The town was busy with activity crowding the streets and sidewalks leaving the o plow through everything around. o the neighborhood of Yuki and many of his cssmates was a shopping district within walking distahat provided much of the after school eai. It left the sidewalks filled with students just off from csses.

  Yumi arrived in front of the local bookstore that she had found through the school. She opehe detting the familiar whiff of paper. At the front desk, the owner waved to her. “Good afternoon, Yumi!” Politely smiling back, she gave him a short bow before hurrying on to the back.

  In the employee break room, she pced her bag down. A locker with a sticker in handwritten kanji, Yumi, stood on the far right. She pulled up the td retrieved out the scks and purple polo. With the clothes in hand, she stepped over to the small bathroom.

  Once ged, she left her school uniform in the locker auro the front of the store. “I’m ready, sir!”

  Chapter 31 – Unbroken Bonds

  The owner, a middle aged man, approag his fifties, pulled up a cardboard box from behind the ter. He patted his hand on the side. “I need you to stock these, Yumi. These were a te shipment. You’ll find the rest on the cart.”

  “Uood!” She pulled on the box feeling its weight and tugged harder. It slid into her body as she got an arm u. Thankfully, it appeared to be only half packed. She smiled to herself, the focus giving her peace.

  On the far side of the store, she found the cart stacked deep with books and boxes. She set down the box on the floor. Her eyes sed over anything that jumped out at her. There was a lot to reshelf.

  Two stacks into stog, she paused on a children’s book. The cover had a simple cute design with a happy family. A mother and father walking with their two kids. Her hand passed over the image. Echoes of the past tore up to the surfabsp; Yumi blinked and started hearing the familiar voices.

  “That’s amazing, Yori! You’re so smart!” Their mother patted a young Yori on the head. His test held tightly iher hand.

  Yumi looked in from the hall at the se, holding most of her behind the wall. She stared on in sileg it py out. The moment Yori looked her way, she hid behind the wall.

  Their mother noticed immediately and walked out to the hall. She k dowo Yumi. “Yumi?” Following the go Yori’s paper, their mother folded it up. “It’s alright, dear! You don’t o hide.”

  Yumi pulled herself back a little, catg the warm f smile from her mother. She stood ihreshold of the doorway hanging her head down trying to hold back her tears. “…Mom…” Her entire body was shaking ready to run away.

  “What’s the matter, Yumi? Why are y, dear?” She raised up Yumi’s head to look at her, seeing the tears that hung in her eyes. Then she looked down, catg a paper in Yumi’s tiny hands wrinkled from her tight hold on it.

  She gently took the paper from Yumi to look at it and the aside. “Is this what’s got you upset? Don’t worry, Yumi. You’re still my precious daughter. Yrades won’t ge how I feel!” Yumi jumped into her mother’s arms and held out for her, uo stop the g.

  “…Hrmph…” Yori said, turning his head away walking out of the room leaving them behind.

  Late into the night, the distant sound of the front door woke Yumi up. A little hazy, she leaned forward from her sheets to listen. It took until then for her to realize that her father had finally e home.

  She jumped out of bed and hurried to the door. Yumi pulled the door open cautiously. Muffled voices of her parents caught her attention. A smile came with her excitement and she ighe fear rushing into the hall.

  To her surprise, when she arrived at the stairs Yori stood down staring at their father. “Yori?” She hid against the er sensing the tone.

  “…doing here…” a muffled voice of her father said.

  “I know… …pying around…”

  “…just a child…”

  “NO! I… …mother knows… …waits for you each…”

  The voices suddenly became raised and much clearer to uand. “You don’t have any right to talk to your father like that!”

  “And what right do you have to make mother cry every night when you don’t e home and knows what you’re doing!”

  “Don’t you talk bae, child! This doesn’t you!”

  “It does when my own father doesn’t seem to care about his own family!”

  “Watouth! I—“ The shouting became louder. Yumi panicked and fled back to her room. She buried herself under her sheets as the dull sounds bounced around her room.

  Yumi pulled her focus back to her work iore. Her mind had been absent for long enough leaving the books that she was supposed to stock still resting. When she realized how far behind she was on her work she panicked and filed her arms.

  The books were eventually finished and she was about to take the box back when she was called forward. It was the woman that was the only other full time worker at the store apart from the family that owhe store. Yumi would see her in almost every day w behind the ter most days. “Yes, Miss Momoko?”

  “Hey, Yumi! Could you take this to the bae?”

  “Sure!” There was someone else there with his back turo her handing over a bag to Momoko.

  “You just give it to her, Yuki.”

  “ht! Sorry!”

  Yumi froze instantly seeing Yuki standing before her. ‘What’s he doing here? Why is…’ Her heart could barely hahe surprise. It leapt into her throat stopping her words. Yuki stepped forward to her holding out the bag for her to take as she stepped babsp; “…Hayashi…”

  Her body remained frozen still with her face getting warmer by the sed. Fshes of Yori came over her followed by her friends. Whispers told her what to do. She couldn’t move her body. ‘What do I do?!’

  Yuki took a step forward, developing a fused look on his face for the odd rea from Yumi. He tried to hold out the bag for her again, seeing that it was out of reach for her to take, but even being closer did not make a differenbsp; “Yumi?”

  ‘What should I do?’

  Gng over at Momoko, Yuki tried to get a read of the situation. The limited iions with Yumi, he didn’t really know a lot about her. “Is she okay?”

  Momoko leaned over the ter toug Yumi on the shoulder. “Yumi? You feeling okay?”

  ‘Yori! Yuki!’ Yumi’s mind suddenly went into a spin hearing the eg voice of her brother in her mind reminding her of his feelings. She o listen to him. That was the correct thing she should do. Yet he stood in front of him. ‘He’s here now. I ’t avoid him…’

  The faded voices didn’t quite reach her fully. It took a little shake from Momoko t her back to reality finally. Gasping for air, Yumi flipped her head back betweewo. Wide eyed and uain, she tried to guess how long it had been. The looks didn’t give her a positive answer. “Umm…sorry! Right!”

  She grabbed the bag from Yuki. ‘Be normal!’ Not even thinking, she recalled the st thing from Momoko and hurried towards the ba. However, her shoulder crashed into the bookshelf knog back.

  All at once, everything smmed into her and lightheadedness overtook her. She dropped to the floor clutg the bag, while atop a few scattered books.

  “Yumi?!” Yuki rushed over to her side looking to see if she hurt herself. The store polo looked to have survived. Perhaps she only tapped it and bruised herself. He k dowo her, a hand.

  To everyone's surprise, a low growl came from Yumi that even Momoko could hear. Red flushed over Yumi’s cheeks as she pressed her hands to her stomabsp; A ugh burst out of Momoko soon followed by Yuki. She weakly grinned praying nothing more came from her belly.

  Yuki rubbed his eye and looked back at his sister. “You running a sve ship here?”

  “Only in the house! You better listen to your Cap!”

  “Careful or I’ll stage a mutiny with the dwarf twins!”

  Exging grins, Momo reached behind the ter and pulled out a pstic bag. “Help her to the back!” She tossed it over to Yuki.

  An easy catch, he passed it over to his left hand while Yumi his right. “You’re not hurt are you?”

  Shaking her head, she pushed off the floor to get back to her feet. ‘Oh the books!’ Yumi quickly started pig up the books she knocked down. A few slipped out of her hands, still also carrying the bag from Yuki.

  Momoko motioo her from the ter. “Go, Yumi! I’ll up. Get something inside you before keel over!”

  “Y-Yes, Miss Momoko!”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice.”

  “N-no, it’s not…your fault!”

  Yuki took the books from her and pced them loosely on the shelf before esc her to the babsp; Things quickly spun beyond her trol. Not that she had any trol. She could only sit down at the table while Yuki pulled out a sealed pte and some smaller baggies.

  When she realized what id in front her, she attempted to stand up. “I ’t! This is…her food!”

  “Yumi! It’s alright. Momo gave it to you. She wouldn’t have do, if she didn’t want you to have it.”

  “But…”“Please, eat.”

  “Thank you…”

  Swallowing the guilt with the food, Yumi quickly tried to get through the food. The back of her neck felt warm with Yuki so close to her. All of the voices making orders for her faded out.

  A cough stopped her as she had to pause eating. Yuki pushed over a pstic water bottle. She downed a third of it before taking a breath. “Thanks…”

  “Pace yourself. I would have given you my lunch at school if I knew you were so hungry.”

  She shook her head. “No! I’m sorry! I…It’s not…Or I…” Yumi stopped herself before she attempted an expnation. Looking at Yuki, this was a different person than the css knew. This was the one she saw just onbsp; There were sides the others missed nored.

  She wao know more. A new path, a different path forked from her road. Staring down the fork, she no longer knew which was right and which was wrong. ath was safe? Which should she follow? “ I ask you something?”