Chapter Text
Trigger warnings: moderate language, a lil' bit of violence
Waking up can be nice; like there's nothing more relieving than when you wake up from a nightmare in which a serial killer with a clown mask is chasing you with a chainsaw. But waking up from a pleasant sleep to the shrill blare of the alarm clock on a Monday morning? Now that's a different story altogether.
Teshima strained his eyes, groggily throwing his hand at the alarm clock on his nightstand and killing the awful, continuous bleeping. He moaned audibly, reluctant to get up for another dull day at his university. It took some effort, but he was able to drag himself up and out of bed, sluggishly dragging his feet to the small ensuite bathroom.
"Morning, Ju-Niichan..." He called out tiredly as he splashed his face with cold water, only to remember that his older brother had already left for work. Teshima looked at the other single bed which occupied their shared bedroom: it was neatly made and unoccupied, confirming the accuracy of his sudden recall. Teshima's 25-year-old brother Junichi worked at a medical research center in Cambridge, training to be a biomedical scientist. The job was tough, and it required him to catch a train early in the morning to make it to Cambridge in time - sometimes he would leave as early as 5 or 6 in the morning to get the train from King's Cross station and 90% of the time Teshima would still be asleep. Teshima himself had a much shorter commute to his university, where he was studying mathematics. The half-asleep teen walked out of the small bathroom and got dressed, briefly running a hairbrush through his dark curls. He then advanced into the kitchen to start on breakfast. In the fridge was a lunchbox, wrapped up in a traditional Japanese manner; Teshima smiled and thought about how his older brother always looked out for him. "Thank you." He said, despite knowing that Junichi wasn't at home to hear him. He made himself some toast and a cup of Earl Grey before migrating to the small living room of the tiny one-bedroom apartment which he shared with his brother. Teshima flicked on the TV, watching as the morning news appeared and the anchor began talking monotonously in front of a screen showing a group of teens setting fire to trash piles on the streets and physically fighting police officers who were trying to take control of the situation. The clip looked too recent for Teshima's liking.
"-which is why we recommend that people should move with caution around areas surrounding Westminster, Camden and the Docklands." The anchor announced, as a blonde, spiky-haired teen with his eyebrow pierced and neck tattooed showed his middle fingers to the camera behind her. "Groups of teenaged hooligans are becoming more and more common, and they have been acting more aggressively in the past weeks. Levels of vandalism, burglaries and attacks on people like mugging, assault and even attempted murder have increased significantly-"
"Huh... I hope Ju-Niichan didn't get attacked on his way to the station..." Teshima mumbled, taking a bite of his toast. He flicked to the next channel, where a different TV presenter was interviewing some band who had agreed to hold a charity concert for some company that was working on helping families living in poverty in the Middle East. Even though the discussion was boring and completely irrelevant to the charity movement itself, Teshima felt better watching something positive at 7:00 in the morning. In this case of violent riots and a charity concert for a good cause, the latter won by a long shot. Teshima allowed himself to be numbly entertained by the scripted jokes that the presenter and band members were tossing between each other as he munched away at his toast and finished his tea. The second he was finished, he turned the TV off and took his dishes back to the kitchen. He then brushed his teeth, shoved the lunchbox his brother had prepared in his schoolbag along with his textbooks and chucked on a light jacket over his button-up shirt; it was only September, but the air was already becoming chilly, which was quite unusual for England. Looks like we might be in for a cold winter, Teshima thought as he gathered all of his stuff, shoved his feet into his shoes and walked out into the corridor of his apartment building. He turned off the lights, shut the door and locked it, before walking down the stairs and out into the polluted capital.
Teshima dug around his pockets, producing a set of tangled earbuds. He groaned in defeat and began wrestling with them, forcefully untangling them and plugging them into his phone. He started up a playlist which would keep him awake before glancing both ways and leaping across the road to the sidewalk on the opposite side. Teshima didn't exactly like his current neighbourhood: it was fairly dirty, noisy and often quite restless: pretty much the polar opposite of his childhood home in Chiba. Even though Chiba too was a city, it somehow felt more pleasant than London. Maybe it was the recent increase in teenagers causing trouble locally which made him dislike the area more. When he had first moved here a year ago to begin his studies at Queen Mary University, Teshima had hoped that his brother would be living in a classy condo in the developed part of London or something, given that he had a degree in biochemistry and worked at Cambridge with other top scientists; but at the end of the day, Junichi was still only 25. He was still technically a student, despite graduating uni already, living on a student's wage and he was still in debt for his studies. There was the unfortunate financial hurdle preventing the Teshima brothers from getting a flashier apartment in a nicer part of the city. He sighed, picking up the pace. Beggars really can't be choosers... Teshima though as he made his way to the nearest Underground station: Kentish Town. He used his travelcard to get through the gate and descended to the platform, where a train had just arrived. Teshima hopped on, squeezing himself between the end wall of the train car and a bunch of businessmen in black suits and trench coats. Just his luck - he'd hopped in the car which was absolutely packed. The train lurched forward; the movement would make any tourist or newcomer lose their balance, but for someone like Teshima who was used to taking the Tube, he'd gotten used to the sharp and sudden movements. Still... Teshima wished he had his beloved road bike back. He had been part of his high school's road racing team back in Japan and rode his Cannondale everywhere, even after moving to London. But he had left the bike locked up outside the fish and chip shop which he worked at a few days ago, only to find its black and green paintjob sprayed with yellow squiggles and its breaks, chain and tyres all stolen. He'd had no choice but to carry the dismantled bike back to his place on the train; the number of weird looks he got was insane. He had left it at a bicycle shop near his home to be fixed, and he would be getting it back soon. Maybe even today. The train's wheels squealed as it made sharp turns on the rails, so loud that Teshima could hear it through his noise-isolating earbuds. The stops came and went, yet the number of people in the cart didn't seem to change at all and Teshima was left standing up for the entire journey. However, he had to change to a different line after spending around 15 minutes on the train and he had significantly more luck boarding the Central Line; he managed to grab a seat in between a middle-aged man in a grey suit and a blonde high school girl who was chatting loudly with her friend sitting on her other side. Teshima sat down as the train pulled out of the station, and as he did, his phone rang. Teshima checked the screen of his phone, smirking as he saw the caller.
"Hey Tom, nice to hear from you this early in the morning." The curly haired young man chirped, using the small microphone attached to his headphones to talk to the man on the other end. "I guess you're phoning me to let me know I can pick up my bike after school? I'm glad! I'm getting sick of getting the Tube all the way to uni and back, I want to get back on my Cannondale!" A nervous chuckle came from the other end of the line.
"Yeah... About that Junta... Would it be possible if you swung by tomorrow to pick it up?" Tom asked; Teshima imagined his awkward expression and his smile drooped.
"Huuh? But you said it would be done today!" Teshima protested.
"It would've been, but Mike's ill today and it's just me working on the bikes! There's still about 8 or 9 bikes that I have to sort out before yours... If Mike was working, we could breeze through them easily, but I can't get through that many in one day, on my own!" Tom sighed. "I'm sorry bud, I know you love cycling more than anything and wanna get back on the road but-"
"Alright, I get it. I forgive you." Teshima chuckled. "I guess I can manage one more day of this. So tomorrow? How does 4:30 sound? I have a late finish at the university you see."
"Sounds good to me. I'll definitely have it done by then, whether Mike comes in or not."
"Nice~ I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yep, take care mate. Bye."
Tom hung up and Teshima leaned back sighing. Damn... No bike for another day. This was torture. The train came to a halt at Liverpool Street station, where the two giggling high school girls skipped off, presumably to get to school. Or maybe they had no intention of going and were planning to go shopping or something. Teshima didn't know and didn't care.
As expected, the seat next to him was taken up as soon as the girls left. If you thought you could sit by yourself on the rush hour Tube, you might as well be wishing for the impossible. Teshima glanced out of the corner of his eye at the newcomer and arched an eyebrow. Wow. He's cute. He thought to himself, examining the long golden hair which fell over his face. Although he couldn't see much of the other’s face overall, Teshima could see that he had golden eyes that matched his hair. He had black and white headphones over his ears, and the black cable lead to the pocket of a dark blue hoodie. He was clutching a blue messenger bag, which had little badges with digitally designed icons pinned to it, y'know, little pixelated dogs and cats with smiley faces and the sort. He looks like the gamer type, Teshima remembered thinking to himself as he noticed that his stop was coming up. He waited until the train halted before getting up, to avoid the risk of falling over and making a fool of himself in front of the ridiculously cute guy. As he exited, he took one last look at the train before it pulled away. The golden-haired young man turned to look out of the window, probably to check out what station he was at, and as he did, he happened to make eye contact with Teshima. A small smile tugged at Teshima's lips, but he doubted that the gamer-boy noticed it, as he immediately turned away shyly, being carried away to the next station by the accelerating train. First my bike doesn't get fixed in time and now I miss out on a chance to talk to a cute guy who I'll probably never see again? I'm having a real bad day today!!! Teshima thought, frustrated as he began to climb up the stairs leading out to the busy London streets above him.
If only he had known just how much worse his day was about to get.
"...and that concludes our lecture today. Please remember to read ahead on the applications of algebraic systems and be prepared to discuss it in your study group sessions." The professor at the front began cleaning the blackboard as the 70-odd students in the lecture hall stood up, all starting to chat and pack away their stuff.
"Wheeew! That was some heavy stuff! It's gonna take me at least a month to digest that all!" Teshima smirked and looked up from his bag at the brown-haired boy in a red varsity jacket. He was yawning and stretching in the seat next to him; a snapback sat casually on his head and his black jeans were covered in dust from the mega-bag of potato chips he had been eating through the 2-hour lecture, much to Teshima's annoyance.
"Well maybe if you spent less time on going out partying and more time in the library, maybe you wouldn't regret taking mathematics at university level so much." The curly haired boy joked back. The brunette scoffed and grabbed his bag (which he had already packed), standing up to leave the lecture theatre.
"Easy for you to say, Junta. Unlike you, some of us aren't naturally designed to sit still and study for hours on end." The brunette said and exited into the overflowing corridor with Teshima in tow. "You know what, I might actually consider dropping out. This university life isn't as appealing as I initially thought..."
"Well, it's up to you. Just remember that you'd be in £18,000 worth of student debt only after 2 years on the course." Teshima reminded him and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "In all seriousness though: if you're worried about falling behind, then don't be, Danny. I'll always help you study if you need it. It worked out fine last year didn't it?" Danny looked at his friend with pleading eyes.
"Will you sit my exam for me?"
"No." Teshima said bluntly and both of them laughed. Danny looked at his watch and hugged his stomach.
"Agh... I'm hungry, Junta. You fancy going out to Wetherspoons?" Teshima shook his head as they walked down the steps back down to the first floor.
"No thanks, I got a packed lunch." He informed his friend. Danny sighed.
"Right... You Japanese with your Bento boxes, always so prepared."
"I can teach you how to make packed lunches if you'd like." Teshima offered. "That way you wouldn't always have to spend so much money on buying food." Danny smiled.
"I don't see why not, I mean I'm already a broke student who's gonna be in debt for the rest of his life, might as well try and do something about it!" He chuckled. "But today... I'll still have to go and buy a sandwich from the corner shop or something."
After a brief visit to the local corner store, Teshima and Danny were perched up on the stone steps within the courtyard which was at the center of the multiple university buildings on the site. Teshima was eating the Nigiri which his brother had prepared, and Danny focused on wolfing down two impressively-sized Ploughman's sandwiches. The morning chill had passed, and the air was now mild and lovely. The autumn sun was making everything look so bright, and the small white clouds moved effortlessly across the blue sky. A few deciduous trees were planted on the outskirts of the courtyard, which were starting to turn orange with the cooling weather. A water fountain gurgled happily in the center of the courtyard, making the setting look very picturesque. Many other university students had gotten the same idea and were all chatting away with each other whilst enjoying their food. Teshima liked this, a peaceful afternoon lunch with his best friend in a pretty courtyard. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sunbeams on his face.
"So, Junta. You're definitely coming to Archie's party on Saturday, yeah?" Danny asked, lifting a bottle of flavoured water to his lips. Teshima shrugged.
"I don't know. I was kinda planning on going to Norfolk for the day. I'm getting my bike back tomorrow and I'm itching to just take a long ride through the countryside." He said.
"Aw come on, Junta! We haven't been to a party since June!" Danny whined. "Remember how much fun we had last time?"
"Last time? Fun? Danny, last time you forcefully got me drunk and I had no control of what I was doing, and the next morning I woke up to a text from Mia that she'd had to go to the hospital because I kicked her in the face and broke her nose when we were doing karaoke!" Teshima reminded his friend.
"Now that was funny." Danny stated and laughed. "Who knew you liked GRANRODEO so much that you'd actually start kicking things?"
"It wasn't funny at all! I felt awful!" Teshima went bright red. "I'm surprised Mia still wanted to be friends with me after that..." He huffed, trying to shoo away the awful memory. Danny swallowed the last of his sandwich and threw the crumpled-up packaging at Teshima.
"Stop being a baby and come! Who knows, you might even end up getting yourself a date... I heard Archie's invited practically every girl from our year group, plus some more girls from other universities who he knows." Danny had a cheeky grin on his face, whilst Teshima pulled a face of disgust at his friend.
"What? There's only gonna be girls there? All the more reason for me not to come..." He said sourly. Danny tsked and rolled his eyes.
"You’re so difficult. I'm sure there would be a couple of guys there too who might be into you." He said, and the two friends laughed; Teshima was so glad that Danny was so understanding and accepting of him. He'd met some guys in his life who hadn't been quite as warm, which had led to a lot of suffering during the time which he was struggling with his sexuality. It was people like Danny who made Teshima feel comfortable and more open about his true self.
"Whatever, I'll give it some thought. I'll only go if I'm back from Norfolk in time and I'm not too tired, and if you promise me not to get me so drunk that I become a hazard to those around me!" Danny mockingly put a hand on his chin and pretended to think long and hard.
"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaah-no I can't promise you that." He grinned. "But having a few drinks would be fun!"
"For you maybe, who can hold your liquor." Teshima mumbled and snapped the lunchbox shut, wrapping it back in the green bamboo-patterned cloth. "Besides, I said I'd think about it, didn't I? I still have a few days to make my decision."
"Sure sure. But you're definitely coming because I said you are." Danny said, as if the debate just now had never happened. He looked at his wristwatch and his eyes grew wide. "Ah crap! I'm late! I have a one-to-one tutorial with Professor Jones!" Danny exclaimed, hopping up from the steps and dashing down towards the mathematics block at the end of the courtyard. "Throw my rubbish in the bin, will ya Junta-mate?!" He called out before whipping the door open and rushing inside. Teshima looked down at the empty bottle and sandwich packaging on the step next to him in disdain.
"Tch, clear it up yourself, moron." Teshima muttered, but cleaned up after his friend anyway.
Danny went home after his meeting with Professor Jones, but Teshima remained at the university even after the school day finished. He had holed up in the library, reading up on the areas which his professors had pointed out and practising exam questions. Teshima hadn't intended to stay so long, but he had gotten so carried away that the librarian had to tell him to leave as she was about to lock up. Teshima gathered his belongings hastily, apologised for being a nuisance and dashed outside, using his key card to sign out at the front door of the university. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and Teshima opened it to reveal a message from his brother.
[ Teshima Junichi: Yo Junta, I'll be home soon and I'm cooking Sukiyaki for dinner tonight, hope you're all right with that :) ]
Teshima smiled; him and his brother took turns to cook dinner, and Junichi's dishes were always so much better than his younger brother's. Teshima usually just settled for simple dishes, Japanese or not, whereas Junichi took the time and effort to prepare fancy meals whenever he cooked. Teshima replied with:
[ Me: Sounds good, I'll see you at home :) ]
Teshima locked his phone screen and shoved it back into the pocket of his jeans, looking up at the sky above. The sun was setting sooner and sooner every day, but Teshima didn't mind. The city was so brightly lit after all. Speaking of city lights... Teshima thought to himself and looked at his wristwatch. I can still make it if I'm quick! Today's a clear sky too! Teshima broke into a quick walk, making his way south of his university. He watched as the area around him began to change: all-glass buildings became more frequent, the streets became cleaner, potted plants in rectangular, steel boxes began to appear. That's how he knew he was approaching the rich business hub of London: Canary Wharf. Teshima knew that it was dangerous to go into the Docklands area after dark, especially after the recent rioting, but he really enjoyed seeing the skyline at night over the Thames. The high-rise office buildings, the bright lights in the manicured parks, the 5-star hotels and fancy restaurants where you had to pay £15 for a glass of water... The place stank of money and corrupted business, but the beautifully lit urban cityscape was a view that money couldn't buy. It took him about an hour to get to his usual spot on the other side of the river, where he could get a nice clear view of the area known as Isle of Dogs - previously a run-down and battered port area which hadn't seen any business since the World Wars, but now a glamorously redeveloped playground for the elite. The sky had darkened by the time Teshima reached his spot, and like always, the sight took his breath away. There really way something about cityscapes which appealed to him. Teshima had snapped so many pictures of this sight, but none of them ever competed with the real thing. One day, when he wasn't single anymore, he'd bring someone here with him and share the beautiful sight. The golden-haired boy from that morning popped into Teshima's head, and he laughed audibly.
"No way... He was just some guy on the Tube." He mused. There are millions, maybe billions of people who get on the London Underground daily. The chances of seeing the same person twice are pretty slim, particularly when Teshima usually biked around London anyway. He leaned against the railing and stared at the glimmering lights reflected on the surface of the Thames. Teshima suddenly thought of fireflies in Japan. He loved watching them. But there were no fireflies in England, so this had to do.
"Oi, you! I think you're on the wrong side of the Thames! The Isle of Stuck-up Dogs is over there!" Some voices emerged from behind Teshima, but he knew that people liked to go out to pubs in the evenings, so he wrote it off as a group of "lads" going out to have a good night. They could get a bit rowdy and shout obscenities at people passing by, but Teshima knew they didn’t really mean any harm and had gotten used to it. It wasn't until the voices were uncomfortably close and undoubtedly addressing him personally when Teshima decided to turn around and inspect the situation.
"That's right, don't fucking ignore us when we're talking to you, you selfish prick." The guy, who Teshima assumed was the ringleader, spat at him. The guy was a lot taller than Teshima, wearing a ripped denim jacket and faded black jeans. He had a bit of muscle, with several tattoos on his arms and piercings on his left ear and his teeth looked to be yellow. That could've been the lighting though. His hair was short and greasy, and he looked like he hadn't shaved in a few days. His pals didn't stray from the style much, all sporting similar clothing and looks. Teshima instinctively took a step back, an image of the blonde kid flipping the cameraman off in the morning news resurfacing in his mind. Great. Caught up in this hooligan mess. Just what I needed. The ringleader looked up and down at Teshima, scoffing at him. "You bloody Suits. Think you're so great and all just because your dad's got the money to send you to business school?" He grumbled. "I'll tell you what though... You wouldn't last a fucking minute out here. Your money ain't gonna save you when you get caught by a gang out here!" Teshima swallowed. Because of the formal attire he liked to wear, he was now being mistaken for someone from Canary Wharf. He remembered some article explaining that a lot of the teenage hooligans were acting violently to protest against the inequality, particularly around the Docklands. Whereas the Isle of Dogs had been regenerated, the rest of the area had been neglected and continued to live in poverty, overshadowed daily by the high-rise glass buildings. Teshima decided that the safest thing to do was to separate himself from the situation. He bowed his head, muttered a quick "Sorry" and was about to make a beeline for the closest Tube station, when one of the bigger guys grabbed the front of his shirt.
"Oh you ain't going anywhere." He growled.
"L-look, I'm not from around here." Teshima blurted in a panic. The tightening grip around the collar of his shirt was slowly making him lose his composure and he had a hard time thinking. "I'm just trying to get home. I don't want any trouble."
"Well too late. You stepped on our turf, and we don't take kindly to trespassers. Especially if they're little stuck-up punks like you!" The guy holding his shirt snapped and threw Teshima to the ground. The curly haired male cried out in pain, the air being forced out of his lungs. Stars clouded his vision as he laid there, looking up at the group closing in on him. He was going to get beaten up, or worse. This was the end.
Teshima's fight and flight response unexpectedly kicked in, and before he could even think, he had nailed one of the guys leading the assault on the nose with a swift punch. The bigger guy roared out as Teshima scrambled to his feet, making a mad dash towards the main roads. He didn't hang around to see the damage, as much as he would've liked to.
"Get him!" He heard and that spurred him on. It was a huge advantage for Teshima that he was an avid cyclist: he legs were powerful and his cardiovascular system was in better shape than an average person's. He may not have been a regular on his team, or won a single race, but he had still trained daily and achieved a peak condition when it came to stamina. He ran as fast as he could, flying down streets and weaving in and out of people, never turning to look back due to the fear of being caught. He didn't stop until he had entered a Tube station, clumsily torn through the security gate, glided down the escalator and collapsed onto the seat of an empty Tube car. He was panting heavily, sweat dripping down his face.
"Thank... God..." He wheezed, as the train took off. He caught a glimpse of the platform, and there was nobody there. Good... They didn't follow me this far. The afternoon rush hour was over, so Teshima had the luxury of recovering on his own. And even if there had been people, they would've all just assumed that Teshima had to run because he didn't want to miss the train. He coughed raspily and looked up at the ceiling of the car. The Northern Line... Somehow, he'd even managed to get on the right train, going in the right direction. "I got lucky... I guess..." Teshima panted as his breathing finally began to slow. The adrenaline was fading too, and Teshima had started to shake. He really thought he was going to die... But to punch someone from a gang? Looks like I won't be going to my chillout spot for a while. No doubt they’ll be after me now. His shaky hands grabbed his white shirt, which had been smeared brown and grey in places. He could now feel that the back of it had torn when he'd been thrown onto the asphalt, and a few buttons were missing from where the big guy had been grabbing him. No choice but to throw it away. Teshima thought, finally also remembering to take his shoulder bag off. He was in pain too and was probably bruised and bleeding a little. He opened the bag and dug out his jacket, putting it on. He was way too hot, but his shirt was in such a state that it was just better to have the jacket cover it up. Teshima bent down, wincing, to put the schoolbag at his feet, and he glanced up, taking in the juxtaposingly calm atmosphere of the empty train car.
He was frozen by the horrified stare emanating from a pair of golden eyes. They seemed to pin him against the wall behind him, paralyzing him. Teshima could not believe what he was seeing: on the seats opposite to him, sat a blue messenger bag decorated with badges, accompanied by a golden-haired boy who looked like he might have been a gamer. His eyes looked terrified, as his pale face stared straight at Teshima from under his long hair. The curly haired young man felt like his heart had been stopped. It took a while to register, but Teshima finally realised that the poor guy must've been absolutely petrified by Teshima's battered appearance. The two young men stared at each other across the aisle, neither of them saying anything. Neither of them knew what to think or how to react.
The hiss of the doors and the automated female voice announcing the station snapped Teshima out of his trance as he finally gasped and lifted his hand, reaching out towards the golden-haired guy.
"Uh, I-" He was suddenly unable to form words. The other guy seemed to snap out of it too, as he drew back, clutching on to his blue bag with one hand and the cord of his headphones with the other. "I-I... I'm not..." Teshima uttered as the golden-haired guy suddenly gasped and stood up with his bag, hurriedly exiting the train. Teshima stood up and chased after him. "Wait!" Teshima exclaimed, just as the doors slammed shut in front of him. His hands were pressed against the window, and his teeth were gritted in desperation. The other young male turned around on the platform, facing Teshima as the train began to pull away. It was almost like his eyes were saying: I'm sorry.
"I'm... Home..." Teshima mumbled as he entered the apartment. He dropped his bag and slid his jacket off his shoulders.
"Welcome back, Junta. How was-" Junichi stopped mid-sentence when he saw the rugged appearance of his little brother in the hallway. "Junta! What the hell happened?!" He exclaimed and hurried over to his curly haired junior, grasping his shoulders. "Why are you in such a state?! Did you get mugged or-?!"
"Ju-Niichan... I'm fine." Teshima said, looking into his brother's deep blue eyes which were identical to his own. They looked strikingly similar, except Junichi had been blessed with their father's height and silky straight hair which was easy to maintain, and Junta was cursed with messy curls and a pair of unnecessarily short legs. "I... Ran into some trouble with those hooligans on the news... But they just pushed me about a little and I got away, I'm not badly hurt, and they didn't take anything." He reassured his older brother, attempting a smile. Junichi wasn’t having it.
"For the love of God- The police need to do something about this! Attacking innocent civilians.... Goddamn it!" Junichi cried out and dragged his brother to sit at the kitchen table. If one of the two brothers had inherited their mother's abilities to overreact to everything, it was definitely Junichi. "The situation is getting out of control now! You're all beaten up!" He brought out a first aid kit, digging around for antiseptic wipes and some bandages. Teshima didn't say anything, keeping his eyes on the slate grey tiles of their kitchen floor. He absent-mindedly unbuttoned the dirty and tattered shirt, allowing his brother to tend the wounds on his back. Luckily the skin was only grazed and the damage elsewhere had been quite minimal, but Junichi felt the need to make a huge fuss over it. Teshima kept quiet, only answering his brother's questions in fragments, which made the elder grit his teeth in frustration. "Those punks... They're gonna pay for traumatising you..." Teshima let out a small "huh"; his brother was under the impression that he had been shaken by the encounter on the streets.
But in reality, it was the fact that he had encountered that same guy twice in one day, in London.
As the probability unit of his mathematics course would imply, the chances of that happening were near-enough zero.