And then there was Kamijou Mutsuki. She had actually thought this "trash" person would be led astray by her scumbag father—how naive!
He wasn't led astray; he'd been promoted directly to her "Eldest Uncle," hadn't he?
Sakiko desperately wanted to give both of the men in front of her a punch.
"Oh, right..."
Perhaps because Soyo was so close by, Sakiko's father was being influenced by the atmosphere too.
"Speaking of which, Big Brother, you're introducing me to a job and I haven't even repaid you yet!"
"Sakiko is incredibly good at housework, and don't you like this girl a lot too?"
"It's perfect—you can just have her go over to your place..."
Sakiko: ?
Wait, was her scumbag father really selling her out right in front of her face?
"This..."
Hearing this, Kamijou Mutsuki—who had previously looked drunk—suddenly had a look of clarity return to his eyes. He looked at the man with a half-smile.
"...That wouldn't be very appropriate, would it?"
"What's not appropriate about it!"
The middle-aged man acted as if the excessive alcohol intake had caused him to completely lose his mind.
"Do you think I don't trust you, Big Brother?"
A "blonde delinquent" type couldn't be trusted, but a "Big Brother" was different.
"My Mutsumi-chan doesn't cook very often at home," Kamijou Mutsuki offered as a tactful rejection. "We might not have enough bowls and chopsticks for an extra person!"
'No, even if you're going to reject the offer, find a better excuse than that! And am I really that annoying to you?'
Hearing Kamijou Mutsuki's reply, Sakiko-sensei's face grew even darker.
"Don't worry about that, Big Brother," Sakiko's father couldn't help but laugh. "Sakiko will find her own food when she's hungry."
'Wait, are those words even coming from a human being?' And did he even ask her before making such a decision for her?
"But..."
"Big Brother, now you're not giving your younger brother any face!"
Seeing that Kamijou Mutsuki seemed to want to keep making excuses, the drunken middle-aged man cut him off directly.
"If I tell you to take her, just take her! We're brothers—why be so polite?"
Without waiting for a response, he reached out roughly and tried to push the two of them out. Although he looked disheveled, his body hadn't been completely hollowed out by alcohol yet; he actually managed to shove them both out the door while they were caught off guard.
'Bang!'
He immediately slammed the door shut and double-locked it from the inside, leaving the two of them standing there staring at each other.
"Well..."
Looking at the girl beside him, Kamijou Mutsuki said with a smile, "...Should I call someone to pick the lock?"
"No need."
Sakiko's face was dark. She remained silent for a moment before finally making a decision.
"...Let's go."
"To where?"
"Just like that bastard said—to your house!"
And so, Soyo watched as Sakiko, not long after entering the room, was kicked back out and then got into Kamijou Mutsuki's car.
Wait, they just left?
What are they planning to do in the middle of the night?
"That brat is finally gone..."
Inside the room, after driving out Kamijou Mutsuki and Sakiko, the middle-aged man reverted to his original state of dead-drunk lethargy.
"Now there's no one around to nag about this and that. She was always so stingy whenever I wanted a little money for booze."
And as for that "Big Brother" of his—did he really think he couldn't see that the guy was after his daughter? Still, she fetched a good price. He wondered what his "dear daughter" was thinking right now?
Forget it. No matter what she thinks, anything is better than...
...than rotting away here with him!
"Where is it? I remember putting it here..."
The man suddenly began rummaging through the clutter in the corner. Finally, he pulled out a videotape and stuffed it into a nearby dilapidated machine.
As the contents of the tape loaded, an image appeared on a TV screen that looked even older than the middle-aged man himself. It was footage from the MyGO!!!!! anime—specifically, the first episode where Sakiko leaves the band.
"He's really something, that kid from the Kamijou family," the man muttered, watching the animation while drinking.
"Way better than a piece of trash like me!"
Kamijou Mutsuki was right before: he was a waste of space that no one could respect! He had overplayed his hand trying to prove himself, only to end up with massive debts and get kicked out of his home.
In the end, he had degenerated into a parasite who spent every day drinking to escape reality, forced to rely on his own daughter for survival.
He had to admit, watching his daughter break up with her friends in the anime because of him actually made a part of him want to pull himself together. After all, she used to be so gentle, so proud—just like...
But then again, that joke wasn't funny at all. If a piece of trash could pull themselves together, could they still be called trash?
The man shook his head and took another massive swig of beer.
'Heh, my daughter's blood and sweat sure tastes good!'
Sucking her dry like this feels great—isn't it way better than working a hard job? It's just a pity there's no one around to lose their temper at him anymore.
Fine, let it be. This is fine.
-----------------------------------
"Sakiko-sensei,"
Inside the car, looking at the girl who had just been abandoned by her father, Kamijou Mutsuki spoke with a gentle expression.
"Rest assured, your Eldest Uncle will dote on you just like his own flesh-and-blood niece."
"Who is your niece?" Sakiko Togawa said without a trace of politeness. "Also, do you realize how clumsy your way of comforting people is?"
'When did Sakiko-sensei become so aggressive?'
Kamijou Mutsuki's expression remained unchanged, but he was slightly surprised inwardly.
"I don't need comfort," the girl said, yet her eyes gradually began to redden. "I don't need it."
Then came the complaining.
"That bastard... all he knows is how to drink, yet he's so skilled at selling off his daughter. Is it really that hard to pull himself together? Does he honestly think he's doing this for my own good? Disgusting man! He should just go ahead and rot away completely!"
They were certainly father and daughter, but Sakiko could only feel disgusted. This was because his actions were a total negation of everything she had done up until now! Why did he think she had left the Togawa family with him in the first place? And this was the result?
However, did Sakiko-sensei find this self-righteous behavior—cutting ties with those who care about you—even a little bit familiar?
"If Sakiko-chan hates him that much, should I find someone to have him 'taken care of' right now?"
"..."
Sakiko-sensei suddenly went silent. This was the definition of killing a conversation.
"...Isn't he your 'second brother'?"
Although she really didn't want to acknowledge that relationship, the image of those two with their arms around each other's shoulders hadn't faded from her mind yet. To put it simply: it was surreal.
"I just met him today; how could he possibly compare to Saki-chan!"
Kamijou Mutsuki cut ties at light speed.
"If Sakiko wishes it, he won't see the sun tomorrow night!"
"There isn't any sun at night anyway..."
As soon as Sakiko finished her retort, she covered her mouth as if realizing something. 'Oh no, I let him set the pace!'
Nevertheless, with Kamijou Mutsuki interjecting like this, her mood was no longer as depressed and indignant as before.
"...There's no need to be that extreme."
While her scumbag father's behavior disgusted her, it hadn't reached the point of "patricide without regrets" just yet.
........................