Chapter 128: B - Miori, the disgrace of the Yukinaga family (1)

"Jiro, do you seriously think this is a reasonable time to come home? Mom told you not to stay out past one, and it’s almost three! And what the hell happened to your face?!" Miori exclaims the moment she sees the black eye.

As their parents had instructed, Miori had stayed awake waiting for him.

"Mind your own business, Miori. Besides, if Mom really cared what time I got home, she’d be the one waiting up for me instead of dumping it all on you."

"You still haven’t told me what happened. Did someone hit you?" Miori presses, clearly worried.

"And I already told you to stay out of it."

Jiro heads for the bathroom, but Miori steps in front of him, blocking his way.

"If someone hurt my brother, then it absolutely is my business! Tell me who did it. Now."

Jiro rolls his eyes and throws his arms up in exasperation.

"It was a waiter from the Moonlight Club. Happy now?"

"There must be at least ten waiters working there! Tell me his name, or at least what he looks like! And listen carefully: if you don’t tell me, I swear I’ll go there myself tomorrow and cause a scene you can’t even imagine!"

Jiro lets out a long, defeated sigh.

"I don’t know... Aoshi, or something like that. I think his boss called him that. Can I go to the bathroom now? I’m about to piss myself, and if you don’t move, I swear I’ll piss on your feet!"

The moment she hears that name, Miori’s eyes widen in disbelief.

"A-Aoshi, you said...? Are you sure...?"

"Yeah, pretty sure. A skinny guy with a stupid-looking face, about ten centimeters taller than me, and brown hair."

The description matches Aoshi Toya perfectly.

Except, of course, for the stupid-looking face part, which is subjective... though Miori happens to agree with that assessment.

That idiot really punched my brother? But he’s never hurt a fly in his life... Did he get back at me by taking it out on Jiro? If that’s the case, that moron is dead!

"Why did Aoshi hit you?"

Jiro instinctively tenses at the question, a reaction that doesn’t escape his sister’s notice.

"W-Well... I don’t know what got into him, I swear! I was drinking at the Moonlight Club with Rikuto and Gaku, and that idiot came up to me and punched me for no reason!"

"Bullshit," Miori fires back, immediately catching the hesitation in his voice — the unmistakable tone of someone making up an excuse on the spot. "I know Aoshi very well. He goes to the same university as me, and he’s absolutely not the kind of person who throws punches for no reason. In fact, I’ve never seen him hit anyone. I’ll ask you again, Jiro: why did Aoshi punch you? Tell me right now, or tomorrow I’ll ask him myself."

A cold shiver of fear runs down Jiro’s spine once again.

Damn it! All because that idiot Gaku talked me into going to that shithole instead of our usual place downtown! So what the hell do I do now? Tomorrow that damn waiter is going to tell her everything anyway, so there’s no point lying... I might as well tell her something now and at least try to soften the blow. I don’t have a choice unless I want that psycho to kill me.

I’ll say someone pressured me into it. Yeah... I’ll say they threatened me. She’s dumb enough to believe that. I hope...

"He punched me because..."

Jiro hesitates, buying himself time. Even though he intends to bury the truth beneath a mountain of lies, finding the right words isn’t easy.

"Basically, Gaku forced me to do it... yeah, he made me take a picture of you... naked. He said that if I didn’t, things would end badly for me. So here’s what happened: Gaku had my phone and was looking at the picture I’d secretly taken of you. Right then, that waiter walked by, saw the photo, lost his temper, and punched me. At least his boss wasn’t a complete idiot and fired him on the spot. You could hear that fat bastard yelling even from outside the club."

Jiro starts sobbing, his gaze fixed on the floor.

His eyes are wet with tears, but only because he’s terrified of Miori’s reaction, not because he feels any guilt or remorse.

"I... I didn’t want to do it, I swear, Miori... but I was afraid Gaku might hurt me, or worse, hurt you. But I swear on my life that nobody else saw it besides him, Rikuto, and... well, obviously that waiter. And I didn’t send it to anyone! I deleted it a minute after showing it to them. It’s basically like it never even existed!"

Jiro cautiously raises his head when Miori doesn’t say a single word.

The moment his eyes meet hers, he immediately looks back down.

Her eyes are full of tears and overflowing with a rage that looks ready to explode at any second.

"M-Miori... are you mad at me...?" Jiro asks in a trembling voice, taking a step back.

"Mad at you...? You piece of shit... you secretly took a nude picture of me, and you still have the nerve to ask if I’m mad?!"

"B-But I told you, I didn’t want to! Gaku made me do it!" Jiro stammers, backing away another step.

"Cut the bullshit!" Miori explodes, screaming at the top of her lungs as tears stream down her cheeks. "I know damn well you only did it so you could show off in front of those assholes you hang around with! A-After everything I’ve done for you... after all those times you locked yourself in my room crying because you couldn’t take Mom’s pressure anymore, and I, like a complete idiot, comforted you and took the blame for your mistakes because I didn’t want her screaming at you... this is how you repay me?! You disgust me, Jiro. You really disgust me! You and that pack of useless losers you call friends... you’re nothing but a bunch of pathetic failures!"

Miori breaks into a choked, desperate sob that quickly turns into a fit of coughing.

"H-How could you do this to me, Jiro...? How could you...?!"

Jiro takes another step back, but it’s pointless.

Miori closes the distance in an instant, grabs his arm, and slams him to the floor with a martial arts throw.

"Ow! That hurt, you stupid whore!" Jiro screams, clutching his aching shoulder.

"W-What did you just call me? Say it again if you’ve got the guts," she growls, grabbing the collar of his hoodie and yanking him face-to-face with her.

"I-I said you’re a stupid whore! A psycho whore! That’s what Mom always says! She says you’re the disgrace of this family and that she should’ve aborted you! A-And... and she’s right! You’re crazy, Miori! Crazy!" Jiro shouts, furious from the pain.

Then he actually spits in her face.

A second later, the stairway light suddenly flicks on.

A woman in a white nightgown rushes down the stairs.

It’s Sakura Yukinaga, their mother.