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It's been a week since the vampire war finally came to an end and the Servamps, along with their Eves, organized a family gathering at Tetsu's family's hot spring resort. Of course, not all of the Servamps were invited.
A sigh escaped Tsubaki's lips as he walked towards the entrance of the hot springs resort. He had found out about the family gathering from Sakuya, who was invited by Mahiru despite Misono and Kuro's displeasure. Tsubaki wasn't really surprised when he found out that he wasn't invited. He didn't expect his siblings to forgive him but he had a tiny bit of hope that they would. That they would finally accept him as their eighth sibling. That was all he ever really wanted. He even used the word 'revenge' as an excuse to become a villain when the true reason for him wanting to become one was simply to be noticed.
Well, he was noticed alright... just not in the way he wanted.
Everywhere he went, he was often met with a bunch of cruel words when he was spotted by one of his siblings. Of course, he would always laugh it off and say things like "not interesting at all..." just to hide the fact that he was actually hurt by what they said. In fact, he would always wait till his siblings were out of sight before letting the tears fall.
He regrets everything that he did and wishes that he could just undo everything but sadly, life just doesn't work that way. He'd live with that regret for as long as he lived. Knowing this, Tsubaki turned to leave, not wanting to taint the atmosphere with his presence any longer, only to be met with the tired eyes of his eldest sibling. Before Kuro could even say a word, Tsubaki spoke first.
"I was just leaving. Don't really feel like screwing up anyone's life today. Maybe next time..."
Not a word was said as Tsubaki, who refused to make any eye contact with the eldest, walked away from the resort and disappeared in the shadows.
>>>
"It's better this way..." Tsubaki told himself as he began packing up his things.
After that awkward encounter with the eldest, Tsubaki decided to take a little stroll at the park when he bumped into the Greed pair...literally. Before he even had the chance to apologize, the fifth sibling gave him a look filled with deep hatred, a look that Tsubaki has already gotten used to seeing. But what caused him to make the decision to leave was the fact that he couldn't help but agree with every word that had left the hedgehog's mouth.
If he disappears, then his siblings would be able to live a peaceful life with their eves and not have to deal with any of his crap any longer. They could forget all about the fact that they had a sorry excuse for a younger sibling and finally be happy.
Of course, he didn't actually want to leave. Tokyo was his home but what other choice did he have? Just the mere sight of him sickened the other Servamps and their eves as well so what was the point of even trying to make things right? Tsubaki had completely accepted the fact that forgiveness from his siblings was out of the question.
Wiping away a stray tear, Tsubaki closed his suitcase and began to head out of the apartment, only to find the eldest sibling standing right in front of him. Kuro looked at the suitcase in his hands before looking up at Tsubaki. "Where are you going?"
Tsubaki avoided his gaze and looked at his suitcase. "Why do you care? It's not like I'm leaving to go and torture people elsewhere since you guys are already sick and tired of dealing with my shit here or anything." A sigh escaped the eldest's lips. "What a pain... I care because we're family, Tsubaki."
Did he just hear that right? Did his eldest sibling really just say that he was family? Was he really being accepted and forgiven right here and now? Tsubaki shook those thoughts away immediately.
"Nii san probably said that because he doesn't want me to cause any trouble for him and the others... He doesn't actually care..." Tears unknowingly began to fall down Tsubaki's face, causing him to drop his suitcase and muffle his sobs with his kimono sleeve.
Kuro looked at his now crying youngest sibling sadly. He had actually followed Tsubaki after he walked away from the resort and ended up hearing all of the cruel words that came out of the fifth sibling's mouth. Tsubaki had laughed it off and said his usual catchphrase but once Hyde and his eve left, Kuro saw that the eighth sibling immediately bursted into tears. At that moment, the eldest became aware of Tsubaki's true self and why he would put on an act in front of him and the others. Tsubaki is the Servamp of Melancholy and just like the other Servamps, he also would end up acting like his sin. So if he didn't laugh as insanely as he did, then all he'd do was cry nonstop over even the tiniest things or for no reason at all.
Kuro took another look at his crying sibling before embracing him, running his hand through Tsubaki's hair to help soothe him. Tsubaki relaxed in his hold and no longer let out any muffled sobs, wiping away any tears that remained before pulling away. "Why did you come here? Wouldn't you rather be with your family back at the resort? Why bother coming to visit a pain in the ass like me?" But before Kuro could respond, Tsubaki continues to speak his mind with a cold and icy tone. "Let me guess, you heard what Greed nii san said and now you feel obligated to comfort me, am I right? Well, I don't need anyone's comfort, let alone yours. The war may be over but that doesn't mean we're on good terms or anything."
Kuro lets out another sigh and looks straight into Tsubaki's eyes, which had unknowingly begun to grow watery once again. "Tsubaki... I came here because I wanted to talk. About everything that happened but mainly to let you know that I want you to be a part of the family, like you should've been in the first place. And before you ask, no, this is not a joke. I'm one hundred percent serious. Also, I'm the eldest so what I say goes so it doesn't matter if the others are against it. You're going to be included from now on, end of story. You've already been isolated from us for far too long." Kuro takes a deep breath before continuing. "I understand if you still want to leave but if you choose to stay, I promise that I'll give you the love that you deserve."
After hearing the words that he wanted to hear the most, Tsubaki pulled the eldest into a hug and started sobbing quietly. Feeling his jacket becoming wet, Kuro began to rub soothing circles on the fox's back before whispering into his ear softly.
"Welcome to the family, little brother..."