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The overwhelming brightness of the place before you forces you to close your eyes. the Over saturated colors of blue, orange and green encompass every possible direction
The ground seems to stretch- or shrink- or fade with every passing moment. Sand, then grass, then wheat, then flowers. The species elude you but you find them pretty nonetheless. They shrink too, not in size but in number, countless into the numerable. Thousands into hundreds, hundreds into ninety nine sole remaining flowers
The state of them seems fragile, struggling in the wind and time they slowly wither, 99 still standing but barely, a deep, incomprehensible void maws at your heart as the flowers die all at once, then, they’re alive again, as if time returned to the past
Then, they die again, then come back to life, then die. Overdoing the very cycle of life, returning to the past just to fail again and again, reminds you of someone doesn't it?
Do you turn away from the fields unable to bear the familiar view or do the fields shift away from your sight to spare themselves the notion of being known? Maybe its both.
What you see now isn't much better, it's you. Rather, its your own corpse, battered and bruised. Whatever long fought battle he lost, he lost hard. It's difficult not to feel like you’re looking in a mirror, a clear vision of your very future
You feel cold, like something is missing
Weren't you holding something? Looking down at your hands you see nothing, well ‘nothing’ is incorrect. You can see your fingers elongate and shrink with every passing moment, shifting in and out of focus before vanishing. Whelp, not like you were using those
The cold is unbearable now, like a tempest of ice and snow has descended upon you in invisible waves. Pressure builds on your arms. Through your chattering teeth and shivering you spot something foreign in the distance
Its…. you actually have no idea what it is? Its like… a very plump looking bird? Mostly plump and little neck, its feathers were brown and… sorta hair-like? its legs were twig-like and its beak kinda looked like a wooden straw??? those details, and the fact that it was colossal stood out to you the most
The thing (bird?) parted its mouth and spoke its words unto you…
“Up and at ‘em troops! Time to rise and shine!”
…
“Bwat?”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------
…now waking up was never your strong suit, that was getting to sleep, but after your fading nightmare you found it especially easy
You were cold because the duvet was on the floor, you don't know how it got there, You were never someone who would toss and turn. And your arms were hurting because of how hard you were gripping them while asleep. Also, Kako was gone
Despite whatever THAT dream was, the magnetic effect of the bed remained far too powerful to escape from… is what you would normally think, however Kako’s absence… Was it weird to say you wished she was still there?
You shook your head violently. Yes it was weird, you needed to invest in some sort of plush toy to hold while sleeping or something. Waving your apparent touch starvation away you rose with a grunt as is the right of passage with many boys over a curtain age and quickly brushed the nights rest away
You probably could’ve spent longer fixing your appearance but you didn't have anything planned for today save for maybe a trip to the ruins to gather the supplies needed for that plushy. Grabbing a spare water bottle you opened the door to your room to greet the day-
“Takumi!”
Yelping like an injured puppy, your freshly acquired water bottle shoots from your hands and somersaults over the roof’s fence, you lament your lack of convenient hydration however that's not what's important!
“K-kako! Googh-” words catch in your throat as you nearly trip down the stairs to your room, of all people why was she here?!? “G-good morning.”
“Good morning!” unbothered or perhaps deciding to ignore how bad you are at the simple act of walking kako beams “how’d you sleep!”
Now that's a LOADED question?!
“U-um i slept…fine” kako’s excitement waned for a single second before it was plastered over with her regular face
…
The silence that followed was not- how would you put it? Good? Comfortable? Funky fresh? You didn't like it that's for sure
“...how…did you sleep?”
“I slept great! Best sleep ever!”....does she know you know? Is this just her way of messing with you? Is she deriving some weird sense of pleasure from this exchange? You can only speculate but probably not???
“Since I've run into you- completely by accident!” you… didn't doubt that part? Your room is on the way to the stairs so… “lets go to the cafeteria together!”
“Oh sure” your mouth moved before your brain could, regret bubbled in your throat instantly however after seeing Kako smile wide with stars in her eyes you lost the will to take it back. You were definitely going to be awkward about this, weren't you? Taking the lead kako followed quickly behind you- far too quickly in fact, elbows brushed together as she matched your pace and walked a little too closely beside you
Not a word was shared between you but her vibe was infectious as a spring wormed its way into your step, slipping into a comfortable silence this time you made your way to the cafeteria
When you did get there- or rather as soon as you placed your hand on the handle you heard a panic-stricken voice
“-telling you-....missing…!-”
In response to the voice another voice, one you recognize to be Moko’s right away chimes in
“She’s-.... Maybe-.... Time alone-...”
The voice you can't make out pipes up louder but you can't catch anything they say, maybe they're further away from the door? You shoot Kako a glance to which she returns with a shrug. With whatever argument that's happening seeming to escalate you decide to step inside to mediate
The normal sights and smells of the cafeteria great you like a lost lover but that's just you being ever so slightly hungry, what actually catches your attention is ima standing in the middle of the room looking distraught
“Ah! Mister Sumino! Finally someone who will LISTEN!” you can see Moko and Tsubasa look at you with faces that say ‘we’ve BEEN listening’ but before that sentiment can be converted into words ima continues “my dear sister is missing!”
Huh?
“I’ve searched her room, the courtyard, the rec room, metalshop- everywhere! No one’s seen her either! And NO ONE is helping me look for her so you HAVE to help!”
“Um ima-” tsubasa interrupts you right as you begin
“She has to be inside the school! The fire extinguishers haven't been touched so… maybe she's just hiding?”
Okay are they blind? She’s right beside you?! “Ima she’s-”
“hiding? hiding from what!” ima gasps as if he uncovered the reason behind Kako’s ‘disappearance’ “maybe she was attacked?! OHHH SISTER DEAREST HAS BEEN ATTACKED AND IS HIDING WOUNDED! WE MUST FIND HEEEEER”
Okay this was getting ridiculous, looking beside you- oh wait where’s kako? Turning behind yourself you see her standing perfectly behind you with a grimace on her face
Oh, so that's why no one could see her, From their angle you're blocking the entrance to the cafeteria completely, also shielding kako from the rest of the gang. Stepping in you move aside so kako is visible
“Ima! Kako’s right here!”
The entire room turns to look at you, and in turn, kako. Who was tugging at the hem of her skirt in embarrassment, a dusting of rose covering her entire face
“Sister dearest!” elated ima moves so fast he seemingly teleports in front of Kako “where have you been?!”
“O-oh i’ve been doing… things”
Oh is that what you're calling it?
“What kind of ‘things’ requires you to be out of bed at 2am?! You had me assuming the worst sister dearest!”
“What were you doing in my room at 2am?!”
“Well i was planning on just checking up on you, but if you were still awake i wouldn't have minded playing cards. But that's not important!” ima takes on an uncharacteristic stern look “where have you been? Nobody has seen you all morning…and when did you meet up with Mr. Sumino?” for some odd reason ima starts to pale? Is he okay?
“U-um i was- where i’ve been i- um…” kako sputters under her brother's scrutiny and looks between you and ima several times before her entire face lights up like a lightbulb “I've been with Takumi all night!”
You were WHAT
“You were WHAT!?” alongside Ima’s shock, the rest of the inhabitants of the cafeteria gasp as if they just heard something scandalous “Wha-wa-wa-w-what were you two doing ALONE all night??!?!”
“O-oh well-” you stutter as you try to explain, she doesn't seriously intend to tell everyone what we’ve been doing right? God that makes it sound so much worse-
“We were playing games all night!” Kako exclaims with a huff, crossing her arms. You breathe out a small, hopefully inaudible ‘oh thank god’ however Ima still seems to be unsatisfied
“Why with him? N-not to disparage your choice of playmates but wouldn't your brother dearest be a better choice then him? And you should’ve told me you were going to be alone with a boy all night! What if he did something untoward…”
“Takumi wouldn't do that! He’s harmless.” hey “and i don't need your permission to hang out with anyone!”
“U-um” Moko raised her hand, obviously not wanting to get involved in this family affair but having something to say regardless “but why with…Takumi? Not that there's anything wrong with him its just…”
Letting the question hang in the air you looked to Kako who was thinking so hard you could almost see steam waft from her head
“Because um, oh well you see…” Kako's face was scrunched up in concentration, until suddenly her eyes shot open before she hooked her arm around yours??? “Because we’re best buds!”
You are???
You can hear most of the girls in the cafeteria gasp a second time, Kyoshika even putting a hand to her mouth in shock
“I-is that true sir takumi?” Kyoshika’s voice was dripping in an excited gossipy tone, her cheeks were also flushed for some strange reason?
Was it true? You… gauss it is isn't it? Its not like you would let Gaku or Takemaru break into your room to cuddle with you all night so… “yeah… i guess we’re pretty close”
A third round of gasps echo out though they are more subdued then the other two. Ima on the other hand looks to be so shocked that he’s frozen in time, his pale face displaying a mix of terror and confusion
“Right, Takumi!” Kako glowed as she started pulling you out of the cafeteria with an arm still hooked around yours “lets go do ‘best buds’ stuff!”
Completely swept up in her flow you followed only muttering a ‘ah okay’ in response
It was only until you both made it to the stairs to the next floor did kako stop
“...im sorry”
“Huh?”
“I'm sorry for dragging you into this, i-i panicked and said that…” Kako grabs the hem of her skirt again in embarrassment “you were with me all night…”
Oh so she doesn't know you know? “Its fine Kako” she didn't look any better, in fact it seemed like her guilt deepened. Well if you were going to be missing out on a quick breakfast and a trip to the ruins you might as well make a day out of something else “what are… best buds for?”
Kako cheeks still red she looked at you in…actually you didn't look long enough before turning away in your own embarrassment, it's only then do you realize you both were still linking arms and standing so close to each other that you could feel her body heat…Kako doesn't make the effort to move away
“So…” you were still looking away but you could tell from her voice that she was smiling “as best buds…what should we do?”
Well we couldn't really just cuddle so… well it might be a little weird but you’ve been thinking about it ever since she started the whole breaking into your room thing… or rather since you first saw her with her hair down “I could braid your hair?”
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You found yourself sitting on one of the many sofas in the rec room because Kako insisted that she be the one to work the gift-o-matic and make the brush and food you’ll need for this little activity. You couldn't help but shift uncomfortably in your seat- not because of Kako or anything! But because…
You look to the entrance to the rec room for the umpteenth time and you could swear that you saw someone staring at you, but unless you go and walk over there you cant confirm it…unless you could catch them in the act
You catch Kako in your periphery holding a hot pink hairbrush along with a tray of fast food, not the healthiest thing for breakfast but at this point you’d eat anything. Kako sets everything on the table and sits so close to you that one may assume any sense of personal space you had went and died in the corner
You're ashamed to say it but maybe the physical contact was…welcome? You were going to go make a plushie for the sole purpose curbing your touch starvation so maybe being ‘best buds’ isn't so bad after all
Kako quickly modifies her burger by adding fries, jam, ketchup, apple slices and fishsticks (where she got those you have no idea) while you stick with the chicken sandwich you were given, the music in the rec room adding to the comfortable atmosphere between you two
Side eyeing the entrance while you quickly scarfed down your meal you can say for certain that you are being watched, just not WHO is watching you. Still, you needed to get this question out of the way, maintaining peace amongst members of the SDU was probably more important than ‘best buds’ time
“So Kako…” Kako turned to you, her face reminding you of a hamster’s “what's going on between you and ima?”
You’ve never seen happy turn into annoyance so fast before, she aggressively chews through her mouthful before turning away indignantly
“Nothing…”
“Oh yeah? Well i didn't sleep good last night”
“You didnt!?” her face shot back to yours, mounting terror accumulating on her now very pale face
“No, i just thought we were telling lies”
Kako gawks at you for a moment before turning away sharply and scooting over to the edge of the sofa, it stings…just a little “Kako…is it… um” all of Ima’s stunts come flooding into your mind, you have trouble sorting what happened in this future and your past so you decide on a safe- if silly answer
“Is it because he went to check on you at 2 am?”
Silence, she remains as she was, unmoving and looking at the corner
“...is it because he folded your socks mismatched?” her shoulders rise before she realizes she is supposed to be sulking and she returns to giving you the silent treatment. Having dealt with karua when she’s like this you had a couple of ideas of what to do
Picking up the hair brush you poke her in the back with the handle “i need to brush your hair before i can braid it”
A beat, then another, finally after five solid seconds she undoes her space buns and shifts to face away from you comfortably
You knew you’d be working with a lot of hair but actually seeing it made the process of braiding her hair feel a lot more daunting, and that was before you were trying to coax her into telling you why she was fighting with ima, beginning with the lightest tangles from the tips of her hair you hummed your next question
“Was it because he ate your pudding?”
“No…” it was quiet, very quiet. But it was progress! You were so good at this leader thing
“Did heeeeeeeeeeeee… leave the toilet seat up?” she giggled this time before responding with a frank ‘no’. You take a little longer thinking about what he could’ve done… but you were unable to land on a ‘single’ thing he could’ve done…single thing
But what about lots of little things?…things like constantly checking up on her. or like telling her she should ask for permission to be with others unsupervised. or like jumping in front of an attack instead of allowing Kako to handle it herself. Or like still calling her ‘sister dearest’ instead of kako. Oh wait, did they have that talk yet? Well, you think the feeling is still there
With a solid foundation you presented your next question “is he being too overbearing-”
“Yes!” Kako somehow startled both you and herself, she stumbled through an apology before speaking up much louder than before
“Yes! He’s been too overbearing! He’s with me all the time, he’s always trying to make my food for me, always trying to make sure i get to bed on time, always checking up on me- did you know he even went inside the girls bathroom just to make sure i wasn't sick? and and!”
Kako goes on a long rant about all the things ima does for her regardless of whether or not she asks for it, it makes it a little difficult to brush her hair, with all the little bounces she was doing
“And- and he doesn't even seem to hang out with anyone else! Just me- saying he ‘doesnt need anyone else’ it feels like at all hours of the day he’s attending to only my needs- i just wish he’d…” kako goes silent, her shoulders slumping “i just wished he’d stop worrying about me so much, and did more things on his own for fun”
She turns to face you, which makes brushing her hair harder, but you look her in the eyes anyways
“I dont even know if he has any hobbies that AREN’T related to me, i thought he liked to forage a while ago but it turns out he was just trying to cobble together a salad for us to eat, saying ‘im just honing my skills to keep my dear sister fed’... i dont think he talks to anyone else all that much either, well aside from you, do you know how happy i was when i found you and him hanging out together? A-and you even gave him a gift and everything… but he hasn't tried to bond with anyone else…”
All of kako's energy seems to fade with each passing word, like she was expelling everything that made her angry or frustrated, alarmingly you could hear her choke back tears with her next set of complaints
“I want him…i want him to have his OWN life, he OWN friends, someone who could make him belly over laughing- or maybe something where he pours so much energy into he falls asleep while doing it… or a book he likes so much he stays up all night reading it” she turns away, fully slumping over
You let the silence hang in the air, unsure if she just wanted to vent, or if she wanted some comfort. You decide to simply continue brushing her hair, hoping that whatever sentiment you had carried over
Its a very long few seconds before you gather enough courage to open you mouth, the words- words you aren't sure are the right ones, bubbling at the tip of your tongue
“Kako… i-”
“I-ISNT THIS A MIGHTY COINCIDENCE” you and Kako’s souls ascend to the havens as Kyoshika loudly enters the rec-room with Moko in tow
“Yep! A total cawinky dink!” Moko oh so gracefully adds while she does the ‘nyah’ motion with her hand. Yeah, coincidence my butt!
“Right, yeah…coincidence” you hope with all of your heart that the look on your face is the most indignant face you’ve ever made. And also hope Kako is doing the same, you can't tell because your occupied with staring daggers at the duo
“Moko! Kyoshika! U-um… what brings you two here!” Kako for some odd reason sounds embarrassed, her teary voice having been blown to smithereens by the jumpscare
“Oh we were just-” Moko begins calmly, like a veteran poker player
“WE WERE JUST DOING THINGS!!! NORMAL STYLE!!!” Kyoshika, on the other hand. Seems to be bursting with guilt, her cheeks were rosy for whatever reason and her gaze jumped between you and kako… she couldn't hide her intentions to save her life.
“Normal…style?” Kako, though confused, was interested in what normal style entailed
“Oh you know~ normal stuff! Like swimming, games, sparring and darts! Whiiiiiiich is why we’re here! For the darts! But then we saw you two and were like ‘what a pairing am i right?’ and went to check up on you… so what are you up too?”
“Oh! Takumi is braiding my hair!”
“Whaaat!” moko doesn't look surprised in the least, but her voice does go at least three octaves higher than normal “Takumi you didn't tell me you knew how to braid~ you should do mine after Kako's!”
“Oh well I'm not-”
“I-is this true sir Takumi!? To know such a delicate skill such as braiding… thou must be a master at the fine art of basket making” how is that related?! “Would you also do mine hair after?”
“W-well sure but i'm not that-”
“Okay but I'm first!” kako whipped her head around causing some of her hair to smack you in the face “i have ‘best bud’ privileges”
“Okay but-”
“Then its settled!” Kyoshika said with a flourish, gripping the handle of her sword for dramatic effect “sir Takumi will braid lady Kako’s hair, then lady Moko’s then last but not least myself! Speak now or forever hold your peace!” When did this turn into a ceremony?!
Not being able to get a word in edgewise, the girls gathered around with hair brushes of their own. relenting, you told Kako to get comfortable so you could get to work. She ends up shifting onto your lap, you were going to suggest she just sit on the floor but this works too, you gauss.
You catch Kyoshika gasp and Moko bap her on the shoulder to keep her quiet as if the exchange would go unnoticed. Ignoring them to the best of your ability you started braiding, you end up deciding on doing one long inside-out braid to accentuate her volume of hair but also because you wanted her to have the ability to smack someone with it like a whip
Your not exactly sure that's something anyone would want to do, but you assume having the option would be nice
“So Takumi” Moko began, already gently brushing Yyoshika’s hair “where’d you learn how to braid hair?
“Well…” Kako and Kyoshika perk up slightly… its not THAT interesting, is it? “Karua… made me learn, her mother wasn't always around so whenever she wanted her hair done up she would insist that i do it,”
It felt like you were reminiscing something that happened forever ago, but its only been a couple of months since you last did it “i learned a lot of styles that way, whenever she wanted to go out to the movies or if she wanted to go get something to eat she would make me do a new one and when she just wanted her hair out of her face she would make me do an old one…”
…you wonder how long this war has to go on before you can do that again
“Dwaa how sweet! I didn't know you had someone so close to you Takumi! You should introduce us after this all this war business”
Your hands still, you hadn't really thought about ‘after’ as much as you think you should and the fact that your still on your ‘Nozomi is Karua’ theory but… “yeah, i think…that would be nice, to hang out after”
Kako attempted to turn but was met with searing pain as you were holding bunches of her hair “i-i can as well right? I can come hang out?”
“Of course?” after all they were…best buds
“Yay!”
…yay?
After that Everyone falls into comfortable chit-chat as you weave kako’s hair into a formidable weapon, when you finish she actually DOES use it sorta like a whip and hits Kyoshika with the end of it while making whoosh sounds. After her it was Moko’s turn who ended up sitting on the floor while you sat on the sofa, you tie it in a waterfall braid mostly because you just wanted to see her with more hair down
Kyoshika ended up attempting to sit in your lap but due to her being only slightly shorter than you it didn't work and she fell to the floor in a slump, you really don't get it but you ended up working on hers the longest in a sort of apology somehow working it into a crown braid
When it was all said and done Kako ran out to show off to everyone in the unit while Moko and Kyoshika stayed and insisted on returning the favor, after successfully pleading for mercy the girls decided that they would ‘get you’ on a later date
Nothing really eventful happened the rest of the day, besides Kako snatching you away for dinner informing you that it was a ‘best buds’ duty to ensure their bud was well fed
That night you fell into a deep sleep as soon as your head hit the pillow, you dreamt about those weird birds things again, this time they were pillow sized and surrounded you by the dozen as you laid down, it was warm and your arms felt full. The smell of kiwifruit swaddling you like a blanket
Today, despite all its twists and turns, was a good one
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was probably 2 am when Takemaru stopped by the cafeteria, he didn't know he didn't check. All he knew was that The current void in his stomach was to be filled with a scrumptious egg sandwich
He stops when he opens the door finding ima standing in the same place he and the others left him when Takumi and Kako stormed out claiming to be ‘best buds’, you don't really understand how those two grew so close when they never seem to interact aside from eating in the same room together but he decided it was none of his business
He ends up making two egg sandwiches and slings ima over his shoulder, half hoping that he could snap him out of his current state with a pep talk and some special training