Later in the day, Ojiro heard about a dinner invitation her parents received from his grandpa. They only receive this kind of invitation if their ojii-san needs to gather the family to talk about important family matters and they are of course, obligated to attend.

And it also only means one thing: he will finally bring up his sister Ayaka's arranged marriage.

Ojiro has been hearing discussions among his parents, and of course, with his mom's rebellious nature, strongly opposes it.

"I just want my children to live freely. Is that too much to ask for?" He heard his mom say. His dad, a Korishima who brought up following these rules, could only calm down his mom and didn't show any opposition to their ojii-san's decision.

And then the thing that they'd been anticipating happened. Her sister Ayaka was set to marry a boy a little bit older than her, who were from a well-off family of close business associates to his grandpa.

Ojiro remembered that his sister Ayaka appeared to smile in front of their grandpa and obey everything that he instructed her, even if his Tsu-nee told Ojiro that she had broken up with Shin-kun, her boyfriend.

The day of the wedding has come, and everyone is busy with all of the preparations. It was a semi-culturally old-style wedding to be blessed by a monk and a church preacher. It is going to be attended by important people from their businesses and wealthy friends of his family.

Ojiro watches from the side of the room as the staff dolls up his sister in front of the big mirror. He remembers how he got mesmerized by her beauty, and yet, even when she smiles, he cannot hint at any happiness in her eyes.

It was different than that time when he saw her with that boy, Shin-kun, in front of her senior high school, one time, Atsushi-san and him were picking her up after class. He saw the boy giving his Aya-nee a pink flower and it was the same flower she has been growing in their backyard.

Ojiro runs off to the yard and picks up one flower to be given to her, expecting to see that smile again. But when he handed the flower to her sister, she suddenly burst out into tears.

Holding the flower to her chest, she lets out the tears she has been bottling up.

"Nee-chan, daijoubu," he says, moving his small hand, patting her head as she kneels in front of him, crying in her white, grand wedding dress.

Ayaka chortles in between tears, recognizing the comforting gesture that Ojiro copied from her.

"Ojiro," her voice cracks, holding him by his shoulders. "Listen to Nee-chan,"

"Hai," he nods.

"When you grow up, don't be like me, alright?" She sobs. "Don't be a coward like Nee-chan. When you grow up, marry the one you choose for yourself, the one you truly love so you won't end up like me. Do you hear?"

"Uhn, Hai," Ojiro nods, even if he didn't understand a thing from what she have said.

When Sakiko-chan handed him the same envelope exactly as his parents had received, Ojiro had always known the day will come for him to face his fate.

His ojii-san didn't even had second thoughts considering it was his training week for the Worlds, and he also kind of expected it since his relationship with Louise got exposed, which is like a clear message to him from his Oji-san.

I am watching you boy.

He should be in training for the day, but Ojiro found himself dressed up together with his family, cousins, and relatives from his grandpa's side, gathering for a dinner while the staff were attending to them, refilling their drinks and plates.

His Oji-san announced that he had found good matches for Ojiro, and it's not just one, but two candidates, and he had set him up for a date with them.

The fact that his grandpa didn't even select which is the best of which is saying how quickly he took action when he received the news that Ojiro was dating someone not of his choice.

Ojiro felt everyone around him holding up their breaths, their eyes burning at him, waiting for his answer.

From where he is seated, he can hear his oka-san's exhausted sighs, completely powerless to get him out of the situation.

Ojiro searches his heart for a reason, for an answer, but has found none.

Ah, how can I ever forget it?

I have already lost everything, isn't it?

With a small bow, he answers, "Hai, I am glad to accept these meetings you have carefully set up for my future."

The table is full of surprised sighs, but it got overpowered by cheers from everyone. He saw Kaimen's face at the side of his eye, looking at him with so much disbelief, but he didn't meet his gaze.

He raises his sāke shot to his grandpa for a toast and drinks it.

When everyone is hanging out for desserts and tea, Ojiro meets Kaimen in the wooden hallways. He intended to pull him into a casual conversation, but the child came charging at him.

"You, coward!" He screams, kicking him and punches him with his tiny fists, but Ojiro didn't make any movement to fight back. "You're weak ass, fucking coward!"

He drops both his hands on his side, letting all his attacks come to him.

"Hey!" His sister Ayaka appears, turning into the hallway from the guess rooms. She runs quickly, pulling her son away from him.

"Doushita no? Why are you doing that to Jikkun?!"

The child swats away from her grip. "Get off of me!" He screams and runs away from them.

"Seriously, that kid..." she sighs, shaking her head. "What happened? Are you alright?" She turns to Ojiro, who has been pushed tightly into the wall by Kaimen.

"Nee-chan. Gomen, ne?" He murmured. His head hangs low, his thick black curtain of hair falls into the shadow of his face, hiding his expression. "Kaimen is right. I'm a fucking weak. A coward."

She didn't need to see his face for her to understand. Ayaka taps her brother's arm for comfort, sighing.

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