Chapter Text
The small store they usually stop at after practice is empty when they get there, except for the old lady behind the counter – they haven't passed anyone on the way either. The light breeze caressing their faces is more pleasant than the stifling heat that has haunted the town all day, but it's obviously not enough to make people want to go out. Sae wipes away the sweat pearling on his forehead with his T-shirt and walks towards the store entrance.
“Want something?”
Without waiting for Rin's answer, he walks inside to ask the old lady for two popsicles. They always get the same thing anyway – he just asked out of habit. After dropping a few coins on the counter and receiving two small ice cream packages, he thanks the old lady and exits the store – the heat that hits him when he sets foot outside almost makes him regret the shop’s AC.
“Rin, let's go.”
If they get home early, they can take a long bath… But when he turns to his brother, he finds Rin crouched in front of a gashapon machine, his eyes glued to the half-peeled poster decorating it. On it are several silhouettes of monsters – Sae thinks he recognizes the one Rin likes among them – and heroes. Without a care for the locks falling in front of his eyes that seemingly block his view, Rin stares at the machine for a few moments longer before sticking his hand in his pocket to pull out a few coins.
“Which one do you want?”
“That one.”
With the tip of his fingernail, Rin taps the display case – his target is the monster Sae recognized earlier. He inserts a coin into the machine's slot, turns the handle, and something drops with a muted thud . Rin immediately grabs it, and opens the yellow plastic ball – with a pleased little yelp, he turns to Sae.
“Nii-chan, look! First try!”
“That's great, Rin,” he replies, ruffling his brother's hair. “Let’s go now.”
“Wait, wait, I want to do it again!”
“Why?”
“You'll see…”
After putting the capsule and figurine he just won on his lap, Rin puts another coin into the gashapon and starts the process all over again. This time, the ball that falls is dark, and inside is a shiny golden toy representing a hero.
“That's the secret figurine,” explains Rin, as he points to a black silhouette with a white question mark drawn in the corner of the poster.
“Good for you–”
“And here, nii-chan,” Rin says, holding the toy in front of Sae, “it's for you! That way we each get one.”
Sae has never been interested in this series, unlike Rin, but his little brother's beaming smile, which is more dazzling than the sun beating down on them, makes him feel obliged to accept lest he ruins it. The figurine he receives is still a little warm and sticky with sweat from passing through Rin's hands. It finds its way inside his pocket until they arrive home.
And before that…
“Here’s your ice– Ugh .”
The packages Sae was holding in his hand make a sound closer to liquid water than ice as he hands one to Rin whose smile immediately turns into a grimace. It's kind of his fault that they've been reduced to drinking ice cream instead of eating it.