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Her brother was seeing someone secretly.
It was the only rational reason that'd explain his unusual behavior. Just when she started being convinced that she could say Yu's schedule by heart, it all suddenly came crashing down. The first major change was that Yu had gotten five new side jobs. The second was that he was coming home ridiculously late; it could be excused if he had a reason, but every time he didn't have one at his disposal.
He knew Nanako wasn't going to go out of her way and ask him to elaborate further.
She decides one Sunday night while doing laundry that she is going to find out who the lucky girl is.
Monday
"Hey, Nanako!" An overly excited voice greets. Nanako turned around and realized it was Yosuke; he was balancing a box labeled 'Tomato' on his hands.
Nanako beams at him, "Hello!" Ever since she found out that Yosuke was partially connected to Junes, she's started seeing him with high regard.
"Oh, man, you can carry those by yourself?" The boy drops the box beside him and points at the basket of produce Nanako was holding.
"I'm strong!" She says proudly.
"Haha, yeah, you are. Hey, did your brother come with you?"
"No. He's at work."
Yosuke hums. It was hard to ignore the slight disappointment in his tone.
"That's the shackles of employment for you... I'd know firsthand." He sighs.
Nanako knew that too, with her own father being the main example.
She was also aware of the fact that Yu's best friend would be the person who knew him the best, probably even more than Yu's own family.
"Can I ask you something?" She says slowly, almost shy.
"What's up?"
Nanako nudged the older man's apron to close their distance. "Big bro is seeing someone, I think. Do you know who?" She whispers.
Even with the evidence backing up this theory, Nanako could still be persuaded to believe otherwise. Yu might've been just a secretive guy without a girlfriend. However, Hanamura's sputtering mess of a reaction to her accusation only strengthened her case.
"W-what? No! No. I mean, how'd I know?! How'd—" he clears his throat, "why'd you ask?"
Nanako almost felt offended that he even tried to play it off. "You know something."
"I-I don't! If he didn't tell you, then why would he tell me?" he pipes up.
Nanako gives him an unconvinced look. The boy only rushes to make an excuse before practically throwing himself on the opposite side of the store.
Tuesday
Teddie places four popsicles on the Dojima table before announcing the description of each one: "Strawberry, mango, watermelon, and orange! Which one do you want, Nana-chan? Let's share!"
Nanako beams. "Yay popsicles! I want mango and watermelon."
Teddie pouts, "But watermelon's my favorite."
Nanako gives an apologetic glance his way before taking the popsicle from the table and raising it up to Teddie. "Okay, it's yours!"
"Really?!" he says, teary-eyed. He reached out to take hold of the precious watermelon-flavored popsicle, but his hand came to a halt when Nanako jerked the dessert away.
She deepens her voice. "Before I give you this, you must answer a riddle only the most gifted can solve!"
The blonde watched Nanako sway the ice pop in front of his face, taunting him with the delicious ice-cold treat that he loved so much. "Teddie is the definition of gifted! That popsicle will be mine."
Nanako clears her throat. "I can't be seen or heard; you know me well like a word. I'm hidden from the world's sight, but felt by my big brother's arms every night! Who am I?"
With gleaming eyes, Teddie yells, "Sensei's-" The next sound he made was not from the vibrations of his vocal chords but rather from the forceful slap of his hand to his mouth. He looked at Nanako in fear and swallowed hard, "I'm, uh, forget it, Nana-chan! It's too hard of a riddle. You can have the watermelon! Quick, it's about to melt!" He picked up the orange-colored treat and shoved it in his mouth. Nanako at first stared in confusion, but then it slowly morphed into a knowing expression that made Teddie shudder.
She could try to score more information from Teddie, but the popsicles were melting. She had a bigger problem at the moment.
Wednesday
Chie and Yukiko exchanged a glance, "Narukami? Girlfriend?" The black-haired one says, puzzled. Nanako gives both girls a face that makes her look like a wet kitten. She was really desperate for an answer.
"Don't give us that look, Nanako! I mean, Yu's never really been interested in girls..." Chie drags out the thought.
"Chie's right, I think he's too busy for those." Yukiko smiles innocently.
Nanako was about to let it go, when she saw both of the girls eyes suddenly widen. Chie makes a sound as though something got caught in her throat that sent her into a coughing fit. Yukiko looked frozen in shock in comparison, her eyes practically bulging out of her head.
"What's wrong?!" Nanako said hurriedly.
Yukiko rushes to help her friend, patting her back to tame down the deadly wheezing. "Chie! S-sorry Nanako. This happens all the time." she explained, trying to tone down the weight of the implication that Chie might be dying.
"We gotta go!" Chie demanded in between heavy breaths. She sprinted a couple blocks away and pulled out her phone.
"See you Nanako, uhm.."
"SO YOU WERE JUST GONNA KEEP THIS A SECRET FROM US?! I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING GOING ON!"
Yukiko wipes the sweat that had been building off on her forehead. She puts on a weak smile and bows to Nanako before walking away.
"NO. DON'T GIVE ME THAT NONSENSE - DON'T THINK I DIDN'T NOTICE YOU TWO SNEAKING OFF WHILE WE WERE HAVING OUR MEETINGS!"
"Uh, yeah bye.." Nanako waved at her goodbye and went straight home with more questions than answers.
Thursday
"Here you go, I added extra tofu too!" Rise grins at her. Nanako tried to smile but it looked more like a plea instead.
"Aww, what's wrong?" She brings a gloveless hand to pat the girl's hair, their difference in height making it convenient to pull off easily.
Nanako sulks, "I think I've reached a dead end.."
"Dead end? Haha, did you fail an exam?" It was meant to be a joke, but she had just sounded remorseful.
"No. I mean, kind of." Rise hums, nudging her to continue. "I'm really lost, and it feels like everyone is trying to stop me from finding out the answer."
The older raises an eyebrow, and she takes a second to reply, trying to find an appropriate answer for a six year old.
"Well... whatever it is, make sure to never give up, Nanako-chan! If you're getting this worked up, then it must be important right? You don't just give up on something that matters a ton." She said. Nanako got the impression that she spoke from experience. The younger straightened her stance and grinned at Rise.
"Thank you! I feel better now." She felt her face heat up.
"Yeah! Never give up!"
"I won't! I'll find out who big bro's girlfriend is!"
"Yea- Wha- Senpai has a girlfriend?!"
Nanako nods absentmindedly. "I have to go, I still need to buy cabbages. See you!"
Rise wasn't given the chance to even mutter a 'goodbye', still dumbstruck at the idea that her Senpai is seeing someone. Her Senpai.
Friday
"Girlfriend, huh?" Kanji placed a finger on his chin. "Well, I don't got a clue of any chick Senpai'd be into. Got an idea, Naoto?"
Nanako sighs in defeat. She asked every single one of Yu's closest friends if they didn't know—or was instructed to keep it a secret, which was a possibility she's considering—then there was no way she would be able to solve this mystery. She'd go home and lament the fact that she failed, and Yu won't tell her because he doesn't trust her and-
"Is it not worth taking into account the chance that he could also be attracted to the male gender?" Naoto suggested calmly.
Nanako and Kanji considered it at first, but alas, none of them had enough facts to support that case.
"I mean, if he is into dudes. Who'd he date? He only hangs out with the bear, me and Yosuke."
Naoto tried to stifle a groan. "Try to rule out the possibilities. I'm confident this isn't a hard case to crack." she says, sounding annoyed.
Both were quiet for a moment, you could almost hear the gears turning on their heads.
Kanji seems too confident, making him nowhere near suspicious. Plus, she heard from her brother once that Kanji had his eyes on someone else. Teddie? No way. He acted too immature for her brother, hell, Yu treated Teddie like his own child. And, Yosuke? No. They're best friends.
"I... don't know." Nanako announces, disappointed at herself.
"Aw man, don't worry. He'll tell us soon if he does have one, probably." Kanji said, crossing his arms.
"Really?" she asks, tugging at her dress.
"Yes. Positive." Naoto says primly.
Somehow, that managed to reassure Nanako. Yu would tell her. She was hopeful.
Saturday
"I'm going out, I'll be home late." Yu says while putting his jacket on. "Don't wait for me, okay?"
"Okay!" Nanako dropped the laundry basket to give her brother a hug. Yu reciprocated and embraced her back. They stayed like that for a few seconds before Yu pulled away.
"I really have to go, sorry. Just leave my clothes at the door."
Nanako nodded and watched her brother put on his shoes. "Nanako." he starts, to get the girl's attention.
"Don't go inside my room, okay?"
"Okay. Promise."
She contemplated breaking her promise two minutes later. Staring at her brother's bedroom door, she analyzed the pattern of scratches on the wood that tainted its dark color. She looks up at the small window that was too dirty from dust to be see-through. She palms the door handle. She wasn't going to steal anything. She just wanted to take a quick peek. Yu wouldn't even notice she'd been in his room.
She twists the handle and cracks the door open. Afraid that Yu might suddenly appear behind her and scold her for not following on their promise.
She sees nothing that was unusual, it looked the same as yesterday, and the day before. She allowed herself to open the door all the way to get a full look.
Nanako scans the room, blinks twice, and steps a cautious foot into the room. She feels the fabric of the carpet through her socks, she tried her hardest to minimize her movement as much as possible.
She approaches the study table that occupies a corner of the room. Papers and books settled on top of it. Looking through them, she saw a collection of letters and numbers jumbled together that made her head hurt.
She eyes the futon, the TV, and the closet before making her way out. A part of her wanted to go back and flip everything upside down. Why would Yu restrict her from entering his room if he wasn't hiding anything?
Sunday
Nanako takes a piece of sushi from the platter and happily puts it in her mouth. The sushi tasted extra good because her brother and her father were eating with her. Dojima taking off the wasabi from her meal, her singing along to the Junes commercial, Yu quietly listening to Dojima's rants—it was promising to be a lively dinner.
"Uncle," Yu starts slowly. Nanako perks away from the television to give her full attention to Yu.
"I'm uh, seeing someone." Nanako audibly gasps. So her theory had been correct.
Dojima's eyebrows furrowed. "Who." he says, demanding an answer.
"I know you don't have the best impression of him - but, I promise he's nice."
Nanako slots in her guesses: Naoto? The blond girl with the curly hair? One of his co-workers? Wait, he?
"He?" Dojima parrots.
Yu nods, "Yeah. It's Yosuke."
Dojima hummed, and stayed silent for a minute. Nanako frowns, not because of the revelation of the non-girl girlfriend being Yosuke. But because she was unable to figure out the puzzle on her own, on hindsight, it was easy to decipher that Yosuke was the culprit. From his stuttering mess of a reaction to the fact that him and Yu were always buddy-buddy together. She was upset with herself for having forgotten that relationships between people can advance and develop.
"The Junes kid huh?" Dojima scratches the back of his head too harshly. "Okay, yeah, just don't get in trouble."
Yu nods, "We won't."
Nanako entertains the idea in her head; does that mean Yu is technically directly connected to Junes now?
"I'm happy for you big bro!"
A smile tugs at Yu's lips. "I thought you knew already. Yosuke and the others told me you interrogated them."
Nanako blushes. "Well, they never told me anything!"
Dojima chuckles, and Nanako turned more red by the second.
"Sorry for not telling you guys sooner."
Nanako shakes her head "It's okay! I'm glad you're happy!"
"Alright. Finish your food Nanako, it's gonna get cold. And don't worry about it, Yu. I understand." Dojima gives the silver-haired boy a friendly, albeit slightly harsh, pat on the shoulder.
Nanako didn't notice. She dubbed the sushi (that tasted like heaven at this point) as her celebration meal for finally putting the case to its overdue rest.