The Dream Shifter

Chapter 149

A long silence fell over the living room with the eldest siblings staring at each other. After Momoko had spoken out she only held her eyes on Yuki. Jun and Ken gave the two a confused and puzzled look back and forth trying to understand. Jun tugged on Yuki's dirty shirt wanting to trying to break up the tension, but only seemed to touch the line receiving a dose of what was going between them.

Abruptly, Yuki stood up from the table keeping eyes on Momoko. A moment later he realized that Jun was still attached to him at his shirt bottom. He looked down at his younger brother giving him a warm smile. "Why don't you and Ken play a little! Big sis and I have some things to talk about quickly." Yuki knelt down to Jun to reassure him that everything was going to be fine. There was still some hesitation from him, but Yuki was slowly allowed to be let go.

Picking their usual talking grounds, Momoko led the way to the kitchen. There was still plenty of unprepared food laid out for the planned dinner that Momoko had in mind. However, she had interrupted it when she decided to speak to Yuki. So nothing was currently cooking, but it did leave the table surface a little crowded. Momoko picked up the knife from the counter and began to chop the vegetables waiting.

Yuki stepped into the room and took up a position against the wall leaning with his hands behind him for a little stability. He waited in silence to see what Momoko had to say before he even dared a word himself. However, the air turned from tense to awkward and Yuki knew that she was waiting for him. He begrudged her an opening line. "What did you want to talk about?"

Chapter 87 – Unspoken Words

There was a bit of pause in Momoko's chopping before she continued. "You know what I want to talk about, Yuki…"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he shrugged making it clear that he was not going to be taking the initiative. "If you wanted helped with dinner you could have picked a less indirect method that didn't scare Jun and Ken."

Momoko tilted her head over her shoulders connected a piercing glare with him for being so casually cheeky with him on a matter that she knew was serious. She raised up her the knife letting the tip of the blade peak over her shoulder. "Don't pretend with me, little brother."

Yuki kept an innocent appearing face to mask out the issues that laid underneath for him. He knew well enough what she wanted, but it still had left him a little constricted on the inside. "Threatening your own brother to help you cook? That's pretty bad for the eldest."

There was a loud crunch in the vegetables as Momoko let the knife down hard. If she had not been cutting with the length of the blade it might have gotten stuck. She dropped the knife down on the cutting board and turned completely. "Enough! I know what you're doing Yuki. You think you're smart the way you're trying to hide yourself, but you're only making it more obvious. You might be good at disguising your face, but your actions are betraying you. So start talking!"

Another long silence fell upon the room as Momoko leveled out any continued deflections. Yuki judged his words as the thoughts that he had been trying to suppress for so long spun faster to the surface. The pressure that was building inside made him feel like he needed to say something to prevent himself from simply exploding. "What you want me to say? Seems like you've figured everything out for yourself already…"

Momoko was becoming tired of Yuki continuing to ignore the problem. She had been watching him the last few days. It had become very clear to her that he was avoiding and dwelling on a matter. The issues going on with the state of the country and Yuki's involvement had her concerned that it was affecting him. She did not want him making a decision on his own that was going to have a major impact the family. There was the look that she had seen before two weeks ago when he was acting strange like he was planning on taking everything on by himself. She could not stand the stubbornness that he showed when it came to them. "Why do you have to always be so defensive when I just want to talk to you?! I'm your sister! Don't exclude me!"

"…sister…" mumbled Yuki with a heavy amount of scoffing layered through his voice. He crossed his arms in front of him putting a little more of lean into his stance against the wall.

A narrowed gaze struck over at Yuki from Momoko when she caught the slight that he had made. "Yuki! If you got something to say then say it to me!"

Yuki was becoming tired of being the target, but had also reached his limit with Momoko. He quickly changed his balance and stepped forward nearly slamming his hands on the table top pressing towards his sister. "Like you don't know already!" Even through his anger he paused not certain if he wanted to explain it to her. He knew that she was smart enough to know already what he was meaning. It was not as though it was the first time for them crossing paths in the kitchen, or somewhere else in the house for that matter.

However, Yuki did not get anything from Momoko. All she dropped for him was a long stare like she wanted to hear it from him for a change. He could feel her cornering him. She wanted the words to be said from his lips. His temper raised enough from Momoko's attitude that he lost his reason with her. He just needed to let it all out and it did not care any longer. "That's rather naïve of you being so convenient with your position whenever you need it!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You know!" Yuki took another pause in his words catching his breath for a moment feeling his heart pounding out of his chest from the emotions riding through him. "You play the mother for all of us and then expect to just play the big sister when it suits you! It doesn't work that way!"

"What did you expect me to do?! Someone had to take care of this family after mom died!"

"Fine! But don't force that on me! I made a choice and I'm not going to be their surrogate father!" He threw out his finger towards Momoko. "You have to choose! It's one or the other!"

"I never asked you to be their father!"

"You didn't have to ask! You rammed it down my throat!"

Momoko had become drawn into the emotions with the quick firing responses. She was not holding back anymore than Yuki at that point. She leaned into the table yelling back at him with equal veracity. "I just needed you to be responsible! Is that so much to ask for! Jun and Ken are too young still and they look up to you!"

"Did you ever think that I might to be too young as well!? And that I need someone to look up to!"

Hearing what Yuki just said took Momoko back. It made her close up her mouth and step backwards to lean against the counter. She did not have a response for him. Everything that was running in her mind had shut down. There was nothing that she could think of anymore.

The moment that Yuki realized everything that he had said in the heat of the moment made him wish that he could take it all back. It might have been telling the truth, but it was never something that he wanted to openly admit. He pressed his back against the wall and slid down to the floor slowly. When he reached the floor he dropped his arms against his knees trying to think of anything to say.

It had taken a while for Momoko to recover enough for her to notice Yuki out of sight. She looked around the table finding him slumped over. There was still some hesitation in her step as she walked over to him. Momoko knew that they had their differences and after the death of their parent things only seemed to be harder for him. It felt impossible trying to have a normal conversation with him. Yelling had seemed to be the only communication for them. She could not help but sigh a little standing over him. "…Yuki…I…"

Yuki stood up and walked out of the kitchen in silence not even looking at her when he did. It had left her to stand alone in the kitchen feeling lost. She stood still for several minutes before making it back over to the counter. 'I thought we were making progress…' Momoko slammed her hands down on the counter in frustration. '…but he just keeps getting further away… and I still didn't get to the current problem!' She flung her hands across the counter throwing everything that was set neatly out around the room. "Sister or mother… Why can't it be both?!"

The noise from the kitchen had been muffled, but loud enough for Jun and Ken to know that something was very wrong. When they saw Yuki marching out of the kitchen alone and with the serious, narrow expression on his face they knew to keep back. They had simply watched from the floor as their brother left the house.

Outside in the darkening sky, Yuki stiffly walked off into the grass street. He began moving slowly towards Ayumi's house, still feeling the fatigue from the work at the school. It had disappeared from his mind while he was fighting with Momoko, but it became acutely pronounced the moment that he had left the house. He needed a place to rest. Yet when he came to the gate of her house hesitation filled his heart.

'They aren't your real family!'

"I wish it was that simple…" Yuki turned away from her house placing his back to her. There was no place that he could go. He started walking away feeling lost without a direction. Everything seemed to be barking at him to stay away.

Nearly thirty minutes of wandering aimlessly had found Yuki nearing Saki's apartment building. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not realize where he had gone. His eyes were totally unfocused. It had been his feet that had managed to guide him around the obstacles. It was another minute before he finally looked up, having pulled out of his hazy long enough to want to figure out where he was currently standing. "…Saki…" he painfully drew out from his lips as he took note of her apartment.

Yuki started to turn around knowing that it was not a place that he should be standing out for too long. '…this isn't her problem and I don't want to make things any worse for her…' He began walking back down the grass street thinking of where he was doing to drift to next before his thoughts could consume him once more.

"Yuki!"

It took a moment for him to realize that he was hearing a voice and that it was directed towards him. It was not until they called out to him once more that he actually stopped. He glanced back in the direction of the voice already knowing who it was, but still having to turn to see. '…Saki…' Yuki resumed walking away not wanting to bother Saki with his problems.

Saki was not going to allow him to simply walk away after coming over to her home. She had her own matters that she wanted to settle with him. "Where'd you think you're going?" she said appearing in front of him having previously been on the second floor of the apartment building several houses away from him.

The sudden appearance of Saki in his path made him stumble back as well as startled his concentration. "Saki?! What are you doing here?"

"I think that's pretty obvious! Talking to you!"