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“And you’re sure?”
“Yes, absolutely. The staff confirmed it with me this morning.”
“Well, well, little brother. Seems like things are going better than you’d thought they would.”
Nestled into a chair in the corner of a near-empty café, Sakuya Shirogane fidgeted uncomfortably and took a sip of his lukewarm tea.
“Maybe. I…”
“You’re still worried?”
Curses! He'd hoped his brother wouldn't pick up on it.
“I-I’m not worried!” Sakuya spouted, flailing his left arm about the air near his head. His right remained glued in place next to his ear, phone gripped tightly within his hand. He took a deep, slow breath and regained his composure. He puffed up his chest as he resumed speaking. “It’s natural to have concerns. Anybody would. Just the other day a letter arrived at the medical laboratory from Doctor Iwamine. It included his earnest hope that the upcoming procedures go well, alongside Nanaki’s.”
A snicker from the other end of the line. “Ah, the notoriously caring doctor sends his best wishes for darling Ryouta? He always was quite the compassionate fellow. How much do you want to bet that Professor Nanaki twisted his arm and made him send that? He is in a bit of a delicate situation at the moment.”
Sakuya, hand tapping away at the tabletop impatiently, cleared his throat. “Enough of that. I called because Oko, who has no phone, asked if you would be in town for the duration of the scheduled operations. Repeatedly. Very loudly. So…are you coming or not?”
A silence hung heavily in the air for a few seconds.
“My deepest regrets, Sakuya, but…unfortunately, I am required elsewhere at the moment. I’m sorry.”
Irritation flared in Sakuya’s mind. He gulped down a few angry mouthfuls of tea. “Right.”
No, thought Sakuya icily. No, no, it's fine. Leave me, too. Leave me like she did. Leave me like he's going to.
Why was he shaking, suddenly?
“Please don’t take that tone. I know you’re upset, really. And I’m sorry. If I could be there-"
“You could be here! Don’t you understand anything? If something goes wrong during this, if they mess up, I’ll have nobody. He and Tosa-no, Hiyoko-, they were the only ones, Sakazaki! They were the only ones who I mattered to.”
Suddenly, everything was spilling out of Sakuya, like a tap had opened up. His breath came in ragged bursts.
“You…what’s so important that you can’t come down for this? For Kawara? Sure, the procedures are going to take place sooner than originally planned, but so much could happen. What if h-“
“Sakuya.”
The noble felt his jaw snap shut, and he reached up a trembling hand to dust a small tear out of the corner of his eye. He wasn’t that upset, he thought. Definitely not. Absurd.
“Someday, I promise, I will tell you everything. If I could right now without endangering you, I would. In a heartbeat. You’ll know every last little detail, and you’ll hear it all from me. But until that day comes, I have to ask you to trust me. And to trust Ryouta. He’s strong, Sakuya. You know that. It’s going to take more than some measly surgeries to knock him down, eh?”
Sakuya’s voice trembled like a small, scared child’s. “I guess.”
“That’s the spirit, little brother. Don’t worry – you’ll see the both of us again soon, and we’ll all laugh about this moment, about how silly it was to worry like this.”
Sakuya said nothing. Instead, he sniffed pointedly and downed the last of his beverage.
"Oh, and Sakuya?”
“What is it?”
“Remember that I’m just one call away.”