Chapter Text
Today was going to be a horrible day. He just knew it; the universe was going to serve Junichiro Tanizaki something unfortunate on a rusted platter today. As if a not-so-great childhood, deprivation of an education, and having the responsibility of an entire human life thrust upon him at the age of eighteen weren’t enough.
It just had to invent mornings. Which led to jobs that wanted a poor little teenage boy to work him hours that required waking up at an ungodly hour. Which ultimately conflicted with Junichiro’s very important plans of bringing his baby brother to his first ever day of junior high school. Which then required Junichiro to take his first day of work off, and he lost out on an entire day of pay.
But it was all worth it. For precious memories, and whatever.
Under normal circumstances, no work meant a quick escape from the horror that was an early morning, but nope! He loved his brother far too much to let him go to school without a substantial breakfast. This was but one of the many difficulties of being a loving older brother and adequate guardian. He needed to make sure that his younger brother, Kenji Miyazawa, was fed for two reasons. He needed to be on his toes for the years ahead, and he didn’t need a call from the school notifying him that Kenji accidentally ripped a door off its hinges, or worse.
Junichiro lay, splayed out, on his bed- well, mattress - and just… stared aimlessly at the ceiling. He had awoken even earlier than he had to, and was lying there with five minutes until his alarm forced him to begin his day.
Sometimes he wondered what he was doing with his life. He was freshly eighteen years old, and should be beginning his final year of high school. But all thanks to their stupid parents, any chance at a high school career was promptly flushed down the drain. He’s been left with no high school diploma, a shitty job and a need for one or two more as a result. But it was fine. He was fine. Life was going to be fine.
His alarm buzzed- its sickeningly melodic chiming being a curse on Junichiro’s ears. It was six thirty am.
“Oh, fantastic… ” He grumbled, rolling out of bed and falling with a thud to the floor.
His wardrobe consisted of cardboard boxes, and his bed might as well have been the same. He’d barely had enough time to grab his clothes from their parents’ house, let alone any furniture.
Speaking of furniture… The first order of business was to uhm. Make enough money to get Kenji furniture for his room.
He rose to his feet quickly enough, and grabbed some clothes that were protruding from the nearest cardboard box. His outfit for the day had been meticulously planned the night before; a baggy long sleeved shirt, jeans that were a size too big, a red hoodie fastened not-too-securely around his waist, and his binder, which he hoped looked enough like a badass tank top at a glance.
Silently emerging from his bedroom to move into the ratty old hallway, and then to the teensy bathroom with some unidentified fluid that consistently dripped from the ceiling. Lovely.
He peered in the mirror, putting his earrings back in. He had five piercings on either ear, four of which he had done himself after a multitude of failed attempts.
This outfit was probably the best one that he could wear in their area at the moment. He’s been told that it makes him look like a delinquent; with all his baggy clothes and piercings, and ‘ delinquent ’ was the kind of look that he needed now. This apartment was in a shady area and he needed to look like he could pack a punch.
The next order of business was waking Kenji up! Which would hopefully be an easy task, considering how excited he was to get to go to “ real school” for the first time that he skipped dinner… and Junichiro may have forced him to eat a bowl of soup to get him to pass out. So he should be well rested and ready to go!!!
“Kenji…?” Junichiro whispered, hoping that Kenji was already awake. Because if he wasn’t, well. Lets just say that Kenji would no longer have a guardian and would be put back into the system.
The mass from underneath the pile of blankets that had migrated from Kenji’s bed to the floor stirred.
“You’ve got to get ready for school.”
And the mass shook some more, before its fabric cocoon was cast aside, and a head of blonde hair poked out of it.
“ Huhh..? ” Kenji yawned.
Junichiro checked his watch. Six forty am.
“School, Kenji! It’s your first day of junior high!” Junichiro sang with falsified enthusiasm. Thankfully, Kenji didn’t pick up on his sarcasm and scrambled out of the covers.
“For real?!” He chirped, bouncing to his feet. “Already? I don’t remember falling asleep last night.”
“Well, isn’t that odd?” Junichiro laughed awkwardly, leaning forward into the room to switch on the light. “Get dressed and come out for breakfast, I ironed your uniform, it should be uhm. Somewhere on the floor here.”
“Ok!!! I’ll be out in a minute!” Kenji grinned, practically skipping around the room as he picked up the various parts of his uniform.
Junichiro smiled at his brother, giving him a thumbs up before backing out of the room and shutting the door with a soft click. They didn’t need another noise complaint, especially not on their third day in their new apartment.
He slid into the kitchen, which doubled as the dining room, and practically the sitting room at this point. The door to the rickety old fridge practically swung open the moment Junichiro thought about opening it, and that was good due to his laziness, but not good regarding how long they need their food to last.
Let’s see, there was a half carton of milk, a scrap of butter, some mince…. Well. Nothing that would be a substantial breakfast for a growing boy. Or a dog, for that matter. He’s pretty sure that they had some bread, and the apartment came with a barely-functioning toaster. So Kenji was getting stale toast with like a single gram of butter for breakfast! And as for Junichiro… well. Another day without breakfast for him it was. And depending on whether he could get a quick gig later for some quick cash, likely without any other meal.
This time, he checked the clock that was hanging on the wall. Seven o’clock.
He popped the bread into the toaster and pressed the lever down.
“ Kenji! You ready yet?” Junichiro called. It was a long walk to school. He’d get Kenji a train pass as soon as possible.
“ Gimme a sec!” Kenji sang, and a moment later his bedroom door burst open, clanging against the wall. He skipped down the hall and popped into the kitchen.
He did a little spin, showing off his brand new school uniform. “How do I look, Jun?” He beamed, his bright smile lighting up the room.
Junichiro gave Kenji a grin of his own, leaning against the kitchen counter.
“Super cool!” He encouraged. And he did look cool… as well as someone could look in a school uniform. That was something that Junichiro did not miss from high school.
Junichiro blinked, looking over Kenji once more. “Though you’d look cooler if…”
He approached Kenji, bent down a little, and readjusted the collar of his brother’s shirt. And while he was there, he might as well fix the buttons he had fastened in the wrong places… and after another minute, Kenji looked decent.
He hesitated, just for a moment, with his hands on Kenji’s shoulders, to take the sight in. Kenji. Going off to high school. Wow.
“That’s better, now tuck your shirt i-”
BANG!
Junichiro stood up straight with a jolt when the toast popped with such velocity it sent a spring flying into the wall.
And he shot Kenji a playful glare when he found that the boy had the audacity to laugh at him!
“ Kenji! ”
“I- I’m sorry! It just- you-!” Kenji giggled, holding his hands over his mouth.
Junichiro shook his head and tutted in mock disappointment as he moved back to tend to the toast. “How dare you?!” He sighed, dropping the lump of ash that was the toast as fast as he picked it up. He shook his burnt hand as he reached into the fridge for the butter-
Which he nearly dropped, as he was tackled in a hug around the middle.
“I’m sorry, Junichiro!” Kenji pouted.
Junichiro shrugged him off with a grin. “No you’re not.”
“You’re right!”
Junichiro nudged Kenji towards the lone stool that lived in the middle of the apartment. Why was it in the middle of the small apartment? Don’t question it. Have some whimsy.
He handed Kenji the plate of toast.
“Eat up, ‘kay?” He turned around; it was time to dig out his old messenger bag. “You’ll need your energy for today.”
Then the apartment fell into silence, and there was not a sound, save for the crunching of crumbs and the clinking of objects.
“Are you not having breakfast again, Jun?” Kenji piped up, his voice much smaller than it usually was. This was always how he got when he caught Junichiro doing what was best for him. Which is what this was. He didn’t forgo breakfast that often. But when he did, Kenji usually noticed. He was fourteen, not stupid.
Junichiro only hummed in response, rooting through yet another box.
“Jun?” Kenji repeated.
“Don’t worry. Work supplies breakfast for the early birds.” Junichiro muttered, still facing away, not wanting to see Kenji’s face as he lied to him.
Besides, it wasn’t a total lie. He only said ‘ work’. He was sure that a workplace somewhere offered that service; just not one that Junichiro was qualified to work at.
He purposefully left out the fact that he wasn’t going to work today, because of Kenji. He didn’t need to know about that.
“That's good!” Kenji replied, his voice muffled by the toast on his mouth.
“Eat up! We've got to go soon!”
Well. They had to go at half seven to be there for half eight, but they could afford to be a little late today as they get Kenji registered at around nine. He may have ‘ accidentally ’ forgotten to register Kenji during the few months before, because he had no clue how to do it. Why weren't there any YouTube tutorials on how to register kids in school? Or like. Any videos about how good school was? Given that they were previously homeschooled, Junichiro Didn't have any words of encouragement or positive anecdotes to share.
Anyway, Junichiro really appreciated the wiggle room in their arrival time; as Kenji was bound to pass out, asleep, any second now…
One.
Two.
Three.
As Kenji’s head began to droop, Junichiro tossed a cushion on the floor with a practiced spin, and it slid into place as Kenji flopped like a fish on a line, onto the floor.
Should he have been concerned about Kenji hurting himself? Probably. But he's never complained about it, so he'll leave it.
Junichiro glanced at the time blinking on the microwaves dim screen.
Seven oh eight.
Junichiro had twenty two minutes to dig out his old bag.
Kenji had twenty two minutes to nap.
And he had twenty two minutes until he had to endure the (alleged) worst experience of his life.
***
“There you go, Miyazawa. That's you sorted.” The school counselor drawled, putting Kenjis's newly filled out paperwork into the filing cabinet.
“ Jun! I'm sorted !!!” Kenji whispered, not being as quiet as he thought he was.
“Well done, man! That's the hard part over and done with!” He gave Kenji an encouraging smile.
A loud snort followed by a coughing fit led to the two sharing a look of confusion. Junichiro leaned forward, his ear angled towards the woman, in case she made a joke that he missed.
“Uhm. Pardon?”
“Oh-” She wheezed. “ That was a good one! This being the hardest part? Pfft-” She slapped the table.
Junichiro had half the mind to just cover Kenji’s ears. He didn't need Kenji stressing out about school too much.
Sensing Junichiros intent to shield his brother, the counselor's face dropped.
“It wasn't a joke?”
Junichiro shook his head.
“...no. We were homeschooled prior to this, so…”
She pushed her glasses up her nose.
“Well. Forget I said anything.” She cleared her throat.
…
Maybe Junichiro should have done some better research into this school. Now that he was here… he was doubting their teaching capabilities, if everyone they employed shared the counselors mindset.
“Here's your timetable, Miyazawa.” She slid a sheet of paper across the table. “Your first class is history with Mr Toshinori. Go on now.” She tapped it twice.
Kenji leapt to his feet, excited and ready to take on the world. That ambition radiating off his still smiling face had better be genuine, for Kenji’s sake.
He gave Junichiro a quick hug, poking his hair clip for good luck.
“Bye Jun! Have a good day!!” He waved to Junichiro as he left the room.
“Bye..!” Junichiro replied, with a lot less enthusiasm. He had a bad feeling. But he wouldn't do anything about it; it was probably his anxiety acting up. He couldn't stop Kenji from leaving, it wouldn't be good for him.
He just smiled, sadly, as he watched Kenji leave, with his messenger bag full of school books; not tools for survival, which it once was.
The counselor cleared her throat. “Now. You informed me that Miyazawa is an ability user, so I'll need you to go home and get his documentation, alright, hun?”
Junichiro nodded. In order for any ability user to go to school, they needed to disclose what it was, what it did, and any limitations so the staff could prepare for if it went out of control. But he noticed, on the form that he was just given, that the preparations only protected other people, and not the user.
And that wasn't great, they've obviously not seen Kenji react to the damage he’d caused after he got angry.
“Right. Yeah.” He glanced up at the woman before looking back down to his hands in his lap. “No one'll pick on him for having an ability, right?”
No offense to Kenji, but ‘Undefeated By The Rain’ was a name that teenage boys wouldn't take too kindly to.
“...we haven't had any cases with that criteria in the last decade.” She replied, after a moment of hesitation.
“Hm.” He wasn't too happy with that answer.
He skimmed the form, and boy was he glad that he didn't have to fill in one of these.
Hopefully.
There couldn't be one for guardians… right…
Just in case, he wouldn't mention Light Snow.
He tucked the piece of paper into his pocket.
The counselor rooted in her drawers, and pulled out another stack of paper.
“Shall we get started on your reservation Then, Tanizaki?”
“Uhm.” He looked behind him, in case she was talking to some other Tanizaki. “Me?”
She nodded.
“Er- I'm not registering. I'm his guardian.”
She furrowed her brow. “You're not registering? You're freshly eighteen, surely you haven't finished your education yet.”
“No I- I dropped out. To work.”
“And what do your parents have to say about that?”
Junichiro paused. Froze, even. He hasn't spoken to their adoptive parents for months. He doesn't want to, and if they want to; well. There's a restraining order that overrules their desire.
“...Is there a form I need to write that information down on?”
“...no.”
Well, then. Junichiro wasn’t going to satiate her curiosity. She’d be left in the dark, because Junichiro reallllllly didn’t want to talk about his private family matters with this random money that he just met. And didn’t particularly like, may he add.
“Then, sorry, I don’t think that it matters. Sorry.” He said through an awkward smile.
The silence was deafening and the tension thick. It made him want to pull out his pocket knife and cut through the unpleasant atmosphere.
Though it turned out that he didn’t need to pull out his weapon, as the counselor used one of her own, her tongue, to cut the silence.
“Are you planning on just sitting there looking pretty? You can go.”
“O-oh! I- thanks for your time!” Junichiro pushed back in the chair he had been sitting in and stood up, leaning forward as he offered the woman a hand to shake.
She simply glanced up at him through her glasses, hands hovering over her keyboard.
“ Oh, no handshakes. Got it.” Junichiro muttered, with an awkward smile.
And he turned around, and left.