A quiet morning

Breakfast was uneventful, and the entire Tachibana family was busy eating as always. A marked difference, however, was the awkward manner in which Yuka was walking to the dining table. Naturally, no one missed this, and Koharu was quick to pepper Yuka with questions.

"So, Yuka, what's with the jelly legs?"

"Just exercised a little too hard at the gym yesterday," Yuka shrugged, nonchalantly sipping her hot milk, "Tried a new routine and it was brutal."

"Yeah, I can see that," Koharu nodded, though she seemed slightly unconvinced, "But what's with that mark on your neck?"

Yuka twitched and quickly clamped her hand on her neck, staring at Koharu with intense eyes.

"Nothing happened," Yuka quickly waved off.

"You sure? Doesn't seem like-"

Yuka quickly got in very close, her face inches away from Koharu's and oozing hostile intent, scaring Koharu witless.

"Absolutely nothing happened!" Yuka insisted in a low growl.

Koharu inched away, conceeding defeat.

"I-If you insist," She muttered.

"Now, now, no need for this drama," Kyouka quickly interceded, "Come on, the pancakes are gonna get cold!"

Whatever one may say about Kyouka's gentle nature, she was unrivalled in smoothing ruffled feathers, a useful skill she developed to soothe the egos of both her own superiors and other clients and business partners, and in mediating countless harmless, petty squabbles between her daughters.

"By the way, what're you gonna do in the meantime?" Kyouka asked, "We still have two weeks before our holiday trip to the inn."

"Finding a part-time job," You answered, "I was thinking an izakaya of sorts, or just any restaurant in general."

"That's a good idea, actually!" Kyouka exclaimed, "Yuu-kun's always made time to help with household chores, and you're a good cook too!"

"Definitely better than me," Koharu shrugged, to which you and Kyouka sweatdropped.

_The two of you remember the few times Koharu tried to cook in the kitchen.- - - - - -

_

Your stomach rumbled, anticipating a delicious luncheon after a tiring morning of grocery shopping and studying.

"Hm... I wonder what's Koharu making...?"

When one thought of home-cooked lunch, one possible option would be onigiri with an assortment of fillings, from cheese to sesame, karaage, umeboshi and tuna mayo. All you needed was vinegared rice and seaweed, your filling of choice, wrap the filling in the rice and your meal was done. Versatile and easy to make, it was a beginner's course yet no less delicious. You could even save time by buying pre-made filling from the supermarkets or other food stores.

Another option was omurice, stir-fried rice with various ingredients wrapped in a soft, fluffy omelet. Typically served with ketchup as both a cooking sauce and an additional condiment, the sweet and sour fried rice accompanied by the fluffy eggs was pure bliss. Kyouka's specialty, in fact, was omurice with pork and cabbage, and soy sauce instead of ketchup.

Then a putrid burnt smell assaulted your nostrils, and you clutched your nose in disgust.

"Something's burning!?"

You rushed to the kitchen where a frantic Koharu was busy trying to put out the fire on the frying pan while Kyouka came to the rescue, taking it off the stove and covering it with the lid.

_When the smoke cleared and the fire was put out, you saw that her fried rice was one uniform, foul-smelling black mass, totally inedible and unappetizing. Koharu was extremely tearful and remorseful that afternoon, and all three of you had to spend much time comforting her afterwards.- - - - - -

_

"By the way, do you have any particular place in mind?" Asked Kyouka, "I know I'm being a worrywart, but there's always a good number of places with nasty staff to deal with."

"I know, Kyouka-san," You assured, "I do hope to find a good place by today."

As for why you opted for an Izakaya? These places were where people of many walks of life came to unwind after a long day of work, from businessmen to doctors, police officers and contractors, even lawyers. A splendid place full of opportunities to make the connections you needed to upend those rapists and protect your family.

"I see. Well, good luck with your search, Yuu-kun," Kyouka encouraged warmly, her motherly pride and love shining like an oasis in the desert.

"And don't forget to ask me or Yuka-chan for help with your homework," Koharu suggested, "Actually, could you help me with mine in exchange?"

"You just want to copy his answers, don't you?" Yuka sighed knowingly.

Looking back upon such happiness and wholesomeness in a family, if one were to ask why people would commit such atrocious acts like netorare, **** or other bad things, the reasons would be far too many to list down on two hands. Ultimately, the only succinct answer you can give is that people are people, no matter what. Sometimes they do good, sometimes they don't.

But the only way evil people prevail is when good people do nothing. You are not such a person, nor will you ever be.