Chapter Text
Today was going to be a day just like any other.
Get up, make breakfast, save half of it back for Ena, get ready, go to school.
This familiar 5 AM routine was simutaneously brain-rottingly monotonous and yet, somehow sentimental at this rate. Since their dad loved to do the bare minimum as a sperm donor, and their mom kept up appearances more than anything. (sometimes it’s almost like she isn’t even there, or like she’s got no voice at all - creepy.)
Akito pushed the sheets off himself with a massive yawn - restless the night before, his sleep was unpleasant at best. At worst? Ignore the thought. He rolled over and used that momentum to get on his feet, before sliding through his bedroom door and down the stairs.
Breakfast… he was too tired for this shit. What would happen if he didn’t make it for once? Not like the world would burn down, or some shit. Ena could just starve for all he - mm, ignore that thought. He wiped his eyes, before drearily starting breakfast. Making anything fancy was too much effort today, he thought to himself. Scrambled eggs and toast was a good compromise. He started up the coffee pot as he prepped the kitchen for use.
Tossing in the oil in the pan he had pulled out, he cracked 4 eggs directly in and started to whisk it together, chopsticks in hand. It’d take a second for it to start cooking anyways, so there was really no point in wasting a second container. Once eggs were finished up, he added a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and the toast popped up from their toaster. Breakfast was served, Akito mocked in his head.
The only downside to this simple breakfast was that it’s incredibly annoying to reheat. Which means he was probably better off bringing Ena something home from the convenience store before heading out to Vivid Street today. Usually he only faced this predicament once every few weeks, but this happened to be the 3rd time this week, and it just started.
“Fuck, what’s up with me lately?” He cursed as he downed his mug of coffee, finishing the last bites of his toast. Last step was to do the dishes, and get ready for school.
And school, as boring as it always is, passes Akito like a blur. It’s as if he didn’t even attend, the little bit that struggles to penetrate his brain as he stimulates said organ with far more important tasks - like doodling in the margins, and writing lyrics to a new song, and fiddling with his pencil.
The teachers barely paid any damn attention to him anymore in the first place, so it’s not like he’d get in that much trouble. What were they going to do, call his dad? Have fun trying to make that asshole show up in the first place.
The only good parts about school was getting to see his friends. Well, he thinks they’re his friends? No, they’re definitely his friends. Getting used to actually having people to talk to other than his sister, and being considered actually liked by said people, was a weird reality that has been a multi-year acceptance process. And he still hasn’t fully grasped it yet.
He ran into Toya on his way out of school - well, not quite. More like Akito spotted the back of his head? But as he went to call out, Toya had been talking to another student, making Akito stop in his tracks. What was her name… it was one of Toya’s classmates, with green hair and .. oh! Right, she was part of Wonderland x Showtime, wasn’t she? With the upperclassmen, from classes 2-A and 2-B. If she hangs with them, then maybe it wasn’t worth getting involved with that conversation today. Who knows if those idiots were hanging around, too. Instead of bothering Toya, he decided to just swing around the opposite way and head towards the convenience store.
What was Ena going to have for breakfast (ugh, the very concept of having breakfast this late is a monstrosity) today? There were a few nice bento deals today, but he took his time browsing the shelves. Mmm.. if he was heading to Vivid Street after, he’d probably want to grab a drink, and maybe some snacks for himself and the others. He picked up a small fruit cup, and a small container of nuts - plus a juicebox. He then went back to the bento box section, and picked up a spicy pork bento - for Ena, and a salmon bento for himself. This will do for today.
Upon arriving home, he dully noted the missing pair of their father’s shoes. He must’ve finally left for that exhibition in Europe. Good fucking riddance, Akito thought. Hope he doesn’t return this time. He set bags on the table and hollered up the stairs. “Ena! Foods ready!”
Ten seconds passed. Silence. Akito sighed with lost patience and made his way up to Ena’s door, before he knocked on it three times. “Oh sweet dear sister of mine, won’t thee open thine door so we may feast as kings?” Silence. Three more knocks. “Oi, Ena. Wake up!” Upon the third round of silence, Akito felt his patience run out. He grabbed the knob and turned it, using a little more force than initially intended - causing the door to make a loud noise - and he finally heard his sister startle in turn.
He watched in slight guilt as Ena jolted awake in a half panic, and he dropped his hands and tried to maintain a more neutral position. “S - Sorry for barging in that hard. Uh, I was too lazy to make breakfast, so I bought lunch?” He felt Ena’s eyes stare him down and all around. “Also, dad left again. Soo.. probably not gonna have to hear from him for a while. Anyway, c’mon. Your porks gonna get fuckin’ cold.”
“Mm.. okay. Be there in a sec.”
That was all Ena had to say, so he turned around and went back to the table. Setting it up took the amount of time it took Ena to sleepily make her way downstairs, brushing her hair as she walked, yawning.
“Oi, really? Again? You’re gonna fill this damn house with your fucking loose hairs!”
“Oh, I’m so fucking sorry that I need to brush this shitty ass nest out! You try waking up with this damn mess and not brush it out.”
“You could’ve fucking done it in the bathroom before coming down,” Akito snapped.
Ena sat down. “Tch. You’re the damn maniac slamming doors and cussing me out to come eat ‘before the food gets cold’”, she mocked.
The air brimmed with tension as they both took a breath, rolled their eyes, snapped their convenience store chopsticks, and got to eating. Akito had made sure to grab her a tea from the store, so she grabbed it and started gulping it down thankfully.
“Woah, is this a new flavor? It tastes really fucking good!"
“Yup. Now you can share your opinion with everyone on the internet, isn’t that great? Aren’t I the greatest little brother in the whole world?”
Ena snorted, face softening as she took another bite of food. “Yeah, maybe the biggest brat in the whole wide world.”
She paused shortly after. “Hey, Akito?”
“Hrrrm?”
“Thanks though. Genuinely, I mean. You do a lot for me.”
Akito blinked in surprise. “This is what I always do though-”
“I know! And it’s a fucking lot, so just accept my damn gratitude.”
He shrugged. It really wasn’t anything special. There was no point in making a big deal out of it to him, since they were siblings with shitty parents. Ena basically raised him since as early as he could remember (and couldn’t remember), so why wouldn’t he take care of her now? Even if she fucking pissed him off half the time, he still loved her. Family bonds are family bonds, or whatever. He still loved their parents too, he thinks.
After eating, Akito spaces out. Ena leaves the table, so he’s left to his own thoughts. He briefly thinks he hears Ena say something, but he didn’t process it, and she left so it’s too late to ask for repeation. Doesn’t matter, anyway. Time passes around him, until he finally zones back in and realises it’s way too late to reasonably head out. He glances at his phone and realises he’s missed texts from Vivids, and from Toya.
He sends mass apologies and closes his phone. “Guess I’ll just have to bring the snacks next time,” he mutters to himself. Akito did space out sometimes, but it’s been happening more frequently. Especially around Ena, he wondered if there was any correlation. “Eh, probably ‘cuz she stresses me out so damn much.” Shitty justification, he knew, but he knew Ena feels the same damn way about him too - even with all that ‘gratitude’ shit she pulled earlier! They were always at each others damn throats, even with the familial love or whatever the fuck. Without further context, any passerby would think they wanted the other dead. And Akito would rather be dead than have any other person as his sister.
Finishing up downstairs, he headed up. With the bathroom door locked, either Ena or their mother was taking a bath. Which wasn’t a bother, it’s not like he worked up much of a sweat today. He could shower tomorrow instead. All Akito could think about was collapsing into his soft, warm bed, and passing the fuck out. He almost fell asleep right then and there, only getting up because he needed to take his damn binder off at least. And all of his clothes. Everyone that knew him personally, including the damn virtual singers from his SEKAI, would fucking destroy him if they found out he had slept with his binder on again. Plus, clothes were too hot and stuffy to sleep with.
Now he was ready to pass out finally, setting his phone down with a quiet playlist of ‘lo-fi beats to fall asleep to’ being the railroad tracks into deep sleep. Weeks of restless sleep was catching up to him, because he doesn’t even have time to hear even one song by the time he’s out.