Yuzu's mum and dad walked through the door and immediately froze upon seeing me.

Her dad was a tall, lanky figure, although much of that was hidden by the suit he wore. I could still make a good estimate of his physique from sizing people up when I used to loiter the streets of Shinjuku. He had a boyish young face, sheltered behind a pair of dark glasses, and straight black hair. He was definitely quite good looking, even without considering his age.

Next to him, stood Yuzu's mum. She was exactly what I would guess Yuzu would look like if I had to imagine her in the future. Long black hair tied up into a bun behind her head with streaks falling past the sides of a stunning face that could easily pass off as a highschooler. She had a more defined body, but she was dressed modestly in jeans and a cardigan.

"Mum, dad!!" Yuzu cried to them from the couch where we were sitting. "Big sis is back! Can you believe it?!"

I forced a weak smile at the pair of strangers. "H-hi, mum and dad... how are you...?"

They were silent for a moment, looks of utter shock written on their faces.

I mean, who wouldn't be after not seeing their daughter for seven years?

"Ruzu... is that... really you...?" Yuzu's dad mouthed with a gaping jaw.

Ruzu...

Ah, so that was what my name was.

I guess this was where the show ends.

There was no way Yuzu's parents wouldn't recognise their own daughter.

My plan was completely nonsensical anyways, now that I was faced with the reality of the situation.

How on earth did I plan to fool an entire family into believing that I was the sister and daughter they had always known?

Now would probably be a good time to spill the beans.

"The truth is..." I started to say.

"Ruzu!!"

Yuzu's mum cried and dropped all the groceries she had been carrying on the floor.

She dashed up to me and threw both arms around me, pulling me up to my feet from the couch and squashing my face into her well endowed chest in the process.

"Y... you're back, honey!" Yuzu's mum said. "I can't believe it! It's really you, Ruzu...!! Oh my god, you've grown so much!!"

"Mmfh, mmmfh...!!"

I was suffocating, with my face trapped between her two perfectly shaped breasts.

Had I died and gone straight to hell... or was this heaven...?

"Ah, sorry...!" 

Yuzu's mum released hold of me just went I was on the edge of passing out, and I staggered backwards, trying to catch my breath.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

At that moment, Yuzu's dad rushed forward, pulling me into a hug as well.

"Ruzu...!! You came back from Australia!! Daddy's so happy to see you again!!"

"Ye-yeah..." I laughed nervously, feeling pins on my body. "I'm so happy too..."

The experience of being hugged by another man...

Wasn't pleasant.

Especially considering I never had a father figure in my life.

My father was killed in a car accident when I was 2 years old, or so I was told since I was too young to remember.

My mother... well... let's just not talk about her.

Thinking about her made me angry.

She had inherited a large sum of money upon his death and went travelling around the world, leaving me to fend for myself in Japan.

Such an irresponsible mother...

"H-hey, big sis, are you okay...?"

Yuzu was staring at me with blinking eyes.

Oh shit, I had subconsciously raised a fist to my eye level while thinking about my mother.

"Haha, oh, it's nothing!" I said. "I'm just so happy to see mum and dad again, you know?"

I tried to shake my fist in the air enthusiastically with a forced smile, but Yuzu's face only darkened at my attempt.

I probably looked really scary right now.

"I thought you were staying with uncle in Australia!" Yuzu's mum said. "He should had told me he had sent you back! Ohh, I would had prepared a welcoming feast for dinner tonight if I knew...!"

"R-really, it's alright...! I'm not that hungry anyways...!"

"Ruzu, you've grown so beautiful! Just like your sister! Come and give daddy another hug!!"

"Uh... hold on! I forgot something in my room...!"

Spinning on my toes, I couldn't make it out of there any faster.

"Ruzu...!"

I ignored their calls after me and went up the stairs, straight back to the bedroom I had initially woken up in.

Ah, please, I couldn't handle this!!

I wasn't Ruzu at all...!

I was Taku Yamato!!

I threw myself into the bed, covering myself in blankets as I curled up into a ball.

Let me just wake up in my original body! Please!

...

I was in the room for quite some time, surrounded by only the sounds of my staggerred breathing, until the door creaked open.

"Ruzu...?"

It was the voice of Yuzu's mum.

"What is it...?" I groaned from under the shelter of the blankets. "I'll come down in a minute..."

I heard gentle footsteps towards the door, and felt Yuzu's mum sitting at the edge of the bed.

"We're really glad you're back, Ruzu..." She said softly. 

"..."

"I know you must feel very uncomfortable right now. After all, you've been gone for seven years..."

I stayed silent, listening to her talk. Something about her voice seemed to soothe my mind.

Was this what having a mother that was actually there for you felt like?

"Mum and dad are just really happy that you're back now..." Yuzu's mum said, then paused. "But, you know... The person who is the happiest to see you back is Yuzu..."

I shifted on the bed, hearing that.

"Don't let that silly smile on her face fool you into thinking that she was doing alright... Yuzu really struggled without you by her side, Ruzu... Every night since you've left... she had been crying herself to sleep..."

...!

"That's why we're really happy to have you back again..."

I pushed my upper body up from the bed, the blankets sliding off my head.

So, she did fake it after all...

Telling me that she was alright...

"Remember how Yuzu was never good at school when you were here, and you were always telling her to put more efforts to her studies but she would be too busy playing," Yuzu's mum reminsced with a laugh. "That girl really took your advice to heart and studied her head off after the day you left. She's now even at the top of her classes."

"...she really cares about her sister a lot..." I muttered.

"Of course she cares about you, Ruzu," Yuzu's mum said with a soft smile. "You mean the world to her."

I glanced up at Yuzu's mum's face and saw the sincere smile on it, her eyes staring at me with a sparkle.

My mother had never once looked at me the way that Yuzu's mum did.

At that moment, I could tell that Ruzu also meant the world to Yuzu's mum.

She got up from the bed and headed to the door.

"Even this room, Yuzu was the one cleaning it every day for you, waiting for the day you come back."

She stopped at the door for a moment.

"So, don't leave again..." Yuzu's mum said, then the door closed behind her, leaving me alone in the unfamiliar bedroom.

I thought about what she said for a moment.

...

That's it.

I've decided.

I will stay with Yuzu as her sister...

And, I will help find the real Ruzu...!