79 - Wishful Thinking

"Thanks for the ride," Yuuto said as the car pulled up near his residence.

"Of course, young man."

"Just Sakurai is cool. Take care," he replied as he opened the door, carefully letting Chiyoko's head slide off his thigh as he exited the car.

'Good thing she actually fell asleep this time, wouldn't want a drama scene,' Yuuto thought with a sigh as he gently closed the door behind him.

"Take care now, Sakurai," Hiyori whispered softly, her gaze lingering on him alongside Sato.

Yuuto merely nodded in acknowledgment as he fully closed the door. Soon, the car drove off, leaving him alone in the quiet of the night next to his darkened house.

He casually unlocked the door and stepped inside, pausing for a moment in the complete darkness and silence of the house.

'...They're not around as often as they used to be,' he reflected as he walked upstairs.

The only sound was his footsteps against the wooden floor.

'Well, there will come a day when I won't be around either. That kind of time just has to come at some point, don't ya' think?' Yuuto mused to himself. Once again, there was no one there to hear his thoughts.

Yuuto looked down, his eyes reflecting immense fatigue momentarily.

"...Wishful thinking, I suppose."

"Either way..." he added, cracking his neck.

"Better get right to it," he muttered, turning to leave the house after ensuring the car had departed.

'46th Water Bottle Street... Here it is,' Yuuto thought as he neared the location, his fist clenched tightly as he surveyed the scene.

'...There's police. Something happened here tonight,' he realized. 'And it happened the same night we were attacked... Too coincidental.'

He navigated through the crowd that had gathered, making his way closer to the crime scene, until a police officer halted him.

"Hey, fella, this place is off-limits—" the officer began, placing a hand on Yuuto's shoulder.

"...Sakurai? What're you up to?" the officer asked, his tone softening upon recognizing Yuuto.

"Ah, it's you," Yuuto responded casually.

Indeed, Yuuto and the officer were acquaintances, often meeting when the officer was called to the Sakurai household over disturbance complaints—complaints about Yuuto and his father's violent clashes.

"...I see. So that kind of thing happened to you on your little school trip," the officer remarked as they leaned against a wall, the officer lighting a cigarette.

"...You can confirm it with your buddies," Yuuto affirmed.

"Didn't I always tell you I'm skeptical not because I don't trust you?" the officer said.

"No one cares. Just hurry up to confirm it so we can get this checked as quickly as possible," Yuuto snapped back.

"Right, right... Will do," the officer sighed.

"Either way... You sure that name wasn't mentioned?" Yuuto inquired.

The officer hesitated, taking another drag from his dwindling cigarette.

"I told you, kid. It was just a bar fight gone wrong. Your buddies were just unfortunate enough to run into some local thugs," he explained, looking off into the distance. After a pause, he shifted his stance.

"Go get some sleep and leave this to the adults, alright?" he advised, taking a final drag from his nearly finished cigarette before walking away from Yuuto.

"Kenji," another officer called out, noticing Kenji departing from Yuuto. "Who was that kid?"

"It's... The Kid. The one from Blackout Street. The Sakurai household," Kenji replied as he walked alongside his colleague.

"Holy shit, seriously...?" the officer murmured, casting a brief glance back at Yuuto. "He looks more normal than I thought..."

"…Well, you never saw what I'd seen when I'd get disturbance calls to that household, so you can still think that looking at him," Kenji replied, his voice tinged with resignation, his eyes weary.

"No kidding... Damn... Is he why you popped a cig?"

"Yep... Was sure I'd actually manage to keep my sobriety streak for longer..."

"But I guess that's just wishful thinking,"

'That officer is useless. Suspected as much,' Yuuto thought, unimpressed with the officer's efforts to look out for his well-being.

'Oh, are we doing this now? Seriously? I didn't even mean it that way. It's because those Black Letter bastards are involved. Don't you get it? I can't rely on the police when those bastards have infiltrated every major establishment,' Yuuto thought, frustrated, despite repeatedly proving that even the formidable Anti-NTR Man can't handle everything alone anymore.

'You know what? Fine. Since you're so keen on teaching me, why don't you come out here and show me how to do it right?' Yuuto challenged in his thoughts.

'...Nothing?'

'Alright, I suspected as much. But as I mentioned before, I don't blame you. After all, it's my job to help the weak,'

'And I said it, didn't I?'

'That I'd get your—'

[RING] [RING] [RING]

Yuuto's phone began to ring. Checking the caller ID, he saw it was his mother.

'Haah... Right. I bet the police notified her about what happened at the Onsen resort. I completely forgot to talk to her or dad,' Yuuto thought, answering the phone.

After a stressful evening of trying to reassure his concerned mother and dealing with his father, who blamed him for everything and shouted until Yuuto's ear nearly bled, he decided it was time to head home.

However, as the night progressed, Yuuto's withdrawal symptoms from his stalking habits kicked in. Without much thought, he found himself outside Sakura's house, climbing to her window to ensure she was safe in her bed.

'Alright... That's that,' Yuuto thought as he climbed down and made his way back home.

'...So it really was just a scuffle, and nothing else?' Yuuto thought, realizing that maybe, just maybe, he might be stupid for doubting the nice police officer's words.

'Not trusting a police officer is the smartest thing to do. How do you know they aren't gonna abuse their authority to arrest your girlfriend and NTR your ass, forcing her to shut up until she begins to like it and dumps you? Tsk, tsk, tsk... Forgetting all the basics, typical for a weakling,' Yuuto thought, not realizing this would never be a problem for him since he will never get a girlfriend.

'Correction: It is the girlfriend that will never get ME. Get your facts straight,' Yuuto sighed as he approached his household...

'Tomorrow, I need to confront that gorilla. I'll squeeze the details out of him,' he thought, his anger briefly showing in a twitch of his hand, 'One way or the other, about what happened,' But as he reached his doorstep, he paused, noticing a figure huddled against the door.

'Hm...?'

Yuuto's expression hardened as he turned on the porch light.

'...Manipulator?'

"Ah... Sakurai-senpai... Sorry, but can I... stay over? Just until early morning?" Sato asked, his voice trembling with awkwardness.

'...What?'