13 I should get back to work on my body like I used to do.

I'm home and as soon as I opened the door, aunt Lisa, Erii, and Himawari on Erii's hands sleeping approached us. I smiled and say,

"Tadaima! (I'm home)."

Aunt Lisa and Erii greet us,

"Okaeri! (you've come home)."

Ryo says,

"Ojamashimashu..."

I told Ryo to use the bathroom first since I still have something else to do. Ryo nodded and went to the bathroom to take a bath.

I sat in the living room with them. I saw so many toys and I think that they were playing while waiting for us to come home. After Erii put Himawari in her bed, she came back to the living room and sat with us. Aunt Lisa asks,

"So how are you doing?"

I reply,

"I'm doing good. Have you guys eaten yet?"

I changed the subject immediately since I could tell that she seems worried about me. Erii replies,

"We ate dinner a few hours ago."

I went to the kitchen and brought the ramen that I cooked in the restaurant for both of them to the living room. I say,

"I brought your favorite ramen. If you're hungry you can eat it."

Aunt Lisa immediately took the chopsticks and says,

"Come on Erii. Let's eat!"

Erii chuckled and nodded. They immediately took a bite of the ramen. Both of them slurped the ramen passionately.

I watched them and thought that I should keep them away from trouble. Then I clenched my fists and checked my arms.

I realize that I haven't been going to the gym since my parents' deaths. My muscles are shrinking and the fat on my body is starting to annoy me. Maybe I should get back to work on my body like I used to do. I should prepare myself for the worst.

Ryo came and says,

"Ahh... it's so nice to take a bath after hard work!"

The three of us looked at him and put our finger on our lips,

"Shhh!"

Ryo regretted it and immediately walked towards us and apologized. Then I went to the bathroom and took a bath.

After I took a bath, I entered the living room and nobody is there, it seems that everyone went to their rooms and already asleep. I took a peek at aunt Lisa's room and I saw the three of them are asleep, then I checked my room and saw Ryo is playing the game on my PC. I approached him and see his character, he proudly showed off his equipment and weapon from the latest event. I remembered that I haven't given the souvenir that I bought from Kyoto to him. I walked to the shelf and grabbed my gift for him. I tossed him the gift and he immediately turned around. I say,

"It's my souvenir from Kyoto. When I saw it, I immediately thought about you."

Ryo's eyes are glimmering and reply,

"What's this?! It looks fancy!"

I say,

"Open it."

Ryo forcefully ripped the box and when he looked at what's inside, he blankly looked at me and took the souvenir. He says,

"Really? This?"

It's a hair loss medicine. It's a traditional medicine I saw in the flea market. I reply,

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

Ryo glared at me with disbelief with his mouth opened. He says,

"It's wrong on so many levels! Are you hoping to see me bald or something? I don't want to touch this..."

Ryo tossed the medicine and it rolled to the corner of the room. I raised my eyebrows and asks,

"Wait, you didn't realize?"

I looked at him with concern and he nervously replies,

"Wh-what? Realize about what?"

I took my phone and stood behind Ryo. I took a picture of his soon-to-be bald head. I showed it to him and he screams,

"I'm balding!"

Ryo turned around and panicked. He asks,

"That medicine can work?"

I shrug and reply while reading the instructions on the box,

"I don't know, but I asked the clerk that it has a 65% success rate. Want to try it out?"

Ryo immediately grabbed the medicine and hold it so tightly. I looked at him and he was reading the instructions in the bottle at the corner of my room while squatting. It reminds me of a Gollum with a ring in his hand. Ryo lifted the bottle and facing it to the lamp to see what's inside. Ryo mumbles,

"This will help me... This is so precious to me."

I unconsciously snored and covered my face. Ryo looked at me with confusion. Then he approached me and asks,

"So what should I do to use this?"

I checked the box and there's a piece of paper. I took it and read it loudly,

"To make the medicine work efficiently, shave the hair entirely first..."

Ryo couldn't believe it and grab the piece of paper from my hand. He read it and shocked. He says,

"No way..."

I tried so hard to hold my laugh when I looked at Ryo's expression. He collapsed and sighed. He says,

"Man... do I really have to shave my head for this? What if the medicine didn't work and then my head stay bald because of this?"

I reply,

"I looked on the website and the testimonies all are satisfied with the product. They even sent the picture of their head before and after using the medicine. Want to look at it?"

I took my phone out and showed the website to Ryo. He scrolled all the way down then he says,

"I'll think about it..."

I nodded. I say,

"Alright, get done with the game already. It's almost 3 a.m.."

Ryo nodded and closed the game and shut down my PC. He then laid down on the futon to get some sleep.

I left the room and closed the door. I went back downstairs and sat in the living room. I turned on the TV and the first thing I saw is a boxing match. I watched it until one of the guys knocked out his opponent with an uppercut. I grabbed my cigarette and made a coffee then went to the backyard to smoke.

I sit on the floor outside of my living room. My phone is beeping and I unlock it to check who messaged me late at night. It's Aiko and the message is,

"Aze-Kun, are you free this weekend? If so, do you want to meet up at the mall? I have a photo shooting session there and the owner of the place promised to give me some huge discounts on his products. So I thought to invite Erii-chan and go shopping together. I messaged Erii-chan and she hasn't replied. You can invite Inoue-Kun as well if he wants to."

I reply,

"Sure, we would like to come. I will tell them about it early in the morning. By the way, why are you still up at this hour?"

I sent the message and immediately got a reply from her. She says,

"It's because I was grindings to get a very rare weapon. Right now, I still haven't got the weapon and planning to keep playing until I get that bad boy. How about you? Why are you still up?"

I reply,

"You should rest, it's bad for your health. Even though I'm in no position to tell you that. I just got home an hour ago and am just done with everything. Right now I need to smoke before I go to bed."

She replies,

"You're lecturing me about living a healthy life but right now you're smoking and drinking a coffee this late night? You're so bad at this."

We kept messaging each other without realizing that the sun is almost up. We both ended up not getting any sleep and regretted it.

I checked auntie's room and she's awake and carrying Himawari. She noticed and approached me. She says,

"Ohayo (Good morning)."

She left the room and closed the door. I followed her to the living room. She sniffed the air and smacked my head gently. She says,

"Did you smoke here? You smell like Ojisan."

I reply,

"No, but I smoked outside. It smells?"

I sniffed my shirt and it does smell like an Ojisan who came back from drinking after work. The smells of cigarettes and sweat. I immediately removed my shirt and put it in the laundry room then washed my hands with sanitizer to remove the cigarette smell from my fingers and nails.

Aunt Lisa is playing with Himawari in the living room. I approach them. She looks at me and asks,

"So how's your school?"

I reply,

"I just got called by my homeroom teacher and told me that my grades are not good."

Aunt Lisa sighs and turns around. She says while Himawari is grabbing her nose,

"So you're not doing alright."

I reply,

"I'm trying to..."

Aunt Lisa asks,

"Should we just moved here and live together?"

That's a bad idea. If they live here with me, I can't tell what is going to happen to them. I reply,

"I'm fine. I'm getting better than the past few weeks. You don't have to worry about me. I'm slowly getting used to this."

Aunt Lisa says,

"I know you're a tough kid since you're a baby. I'm just making sure that you're really doing fine. I'll get the answer after I stayed here for a few weeks."

She looked at the time and says,

"Go and wake Erii-chan and Ryo-Kun up, I will prepare breakfast for all of us."

I nodded and left to wake them up.

After I woke them up, we ate breakfast together. Erii left her house and prepare to go to school. Ryo and I took a shower then prepare to leave the house. Aunt Lisa prepared the lunchbox for the three of us and then we left the house.