Rei had never acknowledged anything vocally, far from it. Instead he had done so in silence, especially once seeing the two of them converse from afar. He had seen them, witnessing how their mouths opened and closed. Same went for their expressions, how they were smiling and laughing. And it had always put him at ease when seeing Ritsu in such company. Of course Rei would think so! He was more than happy for his younger brother and he would always be happy for him! There was no reason not to be! And yet Rei would know what consequences this had all the same for Ann as she had quickly become a close friend to Ritsu and before Rei could see, the both of them were more than just friends... Which was not a bad thing. And yet, it may as well not have happened... Or would it have happened? It was hard to say and yet no one would ever figure it out, at least not when having taken this path.

Rei was never a stranger to what Ritsu thought of him, given the younger Sakuma brother had always been vocal about it, even calling his older brother anything but 'older brother'. Yet even then Rei made sure to try his damn hardest to build a connection with Ritsu again, to make up for lost time. He does truly love and care for his cute, little brother after all. He wants to look out for said brother, even if this one would refuse to notice. Rei didn't do it for attention and he never would. And that meant in some instances he had to put Ritsu first when making a decision.

Ann's situation had been one of those times. He had taken note how the young woman was acting all around him and needless to say, she seemed to be at least a little interested in him. He was not blind to it, he never was. Her red cheeks and her stutter made it all too obvious to him, let alone how hard she tried to not embarrass herself. A girl in love, or at least one with a crush. She wanted more, she was curious. And that was a problem. After all, it would strain her relationship with Ritsu and Rei... He didn't want that to happen. He couldn't. It would hurt in his chest and haunt him with guilt if he had ever tried to pursue the young woman in such a way. This was something he just couldn't do to his younger brother. He would not be able to live with himself.

The thought process also had proven to Rei that he may have declined either way, given that he was not fighting anything. He could have gotten closer and figured it out and yet it could always lead to more. The risk was unlikely yet always there. His interest in the girl had not been strong and if she was to confess he would have shot her down in an instant. In fact he was waiting for that to happen, even after he decided to slow down and make sure to be out of sight, only approaching her when absolutely necessary or it could not be avoided. However, nothing had happened in that regard. Instead she silently accepted it, to his surprise, and had never sought him out. It made things easier at least. He wasn't interested, he never was and never will be. And her interest died down over time from what he heard from afar. And as a result she got closer to Ritsu instead and he was delighted, very happy about it in fact. And that should have been the end of it... But it's not. Of course it's not.

Nyeli had come in to complain about a problem occurring at the moment which even left Rei in a bit of a shock. Calming the cat down was a task on its own, to say the least. Then again, he was a little lucky that Nyeli had decided to listen to him first before going any further. What had Rei told the kitty? Exactly this story. And yet it was this what had caused the problems in his brother's relationship... It was his fault at the end of the day, somewhat. Then again, an outburst like this was not like Ritsu, of course it was not. This thought had to brew in the younger Sakuma's mind for days if not weeks. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on. Then again, Rei only had Nyeli's word of mouth and white he trusts the kitty, details could be muddled.

Yet it left his stomach twisting a little, the guilt haunting him just hearing about it. But how to proceed next? That was the question he had to ask himself.

Even when having asked Nyeli this one just shrugged after thinking long and hard. The problems of adults are complicated and the small cat had to understand that much at least.It was not that simple.

Approach one of them? Of course that was a possible move and if nothing else helped Rei had to directly interfere. Ann was the only option in that case, given Ritsu would just call him off. And yet the reaction could be something unexpected all the same. Besides, interfere too much in youngsters' problems and they might not learn all the same. He could only push it so far. He can't get too involved in this.

So in conclusion Rei was of no use, he could not act on his own. If he approached Ann of all people and Ritsu would spot exactly that he would get the wrong idea perhaps and it would escalate even further.

This was indeed a problem difficult to approach... It left him baffled. If he wanted to do something, he would have to rely solely on luck...

Rei didn't expect nor hope for Ritsu coming out with this, of course he wouldn't. He'd rather see Rei from behind if he had to see his own brother. Ritsu would never admit to anything nor ask for help. And Ann... That was hard to say. Nyeli had warned Rei during their conversation that she also was a stubborn one.

This situation was not ideal for anything involved... Or maybe Rei was just telling himself that as he was as clueless as everyone perhaps. What an older brother he is... He was unable to be there for any of them at this moment and despite knowing better that this is a problem the two lovers have to figure out and solve... It irked him that he could not really do anything in this situation except giving his little nephew the clarity he needed. At most one can only hope at this point...