Chapter 29: Naughty Pinkie
Yuno leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths as she regained her strength. Ryan, on the other hand, was scrubbing the blood-stained floor next to Arona, visibly rushed.
"Damn it, Arona-chan! This house is borrowed, so scrub it properly! If they find out, we're screwed!" he complained, with the same energy as a child trying to clean up the mess before the parents arrived.
Arona, nervous, scrubbed the floor vigorously.
"R-right, Sensei! I'm scrubbing as fast as I can! Am I doing it properly?"
Ryan paused for a moment, averting his gaze as he thought.
"Damn intrusive thoughts…"
Almost as if she had read his mind, Yuno grabbed the empty bottle and threw it at Ryan's head, making him groan in pain.
"Disgusting. Pervert," she commented with disdain.
Ryan massaged the spot where he was hit, turning to face her with irritation.
"What now, you IN-SUP-PORT-A-BLE woman?"
Yuno crossed her arms, looking noticeably better.
"Those filthy comments you make to Arona. Keep them to yourself, hmph," she said, raising her chin theatrically.
Ryan raised an eyebrow, clearly confused.
"Comments? Damn it, I didn't even say anything, you weirdo."
Yuno pointed her finger at him with an accusing look.
"Damn intrusive thoughts?"
He blinked, completely lost, before standing up fully.
"Huh? Now you read minds, you freak?"
Before the argument escalated, Arona intervened, raising her hands to calm them down.
"That's not it, Sensei!"
Ryan turned to her, curious, while Arona stood up, adjusting her skirt with a slight smile.
"Remember how you two now share the same soul? Well, I forgot to mention, but… if you think really hard about each other, you can kind of 'talk' telepathically. Cool, right?"
For a brief moment, Ryan was silent, absorbing the explanation. Then, a mischievous smile appeared on his face as he stared at Yuno.
"Thinking a lot about me, huh, Pinkie? Naughty."
Yuno stared back at him with a cold, morbid gaze, enough to freeze his smile.
"Yes. I think all the time about whether I'll rip out your guts while you're still alive… or not."
Ryan swallowed dryly, averting his gaze, while Arona laughed, placing her hands on her head.
"Ahaha! Actually, this happened because Yuno tried to break the contract. Since you share a soul, when she got hurt, you were affected too. To recover together, you ended up connecting even more. Cute, right?"
She finished the explanation with an innocent smile, clasping her hands together.
Ryan looked at Arona with a deadpan expression, clearly disheartened.
"That'd be cute, I don't know, with Ai Hoshino. With Yuno, it just scares me."
He sighed, picking up the bloodied cloths they had used to clean the floor.
"I'll wash this. You explain the rest to Yuno, Arona. And, oh, I'm sure you can snoop through my memories too, right?"
Before leaving, Ryan closed the door with a soft thud.
Arona tilted her head, placing a finger on her chin, thoughtful.
"How does he know that? I didn't even say anything, geez…"
Yuno, in the background, let out a long sigh of exhaustion.
Ryan went downstairs toward the lower part of the house, carrying the stained cloths while murmuring to himself:
"Damn it, I'm sure there's no cleaning product here. How the hell am I going to get this blood out of the cloths? Damn Yuno… Ever since the day I laid eyes on her, my life has doubled in problems."
He reached the sink, tossing the cloths in with disdain. The next moment, the sound of his phone ringing interrupted him. Ryan sighed, wiping his hands on his pants before pulling the phone from his pocket.
"Yuki?" he muttered as he saw the name on the screen, surprised.
"What does she want now?" he murmured, sliding his finger to answer. Placing the phone to his ear, he heard a cheerful voice that immediately made him pull the device away.
"GOOD MORNING, MY BROTHER!" Yuki shouted, with so much energy she seemed to want to burst through the line.
Ryan held the phone a few inches away, massaging his ear with a pained expression.
"Good morning, little sister…" he replied, dragging his words as he brought the phone back to his ear.
Yuki, relentless, continued with the same exaggerated enthusiasm.
"I already miss you so much, Oni-chan! When are you coming back to take care of your adorable little sister?"
Ryan smirked, already used to his younger sister's theatrics.
"Look at you being cute. It's only been two days, Yuki."
"But are you eating properly? Brushing your teeth? Are you missing a feminine hug?" she shot back, her words firing without pause.
He chuckled softly, leaning against the sink as he replied:
"Yuki, just because I'm traveling doesn't mean I've forgotten the basics of life, you know?"
On the other end, Yuki let out an indignant squeal.
"WHAT?! WHAT WOMAN HAVE YOU BEEN HUGGING, MASACHIKA?!"
Ryan closed his eyes for a second, exhaling a long sigh. His response was almost mechanical:
"I'm brushing my teeth."
Yuki adopted a serious tone, cutting through her brother's playful laughter.
"Don't change the subject, Masachika."
Ryan laughed, leaning back against the sink.
"And you, my dear little sister? How are you handling the absence of your beloved brother?"
Yuki's voice turned syrupy, laden with theatrical drama.
"The truth is, it feels like it's been a year since I last saw you…"
Ryan smiled, adjusting the phone in his hand.
"Don't worry, I think I'll have everything wrapped up here by tomorrow." His voice carried confidence.
On the other end, he heard Yuki jumping, clearly excited.
"Great! But remember, Oni-chan, even with your lame excuse for absences, you'll still have to hand in your assignments when you get back."
Ryan chuckled softly, shaking his head.
"Sure, sure. And you're going to help me with that, right?"
Yuki laughed too, ending the call with a gentle whisper.
"Yes, I will."
Right after hanging up, she sent a heart emoji through the chat. Ryan smiled at the message, feeling renewed. Determined, he returned to scrubbing the cloths until most of the blood disappeared.
Back in the room, he opened the door without ceremony, announcing:
"Okay, Arona-chan already explained everything to our hothead here?"
Arona nodded excitedly, but Yuno quickly took the lead, crossing her arms.
"Let's hurry and find this so-called Rika and scout the situation. I don't want to waste any more time with this."
Ryan agreed, nodding.
"Okay, let's go."
Yuno approached, narrowing her eyes.
"And where can we find her?"
Ryan placed a hand on his waist, closing his eyes as if he were thinking.
"No idea…"
Yuno stared at him, her eyes overflowing with impatience, but Ryan raised his hands in a placating gesture before she could explode.
"Calm down. Hinamizawa is small, it's not like looking for her in Tokyo."
Ryan paused abruptly, as if struck by an epiphany, and punched the air lightly.
"Goddamn, I'm Rena's neighbor!"
Yuno crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.
"Rena? The girl who offered me water yesterday?"
Ryan raised his hand, replying sarcastically.
"Water for both of us, by the way. But that's not the point." He turned quickly. "We better get going. From what I saw, the people here head to school pretty early!"
As Ryan descended the stairs, he reflected to himself,
"But now that I think about it… this Rena is the very essence of a crazy anime girl."
Yuno and Arona followed him to the exit. Yuno, however, couldn't hide her disgust as she noticed the dust gathering in the corners of the house.
When Ryan opened the door, fate seemed to be playing tricks on him. There was Rena, walking right in front of the house. Their eyes met instantly. Ryan noticed something odd in her gaze but decided to ignore it.
"Ah! Good morning, Rena! You look adorable today!" he said, forcing a relaxed smile.
"Hmm, thanks…" Rena replied in a quiet voice, her eyes quickly shifting to Yuno and Arona, who were approaching behind him.
Ryan noticed her focus and couldn't resist a sarcastic joke.
"We almost look like a family, don't we?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt the weight of Yuno's hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah… I think I pushed my luck…" he thought, swallowing hard.
Before he could react, Rena let out a small squeal of excitement.
"Aww! The little one is so cute! I want to take her home!"
Caught off guard, Arona put her arms behind her back, looking shy. Ryan just blinked, surprised at Rena's sudden change in tone.
"Ah, Rena… Rika will probably be at school today, right?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
Rena tilted her head slightly, looking at him with curiosity.
"Hmm, yes. But why?"
"Could you take us there? Pretty please?" Ryan clasped his hands together in a theatrical gesture, as if begging.
Rena hesitated for a moment, her eyes once again fixing on Arona, before answering.
"Yes, we can go together. It's not that far."
Yuno seized the opportunity and quickly took her place next to Rena, greeting her politely. Arona prepared to do the same, but Ryan grabbed her by the shirt before she could move forward.
He whispered, his voice heavy with suspicion.
"Why can she see you, Arona?"
The girl tilted her head, looking at him with an innocent and confused expression, and answered in a sweet voice.
"Well, because I allowed it, Sensei."
Ryan sighed, letting go of her shirt as an ironic smile escaped his lips.
"Understandable. Have a great day."
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