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For many days now, there is a room in the Shinazugawa house which had suddenly become forbidden to everyone. The confused inhabitants knew nothing about it. Only that, there were occasional loud banging and thudding happening in there. Everyone’s access has been denied.
Except Genya.
Because this room in question is his very own bedroom.
It’s weird. Before this, the whole family could freely come and go in each other’s rooms with the owner’s consent, heck, even his little sisters were allowed to watch their cheesy late night dramas on Sanemi’s own flatscreen.
Not that they’re entitled to their brother’s personal space, they were more concerned as to why Genya’s suddenly acting mysterious and secretive.
Shuya and Teiko knocked on his door a few days ago to give him a personalized congratulations card for his History top marks, which forced Genya to open up but just wide enough for his head to pop out from behind the door.
They reported that his room strongly smelled of something that made their eyes water.
Then Mama Shizu tried to come in to vacuum. Genya had protested as usual, saying that he would do it himself. But it was different this time, her second oldest didn’t even come out of his room and only yelled from inside.
Nii-chan, I have boy trouble. Sumi runs to Genya’s room one night, crying. Still, Genya didn’t even open for her but he promised to skin this boy alive next time he sees him. The siblings conversed with the door between them, like a weird ass version of that scene from Frozen 2013.
Hiroshi got in serious trouble. As an attempt to lure his brother out, he faked an over-the-top burglary scenario. Genya’s door finally flew open in panic but the whole family had already convened downstairs to watch a furious Sanemi make an origami out of Hiroshi’s ear. Needless to say, they didn’t get to see whatever the hell Genya’s keeping secret in there.
Baby Koto pulled some stunt and started bawling outside Genya’s door like the little actor that he is.
“Look at that conniving little--” Hiroshi guffawed.
“Hmph! That’s not gonna work.” Teiko’s hands fly to her waist.
“Stop wasting your breath, boy.” Shuya clicked his tongue repeatedly at his baby brother like he’s calling a dog.
“I’ll get him.” Sumi sighed in resignation.
Light suddenly spilled on the dark hallway as Genya’s door opened. Baby Koto was immediately yanked inside.
Five minutes later, Sanemi walked in on his siblings sporting identical shocked faces.
Next day, the spotlight is on the youngest Shinazugawa. His siblings tried to make him talk by being extra kind to him and bribing him with sweet treats but Baby Koto would only stand proudly, chubby arms on hips as he do the zipper thing with his mouth.
He will always be Genya nii-chan’s boy. Genya nii-chan made him promise not to tell anyone.
“Pretty, pretty, pretty.” He skips away from his siblings, arms swinging at his sides.
“Uh, pretty....what?”
And then, the theories started.
From Genya suddenly hating them and not wanting to see their faces ever again to him keeping a cute puppy all to himself, or a snake! Shuya shivered at the thought. Meanwhile, Hiroshi escalated it further by insisting that their brother’s actually hiding a dead body.
“So the chemical Shuya and I smelled is for covering up the corpse’s smell?”
“And that’s what the loud noises were about, you know!” Hiroshi’s eyeballed his siblings. “He was smashing someone’s skull with a hammer and--ow! OW!” Sanemi reached out from behind him to twist both his ears.
But beneath the jokes and ridiculous claims, worry began to tug at Sanemi’s insides. Is his brother really hiding something in there? Or there is a more complex issue present here? Like his well-being or mental health at stake. He often heard about people with anxiety keeping to themselves as much as possible, barely eating, showering or even sleeping.
As much as he wanted to straight up march and punch Genya’s door off it’s hinges, Sanemi decided to find a different approach, which was also encouraged by their very worried mom.
Maybe it’s time to talk to the person closest to his brother.
“Tokitou-san.”
“Yeah?”
“What?!”
Two identical boys whip around, one in a constant daydream mode and the other one who looked like he was born to be pissed off at the world. The poor student tasked to summon one of them quakes in his loafers.
“S-sorry, I-I..m-meant Muichiro-san.. Shinazugawa sensei is l-looking for you.”
“The fuck did you do now?!” Yuichiro mutters at his twin.
Muichiro shrugs, “No idea.” And that’s true. He could’ve accidentally set a classroom on fire and he’d still have no idea that he did it.
Yuichiro scoffs at his airhead of a twin. Swear, Muichiro wasn’t like that when they were kids. He was bubbly and annoyingly smiley all the time. Some alien probably kidnapped his real brother and gave them this phony one.
Anyway, it’s not like he’s completely emotionless. Yuichiro just knows what makes his brother tick.
He leans in to whisper in his twin’s ear, “Maybe he found out about your crush on his little brother.”
Muichiro starts shaking, his blank face instantly glowing red. “Impossible! I was very carefu--”
“Aha! So you really had a crush on that dumbass, two-legged ballsack?!”
“He’s not a dumbass!” Muichiro angrily pouts.
Somebody squeaks. “U-uhm, T-Tokitou-san? I mean, M-Muichiro-san? Should we go?”
For the nth time, the math teacher sighs in defeat. “Are you sure you didn’t notice anything wrong with him?”
“Other than Genya acing all his quizzes thanks to me, nope.” Muichiro voices out bluntly which causes Sanemi to frown at his response. “I mean, nope, sensei.” The middle-schooler adds. Brat.
“Right. I’m gonna be honest with you, boy.” Sanemi lowers his tone a bit. “We’re all worried because Genya’s been locking himself in his room for days.”
“Maybe he’s fap-”
“Shut it or I’ll mark that down in your conduct record!”Sanemi hisses. “But yeah, there’s this banging noise and our siblings said they’ve smelled something chemical like paint or something....”
“Why don’t you try entering when he’s at school?”
“The idiot takes the key with him.”
A high-pitched giggle disrupts their conversation. Mitsuri Kanroji shoves her nose, or rather, her boobs in their business. The two males cared not a bit, as they both secretly desire people with wieners.
“I’m sure Muichiro-kun would notice if something’s wrong with Genya-kun! You wouldn’t believe how close they are, Shinazugawa-san! Last Friday I saw the two of them get some crepes together, and then three days ago I caught them at a cafe and then last, last Saturday they went to catch a movie just the two of them and then--”
“Yes, yes. I’d call you if I need a part-time stalker, Kanroji sensei, thank you.” Sanemi waves her away rather rudely. He scoots his chair closer to the student. “If you know something, Tokitou. Don’t you dare keep it from me, understood? I know Genya will confide in you since he thinks highly of you.”
Muichiro’s face only reddens for two reasons. One, if somebody slaps him repeatedly a hundred times and two, if the subject is his close friendship with Genya Shinazugawa.
The fact that his crush’s own brother noticed their closeness certainly didn’t help.
“Okay, yeah. Yeah. I’d tell you if I noticed something. Sensei. May I get back to lunch now?”
Sanemi nods and Muichiro gets to his feet, sarcastically thanking the math teacher in his mind for cutting his lunchtime short and giving him shit to worry about.
Muichiro was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the familiar face peeking from behind a corner. His heart starts hammering in his chest.
“G-Genya! Genya, hey!”
Realizing that he was caught, Genya lets out a squeak before hightailing out of there.
Disappointment engulfs him. Again.
The truth is, there’s one thing he didn’t tell the math teacher. For some reason, Genya’s been avoiding him like he’s a carrier of a disease, like he’s the human incarnate of a plague. It started the same time Sanemi reported Genya becoming a sudden recluse. Maybe there’s a correlation to that? But what?
Or maybe there’s none. Maybe Genya finally noticed how Muichiro’s feelings for him had gone beyond friendship.
Right. Nevermind his tragically unrequited feelings. Muichiro hopes that Genya doesn’t have serious problems he’s keeping to himself.
“Aniki, it’s official. Genya nii-chan’s seeing someone.”
Sanemi fires a silent litany of curses, almost falling off his chair at the information given to him. He had been grading papers in his bedroom when Teiko and Shuya knocked on his door to deliver the news.
“Are you sure?” Sanemi adjusts his glasses to make sure he’s not imagining his siblings. “What makes you say that? What..what happened?” Neither kids answered, they merely turn to the door and in unison, say ‘Enter!’ The door slowly open, revealing Hiroshi and Sumi. Oh this dramatic little shits. Ahem, lovable little shits.
“I saw him last night, Aniki.” Hiroshi declares importantly. “It was eleven thirty and I got up to pee when Genya nii-chan’s door suddenly opened, I didn’t know what came over me so I hid behind the grandfather clock. He walked past me without noticing me and I heard him talking on the phone in whispers, telling the other person ‘I’ll meet you there soon.’ and ‘promise to wait for me’.
His concerns over Genya dating someone secretly was immediately clouded by worry for his brother going out in the middle of the fucking night. And who the hell’s the person he’s meeting? What if it wasn’t a romantic tryst but rather some shady gathering? Sanemi’s mind goes to cult, drug dens and gangs.
“But that’s not all!” Sumi pipes in. “This morning, Koto accidentally let it slip that there’s a pretty person in Nii-chan’s room, that’s why he kept saying ‘pretty, pretty, pretty’!”
“WHAT THE FU---FUNNY LITTLE FROG?!”
“Aniki, Nii-chan’s not hiding something, but someone!”
“And he’s letting them out from time to time so he needs to meet and get them?”
“But the banging noises?” Shuya innocently asks.
“Oh, it’s gross to say this but--”
“Jeez, Hiroshi, just shut up!” Sumi covers her ears, deeply red in the face from embarrassment.
His siblings voices become muffled from behind him. Sanemi knew that he should be marching straight to Genya’s door and rip the damn thing off it’s hinges if he has to but instead, he finds himself typing away at his keyboard to try and locate Muichiro’s contact on the school database.
God, if the school administrators knew that he’s dialing a middle-schooler’s number at ten in the evening, he would be fired faster than a bullet.
“Uhh?” came Muichiro’s lazy tone from the other end.
“Hey, Muichiro, this is Shinazugawa-sensei and this is goddamn important so tell me the truth right here right now, are you seeing Genya at nights or did you know that Genya’s seeing someone secretly at nights?!”
The fourteen year old wheezing before bursting into tears was the last thing Sanemi expected to hear from the other side.
Also, it was what made him utter the forbidden‘What the fuck’ clearly and directly in front of his underage siblings. The talk quickly turn from Genya’s mystery lover to Sanemi getting his ass beat by their mom for swearing in front of them.
“Go to bed, all of you. I’m gonna talk to him.” Sanemi gently herds his siblings back to the hallway. “Quietly, okay? Don’t wake mom.”
“It’s quiet in Nii-chan’s room now so the other person might be gone.”
“Go on, go to bed, Hiroshi.”
“Okay. Night, Aniki.”
Pushing down the annoyance at the situation, Sanemi silently pads towards Genya’s bedroom door. If his siblings are telling the truth then how dare he drag their youngest brother in his dirty little secret? Why not just come out and tell them the truth and introduce whoever the fuck he’s with like most normal human beings do?
“Genya? Genya, open up!” Sanami repeatedly slaps his hand on the door. “Genya?
Nothing.
Is he...or are they both asleep?
“Open this door right now, Genya.” He tries again, only to be met with blank silence from the other side. No banging. No thudding. Not even a sign of any movement going on. That fucker....probably sneaked out again?
Sanemi lets out an exhausted sigh. His white head thudding against the wood. He’s so fucking tired that he could fall asleep standing upright and leaning against his brother’s bedroom door. Heh. That’ll give him a shock.
But then his soul flies out of his body when suddenly, a series of aggressive knocking came from outside their front door. Police?! Is Genya on someone’s illegal circle, after all?
“SENSEI! SHINAZUGAWA SENSEI!”
What the fuck now?
Sanemi thunders down the stairs before practically flying to the front door. He didn’t expect the very same person to bamboozle the heck out of him for the second time that night.
There on the other side, in their fluffy slippers and matching bunny onesie pajamas, stood the Tokitou twins.
Yuichiro was panting madly behind his twin who he just caught up to and Muichiro, oh fuck...
Then it dawns on Sanemi. Maybe Muichiro harbors something far more than feelings of friendship for his little brother.
Because why else would he storm off outside their home in the middle of the night and show up at the Shinazugawas’ doorstep with his usual impassive face suddenly red, anguished and soaked in tears?
“I a-apologize, Sensei.” Muichiro sniffles. “I just n-need to talk t-to G-Genya.”
“Yeah, sorry, Sensei.” Yuichiro, still trying to catch his breath, seconds from behind Muichiro. “This idiot suddenly ran out I--well, good thing our parents were already asleep.”
“Come in, come in.” Sanemi beckons them inside. He sighs as he closes the front door. If Genya’s indeed out, and with someone too, how would he explain it to Muichiro?
Still, it might be worth a try. Maybe Genya’s in his room after all and maybe he’d allow his closest friend in.
He should’ve known, though, that Muichiro didn’t come here with peace as his intent. Receiving his third shock of the night, Sanemi actually jumps away when Muichiro started banging his fist madly on Genya’s door.
“Genya! Open the damn door and tell me who in the bleep are you beating your meat to!” The fourteen year old sobs.
Sanemi decides to throw his professionalism aside in the meantime because he’s not gonna freakin write that sentence down on a student’s report card nor will he repeat the sentence word for word in front of the school administrators.
The doors start opening save for Genya’s as their sibling pop their heads out in curiosity.
And then Baby Koto spots their visitors, his eyes widening in disbelief. Tearing out of his room, he cries out, ‘PRETTY! PRETTY! PRETTY!’ with his chubby sausage finger pointing at Muichiro....and then at Yuichiro? Oh no. Is he dreaming about the pretty person? Why are there two of them?
“Koto, get back to bed!” Sanemi dashes past the twins to try and pick up the screaming toddler.
Amidst the chaos, the man of the moment finally arrives, and to add to tonight’s weird fuckery going on, he’s carrying a massive rectangular thingy in his hands.
“Huh, Mui?! W-what..What in the--” Genya shuts his eyes tight, shakes his head then snaps them open again. “You’re really here! I mean, what are you..w-what are you doing here? Hey, are you crying?!” He drops the thing on the floor with a faint thud before rushing to his sobbing friend.
“I’ll tell you what.” A very angry Muichiro prods his chest with a finger. “Why are you locking yourself up in your room?! Why didn’t you tell me about your nightly secret affairs, huh? Who are you meeting with?! Why are you avoiding me?! Are you really that dumbass to go out in the middle of the night?!”
“Uh, look who’s talking.” Yuichiro comments from the sides, suddenly interested with his nails. Hiroshi giggles at that. Yuichiro glances at him. The boy looks away, blushing.
“Why didn’t you tell me you got yourself a girlfriend, huh?!” Fresh tears fall from Muichiro’s eyes. “Maybe tell me next time so I wouldn’t hope anymore that one day you’d like me too?! WHY NOT JUST SET ME ON FIREEEE?!”
The Shinazugawa siblings gasp at the revelation. Baby Koto squirms out of Sanemi’s hold to kick his Nii-chan on his shins for making Pretty cry. Genya stood frozen, unblinking at the boy weeping before him. “W-wait, you..you like me?”
Muichiro sniffles. “Would I be destroying my dignity in front of your family and my math teacher if I didn’t?”
Genya’s face gradually lights up. Smiling, he hands Muichiro the gigantic rectangular thing.
“What’s this, your bih’s picture?”
“Yup.” Genya happily smirks. “The future love of my life.”
Growling, Muichiro tears the wrappings off. Eventually, he finds himself face to face with....”IS THIS YUICHIRO?!”
Genya actually knocks the top of Muichiro’s head. “Bakayaro! It’s YOU! It’s your selfie when we were at the crepe shop!” He roars, face in furious red. Dang flabbit, this lovable idiot is the other half of the famous Tokitou prodigies? The one who outranked everyone in their grade? His tutor who caused his almost perfect quizzes?
“I LIKE YOU, OKAY?!” Genya shrieks right at Muichiro’s wide-eyed, flabbergasted face. ”I AVOIDED YOU BECAUSE I’M A MESS WHEN I’M AROUND YOU! I DON’T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND BECAUSE HOW THE FU--FUNNY LITTLE FROG WHEN I’M ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT YOU, MUICHIRO TOKITOU?!”
“Whoooo! Go Nii-chan!” His siblings holler.
“GaAaAyY!” Yuichiro seconds.
“As for why I’m locking myself up....” Sighing, Genya takes Muichiro’s hand, both trying to ignore the tingly sensation, and leads him to his bedroom door. Finally, after a long time, Genya reveals his secret to the world.
“Whoaa....” The group step inside, their gazes traveling directly to one particular section.
No, there was no dead body, or a puppy, or a snake, or a secret lover but there’s the pretty person Koto kept talking about. The wall facing Genya’s bed is now painted in purple and teal gradient and decorated with pictures of him and Muichiro together, but mostly just Muichiro himself, in massive sizes.
Fairy lights arranged in a zigzag form bathed the images in a lovely golden hue.
“I know, it’s kinda creepy.” Genya chuckles awkwardly. “But Muichiro’s face is the one I want to see first when I wake up in the morning.” His sisters let out a soft ‘awww’. “Not only because I like him very much but because it reminds me that this person was the one who helped me achieve what I thought I couldn’t, who gave up some of his sleeping hours just to tutor me. I’m sorry that I kept this little project from you guys, but..but I didn’t know how you’d react to me liking a boy...”
“Oh, Genya, baby.” A petite woman breaks off from the group to approach her son. “We don’t care who you choose to love, as long as it’s not harming anybody. We’re already free from your father, sweetheart. You’re free to become who you want to be and if you want to be a Muichiro-kun simp forever, then that’s okay.”
“T-thank you, Ma..” Genya beams down at his mother, and then at Muichiro, both their eyes filled with budding love for each other.
“Folks, I hate to break this moment.” Yuichiro pipes in, breaking the moment. “But our parents didn’t know that Muichiro and I stepped out so hurry the fu--the funny little frogs up and talk, ‘kay?” His teal eyes dart from his twin to Genya, back and forth, before it meaningfully lands on Genya. Uh-oh, the inevitable shovel talk.
“Alright, how about a cup of hot chocolate before bed, everyone? Yuichiro-kun?”
“Awesome!”
Everyone shuffles out of the room but not before wishing the new couple ‘good luck’. Baby Koto burst into tears and made grabby hands at Muichiro who blows the toddler an audible kiss and a wave.
“Uhh, wrong Shinazugawa.” Genya jokingly comments, bending sidewards to lay his head on top of Muichiro’s.
“Well, I wanted to do more than that with the right Shinazugawa.” Muichiro smirks which would probably someday cause Genya’s heart attack.
They didn’t notice Hiroshi still hovering by the doorway.
“Uhm....” The mini Genya clears his throat to capture their attention. “Nii-chan, who are you meeting whenever you sneak out, then?”
Genya laughs at that. “Some guy who enhances and enlarge photos, dear Bro.” Hiroshi felt suddenly stupid. Eh? That’s it? How anticlimactic. “Of course I couldn’t just go in and out of the house during the day while carrying a bigass picture.”
“Uhh, okay, right. Enjoy yourselves.” Hiroshi races out of there, fast. Jeez. He needs to be less dramatic sometimes.
Muichiro and Genya giggle together. At themselves, at the situation, at the unexpected way of them becoming a couple. They hold each other’s hand as they face back the wall of images. There’s still a huge spot left uncovered. Lots of future memories waiting to be captured. And if the space runs out?
Then they’ll just create more.