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After a whole week of rain, the sun was finally shining and the neighborhood was dry. In response to the improved weather, Aki had a special request for his big brother: he wanted to go to the park. Ever since he started kindergarten, Aki had gotten used to spending at least an hour outside everyday. Haru appreciated the healthy glow it was giving Aki and it was no doubt helping the vitamin d deficiency, but this didn’t shake off his nerves about spending so much time out in public. He supposed the park wasn’t that far away from their house and there was really no way for him to say no to his little brother’s puppy dog eyes. Besides, it was Sunday and their dad was passed out in the garage and didn’t show any signs of waking up until it was time for him to go to work on Monday. So they might as well enjoy the freedom while it lasted. Which was how Haru found himself sitting on the edge of the sandbox while Aki built a castle.
Well, it was more like a big pile with no discernible shape, but Aki was happy and hummed to himself as he built it up bigger and bigger. He’d already gone down the slide a few times and Haru pushed him on the swings without going to high and scaring him. They did skip the jungle gym because the last time Aki tried to climb it he fell flat on his face and lost two baby teeth. The longer they stayed, the more Haru realized how much they needed this break. Last night had been rough for both of them; trying to sleep through the screaming match coming from their parents room was hard enough and the nightmares that followed were even worse. It was good to see Aki smiling again. Maybe they could skip school sometime this week and come by again when there weren’t so many people.
Aki was setting another scoop of sand on the top when his castle was kicked away, narrowly avoiding his hands. Haru shot up to see who the bastard with a death wish was and saw his classmate, Takimoto. The jerk had it in for him since the start of their first year and Haru had restrained himself from kicking the spoiled little shit’s ass until now. In addition to being waste of air, he was a total coward, even now he brought his two friends, Toshino and Kenta, to help him pick on a five year old.
“Fancy running into you here, Izumi,” Takimoto said, a cocky grin spread on his face. Haru spent many hours of class fantasizing about ripping every tooth out of his mouth. He already had to put up with his bullshit five days a week (when he bothered to go) at school, he didn’t want to waste his weekend dealing with him too. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you outside of school before. This must be your little brother.”
At being addressed, Aki stood and ducked behind Haru. He didn’t know who this guy was or what he wanted with them, but he knew Haru was angry. Honestly, he was angry too after getting his castle knocked over.
“Don’t talk to him,” Haru snarled.
“Don’t tell Takimoto what to do!” Kenta snapped, stepping in front of their ring leader.
“Get lost. What, you losers get off picking on little kids?”
Haru didn’t speak much around other people, nor did he care too, but moments like this made him wish he was more eloquent.
“You’re calling us losers, daddy’s boy?”
Haru couldn’t stop himself from flinching at the insult. Everyone at school knew what kind of man his dad was, everyone in the neighborhood too, and the more injuries Haru had, the more the cruel rumors spread. The only safe place he had left to escape to was his bubble with Aki and these assholes were ruining it.
“Yeah, why don’t you run home before we fuck up your other eye,” Toshino said, pointing his finger at Haru’s bandaged left eye. Haru swatted his hand away and backed up. He looked around to see that the other people in the park were either leaving or looking pointedly away from the boys to avoid potentially getting involved in some petty schoolyard squabble.
“Leave my nii-nii alone!” Aki yelled and stepped out in front of Haru with his arms thrust out to the sides. “Go away!”
“Aw, need your baby brother to come to your rescue?” Takimoto jeered.
“Aki, get back,” Haru said, urgently. “Get back behind me or run home.”
But Aki didn’t budge. These bullies were picking on his brother and he wasn’t going to stand for it!
“Listen you your brother, runt,” Takimoto said. “The big kids play rough!”
Looking Haru right in his eyes, Takimoto reached out and shoved Aki to the ground, making him fall over the edge of the sandbox and onto the sidewalk. The blood rushed to Haru’s head as he watched Aki fall, it was as if the world was moving in slow motion, but he still wasn’t fast enough to catch him. As soon as Aki hit the ground, Haru pushed past Toshino and Kenta and grabbed hold of Takimoto’s shirt. He quaked with rage as he thought through everything he wanted to do to this prick, the unhinged look in his eyes must have been scary enough, because Takimoto’s tough facade faltered for a moment. Nonetheless, he grabbed Haru’s wrist and pulled his fist back to punch Haru in the face. Haru raised his fist to strike back, but a shrill wail shattered their focus and called their attention back to the kindergartener on the ground.
Aki sat on the concrete, crying as he held his hand to his chest. When he hit the ground, he skinned his hands and elbows and they were bleeding. Against his better judgement, Haru released Takimoto and went to his brother. Gently, he picked Aki up and held him as he cried it out. Seeing the bullies still behind them, Aki hid his face in Haru’s shoulder, his bloody hands leaving smuggled where he grasped at Haru’s hoodie. Toshino and Kenta at least had the decency to look ashamed after making a little kid cry, but Takimoto only smirked and walked away with a snide air of accomplishment. His cronies followed close behind, leaving Haru to tend to his little brother.
Done with the park, and the outside world in general, Haru carried Aki home and took him to the bathroom. Setting him down on the edge of the tub, he took out bandages and disinfectant from under the sink. He made quick work of cleaning the scrapes and wrapping them up, when he finished he kissed the palm of each hand. Aki had stopped crying once they were inside of the house, but he was still sniffling and teary eyed as Haru kissed his owies better. It didn’t make him feel better right away like it usually did, which made him even sadder. Haru picked him up again and shushed him as he took him to their bedroom to lay down.
“Thanks for standing up for me,” Haru whispered and laid down with Aki on top of him. “You were really brave.”
“I was?” Aki asked, wiping the tears and snot from his face with his sleeve.
“Yeah, you’re my little hero. Are you gonna be okay?”
Aki nodded, his chest swelling with pride and a deep pink blush dusting his cheeks. He sighed contentedly and snuggled closer to his big brother to listen to his heart beat. Haru hummed softly and rubbed Aki’s back as he thought of what he’d do at school tomorrow. He’d have to see Takimoto and spend the whole day sitting two rows over from him. Just the thought of seeing him made his blood boil. He already had to hold back everyday with everyone else around him, he didn’t think he could restrain himself any longer. No, Haru had let a lot slide for the sake of keeping his head down, but this was unforgivable. No one laid their hands on his Aki and he would be damned if he let anyone get away with it.
At school the next day, Haru acted as if nothing happened. He didn’t so much as look at Takimoto when they sat down for class, even as band of tension constricted around his head. Sitting still was nearly impossible, Haru had an unbearable itch that had been building up since last night. It started in his hands and he figured it was stress and the pent up frustration over not being able to do anything right away, but throughout the rest of the night it moved up his arms and to his chest where it exploded out to every single nerve in the rest of his body. During the day, he’d steal glances at him, thinking about what he could to get revenge. He couldn’t outright attack Takimoto, Haru was stronger than him, but the risk of someone snitching on him was too great. The last thing he wanted was for the school to call his parents and tell them that he’d been fighting again. He thought about defacing his desk or breaking some of his personal belongings, but he really wanted this message to stick. One he would never forget.
So he waited.
He waited until classes were over and it was time to clean. Takimoto had cleaning duty this week, so all Haru had to do was wait until he was alone. It wouldn’t be hard, Takimoto was infamously lazy and would take forever to finish his tasks, which meant he was usually the last one to leave the classroom. Time passed slowly, but eventually, all of the other students began to trickle out. When Haru looked back inside, he saw Takimoto open the window to bang the chalk erasers and Haru found his golden opportunity. Takimoto pushed Aki, it was only fair that he respond in kind. After years of sneaking around, Haru’s footsteps were lighter than air as he closed in on his target. With all of his might and both hands, he pushed Takimoto from behind and sent him tumbling straight through the window. All anyone heard was a high pitched scream and the heavy, solid thud Takimoto made when he hit the ground.
Haru looked out to where Takimoto had landed. It was only the third floor so the fall didn’t kill him, but judging by the odd angle his arm was bent in, it was clearly broken. Hopefully amongst several other bones. As teachers and students rushed to his aid, Takimoto looked back up to the window and directly into Haru’s eyes. His cold, dead, hallow eyes that were confession enough to what he had done. Haru was sure he’d at least try to accuse him, but his message must have come across loud and clear, any anger in Takimoto had drained out of him as did the color from his face.
If Takimoto or his friends tired to seek retribution later, Haru would cross that bridge when he got to it. For now, he was going to savor the overwhelming high that push gave him. All of the tension was released from his brain and the white hot prickles under his skin cooled softly. For the first time in his life, Haru felt truly strong. Powerful even. He was also bursting with pride. Not being able to protect Aki yesterday had stomped out his confidence, but he made sure it wouldn’t happen again. He supposed he did what any good brother would do.