generally unlike him…and hell, a doctor was definitely not his type given literally every habit he had was unhealthy. Maybe it was just something about this place.
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“You’ll never believe what just happened to me.” Yamaguchi Elli unraveled her scarf as she returned from her break to the Mineral Clinic. The doctor hadn’t moved from where she left him an hour ago, still at his desk, looking at medical reports online. He absently looked up at her, frowning, “What?” “The Yagami brother—Koji. He pretended he had a twin and asked me to have tea with him!” she huffed, settling at the receptionist desk. Ishikawa Tsumaru was not one for these sort of frivolities. She half expected him just to turn away and go about his business. However, he looked curious. “Did you say yes?” “What? I-I mean, I said I would to get the truth out of him—I swear I see him with Yamachi-san, holding hands. He’s being promiscuous!” “Wait, wait” the doctor frowned, leaning back, “…Yagami Yamada, their father, he would talk about how unusual his family was. He had six children.” …What? Tsumaru started to count on his fingers, “Jill, of course. She was his second to last child but she has a twin brother…and, yes, I remember him saying he had been blown away to have two sets of twins in a row. So, Koji should have a twin brother.” “…Nerimaru?” “Yep, that’s it.” Elli felt the blood drain out of her face. WHAT? “I-I thought I was just going to berate Yagami Koji!! I have an actual date with an actually different person?!” “Seems so” Tsumaru shrugged. Her eyes narrowed at that response, folding her arms. He could at least seem…bothered. But then, after all these years, that…that was expecting a little too much of the man. “Well, perhaps I’ll go to the farm and break it off then. I have no interest.” “You should go. You haven’t really pursued anyone around here and it’s slim pickings.” And that just irritated her. She…had ‘picked’ but apparently she wasn’t in his selection. “…Maybe you’re right.” At the very least, she could apologize to him and advise that she had been a busybody and not actually wanting to go on a date. Oh, why had she been so meddlesome? She was picking up the townfolk’s habits more than she thought. …Yagami Nerimaru. Cake and coffee tomorrow. Cutting it off clean. Her first impression was he didn’t mean it when she arrived punctually and he wasn’t there. Maybe he was just presenting niceties too and she hadn’t picked up on the superfluity of it all. Elli stood by the door for some minutes, just gazing at the cakes longingly. No, stay…stay strong. To her horror, the same young man wandered up with his hands in his pockets, appearing surprised. “O-Oh. I didn’t think you were gonna come.” “…Likewise” she mumbled. “Sorry, that’s my fault. I did kind of forget where this was.” Oh, right, he lived out of town. Gazing at him, she instantly felt like an idiot. His hair was a tinge blonder than his twin brother, not to mention his skin tone was clearly more rosy and healthy. You sure saddled yourself this time, Elli. “S-So—” Nerimaru slowly opened the door and she awkwardly followed him in. He took a deep breath and groaned, “…Bakeries always smell like life.” “Oh, very” she breathed. She pursed her lips when he pulled the chair out for her, having not thought it would have reached this far. “Look, Yagami-san--” She paused when he stared at her. What? About to question him, he drawled, “I think you’re a hot chocolate woman. And chocolate cake.” …Grr. “And how do you figure that?” “I don’t trust people who don’t like chocolate…” he remarked absently, walking to the counter. Great. Folding her hands, she watched as he apparently ordered the cake and warm beverages for them. He wasn’t a…bad looking man but still. Returning with the snacks after a few minutes, she stared longingly at the cake before huffing, “As I advised yesterday, I’m on a diet.” “Health related?” “What?” she raised a brow, “…No, I’m in good health.” He rolled his eyes around, sipping what appeared to be coffee with cream, “Cheat day then?” “Cheat day?!” she said, aghast. A warm smile crossed his face and caused her pause. “You only live once, Ms. Yamaguchi, and my great papa says most things are fine in moderation. Have a bit of cake.” …Ugh. Pouting, she nibbled a bit of the frosting…and melted. “Oh, it’s even more delicious than I remember…” Nerimaru chuckled and took a bit of his own slice. Elli glowered at him for a moment before muttering, “I have to admit to you, I agreed to this little…arrangement out of concern that your brother was trying to be sneaky.” Despite that seeming a little rude, he actually laughed, “Oh man, that’d be sloppy. Nah, Koji and I never had to pull any of that sort of thing. I don’t think we’d really even know how.” What? “So, you’ve never tried to pull a ‘switcheroo’?” “Nope” Nerimaru shrugged, “It used to be we were always together anyway so it wouldn’t have made a whole lot of sense. I think I make a pretty good Nelly anyway.” Hmm. She took a drink of her cocoa and could say she could die happy. “I suppose you’re not together a whole lot now, being that he’s here?” “Nah. Koji has always been a lone ranger type of guy. He cares about all of us immensely but he needs his space sometimes. As much as I wish it were otherwise, he’s just not the type. Do you have any siblings?” “A little brother, Stu. He’s eight” she replied, nibbling at the end of her fork. As most people, he looked a little startled, “And…not to be too in your business but you’re…?” “25.” “Wow, your parents definitely played that waiting game” he whistled lowly. Elli simply nodded. She was born in Hong Kong. Her mother had traveled there to work as a nanny for an affluent family she met who were vacationing in Kyoto. Before then, the woman had apparently just worked odd jobs while pregnant. There, in China, she met Park Jyun who was working as a nurse. He aided her into the career as well and they started to fall in love. Needless to say, that man, Stu’s father, was not the one who bore her.
Her mother was only around seventeen, just on the verge of eighteen, when Elli was born. It was Stu that was born at a more concrete time in the woman’s life. Unfortunately, Stu was only about one when both of their parents died in a car accident. “Your parents certainly wanted to get it over and done with” she countered mildly. “Dr. Ishikawa says you have five other siblings?” “Ha, yea…I don’t know exactly how intentional that was. I don’t think I’d have personally let myself get past two.” Elli had to smirk at that, “It’s good you have those sort of strict numbers all planned out, Yagami-san. Perhaps your future wife would want three or more?” “Would she?” Nerimaru mused absently, “Three tops. As one of the elder brothers, I think I had my fill, raising and watching over kids.” “I loved it. I loved taking care of Stu as a baby” she murmured softly. Nerimaru tapped his lips with the napkin after he finished his dessert, shrugging, “I loved taking care of Jill and the other brats as babies too. Just, you know, it’s a little tricky when you have to assure that they’re going to be good people.” …Odd. “Your parents are very much alive, correct?” “Oh, very.” “Then why does it sound like you were raising your younger siblings?” Stirring his spoon in his coffee, he sighed, “My dad is a surgeon out of the slums. His foundation was self-made and he had to work harder than the average bear to make sure our foundation stayed solid. Problem is, once he got to the point where it wasn’t just a stack of bricks, he didn’t know when to stop. And when he opened the door for my mom to have her clothing business, it was just…over. They had to chase financial independence and we had to watch out for ourselves.” Interesting. “…I lost both of my parents a little after Stu was born.” “Oh—oh. I’m sorry.” She shrugged. It’d hurt early on but the two had been going to help a sick village in a rural part of China. The intention had been good so she could only be so bitter. “You get past it.” “…Do you though? I don’t think I’d be much good to anyone if I lost any of my family. Actually, I know I’m not. We’re…we’re really all we have, honestly.” Truth be told, her parents were close to all she had as well. Her stepfather’s sisters never really cared for her much, though they thought the world of Stu, most likely because she wasn’t related to them. All she had was Stu and her mother’s mother, Ellen, the one that adopted them and came to live in Mineral to give them a calmer lease on life. Aside for those two, she…had few people she had a right to hold on to. At least, the third didn’t seem to have those sort of ideations. “I don’t think you honestly have a choice.” Nerimaru tilted his head, seeming to concede this reluctantly. “Well, I guess you see a lot more loss than I do. You’re in the medical field too, right?” “The only nurse in town.” “Jeez…this place is so tiny” Nerimaru groaned. Really, it wasn’t practical to have only two sort of medical officials here. God forbid anything happen to one of them and there was an emergency. “There’s talk of opening a hospital given the population is on the incline.” “Would you want to work there?” “Not unless Tsumaru—the doctor wants to.” ‘Nelly’ suddenly raised an eyebrow, probably at her little ‘slip’. “Tsumaru, ay? You’re pretty devoted to that guy, I take it.” …Meh. It wasn’t like this was going anywhere. “Yes, I am. I would very much like for him to notice that too.” “Doctors can be pretty honed in, I’ve noticed” he sighed, the spoon in his coffee cup clinking. Elli’s eyes closed some when he smiled, fluttering his eyes ‘coyly’. “Which is why, despite this date being you making sure my brother wasn’t up to some petty antics, you should go on another date with me.” “I know what I want” she said gravely. Nerimaru simply nodded. It…kind of hit her stomach in a strange way he was that compliant. “Is it your usual way to be so passive?” “Oh, I never tell a lady what to do or pressure. It’s not respectful” Nelly assured, reaching into his pocket. She frowned as he picked up a pen from the table and scribbled a number down. “But, in case you decide you want to dabble, give me a ring.” Dabble indeed! Elli stared at the scrap of paper and knew she would never have the courage, should it even strike her as wanting to, to call him and ask for ‘dabbling’.
…Doctors can be pretty shortsighted. Or, perhaps, just not even that interested. Pursing her lips again, she took another part of the napkin and wrote her number, “…I’m not that persistent. If it should strike you, you can call me. Just no guaranteed ‘yes’ for future cheat days.” He winked, “I know some good salad bars.” …This was not how she expected this to go.
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“A nurse?” Yagami Koji gave his twin an incredulous glare as they sat on the porch of their great-grandfather’s old farmhouse, smoking a cigarette. Nelly exhaled a billow of the clove fragrant smoke and raised his shoulders. “Yea?” What the hell? “Nelly, you once drank a bottle of Stoli and chased it with Everclear and smoked a whole joint which made you decide to go rollerblade down a hiking slope at four in the morning. You would be nothing but a nightmare for a nurse.” “And how” Nelly snorted, “I dunno what it was though. Something about her definitely caught my attention.” Yea, something about the lone nurse of the town caught Koji’s attention too but not quite in the same way. All the same, it was still surprising Nelly picked up interest. “Well, whatever makes you happy, man. I guess it doesn’t have to be serious.” “Nope. Sounds like she’s head over heels for this doctor guy.” Koji puzzled over that, watching the flaming ashes on the end of the black cylinder dangling between his fingers. Yes, perhaps Elli was very interested in the doctor but, from what Koji observed, that man did not have a bit of interest in anything else except doctoring. Elli was an attractive woman and her attraction to the doctor was apparent. Maybe he was just worried about a workplace romance though… The door to the farmhouse opened, revealing Jill with a bag on her shoulder and the rest of the brothers following with their luggage. While Koji wasn’t sure it was a good idea, Tony convinced Jill to take a couple days of sabbatical to come ‘back to civilization’. She had rightful concerns like, who will watch the farm or take care of the animals? Popuri volunteered to take care of the animals pretty quickly, probably thinking he was going to invite her to come home with them. She’d be right but jeez. Rising to his feet, he dusted off his jeans and stuffed his hands into his pockets. As was, a majority of his clothing was back at home anyway so there was no reason to pack up. Not yet. “You gonna call Cliff and tell him you’re coming over, Jill?” questioned Shaun as they checked into the ferry. Tony gave the youngest a droll look while Jill looked surprised. “Oh, I guess I could check on him, huh?” “Oi, I thought you were just extending your visit with us” sulked Tony. “I can multitask there, bro” Jill retorted, sticking out her tongue as they sat down. Perhaps. Koji gazed out at the sea in the late evening, zipping his coat a little tighter against the breezes rolling off the winter waters. It would take them a long time to get used to her having to multitask in that domain.
After the hour long ride, they were greeted at the station by Yagami Lyla. The pink-haired woman smiled, getting out of her car, “Hi, guys!” ‘Hey, nee-san’ went around, the woman often addressed as the older sister they would never have. Shin gave her a kiss on the cheek, murmuring, “Sweetie, I was going to commute for a few days from the mansion while Jill is visiting. I understand if you don’t want to go.” “Oh no, that’d be perfect. I need to check in with mama anyway” Lyla nodded, “Argh, I would have brought your truck if I knew though. No way is everyone getting into my car.” Lyla had a cute little Volkswagen but yea, not happening. Koji gestured over his shoulder, tilting his head, “I’ll hail us a cab. Why don’t you two go to your apartment and get your stuff and we’ll meet you there?” “And we’ll grab something to eat since most likely mom and dad haven’t been home in a while” Nelly added. “Sounds like a plan” nodded Shin, going to the passenger side of Lyla’s car. They decided to go uptown to get Chinese from a little spot they’d been frequenting since they were children that was settled near the water. Koji closed his eyes, listening to his siblings speak as he sat in the back of the passenger van cab they managed to wrangle. It…would have been nice to get Popuri to meet his parents. …But that seemed quite serious. Like Nelly, they weren’t there yet… …Right?
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Yagami Jill sighed, hugging herself in the cold city air as they meandered up the street. The weird part about coming home was realizing…maybe this wasn’t that much home anymore. It was going to be a year in two months since she went to Mineral Town and she was no better off in finding herself than before. Just now, she had a boyfriend and farm experience to show for it. She wasn’t sure if Mineral Town was exactly ‘home’ but…something about it was starting to grow on her. Something about its…moldability made it very curious. “What the hell is this?” Jill frowned as Tony growled. What? Following her twin brother’s eyes, she paused. At a café, there sat Izumi Cliff…with another blonde woman. She had shoulder length hair, petite, with dark blue eyes… …Everything in her immediately went negative. Everything. The alcoholism wasn’t enough but he also had the nerve to cheat on her? After everything she’d done for him? How? Why? What was so good about that woman? Why would he do this? Didn’t he… Swallowing hard, her eyes burning, she yelped when Koji, at ease, walked over. Oh no. “N-Nii-san!!” All of her brother’s followed with that deathly intent that she’d been wronged and it would be rectified with bloodshed. No! She…
…She what? Cliff was smiling but looked up when they got closer, seeming surprised, “Jill?” “U-Um…hi.” What do you even say in this situation? She expected Koji to have immediately flipped the table over and started pummeling Cliff. However, growing more and more surprising to her every day since he had grown so…chill, Koji appeared to be surveying the situation? What? Cliff smiled, holding his hand out, “Guys, I would like you to meet Nyoko, my baby sister. Nyoko, this is my girlfriend, Jill, and her brothers Koji, Nelly, Shaun and Tony.” …OH. Nyoko smiled as well, standing to bow, “It’s nice to meet you at last. Onii-san is always going on about you.” “A-Ah, yes, I’ve heard great things about you too” Jill blurted, a little dazed. Cliff stood and kissed her temple, still all smiles, probably entirely unaware she thought he was a cheating bastard mere seconds ago. Hell, seeing his siblings had been her suggestion! “What brings you into town, baby?” “O-Oh, I-I, uh, was going to stay a couple days with my parents to visit. Popuri is watching the farm for me.” Nyoko frowned, looking at her watch, “Well, Cliff, I need to get back on the clock. Are you going to go with your girlfriend or come back to mom’s?” Eh? Cliff made a face, shaking his head, “…It’s sad that I really have to consider that answer.” His little sister rolled her eyes around, putting a half apron that was hanging on the back of the metal chair around her waist, “Did you really think our mother was going to change just because you decided to go AWOL for a little while? You probably really just made her worse.” Pursing his lips, Cliff tapped the back of the chair before reaching into his pocket, slipping some gold pieces to her, “…I’ll be making more money soon and then you can quit this job to focus on school, Nyoko. I won’t let mom put you through the same craziness she put me.” “Are you kidding?” she said blandly, “You send me money, mom will lose her shit and I will still need to hold an almost full-time job. I’m just glad dad can sneak and pay tuition for me. I swear, if it weren’t for Kyoko, I’d have moved out by now. I’d have free time then.” …Yeesh. Cliff appeared cross before shaking his head, “…I’ll visit with Jill for a bit and come back to pick you up later.” “Okay. Nice meeting you all” Nyoko said politely, bowing again. They all nodded and bowed as she apparently went back to work, waitressing tables. Nelly raised a brow, drawling, “…And she gets off…?” It was already eight o’clock, most younger employees would be getting off very soon. Cliff kneaded his temple, sighing gravely, “Twelve. She usually has to get 42 hours a week to get my mom happy.” 42 hours a week? “While going to high school?” Shaun gawked. “She’s tougher than I was, I’ll say that much” Cliff grimaced. Koji looked perturbed, “…I mean, no offense, man, but if your mom lives in the slums, where is all that money even…going?” Eh? Cliff brushed his bangs back, smirking darkly, “Any guess you have would be as good as mine: I have no idea. My mother pockets it, I guess? She works sixty hours a week so Nyoko’s money must be going to utilities or something? I dunno but it doesn’t make sense.” No…no, it did not. Jill flustered as Cliff held her hand, just kind of blending into the group as they continued along their way. What…what was that though? What was that feeling a minute ago? Was…was it jealousy? It…it felt like anger. …But it also felt like resentment. This… …This was molding in all sorts of directions too.
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End Notes: (Old and Rereaders) Lol, the ‘boob scene’ is pretty classic. It was always silly but I wanted to keep at least a remnant of it.
Elli and Nelly…had the most bewildering introduction to each other in the OG version. I know I wrote it but it was like…I recall it but I don’t want to. I think Nelly was looking for the farm and just wandered into the clinic and Elli thought he was cute and he was flirting with her and she just kissed him out of nowhere? It was a disaster and like…not even slightly how I ended up characterizing her in later stories in the series. So, this is a rehash of their origin story but one I much prefer.
In the game, Cliff did have a mother and sister and I want to say they both *spoiler* had passed. It was the cutscene where he passes out and you pick up the picture he had, and it was a picture of them. Yea, they’re not…dead here.