Chapter 129: Uika: Brother, you smell good (Patreon)

Once a seed of suspicion takes root in the heart, it grows wild and unchecked, like weeds.

Uika Misumi knew she shouldn't doubt her good bro. But…

What if, though? Every single trait Saki had described of that man — even that maddening, contradictory feeling of being infuriated and yet reassured at the same time — fit Uchiha-kun perfectly.

Uika thought back to how she always felt whenever she texted Uchiha Ayato.

Every time she dumped her emotional baggage on him, every time he shot back some biting, teasing reply…

That feeling — being bullied and yet, at the same time, genuinely understood and supported — was unmistakably the same.

Could there really be two people so alike in this world?

Japan was a small country — not like that vast neighbor next door with its endlessly deep gene pool and lightning-fast restocking. On this narrow strip of land, people's social circles overlapped far more than anyone expected.

When someone describes a person and it sounds like someone you already know, it's usually best not to doubt your gut. And there was one more clue too glaring to ignore — Uchiha Ayato's apartment seemed to be somewhere near Ikebukuro.

The last time Uika had run into Togawa Sakiko and Wakaba Mutsumi out grocery shopping together, it had been in Ikebukuro too.

Every scattered clue, every stray puzzle piece, connected in that instant with brutal clarity inside Uika's mind.

But wasn't this dark joke a little too cruel?

The harbor she'd been searching for turned out to be the very storm that would wreck her hopes.

Bro. My good bro. I poured my whole heart out to you, told you every ugly, fragile thing about myself — why did you have to go and cuck me?

Her breathing turned ragged, each inhale scraping her lungs like shards of glass, the pain sharp enough to make her want to end it all on the spot.

Right. She'd never actually told Uchiha-kun the name of the moonlight she'd always pined for — Togawa Sakiko.

All this time, she'd only ever played the role of the one who unburdened herself, endlessly demanding emotional support in return. About Uchiha-kun's own life, she realized, she knew practically nothing.

Uika Misumi: I've been ~punished~

A tidal wave of hurt crashed over her, the crushing weight of it nearly enough to break Uika entirely.

Despair and anguish, almost tangible now, churned and compressed violently within the girl's chest.

If Uika really had carried Uchiha blood, the way the System had mistakenly judged, she might have awakened the Mangekyou right then and there.

But in reality, though she had no Sharingan, Uika awakened something else entirely.

A Cursed Technique.

A vast, viscous, ice-cold power suddenly surged from somewhere deep inside her body.

Everything about her Innate Technique flooded into Uika's mind all at once, in the very moment of awakening.

Yet Uika spared not the slightest thought for investigating this sudden supernatural power.

The abrupt flood of information gave her only a brief moment's pause before she brushed it aside.

Right now, she had something a hundred times more important to deal with.

Uika refused to go gentle into that good night, refused to accept defeat while still carrying this tormenting suspicion.

I'd rather hurt than go numb.

Uika was going to get to the bottom of this.

She needed an answer definitive enough to either kill every last hope, or prove this was nothing but an absurd coincidence.

Across from her, Togawa Sakiko frowned slightly, her gaze settling on Uika.

Togawa Sakiko: "?"

That flicker she'd just seen around Uika… was that cursed energy?

Was Uika a Jujutsu Sorcerer too?

Sakiko filed the thought away quietly, saying nothing outwardly, planning to observe more closely when the chance arose.

For now, though, a far more troublesome matter demanded her attention.

In the next moment, Uika spoke again.

She pressed her hands together at her chest and said, in a tone of breathless wonder:

"That sounds so romantic…"

"If Saki hadn't told me herself, I'd probably think it was some made-up fairy tale."

"Honestly though, Saki, you've been keeping this so under wraps."

Uika forced a smile, her trembling voice full of stubborn insistence.

"You've been calling him 'that person' this whole time. After saying this much, aren't you finally going to tell me the name of your 'destined one'?"

Sakiko froze at that.

She hadn't expected Uika to press the matter all the way to the bottom.

In Sakiko's mind, Uika had always been a girl with a keen sense of boundaries.

Having laid things out this clearly, Sakiko had expected Uika to quietly let go of any unrealistic hopes on her own.

That's enough, Uika. Loving any harder than this would be rude.

Or was it— Watching Uika's unrelenting gaze, a wave of helplessness rose in Sakiko.

Did Uika think she was making the whole thing up to trick her?

Fine, fine, Uika!

If you're going to insist on a clear answer, if you won't give up until you've heard the name with your own ears, then I'll just tell you.

In principle, little Miss Saki really shouldn't be selling Uncle Ayato out over this.

As terrible as Uncle Ayato was, he was still the man little Miss Saki had chosen.

But!

Whose fault was it that Uncle Ayato knew perfectly well Uika liked girls, and deliberately kept it from little Miss Saki, choosing instead to stand by and enjoy the show?

Recalling everything that had just happened, Sakiko felt a flare of anger.

Even more infuriating — that man had run off halfway through enjoying the spectacle!

Leaving her all alone to face down that terrifyingly intense girl by herself.

What goes around comes around — karma never misses!

If you can pull this on the first of the month, don't blame me for paying it back on the fifteenth.

Selling you out? Only fair.

You can shoulder some of this heavy emotional tangle too!

Sakiko made her decision.

She set aside her earlier flustered shyness, her expression turning serious.

Then the name slipped from between her lips.

"Ayato." "Uchiha Ayato."

Having spoken the name, Sakiko's gaze fixed firmly on Uika's face, determined not to miss a single flicker of reaction.

There was an information gap between Sakiko and Uika.

She knew Uika and Ayato were unusually close — to Uika, Ayato was probably something like a best-girlfriend figure.

Sakiko wanted to see just how Uika would react upon learning the man she liked was Uika's "bestie."

But Sakiko was destined to be disappointed.

The instant the name "Uchiha Ayato" left Sakiko's mouth, the air around Uika did grow heavy for a moment.

But immediately after, it turned unbelievably light again.

Uika heard a dull thud ring in her ears — the sound of the boulder inside her finally crashing to the ground.

She'd already braced herself for this, so what she felt now was mostly relief.

Uika felt like a fugitive who'd spent years fleeing in fear of capture, only to feel an unprecedented lightness the moment the judge's gavel finally came down with a death sentence.

Ah… Of course. Of course it was Uchiha-kun.

Uika let out a soft sigh.

Only someone like him could ever have pried open Saki's tightly shut heart.

So why did her chest still ache so much?

Today, my hands tremble!

Today, my heart breaks!

Bro, you're not my bro anymore!

I don't want you anymore!

True heartbreak isn't loud shouting and scenes.

Disappointment is the overture to leaving; silence is the only choice left.

But for now, I'll hold it in!

Uika swallowed down the roiling bitterness and blinked her stinging eyes.

"Uchiha… Ayato."

She rolled the name slowly between her teeth, then forced a sweet smile back onto her face.

"What an unusual surname."

Uika tilted her head, feigning idle curiosity about a friend's love-life gossip, and leaned in a little closer.

"So, Saki — are you and this Uchiha-kun already dating, then?"

"When are you going to introduce me to your boyfriend?"

Togawa Sakiko: …

She'd braced herself for an outburst of accusations or tears from Uika, and this sudden left-turn of a question left her thoughts jammed.

D-dating?

Sakiko's eyes darted around in a panic, too flustered in the moment to wonder what small scheme lay behind Uika's question.

She'd almost rather face Uika crying, screaming, and threatening to hang herself than answer this question.

Back at the rented apartment, the mood really had built to that point — and, as if possessed, she'd briefly cast aside all restraint and told him, red-faced, that she liked him.

But…

But afterward, she'd been the one to change the subject!

And that infuriating man had simply gone along with it, acting as if nothing had happened, never giving her any clear answer at all.

The thought alone filled Sakiko with a sudden wave of grievance.

If he'd just given her a straight answer back then, would she really be stuck in this humiliating corner with Uika now?

But Sakiko was, after all, still Sakiko.

The pride of a well-bred young lady and the dignity ingrained in her bones would never allow her to save face with a lie now.

Tell one lie, and she'd need a thousand more just to hold it up.

…Not yet.

Sakiko's gaze slid away, avoiding Uika's probing eyes, and she answered without much conviction:

"Right now, it's really just wishful thinking on my part."

That simple admission had cost her an enormous amount of effort.

Uika Misumi: ???

This time, it was Uika's turn to freeze.

Not dating?

It was just Saki, all on her own, carrying an unrequited crush?

Uika stared blankly at Sakiko, whose cheeks were flushed and posture fidgety, feeling the whole situation had veered completely off script.

Uchiha-kun wasn't the cuckold here — Saki had gone and cucked herself.

Someone as proud, as dazzling as Saki — could she really have a love she couldn't reach?

Sorry, bro.

Turns out I misjudged you. You're still my best bro. You never betrayed me.

It's just…

Why, after learning the truth, did the envy and resentment inside her only keep growing more wildly?

It seemed like Uchiha-kun had always been favored by everyone around him.

First Mana, and now Saki.

Someone perpetually surrounded by love like that — did he, too, ever feel lonely?

When faced with all that affection, what did he think? How did he respond?

A strange thought quietly took root in the depths of Uika's mind.

A sudden, powerful urge rose in her — the desire to truly get to know Uchiha Ayato.

Whatever Saki loved had to be something extraordinary.

Uika thought back to the argument she'd once had with Uchiha Ayato at the planetarium.

He'd told her she was just projecting every beautiful fantasy she had onto Saki.

He'd said she had never truly been saved.

If Uchiha-kun could be the sun for Saki, mired as she was in the mud, pulling her out of the darkness — then…

Could a little of that light shine on me too?

Without even realizing it, once the tide of overwhelming loss and despair receded, the emotional compensation mechanism buried in Uika's subconscious kicked into overdrive again.

Saki, I'm sorry.

I really had already decided to let go.

Knowing you're happy was supposed to be enough for me.

But we're best friends, aren't we?

Since you like him so much, since he's so wonderful…

Just let me get a little closer too.

Let me feel, too, what it's like to be lit up by that light, to stop being tormented by fear of gain and loss.

Only then could she truly understand why Sakiko was so utterly infatuated with him.

"Um… Uika."

Sakiko cleared her throat softly, trying to reclaim a shred of her own composure.

"Let's not dig any deeper into the whole thing about him."

Admitting to an unrequited crush felt humiliating; she wanted desperately to end the topic before Uika saw any more of her flustered mess.

Hearing this, Uika pulled her thoughts back from that twisted longing and dutifully lowered her head.

"I'm sorry, Saki."

She murmured the apology, her voice touched with just the right note of dejection.

In truth, compared to that gut-wrenching agony from before, her mood had already settled considerably.

And atop those ruins, a gorgeous flower, thorned with poison, had already begun to bloom.

Seeing Uika like this, Sakiko's heart softened, and she felt a twinge of regret for having spoken too harshly a moment ago.

"It's fine. I didn't mean to blame you."

Sakiko sighed, her gaze softening a little.

"It's just — talking about something this private out in public is more than a little embarrassing."

"Ding—"

Just then, Uchiha Ayato — once again disguised as an ordinary passerby via his Transformation technique — happened to step out of the elevator.

He glanced casually toward the little bridge where Sakiko and Uika stood, and in that single look, a flash of bewilderment crossed his face.

What was going on?

Uncle Ayato had only been gone a few minutes — how had things suddenly become so hard to read?

The odd atmosphere was one thing, but why did Uika now have traces of cursed energy lingering on her?

Meaning what, exactly?

Ayato had originally planned to release a small trace of Chakra, the way he had before, to let Sakiko know he was back.

But now… Ayato had built his whole life on caution.

If Uika had traces of cursed energy on her now, it likely meant her sensitivity in that regard had suddenly sharpened.

Releasing Chakra carelessly under these circumstances might not just fail to signal Sakiko — it could draw Uika's attention and stir up needless complications.

Poor Uncle Ayato had no idea he'd already been sold out, lock, stock, and barrel, by little Miss Saki.

Had he known his own name had become the center of the two girls' conversation, he probably wouldn't even have bothered keeping up the act.

Ayato found a chair and sat down, pulled out his phone, and sent Sakiko a short message from his work number:

[Cleanup complete. Cold Front has returned to formation.]

"Bzzt—"

Sakiko was about to say something else when her phone buzzed sharply inside her bag.

She pulled it out as if granted a reprieve, her eyes sweeping the line of text on the screen, and let out a long breath of relief.

That jerk had finally come back.

Perfect timing, really — just in time to give her an escape.

Sakiko tucked the phone back into her bag and, looking at Uika across from her, offered an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Uika."

"I just got a work message. I'm afraid I have to head out."

"I'm the one who asked you out today, and now I'm the one leaving first. I'm really sorry."

Uika shook her head, a gentle smile settling back over her face.

"It's okay, Saki."

"Just getting to see you today already made me happy."

"As for the band, don't you worry about a thing."

Her eyes were bright and soft, her voice firm.

"I told you already — whatever Saki wants to do, I'll back you all the way."

"Thank you, Uika."

"Then… let's talk again some other time."

"Mm. Get home safe."

After exchanging goodbyes, Sakiko turned and hurried off toward the elevator.

Watching Sakiko's hurried retreating figure, the smile on Uika's face slowly faded, something settling in her eyes.

Work?

No.

The way Saki had visibly relaxed the second she saw that text — that had nothing to do with work.

Did it have something to do with Uchiha-kun?

So sly, Saki.

You already have such a warm shelter to lean on, and yet you still put on this exhausted, work-worn act in front of me.

But it's fine.

Just wait.

Wait until I go crawling to Uchiha-kun again for comfort, like some clueless fool, carrying all the hurt of being brushed aside by you today…

When that happens, I hope you won't mind, Saki.

Ayato watched Sakiko step into the elevator, then lingered where he was for about another minute.

Once he confirmed Uika showed no sign of following, he finally got up and left.

A moment later, in a quiet corner of the first floor of the Seibu department store—

"Good work today, Saki."

Ayato, his Transformation technique undone, handed Sakiko a can of juice, an unusual note of curiosity in his voice.

"What did you two talk about just now?"

"And why did traces of cursed energy suddenly show up on Uika?"

Looking at that handsome yet thoroughly punchable face, Sakiko crossed her arms and let out a cold huff.

"Oh, so you remember how to come back?"

"When you snuck off to watch the show and left me alone to face Uika, did you even think about what might happen?"

"If you knew I'd actually said the words 'unrequited crush' just to turn Uika down, who knows how much you'd tease me for it!"

"Ah well, an emergency's an emergency~"

Ayato said soothingly, smiling.

"If I hadn't dragged that guy off, he'd have started swinging at me right there."

"I was thinking of your safety too, you know."

Togawa Sakiko: "?"

So that was it?

Hearing Ayato's explanation, Sakiko naturally lost her edge.

She shook her head, a bit of confusion crossing her own face too.

"I don't know what happened with Uika either. All I know is I suddenly sensed a violent surge of cursed energy coming off her."

"As for what we talked about…"

Watching Ayato look so completely in the dark, not yet realizing his own secret had already been sold out, Sakiko felt the corners of her mouth curl up despite herself.

She held onto a sly, mysterious smile, her eyes gleaming with both smugness and a thrill of revenge.

"That's a secret."

Mimicking the mysterious tone Ayato had used earlier to talk her into meeting Uika alone, she said slowly:

"A secret makes a woman, woman."

"When the time comes, you'll find out soon enough, Ayato-kun."

Uchiha Ayato: "?"

You're using my own move against me?

Evening.

Uchiha Ayato's apartment.

Wakaba Mutsumi was curled up in the corner of the sofa, a nationally popular comedy variety show playing on the TV screen.

A few outlandishly dressed performers were comically flopping around in a mud pit, yelping dramatically, sending the studio audience into fits of laughter.

But Mutsumi just hugged her knees, watching the screen with a blank expression.

"Click."

The sound of the smart lock unlocking came from the entryway.

The girl's eyes lit up instantly.

She sprang up from the sofa and hurried toward the entryway in her slippers.

"Wel—"

The "welcome home" she'd been holding onto for so long was just about to spill out — and caught in her throat the very next second.

Standing there, along with the Ayato she'd been longing for, was someone who absolutely should not have been there.

Or rather, someone who shouldn't have shown up dragging a suitcase like this.

Togawa Sakiko.

Her once inseparable childhood friend. Her other half.

Sakiko's hand gripped the suitcase handle tightly, her gaze darting about, looking flustered and guilty.

Mutsumi stopped in her tracks; the exaggerated laughter from the TV suddenly sounded jarringly loud.

Wakaba Mutsumi: …

Ayato, you're the worst.

Just this morning, she'd told him there was no room for anyone else.

By the afternoon, he'd already brought Saki home.

Mutsumi looked at Ayato, her eyes full of quiet resentment.

Unfortunately, Uncle Ayato was utterly unbothered by the pressure, not a trace of guilt on his face.

With no other option, Mutsumi turned her gaze to Sakiko instead.

After silently staring her down for a moment, piling on the pressure, she finally spoke.

"Saki, what's going on here?"

Wakaba Mutsumi: So Saki's gone and fallen for Ayato after all.

Something she'd already seen coming.

Hmph, hmph, hmph — don't you dare try to steal my man. You've got some nerve.

Confronted like this, Sakiko lost even more of her nerve.

Instinctively, she shrank back behind Ayato, trying to escape Mutsumi's piercing stare.

Ayato took in this rather bizarre scene, casually took the suitcase from Sakiko's hand, and broke the standoff.

"Don't grill her like that, Mutsu."

"I stopped by Saki's place on the way today. It's really no place for a person to live."

"Besides, Saki's decided she doesn't want anything more to do with that drunk."

"So I just brought her back with me."

Hearing this, Mutsumi fell silent.

She studied Ayato's face and confirmed the seriousness in his eyes.

This was Ayato's decision.

Whatever Ayato decides, I'll accept.

Mutsumi pressed her lips together lightly, the thread of resentment in her eyes slowly dissolving into calm acceptance.

She stepped aside, clearing the way through the entryway.

"Welcome home."

Four light little words — yet they reconnected the bond between two halves with total, unreserved acceptance.

Wakaba Mutsumi, it turned out, had a genuinely generous heart.

Hearing those words, Sakiko nearly welled up with tears.

Mutsumi… you're so kind!

The living room.

Sakiko had just set her suitcase down in the corner, not yet having opened it to unpack, when Mutsumi walked up in front of her and opened her palm.

"Here."

Resting quietly in her pale palm was a pair of orange foam earplugs.

Sakiko tilted her head, looking at the earplugs, a flicker of confusion crossing her eyes.

"Thanks for the thought, Mutsumi."

"But… I don't think I'll need something like this."

She laughed at herself a little.

"Living in Akabane trained me to fall asleep fast through pretty much any noise."

But Mutsumi shook her head, stubborn.

She didn't withdraw her hand, her eyes full of certainty.

"Saki, you're definitely going to need these."

"The noise tonight…" "It's going to be loud."

Togawa Sakiko: ???