Chapter Text
As long as he has been alive, Yuuki has never known a more stable, unwavering presence than his brother’s. He holds Naoki with high regard. Anything Naoki enjoys, he enjoys. Anything that Naoki dislikes, Yuuki dislikes. Although he cannot understand why his brother dislikes sweets — they are Yuuki’s one and only weakness.
He feels pity for all the neglected little brothers in the world, who don’t have a big brother like his.
It is a surprise when Naoki comes in his room, carrying folded cardboard boxes. At first, Yuuki feels like crying, thinking they are moving away, but Naoki shushes him, consoles him, telling him that they’re just moving rooms.
“There’s long-term guests coming over,” Naoki explains, and Yuuki groans, wondering why he’s the one being kicked out.
His brother smiles at him, amused. “You’ve got the least amount of things,” he explains, reading Yuuki’s mind. Yuuki looks up at him, stunned. Naoki can read minds, too. His brother is amazing.
He sleeps well that night, and he wakes up early, at the same time as Naoki, in fact. Naoki has an annoying alarm clock, hidden away somewhere, but it is effective. Yuuki reasons that is the reason why he has that clock. Still. He can’t help but tell him that his alarm clock is really noisy and too loud. He is confused when Naoki laughs at him, as they brush their teeth together.
“Clocks are supposed to be annoying,” Naoki says, and Yuuki nods, as if he is a student listening attentively to a teacher. “If they were comfortable, you’d fall right back asleep.”
Yuuki vows to never get a pleasant alarm clock, now that Naoki has explained the secret to him. He wonders if that’s why Mom wakes up so late; her alarm is on her tiny phone, a gentle, twinkling sound. Or perhaps she is tired; Yuuki has not missed the daily deepening eye-bags on her face.
So, one morning, when he stumbles into the kitchen, seeing his mother up bright eyed at what seems to be the crack of dawn, Yuuki is startled. He peeks out the corner, staring at his mother. She does not seem to be herself. She’s energized and alert, and upon closer look, her eyebags have disappeared!
Yuuki wonders who this woman is. He frowns when his mother who is not really his mother recognizes him. He can’t recognize her.
“Ah,” she says, clasping her hands together. “Yuuki! You’re awake!”
Yuuki wishes he was like Naoki, still asleep. Naoki always sleeps in on weekends. It’s such a smart idea.
“Why aren’t you tired?” He asks his mother, folding his arms. Something is strange. “It’s too early to be happy.”
She ignores him, does a little spin in the air instead. Yuuki watches her, unimpressed.
“I put on some makeup today,” she explains, leaning down to his level. “Does it look pretty?”
Yuuki takes a look at her face, and his mother squeals when he nods, reluctantly. It is not bad looking.
He sits down, lets his mother pour him a glass of orange juice. It tastes very sour, nothing like orange juice at all. Yuuki scrunches his face at the taste. He reads the label while his mother talks on and on. He’s got no interest in makeup, really.
Vitamin-Enriched Orange Juice. Hmm. That must explain the strange taste.
“Yuuki!” His mother, across the table from him, a broom in her hand. “Are you listening?”
“I don’t like makeup,” Yuuki answers, turning the bottle over. Has the bottle been shook? Maybe it would taste better if he shook it a little bit.
The orange juice spills on the table, staining the white tablecloth, staining his pajama shirt. Yuuki’s eyes widen, and he looks up at his mother’s face, excepting a lecture, expecting an angry face.
He is shocked to see a concerned look on her face. “Yuuki, oh dear,” she says, rushing over to him, a rag in her hand.
Something is wrong. Mama does not behave like this until it’s much, much later in the afternoon. Or when she is on the phone.
He watches her, quietly, warily, as she cleans up the table, removing the wet tablecloth entirely. He’s even quiet as she takes the pajama shirt off of him, watching her face carefully.
As she walks him to the stairs, Yuuki finally decides that it’s the makeup. Makeup has transformative powers, it seems.
“Naoki! Yuuki had an accident, go run him a bath,” his mother calls out, standing at the foot of the stairs. “Don’t make me do it myself, you know we’re very busy this week!”
Yuuki glares at his mother. Accident? That’s not the right word to use! Now Naoki will think —
“What? His bed’s dry,” Naoki calls out from his room, his voice raggedy, evidently heavy with sleep.
Yuuki groans. Even Naoki thinks he still has accidents.
“He spilled juice on himself!” his mother explains, still yelling. Yuuki glances between his mother and at the top of the stairs. Today is a horrible day.
Naoki bathes him, or he stands around in the bathroom while Yuuki pulls the curtains closed, only allowing Naoki to help scrub his back. When he’s all rinsed off, free of bubbles and the sticky orange juice smell, Naoki asks him if he brushed his teeth.
Yuuki freezes. So that’s why the orange juice tasted bad! He rushes to the sink, and Naoki laughs.
“It’s okay,” Naoki tells him, pulling out his own toothbrush. “Just remember next time.”
“You didn’t brush your teeth yet?” Yuuki asks, toothpaste on his chin. He can’t believe that Naoki forgot to as well.
“I came to help you first,” Naoki says, stretching his mouth wide. He scrubs his teeth in a circular motion; Yuuki does the same. “Besides, I need to pee.”
Yuuki nods. “I’ll be quick,” he promises, spitting into the sink.
“Otherwise,” Naoki continues, taking the toothbrush out of his mouth. “I’ll have an accident too.”
Yuuki looks up at his brother, who’s resumed brushing his teeth. He laughs, a little bit. Naoki is funny.
Naoki smiles at him, pats his head. “Go put on some clothes,” he tells him, shooing him out of the bathroom. Yuuki walks fast, almost tripping in his small towel.
Still, despite his good mood, something is off. Everyone is acting strange. Even Naoki.
It turns out that Grandpa — who he has never met — is not the one who will be staying with them.
Yuuki pauses at the footing of the stairs, listening to his parents. They are discussing what to do with Yuuki’s room, now that it is emptied. Yuuki can only hear snippets of the conversation; his parents are very quiet people. He has seen other children’s parents, loud, arguing, crazy.
He is glad his family is not like that. Yuuki likes his family very much. Calm, sensible, smart people.
He glances warily at his mother, takes in her pearl necklace, her matching pearl bracelets, and her pink lipstick.
There are worse people than her, he supposes, and Yuuki heads back to Naoki’s room. To his surprise, Naoki isn’t there. Yuuki wonders what he’ll do now. He returns to the foot of the stairs, and after a moment’s hesitation, he climbs down the stairs.
His parents stop talking. Yuuki sighs.
“When will the girl come to our house?” He asks, frowning.
His parents look at each other.
“Did you — ”
“No,” his father replies, shaking his head. “I didn’t tell him anything.”
Yuuki smiles.
Mama stares at him. “Are you…happy about this, Yuuki?” Her eyes are watching him very carefully. He feels like a watched criminal.
He frowns. “I’m not happy about that,” he replies. “I’m just happy that I’m able to trick people.”
Papa smiles at him, motions for him to come over. “Of course you are, Yuuki, you’re a very smart boy.”
Yuuki smiles. His mother smiles at him too.
He frowns when she tries to give him a hug, but he lets her anyways. If it makes her happy, then he can tough it out, he supposes.
“Yuuki,” his mother suddenly says, pulling away from the hug. “Papa and I were thinking about buying you a gift,” she says, her eyes twinkling. “For being such a good sport!”
She sighs when he asks for a new notebook. When he asks for a journal, she frowns.
“You already do that in school, don’t you?”
Yuuki sighs.
They settle for a new collection of math flashcards. He’s never had a set of his own before, and these ones are special, they have the Gameplay Option, so he’ll be able to play with Naoki. His mother is pleased to see him come back to their shopping cart with the flashcards.
He’s got to place the flashcards on the smallest compartment of the cart though, because the rest of the cart is overflowing with cushions, stationary, bedsheets, decoratives, and God knows what else is hidden underneath the frilly curtains hanging on the sides of the carts. Yuuki thinks he spots a watermelon even, but he is not sure.
Who even is this girl?
Yuuki does not talk to their mother as they proceed to the checkout. Being seen with a shopping cart of pink is embarrassing enough.
They pay a huge amount of money, cash that Yuuki has never seen in his entire eight years of life. The cashier congratulates his mom for the ‘birth of her new baby girl’ and even Mother looks taken aback.
“Have I gone overboard, Yuuki?” She asks him sheepishly, as they leave the store. Yuuki cannot even see in front of him; the shopping bags are enormous.
He frowns behind the bag of curtains. “That lady was dumb,” he says, thinking back to the loudmouth cashier. “Newborns don’t sleep on large beds.”
His mother chides him for being rude, but Yuuki smiles when she eventually agrees with him, in the end. Naoki would agree with him immediately.
Yuuki walks a little faster, wanting to get home quickly so he can play his new game with Naoki.
Naoki laughs at him when he asks to play. Yuuki frowns.
“Are they too easy for you?” Yuuki asks, knowing the answer.
“That’s not it,” he replies, leaning back in his chair. “They’re too easy for you.”
They open up the packaging. Yuuki is astonished to see that Naoki is right; these are far too simple for him to even entertain.
Yuuki sighs, slumping into his desk.
“We should just throw these away,” he finally says, handing Naoki the thick stack of arithmetic cards. “It was a waste of money.”
Naoki turns the bundle over in his hands. “They look thick enough,” he mutters, to himself.
Yuuki watches him get up, walk over to his nightstand and prop the alarm up, placing the cards underneath.
“Yuuki,” he calls, from the other side of the room, “go lie in your bed.”
He does so, and when Naoki calls his name again he looks up.
“Can you see the alarm from here?”
Yuuki’s eyes widen. It’s finally visible!
“Yes!” He says, smiling. “I can see it and hear it now!”
“Good,” Naoki says, and he leaves the cards there, where they stay.
Mornings are easier now, no more waking up confused and lost. He knows the time now, and he has gotten used to the shrill scream of Naoki’s clock.
Yuuki goes to sleep content that night.
And every night after that.
He wakes up happily, he goes to school happily, waves goodbye to Naoki (who leaves early every morning) and then he eats breakfast with Mama.
Life is good. Life is great. School is easy. His teacher likes him.
Yuuki is happy. His life is boring, but he likes boring. He likes waking up to boring mornings.
He wakes up extra early the next morning, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He’s embarrassed and confused when he climbs down the stairs, because everyone else is already sitting at the kitchen table, engaged in a seemingly tense conversation.
Yuuki thought it was only Naoki who left early — he woke up alone in the room that morning — but Mama and Papa were up as well, so something must be up. He’s even more confused when he sees that Naoki hasn’t left, no, he’s still at home.
Besides. Yuuki is still wearing his pajamas. Everyone else is dressed. Mama has on her makeup, Papa is even wearing his tie, and Naoki has his school bag by the side of his chair.
What’s going on? Things are unusual today; nothing like his usual routine. The normalcy of each day is no longer. Yuuki misses it already.
“Good morning, Yuuki,” Papa says, putting down his coffee cup. “You seem well-rested,” he comments, smiling at Yuuki’s ruffled hair.
Yuuki wipes his eyes. “Good morning,” he replies, and then Yuuki pauses.
Papa?
Mother smiles, rushes over to him. “Go brush your teeth, Yuuki. Naoki will be taking you to school today.”
“What?” Yuuki glances at Naoki, who’s calmly eating cereal. “Why is Papa still here? Doesn’t he have work early?”
“Nope! Papa will be meeting with Uncle Aihara,” Mama replies, heavy on the Uncle Aihara. “That’s what you’ll call him, understand? They’ll be moving in today!”
“I thought it wasn’t for another week,” Yuuki says, even more confused. “Did their money run out?”
Naoki laughs.
Both Mama and Papa frown at Naoki.
“Nothing like that happened,” Papa says, shaking his head. “It’s just easier for Ai to move in this week, instead of next week. His schedule is always changing. He’s such a busy man.”
Mama nods. “And we’re doing everything we can do help him,” she finishes, smiling softly. “Uncle Aihara will be excited to see how much you’ve grown!” She leans in closer to Yuuki, places her hands on his shoulders. “He came to see you when you were born, did you know that?”
Yuuki’s eyes widen. Both his parents laugh, presumably at his shock.
Yuuki frowns. Nothing is funny.
“How come he’s never visited us before, then? I’ve never heard of him. He’s a stranger.”
“Yuuki, don’t be like that,” his mother says, but Papa’s shaking his head, sipping from his hot coffee.
“It’s alright, dear. I would be more surprised if Yuuki was open to the idea. It’s a big change for him.” He turns to Yuuki. “He’s visited us many times before, Yuuki. You were just too little to remember. And besides, Ai is an amazing cook! If you don’t remember his face, I’m sure you’ll remember his food the second you taste it!”
“We can’t possibly expect him to cook for us,” Mama says, pausing. Her voice grows quiet. “Not after they lost everything.”
Papa pauses. “About that,” he starts, and even Naoki sighs. Papa takes a deep breath. “Ai already invited me for lunch.”
“I’ll make something for them too, then,” Mother blurts. “It’s only fair that way.”
Papa nods, slowly. “That would be well,” he says. “That’s a good idea.”
“Will you be taking the boys with you? You could take Yuuki with you,” she says, and Yuuki ignores the way she hugs him closer, smiling.
“Take Yuuki with me…” Papa looks to Naoki, for approval, for confirmation? Perhaps he is searching for an answer in Naoki’s eyes, Yuuki guesses. Naoki can do that. He can answer someone’s questions just with the look on his face. It’s so cool.
“Nao, do you also want to come with us? Just the three of us, me, you, and Yuuki? Mama will stay behind and bake.”
“I’d rather not,” Naoki admits, and Yuuki pulls free of his mother’s grasp.
“I’m not going if Naoki’s not going!”
His mother frowns, and her eyes squint together until her mascara looks like two thick lines. Yuuki wonders how she put it on without getting it in her eyes. “You don’t do anything but sleep all day,” she tells Naoki, glaring at him. “Go with your father. There’s no room for further conversation.”
“It’s alright if he’s got something else to do,” Papa says, quietly and Yuuki almost wants to hug him.
Papa always goes easy!
“I’m not going to tolerate this kind of behavior, and you won’t tolerate it either. This is no way to treat guests! He’s going, Yuuki’s going, and I will stay home preparing desserts. We’ll welcome them warmly.”
Yuuki sighs. His father tries to cheer him up. He’s doing such a good job at being obvious.
Yuuki ignores the subtle shift in his father’s voice. Is he being too nice just because he’s young? He’s not a baby, he can understand no.
Even if Mama’s words make him unhappy — who wants to go to a restaurant and listen to adults talk about nonsense? — Yuuki can still understand what no means.
“You’ll love the food, Yuuki, I promise!” Papa points to his own belly, pats it, laughs. “How do you think my belly got so big?”
Yuuki glances at his mother, who, thankfully, didn’t hear anything. She’s too busy scolding Naoki.
He feels bad for Naoki. If Mama yelled at him like that he would probably feel very sad. He would probably cry, actually.
Yuuki watches them closely. Naoki doesn’t seem to care that Mama is yelling at him. He’s just stirring his spoon in his bowl, even though it’s almost empty.
Mama just cares too much about these things.
“Fine,” Yuuki sighs, walking out of the kitchen. If he nears the stairs, Mama won’t follow after him. Papa won’t either. “I’ll go.”
“Naoki will be taking you there as well, Yuuki,” Mama says, picking the dishes off the table. “Papa will be there earlier, so you two will meet up with him.” She turns to Naoki, picks up his bowl off the table, almost dropping the spoon. “You know where Aihara’s is, right?”
Naoki sighs. “I’ll call when I get there,” he says, standing. Yuuki pauses at the staircase, watching his brother.
“So you know the location?”
“Yes,” Naoki says, glancing at the clock on the wall. “I’ve got to leave soon. I’ll also be leaving early for the rest of this week.”
“Help Yuuki get ready too,” Mama says, calling after him. Yuuki sulks as he climbs up the stairs, heading towards his room. Just how old does everyone think he is?
Truthfully, if Yuuki had to chose someone to help him get ready, it would be Naoki. Mother tries too hard, Papa doesn’t try at all, but Naoki is in between. He gives him privacy, he helps him whenever he asks, and Naoki always listens to him.
Naoki even waits for him to finish eating breakfast, even though he’s already ate his! Yuuki smiles at the thought, kicking his legs underneath the table as he eats. Naoki’s in the seat next to him, flipping through the newspaper. It looks quite boring, honestly, but if Naoki finds interest in it then Yuuki must give it a try.
Naoki glances up at him when he asks to see it, smiling slightly.
“I didn’t know you were into politics,” Naoki says, but he still hands it over. “Careful not to spill your milk, Yuuki.”
The paper is freakishly large. It must be for old men.
“It’s not really that interesting,” Naoki continues, placing his hand on his chin. “They only report on tragedies.”
“Then why do you read it?”
“It’s new,” Naoki says, half shrugging. “It discusses global happenings as well, so that’s another reason.”
“That’s true,” Yuuki says, squinting at the small text. “But you could just read a history textbook if you wanted to learn about other countries.”
Naoki laughs. “Those are from the past,” he explains. “Newspapers tell you things that’ve happened recently.”
Yuuki nods, looking back at the newspaper. He is quiet for a while, thinking about textbooks and newspapers and politics and big old men squabbling. “Won’t the things in the newspapers be in the textbooks too? Someday?”
“That’s right,” Naoki says, smiling. “You’re impressive, Yuuki.”
Yuuki smiles back, and he’s glad to hand the newspaper back to Naoki, glad to have learned something new. He eats the rest of his breakfast quickly, and he doesn’t even complain when his mother tells him to wash his hands twice.
The weather is nice when he gets outside, and he runs ahead of Naoki, stopping to pick up a leaf. He gives it to Naoki, who smiles, pockets it.
“You’re surprising me a lot today,” Naoki comments, but he doesn’t seem angry. He seems…amused. “Usually, you’re much more serious.”
“It’s not everyday that you walk me to school,” Yuuki counters.
“True,” Naoki says, glancing ahead. There’s a road ahead of them, white crosswalks painted on the street. “You always glance both ways before crossing the street here, right?”
“I don’t take that way,” Yuuki says, slightly confused. He points to the right of the sidewalk, ways ahead of them. “I just turn the corner there, not left.”
Naoki’s eyebrows raise. “Really? That’s different,” he says. “Usually, we crossed the road here.”
“Did you walk to my school as well?”
“No, Papa drove me.”
Yuuki frowns. Papa doesn’t drive him to school anymore these days.
He can feel Naoki smiling at him, and Yuuki shrugs off his hand when Naoki messes his hair up.
“Do you wish Papa drove you? He can, if you ask him. You’d just be at school an hour early.”
“I don’t want to ask him now,” Yuuki says, sighing. “He’s too busy these days.”
Naoki nods. “His business has been really…expanding. They’re partnering with a joint firm, actually. It’s a good thing, I guess, but it’s also stressful.” He turns to Yuuki. “Still, you can ask him. Don’t be scared to.”
“I’m not scared of Papa! I just don’t want to bother him,” Yuuki admits, turning his head. The corner of the road is almost in front of them; they’ll have to turn soon. “And it’s not hard to walk. I can handle it. So it’s not a big deal.”
Naoki is quiet. Yuuki doesn’t know if he’s mad or not. He watches Naoki’s face, watches as he glances behind him even as they turn onto the sidewalk.
“There’s no cars, Naoki, you don’t have to look both ways.”
“You’ve always got to be careful, even if you’re on the sidewalks. Don’t you know that it’s dangerous? You always need to be alert. It’s the same if you’re in a car, or if you’re walking. Everyone needs to be aware of their surroundings.”
Naoki is angry. Yuuki sighs.
“Mama already told me all of that,” Yuuki says, frowning. He huffs as he walks, kicking a rock from the sidewalk. “You don’t need to yell at me too, Naoki.”
“She was right to yell at you,” Naoki says, but there’s no real bite in his voice. “She just wants you to be safe.”
“I know.”
The rest of the walk is quiet, but Yuuki can tell Naoki has calmed down.
Now, all eyes are on them. The lady at the school’s front doors smiles broadly when Naoki and Yuuki approach. He can spot his classmates whispering, and even a teacher — a teacher! — remembers Naoki!
Yuuki feels lucky to have such a great big brother.
“Thanks for walking me to the doors,” Yuuki says, a little quietly. The lady at the front door, the one who opens the doors for the students, is listening in. Yuuki feels a little nervous, for some reason.
Naoki pats his head, once, twice. “No problem. I’ll pick you up after school too. Wait for me here,” he tells him, and then Naoki glances behind his back. “If I’m not right at the door, then I’ll be at the gate. You can walk there if you don’t see me, but I’ll try my best to be on time.”
“Okay,” Yuuki says, nodding. Front doors after school, if Naoki isn’t there, go to the black gates. “I’ll wait for you.”
“Good,” Naoki says, putting his hand back in his pocket. “Have a good day at school, Yuuki.”
“You too! Bye, Naoki!”
He waves goodbye, and Yuuki is pleased to see that Naoki doesn’t leave right away, waiting until Yuuki climbs up the stairs.
The lady smiles at him when she opens the door.
“I remember your brother,” she comments, and Yuuki stops, squints at her. “Irie Naoki? He was the Two Time National Math Exam Winner, wasn’t he? He represented our district.”
Yuuki doesn’t like this woman. She is nosy. Perhaps she is not paid enough.
People who are bored do their jobs terribly.
“How long ago was that now, let’s see… seven years ago? Eight years now? Gosh, has it been that long?”
Yuuki sighs, and the lady turns to him, giggling. Such childish behavior from such an old lady.
“He was so bright at such a young age!” She suddenly stops giggling, takes in Yuuki’s reaction. “I’m not mistaken, are I? Your brother was the winner, wasn’t he?”
Yuuki glances around. Maybe? Probably? He doesn’t know.
He tells her so, tells her that he is unsure about that, and the lady laughs.
“Ah, yes, you must have been too young to remember that,” she says, still smiling.
Yuuki frowns as he enters the building, and he is still frowning when his friends ask him who he came in with.
He focuses harder in his math class that day, even spends lunch in the library. The librarian is a bizarre old man. He laughs when Yuuki borrows 6 books instead of the allowed 2.
“You’ve got peculiar study habits,” the librarian tells him. “Are you planning to graduate while still in elementary school?”
Yuuki only thanks him as he receives his books, ignoring the librarian’s comments. Bored people really do suck at their jobs.
Later in the day, the teacher decides to split everyone into groups, which Yuuki thinks is strange.
They’re in the middle of learning how to write essays. Yuuki cannot understand why anyone would not be able to memorize the simple structure. Why break into groups when writing?
“We’re going to shift course today,” the teacher says, picking up a stack of sheets. “We’re going to include vocabulary in our lessons from now on. I’m sure many of you are already familiar with these words, but I’d like to see them in our daily conversations, and eventually in our essays as well.”
“Irie,” she calls out, like Yuuki knew she would. “Would you pass these out? One per each.”
He obliges, crosses over to the front of the room, examines the sheets. Just plain lists of words. Yuuki scans them, briefly. This won’t be anything too difficult.
No one glances at him as he sets the papers down on their desks.
Everyone seems tired, today.
Yuuki decides to give himself the last paper, knows his teacher is a stickler about manners, and he was right; she smiles at him when he finally sits down.
“Now, if you haven’t already, I’d like you to write your name on the page. We won’t be turning these in, but we will refer to them often, so be sure not to lose them. I’ll give you ten minutes to copy the words into your notebooks, and then we’ll move on.”
Yuuki finishes in the first five minutes. It’s not hard to write words you already know.
He’s partnered up with two girls. They smile too hard around him, and Yuuki frowns when they ask about his brother, frowns harder when they talk only about Naoki and nothing else.
It’s clear they don’t want to finish any work.
“He doesn’t care about you,” Yuuki tells them, searching for the teacher. “May I be paired up with another group?”
The teacher nods, doesn’t ask why. Yuuki smiles at the girls as he leaves, walks out the door, following the teacher.
“You don’t need to follow me,” she tells him once they’ve reached the end of the hall. “I’m getting papers from the copier. I assumed you’d find a group to join by yourself.”
He is furious and embarrassed when he returns back to the classroom.
The girls giggle as he sits back down at his desk, alone.
He won’t partner up with anyone from now on.
Naoki is at the front doors before he even finishes the school day, Yuuki comes to realize, because everyone’s talking about him. He ignores all his classmates, hopes that in the future, when he’s a grade higher, that he will be placed in a class with better people.
Everyone in his class now is just a baby. They’re all annoying, they’re all messy, and they’ve got no interest in learning anything.
Yuuki won’t say he hates them, but he really hates them. At least they’re not stupid, he thinks. Even if they don’t want to work, at least they can. It’s a huge difference.
Yuuki is still angry as he leaves the building, climbs down the stairs. The same girls wave goodbye to him, and he frowns harder at them, knowing that they’re only here to glance at Naoki. Naoki is practically ten years older than them!
Yuuki decides that girls are stupid. Stupid and crazy.
Their second greeting is ignored.
Why wave goodbye to him again when he ignored them the first time? Do they need him to spell it out?
When the second girl, a girl with short brown hair, stops and says, “Did you hear us, Yuuki?, he can’t take it anymore.
“Shut up! I don’t want to say goodbye to you!” He snaps. It comes out a little louder than he meant to. Whatever. Yuuki does not care if Naoki gets angry with him, doesn’t care if Naoki tells Mama, doesn’t care if Papa is disappointed.
The girls run away when Naoki approaches, watching Yuuki closely.
“Are those your friends?”
Yuuki is appalled. “No! I’m not friends with them! I would never be friends with them, not in a million years!”
Naoki is amused, Yuuki can tell that much.
Naoki is mean.
On the way home, Yuuki counts the lines on the sidewalk. His eyes feel heavy. He’s even more tired when they finally arrive home, only to change outfits and start walking again. Naoki’s quiet voice on the phone with Mama becomes his lullaby.
He falls asleep at Aihara’s. He does not remember anything anyone said there, but he did get a glimpse of the man who would be staying with them. He had kind eyes, but he was too serious-looking as he placed the food down in front of them.
Yuuki had decided that was a good thing. At least there’s someone who takes their job seriously.
He supposes the girl must be like her father.
Hm. That is something to think about.
Yuuki thinks about his old room while his mother tries to shake him awake.
When they return home, the hunger in his stomach is what wakes him up, not his mother. She sits him down on the table, tells Naoki to reheat his food.
“Papa and I will run to the grocery store quickly,” Mama calls out, from the front of the door. She’s putting on her shoes. “Picking up some last minute things!”
Naoki says nothing, waits until he hears the door shut, and then he leaves Yuuki alone in the kitchen, leaving to lock the front door. Yuuki isn’t scared of being alone in the kitchen. He is brave. Still. He is extra attentive, listening to any scary sounds. You can never be too careful.
At least, that’s what Naoki told him.
When Naoki returns, Yuuki tells him to reheat some leftovers for himself as well. That way we can eat together!
“Hm,” Naoki says, thinking. He’s standing in front of the stove, large spoon in his hand. “Maybe I will. The food’s good.”
“That guy really was a professional, wasn’t he? I didn’t get to see him that much,” Yuuki says, frowning slightly. He can’t really remember anything else.
Naoki laughs. “That guy is Uncle Shigeo. He’s going to come in about an hour.”
“Really? An hour? Doesn’t he have the restaurant to run? He should come tomorrow morning.”
“You’ve got to start calling him Uncle now, Yuuki. Otherwise you’ll be rude.”
“They’re the ones coming in our house,” Yuuki mumbles. “Why do we have to be the nice ones?”
Naoki stops stirring, pulls the large spoon out of the pot. “Don’t say that. I don’t like this either, but you don’t see me being mean.”
“Well, maybe you should,” Yuuki tells him. “There’s no reason for us to be nice! This is our house. They’re the ones making things harder for us! I am sorry that their house got destroyed, but what does that have to do with us? It’s not like we blew up their house ourselves.”
Naoki laughs. “You’re really something, Yuuki,” he replies, turning back to the stove. The stovetop shuts of with a loud click when Naoki switches it off.
Yuuki watches as Naoki pours the soup into two twin bowls. He didn’t spill a single drop!
“Besides,” Naoki continues, setting the pot down. “I never said anything about being nice to the girl.”
“Do you know her?”
“I do. She goes to my school.” Naoki sets the bowls down on the table, pulls out a chair. “Don’t be nice to her.”
“Is she a bad person?”
Naoki laughs.
“Is she?” Yuuki leans over the table. “Did she do something to you?”
“I just don’t like her,” Naoki replies. “That’s all.”
“What if she turns out to be nice? Is she pretty?”
Naoki laughs again. “You’ll find out,” is all he says, raising the spoon to his mouth.
She shows up late at night, along with her father. Naoki ignores Mama when she tells him to come greet them at the door, and so Yuuki ignores her as well.
“She sounds stupid,” Yuuki whispers.
No answer.
Naoki’s book must be very interesting.
“…Is she not? Am I wrong?” Yuuki’s voice grows even quieter. Maybe she’s actually in Naoki’s class!
Apprehension claws at him when Naoki still doesn't speak.
“She is,” Naoki finally replies, turning the page of his book. “She’s in Class F.”
“Class F? The class for stupid people?”
“You’ll see when you start middle school, Yuuki. Class F is the lowest of the low. She’s in that class.”
Yuuki giggles. “I should see how stupid she is,” he says, moving off of his bed.
Naoki shuts his book, turns to Yuuki. “That’s a great idea,” he says, suddenly paying attention. “Get your school book,” he tells him, smiling when Yuuki shows him his new vocabulary list.
Kotoko is the stupidest girl he’s ever met. She proves to grow stupider each and every single day. Yuuki feels bad for Uncle Shigeo; having such a stupid daughter must be insulting.
Especially when Uncle Shigeo is a great man. He always makes good food, always smiles, and he is a really good driver. He even drives Yuuki to school sometimes, tells him he’s got employees that work real early and employees that work real late.
He likes Uncle Shigeo.
Yuuki cannot (and will never) say the same for Kotoko. She is insufferable. She forces him to call her Sister Kotoko, forces him to listen to her ‘jokes’, and even keeps him up at night with her crying. His bed is adjacent to her room — his old room! — and she sniffles constantly.
At first, Yuuki had thought she had a very bad cold. His mother had always told him that girls are weaker, more fragile than men — and although Naoki, exasperated, had sat him down, pointed to his biology textbook, showed him the identical skeletons — Yuuki still thought that was the case.
Mama’s influence is staggering.
But no. That was not the case. Kotoko is weak, yes, but it is not because she is a girl.
No. Kotoko is weak because she is stupid. But even the stupidest person in the world would not cry because they are stupid, right?
Hm. Perhaps she’s crying because she is stupid.
That would make sense.
Even so, Yuuki does not feel bad for her in the slightest. Not in the slightest way ever. It is good that she is self aware. Perhaps than she will take her studies more seriously. She should be like him.
Yuuki is always studying with Naoki.
In the same room.
Not actually studying with Naoki.
Naoki never teaches him anything, really. Not in a serious way, really.
Naoki only corrects Yuuki, only corrects his homework, and even then there’s rarely any mistakes, so Naoki just leaves him alone for the most part. That is always saddening, because there is so much to learn, there is so much Naoki knows and Yuuki would really like to be a part of that.
It is okay, though, because Naoki will always be with him. Naoki will always be around, even if he doesn’t teach Yuuki directly.
There’s other ways to learn, right?
That is what Yuuki always tells himself when he studies by himself, without Naoki’s help.
So it is a shock when Naoki is studying with Kotoko. Yuuki is even more shocked when Naoki shuts the door to his old room, and when Yuuki listens in, lays his ear against the door, it is confirmed.
Naoki is actually teaching Kotoko!
He snickers when he hears Naoki yelling at Kotoko. Soon, Naoki will realize that it’s pointless, and then he will return to their room and forget about ever teaching Kotoko. Maybe he will be thankful that Yuuki is so smart and he will apologize for always ignoring Yuuki.
He sleeps alone the next night, waiting for Naoki to return.
Apparently, Yuuki is not the only one who is shocked. Everyone else — Mama, Papa, Uncle Shigeo even — are shocked to see the two studying. The house has grown topsy-turvy once again, just because of that stupid girl causing a fuss.
The next night, and the next night, and the next night, Naoki does nothing but help Kotoko study. Yuuki still feels lonely in his room, but it has been going on for long enough that Yuuki has grown used to it. The alarm goes flickers in the dark room, and it’s just bright enough that he can see Naoki’s bed, empty.
He misses Naoki, hates Kotoko for stealing him away.
Kotoko falls off her bike. She’s literally stupid. She cannot even ride a bike the correct way without getting hurt, and then she always makes a show of crying and getting everyone’s attention.
Yuuki never ever does things like that. He brings no trouble to anyone, and he does everything perfectly. He is happy to be the opposite of Kotoko, the one to have done everything perfectly, the one who is deserving of all the positive attention.
He is distraught when Mama blames him for injuring Kotoko, when he’d done nothing but stay far away from her.
“Thank God you had your helmet on, Kotoko,” Mama says, rubbing Kotoko’s back. “Things could have been terrible if you hadn’t.”
Kotoko nods, teary-eyed. She looks very small on their couch, her leg raised onto their center table. “I never forget to wear a helmet,” she says, uselessly.
“There’s no need to praise basic knowledge,” Naoki remarks, frowning as he hands Mama the First-Aid kit. Naoki turns back to Yuuki, walks towards him. “Kotoko’s ruined Yuuki’s fun.”
“She’s the worst,” Yuuki tells him, letting Naoki led him out the living room. He ignores the way Kotoko sulks behind him, ignores Mama’s murmurs of dissent. “Will you bike with me instead, Naoki?”
“Sorry, Yuuki,” Naoki replies. “I’m going to take a bath. Let’s go later.”
Yuuki bikes alone, glances both ways when he crosses the street. He should bike far away from the house. Mama is always too preoccupied with Kotoko these days, and Naoki is too busy. No one would miss him.
Besides. He hasn’t even done anything. It’s all Kotoko’s fault; she’d been the one to ask to go racing in the first place.
She’s so laughable, getting hurt and losing.
Yuuki is tired of hearing Kotoko talk on the phone with her friends. She is so annoyingly loud. She squeals at her phone, giggles into the receiver, and sometimes she even shrieks! Yuuki cannot possibly wonder who would stand to hear that for hours on end.
He has finished five large chapter books in the time she has been talking on the phone. Naoki is asleep at his desk. Yuuki cannot understand how he is able to sleep through that noise.
Yuuki leaves his room, turns off both the main light and the lamp by Naoki’s desk, closes the door. Naoki’s sleeping habit might prove to be a problem sometimes, but now, it serves as a proper solution against Kotoko’s annoyingly high voice.
He decides to tell Mama. Surely she would prioritize her son’s complaints against a complete stranger’s needs. Even Mama is not that heartless.
Yuuki cries when Mama laughs, waves him off, tells him that they should actually invite Kotoko’s girlfriends over sometime soon.
He stops crying when she scoops ice cream for him on a chocolate cone, wonders when Mama even bought these huge, oversized cones.
“They were for Kotoko,” Mama explains, smiling. “She loves sweets, just like you!”
“They’ll make her fat,” Yuuki says, taking a bite of the bottom of the cone. The cone always tastes better when it is crunchy and crisp and not soggy. “Not me, though.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a chubby girl,” Mama tells him, now frowning. “In fact, they’re quite beautiful. I was one, when I was younger.”
“Because you were pregnant with me,” Yuuki finishes, rolling his eyes. “I know.”
Mama says nothing, only brings him a bowl when his cone begins to drip. Yuuki suspects he’s said the right thing.
Kotoko stays home a lot after school. She isn’t like Naoki, who’s always leaving the house early and coming back in the evening. Naoki has plenty of friends, and Naoki always has things to do. Kotoko is lazy and friendless.
“You should find something to do,” Yuuki tells her, leaning on the kitchen table. He nudges a half-full cup with his elbow. “Pour me some more juice.”
“You have to say please, Yuuki! Don’t be rude!”
Kotoko is very good at being loud and demanding.
“I can be mean to stupid people,” he tells her, laughing when she snatches the cup from the table. “I’m smarter than you, so I can be mean to you.”
“That’s not how it works,” Kotoko mutters, opening the fridge. “Who even told you something like that?”
“Naoki,” Yuuki replies, easily. He sits up, pulls his chair closer to the table. “Naoki says it’s fine to bully you. He even gave me permission to.”
Kotoko freezes, apple juice still in her hand. “Permission? Irie-kun gave you permission?”
“You can call him Naoki,” Yuuki replies, frowning. “Call him Naoki.”
“He doesn’t like that,” Kotoko says, turning away. Her face is slightly pink.
Yuuki frowns at her. “You’re so weird, Kotoko.”
“What? What makes you say that? I’m not weird,” she says, laughing. Yuuki watches as Kotoko sets the apple juice down on the table, leans down to his level. Her annoying pink face is close to his, wide-eyed and ugly. “Do you really think I’m weird?”
“Get away from me! You stink!”
“I do not!”
Yuuki is more than relieved when ugly Kotoko straightens. He watches her pour him his drink, and he is surprised when Kotoko can talk and pour at the same time.
He’d thought stupid people had no mobility, no balance at all. Hm.
“I’m not stinky! And I’m not weird,” Kotoko adds, pushing the now full glass towards him.
“Naoki thinks you’re weird, and my brother is never wrong,” Yuuki replies, taking a sip. He can only hope that Kotoko didn’t taint the juice with her contagious stupidity. “So you’re weird.”
“He…thinks that about me?”
“Yes,” Yuuki replies. “He also thinks you’re ugly,” Yuuki adds, just because. “Naoki tells me so everyday.”
Her shoulders slump as she re-caps the juice container. “I see,” she says, turning back to the refrigerator.
“You should really consider moving out,” Yuuki adds, smiling. “Nobody likes a weird, ugly girl.”
He thinks he hears Kotoko say something, but she slams the fridge loudly and then Yuuki can’t really hear anything.
He watches her leave, wonders if she’ll be coming down for dinner. Hopefully, with his comments, she will just stay in her room and not show up at all. Kotoko can cry in her room right now, and then, when Yuuki climbs in his bed later that night, Kotoko will already be asleep!
Perfect plan.
Dinner time comes, and when Kotoko shows up at the table, smiling widely, she takes her seat right next to Yuuki’s, sparks up a conversation like nothing happened at all.
Kotoko really is weird.
Mama tells Yuuki to stop being so mean to Kotoko. Whenever he brings up Naoki, however, Mother just starts giggling.
Everyone around him is weird. Really weird. Yuuki is tired of being surrounded by weirdos.
“Naoki is mean to Kotoko all the time,” Yuuki says, almost whining. “So it’s not a big deal. She’s used to it.”
“You’re not supposed to copy the bad behaviour from your brother,” Mama tells him, pinching his cheeks. The more he tries to pull away from his mother’s grasp, the more it hurts. “You’re Yuuki. Not Naoki.”
Yuuki finally pulls away from Mama, rubs his cheek. It really hurts! “You never blame Naoki for his behavior! It’s not fair! Why am I the only being punished!”
Mama starts that weird laugh of hers again, the one that makes her lips go into a long O, and her eyes crinkle up.
Yuuki backs away from her, hand still on his cheek.
His resentment for both Kotoko and his mother quickly turns into a scared confusion.
“That’s different,” Mama replies, still smiling. “Sometimes, when boys are mean to girls, that means they secretly like them. Naoki is just…shy.”
Yuuki is baffled. “What? You’re wrong,” he says, squatting away his mother’s hand. “Being mean to someone means you don’t like them. You’ve got it all wrong, Mama.”
She waves him off, still laughing. “You’re too little to understand,” she tells him, and Yuuki almost runs off to his room right then and there.
“I’m not little! You’re just wrong! There’s no way Naoki could…like Kotoko. No way! You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“There’s no harm in Kotoko staying with us a little longer,” Mama says, glancing at her hands.
She’s talking to herself now! Yuuki wonders if he should escape. “She could even end up becoming your real sister! We’d have to start preparing for that now, actually…Kotoko becoming a real member of our family. That would be just wonderful! Wouldn’t that be amazing, Yuuki? Yuuki?”
He leans against the door of his room, breathing deeply. Mama always yells at him in front of the bathroom, leaning against the wall with her arms folded. She has such a bad habit of planning sneak attacks on him; doleing out punishments the very second he comes out of the bathroom.
He is thankful that it is only a short distance from his room.
His cheek still hurts when he finally opens his eyes, his breathing finally evened out. Naoki’s turned in his chair, looking at Yuuki with a strange look on his face.
“Why is she yelling? Did you do something?” Naoki asks, frowns at him. “You know I don’t like when Mama comes into my room. Don’t give her reasons to come in here.”
Yuuki’s eyes widen. What kind of image does Naoki have of him? “I didn’t do anything! I didn’t!” He puts his hands up and out, waving them when Naoki raises an eyebrow, still not convinced. “I swear!”
The two of them are silent as Mama’s yelling fills the hall.
Naoki sighs, a breath of relief when Mama finally climbs down the stairs, retreating back to the kitchen.
“Tell me what happened, Yuuki.”
“Are you angry at me?”
“No,” Naoki says, fully turning around in his chair. “I’m not angry with you. I’m just confused.”
“Okay,” Yuuki says, watching as Naoki turns back around briefly, only to shut his book. He waits until Naoki faces back to him, hands in his lap.
“Mama was just being…weird,” Yuuki says, letting his toe catch on a small patch of loose fibres in the carpet. He feels the rough material against his big toe, wonders just how old Naoki’s carpet is. Yuuki’s room has no carpet in it, only a few rugs to keep his feet warm in the winter. He frowns when he remembers that it’s no longer his room, rather Kotoko’s. Yuuki’s rugs are all boxed up in the cold and lonely storage room.
“Mama says weird things,” Yuuki continues, looking up from the carpet to see an almost frown on Naoki’s face; his lips are pressed together in a line.
Naoki is watching Yuuki very carefully. “Was it about Kotoko?”
Yuuki nods.
Naoki sighs.
Yuuki is quiet, still fidgeting with the carpet.
“I don’t even want to know what she said,” Naoki eventually says, watching Yuuki fiddle with the carpet. “From now on, Yuuki, don’t listen to anything Mama says about me.” He doesn’t look up as he talks, still fixated on the floor.
“Mother just…says things,” Naoki continues, not blinking. “She’s bored with us, and she really likes Kotoko, because Kotoko isn’t…boring,” he decides on, and Yuuki can see Naoki’s eyes slightly squint, before they return to normal.
Naoki is very angry.
“So just ignore Mama,” Naoki says, finally glancing up. “If she says anything weird again, just ignore her. Alright, Yuuki?”
He nods, quickly. “I’ll ignore everything Mama says!”
“That’s not what I meant, Yuuki,” Naoki says. “Just ignore anything weird.”
“I don’t get what you mean by weird,” Yuuki replies. His brow furrows. “Mama does a lot of weird things.”
“I know,” Naoki agrees, “but I’m talking about things that have to do with Kotoko. Ignore those things, alright? Don’t ignore everything else Mama says. You’ll get in trouble if you do that.”
“Kotoko is causing all sorts of trouble,” Yuuki mutters, finally stepping away from the door, stepping away from the frayed patch of carpet. “I’m sick of her.”
Naoki nods, turns back to his desk. Yuuki glances up to see a confirmation from Naoki, but he’s only met with the back of Naoki’s spinning chair.
“You agree with me, right, Naoki? Kotoko is nothing a burden. She’s annoying, lame, and stupid. Right?”
“Of course. She’s all that and more,” Naoki replies, the volume of his voice increasing. “I’m sick of her causing me all sorts of troubles, first at school, and now at home.”
“What does she do at school?” Kotoko bothers Naoki even at school?
Naoki’s shoulders stiffen; Yuuki can see them almost tighten.
Naoki is very, very angry.
“I don’t want to get into that, Yuuki,” Naoki says, after a while. “I’d rather not recall.”
“Okay,” Yuuki replies, easily, heading to his own desk.
Naoki must be traumatized!
He hates Kotoko even more for it, hates her for driving Mama crazy, hates her for hogging all the attention all the time, hates her for being messy and dirty and stupid, hates her for wasting Papa’s time constantly.
Most of all, Yuuki hates Kotoko for bothering Naoki. Things would be better if she left.
For good.
Kotoko has gotten even worse! She talks about Naoki on the phone. It seems that after her friends visited, Kotoko has gotten less reserved and more annoying.
Her friends are easy to hate as well, mainly because they’re just as stupid as Kotoko is. Yuuki supposes it makes sense; there is no way Kotoko would be friends with someone smarter than her.
Like Naoki. There is no reason that Kotoko should even entertain the idea of any relationship with Naoki.
So then, why is Kotoko blabbering about him over the phone?
He tries to ignore it, but he can’t sleep with someone squealing in the middle of the night. She’s never spoken this long on the phone before, and especially never about Naoki. Truthfully, Yuuki had thought it was supposed to be a secret, the fact that Kotoko is staying at their house.
Apparently not. The more the merrier, Mama had said, squealing as she let almost everyone in Kotoko’s class into their house. Yuuki was appalled, had locked himself in his room for the remainder of the evening.
Imagine! Strangers overtaking your own home!
Kotoko is just terrible at keeping secrets, Yuuki supposes, but that is not an explanation for her current behavior. He can hear her muffled laughter right now actually, as he lays on his mattress, dark red blanket up to his chin.
It is really strange. Yuuki wonders whether or not he should tell Naoki that Kotoko has a very large crush on him.
Yuuki has figured it out, had known it for a while now, actually.
Perhaps Naoki is already aware of Kotoko’s feelings. Most likely. Kotoko isn’t exactly…subtle with her feelings, now that Yuuki reconsiders everything.
Of course, it’s only because Naoki is amazing at everything. Naoki is super smart, good-looking, tall, and good at everything. Of course people would like him, even in that like-like crush-y way.
It is only natural, to be expected.
Still.
Kotoko?
In Yuuki’s mind, she is even more stupid now, thinking that someone like Naoki would reciprocate her feelings. It is hilarious the longer he thinks about it; he cannot even begin to fathom her thought process, if there was any.
Yuuki finds out that Kotoko speaks about Naoki a lot, especially to those two annoying girls. Her friends must really have no life if they are content with this, are content with entertaining Kotoko’s stupid fanatical antics.
Still. Yuuki cannot lie to himself. It is annoying as it is…interesting. He is just curious.
So, whenever she starts giggling over the phone, Yuuki instinctively strains his ears, starts listening in. She doesn’t talk about Naoki often, no, but the few times that she has, Yuuki has learnt to expect a slew of loud giggling as an indicator.
Tonight is one of those nights, it seems. When does Stupid Kotoko go to sleep? It is quite late, and they both have school tomorrow.
Yuuki should also be fast asleep, like Naoki is. He can hear Naoki’s even breathing even now. Naoki has been asleep for a while now.
Yuuki sighs.
He can’t help it, his bed is right next to her wall. It’s not his fault she’s so loud. It’s not his fault at all. Yuuki is just trying to sleep. Annoying Kotoko is the one making everything difficult.
Tonight, Yuuki finds out that Kotoko really does like Naoki. Strongly. She doesn’t even use the word ‘like’ when she talks about her feelings for him anymore; she says love.
“I love him,” she’s saying, and her voice is surprisingly loud. It’s like a declaration. She is so passionate about all the wrong things.
How is she not embarrassed?
Yuuki himself is embarrassed for her. It is mortifying to listen to Kotoko talk about his brother like this, especially when she thinks the thin wall between their rooms is a sufficient border.
It is, evidently, not.
At least when Kotoko is around Yuuki, she hides her feelings for Naoki. Sure, she does a terrible job of it, but then again, Kotoko is bad at everything.
This all might prove useful, however. She thinks she’s being sneaky, but in reality, Yuuki already knows all the things she’s said about Naoki.
He vows to devise a plan. A revenge plan, of some sorts. It will be fun.
For now, however, Yuuki will continue to listen in. He’s too tired to come up with a plan.
“I really do…him…but he’s always…even when I…he keeps behaving differently.”
Yuuki can only hear bits of the conversation. He needs to hear more.
Yuuki holds his breath, closes his eyes. He can’t see the flicker of Naoki’s alarm clock anymore. It is good. The brain cannot completely focus on two things at once, especially when it comes to one’s sensory issues.
Yuuki finds it easier to focus this way, with only his ears.
“It’s like it’s not…it’s just going nowhere,” she sighs, heavily. “He keeps changing.”
Naoki? Changing? Absurd. Naoki would never change for Kotoko. This is who Naoki has always been. Perhaps Kotoko is misinterpreting his behavior. That is most likely it. Kotoko cannot read social clues. Only Kotoko would be stupid enough to believe that Naoki’s (rightfully) rude behavior actually results in his ‘attraction’ to her.
Mama thinks the same way, believes in the same theory. Yuuki sighs.
“No, he doesn’t… he’s always mean…I give up.”
Yuuki flips away from the wall, shuffling underneath his covers when he hears Kotoko’s room door open suddenly. He gasps into his pillow, exhaling and inhaling. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath for that long, wonders if he’s being too loud.
Yuuki lifts his head up from his pillow, ignoring the way the loud scratchy noises of his movements bother his ears. He’s got to check if Naoki’s awake, so he peeks his head up a little bit, squints in the dark room.
Yuuki can just barely make out Naoki’s outline, curled in his own bed.
Good. Naoki has not moved from his previous position. Naoki is asleep.
Yuuki lays back down on his pillow, relieved. All is well.
His heart pounds heavily against his chest, beating faster than usual.
Is Kotoko really going to give up on Naoki?
He catches Kotoko trying on makeup; accuses her of stealing it. Yuuki giggles when Kotoko chases after him, but then she trips and hits her toe on the sharp corner of the couch and then he feels bad.
Not that he would ever tell her that, but Yuuki gives in when she tells him that he has to listen to her for the rest of the day. Really, Kotoko is so childish, forcing a little kid to be at her every beck and call. Isn’t she ashamed of herself?
“Let’s put makeup on Irie-kun!” Kotoko giggles, her fist poised, hovering at the door. “I bet he would look sooo cute!”
“That is a terrible idea!” Yuuki says, over-exaggerating to the point where hopes his voice is loud enough so Naoki can wake up and catch them. “Besides! Why would we knock on the door if we’re going to scare him! Use your brain!”
Kotoko giggles, sheepishly, brings her hand down only to dig in her pocket. “It’s only some red lipstick,” she says, quietly. “And a little mascara, but that’s nothing.”
“That’s a dark pink,” Yuuki corrects, giving both tubes clutched in her hand a once over. “Are you sure you didn’t steal all this from Mama? It looks awfully similar. Well, you probably don’t have enough money to buy yourself makeup, so I guess even you would turn to crime.”
Kotoko blinks. “…Are you saying that…I’m not the type to become a criminal? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Why are you offended? That’s a good thing! I’m saying you aren’t the type to be a criminal. The criminals I see on TV are all serious and smart. You’re not. So you aren’t a criminal.”
“I don’t understand you,” Kotoko says, shrugging. “You have a big imagination for such a little boy, Yuuki!”
Yuuki turns and leaves.
He has tears welling up in his eyes when Kotoko runs towards him, pats his head, apologizes. Yuuki cannot take her apology seriously; she’s got a devilish grin on her face that completely negates any of her ‘remorse’.
“I’ll just put lipstick on him,” Kotoko says, swiping it on herself. The dark fuchsia color is smeared on her lips, giving away her inexperience completely. “Just to see if this one is his color!”
Yuuki is bewildered as he takes in the scene in front of him. “Wha — Why are you putting it on yourself? And what do you mean by if it’s his color! Don’t do anything to my brother!”
Kotoko giggles, pulls Yuuki away from the doorknob. “I have your permission to come in the room, so don’t mind if I do!”
Yuuki can’t do anything but quiet down, step back in defeat as Kotoko twists the doorknob slowly and opens the door, tiptoes in the room slowly. It’s dark, but the light from the hall allows him to see her put a finger to her lips, a warning.
Kotoko probably just wants Naoki to see her with makeup on, he thinks, she just wants him to compliment her.
Yuuki would like to leave Kotoko to her own devices, a part of him screams to run but another part of him, another traitorous part of him stays, follows her into the dark room. He’s equally scared as she, and he feels betrayed when Kotoko shoves him forward, whispers for Yuuki to led the way as if he’d been the one to devise the plan in the first place.
“Pull his blanket off of his face,” Kotoko whispers, almost hisses. “Quickly!”
His fingers are…shaking when he inches the blanket off of Naoki’s, and he prays that Naoki is in one of those deep sleeps of his. He did go to bed two hours ago, so Yuuki suspects he is. Lucky for Kotoko.
She squeals a little when Yuuki backs off of the bed, stands off to the side, and Yuuki has half a mind to tell her to keep it down! but he decides to watch things unfold.
Though his stomach hurts and he’d rather not witness Naoki’s wrath.
Kotoko deserves it, Yuuki settles for. It is a questionable rationale, because the real question should be does Naoki deserve it?
Yuuki glances at the door once he hears the lipstick open, inches towards the door when Kotoko leans down.
The scene is…also questionable, Yuuki thinks as he nears the door, foot in the entryway. His heart speeds up when Kotoko doesn’t move from her place, completely frozen.
He is throughly appalled at Kotoko’s behavior.
Yuuki makes a run for it, runs like his life depends on it, almost trips down the stairs in the process, throws himself onto the couch.
His mother peeks her head into the living room, confused. “…Is something wrong, Yuuki?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he says, forcing his voice to be steady.
Mama squints at him, leaves the living room. “Oh,” Mama ducks her head back in, “go wake up Naoki,” she tells Yuuki.
“Okay,” Yuuki says, but he doesn’t get up from the couch.
Mama still hasn’t left the living room. “Now,” she adds, crossing her arms. “Call him now.”
Yuuki sighs, makes it realistic, takes slow steps upstairs. Mama watches him as he walks to the staircase, shaking her head.
Yuuki slows down even more, stalling for Kotoko’s sake.
He’s successful until Mama huffs, throws her hands in the air. “Fine! If you don’t want to do it, I’ll do it!”
“No! I can do it! I’ll do it!”
He bolts up the stairs, almost knocks over Kotoko.
“I’m a failure, Yuuki, I couldn’t do it! Please forgive me, I — I got scared!”
Yuuki cannot say he felt disappointed. No, he did not share a shred of emotion with Kotoko. None. He is relieved. Overjoyed.
“You’re forgiven,” he says, bluntly. “Now move, I need to wake Naoki up. You’d better hide Mama’s makeup,” he adds, pointing to the lipstick in her hand. “She’s coming upstairs.”
“…Makeup? Kotoko? What’s this about?”
Too late. She’s already upstairs.
Yuuki turns to Mama, clings to her. For once, he’s relieved she’s here. “Mama! Kotoko was going to put your makeup on Nao — ”
“Makeup! Yes! Yes, I — I’d love to learn makeup from you! I love everything about makeup,” Kotoko says, talking in a volume that is much too loud for indoors. “You see, my father, he never — he never really knew what to do with me whenever I asked for makeup, and I’ve always longed for someone to teach me how to — ”
“Kotoko dear! Say no more,” Mama says, shoving off Yuuki and hugging Kotoko close instead. “I’m your mother now, you don’t need to suffer anymore. I’ll buy you all the makeup you could ever dream of!”
“I’m not even mad at Kotoko anymore,” Yuuki says, sighing. “She’s such a good liar.”
“That’s not something Irie-kun would say,” Kotoko replies, giggling.
Both Mama and Yuuki look at her.
“Why would I say something Naoki would say?” Yuuki asks.
“Because you’re just like him! Being with him reminds me of you,” Kotoko says, and then she pauses. “Actually, wait, it’s the other way around.”
Mama laughs sheepishly, glances at Yuuki. “Yuuki, why don’t you go downstairs now. Grab a snack...”
Yuuki stares at the two of them, still hugging, laughing over nothing. His arms feel heavy by his sides, and his head hurts, all of a sudden.
“You only hang out with me because of him! You’re the worst, Kotoko!” Yuuki says, turning to run down the stairs. He doesn’t expect them to chase after him, not after he hears Naoki’s room door open.
They’re all busted!
Kotoko is stupid and dumb. On Sunday, when her friends aren’t texting her back fast enough, she does nothing but lay around in her room. She is so pitifully lonely, hilariously life-less. Naoki has more than a social life. He’s always got something to do, even though he prefers his alone time.
They’re complete opposites, really, which is further proof that any relationship between would not work. Would never work. Mama is delusional, thinking that Kotoko and Naoki would be a couple.
Naoki has things to do, Kotoko does not. Naoki is smart, Kotoko is not. Naoki is popular, Kotoko is not. Naoki is tall and good-looking, Kotoko is short and hideous.
Yuuki glances back to his book, decides to focus now. Naoki has left the house about twenty minutes ago, and in that time, he’s almost done with the novel he’s reading.
Reading consistently keeps your brain sharp.
It was Papa who actually told him that, but it is good advice, nevertheless.
Yuuki is on the last chapter of his book when he hears a knock on the door.
A knock? No one ever knocks…
He groans. “Go away, Kotoko.”
“Do you want to play a game? I have nothing to do, and I know you’re all done with your homework!” Her voice is muffled through the door, and it makes him wish the doors were soundproof. Maybe Papa will be willing to look into that, soundproof doors.
“Are you done with yours?”
Silence.
He almost laughs out loud, kicks his feet on his mattress instead. Kotoko always has her priorities misaligned. Besides. He’d rather not get up from his bed; reading in his warm room is his favorite thing to do.
When Kotoko stays quiet, still doesn’t reply, not even with a witty reply, Yuuki sighs. He gets up, shuts his book, opens the door.
“Kotoko?”
Naoki blinks back at him, his hair slightly wet. He’s got a towel slung on his shoulder, a loose shirt and shorts on as well.
“Oh,” Yuuki says, moving out of the way, letting Naoki in the room. “Where did Kotoko go?”
“It’s none of my business,” Naoki replies, briskly. His jaw is slightly tight, and there’s a small furrow in between his eyebrows.
Yuuki sighs. “Did she bother you again?”
“When does she not?”
Yuuki glances to the side. This can’t be good.
“What did Kotoko do?”
Naoki hums, sits down on his bed. “You should stop hanging out with her. Let her be lonely,” he says, glancing at the floor. “She’ll leave sooner if we both ignore her.”
Yuuki is quiet. “Do you really want her to leave?” He blinks at his big brother, watches him closely. There’s only so much he can understand, no matter how smart Yuuki is.
“I don’t lie, Yuuki,” he says, glancing up. “I can only tolerate nuisances for so long.”
Yuuki takes a breath, calms his racing heartbeat before speaking. There is no reasons to be feeling this scared around Naoki, but for some reason, Yuuki’s hands feel clammy.
Naoki can tell, Yuuki knows, because he’s got one eyebrow raised.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes,” Yuuki says, blinking quickly. “I’m fine.”
Naoki stands, sheds the towel off of his shoulder. “I’ll get you some orange juice,” he tells him, smiling slightly. “That’s your favorite, right?”
“Yes,” Yuuki answers, unable to smile back, watching as Naoki makes his way towards the door.
“Naoki,” he starts, gulping down the last of his anxiety. This confession may just be the death of him. Yuuki glances at Naoki’s towel, wishes he could wipe the sweat off his forehead with it. “Kotoko told me — no, -I heard her — she said, she said that she’s going to forget about you.”
Naoki pauses, his hand ghosting the doorknob. “I hope she does,” he says, cocking his head slightly. “The sooner she does, the better.”
Yuuki watches for a moment as Naoki regards him, then turns the knob of the door, leaves the room.
He stares after the door.