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"Thats… Me." Futaba whispers, watching as her weirdbubble clone drags her brother outside; both of them laughing on the porch of Leblanc. She can feel Ann placing a hand on her shoulder, but her focus is on her clone pointing out something in the author's journal.
She feels her heart ache when he ruffles her hair before standing, pulling her up along with him. "Is this what Goro just wanted? To hang out together?"
"Ah, wait!" Fake-taba exclaims, patting down her jacket in the exact same way she does. "I think I forgot something, don't you DARE start the quest without me!" She says, running back inside. Goro just shakes his head at her and chuckles fondly.
Futaba, the real one, was about to approach when a familiar figure emerged from the cafe; siding up to her brother with a familiar gait.
She couldnt help herself, launching from the bushes and ignoring Ann's whispered shouts, Futaba beelines straight to Akira and decks him right in the jaw.
"Futaba, what the hell?!" Goro says, immediately pushing her away from the demon. Turning to the boy, Goro sees his cheek starts to swell from her punch. He whirls around to face her and frowns. "What's gotten into you?!"
Futaba glares at the demon behind her brother, huffing when she looks at Goro. "Me?! What's with you?!" She retorts. She gestures to Akira, that slimy bastard; "Why are you siding with him?"
He looks confused at that, though he doesnt seem less angry. "'Siding'? Futaba, you literally punched him!" He exclaims, holding his arm out to bar the younger girl from swinging another fist at Akira. "And for no reason, too!"
"No reason," Futaba repeats, a mocking tone in her voice while she rolls her eyes. "That guy's literally a demon!"
Goro's confused frown turns into an angry scowl as soon as the words leave her mouth. "First you punch Ren unprovoked, and now you're calling him a demon?!" He straightens his spine and crosses his arms, he looking down on her. "You're going way too far."
"Me?! Going way too far?!" Futaba shouts, indignant. "Goro, he's ruined our lives all summer! He's tricked us multiple times, he possessed you!!" She waved her arms around. "I dont know what that guy promised you, but he's tricking you now—"
"Enough."
Futaba flinches as Goro takes a step forward, her words faltering. She still stands her ground, glaring at him. "I dont know what your problem is with him, Futaba. But you've done enough," Goro says, glaring back at her. Then he shakes his head, sighing. "Just leave him alone."
He turns toward Akira, but Futaba sees him smirking at her before Goro could fully face him. Anger wells up inside her and she stomps towards the demon. "You sneaky bastard—!"
She goes to take a swing at him before Goro intercepts, standing between them. "Futaba, stop!" He shouts, grabbing her fist and shoving her back harder than before. Futaba stumbles but regains her balance, face red hot as her eyes start to sting. "Now you're just crossing the line!"
"He's evil, Goro!" She shouts back. "He's manipulating you, you have to—"
"Just stop it, Futaba!" Goro yells, his fists shaking. "I really don't know why you're acting like this, but at this point I don't think I have the patience to know." His face pinches up with frustration. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, turning away from her. "You should just go; before either of us says anything we might regret."
Futaba grabs the back of his vest, desperation creeping up on her. Her vision swims a bit, but she refuses to let her voice waver now. "And leave you with him? I don't think so—"
Her brother just jerks away from her grasp, "I think I'm fine being with my friend, thanks,"
"Hah! Friend? A̵͍̺̘͌̕k̵̼̪͖̚̚i̸̢͍̟̓̕͘r̵̡̠̼͒̈́a̵̟̝͙̔͑ is NOT your friend! You HATE him!"
"And how would you know?!" He whirls around, pain clear on his face. "He's the first true friend I ever had all summer; someone who wouldn't leave me at the end of the season like someone else I know!"
The younger girl recoils back, surprised. "L-leave you?" She parrots, "Goro, is that what everything is about? You know I won't ever leave you by staying here, right?" Oh god, she can feel the tears burning and spilling from her eyes. "We're Feathermen Brethen! The Green Parakeet and Grey Pidgeon combo! We're family!"
The word seems to set something off in Goro as he visibly shuts out anything revealing in his expression, turning away from his sister with crushing finality. "Just leave, Sakura." He says, quiet but firm. "I don't have the energy to keep talking to you."
Futaba's heart hurt when he resorted to her last name, yet she couldnt find the strength to keep arguing. "Fine," she says, voice small. This entire situation feels so painfully familiar; is this what Goro felt like all that time?
Hearing feet shuffling, she sees Akira move to sling an arm around her brother's stiff shoulders. Anger and protectiveness flare up inside her before she squashes them down, knowing that another fight now would end badly for whats left of their relationship. That doesn't stop the rage she felt when Akira glanced back at her, his fake silver eyes flashing red before darting back to Goro in fake concern as he leads him into Leblanc.
And in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Futaba could see her brother nestle his head onto Akira's shoulder before the door clicks shut.
Left in the space outside the cafe, the girl lets the tears flow down her face. She wipes them away with the sleever of her jacket, sniffing before feeling grim determination settling into her being.
"Don't worry, Goro," She mutters, tugging onto the straps of her—Goro's—backpack, "I promise I'll get you out of here."