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“C’mon Nii-chan, slowpoke! Muku is super ahead of us right now!” Kumon exclaims, dragging Juza along the tall, grassy fields of some park Tsumugi had recommended to his cousin for this particular trio. Something about it being the ideal place to share a picnic with your loved ones, whether they be family or otherwise, or something along those lines at the very least. All he knew was that Muku had made a mental note of the latter for another day, with the way his cheeks had flushed.
Admittedly, Juza wasn’t all that thrilled about the idea of waking up at the crack-ass of dawn to start packing for their family picnic outing, but with Banri’s migraine-inducing snores and the reminder that Muku had explicitly promised him “all the sweets Ju-chan could ever dream of”, he was more than eager to get out of bed this morning. In between racing to make use of the showers first, packing bento boxes, rummaging around for blankets and activities, it's a miracle that they had even managed to pull it off to begin with, thanks to how disorganized the three of them are.
Juza squints at the puff of cotton candy pink hair in the distance, just a tad bit uphill, and chuckles. Said pink tuft is waving an arm at him and Kumon, calling out, albeit faint, “Ju-chan! Kyuu-chan! You have got to see the view! I’ve set the blanket up already.” He can see his younger brother’s eyes shine with excitement, and before he can process what was going on, Kumon dashes, and Juza is left with no choice but to run right behind. If he hesitated for even a moment, Juza swears that his arm would’ve been ripped clean off… not an ideal way to spend Valentine’s Day if you ask him.
When they reach the top of the hill, Juza is admittedly out of breath. He may be fit for a fist-fight, but his little brother was always the better of the two when it came to endurance. Kumon laughs and laughs and laughs as he throws himself onto the lavender and white plaid blanket, and Juza feels a smile creep onto his lips at the sight of his brother being so carefree and happy. He deserves to feel that way, and as his older brother, he will make sure that it happens much more often in the future.
“Kyuu-chan! You didn’t even look.” Muku pouts.
Juza hums softly, “Give it time. It’ll look prettier when the sun’s real up there.”
“Yeah Muku! Give it time!”
“You’re just parroting what Ju-chan said!” Muku declares, hilariously scandalized.
“Why don’t we eat? ‘M starvin’.”
At the mention of food, Kumon shoots right up from his previous position. Which Muku gawks at, again, hilariously scandalized. Juza doesn’t quite know whether he had always found his younger cousin this funny, or if the Summer Troupe had influenced his facial expressions, but goddamn , this kid really killed him at times.
“What’d we pack? We got summer rolls somewhere in here, right?” Kumon asks, rummaging through the ridiculously large basket packed to the brim with food, drinks and anything else they managed to stuff in there, really.
Muku nods, “Mhm! Pretty sure Omi-san packed a box of them just for you.” Juza spots his prized strawberry shortcake as Kumon pulls out item after item and quickly makes a move to have it in his lap. When he looks back up, Muku’s cheeks are dusted in a light pink, “I hope we weren’t too much of a bother.” He scratches his cheek sheepishly. “We were kinda demanding after all…”
All Juza could contribute in response was a series of mumbles through mouthfuls of cake. Muku blinks back at him, baby blue eyes wide in confusion.
“I think Nii-chan is tryna say that Omi-san is super nice and doesn’t mind cooking for us at all!” Kumon assists, with Juza nodding in agreement, and instead of finishing his bite, he opts to shove more cake in his mouth.
Muku watches him in horror, completely forgetting the Omi matter altogether, much too compelled by his cousin’s eating habits now instead, “Ju-chan, please finish your bites of food,” He leans forward, resting his weight on his arms, rather than his knees now. His face as white as the clouds overhead in the sky, “You could choke!”
Juza blinks at him. Once. Twice. And decidedly shoves more cake into his mouth.
“JU-CHAN!”
“NII-CHAN!”
“Oh my god he’s gonna die who do I call I can’t just sit here and do nothing I don't know any doctors—”
“MUKU DON’T SAY THAT. HE’S NOT GONNA DIE.” Kumon tries to convince himself— Muku.
Juza takes a big gulp, following it up with a sip of some peach juice they had packed. “Who said anything ‘bout me dyin’?”
“H-How…” His cousin shakes head in disturbed disbelief. “How can you
do
that?”
He shrugs. “Big throat.”
“Yeah Muku! How could you have ever doubted him?” Kumon's shaky voice betrays him in an instant.
“WEREN’T YOU JUST AS SCARED AS I WAS?!” Muku shrieks in return.
Juza feels his chest bubble up with laughter, and if he nearly chokes on his next bite of shortcake, he doesn’t mind. Not when his family makes him feel as happy as he does at this very moment.
And before he knows it, Kumon and Muku are laughing too.
Juza was lying down on the soft fabric of their trusty blanket.
The day passed by much quicker than any of them were originally anticipating. Juza had finished his shortcake, ate well over twenty cookies, and had gleefully downed several strawberry yakult drinks. Muku and Kumon had devoured the bulk of the actual food they had brought along. Sandwiches, onigiri, bento boxes, salad, the works. In terms of food, Juza only ate an onigiri or two. In his defense, he was already full of sweets.
While thinking about it now, Juza realizes, it seems like it was an excuse more than anything. If his pudding in hand has anything to say about it, that is.
Kumon and Muku were both eating their respective puddings as well. You could never go wrong with sharing pudding with your family. You could never go wrong with pudding or family, actually.
Family meant a whole lot to Juza. In fact, he had always been an overprotective older brother and cousin. But it wasn't because he thinks that they aren't capable of holding their own, not anymore at least, it's because he can't bear the very idea that they could get hurt and he did nothing to stop that from happening. Moments like these are what he cherishes the most, really. Where he knows that not only are they safe, but they're also happy . That was enough for Juza.
"...Nii-chan! Earth to Nii-chan!"
Muku has a worried expression on his face, his pink lips pressed into a thin line. "Are you feeling alright, Ju-chan? You were spacing out."
Kumon nods furiously in agreement. "If you don't feel well…"
"I'm fine," Juza assures them with an involuntarily soft smile. "Just thinkin' is all."
"About what?" Kumon asks, now with a mouthful of pudding muffling his enunciation.
"What is it with you two and speaking with your mouths full?!" Muku scolds. Well, in truth, it sounded more like a cry for help. Sorry Muku.
Before Juza can remark, Kumon begins to slap his arm repeatedly, stopping his train of thought completely, "Nii-chan! Muku! Look! Look, look, look!" He points up at the sky and woah. Woah. He decides that he can ignore the definite bruising on his arm for a sight like this.
Muku was right, the view is incredible. He had thought that the afternoon would have been the highlight of his day, but now at sundown, he’s easily convinced that he was sorely mistaken. The sun is setting over the vast hills, making the faraway pond glitter, reflecting gorgeous hues of reds, oranges, and purples.
Juza is certainly no Omi or Kazunari, but he immediately understands the artists’ inexplicable urge to capture a single moment and preserve it for eternity.
“Let’s go down to the pond.”
He snaps out of his dazed awe and looks at Muku, who was the one who had spoken up. “Hah?”
Muku is looking out, his eyes lost for a moment, lost in some faraway place that Juza wishes he could visit for himself. “We can’t let a sunset like this go to waste,” He turns, and Juza can see the sentiment behind his eyes, they’re sparkling brightly, and suddenly he feels a bit misty-eyed, he’ll admit it. Seeing his cousin so…. alive. It reminds him of when he first saw him on stage, with a presence he’s never seen before. It was the first time he ever saw Muku look like he was enjoying life to its fullest, and instantly, Juza wanted the same for himself. To be able to wake up and be happy with the life he was living.
Funny how only a few years can change your life’s trajectory in such a way that now you are experiencing the joys of theater and acting alongside the most important people of your life.
“Race ya!”
Again, before Juza can fully grasp what is going on, his brother breaks into a sprint that only years of playing baseball can polish.
“Kyuu-chan, that’s not fair! You can’t just start running!”
Muku starts, and Kumon calls out, without even sparing a second glance back, “Last one to the pond hasta do the other’s chores for a week!”
That certainly catches Juza’s attention. And just like that, he’s off as well.
Turns out he’s the one who’s going to be taking on the others’ chores for the week.
He’s panting, wiping the sweat from his brow. Juza should’ve known that he didn’t stand a chance from the start. Kumon is an ex-baseball player and an avid fan of working out. Muku was the captain of the track team before he had to step down. Both of them are better equipped for races than Juza was. In all fairness, he was always better with his fists, rather than his legs.
“Nii-chan, hurry!” Kumon motions for him to stand next to him, with his phone already high in the air, readying for a selfie. “The sunset won’t last forever!”
They had settled right in front of the lake, its water boasting such gorgeous reflections that it was hard to believe that the water was ever blue in the first place.
Muku is fussing with his hair when Juza takes his spot in the frame of Kumon’s camera app, “Ready.” He grunts out, causing Muku to snort and Kumon flicks his arm in response.
“Muku! Focus!”
“Right,” He was trying to smile without breaking into a fit of giggles, “Right.” He says a second time for good measure, his shoulders shaking.
“Okay! Everyone on the count of three.”
Juza thinks of how far he’s come, how much he’s learned about acting, grateful that he even took the leap, despite believing that he would never amount to anything more than a scary face for most of his life.
“...1.”
He thinks of Muku, his younger cousin who had inspired him to pursue his dream in the first place. Sweet, quiet Muku, who learned how to come out of his shell and express himself in ways that he never knew he could before.
“...2.”
He thinks of Kumon, how he’s grown up so much. He had a rough start at Mankai, and Juza wishes now that he would have supported him from the get-go, it wasn’t fair of him not to. Kumon has found more family to support and love him, and that is all Juza could ever ask for.
“...3!”
And just like that, this memory is saved in an instant on Kumon’s phone and in Juza’s mind.
He plans on making many more in the years to come.