Facade

The Piano

Silence.

Very awkward silence.

The whole Akiyama family ate breakfast. All of them were quiet. Saito didn't look at his mother, probably because she took away his video games and cats, while Satoko just stared intently at him. Well, more like glared. Yui just stared at her lunch and ate.

"Uhm, I'll go to school early, class president stuff... Erm, bye." She mumbled awkwardly and awkwardly went outside.

That was such an obvious lie to get away. Satoko or Saito didn't bother to say goodbye. She continued to glare and Saito continued to ignore. When he couldn't take the silence anymore, he just spoke the first thing that came to mind.

"So, when will I get my stuff back?" Saito asked, finally glancing at her briefly.

"When will I get my piano back?" Satoko said in a very annoyed manner.

Saito didn't know how to answer that. He can fix that piano, and it certainly wasn't his fault it's broken.

"... Never...?" He asked awkwardly.

"And that's the answer to your question." She crossed her arms with a very angry glare.

"I didn't break it..." He mumbled while scratching his messy black hair.

"I don't care." She slammed the fork in the table in anger.

That surprised him, but he continued to have a neutral expression.

"I'm done with lunch. Bye." She stood up, this time not looking at him.

Before she could walk out, Saito asked a question that he probably shouldn't have asked.

"Why are you pissed about that piano anyway? You don't play that old rusty thing..."

"For your information, this piano is a very dear thing to me. Well, I guess, WAS a very dear thing to me." Oh, how she tried to make him feel guilty for no reason.

Why would that would be dear to her? It's just a piano... Unless... Something clicked in his head.

"Did dad buy this for you?" He questioned.

She kept quiet and turned around. He was right.

"I won't talk about him in this house." Satoko stated firmly and closed the door shut, leaving Saito alone in the kitchen.

She was really persistent about not talking about his father. He didn't even know his name. Hell, he didn't know anything about his father. The only information that he knows is that he was a demon and apparently that Saito is 'too much like him', to put it into his mother's words.

He eventually put on the lame school uniform, which he didn't really keep as tidy as he should. He would oftentimes forget to even put on the tie, which was exactly what he did today. That got him a whole lot of scolding from Yui in the future.

When he did arrive to school however, there was an unexpected announcement from Mitsuki. Something that actually interested him a lot.

"Have you acknowledged what next week is?" She asked enthusiastically, her pigtails jumped around in excitement.

"Uhm, confess your undying love to your crush week?" He laughed awkwardly.

He thought that would strike a bell for her, but she was as clueless as ever.

"Incorrect! Prank week!" She smiled brightly.

"Prank week?" He repeated, getting quite intrigued.

"Affirmative! That's a tradition we do every month! The whole posse prank each other on multiple ways." She zoned out with the explanation.

"Yui-San usually is the worst at that. Her opinion is that it's way too much of a mean act. Which is why she is my target every year!" She giggled, looking like she was full on talking to herself.

"Hm, but than again, maybe I should stop with the pranking acts a bit. That could make her dislike me..." She mumbled like she was deep in thought.

"So, what are the rules?" He asked, making sure he knows which one he will break.

"The only rule is there aren't any rules! One time Toshiki tricked me that the entire family died!" She talked in the happiest tone imaginable.

"He... What?" He was even surprised how he managed to get away with that.

"I was quite sad and disturbed at first, but assured me it was a joke." Mitsuki explained.

Saito was a bit taken a back on how much extent this could go. Well, at least it's fun.

At that moment Yoko approached them. She was looking at the floor and avoiding his eyes. He was quite angry she's even coming. One of the reason that he was alone with Mitsuki, the other is that he's stilled pissed what happened a few days ago.

"Um, hi." She mumbled.

"Came to throw a real party again?" Saito asked angrily.

"I- No!" She stumbled.

She eyed Mitsuki, hoping she would get that she wanted some alone time. Mitsuki just stared back with a smile.

"Um, mind going away?" Yoko asked as nicely as possible.

"Not at all!" Mitsuki smiled and went away in a very dreamy way.

Saito and Yoko stared at each other for a few minutes. Nobody talked at all.

"I gotta say something." She finally spoke.

"You always something to say." Saito snarked a bit bitterly.

Yoko rolled her eyes. He's really making this difficult for her.

"I just wanted to say-" the moment she said the other word, the bell rang and Saito didn't hear her.

"What did you say?" Saito asked.

"Ugh, fuck this." She mumbled and stomped away to class.

He stared in confusion. She's weird. That's the only thing he could think about.