Chapter 45

"You know," Hiroyuki said right after they left the apartment. "Being in the same position as the eldest sibling, I kinda admire you. Your determination to protect your sisters is admirable." Ichika didn't give him an answer immediately. She just lets out a deep sigh as she looked up to the sky, where the moon shines brightly.

"I didn't do much for them," Ichika replied, breaking the silence. "It is them who did a lot to me. They are my strength, my anchor, and my reason to be as strong as I am now. If only I could prevent them to hear what father did."

"Don't sell yourself short." They keep walking until they found a bench to seat. "You are far stronger than you thought. I don't think I can do the same if we switched our place."

They didn't speak anything for almost a minute before Ichika asked,

"So, what do you want to ask, Yuki-san?" He knows this was her attempt to change the topic, but he didn't mind it either.

"Tell me, Ichika. Do you have something you like to do in your spare time? Do you have something in your mind about what you want to be in the future?" Hiroyuki decided to start the conversation with an easy topic. However, Ichika didn't understand his intention, so she just looked at him strangely.

"Is this somehow related to what father did to me?" Hiroyuki shook his head at her.

"Not really. Of course, I will be back to that topic later. But I am a bit curious about you." He could see a confused expression from Ichika, so he decided to add.

"It is just, I know the interest of your sisters. Nino is a bit crazy when she is in the Kitchen. Miku is a history nerd and a bit of an otaku. Yotsuba is an energetic and sporty girl. And Itsuki, if I can be frank with you, is the most studious and the gluttonous one. But you, I know nothing about you. That is why I am a bit curious."

Ichika took her time to think about what to answer. Her eyes had a distant faraway look that Hiroyuki had no idea what is on her mind right now.

"I…" She started talking. "I don't have something special that I like to do in my spare time. Usually, I just spent my time with my sisters. Sometimes I cooked with Nino, accompanied Miku to otaku events, babysat Yotsuba so she didn't create trouble, or just went to the restaurant or café with Itsuki. If you ask me if I have anything I like to do, maybe spending my time with my sisters is the most obvious answer."

"You are really a good sister," Hiroyuki murmured lowly. Ichika decided to ignore what he said and replied to his second question,

"As for what I want to do in the future, I don't really know about it. But one of my friends said that I would be a good model or actress. I know she said that in a sarcastic manner, but I could not help but notice that I am really good at controlling my emotion. Even my father hasn't found out that I was the one he hit even if he checked me as Yotsuba three times this week."

"Yeah, you are really good at it." Ichika sent an amused smile after she heard the annoyed mutter from Hiroyuki, but decided not to tease him now.

"Do you want to give it a try?" Hiroyuki suddenly asked, resulting in a confused expression from Ichika.

"What do you mean?"

"To act, I mean. To be an actress." Hiroyuki added. Ichika pondered about what to answer for a second before she shook her head.

"It would be interesting, but not now. Father is still in his unstable mood, so it would be dangerous to leave the girls alone if he had a sudden thought to visit us without noticing anyone." Hiroyuki thinks for a while before asking cautiously,

"Speaking of your father, what did he say after that night?" Ichika knows which night he mentioned, so she just gives him an answer.

"Not much. The night he gained consciousness once again, he bought me to his hospital to check. At first, I thought that he still cares about us. Then, I could hear him murmuring to the doctor that checked me to not let anyone know about my condition. It seems he just didn't want to tarnish his own reputation with rumors that he abused his stepdaughter. What a bastard, right?"

The curse in the last part surprised Hiroyuki for a bit.

"What?" Ichika asked when she saw a surprised expression from Hiroyuki. "I might look like a lady, but I will not restrain myself from cursing anyone who did something bad to my sisters. And my father is on the top of the list." Hiroyuki lets out a chuckle at her.

"Have doctors from another hospital checked your condition?" Ichika gives him a bitter smile at his question.

"No. I have tried several times. But it seems my father makes an agreement with the doctor association to not let any of us get the medical check we asked for and just send us straight to his hospital." She ignored a tired sigh from Hiroyuki as she added more,

"I said an agreement, but with father's personality, I know for a fact that he threatened or bribed the doctor association to do anything as he said. So, to answer your question, no one dares to defy my father's order."

"What do you want to do with your father?"

"I don't know. Maybe just ignore it for now." The last part resulted in a ridiculous stare from Hiroyuki. So, she decided to add,

"At first, I wanted to report it as child abuse. But I don't know to what extent my father did to hide this. If he has the doctor association under his pocket, what to say about the police department? Besides, we are still living under his roof. If he knows about me reporting him, I don't know what will he do to us. So, I am not willing to take the risk."

"What if your father starts to hit your sisters?"

"That is why I have to be at home when he decided to visit us. I can disguise myself to be like my sisters so they don't have to face father."

"What if he wanted to face all of you?" Ichika snorted at that.

"Unlikely. I don't know what is the reason, but he couldn't bear to be in the same room with all of us five together. I think he couldn't bear to sit with five replicas of Mama. That is why every time he visited us, he would just call us one by one and the rest of us will have to wait in our room."

"It is still unfair to you to have to cover your sisters like this." Hearing that, Ichika just gives him a soft smile.

"As long as it is me and not my sisters, I will be alright." Hiroyuki lets out a tired sigh at her and said,

"You know, you are a quite stubborn girl."

"I know. I bet you are the same as me. It is just us being the stubborn oldest sibling trying to protect our sisters."

Hiroyuki smiles at what Ichika said and decided to keep silent for a moment. He pondered for a second if he should tell him about the relationship between his stepfather and biological father or not.

"Just say it." Ichika's voice snapped him from his thought. "I know you wanted to tell us something about our father since the first time I saw your eyes today. You found out something big about my father that would probably affect our life. That is why you were hesitant after you heard about what father did to us."

"Don't look at me like that." She added when she saw the astonished look from Hiroyuki. "My sisters might not notice it. But I used to have the same expressions as you when I wanted to hide something to protect them. But just like you, I am also the eldest sibling here. For the sake of my sisters, you can tell me anything, and I assure you that I will be alright."

Hiroyuki stared at her dumbfoundedly, then suddenly,

"Hahahahaha" a laugh escaped from his mouth. "You sure are far smarter than I thought." He said it as he wiped a single tear from his eyes.

"Why, thank you." Ichika just smiles at him in amusement.

"Very well. If you are sure about it, I will tell you." Hiroyuki took a deep breath as he asked, "Do you know anything about your biological father?"

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Author note:

You can also read:

- Transmigrated Into Anime World as Kiyoko Shimizu's Older Brother up to chapter 54

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