Chapter Text
Shion opened his eyes, and before him, two silhouettes towered over. He blinked several times, trying to make out the faces of the shadows, but it brought no success. He could not see any details about the silhouettes, except for the shape of their shadows. He tried to speak, but no sound came out.
“Look at him yawn,” one of the silhouettes, a female voice, cooed.
Was she referring to me? Shion thought. He rubbed his eyes with his hands and blinked several more times, but he still could not get a glimpse.
“I’m going to miss those eyes,” she continued despondently.
“We’re very sorry, kiddo,” the other silhouette said. This time, it was a male voice. There was a hint of sadness on his tone as well. “We can’t bring you with us. You are much safer here with the Yonashiros. They are good people.”
What?
A deafening blaring sound went off somewhere afar. Shion noticed the silhouettes move and craned their heads behind them, as if to check the source of the sound.
“Darling, we have to go now. I’ll start the engines,” the male voice said urgently, and the silhouette on the left disappeared.
“Okay,” the other responded. “I’ll be there in a second.”
Shion heard a few sniffles before the remaining silhouette told him, “Goodbye Shion. Your dad and I love you very much, and we will always be with you.”
Wait, what’s going on?!
Shion opened his mouth, but no words came out. He wanted to shout all the questions that formed in his head. To express his frustrations for not being able to converse with these beings in front of him. To convey the confusion he had with the whole situation.
He then felt a soft pressure on his sternum and another on his forehead before the last silhouette disappeared. Without warning, he felt his stomach drop and belatedly realized that he was falling. He closed his eyes and readied himself for impact.
But then, Shion opened his eyes once more and found himself safe and sound within the confines of his own bed. He was now staring at the ceiling, unblinkingly, as he tried to make sense of his dream, though by then, he had already forgotten some of the details.
Still preoccupied by his dream, Shion did not notice that his bedroom door opened and that someone had entered. It was only when the figure stepped into his range of vision that he realized that he was no longer alone. And that it was his 23-year-old adoptive brother, Sho Yonashiro, who walked in.
Shion sat up and watched his brother—in his navy-blue work suit and a matching tie—slowly inch his way towards the dresser at the corner of the room. He then saw Sho dig into one his pockets, procure a green box, and place it atop the dresser.
“Aniki, what are you doing?” Shion asked.
Sho stopped in his tracks and looked over his right shoulder, only to see his younger brother watching him with raised eyebrows. “Oh, good morning Shion. I didn’t realize you’re awake.” He grinned, not fully aware that he was giving his I-am-not-doing-anything-suspicious expression. He straightened himself up to completely face Shion and explained, “I thought I’d wake you up since it’s almost time for school.” He showed his watch to his younger brother and tapped on it three times.
“Sure,” Shion retorted smugly.
There was a brief silence before Sho broke it with a statement, though it might as well be a question: “I’m guessing you saw.”
“Yep. I did.”
Sho sighed resignedly. “Man. Of all the days, you just have to wake up early today.” He took the box from the dresser and tossed it to Shion, who was now out of his sheets and sitting like a monk on his bed. “I was hoping you won’t notice it until after I left for work.”
Shion chuckled as he examined the box. It was wrapped in matte green packaging, topped with a lime ribbon. There was a scribble of Happy 18th Birthday Shion! on the wrapper, which he had ascertained as Sho’s handwriting. He looked up and thanked his brother.
“Happy 18th birthday Shion. That’s my gift for you. Though I guess technically that’s from me and Sukai. Since Sukai helped me out with it,” Sho continued.
“Cool. I’ll make sure to thank him later.”
Shion removed the ribbon and was about to dig his nails through the packaging, when Sho interjected, “Wait! Not yet. Um... let me just say that uh... I am very thankful to have you as my brother, and uh… that I will always be here for you. So, if you need help with anything, please don’t hesitate to ask, Shion.”
“Okay,” Shion responded slowly, dragging theword out. He looked at Sho with narrowed eyes, somewhat bewildered by his older brother’s unexpected heartfelt monologue in the early morning. “You are acting a bit strange today, aniki. And, I don’t li—” Then, something clicked. “Wait, don’t tell me. Did Sukai say anything about me?”
“About what?”
“Uhh... nevermind.”
“Well, whatever it is, I assure you that he didn’t. But...” There was a long pause. “I did overhear you the other day, while you were on your phone with someone,” Sho confessed. He sat on Shion’s bed and continued, “I guess that was Sukai as well? But yeah, I overheard you wanting to find more about your biological parents and stuff.”
“Oh” is what Shion could only say. He looked down on his hands and became aware that he was fiddling his gift with his thumbs.
It was true that he had plans of learning about his family. He had been itching to find out more about his biological parents ever since he learned about genetics in high school. Maybe there was a hereditary disease he needs to be aware of. Or maybe learn about his heritage. Or even maybe ask why they had left him. And whether they regret it or not.
He did not intend to hide it from Sho, and for Sho to find out about it the way he did. But since he was still in the initial stages of planning, Shion had not yet set up a proper plan of action. He had not yet thought of ways how to directly tell Sho about it, or of ways how to deal with the situation if Sho ever finds out about it from someone else.
Shion let out a heavy audible sigh. Still looking down, he began with an apology. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I thought I’d let you know once I have everything planned out.” He did not want to look up because he was afraid to see what expression his older brother would be making at that very moment.
“Listen.” Sho rested one of his hands on Shion’s, causing the teen to look up and meet his gaze. “I completely understand,” he said fondly, noticing the slight watering of his brother’s eyes. “Honestly, you didn’t have to apologize because you have every right to pursue it. No need to ask permission from me, or from anyone, just do what you must do, Shion. But,” there was a short pause, “it would be very dishonest of me if I didn’t say that I was a little sad when you didn’t let me know right away.”
“I’m so—” Shion started.
“But,” Sho interrupted, “I am fine now, so don’t you worry. After giving it a lot of thought, I realized that it might not have been easy for you as well. So, I decided to wait and let you decide when the best moment is for you to tell me all about it. Though, I’m surprised—as you probably are as well—that our conversation went the way it is.”
“Yeah,” Shion said rather quietly.
“I guess sometimes you just go with the flow. Ride the wave and see where it takes you,” Sho continued, which earned a small nod from his younger brother. “Anyways, thank you for being frank with me, Shion. I really appreciate it. And just so you know, if you need any help at all, just let me know, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Great!” Sho happily replied. He tapped on Shion’s hands twice before standing up and making his way across the room, in front of a full-length mirror. “Now, it is time for me to go to work,” he said as he fixed his hair. “And, time for you to get out of bed and get ready for school. Your breakfast is ready on the dining table, as well as your lunch box. And I will see you tonight at dinner.” He straightened his suit and tie one last time before he bid his farewell, “Later.”
“See you later,” Shion said and watched as his older brother make a cheesy gesture at him before exiting the room. He rolled his eyes and shook his head at the image. “What a dork.” He laughed inwardly.
That went well, he thought, feeling as if a ton of weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He was relieved to find out that Sho was acquiescent with his plans and that he even offered help. He thought that there would be some pushback. But he was glad that that was not the case and that their impromptu conversation went smoothly.
At that moment, Shion felt very blessed that he had a very understanding brother like Sho.
Shion looked down on his hands and on his birthday gift. He shook the box and, for a few seconds, wondered what it could possibly be, before he started ravaging through the wrapper. When the final layer of wrapper was removed, it revealed a small, wooden valet box.
“Whoa,” he exclaimed. He raised the box to his eye level and admired its sleek design and finishing touches. He had not seen anything like it ever before. Though, if he would have to guess where Sho got the box, and considering Sukai had a hand in this gift, he would say that it came from the woodshop that Sukai’s dad owned. He placed a hand on the lid and slid it open.
In the middle of the box, which was lined with vinous velvet fabric, was a necklace with an ornate byzantine chain. Shion marveled at the small silver links that form the intricate chain and ran his fingers across it. His fingers later found their way over the silver, rounded-rectangular pendant, which seemed to have been made of tungsten carbide. He noticed the engravings of his full name, a string of random letters and numbers, and finally a collection of random lines with varying thickness, reminiscent of a barcode. For him, it looked like a glorified version of a military dog tag, which he had seen in a handful of Sho’s favorite American films. A very posh one at that.
Shion took out the necklace from the box and wore it. He got out of his bed and stood in front of his full-length mirror to check how it looked on him. “Not bad”, he commented while fiddling with the bail and the pendant. He usually did not agree with his brother’s bad taste in clothing and accessories, but this time, he did.
“Oh wait,” Shion told himself after recalling that Sukai was in on the gift as well. “Sukai probably made sure that it won’t look gaudy.” He snorted at the idea and the possibility of Sukai reprimanding his older brother with his lack of sense of style. “I will have to buy him food for lunch later.”
He was taking a last good look at himself with the necklace on, in front of the mirror, when he noticed a bluish glow radiating behind him. He spun around and was stunned to find a blue orb, floating at about the height of his chest, just a foot or two away from him. For a few seconds, he watched the orb as it strobed its light at a sluggish pace and as it produced a low ominous drone.
Unsure of what it was, Shion slowly inched away from his spot and beelined towards his bedroom door. He was about to turn the doorknob when he heard an unearthly stretching sound. He glanced back at the orb, which had expanded itself and became a large, imposing oval structure.
“What the—”
Before Shion could finish his sentence, the structure engulfed Shion in an instant and disappeared.