Chapter Text
Reo’s life had been pretty great lately.
She’d been a girl for about two months now, and every day felt better than the last. Being a cute boy was nice and all, but something always felt like it was missing. But now everything made sense, and Reo was certain she was the cutest girl in the world.
And even better, she got to help her friend Shiki make the same realization. Now the two of them were closer than ever. It was like having a sister, and not in the same way Reo considered the Club CANDY hostesses big sisters. Shiki was more special.
Reo made a new friend recently too. Well, at least she liked to think of Kenta as a friend. He probably felt the same, even if he kept refusing to admit it. The fact that he still bothered to answer her when she bugged him online was enough to confirm how he really felt, as far as she was concerned. It sucked that she hadn’t gotten to see him in person since then, though.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t really gotten a chance to really meet the other younger Road to Legend participants. She was hoping to meet more new friends now that she and Shiki weren’t the only younger kids, but the way the competition brackets ended up made it so she hadn’t seen any of the others since the Opening Show. And even then, everyone mostly kept to their own groups during that event.
It was a bit of a shame, since a few of the newer participants caught her attention in the advertisements and performances. Especially one of the members of 1nm8. Reo didn’t know much about him; she just thought that he was cute.
She wondered if she’d ever get a chance to properly meet him. But from how the tournament was lined up, it looked like that wouldn’t be in the cards for the time being…
It was an early Sunday afternoon—basically early morning by Suiseki-gumi standards—and Reo was making her way to Bar 4/7 to see Shiki and Ryu. Since all of her big brothers were busy, it was the perfect time to go see her cat-coded friends.
She swung the door open. “Shiki! Maou! Are you here?”
Shiki was behind the bar, preparing some drinks. She stopped and looked towards the entrance, smiling as she stepped away from what she was doing. “Oh, Reo-chan!”
“Shikiiii!~” Reo hugged her friend tightly. “You’re looking super cute today! Ooh, is that barrette new? It’s so pretty!”
“Ah, this? Owner gave it to me. It belonged to his wife…”
On the floor by the couches, Ryu was playing with Kuro Bochi. But Reo soon noticed that there was someone else with them too. Someone she didn’t recognize from the back.
“Uwah!! Reo-Reo the pheasant is heeeere!~” Ryu piped up, scooping the cat into their arms as they stood up.
“Hmmm? Someone’s here?” The other person stood up and turned around to face the others.
…They were big. Really big. Both in terms of height, and in build. They had fluffy peach colored hair and crimson eyes that would have been rather piercing if they weren’t so droopy. Their puppy-like face really contrasted everything else about their appearance.
Whoa…cute , Reo thought right away.
“Hi,” she said, looking them up and down. Then the recognition hit her. “Oh! You’re from 1nm8, right?”
“Yeah yeah! I’m Rokuta! Nice to meet you!~” He held out his hand, which was as proportionately big as the rest of him. Reo noticed that it was covered in small tattoos, and his middle finger had a small metal goat skull pierced into it; his Phantometal, perhaps? Could he even take something like that off…?
“Uh…yeah!” Reo took his hand and shook it. “I’m Akanyatsura’s cutest angel, Reo-chan!~”
“Ooh I think I’ve heard those names before!” Rokuta shook Reo’s hand. “Reo’s a cute name!”
“Ehehe thanks~” Reo rubbed her hand a little as she reeled it back. He held it so tight… “So, are you friends with Shiki and Maou too?”
“Uh huh! Even though their parents don’t like Kei-chan and Itsuki-nii, they still let me come here! Cool, right?”
“Hm hm!” Ryu bounced up with Kuro Buchi on their head, which was set on Rokuta’s shoulder. “Rokuwan is being led around by a mean robot with glasses and an Emperor of Darkness who wants to turn everyone into little lambs. But he can fold frying pans, so Ryu-kun has declared him a cadet in Compla Daimao’s Royal Entourage!”
“Um…Ryu-kun, Reo-chan might not understand all that,” Shiki whispered.
“Yeah, I really don’t,” Reo said. “But it sounds interesting! And if you guys think he’s cool, then I’ll take your word on it!”
“Yeah, yeah! I’m cool!” Rokuta beamed.
Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound echoed through the room. Reo couldn’t help but flinch at it; it sounded like there was some kind of creature, aside from Ryu.
“What was that?” she asked.
“Uwah. I’m hungryyy…~” Rokuta whined.
“O-Oh! Right, I was gonna make some snacks to go with our drinks,” Shiki said, stepping away and going towards the bar. “Sorry, Reo-chan. I’ll be right back.”
“No worries! Make one for me too please!” Reo hopped onto a barstool, propping her elbows on the counter.
Shiki disappeared into the back kitchen, with Ryu following behind yelling, “SHIKKI! LET RYU-KUN MAKE THE HEAVENLY HORCHATA THIS TIME!”
Rokuta hopped onto the stool next to Reo, his legs swinging innocently even though they practically touched the ground.
“Hey, hey, Reo,” he said. “You smell really good.”
“Thanks~” Reo grinned. “It’s just my usual scent. It’s sweet, right?~”
“Mhm! Sweet like a raspberry! It makes sitting next to you extra nice!”
Reo giggled, twirling a lock of her hair. “Hehe, praise me more, praise me more~”
“Okay!” Rokuta’s smile widened, not even missing a beat. “Your clothes are pretty!”
“…Eh?”
“…Hm? Did I say the wrong thing?”
“N-No,” Reo was surprised at herself at how she suddenly froze up. “I wasn’t expecting you to, y’know…actually keep praising me. But, um, you can keep going if you have more to say~”
“Okay! Your clothes are pretty! Wait, did I say that already…Well, anyway yeah they’re pretty! They’re like what Shikki is wearing today, but she wasn’t wearing anything like that the first day I met her. Did you help her pick out new clothes?”
“Yeah, I did! Anne-san from BAE helped us pick them out too! They know a lot about clothes. They even make their own; Maou and I got to be models for them~”
“Whoaaa cool!” Rokuta leaned forward a bit, looking Reo up and down. “You’re really pretty, so I bet you were a really good model!”
“Ah—” There she goes again. And her cheeks were starting to get warm. Weird. “Y-Yeah, I might ask them if I can do it again sometime. They’re fun to hang out with but my brother Satsuki has a huge crush on them, so he’ll hound me with questions about them after I go out with them. It’s sooooo annoying.”
“A crush?” Rokuta looked up for a second, his eyes blanking out for a moment. “Hmmmm…I don’t think Itsuki-nii would ever have a crush. It’d be funny if he did though!”
They both laughed together, although Reo didn’t really know much about this Itsuki person, but it sounded like he was to Rokuta what Satsuki was to her. It would be fun to have a fellow youngest sibling around to tease their respective older brothers behind their backs. Shiki would never dare talk about Ryu like that.
“Hey, before I forget,” Reo said, taking her phone out, “want my number? We could text each other later!”
“Ooh, good idea!” Rokuta took his own phone out before his eyes went blank again. “Um…I don’t think I remember my number though.”
After a bit of fiddling around with finding Rokuta’s number, they managed to successfully get each other’s information down. Soon after, Shiki came back out from the kitchen with a tray of snacks, followed by Ryu who had a mouth full of them already.
From there, Rokuta went back to play with Ryu and the cats. Reo chatted with Shiki like she originally planned to. They talked about their families, and about clothes and looking back on past times they hung out. And of course, she couldn’t help but want to hear Shiki talk about her relationship with Nayuta, since they were so cute together.
But through it all, Reo’s short time spent with Rokuta lingered in the back of her mind.
It was weird, getting blunt praise like that from someone like him. She was used to getting showered in praise by her family, including Shiki and Ryu, since TCW was basically an extension of the family too. And the hostesses from the club gave her a lot of praise too.
But hearing it from this stranger…a cute stranger at that…
That was something Reo would need to get used to.
“Knock knock~”
Reo looked away from her phone as she looked towards the entrance of her room. “Aniki!”
“Reo~ Lemme see you~” Iori strutted into the room, approaching Reo’s futon and sitting down on it. “Did ya have a good day today?”
Reo quickly scooted over to wrap her arms around Iori’s waist. “Uh huh! I hung out with Shiki and Maou, and I met someone new!”
“Someone new, eh?” Iori ran his hand over Reo’s hair as he looked down at her; his smile was gentle, but his eyes had their usual unreadable glint. “And who would that be?”
“Rokuta, from 1nm8! He’s really cute, and he praised me a lot!”
“Oh did he now? Well, that’s good.”
“Yeah! I can’t wait to get to know him better.”
“Just be careful, alright? There’s a whole lot we don’t know about those other groups; what they have ties to and all that. Zen and I have been a bit busy with something at the moment, so we haven’t looked into it as much as we’ve wanted to.”
“Mhm, I’ll be careful.”
“And of course, if this kid ever dares to mess with my sweet little girl, he’ll have another thing coming~”
Reo let go of Iori, adjusting herself to sit upright and for their eyes to meet. “If he tries to hurt me, I’ll get him first, Aniki!”
“I know you will~” Iori reached to ruffle Reo’s hair. “You’re as tough as you’ve always been.”
Reo giggled, nuzzling against his touch.
Honestly, she hadn’t thought for even a second that Rokuta could hurt her; he seemed too sweet and earnest for that. But living this kind of life, she knew not to rely on first impressions, and that betrayal could loom around the corner at any time. She had been burned enough times to know that well, even by her own mother and father. But she could trust the family and friends she had now; they already proved themselves worthy of it.
Even so, she already had a gut feeling that Rokuta could be worthy of her trust too.
Ugh…Just end already…
Reo was bored out of her mind in class, as usual. Normally she’d be playing a game on her phone right now, but her games were either having server maintenance or didn’t have anything fun going on in them at the moment (AKA no new gachas to max out Iori’s card on.)
She looked over at her brothers; Hokusai was sitting upright and paying attention, while Satsuki was snoozing behind his textbook. She didn’t really know any of her other fellow night students all that well, so there wasn’t really anyone else to pay mind to. And the teacher’s voice kept droning on like white noise.
Bzzt! Her cellphone lit up. Hiding it under the desk, she saw a message from her new friend.
Rokuta: |˶˙ᵕ˙ )ﾉﾞ Reooo! Are you busy?
Reo broke into a big smile. It had been days since she met him, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t itching to talk to him again.
She was a master at keeping her phone activities hidden while in class, so it was easy to text back undetected.
Reo: ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ Hiii Rokuta!! I’m stuck in class >_<
Rokuta: Class? :0
Reo: Yeah, my brothers and I go to school at night!
Rokuta: Oooh that’s cool!
Reo: It’s really really boring honestly. ( ¬⤙¬ ) All we do is sit through lectures, there’s no time to hang out with people or anything. Our only friend from school is Shiki but she goes during the day so she’s not in our class.
Rokuta: Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Rokuta: I don’t think I’ve ever been to school. It seems like fun!!
Reo blinked in surprise. The idea that Rokuta never went to school was strange enough. But the idea that he didn’t remember whether or not he went to school was what really threw her off.
Reo: Well you’re not missing out on much lol
Reo: So whatre you doing right now?
Rokuta: We’re gonna eat dinner soon! It’s karaage!!
Reo: Ohhh yum! I should ask Zen-nii to make karaage for us soon too!
Rokuta: >w< Karaage is the best~
Rokuta: Oh I remembered why I texted you
Rokuta: After dinner and school, wanna come play with me?
Reo: :0 Play with you where?
Rokuta: You can come to my house!
Rokuta: Well it’s Kei-chan’s house but he lets me and Itsuki-nii live here!
Reo: Ooo well…Aniki usually wants us to come home right after school. But maybe I can ask Aniki if I can come to your house after school tomorrow?
Rokuta: Yeah ask him ask him!!
Reo: I will!!
Reo was grinning for the rest of the evening. The molasses-paced class seemed to be over in no time at all, now that her thoughts were directed back to Rokuta.
Satsuki elbowed her when they were all making their way out of the school. “Whatcha smilin’ for?”
“Nothing~” Reo said in a singsong tone.
“Did something good happen, Reo?” Hokusai asked.
“Uh huh! My new friend texted me and he wants me to visit him tomorrow!”
“HEY!” Satsuki barked. “Why’d you tell him an’ not me?!”
“Because you’re an idiot!~” Reo skipped ahead, doing a little twirl.
Hokusai smiled. “Cute.”
“Fuckin’ annoyin’,” Satsuki grumbled, kicking a pebble on the path.
Reo had a pep in her step for the rest of the way home. When they arrived at the house, she quickly zoomed in, looking around everywhere for Iori until she found Zen in the kitchen.
“Zen-nii!!” She hopped around him. “Where’s Aniki? I need to ask him something!”
“Reo-chan!” Zen put his big hands on Reo’s shoulders as if trying to hold down her bouncing. “Waka should be getting out of the bath soon.”
“Wait, Zen-nii,” Satsuki said. “Why’re you home? Shouldn’t you be at the club already?”
“Oh, heh, about that” Zen rubbed the back of his neck. “Well last night there was a, uh…thing and…”
“There’s maintenance happenin’ tonight.” Iori walked into the room, his hair damp. “We’re all staying home tonight. None of y’all need to worry.”
“Anikiiii!” Reo turned her attention to him, bouncing up and clinging onto him. “Guess what, guess what!”
“Whoa there, little lady~” Iori put his arms around her. “What’re you all riled up about?”
“Rokuta wants me to come to his house tomorrow after class! Can I go? Please, please, please, pleeeeeeeeaaaaaseee?”
“…Hmm. This kid’s house…already? You only just met ‘im, yeah?”
“I know but I really, really wanna go! Pleeeasseee, Aniki! The day after tomorrow is the weekend so I won’t have to worry about homework or anything!”
“That’s not what I’m worried about right now, buuut…” Iori went quiet for a second, his eyes shifting a bit. “If you really want to go, then I suppose I’ll let you go see this 1nm8 kid~”
“1nm8?!” Zen piped up. “But Waka! Isn’t 1nm8 the group that Kanbayashi-san said to be wary—”
Iori’s hand quickly went up in a “zip it” motion, his grin twitching slightly.
“Eh…?” Reo felt a sudden wave of unease. Was there something wrong with 1nm8? With Rokuta?
“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart,” Iori looked back down at her and patted her head. “But Reo. While you’re there, if you notice anything suspicious, you’ll tell us. Right?”
“Right!”
“Good girl. And you two.” Iori looked at Hokusai and Satsuki. “Greet whoever’s living with this kid and take note of anything worth mentioning.”
“Yes, Aniki,” Hokusai said.
“You can count on us, Aniki!” Satsuki said.
“Good kids~” Iori went over to pat the two of them on their heads before walking over to Zen and holding onto his arm. “Now run along and play.”
“Yay, Mario Kart time!” Reo scampered off to the spare room where all the game consoles awaited. “I get to pick the first course!”
“No ya don’t!” Satsuki chased after her. “I beat you last time! I pick first!”
“No fighting…” Hokusai walked close behind them.
Right before stepping out of ear shot, Reo could hear Iori and Zen starting to talk to each other. She had long understood that those two kept things hidden for good reason. They just wanted to protect her and her brothers.
But whether she actually even needed to be protected was for her to decide.
“Satsuki-chan, this skirt looks super cute on me, right?”
“I don’t fuckin’ know?? They all look the same on ya…”
“Hmm well Anne-san said it was cute when we bought it together~”
“AND SHE WAS RIGHT!”
Reo giggled, walking along while her overnight bag swung with every step. They were almost at the share house that the members of 1nm8 all lived in together.
“Reo,” Hokusai said as the house came into view. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“Mhm!” Reo nodded. “I’ll call you or Aniki or Zen-nii if I feel unsafe or anything!”
“Oi, what about me?!” Satsuki barked.
Reo ignored him, running up ahead towards the house. She rang the buzzer as her brothers stood up straight behind her like bodyguards.
A boy with dark skin and dark gray hair answered the door. The yellow eyes behind his glasses were sharp yet had a softness to them somehow. His expression was an utter void of readable emotion. “Who the hell are you people.”
Reo blinked. “Uh. I’m Reo, from Akanyatsura! Rokuta invited me over.”
“…One moment.” The boy slowly closed the door, quiet enough to barely make it creak.
“…Satsukiiiiii!” Reo whined. “Did you bring me to the wrong place?!”
“Wha— no I didn’t!” Satsuki yelled back. “I wasn’t even leadin’ the way!”
“That was one of the members of 1nm8,” Hokusai said. “This is the right place.”
Then the door opened, and the same person from before was now standing with a more familiar face—
“Reo! You’re here!” Rokuta stepped out and picked up Reo by her waist, spinning her around. “I’m so happy~”
“UWAAH—?!” Reo’s face had never gotten so warm so fast before, getting swept off of her feet for that brief moment. He had picked her up like she weighed nothing at all…Just how strong was he? She glanced back at her brothers—Satsuki was already visibly fuming, and Hokusai had a glare Reo had only been seen a few times before—before turning back to Rokuta with a big smile. “Y-Yeah, I’m here!”
“Rokuta,” the other member said.
Rokuta looked back at him. “Eh? What is it, Itsuki-nii?”
“You didn’t tell me nor Kei you invited your friend over.”
“Ehhh? I really thought I did. I even wrote it down…I’m sorry.”
“Well, it’s fine. We can manage one unexpected guest for one night.” Itsuki glared over at Satsuki and Hokusai. “And what about these two?”
“Uh…” Rokuta looked at them and blinked. “I dunno these guys—”
“Aight, listen up!” Satsuki stepped forward to the two of them, baring his fists. “If any of ya mess with our baby sister, there’ll be hell to pay! You’ve got no idea what you’re up again!”
“Ehh?” Rokuta cocked his head. “Did I do something to hurt Reo?”
“No,” Hokusai spoke up, putting a hand on Satsuki’s head as if it were an off switch. “But please be kind to her.”
“Of course,” Itsuki nodded, stepping back into the house. “You two, come inside.”
Rokuta followed suit. “Let’s go, Reo!~”
“One sec! Lemme say bye to my brothers!” Reo quickly turned around to face the two of them.
It suddenly hit her that she couldn’t remember a time she was away from them ever since joining the Suiseki-gumi. But that was fine. She already adjusted to never seeing her other brothers and the old man again. She could survive not seeing the brothers she still had for one night, right?
She got on her tiptoes to hug Hokusai, who patted her hair and kissed her forehead. She then went to hug Satsuki, who hugged back unexpectedly tight. It made Reo feel a little more at ease, though she’d never admit that out loud.
“See you guys tomorrow!” she said as she went into the house and closed the door.
As soon as she went in, she was stunned by how plain everything was. Plain walls, plain sparse furniture…it was the epitome of minimalism.
“Ta-da!” Rokuta said. “This is where Itsuki-nii and I get to live thanks to Kei-chan! Isn’t it great? There’s even a kitchen here!”
“Yeah, that’s great!” Reo looked around some more until she noticed something furry near the couch. “What’s that?”
“Ah!” Rokuta grabbed Reo’s hand and brought her over to the mysterious creature. “This is Hachi! She’s our bunny!”
“Please be careful with her,” Itsuki said quickly as he stood off to the side.
Hachi was an absolute unit of a rabbit, two or three times the typical size. Her light brown fur was thick and fluffy, and her floppy ears were almost as long as her body.
“Wow!” Reo crouched down to her level, getting a better look at her. “I’ve never seen such a big bunny before!”
“Yeah, yeah!” Rokuta got down too, bringing his face up close to her twitching nose. “She’s so big because Itsuki-nii feeds her too many strawberries!”
“I do not,” Itsuki said. “I feed her a reasonably measured number of strawberries as an occasional treat.”
“Nuh uh! You feed her like thirty by the end of every week! That’s almost as much karaage I wanna eat in a day!”
“…I spoil Hachi. Kei spoils you. It balances out.”
Rokuta’s face got all pouty at that. Reo laughed as she stroked the rabbit’s fur, finding it to be extra cute. Although, the way Rokuta spoke of Itsuki before made her expect him to be like Satsuki. That didn’t seem to be the case as far as appearance or personality was concerned, but she could somewhat see the relationship she had with him in these two.
Then, some footsteps approached from the hallway as another person came in, looking like he had just gotten out of the bath. Reo paused as her eyes locked with Kei Miyama, the idol whose face was impossible to miss last year before suddenly reappearing with this new group barely a couple months before Road the Legend was announced.
“Kei,” Itsuki said.” Rokuta invited a guest over for the night.”
“Is that so?” A soft smile grew on Kei’s face as he approached Reo. “Hello. You’re…Reo Maruyama-san, right?”
“Um! Yeah!” Reo stood up and bowed to him. “I’m sorry if I’m intruding or anything!”
“It’s no trouble. Rokuta didn’t say that you were coming over, but he did talk a lot about you.”
“…He did?”
“He did.”
“I did!” Rokuta giggled.
Reo felt a weird fluttering feeling in her chest, along with a twinge of guilt. She hadn’t said much about Rokuta to her family aside from the fact that he existed.
“Itsuki, the bath is ready for you.” Kei said. “Rokuta, you can come with me into my room.”
“Yay! It’s piano time!” Rokuta stood up. “Reo! Wanna hear me play piano?~”
“Okay!” Reo took hold of his hand again, going with the two of them into another room.
Though it was referred to as Kei’s room, it was more of a proper recording space, with the walls covered with soundproof foam. There were microphones and computer set up with a synthesizer. The only thing that indicated someone actually used it as a personal room as a futon laid out in the corner.
But the biggest thing in the room was a white piano, which Rokuta quickly scampered to and sat down while Kei went to the computer. Reo approached the piano, sitting next to Rokuta on the bench.
“So you play piano, Rokuta?”
“Uh huh, but Kei-chan is better at it than me, so I still need to practice every day. And even though Kei-chan usually likes complete quiet when he works on our songs, he lets me practice while he works!”
Reo watched as Rokuta’s fingers moved along the keys, playing a few scales at first. He soon moved on to what sounded like a classical piece, not that Reo knew much about that sort of thing. Even so, she liked how the music sounded. It reminded her of the sort of vibe she got when she and her family spent a quiet, peaceful night together. Of course, things rarely stayed quiet and peaceful for long thanks to her and Satsuki quarrelling, but still.
“I think you’re really good,” she said. “Maybe next time at Bar 4/7, you can play the piano there!”
“Ohh yeah…maybe I should do that sometime!” Rokuta grinned as he switched to a more upbeat song.
Reo swayed a bit in her seat, her thoughts more focused on Rokuta than the music. Even though she was in a strange house and was already starting to miss her brothers, she felt comfortable having him with her. He just gave off such a calming feel-good vibe like a big friendly puppy.
“Hey, Reo?” Rokuta asked as his playing came to a stop. “I noticed something.”
“Hmm? Ask away.”
“When we were studying your group’s performances, I saw that you usually wear overalls on stage. When I get to be with you, you’ve been wearing skirts.”
“Mhm, those overalls are part of my usual stage outfit, and I still like wearing them because I look super cute in them! But ever since I started wearing these other clothes, I’ve been wanting to wear them the most often.”
“Is it something new for you?”
Reo nodded. “Yeah, it was pretty recent. It was when we did the Shuffle Team Show. I was with Anne-san and Maou and Nayuta, working together with them all and modelling Anne-san’s clothes. Those three don’t consider themselves guys or girls and wear whatever they want; they’re just themselves no matter what. But when I was trying on skirts and stuff with them, I realized how much I liked them…It’s not even that I was uncomfortable with how I was before. It was more like I realized just how good I could feel about myself when I wore them. And it’s okay for boys to wear skirts and dresses if they want to, but…these clothes make me feel like a girl, and feeling like a girl made me happy! So I thought about it a lot and kept it to myself at first, and after the Opening Show, I decided I’d be happiest on stage with my family if I was girl. And I made sure I was a super cute girl in time for our battle with Goku Luck!”
I was definitely the cutest girl in the world kicking Shibaken’s ass, she almost added.
“Wow…” Rokuta had that trademark almost blank look in his eyes as he seemed to be processing all of that before breaking into a smile. “I’m happy that being a girl makes you happy! Did something like that happened Shiki too?”
“Yeah! But her story with all that is for her to tell.”
“Ooh okay! I’ll ask her about it next time at the bar!” Rokuta put his fingers on the keys like he was about to play another song, only to stop as his gaze drifted again. “Hmmm…We don’t really do much with our clothes here. We usually just wear plain white and beige-ish stuff.”
“Well, it fits you guys’ aesthetic,” Reo said. “But maybe you can experiment with clothes a bit sometime! Even if you guys don’t get anything out of it the way I did, it’s still a lot of fun!”
“Ooh, now I really wanna try it!” Rokuta turned over to the computer corner. “Kei-chaaaan!”
Kei turned away from the computer to look at him. “What is it?”
“Can we go clothes shopping soon?”
“That’s a question for Itsuki. But I’ll ask him later.”
“’Kayyy~” Rokuta looked back at Reo. “I hope Itsuki-nii says yes.”
Reo nodded. “Does your Itsuki-nii run the household here?”
“Mhm, he does a lot of cooking and cleaning and keeping track of the money. He doesn’t like when we spend money on unnecessary things, so I’m gonna try really hard to convince him to let us buy fun new clothes!”
“As you should! Fun clothes are a must!”
"They are! Oh, oh, you mentioned your match against Goku Luck. What was that like? Were they scary?"
"Nope! They're tough, but my family's even tougher! I'm especially way tougher than that little Shibaken. He's funny to tease though~"
The two of them made more small talk as Rokuta ran through a few more practice songs. He made them all look so easy, but Reo saw how his fingers glided across the keyboard with admirable ease.
He’s better than he gives himself credit for…
After a while, they stopped when it was time to take their baths, with Reo going after Rokuta. By 1AM, Reo had changed into her loungewear and finished blow drying her hair. Normally she would start to unwind and just play her mobile games until she fell asleep.
But as she left the restroom, Rokuta suddenly popped up behind her.
“Reo! Let’s go!” he said in a whisper that didn’t hide his excitement at all.
“Uh…where are we going?”
“On a walk!”
“Eh?? So late? Shouldn’t we get ready for bed?”
“Yeah, if you’re Itsuki-nii. But I like to go on walks before bedtime, and I wanna take you with me!”
Reo hesitated; the Suiseki-gumi was a household of night owls, but there were limits, especially for the youngest one. She knew Iori would be upset if he caught wind of her going out after midnight. But…Iori wasn’t there, and it wasn’t like he could find out, right? “Well…Okay.”
Before Reo knew it, she was trailing behind Rokuta as they walked along the path. There weren’t many other people around in this area, which wouldn’t be the case near her home since the family lived near the entertainment district. A quiet neighborhood like this was a pleasant change. And since there weren’t as many bright flashing signs, the night sky could be seen a little more clearly.
“There’s so many fun things to see at night,” Rokuta said. “Like convenience stores! And owls! And lampposts! And cats!”
“Ooh, cats? My brother Hokusai loves cats!” Reo sidled up a little closer to Rokuta as they walked ahead. “He looks for them when he goes on walks with Maou. Maybe you can tell them about where they can meet some new ones.”
“Okay! The cats are fluffy and friendly, so I bet they’ll be happy to meet them.” Rokuta suddenly stopped in place and turned to the left. “Uwaa, look! It’s the park!”
Reo turned to see that it was in fact a park; a deserted one. A park in the dark, with no one playing on it…It was almost a little creepy. “Rokuta, is it really a good idea to be here—”
But Rokuta was undeterred, making a beeline for the swings. “Swings are fun! Have you ever been on a swing, Reo?”
“Yeah, I have!”
“It’s fun, right? Swing with me!”
She sat on the swing next to Rokuta, starting to move back and forth a bit, and suddenly it didn't seem as creepy. She watched Rokuta swing higher and higher. She was impressed that his swing didn’t break, considering how much bigger and heavier he was.
“This is pretty fun!” she said. “Do you ever do stuff like this your brothers?”
Rokuta suddenly skidded to a stop, staring straight ahead. His gaze wasn’t blank this time; there was something in those deep red eyes. Something confused, and perhaps a little sad. “Brothers…?”
Reo’s heart sank, realizing she might have misread 1nm8’s dynamic. “Ah…Sorry. Do you not consider them your brothers?”
“Um…Yes? But also no. For different reasons…” That uneasy look in Rokuta’s eyes lingered for a moment before he smiled widely. “But yeah, we take walks together during the daytime, and they watch me on the swings. I like it here even more at night, though. I’m super glad you came with me this time, Reo!”
Reo smiled back, although she felt a little worried. Even so, she kept on swinging like nothing had happened.
Then Rokuta got up from his swing, getting behind Reo. “Want me to push you? It’s fun to go really high~”
“Okay!” Reo sat up straight, her grip on the swing’s chains tightening.
Rokuta pushed her gently at first, though even that took her even higher than how high she went before. He worked his way up to pushing her higher, and higher…
She’d never been this high up before. “T-That’s enough, Rokuta…!”
“Okay!” Rokuta stopped pushing, stepping away to watch from the side.
Reo’s grip tightened more, hoping that soon she’d be able to jump off the swing from a safe distance. But she was more nervous to make the jump that she realized, and her hands slipped from the chain.
All of a sudden, she was in the air. She couldn’t help but let out a scream, her eyes squeezing shut as she braced herself to hit the ground…
…And upon impact, she found herself in Rokuta’s arms.
“Caught ya~” He grinned, his eyes locking with hers.
Oh.
Looking up at him, he looked extra handsome with his face lit by the moonlight…or maybe it was a streetlight. Either way, all Reo could see was a Prince Charming who had caught her. The longer she looked at him, the warmer her cheeks felt. And maybe she was imagining it, but Rokuta’s cheeks seemed to be turning a bit pink as well.
“Um…Let’s go home before I fall asleep here,” he said. “Itsuki-nii said there’d be no karaage for a week if that happens again.”
“Y-Yeah…” Reo expected him to set her down to let her walk with him again.
Instead, Rokuta just started walking back the way they came, princess-carrying her the whole way. It felt pretty nice; his arms were so strong and comfortable, and his steps rocked her a bit, lulling her more and more. Soon her eyes started to feel heavy, and she let them shut…
…
“Reeeeooooooooooo!!!~”
“WAH—” Reo jolted awake. She looked around and realized she was now laying on a soft futon in a plain-looking room. “R-Rokuta?!”
“Hiii~” Rokuta was laying next to her, looking rather eager. “It’s time to eat lunch! Then you’re gonna go home!”
“Indeed.” It was Itsuki’s voice. He stood at the foot of the futon, carrying Hachi and holding out a strawberry for her. “Maruyama-san. Your family will be here for you in one hour. I suggest you come eat and get yourself ready.”
“Ah…Right.” Reo yawned and stretched, standing up Rokuta, grabbing his hand without thinking about it and holding it all the way to the kitchen.
Though she was about to leave, the meal made Reo feel at home. This was close to the time her family would eat, and the food Itsuki prepared was pretty nutrition focused but still tasted good just like Zen’s cooking. The biggest difference was how it was so quiet, which was nice, but she missed the chaos at home.
After lunch, she freshened up and got all dressed. And right when she was finished, Zen's car pulled up in front of 1nm8’s house. Reo didn’t wait a second longer to run outside, jumping into her brothers’ arms as soon as they were out of the car. She smiled from ear to ear at being smothered in their affection; it hadn’t even been a fully 24 hours since she last saw them, but it still felt like too long. And they seemed to share that sentiment, if Zen’s instant tears upon seeing her was any indication.
Rokuta soon came outside as well, running up to talk to Hokusai, and the two of them soon got to talking about cats and Ryu. Zen and Satsuki watched them, Satsuki looking as defensive as he did the night before.
But Reo was curious as to where Iori had ended up. She went looking for them and found him inside the house, speaking to Kei and Itsuki at the genkan. Reo peeked behind the cracked open front door as she heard Iori’s voice.
“…I don’t mind having my Reo come to pal around with your big fella,” he was saying, “but if I catch even a breeze of you putting any of your little gospel or whatever the hell in her head, I won’t be so pleasant next time.”
“We understand.” Kei nodded slowly.
“Are you seriously threatening Kei?” Itsuki glared.
“Oh honey, if you saw a real threat from me, you’d all be running for the hills,” Iori laughed. “An-y-way! We’ll be off now~”
Reo took a few steps back to make it seem like she hadn’t been listening, letting the door open and for the three to come out.
“Aniki!” She pounced onto him to hug him.
“Sweetheart~” He smiled and ruffled her hair. “Did you have a good time?”
“Mhm! A really, really good time.”
“OOOOOUUUAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH” A horrified yell made Reo and Iori look back at all the others.
Rokuta had picked up Zen by his waist, lifting him up with relative ease as Satsuki and Hokusai looked on.
“WHAT THE FUCK, MAN,” Satsuki gawked.
“Ehe, he’s just a liiittle heavy,” Rokuta said. “But still no problem for me, because I just ate lunch~”
“This strength…this grip…” Zen looked borderline catatonic as Rokuta set him down. He looked down at his hands. “My God…I still have so much to improve on…Gains to be gained…”
“Have your existential crisis when we get home, love,” Iori patted his arm. “Kids, we're leaving.”
While the others piled back into the car, Reo turned to look up at Rokuta.
“So…I’ll see you next time,” she said. “And we can text each other more often and stuff.”
“Mhm!” Rokuta smiled, though his eyes seemed sad.
She got on her tiptoes and hugged him tightly, or as tight as she could against how tight Rokuta was hugging her in turn. He nuzzled against her shoulder, his hair brushing against her ear.
“You’re really pretty,” he whispered.
Reo pulled away, laughing. She covered her cheek with her hand to hide how much she was probably blushing. “Jeez, don’t just say things out of nowhere like that!~”
“Eh? Was it wrong to say that?”
“No, it just…surprised me, y’know. Everyone always just calls me cute—which I totally am—but you’re the only one who calls me pretty.”
“Really? More people should call you pretty, then!”
“Hmm…I like it better when it’s just you actually.” She shifted awkwardly in place for a bit, glancing away. “Um…I’ll text you later."
Giving a final wave to Rokuta and his fellow members, she got in the backseat of the car. As it started to drive off, she watched Rokuta’s form get smaller and smaller in the distance.
She swallowed a lump in her throat that she hadn’t noticed before.
She already couldn’t wait to see him again.