Chapter Text
Touya has had his fair share of bad days, and though this wasn't one of them, it was pretty close.
His morning had started off average, with him walking to school and sitting through classes he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to. Touya was good at studying and almost always got high marks, but that also meant that many of the classes he attended became repetitive and boring. He already knew the material well. Why should he have to sit through hours and hours of the same things?
To top it off, lunch with Akito, the one thing he looked forward to at school, had been interrupted by a group of students asking him to help them before an upcoming exam. Didn't they learn their lesson from the last seven times they had asked him and he had politely declined? It didn't even matter what had happened before; he was stuck with them now and he might as well be somewhat helpful to his classmates.
By the time he was finally free, lunch break was over and Touya was subjected to three more hours of abject boredom before finally being able to go to after-school practice at Weekend Garage, the one highlight of his otherwise dreary life. But, once he arrived, he was met with a note saying that An had a doctor's appointment and that practice would resume the next afternoon.
That brought him to his current task, specifically staring at his bedroom ceiling while his body was not complying with his desire to sleep.
He didn't know how long it had been: Two hours? Three? He was not good with time. But something told him that if he didn't sleep soon, he wouldn't have a much better day tomorrow. The one thing that was worse than a boring day was one where he was absolutely exhausted. Thank goodness his dad was away for the time being, or else he wouldn't know how he could bring himself to even wake up the next morning.
Sighing, he resorted to turning himself on his side and squeezing his eyes tight, which seemed to work somewhat. He felt himself finally begin to slowly drift off until he fell into a deep sleep.
Sometime later, Touya startled at the sound of a loud bang. He quickly sat up and looked around for anything out of the ordinary, but nothing in his room seemed amiss. Did something fall down outside his room? He didn't remember doing anything that could knock something over.
So much for trying to get a good night's rest. It was still dark outside, and with no reliable light source, Touya had trouble distinguishing the shapes of his surroundings clearly. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, about to consider his next course of action when he heard footsteps echo down the hall.
Sweat began to roll down his neck. No no no someone’s in the house. What the hell do I do?
While Touya was scrambling to form a plan, his bedroom door suddenly creaked open. Touya’s eyebrows knit closer as he peered at the figure in the door.
Oh. It was his older brother Natsume, sporting a very pissed off look on his face. Touya let out a breath. It was just his brother, not someone out to hurt him.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t concerned at all. He definitely wasn’t expecting him over, and he didn’t live nearby, either. Natsume was in his twenties and was tall, standing at almost six feet, with sharp features and arrogant brown eyes that always seemed to be casting a judging glare. His hair matched his father’s more than Touya’s did: steel-gray and always neatly combed back, without a hair out of place. Even when he was little, Natsume had often bullied Touya over the fact that his messy blue and black hair didn’t seem similar to anyone else in his family. He had always acted in a similar manner: haughty, aggressive, and irritable. So, though it came as no surprise to him when Natsume strode into his room as if to announce that someone would pay for a great wrongdoing brought against him, he still had reason to worry.
Natsume's gaze rested on Touya and he narrowed his eyes. "There you are, you annoying little kid," he sneered. "Aren't you supposed to be asleep? Bedtime was a few hours ago."
Those few sentences resurfaced unpleasant memories of hour-long quarrels between Touya, his brothers, and his father. Touya knew better than to snap back at Natsume, but a combination of sleep deprivation, annoyance over his morning, and general irritability dulled the rational part of his mind.
"I can sleep whenever I want, Natsume," he replied. "Besides, what are you even doing here? You can't just walk in without saying a word to anyone."
Bitterness crept into his face. "I can do whatever I want,” he asserted. “I'm not a child like you, and you're definitely not in a position to boss me around right now."
Touya’s jaw tightened. "Natsume, look, you must be here for something important, so spit it out. There's no point in wasting our time here."
"And there we go again with ordering me around. Can't you see how much freedom Dad has given you?"
What did that even have to do with anything? Touya opened his mouth to object, but was cut off. "Don't even begin to complain. However bad you have it, I had it much worse. Your little stunt with your band performing with you was unattainable for me. I could only dream of doing everything you can now. This is why you annoy me so much every time you grumble about something stupid," Natsume snapped.
"What are you even trying to say?" Touya asked. "You're not making sense at all, and you never even told me what you're doing here!"
Natsume stormed towards Touya, eyes flashing with anger. "What I wanted to say," he glowered, "is that you get so much freedom, when you aren't even supposed to be a part of this damn family."
Huh? "Not part of the family? What does that even mean?" he sputtered.
Natsume had reached the edge of his bed, and Touya, unable to withstand the heat of his loathing stare any longer, dropped his gaze. He could have sworn he saw something clenched in his brother's...gloved...fists.
Something was definitely up. Touya remembered the countless times Natsume would grumble about having to cover up his hands whenever there was a formal gathering he had to attend. Maybe he was looking too much into it. He shook off the feeling, but nonetheless, dread began to creep into him.
When he finally pulled his focus from his racing mind to his surroundings, Natsume was once again standing about a foot from the bed. Touya felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He didn't know if he could handle that unsettling glare up close like that any longer.
"Done with your internal monologue? I was going to answer your question, but seeing as you were a little busy there, I changed my mind." Touya’s eye caught Natsume's arm shift ever so slightly beside him, but he dismissed the notion almost as soon as it came. "I'll give in and tell you why I'm here. Let's just say I needed to...take care of a few issues."
Touya furrowed his brows. "Which are...?"
Natsume chuckled quietly, but something about his expression was...off. Dread began to pool in Touya’s stomach and his heart started to race. Something was very wrong here, he was sure of it. His mind was screaming at him to get out get out, but Natsume was standing in front of the only easily accessible exit.
The corners of Natsume’s mouth quirked up, as if he knew he had won. "It's simple. I take care of my problem, and I'll finally get the recognition I need. Dad's famous, he can refer me to a few people and I'll be set for life. After this, he won't ever be obsessed with you anymore, and his priorities can lie with me instead."
After what? Touya didn't understand anything he was saying at all...
Oh. Oh no.
The color drained from his face. No no no no this was not happening right now. Was he seriously going to-
As if to confirm his thinking, Natsume grinned at Touya and whispered, "Sweet dreams."
And that restless arm finally steadied itself enough to whip a gun out quick as lightning.
Touya was stuck in shock, his body couldn't move, he was repeating in his head not now not now I don't want to die no no no-
CRACK.
Good. He didn't miss.
Natsume stopped for a moment to admire his handiwork, and quietly stepped out of the house. He’d drive back to where he was attending college, and the body would be left there, with no evidence to connect anyone to it. The case would remain unsolved, as it should. No one would ever know what happened tonight, and he could finally, finally be free.