Chapter Text
Sunny despised the violin.
He despised the eerie tune which made his ears screech. He despised his calloused hands which grew more and more painful through every play. He despised his friend’s smiles when they cared for him and cheered for him with, “Don’t worry, Sunny! It’s just a small mistake!”, when his sister would never dare utter it. He despised how his sister wouldn’t look at him. He despised how his sister’s perfect nature had been tattered by the way she scribbled ragged notes all over the books in the piano room’s bookshelf consumed in vain. This Mari was not Mari. Mari was perfect, loving, and accepting. Mari wouldn’t yell. Mari wouldn’t lecture. Mari wouldn’t tremble with coalesced ire.
He felt his hands quiver. The pit in his stomach ached.
He was so scared to let everyone down, but what did it matter? He never liked the violin because it took his friends away. They thought it was what he wanted, but how wrong could they be? What want did he have in leaving his friends’ fun? What want did he have in severing all their meetups? What want did he have in missing the last hour of his favourite show?
Why didn’t his sister care? Why was Mari so focussed on her piano like her piano was her whole world? Sunny was hurt! Sunny was frustrated! He didn’t like being yelled at by his sister; how could he? How could he bear to listen to her, if he never considered her feelings! He was never in her mind at all! Everything to her was Omori, Omori, Omori-
His breathing quickened as he screwed his eyes shut, drowning the agitated fit from his sister as she heard yet another dissonant mistake from her useless little brother who knew nothing but to ruin everything with his selfish, entitled, imperfections. Lacklustre of a heart and of vigour. Lacklustre of the will to love her at all.
…
His breathing grew heavy.
“If you mess this part up again, I will be very upset. Does it make you happy to be the reason I’m upset? I wouldn’t think so.”
The boy quivered.
“Sunny?” Mari cut in, sternly, “Young man, can you listen to me?”
He saw red. His eyes pricked. His head throbbed.
Mari clicked her fingers in his face. He could see her strained smile, her tired eyes, her untamed hair, and her stiff upper-lip- so clearly. Perturbed, vexed, hapless.
“From the top, now.”
Scary.
“Sunny!?”
His violin was tight to his chest. His blood was racing in his ears. His eyes were disarrayed.
The crash of the door. The thundering of the stairs. Mari’s cries and yells. She ran up to Sunny who had ran to the landing and cornered his face. He pushed her aside. She tried to yell back but Sunny’s grunts were louder. With all of his strength his arms pulled the violin above his head as he looked down and saw hope and-
Beep! Beep! Beep!
It was all gone.
He froze from the alarm. Mari took his state as a leeway to knock her brother away from the stairs with her good knee, and Sunny hit the ground, his violin thumping on his chest. It wasn’t inept, but the weight was of this and the disheartenment of his sister who was benighted by frazzled frustration. It hurt, and- Sunny quietly wept, his shoulders shuddering from agony- and Mari’s bedraggled hair strewn discordantly across her face left him paralysed. He was terrified.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
“What is it? We have a recital!” his sister spat.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
She huffed. The exasperation ripped through her veins, leading Mari to pummel the ground with her fist before taking and coddling the wretched violin, coldly peering at her brother. Then, she turned her head back to their bedroom.
“First, I’ll answer the call,” she decided, firmly, “Then, you and I will have a chat. So, stay put, please.”
“N-No…”
He didn’t want to have a chat. The girl before him was not Mari. Mari would be caring and empathetic and would reason with her words as to what was wrong, and would apologise and give him hugs and call him her dear little brother who she loved more than anyone and look kind and gentle and compassionate. She wouldn’t hit him. She wouldn’t shout. She wouldn’t look at him like he was filth.
But… his greatest upset was because Mari would never listen to him. When Sunny was distressed over the recital, unlike the way she had been his entire life, while he had longed for her understanding so terribly, Mari wouldn’t… help. She had been too busy, and too focussed. Her trying to understand what her brother was feeling in the present was… was too delayed. Abrupt. Prolonged. Not the attitude of the real Mari.
...And that was the exact reason why she couldn’t. Mari couldn’t. The Mari Sunny wanted was gone. He didn’t want this Mari to talk to him. That wasn’t his sister. That wasn’t who he loved. That person was something… someone… out to hurt him.
Not his sister… with his sister’s kind eyes, and those hands that had always been strong enough to hold him, whenever he needed it.
The lump of distress in his throat was so awful that his voice trembled in hoarseness.
“No… No!”
Mari didn’t listen. He watched her stand up and walk swiftly to their bedroom. Her dismissal was her reply. Sunny’s tears began to fall harder.
---
Yet, the colour was drained from Mari’s face.
“Do you understand, or do I need to repeat myself?”
“...”
“Mari?”
“N-No… It’s okay, I…” she murmured, her lips twitching, “...I-I get it. Good luck, Dad. Make sure Mom gets lots of rest. I’ll be sure to tell Sunny.”
“Good girl. Take care. Bzzt…”
…
The corded telephone slipped from her hands and fell, slamming against the table, carelessly hanging.
Mari felt a drumming in her chest that was ever growing louder. There were spasms in her lungs quickening out and quickening in. She felt the sag of her shoulders, and could hear- perhaps- a piercing hum which flooded her ears and suffocated anything else.
…
What…?
…
Shuffles of footsteps were tapping in the hall. They stopped at the door. She turned around, and her little brother looked back, eyes wide, and of course he would’ve mounted that trembling stare. The telephone made a crash when it slammed against the table. Sunny never liked crashes.
His cheeks… were also streaked with red. He was panting, with a firm grip on the door which was bolstered with rigidness.
“Wait, Sunny…” Mari began, slowly, “Have you been crying…?”
His gaze averted.
“Oh, little brother… In the hallway, I couldn’t see… no, that’s just an excuse,” she continued on, her voice mellowing into nothing but care, out of instinct- because he was hurt, and she hadn’t any clue on how bad his pain was or when it started or- “I’m so, so sorry. Did I hurt you?”
He nodded.
“Come-... No. Stay there.”
Mari came to her brother and wrapped her arms around his torso, leaning her head into the crook of his shoulder. Her little brother’s body was so cold.
“I’m sorry, Sunny…”
The weight of everything she heard was breaking her heart, too. She didn’t realise she had hurt her little brother. She didn’t expect her hug to solve anything, either (how could Sunny possibly forgive her? She wasn’t a good big sister. She had a blind eye to her brother when he was pained) and yet- she felt her hug being tightened and thickened. She screwed her eyes shut. He was too nice for his own good.
It was when the energy was starting to dull, that Mari chose to break it. She cupped her brother’s face as she looked at him directly. His eyebrows were knitted, and his lip was still quivering.
“Are you still mad?”
“...You’re a liar.”
“H-... Huh?”
“Mari doesn’t care about how I feel anymore…” Sunny hiccupped, trembling, his words slurring together, “You’re a liar.”
Her head was trying desperately to listen.
“Why do you think I’m like that?”
“The r-recital…” Sunny went on, his words growing louder, “Y-You’re lying, because the recital will still…”
“What ‘still’?!”
…
Mari had exclaimed. The words split from her tongue like they were all she ever knew.
Her brother’s eyes scanned the ground, searching for nothing in particular. As if he was the one who should be guilty because he was the reason for her yelling, but he was wrong, utterly.
There was another thing in her heart. Another thing in her mind. A weight that dawned on her and made her heart throb in vexation. Hurting her brother was painful, and putrid, and should never happen again, but the weight of her previous hurt was so severe that her breathing was asphyxiated before Sunny had even seen her.
Now, she had to tell him.
“The recital is cancelled,” she spoke succinctly, lest she was falling on deaf ears, “Dad said it’s cancelled. We need to pack our bags, too. We’re spending the night with Hero and Kel. It’ll be for 3 days, give or take another. You never know, because it’s uncertain. After all…”
An influx of emotion and realisation. Sunny’s body started to sway.
“Little brother, are you listening?”
His eyes looked like they were threatening to spill when he looked back at his sister. No longer did he look as if scared beyond repair.
“Talk to me, Sunny. Are you sad, or-”
Mari took a breath.
“-happy?”
The tears leaked out. He looked down. The shame crept in when it became obvious that she understood what that meant.
“Did you not enjoy playing with me?” Mari continued on, her voice beginning to strain from how colourful and vivacious it now was, “I-I thought you wanted to spend time with your big sister the most. That’s why you always liked watching me use my Omori- you even tried to use your old toy violin to make a duet! Had I always been wrong; did you really not want that?”
His voice croaked, just like hers.
“I wanted… to be loved… by you…”
“I always loved you… H-How could you think otherwise…?”
But, Sunny shook his head. His gaze lowered, and he outstretched his palms.
“Open cuts…?”
Mari echoed what she saw.
“It’s from practice,” her brother returned. And, Sunny had never told her. She had never seen such a view. The piano never hurt her, because it didn’t have strings. The piano left her seated, because she didn’t need to stand. Yet, Sunny… without a bad knee, with perfectly normal fingers, was bruised. At her expense.
Her deep seated affection overwhelmed her.
“Stay there,” Mari announced, sharply, “I’m getting the antiseptic. We’re wrapping you up properly. You’re in no state to play any instrument with black and blue fingers. If Dad didn’t cancel the recital, I probably would’ve cancelled it myself. What were you thinking?”
Mari truly began to wonder if her brother would ever stop looking at her as if she wasn’t real. That disconcerted stare. She hated it.
---
“...You didn’t explain why. Or forgot to. Dunno,” Sunny mumbled, hissing a bit from the gel, as he curiously looked at his sister, “Why did Dad cancel the recital?”
“Oh, uh… haha…” Mari smiled, her gaze somewhat distant, “Funny story, actually. Y’know how Mom’s supposed to be having a baby soon?”
Right. Sunny was aware that he and Mari were due to get a new baby brother or sister any day now, but was so overwhelmed by recital practice to really care about how his mom’s needs were all changing. All he really cared for was holding the right chords.
Until now.
The recital had been cancelled. Sunny’s lips twitched, and his chest began to ache. Mari was right: he was absolutely enthralled by the knowledge the recital was cancelled. While his sister was wringing her hands over all the time she invested in her dreams, her brother had a ruefully moronic small smile on the tips of his lips that he prayed for his sister not to see. Sunny did love her; not loving Mari would be the day that Sunny died. Yet… her expectations were too much. Him being out of Mari’s picture would mean that Mari- if she still wanted her piano- would have to reach for that success by herself. Sunny wasn’t good enough, and was so damn tired of trying to be someone that he wasn’t. At the very least, he wanted his ambitions to be those that don’t pain him. Mari was 15 and old and honestly- all the stuff that she did looked awful and was awful to keep up with. Sunny had learned that the hard way, and now knew it perfectly- probably better than Kel. He could get his sister’s love another way. And one of those ways would be for Mari to patch his fingers, as she was now.
…Well, anyway…
“Dad said Mom’s baby is coming soon. Like, really soon. He or she may even be born today!” she hummed, “Isn’t that exciting, Sunny?”
Mari kissed her brother on the forehead.
“You’re going to become my big little brother.”
…Yeah. Sunny was becoming a big brother- or rather- his big sister Mari’s big little brother. What a tone shift. He nodded… and blushed.
Mari, on the other hand, was antsy with pride. She couldn’t wait to see her little brother take on such an important responsibility. As their unborn sibling’s big brother, he had quite a lot of tasks to start doing! Most notably, tuning down a bit on his selfishness… but Mari was certain that Sunny would be capable. It was the concept of loving another more than oneself, and it was something that Mari already understood from the young age she was when she held baby Sunny for the first time. And she knew it was universal from the way Hero (sometimes) spoke about Kel.
“So,” she went on, “We need to start packing, Sunny! Our sleepover awaits!”
She massaged Sunny’s wrapped hands. Then, clutched his arms, before lifting him to his feet.
“Help me out, will you? I know you don’t like your chores very much, but we can’t wrap this up with one person.”
“Okay…”
“Awe, thank you!”
Sunny reluctantly paced towards his cupboard. Mari giggled, before doing the same-... and paused. Ah, right. She did want some of those music books from downstairs after all; Sunny being out of the recital was one thing, but Mari still needed to learn music for her career. She needed to keep studying regardless of Sunny’s wants- so long as her little brother wasn’t involved.
Music was Mari’s passion. Mari was a hard worker, and had finessed her abilities in softball until she was 9 and she fell during a match. With her chronic knee injury, Mari set her sights on the piano. She didn’t need to walk or stand or run when she played on her Omori, so it was perfect for her needs and wants.
…She’d be lying if she told herself that her inkling to play piano was sunshine and roses. Her brother’s anger was so vivid in her mind as if she was still standing in the landing space and kicking her brother to the ground while thinking the world and beyond of herself. Mari was a wretched, horrible person. Playing the piano now would break her heart and her brother’s…
She blinked.
…Huh?...
She was in the landing space. She had wandered out of the room with half of her head. And, “Basil?”
…
Basil froze. The boy straightened up immediately and quivered as he looked her in the eye with shaky pupils. Mari’s initial grief from seeing someone unexpected dwindled quickly, too.
She almost pushed him to the other side of the hallway. He almost tripped while following her steps, before wincing as Mari’s whispers rushed into his ears.
“How long have you been here?”
She and Sunny had had such a horrendous fight. So, if he had heard anything-
“Since… U-Uh, well… I came here to collect my camera at first b-because I left it in the living room-”
“-Get to the point.”
“I heard yelling,” Basil continued, without any breaks, with hollow eyes, “I s-saw… You pushed Sunny. Sunny was holding the violin and it hit him. I wanted to check if he was o-okay… but then h-he… got up and ran to y-your room, then… I was w-worried so I eavesdropped-... I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
Oh God.
“You shouldn’t be doing that, okay?” Mari reprimanded, “You know, eavesdropping. Sunny and I were handling each other just fine. You can trust us.”
Basil opened his mouth, but then sagged his shoulders. He then gritted his teeth.
“I might be sorry, but at the same time, I listened, Mari,” he trembled, “Now I know things that I could never have known otherwise.”
She crossed her eyebrows. Basil took a deep breath.
“Y-You hurt him. You g-gave him those scars on his hands. It’s y-your fault that he got hurt. It’s all your fault…”
Her eyes widened, “I didn’t mean it-”
“-It’s still your fault, whether you meant it or not!” Basil rasped back, hissing and gritting his teeth as his voice escalated, “Y-You… b-blackmailed Sunny into not telling me that he had bruises on his fingers! If he told me, we could’ve fixed this problem earlier! You wanted Sunny to continue to a recital in that state? You’re vile! A horrid big sister!”
He was full out yelling and panting. Mari’s gaze was beginning to grow despondent, the words of her inner voice becoming more and more true. It’s not an illusion if someone else agreed with her.
“Basil…?”
Mari was ripped from her stupor. Basil was ripped from his focus. That voice wasn’t Basil. Both of them turned their heads to find Sunny, his bottom lip already quivering, his frustration mounting on his conscience just as before.
Sunny walked up to his best friend.
“S-Stop… arguing…”
“What do you mean by ‘stop arguing’?” Basil cried out, “Look what she did to you! H-How can I just keep quiet-?”
“Stop it…” Sunny went on, clutching his sides, “Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!”
“Look… stop,” Mari wryly added in, facing the blonde, “My brother and I have resolved this matter. The recital is cancelled. Sunny will never touch his violin again. For now, we… w-we…”
Mari hadn’t cried at all, yet. All she had done was throw herself into a cycle of hurting her dearest people and then praying for their forgiveness. It was upsetting, but she didn’t cry- how could she when her thoughts were so torn? Cancelling her dreams, and becoming a second-time big sister, on the same day…?
Yet,
What she wanted more than ever was to get out of this cycle, by pushing one of the ends to its extreme. No way in hell would it be the end where she hurts people.
“...We want to support each other, and Sunny deserves so much apology. I’ll…make it up to him, even if apologising takes 10 years or more, I’ll do it. My little brother deserves that much at the very least. I never want to hurt him so horribly again.”
Her smile was sombre.
“Sunny…”
Mari looked at Basil briefly. Then, looked at Sunny head on. She took a deep breath in.
“My dear little brother… For everything I did… Do you forgive me?”
Her voice was only slightly not a whisper. So small- and so weighted- because all Mari wanted to do was collapse to her knees from her hatred and guilt and coalesced love. But she wouldn’t dare cry. She didn’t want to scare him…
…Sunny screwed his face, as if trying not to cry too.
“M-Mari?”
“Yes?”
Sunny exhaled.
“That’s Mari, my sister. Not the person who hurt me…” Sunny murmured, turning his gaze to Basil, “So, please… please… forgive her… like me.”
Mari’s tears spilled out then and there.
…
“A-And, hey!” she added, with a hint of optimism, frantically rubbing at her eyes (darn it!), “Having a new baby brother or sister around now is perfect timing, don’t you think? W-We can close this chapter with a life of new beginnings. Big brother Sunny’s little adventure. How about it?”
Sunny turned to Mari. He was in awe.
“M-Maybe,” Basil murmured. The wear lines on his face hadn’t entirely been erased by that lopsided conclusion. He still was a bit timid around Mari, and still worried about Sunny.
“What do you mean, ‘maybe’?” Mari huffed, before smirking, “I’m right, aren’t I?”
“A-Again… Maybe…”
“Hmm-?”
“Not good.”
The last voice was Sunny’s. Sunny spoke up and cut both of their thoughts.
“Basil,” he pointedly began, “I told you to forgive Mari. Forgive her.”
The boy hesitated, “I-I-”
“Forgive her.”
Mari couldn’t help but snort; Sunny had given Basil a stink eye, stamping him in place. However- he then became a witness to Basil uneasily folding his fingers into one another, burdened by a lump in his throat.
The boy sighed.
He took his sorrowful older sister’s right palm from her side. Then, his best friend’s. He united them together, and wrapped his own around the two. It was brave- which wasn’t typical of Sunny, but okay because he was vexed. He understood that Basil wasn’t forgiving Mari for the sake of himself, and really wanted all of it to be over.
“A peace offering,” Sunny proclaimed.
“Oh? Is that what this is?” Mari spoke up… before simpering, “Alright! Count me in!”
Mari tightened the grip. Basil stiffened, and turned to Sunny- who was genuinely smiling. That sold Basil enough to reciprocate the same.
They all knew, therefore- from that day on- the three of their bonds would be stronger.
---
Sunny and Mari were sandwiched in Kel and Hero’s dad’s truck. Aubrey and Basil had tagged along, as well as obviously Kel and Hero, so the 6 of them were sandwiched into the 5 seats in the back of the 7-seater model, with Kel and Hero’s parents in the 2 seats up front. Reason being, a trip that they had all been waiting for.
“We’re here!” Aubrey gasped.
“Yes!” Mari rebounded, hugging Sunny tighter. Sunny had ended up on the older girl’s lap due to the limited number of seats that were available. In the middle row, the siblings sat on the right, while Basil sat in the center, and Aubrey sat on the left. Kel and Hero sat behind both of them.
Since they had arrived, Sunny and Aubrey flung open the car doors. Sunny got out at once, and shuddered; Mari had squeezed him a bit too much for his liking.
“Okay, c’mon-!” Aubrey sang out, coming just behind, “I need to know now! The baby has to be a mini Mari!”
Kel’s dad helped Kel out of the back, as Kel quipped to her, “Nah. He’s definitely a mini Sunny.”
“You just don’t know logic, Kel,” the girl huffed, crossing her arms, “There’s too many boys in this group. Hence, Sunny’s little sibling has to be a baby girl!”
“But boys are cooler!”
“Are not!”
“Are too!” Kel rebounded, confused, “Wasn’t your first friend literally Basil? Is Basil not cool to you? And Hero- how could you say my bro isn’t cool?”
“Basi- Hero’s different!”
“How is he different? He doesn’t have cooties like you do, Aubrey.”
“I’m also right here…”
“I don’t have cooties!”
“Yeah you do!” Kel grinned widely, “You obviously do because you’re a girl and girls are- mmph!”
“Like I said, I’m right here,” Hero repeated himself, glancing sternly at the bickering younger friends of his, with his hand over his brother’s mouth, “And I think, you should keep quiet. If you don’t use your inside voices around the baby, and the baby- God forbid- cries, Mari’s parents and my parents will tell you off. Do either of you want that?”
“Way to be a killjoy, huh?” Mari smirked, cornering him. Kel and Aubrey’s eyes widened.
“B-But Mari…” Hero returned, sheepish, “I don’t want them to upset the baby…”
“Oh, it’s fine!” she laughed, “Kel is basically Hector’s parent. Aubrey is Bun-Bun’s parent. They both know how to be around unpredictable kids, so they’ll be okay!”
“You place too much trust in them.”
“My bro doesn’t trust me…” Kel began to dramatically lament. Aubrey stifled a laugh.
“Not what I meant.”
“...Hero doesn’t trust me either…”
“Guys…”
“A-All of you should try to stay quiet, I think,” Basil winced, his hand tugging at Sunny's as the two of them walked in the front, “It’s his sibling. We shouldn’t ruin the moment for him when he only gets it once. M-Mari as well.”
Sunny didn't comment, but Mari sighed endearingly. Regardless, he heard twin apologies of “Sorry, Sunny!” from a few of his friends. Hero’s was rather meek, but Aubrey’s was heartfelt.
Kel’s was half-hearted. The boy then dashed to the front to ask Sunny a burning question of his own.
“In that case, I wanna hear it from you!” he grinned, rather chipper, before balling one of his fists and gesturing it to the black-haired boy as if it were a microphone, “Whaddya say, Sunny? Is it a boy, or a girl?”
“Uh… Mom didn’t tell me-”
“-Not like that!” Kel snorted, nudging Sunny in the arm, “Guess! Come on, brother-to-unborn-sibling instincts? Lemme at ‘em!”
He slowly began perusing the question, cupping his chin. Kel took the leeway to shoot Basil the same question. Basil slowly admitted that he’d rather hear from Sunny, though.
“...A boy.” Kel was star-struck.
“Team boy? Heh heh!”
He whipped his head round immediately. Then, he jeered, “See, Aubrey! Sunny’s on team boy!”
“They aren’t teams, Kel,” the girl… corrected?... before sighing, “Well… okay! If Sunny says it, then so be it! Sunny’s sibling is going to be a boy!”
“Sunny is just guessing, silly,” Mari simpered.
“Still, he’s probably right!” Aubrey gleamed, doing a twirl, “It’s Sunny! Sunny is smart!”
“-You can’t just change your opinion like that!”
That was Kel. He had grown entirely baffled.
“Not when you’re the one giving the ideas.”
“But I said the same thing!”
“Before Sunny did, duh!”
“Guys, please…” Hero wallowed, again, “Sunny is literally holding his ears because of your volume,” he fretted, gesturing to where Sunny had taken his hand from Basil to do as he described, “So, both of you need to settle down. Listen to what Basil told you.”
Aubrey grumbled, “Hmph.”
“Hey, bro…” Kel curiously added, “What about you? Boy or girl?... You too, Mari.”
Mari looked at Hero expectantly, but Hero was holding his head. Sighing, Mari hummed, “I don’t mind, really. I already have a little brother, and I have a little sister in Aubrey. I s’ppose… I’ll leave it to God. I’ll be happy either way, y’know?”
“But if you really had to say?”
“...Hm… Let me have some fun with my stingy little brother,” the girl grinned, complacent, “Count me in as a member of team girl.”
“Yeah, what she said,” Hero muttered. He didn’t really have the energy to think. Kel, on the other hand, grew very, very mirthful.
“2 on team girl… Me, Sunny and Aubrey on team boy… W-Wait! Basil!”
“Team girl?” Basil retorted, startlingly swiftly, “That’s three against three. Makes it even.”
Sunny gave Basil a look.
“...Or… not…” the flower boy recoiled (while smiling?), “T-Team boy. Did I say something about evenness? Must be a trick of the wind or s-something.”
And thus, the 6 friends had placed bets. Sunny gave Basil a thumbs-up. Kel gawked, and as it were, the doors of the hospital were now in their front, waiting to be opened by the siblings of a new baby.
…
And the siblings who wanted nothing but a new beginning.
---
That had been years ago.
The Suzuki household had changed drastically after the birth of Sunny and Mari’s youngest brother, Omori. Yes, Omori. It was Sunny’s idea to name Omori after the piano, and his sister had backed him up fervently. His reason? Sunny wanted someone to love which turned over a new leaf on their bad memories, while also being intrigued by the meaning of the word itself. Sunny’s dad was Japanese, and had explained at the time that Omori, when written in kanji, could mean guardian. Hence, he could grow up into a strong, confident man. This was the ultimate reason that their mother wrote Omori on his birth certificate.
Omori’s arrival had meant a few things at first. Sunny had initially found Omori adorable, because Omori was quiet, but that quietness at the hospital was nothing compared to the real thing. That baby must’ve had a mask, because the second he got home he was constantly screaming and wailing-
Not that Sunny minded it, though. Finally, his mom decided to cancel her night shifts and began spending nights at home with her three children… mainly because Omori wanted her attention even at night… which was a bonus for Sunny. Microwaved steaks turned into homemade steaks, and Sunny was on the receiving end of his mom’s much more frequent hugs. Sunny loved his mom more than his dad, that was for sure.
His dad, therefore, had longer work hours. Sunny used to see his dad often when Omori was a few months old, but after Omori turned 2, and just before that time, his dad began working night shifts as well. He was always knackered, and constantly berating Sunny at any chance he got with that pent up frustration- and while Sunny knew it was from work, because Hero had told him- it still hurt. He was always ridiculed for not studying as hard as his dad did when his dad was Sunny’s age, and studying was the focal point because of… what Mari was doing at the age of 19.
She was a high-flier. She had always been cunning, and her decision to pursue music at college was no small ordeal. For the first time ever, Sunny had seen his dad at wits end at his sister (not him, his sister), yelling at Mari for being in the wrong crowds and affiliating with the likes of worthless individuals- leading her to believe that music was the right thing to do. Mari stood firm, however. No longer were they the close father and daughter as they had been before, but Mari, at least, got what she wanted- coupled with the support of everyone else. To her, that was okay.
…In other words, though, their dad was a nuisance. While their mom was more endearing, their dad had grown colder. But, yet… seeing Omori’s face at the end of the day gave a slight crack to their dad’s rigid demeanor. Omori, unlike his siblings, was young. Hence, absolved of responsibility. Having Omori at home was almost… protective; that was Sunny’s main opinion of him. He had a lot of stuff to do for his career and his dad and his friends and to be a good big brother- but it was manageable for Sunny when he wasn’t constantly being yelled at. Nobody wanted Omori to pick up on anyone’s foul behaviour.
…
Sunny may be twisting the narrative to be more negative than it actually was. After all, not only did he have his loving, sweet Mom and his loving, sweet sister… but he also had a problem. He stared groggily at his ceiling. His mom was out today, as was Mari, due to her college, so neither of them were home. His dad was, as expected, also out. Sunny didn’t have school to attend either; summer break had already hit, and his high school wouldn’t start for a good few months.
Which meant…
A certain 3-year-old younger brother was tugging his babysitter’s blanket. No need for daycare when a 15-year-old older brother was free of work. And, so…
“Ngh…”
Omori climbed onto his bed. He was taking his space. Little brat.
Sunny tried again, “‘mori, get off.”
He wasn’t listening. Instead, lay square on Sunny’s stomach. Sunny was already hungry from how he hadn’t eaten anything yet, so Omori flat on his stomach gave him an annoying pain-
“G-Get off!” Sunny yelped, “O-Off! Off!”
Thank God Omori listened. He slid off and fell to the foot of Sunny’s bed, before rapping at his legs under the duvet.
The older brother was in too much hurt to want to sleep any longer. He looked that fiend in the eye, and winced, “Good morning…”
Sunny then huddled up and turned to the side, wary of accidentally kicking the young kid, and turned to Omori with the best smile he could manage, “What is it?”
Omori rubbed his abdomen. Like, of course he would. He just wanted breakfast, and that was the most typical morning thing Sunny could expect so he didn’t even know why he bothered asking.
“Hm, okay…” he began to murmur, eyes trailing away before meeting his brother’s again, “...Did Mom leave any breakfast out for you? Or, do I have to cook? Did she tell you?”
Sunny hated cooking. Yet, if desperate times called for desperate measures, he was willing to bite the bullet. Anything to prevent Omori from hissing and crying.
Speaking of Omori, he was completely silent. Maybe he hadn’t received a directive either.
…
They’ve got to be kidding him.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Never mind! The directive was here! Good phone! What a lifesaver!
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Omori perked up as well, and began tugging Sunny’s hand to lift him upright. He was very small, so as Sunny began to walk closer to the landline, he was hunching to keep up with the smaller boy’s speed. Omori also beat him to taking the phone out of its box, but couldn’t lift it very much. Sunny did pet his head as a thanks for trying, though.
Then he listened:
‘Hi Sunny! It’s Mommy!’
Sunny had a fake smile before when he was dealing with Omori. Now, on the other hand, that smile was real. Maybe even his eyes were creasing from how happy his mom’s voice made him.
‘I’ve got a long day ahead of me today, because not only do I have a business trip like Daddy, but I also need to pop to the mall to get a few things for a certain occasion! Mommy is very busy, you know? Hence, you have a big responsibility. Mari is coming home tomorrow, so you’re in charge of Omori until your sister gets back. Your meals are in the fridge, so heat them when you’re ready. Take good care of him, okay? Mommy loves you! Bye-bye, now! Bzzt…’
What.
…He was just smiling. He was just happy. His day had been looking so wonderful.
‘I have a business trip like Daddy’.
‘Mari is coming home tomorrow’.
Surely he didn’t hear anything about spending one whole day with Omori.
‘You’re in charge of Omori until your sister gets back’.
He could feel the boy tugging on his nightclothes again, because he wanted… the responsible 15-year-old that Sunny was… to go downstairs and put a meal in the microwave… because his 3-year-old brother was hungry and wanted food…
‘You’re in charge of Omori’.
‘You’re in charge’.
‘You’.
Sunny held his tongue, and let out a constipated flush on his cheeks.
At least he knew how to play the violin. He didn’t know crap about being responsible!