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"Yamato, aren't you supposed to turn left here?"
"Hmm?" Yamato looked to Sora and realized that they were stopped at a street corner. His hand was holding hers and he realized that he must have spaced out as they walked from the middle school.
Yamato stared at the direction toward his home.
"Not right now," he replied, a heavy feeling in his chest. "Can I walk with you for a while?"
"Okay."
They walked through a quiet, residential street, where front yards were decorated with a variety of plants and flowers. Yamato caught Sora staring at a bed of flowers as they strolled past.
"I don't want to go home right now, either," she said. "Mom wants to take new measurements for my kimono. I feel like I'm constantly told to stand up straighter, wear my hair and dress a certain way. She also keeps saying things like 'since this will be your last year in the tennis club'.."
Sora groaned. Yamato sighed, though as they continued to walk, he felt encouraged by Sora revealing her inner turmoil to reveal his own.
"My dad yelled at me for something I did wrong," he said. "The thing is, Takeru has done the same thing, and he hasn't been yelled at. I know I'm supposed to be the older brother and set a 'good example'. But I can't feel like anything I do is right if I'm only going to get scolded for it."
"It's like my mom wants me to follow tradition like her," Sora said quietly.
I think my parents blame me for the divorce, Yamato thought to himself.
"Whatever I do is wrong to my mom," Sora said. "I feel like…"
"A black sheep." Yamato let the words escape his lips before realizing that Sora said it at the same time. They both stopped in their tracks and stared at each other in stunned silence.