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"Look, look brother!" His little sister laughed. Her fingers curled around the paws of her favourite teddy bear as she continued to twirl around in circles until her vision was filled with little stars, which forced her to stop. She blinked her eyes a couple of times, glancing at her brother every now and then.
"I feel dizzy...it's no fun...."
Amami instead shook his head in disbelief, an evident glimmer of amusement dancing in his green eyes and observed her hands move around in the air in frustration. He enjoyed every little moment he’d spent with her to say the least. For the past couple of days, he rarely spent any time at home, being completely busy with some matters that had forced him to stay out.
Midori normally played by herself, despite having other sisters living under the same roof. She did ask them to play with her sometimes, he knew that, even if that had only meant for five minutes. But they never bat an eyelash in her direction. They didn't care, only Amami did.
His little sister broke the silence after she regained her senses, her eyes darting towards her brother. He could see something twitch in her green eyes. Her breath was no longer following its natural pattern. They were deep, shaking breaths working through her chest, her delicate lips quivering. "Are you getting bored of me, brother? You're not starting to find me boring like them, are you?"
Bored of her?
His eyes dilated at the words that had managed to flood out of her lips with so much ease and yet so much fear. Her eyes looked glassy because of the light seeping through the white curtains, her fingers gripping and curling around the pink dress she wore, ( the one he'd brought her with the little money he had) and her eyelids squeezed shut in fear of hearing an answer she was dreading.
"Why would you think that, Midori? I don't find you boring." He poked her nose after approaching her, a soft grin decorating his features. "I'm just a little tired because of school and my part time job. Don't take it the wrong way, alright?" He softly ruffled her smooth green tresses as another hand delved inside his back pocket. He pulled out her favourite chocolate bar he brought from the shop, and smiled lightly as he remembered her once telling him it was her new favourite.
The smile he longed to see stretched across her countenance. "Thank you brother, I love you!"
"And so do I." He chuckled and picked her up to settle her down on the sofa he idly rested on earlier. "Now, let's have a small chat, okay?"
Amami reclined on the chair he placed to her front, both arms propped on the cresting rail as his chin rested between his palms. His expression swiftly morphed into a solemn one, his eyes not once detaching from his sister. They were on her for a while, but with his mind resting elsewhere, as if it was in another dimension. His thoughts were mingled with far too many questions, which were all starting to swallow him up as a whole, but he needed to clarify something before he ran out of time.
"Rantarou?"
The sound of her voice pulled him back to reality and he gave his head a swift shake to regain his composure. "Welp, sorry. I'm not mad at you or anything, but I needed to ask you something."
"What is it?"
He released a breath before he spoke again, “did your sisters treat you nicely during my long absence? I talked to them before I left and told them to not pull anything on you. They did talk to you and play with you, haven't they?" He halted momentarily. "They did give you attention, right?"
Those words weren't really aimed at her. He knew that. It was his way to reassure himself to some extent. He figured that even if his sisters had promised to spent their time with her to ensure she hadn't felt isolated and unwanted — they had lied to put an end to their conversation; Amami would repeatedly ask, and they would simply answer with an unfocused nod. The way her face twitched as soon as he had finished speaking had confirmed his fear. Midori began to grab a piece of her dress out of pure habit because she felt anxious; her fingers curling around the material and twisting them around her miniscule fingers.
"So they haven't?" He looked away from her and sighed — actually sighed, something he rarely ever did in front of her— at the expression that was on her face.
Not another word had been shared between the two, the only sound keeping them company being the persistent sound of the rain splashing against their window. His eyes subconsciously shifted towards the tranquilising sound and observed the drip in rivulets slide down before they'd vanished from his field of vision. It was a beautiful sight and brought some peace to mind; it wasn't much, but the feeling was still there and distinct.
His eyes never once left the window as he puffed out his cheeks dramatically, "a~h, what shall we do then, Midori? I can't leave you alone again now, can I?" He gave her a sneaky glance and shot a sloppy grin her way. He was worried but that hadn't dulled his bright smile.
But the little girl had caught on what he meant sooner than he had anticipated. "...Are you leaving me again?"
He gave her a pained look and nodded. "There's nothing else we can do. This is the best choice for the both of us." His fingers played around the rings that idly decorated his fingers. "Don't you want me to buy you lots of things? The toys, the dresses, everything that you adore, I'll get them for you. If I do this, I won't have to work out late and you'll see me more often. Don't you want that?" He asked and finally ripped his eyes from the window to scrutinise her expression, to inspect it carefully. Midori's lips trembled, suppressing the tears that were threatening to spill at any moment.
"It's not dangerous, is it?"
He didn't reply back immediately but rather, gave her a soft smile in an attempt to reassure her. "Not really. I wouldn't say it's dangerous but it has its risks."
Amami slowly stood up and grabbed hold of Midori's favourite teddy bear before he placed it on her lap. He couldn't afford to tell her he'd partake in a mutual killing game, knowing that she would brood over if he was still breathing or not; if he was dead or not. He patted the small teddy bear's head and chuckled.
"He'll take care of you in my stead, and I'll also leave you in grandpa's care until I return back. That's okay with you, isn't it?"
Midori nodded and wrapped her arms around her older brother, squeezing him. "I'll wait. As long as I get to see you again, I'll be fine. But please be careful." Midori forcefully pulled him back and stuck out her pinky with furrowed brows. "Promise me you'll come back, no matter what."
He linked his with hers in amusement, lips curling cat-like. "There's really no need for thi-"
"Rantarou."
"I promise I'll come back. I never once broke a promise now, have I?" He faked a disappointed look and patted her head. "Have some faith on your big brother."
---
("Come on, it's not like I'll be gone for long Midori." He would say, crouching down.
"You always say that though."
"It's a promise. I will make it back before dinner and we'll play together, okay?"
Her eyes would lit up and she would nod. Back then, he had always kept his promise.)
But this time, for the first time in his life, he broke it.
But he didn't mean for it to happen. He really didn't.