Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Alright," Kou says, clapping his hands together. "Do we have everything?"

"Yes, Kou," both Teru and Tiara reply in unison.

The plan for this evening, the evening of December thirty first, is to go out. Usually, this would be considered untraditional - if their father was here or knew they were doing this, he would have a heart attack. However, their father isn't home for New Years this year, so it doesn't matter. In fact, it's lucky that he's not here. Kou wanted to go to this event, and didn't want to just watch it from his window far away.

They're going to the local shrine. It's too early for hatsumode, but that's not the purpose of their journey. No, it's that the shrine about fifteen minutes away is holding an event this year. Usually, the Minamoto's go to the Misaki shrine each year, but this year the Miura shrine is hosting a small selection of stalls for New Year's, followed by fireworks at midnight. It's closer than the Misaki shrine, anyway, and Kou can't imagine trying to convince Kunishige to try and organize something like this himself anyway.

"More people are doing that these days, you know?" Teru had said, when asked why he'd suggested changing up their plans this year. "It's fun. An excuse to dress up and eat until we're stuffed without you having to cook. Don't you think that sounds fun, Kou?"

That was the closest Kou had gotten to a reason why Teru might have wanted to do this, although if he had to guess the real catalyst behind it all, he'd probably find it shaped exactly like their father.

They're all dressed up for the occasion. Kou had already planned an outfit, but Teru had come to him out of the blue last night and asked if they can still dress traditionally, and he hadn't felt like he could say no. Because of this, Teru and Kou are wearing thick kimonos in green and blue, respectively, with Teru also in a white haori and Kou in his new jacket. He did have a nice, formal haori of his own, once upon a time, but he hadn't been able to find it and besides, it's so cold that no one will care. Tiara is dressed in a pink komon, matching shoes on her feet over fluffy tights to keep her legs warm. Kou had braided her hair into twintails, and she keeps giggling and shaking her head around to watch them flap against her shoulders. They'll have come undone within the hour. Kou can feel a headache forming behind his eyes.

It's so odd to be going out for New Year's that Kou's heart is beating against his chest like a drum. That's not the only reason for this, of course - there's something else bringing him anxiety, but he doesn't want to think about that right now.

Tiara giggles and twirls. She loves every opportunity she gets to wear traditional clothing - every summer, she's wearing a yukata almost half the time regardless of the occasion and even if her brothers aren't. Kou doesn't mind helping her get ready in them if it means she's so happy each time. She'd been upset that Teru hadn't allowed her to wear her zori, but as he'd rightly explained to her, she'll get tired of walking so much quicker in sandals and besides, it'll be colder. Thankfully, she'd given up on that battle without much complaint. She's in a much better mood, now that Teru's suggested going out and their father's absence isn't at the front of her mind anymore.

Now, the only thing to do is get them all out of the house without further fuss. Kou suddenly feels a bit dizzy.

"Everything ok?" Teru asks, and Kou snaps around to see his brother right behind him. He finds a concerned look in his bright blue eyes, shimmering like an ocean. A hand comes up to rest on his shoulders while Tiara rushes around in the background, spinning while she sets her dolls up on the windowsills in positions where they'll be able to see the sky all night. Kou stares up at him, mouth dry, praying that Teru can't read his mind and know what he's thinking.

"Yeah," he says softly. "It's just weird that Dad's not here."

In Kou's whole life, he's never once spent New Year's without him. Something in his chest aches, heavy and painful.

Teru frowns while Tiara shrieks and giggles in the background, babbling in the voices she gave her toys, pretending they're talking back to her.

"I know," Teru replies gently. He pushes stray hair behind Kou's ears, the contact sending sparks through his skin. "We're going to be just fine, you know that? The world isn't going to end because he's not here."

Kou nods. "I know, but..."

He'd always made an effort to at least be here. Even last year, when he'd had to leave again before New Year's Day was even over and done with, and he'd spent their whole first shrine visit talking to Kunishige about exorcist business and left the rest of them to pray without him. At the very least, he'd been there. At the very least, Kou could turn his head and see him standing a few feet away, a smile on his face, so close and yet so, so far.

He swallows, the box in his jacket pocket heavy, its contents weighing him down with guilt.

"We should go," Kou tells Teru flatly. "If we don't want to miss the peak of the markets."

Teru's lips part, like he wants to say something else, but it seems he decides not to. "That's true," he says, straightening and pasting on a smile to flash in Tiara's direction. "Hey, Princess, are your toys all set up? We're heading on out if that's all done."

"Yep!" Tiara chirps, bounding across the room to meet them. Her grin is missing teeth, dimples bearing into her cheeks. "They're all ready to watch the fireworks. Are we gonna have to walk a long time, Teru? And are we gonna get food at the night market or the stalls?"

"We can do either," Teru promises her, talking her tiny hand in his own. "It's at the Miura family's shrine, Princess, you know where that is. It's not too far away."

Nevertheless, it's cold outside when they finally all get out the door, and Tiara whines about it for all of two minutes before she gets distracted by the smell of food and starts following her nose, giggling delightedly as she does so.

"Smells sooo good," she declares, practically drooling. "Like chicken. I'm so hungry, Kou!"

Kou laughs, taking her other hand and locking their fingers. "I know, Princess, we'll get you food soon, ok? I didn't want us to eat before we left the house and have no room left when we got there."

Tiara pouts sullenly. "I guess that makes sense..."

Teru laughs and reaches out to ruffle her neatly tied hair before stopping himself at Kou's murderous look. "We'll go for food straight away. I promise we won't stay for long enough that you get too tired, alright?"

A frown creeps across Kou's face. He was kind of relying on the idea of staying for a while in order to get everything done that he wants to do. He hasn't even attempted to introduce Teru to the idea that he won't be hanging out with them for the entire night.

Fortunately, he doesn't have much chance to overthink. The closer they get to the shrine, the more people Kou can see. People with their phone torches out so they can see the sidewalk, dressed in heavy jackets and even some in kimonos like the three of them are, all heading in the same direction. Tiara yells across the street when she sees one of her friends from nursery, and Kou has to grab her arm to stop her running into the admittedly empty street to get to her faster.

"You have to wait for your brothers, Princess," he scolds her lightly, squeezing her hand. "We'll see your friend in a minute when we cross the road, ok?"

He hadn't expected quite so many people to be coming to this tonight. It seems that a lot of whole families are coming, grandparents to grandkids and everything in between, meandering slowly with enormous grins. There are especially a lot of children. He knows the Miura family had promoted this event fairly heavily ahead of time, so it makes sense that there might be more attendees than he'd expected.

"The market!" Tiara suddenly cries, pointing ahead of them with a delighted grin. "Kou, Teru, are we going there first for food? I want to look at the jewelry stalls, too, they always have super duper pretty ones at the night markets!"

Teru glances at Kou over Tiara's head, eyebrows raised, and a silent conversation happens between the two of them in an instant. "We're going to go inside the shrine first, Princess," Teru says after a pause, which was basically Kou's plan for him too. "I want to speak to the Head Priest, and besides, it looks like your friend from nursery is going in there, too, so you guys can talk to each other while your big brother is busy, ok?"

"Teru," Kou interrupts, anxious boiling in his stomach at the prospect of his next words. "Is it ok if I meet up with some of my friends before the fireworks, too? There's some people here I want to see, I won't stay away for too long, I promise."

With every word he speaks, he can sense Teru's disapproval worsening. "New Year's is supposed be time for family," he says with a deep seated frown. "I don't know how I feel about that, Kou."

"Well, our New Year's is already kind of screwed in that regard," Kou blurts, without even thinking about it. "So why does it matter?"

Teru stares back at him with wide eyes, clearly not having expected that. Honestly, Kou didn't either. He hadn't meant to try and start a fight about this. All he wants is an opportunity to break free so he can show Mitsuba around before the fireworks at the end of the night.

"Ok," Teru says after a heavy pause. Thankfully, Tiara isn't listening - she's squealing at her friend, who seems to be racing over with her tired looking parents in tow. "Right. You'll - you'll meet up with us before the end of the night, right? Before the fireworks go off, so we can all watch them together."

"Of course," Kou rushes to say. He tries to sound grateful. He really doesn't want Teru to think that he's the one he's upset at, when really, it's much deeper than that. When really, they're both angry at the same person. "Before the fireworks, I promise. I love you, Teru. I'll be back soon. Good luck with the Miuras."

At least, Teru cracks a smile, although it doesn't look entirely genuine. "Thanks," he says, and swipes a piece of hair off Kou's face. "See you later. I love you. Stay safe."

He takes Tiara's hand, turning away from Kou to head towards the parents approaching him and greet them politely while Tiara and her friend jump around like rabbits. Kou smiles at his sister's joy, then heads off in the opposite direction, away from the shrine and searching the crowd for the person he wants to see.

It's busy both outside the shrine and in it, he can see. This is likely due to the market nearby. It won't be open for much longer tonight, closing before the fireworks launch, so Kou had told Mitsuba to meet him over there instead, knowing Teru would want to speak to the shrine owners first. He's on good terms with pretty much all the families that own shrines in Kamome and even further than that, if Kou had to take a guess. Teru has a lot more clients than Kou could probably even imagine, and sometimes has to go on long day trips to visit people for various business on behalf of their father. If it weren't for the fact that Teru had tried to convince Kou that he had been studying at Aoi's, he might have believed that he was visiting a client. Why he was lying, Kou is still unsure. Teru is an extremely good liar, unwavering and sure of himself despite the absolute untruths falling from his lips.

When they were both much younger and Teru had been more of a rascal, he'd once convinced Kou that a rainbow shining through his window onto the wall meant that a leprechaun was going to sneak into his room at night and put spiders in his mouth. It had horrified Kou to the point where he'd been unable to sleep, and Teru had been thoroughly reprimanded by their mother for the horrid prank. She had then explained refraction to Kou, and showed him the special glass press that lined the top of his window, and he'd never worried about leprechauns or spiders ever again.

Teru hadn't stopped trying to make him believe ridiculous lies, however, until their father had tightened his grip on him and the days where he'd been silly enough to play pranks ended and Teru became as serious as he was.

For a while, at least. While Teru never regained his immature prankster nature, he's still plenty childish in his own right.

Kou approaches the market, eyes flickering back and forth as he searches. He's already making calculations in his mind for what to do once he finds Mitsuba - he'd promised to meet back up with Teru, and of course he wants to, eventually. What he wants to do is a difficult choice. He loves his family, and New Years is traditionally the time to be around them, but Kou also spends so much time already with his family, cooking for them and cleaning for them and training with Teru and playing with Tiara. Without their father here, tonight becomes just another night. He thinks that might be the only reason Teru let him go off without them - because he knows that Kou's words, while perhaps crueler than he meant them to sound, were true. Just the three of them, the meaning of tonight was shattered from the beginning.

Horribly, Kou can't say he even minds that much. Is it awful of him to think that he doesn't actually miss their father that much? Nene is a child of divorce, Satou and Yokoo both have perfect, loving parents, and Mitsuba's never had any at all. He doesn't know that any of them could understand this. Maybe it truly is a horrible thing for him to be thinking. He shudders at the idea.

A walk down the stalls reveals nothing to him, and his heart begins to sink at the idea that Mitsuba has simply not shown up. It's possible that he chickened out, or forgot, or lost track of time. He could have just not wanted to come. The map Kou drew up for him could have not been clear enough for him.

He huffs softly, pacing, keeping an eye out for anyone he recognizes -

"Boo," someone says, and Kou jumps a foot in the air at the feeling of a hand on his shoulder.

It's Mitsuba. He's wearing his new pink jacket, white jeans flaring over pink trainers. For once, his hair is completely down, nothing tying it out of his face. He's grinning, even as his eyes traverse up and down Kou's form, taking in his outfit with raised eyebrows that makes Kou flush red.

"Wow, you are really all dressed up," he says, voice rising in volume slightly towards the end of his sentence. "Am I underdressed for once?"

"Pshaw, no, you're fine," Kou scoffs, feeling mildly embarrassed. He pulls his jacket tighter around himself, shivering. "Not everyone's dressed like this, Teru just wanted us to look nice. You should see Tiara, she looks like she's going to a wedding or something."

Mitsuba laughs softly. "Right. I've definitely been to a wedding and know what that looks like."

Kou tilts his head curiously. "You haven't seen any movies with weddings in them?"

"Not Japanese ones," Mitsuba replies. "Tsukasa made us watch some Western movie that had one in it once, but I'm pretty certain it's not accurate to what it would be like over here."

Two children suddenly rush by them, shrieking, and Mitsuba jumps. Kou realizes then that they're kind of in the way, and takes Mitsuba's wrist to pull him aside. The road is closed here, so there's no worries about traffic. Despite this, Mitsuba's eyes flit back and forth warily, like he's afraid of something jumping out at him.

"So your siblings are here," he says in a nervous tone. "Including your older brother."

"Yeah," Kou confirms, but rushes to finish. "Don't worry, they're up at the shrine right now, they're not going to be down here just yet and I'll be keeping an eye -"

He doesn't even get the chance to finish his sentence before Mitsuba is yanking his fluffy hood over his head and pulling his scarf over the bottom half of his face.

"I'd rather not get exorcized today," he says firmly, in response to Kou's exasperated look. "I want to see the fireworks first."

Kou swallows, realizing he hadn't managed to tell Mitsuba yet. "About that," he says, tipping his head forwards so the supernatural can hear him better. "I actually think -"

"You're going to be with your brother and sister at midnight," Mitsuba interrupts. He smirks at Kou's surprised expression. "The airhead was telling me about New Year's before I left. He said it's very heavily a family tradition here. I understand that you can't be with me the whole night, it's already enough that you asked me out here in the first place. I'm happy to watch the fireworks by myself anyway. Don't need a lame, cringey earring boy cramping my style."

The breath catches in his throat at Mitsuba's response. Mitsuba just watches him through his eyelashes, clearly delighted by how off guard he's caught Kou. A giggle escapes his throat, a sleeved hand coming up to cover his lips.

"You look like someone's just socked you in the face," Mitsuba snickers. "Close your mouth, idiot, before the flies get in."

Kou furrows his brows, jaw clenching. "There are no flies this time of year, asshole," he scowls, but softens almost immediately. "I thought you'd be upset at me."

Mitsuba just rolls his eyes. "I never would have left the school for something like this if it wasn't for you inviting me. Matter of fact, I'd barely ever leave the school at all without being certain I knew where I was going and wouldn't get lost. I'm not gonna get mad at you for wanting to spend the beginning of the new year with your family."

Without waiting for Kou to respond, he turns around and glances around the stalls, grinning wide. "So since we don't have a lot of time, why don't we start over here?" he says sweetly. "Looks like there's plenty of food you can buy me to make up for whatever guilt you're feeling."

Well - he's completely correct. Both about Kou's guilt, and about the food. They don't exactly have time to waste, either, so Kou might as well settle in, heart pounding, as the two of them head over to the stalls together.

To no one's surprise, Mitsuba wants to try almost everything. The fact that human food doesn't fill him up means he can eat endlessly without having to worry about getting sick, and this is shaping up to be a bad thing for Kou today. At the very first stall, he buys them takoyaki, which he loves and it seems Mitsuba does too, having tried it at the school festival a million years ago.

"This stuff is way better than the shit your school made," he says, wiping sauce off his mouth with a napkin Kou just passed him. "Oh my God. Can you imagine getting to eat this all the time?"

Then Kou gets them okonomiyaki, which is harder to eat while they're walking around, but Mitsuba wants to look at everything in the area, so they manage. "It's weird," he says, scrunching up his face uncertainly as he bites down in a different area, seemingly expecting it to taste differently. "What's in this again? I thought you said it was a pancake."

"A savory pancake," Kou corrects him, snickering. "It's got cabbage in it. Isn't it soft?"

Mitsuba licks his lips, looking lost in thought. "It's kind of -" he says, and makes a motion with his free hand around his mouth, opening and closing his palm at a rapid pace. "You know what I mean?"

"Weirdly, I do," Kou laughs, stepping out of the way of more passersby. "You like it?"

The supernatural continues considering. "I'll get back to you on that," he says, and Kou shakes his head with disappointment.

After a full round of looking at all the stalls while they eat, Mitsuba then wants something sweet. They end up going for taiyaki, which delights Mitsuba to no end, both due to the taste and the cute fish shape. He gets ridiculously excited over the crunch of it when he bites down on the fish's head, marveling over how soft it is on the inside in comparison and getting red bean paste all over his face despite his best efforts to stay clean.

Kou can't help but reach out to swipe the paste away from the corner of his mouth with his thumb as if Mitsuba were Tiara instead. "Always such a messy eater," he teases, delighting in how flustered Mitsuba gets at the gesture. "I can't believe you were making fun of me for how I ate pizza."

"Pervert!" Mitsuba shrieks, pushing Kou away even though his hand is long lowered from his face. "Touching me without permission! Someone should lock you up, you're incapable of keeping your hands to yourself!"

Kou's so used to these jokes that they bounce off of him at this point. "Sure, sure," he giggles, flicking Mitsuba's nose. "If you say so."

By this point, Kou's concerned that Teru might be done up at the shrine and be heading down to get food for him and Tiara, so he decides to move on. Quickly, he heads to the stall selling amazake and gets a steaming cup for both of them before they go, explaining its contents to Mitsuba as they follow the crowd away from the market towards the Torii gates that symbolize the entryway to the shrine above them.

Mitsuba sips his drink, but seems to get more and more concerned the closer they get to the shrine. "Am I even gonna be able to get inside?" he squeaks, face white. "Oh, God, Kou, what if I get kicked out, what if your brother gets called on me to kill me?"

"You're going to be fine," Kou promises him. He tugs Mitsuba's arm as he falters, anxiety written across his face. "Come on, you've got me with you. Nothing can go wrong with that."

Mitsuba doesn't seem certain, but allows Kou to guide him forwards, eyes cast upwards at the gate towering over him before Kou pulls him through with a gasp.

"Ok?" Kou asks, just to make sure, but Mitsuba seems fine. Startled, but otherwise fine, swallowing and examining himself nervously as if he could have been exorcized without him noticing. After a pause, Kou laughs and flicks him in the nose again, causing Mitsuba to yelp and smack him back, red cheeks obvious even behind his scarf.

"I have to do chōzu," Kou tells Mitsuba, and shows him the chōzuya, a pavilion with a water basin in the centre. A stone fox sits atop this one, staring at nothing through squinting eyes. "It's a purification ritual. Here, I'll show you how it's done, just stand to the side and watch me for a moment."

Kou gets in the small line that's formed while Mitsuba watches from the side, expression unreadable as he watches people pour water over their hands and into their mouths. When Kou gets to the front, he does the same thing as everyone else, then shakes his hands off and joins Mitsuba towards the side away from the people, grinning at him as water drips down his wrists.

"Easy enough," he says. "You wanna try?"

Mitsuba shakes his head extremely firmly, tucking his covered hands between his arms tightly. "Absolutely not," he tells him. "I'll probably spontaneously combust."

"That's not how that works," Kou scoffs, but doesn't push further. Mitsuba being a supernatural already makes the situation of him being here strange, so he supposes if he doesn't participate in the ritual, it doesn't really change anything.

Mitsuba is looking around with wide eyes, drinking everything in before Kou is even fully prepared to face the people. "What's that?" he asks, pointing towards the entrance. "It has a monkey on it."

He's pointing at the large white ema which reads a year of good fortune, and does indeed have a picture of a monkey on it.

"It's the year of the monkey in Japanese zodiac," Kou explains, watching Mitsuba's entranced expression. "That's what it'll be in the New Year, anyway. This year was the year of the sheep. There's twelve animals that represent the New Year. I was born in the year of the snake, which is funny because I hate snakes. Satou always makes fun of me for that."

"That's so weird," Mitsuba marvels, fiddling with a piece of taiyaki in his sleeve. "What animals are there? What animal do I get?"

Kou nearly laughs at his enthusiasm. "I mean, you were born this year, essentially, so you'd get year of the sheep unless you're counting Sousuke's birth year. Sousuke's, if I remember correctly... before the snake is the dragon."

"Oh my God," Mitsuba gasps, raspberry eyes growing even bigger as his mouth drops open. "I claim year of the dragon, then."

This time, Kou does giggle. "Ah, but hang on. One of the animals in Japanese zodiac is something you might like better. If Sousuke was born the year before that, he'd have been born in the year of the rabbit."

Kou didn't think it possible for Mitsuba to look more ecstatic. However, he does, nearly dropping his amazake with excitement. "There's a rabbit?"

"Sure is," Kou grins. "You missed that one, though. There won't be another rabbit year for a while. Sorry about that."

Mitsuba pouts, the joy leaving in an instant. "So I'm stuck with either a sheep or a dragon?"

""Stuck with" a dragon?" Kou repeats disbelieving. "Dragons are ridiculously cool, are you serious? I got an animal I literally hate for my birth year. You're so lucky."

"It's only if I could claim the original me's birthday as my own, anyway," Mitsuba glowers. He nibbles on his food thoughtfully. "A dragon sure beats a sheep, I suppose."

After this discussion, the two of them decide to actually head into the shrine officially. Mitsuba is still extremely nervous, so he sticks close to Kou as they go in and Kou pays his respects. Kou doesn't expect Mitsuba to participate with this part, knowing he's unfamiliar with the rituals and doesn't know what to do, but when Kou looks up after praying, he finds Mitsuba mimicking the same gestures he'd just performed, hands joined together in front of his face and eyes squeezed shut. Kou wonders what he's praying for, if there even is any kind of God that he believes in.

Once he's done, he waits for Mitsuba, staring back out the entryway at the dark sky outside until he feels the supernatural at his side again. He doesn't ask any questions, knowing it'd be nothing but rude and Mitsuba would never answer them, and instead heads back out, cold air brushing against his face and cooling down his too-warm cheeks.

"Now what?" Mitsuba asks, too cheerfully. He hops in Kou's path to get his attention, tilting his head. "There's lots of stuff around and I don't know what any of it is."

Kou blinks, coming back to himself. A glance around his surroundings reveals no sign of Teru or Tiara, so he should be fine to explore a little longer. What would be the harm in it? Mitsuba's likely not going to get to experience going to a shrine again for a long time, if ever again at all.

"I know what we can do," he says, eyes lighting up as his gaze lands on something across the way. "Let's try omikuji."

Mitsuba is of course confused, so Kou explains as they get closer. "There are these boxes that supposedly contain your fortune for the upcoming year," he tells him. "You make an offering - I'll give you money, just wait a moment until I find it - and it gives you a prediction for what the year will be like, ranging between extremely good and extremely bad. It tells you whether you'll get everything you wished for. Last year I did this with Teru and Tiara on New Year's day, and I got "great fortune," which I think is crazy, given the insanity of the year I've had."

At this, Mitsuba grins, eyes thinning. "It's because you met me, obviously."

Kou scoffs and rolls his eyes, but - well. Of all the things that have happened to him this year, which has been overall pretty shit, meeting Mitsuba and befriending Nene and Hanako has to be pretty high up there. He did come out to Satou and Yokoo too with positive reactions, and Teru started training him, albeit slowly and gently. He's gotten stronger. He exorcized his first supernatural. Maybe the year had more good things in it than he remembered.

"Sure," he says, and knocks into Mitsuba's side until he opens the palm of his hand and Kou can dump some coins into it. "Put those in there as an offering and then take a box. It'll have a number on a stick inside of it that will signify which of these drawers to open, and that will have your fortune in it. We'll look together."

His heart is going pretty fast as he gets closer to the box. He likes to try not to believe in fate too much, but the fortune he draws during hatsumode tend to always be pretty accurate. The only year that he and Teru, who is always extremely lucky with these kinds of things, both drew "great misfortune" was the year their mother died. The two years following, in which Kou and Teru had been left by their father, he had received ones that read "curse." It's needless to say he's concerned now. He doesn't know what he'll do if he ends up with something bad.

He fumbles for a stick, eyes closed, until he finds one that feels correct and removes his hand. When he steps aside, Mitsuba already has one, holding it out for Kou to look at.

"Twenty one," he says. "What number did you get?"

Kou takes that in, then stares down at his, disbelieving. "Honest to God, Mitsuba, I have number three."

Mitsuba shrieks with delight. "Hey, that's me! I'm number three! That'll be especially good luck, Kou, you don't even need to find the fortune or read it to know. I'm telling you, your year is officially blessed. You're welcome."

At this, Kou lets out a giggle, so nervous his stomach is flipping. "If I get a bad fortune, I'll take your prediction as the truth instead."

There is a wall of cabinets full of tiny drawers, which both he and Mitsuba open together, pulling out the folded up slips of paper. Mitsuba is clearly smiling under the scarf, excited just from Kou's number and the possibility of having his future predicted. Kou can't lie and say it isn't thrilling. He always gets so hyper doing this every year, despite how much he'd prefer to design his own fate than believe one written on a randomly assigned piece of paper.

Everyone else he knows takes their fortune very seriously. Last year, Yokoo had drawn "misfortune" and vowed not to step outside until the year was over. Despite this, his year had been mostly fine until he'd accidentally capsized his boat during the summer against a rock in the lake he always rowed it around in with his father. He'd been heartbroken and blamed his fortune for it, and Kou's stomach had turned.

He could just not draw a fortune. However, it's just too exciting to pass up.

Now, he and Mitsuba both have their slips. "Ready?" Kou asks, once they've stepped aside and are out of the way of other people looking for their own fortunes. "Alright... open it!"

He unfolds his paper and eagerly devours the words inside like they're scripture.

Great fortune. Your wishes will come true, but not all at once. Be patient. Listen to your surroundings. Everything is waiting for you, as long as you put the required effort in. Continue to be true to yourself and to others. Your lucky direction is north.

Your health will improve with help from others. Your family will love you, no matter what. Your work will be taken seriously by those who matter most. Focus on your studies and improvement will come. Romance prospects are high this year. The love you are waiting for may be right in front of you.

His heart is going so fast he feels sick. A shaky hand comes up to cover his mouth as he rereads his fortune again and again, the last line ringing through his mind because it's too specific to mean nothing at all. Everything about this is too specific. How does it know? Is it possible that everything he's reading can be true?

He looks up at Mitsuba, eyes sparkling. "Mine is really good," he says with a grin, and then, before he can finish his words, cold trickles down his back the sight of Mitsuba's expression.

The supernatural looks upset and confused as he glances up at Kou, blinking slowly. "I don't understand mine," he says softly. "What - what does this mean?"

He shows it to Kou, and they look at it together.

Blessings and misfortune still undetermined. You forge your own path. To become complacent can impact your destiny. Pride and vanity will be your downfall. Rely on your own inner strength rather than those around you, and good luck may be waiting behind the next mirror you look in.

Your health remains stagnant for now. The water is sweeter than the blood than binds you. Whatever you wish to have, you should shoot for. Work hard and do your best in everything you try. The person who is best for you may be closer than you think.

Kou's breath hitches as he scans the page. "This is a rare fortune," he says, tapping the symbol in the corner. "It seems like it means you don't get a specific outlook on your luck this year. It's telling you that the luck you have will be what you make of it."

Mitsuba stares down at the writing, face scrunched up, hands shaking. "That's - that's so stupid," he mutters, voice wobbling. "How do I not get a proper fortune? I didn't even know that was an option."

"Neither did I," Kou admits, straightening his back and glancing around at their surroundings. He can see other people opening fortunes of their own. A group of girls in brightly coloured furisode squeal as they seemingly unveil good things in their slips, and a young boy bawls as his parents comfort him over what seems to be a bad fortune. A middle aged couple embrace as they read theirs, and another couple stare in open mouthed disappointment at the slips in their hands, looking at each other with sorrow swimming in their eyes. Kou sips his amazake, hands shaking, letting the warmth slip down his throat. "I guess it's better than misfortune."

Mitsuba grunts, clearly dissatisfied, but then looks up at Kou with glittering eyes. "You said yours was good at least. What did it say?"

Kou lights up, and is about to show his to Mitsuba before he remembers the last line. What if Mitsuba interprets it as literally as Kou did, and he makes some kind of joke about it? The likelihood of hearing ew, not in a million years, not even if you shed that ugly, lame ass earring forever is very high, and a joke about how little chance Kou has with him might be enough to crush his spirits entirely. He doesn't think he could handle a rejection, regardless of how serious it might be.

He swallows nervously, clutching his paper close. "I got "great fortune." Says my wishes will come true, my family loves me, I should be true to myself and focus on my schoolwork, and my lucky direction is north."

Mitsuba frowns. "I didn't get a lucky direction," he says. "I guess 'cause my fortune wasn't necessarily lucky. Oh, well. At least you know your year isn't going to be a disaster."

Kou chuckles and is about to say something else when Mitsuba continues, to his utter dismay. "What'd it say about your romantic prospects?" he asks, causing Kou's heart to slam into his stomach. "Apparently the person who's best for me is "closer than I think," whatever that vague ass shit means. Weird, because I'm pretty sure Jeon Jungkook is in Korea right now, but maybe I'm wrong and he's at this shrine too, somehow?"

Kou shifts on the spot, feeling sweat on his forehead despite the cold temperatures. "Uh... mine are ok," he blurts, shrugging as nonchalantly as possible. "It didn't say anything specific about it. Hey, you know what you can do with your slip if you don't like it?"

Mitsuba looks like he wants to press further, but thankfully, Kou's words seem to have intrigued him enough to distract him. "What? Is it that thing that those other guys are doing with the wire wall over there?"

They both simultaneously look towards the wall of wires underneath a tree nearby, which is adorned with hundreds of slips of paper. The crying boy and disappointed couple Kou had noticed previously are over there, folding up their slips and attaching them to the wires. The many abandoned slips shudder in the wind, fluttering together and making the sound of a notebook being thrown around during a storm.

"Yeah, exactly that," Kou confirms. "If your fortune is bad, or even if your fortune is good and you potentially want to amplify its effects, you can attach it to the wall over here. If it's bad, the hope is usually that the fortune will be attached to the wall instead of you, so you won't have to keep the effects for the year. Obviously, yours isn't really good or bad, for the most part, so it's up to you. What do you wanna do with it?"

Mitsuba glares at the tiny slip with disdain. "Well, what are my other options?"

Kou shrugs, pulling his jacket around him as the wind gets colder. "You can also keep it. Carry it in your pocket, or whatever. I'm gonna keep mine in my phone case. That's always where I keep my fortunes for the year if they're good, so the luck follows me around."

This makes Mitsuba laugh, hair fluttering around his face wildly. "I didn't take you for someone so superstitious, Kou."

"I'm not," Kou protests, but, well - maybe he is. A few years ago, he'd drawn stick number forty nine from his box and had nearly refused to look at his fortune at all due to how stupidly unlucky the number itself was. He'd never thought of himself as superstitious. However, it makes sense. Maybe Kou thinks too much about these inconsequential sheets of paper each year.

"Teru is worse," he tells Mitsuba darkly. "You should see him, he gets so worked up about omikuji. He always gets "great fortune," almost always, but he overanalyzes everything he reads to a ridiculous extent. Dad once got mad at him because his fortune read that his lover would come to him slowly and he couldn't force it, so he absolutely refused to introduce himself to any of the girls Dad tried to set him up with all year. Then another year, his slip told him to eat well and his health would prosper, and he skipped dessert every day for months. It was insane. Teru has the biggest sweet tooth out of anyone I know."

While he's rambling, Mitsuba is eating another piece of taiyaki, humming in agreement with everything he says in a tone that indicates he's definitely not listening. Kou stops and smacks him round the head, causing Mitsuba to nearly choke on the bean paste and dramatically clutch at his throat as if he were dying on the spot.

"You're such a brat," Kou tells him flatly. "Are you keeping yours or not?"

Mitsuba flips him off, still coughing, but looks as though he's thinking about it. "I'm gonna keep it," he confirms eventually, and shoves his slip into his pocket. "I like the idea of getting to choose my own future, even if it could be shitty. Are you keeping yours, too?"

Kou nods, a smile crossing his face. "Sure. It's already pretty good, I don't need to worry about making it any better."

Mitsuba rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you have amazing luck, whatever. What now? Also, is there somewhere I can throw this cup away?"

It only takes a moment of consideration for Kou to figure out where to go next. "Follow me," he says, and takes the empty amazake cup from Mitsuba's hands. "I'll throw this away first, though."

The next stop is a selection of stalls selling omamori.

"Hell no," Mitsuba says aloud, as they get close. His face is scrunched up underneath his scarf. "You're just trying to make me like you!"

"Am not," Kou laughs. He looks out across the large, colourful waves of the small brocade pouches in which the omamori rest. Tens of people are gathered around, chattering amongst themselves, discussing what kind of luck is needed for the challenges of the upcoming year and passing handfuls of cash to the vendors on the opposite sides of the wooden stalls. "Buying omamori is just another tradition some people do for the same reason that they do omikuji. I'm not gonna make you get your ears pierced and wear it as an earring, for goodness sake."

""For goodness sake,"" Mitsuba snickers. He sidles up to Kou's side, peering over at the selection despite his feigned disinterest. "My ears are already pierced anyway. I just don't wear earrings in them because I don't have any."

"I'm not swearing because we're in a holy place, dingus," Kou says hotly, which he doesn't think counts as a curse. Then he takes in the second part of Mitsuba's words. "Your ears are pierced? Really?"

Mitsuba nods and pushes his hair aside to show that, yes, there are two tiny holes in his earlobes that are almost impossible to see from far away. Still, Kou should have noticed that before. It would be weird if Sousuke had that fancy piercing on the side of his ear but not the simple earlobe ones.

"I can't believe I didn't know that," Kou says. "What's that one called on the top of your ear?"

"A helix, the airhead told me," Mitsuba tells him. He grins proudly. "Apparently, it's super painful. Thanks to the original me for getting it so I didn't have to."

Kou then wants to ask if he has a hole in his ear when he takes the cuff off, but he's getting distracted and he doesn't know how much time he has left with Mitsuba now. It's getting late, and he needs to pay attention.

"Ok, stop distracting me," he says, waving Mitsuba off when he yelps in protest. "I'll buy you an omamori. It's tradition, and besides, you're so unlucky that I think you need one."

Mitsuba pouts, but sounds curious when he next speaks. "Alright... so how do they work? I kind of know already, but it'd probably be easier if you could just explain it all at once so I don't misunderstand anything."

His interest sparks warmth inside of Kou, turning the corners of his lips higher. "Essentially, they're good luck charms," he explains. "They have prayers on the inside designed to keep you safe, although they've all got different effects and stuff that you can see written underneath the boxes they're being sold from over here. Good health, success, love and romance, all of that."

Mitsuba makes a face. "Ok," he says. His eyes travel from the omamori being sold in the stalls to the one dangling from Kou's ear. "And traffic safety?"

Kou nods and beams. "Exactly!"

At this, Mitsuba scoffs. "I thought only little kids need things like that. Why would you need protection against traffic safety unless you were a driver? Are you colourblind and can't see what colour the light is before you cross the street? That would explain a lot about the way you dress, actually..."

Kou ignores the jab and explains. "From the ages of, like, five to eight, I used to be a total idiot and ran out into the road without looking literally all the time," he says, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I don't know why, I was just a dumb kid and I did stuff like that a lot. I'm lucky I never got hurt, honestly. My mom got me this during hatsumode one year, and then - I mean, you know. I didn't want to get rid of it."

Mitsuba frowns, then stares at him for just slightly long enough that Kou feels uncomfortable. "What?"

"Fuck's sake," Mitsuba mutters. "You wait all this time to tell me that the ugly earring I'm always making fun of you for is a gift from your dead mom? I seriously cannot stand you, Kou Minamoto."

Kou laughs upon realizing the problem. "It's fine! It's not like I wear it for fashion! You can make fun of it if you want!"

"Don't give me permission! I was gonna keep doing it anyway, you're making it worse!"

He shoves Kou in the side, which causes Kou to stumble slightly and nearly fall into the woman standing next to him, perusing the omamori. He straightens and sticks his tongue out in Mitsuba's direction, delighting in how red and flustered he is, probably kicking himself for all the comments he'd made in the past. He's well aware of how sensitive a subject Kou's mom is. Really, Kou's never cared enough to make a big deal out of it. Even Satou and Yokoo, who have long known the reasoning for Kou continuing to wear the omamori earring, have subtly mentioned to him in the past that maybe turning it back into a necklace instead would do wonders for his social standing around the school.

They're probably right. However, Kou had gotten the idea of wearing the omamori as an earring from his mother, and the thing is basically a permanent part of his being now. He doesn't think he'd look like himself without it on.

"Stop whining and pay attention," he says, nudging Mitsuba in the arm. "You should pick one."

Mitsuba screws up his face, bringing his hands up to his chin and twirling the ends of his hair around his fingertip.

"I don't know which one to choose," he whines. "Why don't you pick for me? And I'm not wearing it as jewelry."

"You don't have to," Kou huffs, resisting the urge to elbow him again. "You can just keep it in your pocket with your fortune or something. You really want me to pick for you?"

Mitsuba shrugs. One hand has made its way to his mouth, biting down on the tip of his finger beneath the scarf. "I guess, as long as it's not something stupid."

Kou thinks he already has an idea. He walks along the stalls, reading the names for each one - good fortune, happiness, good health, family well-being. The one he wants has a few options for colours, although mostly just different shades of the same one. He only ponders for a moment or two before he reaches out and picks up a small purple drawstring bag, presenting it to Mitsuba with a nervous smile.

"It's for protection against evil," he says. "It also wards against bad luck."

Mitsuba stares down at it with a strange expression, looking moderately confused. When he looks back at Kou, his mouth opens and closes before he figures out what he wants to say.

"Uh, Kou," is what he comes out with. "I'm the evil. What's it gonna do, protect me from myself?"

Kou frowns. "You're not evil."

"Yes, I am," Mitsuba argues, eyebrows furrowed. "I've done really awful things. I would go so far as to say they were evil."

All Kou does is shake his head and press the charm into Mitsuba's palm. "You're not evil. Don't say stuff like that. You've done bad things to survive, but it's not like you wanted to and it's not like you don't regret them. Quit being stupid and let me buy this for you."

He doesn't give Mitsuba any more room to continue arguing. He just turns around and hands the exact change to the vendor, offering her a smile and a bow as he steps away. He hears Mitsuba following him, and when he turns to look, he sees the supernatural examining the bag with cautious hands, as if it holds a bomb that could go off if he slipped just slightly.

He seems to notice Kou looking and frowns at him, readjusting his scarf around his mouth. "You didn't get one for yourself."

"I don't need one," Kou says, and taps his earring. "This is good enough. It's not just for traffic safety, you know? My mom bought it for me. It's got her protection in it."

Mitsuba stares, eyes huge. "You really know how to make a guy feel like a total asshole, don't you?"

Kou snickers. "It's not my fault you're mean and feel bad about it. And stop swearing. Just because no one else can hear you doesn't make it right. You already didn't do the purification ritual when you came in."

"Who cares," Mitsuba mutters, kicking Kou in the ankle. "God wants nothing to do with me, and the feeling is mutual. If whoever is up there wants to strike me down because I didn't wanna get my hands wet in the freezing cold, then so be it."

Kou sighs, but doesn't bother continuing the fight. When Mitsuba's made up his mind, it'd take a miracle to make him change it, stubborn as he is.

"Where to now?" Mitsuba asks curiously.

There is so much more Kou would love to show him. So much more he'd like to do. But it's getting late, and the stalls on the street must be closing by now. Teru and Tiara will be up here soon enough, and he hadn't realized how dark it was. It's later than he'd thought. He has very little time. If Kou wants to talk to Mitsuba before he has to find his siblings, he'll have to do it now.

He reaches out and takes Mitsuba's wrist in hand. "Follow me."

Mitsuba blinks, but trails after Kou as he takes them towards the exit. He makes a noise of surprise as they leave, but doesn't say anything, even as Kou takes them through the crowds of people down to the streets below, and then even further until they come to a bend in the road. There is a brick wall here, shielding rows of houses from passersby, and it offers them a brief piece of a privacy that they wouldn't have been able to have up at the shrine. It's very dark, now, out of the way of the streetlamps as they are. If it weren't for the fact that Mitsuba's raspberry eyes glow very faintly, just unnaturally enough to be unnerving, it'd be difficult to see.

"What are we doing?" Mitsuba asks, voice uncharacteristically soft. "I assumed you were taking me somewhere specific since we left the shrine, but it kind of seems like you've just dragged me off to a dark corner for no reason."

Kou flushes at the implication, but fixes his expression into one of seriousness, determined not to let the supernatural throw him off. "I didn't want to risk being seen or interrupted by Teru," he tells him. "I have - something to - I mean, I got - stop staring like that, God, your eyes are so intense!"

"My eyes are so adorable, is that what you said?" Mitsuba snickers teasingly, but he doesn't push too hard, thankfully. Instead, he reaches up to pull his scarf down so he can talk clearly without his words being muffled now that they don't have to worry about being spotted. "Spit it out, come on, we don't have all day."

Kou glowers, but continues. "You... technically got me a Christmas gift, even though you didn't have to, and that was - I mean, it was - it was nice of you. Weirdly nice of you, as much of a mean bastard that you are. So I was thinking, and I got -"

He slips a hand into his jacket pocket, heart racing, and pulls out a slim wrapped box.

Mitsuba's eyes immediately expand upon seeing it, a gasp falling from his lips. "You got me a present!" he shrieks. "Give it here, I wanna open it now!"

He tries to grab it, but Kou pulls it away, secretly relishing Mitsuba's childish disappointment. "No snatching," he scolds him. "Who do you think you are, my baby sister?"

"What, are you just gonna sit and wave a gift you got for me in front of my face without letting me have it?" Mitsuba whines irritably, but then he seems to spot something and his eyes grow even bigger. "Hey, my ribbon!"

Wrapped around the little blue box is Mitsuba's red ribbon, tied loosely with a bow on top.

Kou grins abashedly. "Yeah, I forgot to give it back to you," he admits. "It was falling out of your hair on the train the other day, and I didn't want you to lose it, so I took it. I'm really sorry, I should have remembered."

Mitsuba's too busy unraveling the bow from the box still in Kou's hands to respond. He stares at it, lips twitching at the corners. "You bastard, I thought I'd lost it," he says loudly, and reaches out to punch Kou in the arm. "I looked for it everywhere, I was so mad about it!"

"I'm sorry," Kou laughs, as Mitsuba continues his assault, although it doesn't seem like he's intending to cause any real harm. "Relax, ok, I've got you a gift that should make up for it anyway!"

Mitsuba only manages to glower at him for a moment before his eyes are back on the box, just as curious as before. "I can't believe you got me a gift," he says, barely managing to bite back a grin. "Let me open it already, what are you waiting for?"

Kou hesitates. He's so nervous for reasons he can't really explain. "I - well, I just want to clarify," he splutters, even as Mitsuba takes the present from his hands effortlessly this time and starts picking at the edge of the paper. "It's not anything special. I didn't - I mean, I didn't go out and buy it. It's something I already had, so it's not like I spent anything on it, so don't think it's weird, because it's not weird, it's not brand new, it's not anything fancy!"

At this panicked rambling, Mitsuba shoots him a weird look. "Why are you trying to preemptively tell me that this is a shit gift?" he says flatly. "Do I even wanna open it now? What the hell is this?"

However, he seems to notice Kou's genuine nerves and makes a face. "So freaked out and for what," he mutters, tearing the paper off. "Is it really that bad?"

"It's not," Kou protests, wringing his hands. "I just have to clarify that it's not - I mean, don't think it's anything crazy, it's just -!"

He doesn't get to finish, because Mitsuba pulls off the last of the paper and cracks open the box.

For a moment, he just stares at the contents. Expression unreadable, blinking slowly like a cat.

"It's not new," Kou finishes weakly. "It used to be mine, but my dad got me a new one for my thirteenth birthday even though I didn't really need one, so this one still works, but it's not - I didn't buy it or anything. So it's not weird, and you can't say anything weird about it."

Mitsuba still says nothing. He just moves his hand into the box, picking up the item inside and examining it gingerly, breathing shallow.

"I, uh, already put my number in it," Kou continues, voice rising in pitch the longer Mitsuba doesn't say anything for. "Everything else I can probably show you, or maybe you know how it works because you've used mine so much, I don't know, but, uh - yeah. It's not as good as mine, it's an older model, so sorry about that, uh -"

"You got me -" Mitsuba interrupts, voice full of wonder, "a phone as a gift?"

"I told you, it's not a big deal!" Kou squeaks, waving his hands as if it'll help get his point across. "It's an old phone, I don't use it, it was just sitting around in my drawers and I know you'd get more use out of it than I ever will again! Besides, it's a pain in the ass that I can't text you sometimes, so this is technically a gift for both of us! It's not special, don't make this weird, because it's not! It's just a thing I'm giving you, same as any of the other things I give you!"

Mitsuba's eyes glitter, and a grin spreads across his face, taking Kou's breath away like he's been punched in the stomach.

"It's - wow," Mitsuba says softly, a giggle escaping him. "You're really just giving this to me? What if you need a spare, huh?"

Kou lets out a soft sigh, trying to catch his breath. "Humans don't tend to need spare phones, Mitsuba," he says lightly, watching the supernatural's expression light up as he holds the thing in his hands, feeling how it fits in his palm. "You're always using mine anyway. This was just an easier option for us both. Stop making that face, I can't stand you!"

Mitsuba laughs, then glances up to meet Kou's eyes. "I don't know," he says, in a teasing tone. "I'm kind of getting the idea you might actually like me."

Kou swallows. "Not at all," he says firmly, although his voice cracks. "I told you not to make this weird. It's not some big, crazy gift. If anything, maybe you having this means you'll quit bothering me so much, since you'll have something else to entertain you."

As he speaks, Mitsuba's lips only curve higher, mischief lighting up his eyes. Kou suddenly realizes that they're actually very close together due to how they're huddled so no one else will see them behind the wall. It hadn't really registered until now. He feels his face get warmer, and hears Mitsuba giggle, delight thinning his eyes as he slides the device into his jacket pocket. He doesn't take his eyes off Kou, and in fact leans in just slightly closer, reaching out to grab the palms of his hands in his own and holding him there.

"Nope," he says. "You definitely like me after all."

Kou swallows, and then - he can't help it. His eyes dip to stare at Mitsuba's lips, for just a moment, before he manages to wrench his gaze away and look back up again. He can see the surprise spark on Mitsuba's face at the extremely unsubtle gesture, and for a moment, fear grips his heart at the idea of being called out on it like he had when he was a child, staring at boys in his class a little too intently until they got weirded out by him and made it clear they wanted him to quit it. However, Mitsuba doesn't say anything. In fact, his cheeks have flooded with colour, and it suddenly feels like the faint sounds of people up at the shrine have faded, like there's nothing else left in the world but them.

He's being so stupid, he's not thinking at all, but something in him is compelling him to tip his face closer to Mitsuba's own. He thinks that if Mitsuba doesn't make a motion himself, then he'll stop and move away and there won't be a problem. But then Mitsuba's breath hitches, and his grip on Kou's palms tightens just slightly as he shifts, bringing the two of them together until they almost meet in the middle, the supernatural's eyes fluttering closed.

Kou's heart is going so fast he feels sick, but this seriously is about to happen. Not exactly like he'd imagined, but it's going to happen nonetheless. He closes his own eyes and, slowly, raises a hand that Mitsuba's still clinging to to touch the bottom of Mitsuba's chin, making sure he doesn't miss and embarrass himself -

And then the fireworks go off.

Kou wrenches himself away immediately, feeling his heart drop into his stomach. "Fuck!" he shouts, staring up at the sky in horror as colour explodes loudly into the black abyss above. If the fireworks are going off, then that means - "Oh, fuck, Mitsuba, I was supposed to be back - I'm sorry, I have to go find my brother, I'm sorry!"

"I- It's ok!" Mitsuba manages to say, voice almost drowned out by the volume of the fireworks. He spins around as Kou darts away, breaths quickening with panic, mind racing. Kou feels his hands leave his, and Mitsuba grins, waving him off. "I'll see you soon anyway! Go, run, find your siblings, happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year!" Kou shouts back, even as he's whipping around to run across the sidewalk, hurtling back towards the shrine at full speed.

He can't believe he lost track of time like that. He thought he had so much more time than he did, he was so certain that he would be able to make it back in plenty of time, but clearly, he hadn't been thinking straight. His face burns at the memory of what just occurred even as the cold wind slaps him and ruins his hair. Had Mitsuba really been about to let Kou kiss him? Had he been misinterpreting what was going on? Is it possible to misinterpret that? Most importantly, had Mitsuba wanted Kou to kiss him, or was he just still curious about what it was like, willing to let him do it for the sake of experimentation?

Kou wants, so desperately, to believe that Mitsuba wants him the same way that he does. Wants there to be no confusion between them as to what each of then wants from the other. If there's any kind of possibility that Kou's screwed something up, that something's been misconstrued somewhere, then he'd rather die than make it worse and ruin what they have forever. Is that what he'd been about to do? Curse his poor time management, curse the fireworks, curse Teru, curse everyone for allowing this to happen. Good fortune, indeed. He might have just started off his new year by destroying one of his closest relationships, all depending on how Mitsuba interpreted what just happened.

Kou doesn't know. He didn't get the chance to stick around and ask. At least, Mitsuba had sounded fine when he told him to run afterwards. He hadn't sounded angry, and he certainly hadn't called Kou a pervert, which is a start. Maybe everything is fine. Maybe Mitsuba didn't care.

He's just being ridiculous, now, and he needs to stop overthinking this while he's trying to find Teru. Otherwise, he'll show up flustered and overwhelmed and upset, and Teru will get suspicious about who he's been out with, and Kou will be so angry at himself.

His feet fly over the ground, lungs heaving, as he races back up towards the shrine. Fireworks explode overhead, lighting up the dark night sky blue and orange and purple and green. Children shriek, fingers being pointed above, cameras and phones aimed at the view as people watch the show without caring much for how it looks through their devices, grinning at their family members and holding each other close. Nobody cares for Kou tearing past them, eyes flickering across every person he can see, searching for a green kimono and a shock of blonde hair, listening for a yelling young girl racing around with sweets in hand, desperately trying to catch his breath.

God, he's so fucked. If he doesn't find Teru soon -

"Kou? Hey, Kou!"

Kou doesn't even get the time to turn towards the sound before it's being done for him. Two hands on his shoulders pull him towards Teru, staring down at him with concern in his bright blue eyes. He looks Kou over as if checking for injuries, and when he finds none, his expression hardens, the look of an upset parent crossing his face.

"Where have you been?" he asks, and even his tone is cross. Colourful explosions frame his face in gold. "We waited for you."

Kou opens his mouth to answer, then finds himself glancing around and missing someone in the process. "Where's Tiara?"

"I left her with old man Kunishige," Teru tells him, squeezing his shoulders tighter. "I had to go find you and I didn't want her to worry about you. He was going to go home, so I had to practically beg him to stay so I could run around looking for you. Kou, what the hell? Where did you go?"

"I just - just lost track of time," Kou stammers. Around them, people cheer and jab their fingers at the sky, oblivious to the fight happening between them. "I'm r-really sorry, Teru, I didn't realize, I know you wanted me to be back on time so we could all -"

"This is supposed to be a time for family," Teru interrupts him. It couldn't possibly be more clear how tensely irritated he is, and Kou can't really blame him. "I never would have thought you would just - not come back. I thought something had happened to you. You could have been dead."

That's a bit overdramatic, Kou thinks, but doesn't dare say it aloud. Despite this, Teru must be able to read his expression, because he sees how he gets even tenser, shoulders rising further towards his ears, upset setting his mouth into a fine line.

"I wanted all of us to do this together," he says softly, and it's hard to hear him, over the bangs of the fireworks and the whooping from the crowd around them. "If Dad couldn't be here, I wanted us to be together. But it kind of seems like you were willing to write the whole "family" thing off as a lost cause just because he couldn't be bothered to show up."

"That's - that's not true," Kou squeaks, voice pitching and wobbling childishly. "It was an accident. I wanted to be here."

He thinks, for a moment, that Teru is going to continue telling him off, because he looks so upset and Kou had fucked up so stupidly. However, Teru must take in the way Kou is shaking and the damp shine in his eyes that the bright explosions above surely betray him by lighting up, and he relaxes. Without even a moment of hesitation, he pulls Kou into a tight hug, his arms warm and steady around Kou's back. Teru smells like black pepper and fire. Another rush goes through the crowd as what must be a very large firework screams through the sky, although Kou doesn't see it. He has his face buried in his brother's shoulder, eyes squeezed shut, cold shivers wracking his body so heavily he's almost gone right round back to being warm again.

Unfortunately, Teru doesn't hold him for long. He pulls away and takes Kou's hand in his, a smile crossing his face at long last. "Let's go find Kunishige and Tiara," he says, gentler than before. "No use crying over spilled milk, and besides, the fireworks aren't done yet. We might as well finish off the evening right."

It's such a relief that Kou finds himself letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. "Ok," he whispers, allowing Teru to pull him along. "That sounds good, then."

"You'll never guess, Kou," Tiara giggles, wriggling in his arms. "Teru got number forty four when we did omikuji. He said it's the luckiest fortune he's ever gotten."

"Oh, I already forgot about that," Teru grins. He rummages through his pocket and pulls out his slip, showing Kou the number in the corner. "Isn't that lucky? And it's "good fortune." Isn't that something?"

"It sure is," Kou says, lips twitching. As a kid, Teru was obsessed with the number four, and still is as an older teen, although to a lesser degree. "Although you've gotten "great fortune" before, which I would say is luckier."

Teru shakes his head seriously. "Oh, absolutely not. Are you kidding? Two fours, Kou. That's twice the amount of luck."

"I guess so," Kou relents, finally cracking a smile. "Divisible by four, too. That is pretty lucky."

They're on their way home. Tiara almost never stays up this late, and even though she doesn't have school tomorrow, Teru doesn't want to ruin her routine any more than he already has. She doesn't seem tired yet, although Kou is almost a hundred percent certain that the second she lies down when they get back, she'll be passed out immediately. Thankfully, she's not cranky or anything. That wouldn't have done anyone any good, and Kou and Teru are already in such a weirdly tense state that an angry Tiara probably would have set somebody off fairly quickly.

Even Kou is yawning by the time Teru is unlocking the door to the house. He hasn't been sleeping very well as of late, so it's not too big of a surprise. Teru chuckles at the sight of him staggering through the doorway with a sleepy Tiara in his arms and offers to take her, which Kou decides to let him do. He doesn't think he could carry her up the stairs right now, anyway.

He grabs some new clothes and goes to the bathroom. Before he gets changed, however, he stares at his face in the mirror. His cheeks are flushed and splotchy, faint bags underneath his eyes, hair mussed and windswept. On top of that, he's getting spots on his forehead. Thankfully Mitsuba hadn't noticed them, or at least hadn't said anything about them. Kou's certain he would have come up with some kind of creative nickname if it wasn't so dark that he couldn't see them.

Actually - he'd definitely been close enough to his face that he might have noticed towards the end of the night. They'd been so close together that it would have been worrying if he hadn't. Not that Kou's going to complain about the fact that his near-first kiss hadn't been ruined by the guy he likes cracking up laughing at the horrible red splotches on his forehead.

Near-first kiss, if he excluded the one Mitsuba had given him a few months ago for how chaste and brief it was. He doesn't know whether there are qualifiers for a first kiss or not.

Unconsciously, he raises his fingers to his lips, then immediately feels a bit ridiculous. He can actually see his face get redder in his reflection, which is so stupid and embarrassing. His lips are chapped and gross. He can feel his heartbeat in his ears.

Mitsuba had really been about to let him kiss him. He could have kissed Mitsuba. The thought is so overwhelming it makes his breath catch in his throat.

It's exhilarating, and also dizzyingly terrifying. Kou has been trained to suppress emotions like this, warned by his mother to never let the rest of the family know about how he felt, and actually allowing himself to feel these feelings is so strange and abnormal to him. He'd never actually considered the possibility of a boy he liked reciprocating his feelings before he knew Mitsuba. It would have always been ridiculous to even think about. Nobody else that Kou knew was like him, and those that he heard about in passing were never spoken of with respect. Kou remembers very vividly, many years ago now, seeing a news story about a protest for queer rights in Japan that his father had scorned at before he turned off the TV. It had been nothing short of terrifying, wondering what his father might do or say if he found out he was one of those people that he thought were so ridiculous.

If Teru knew that he was late back for the fireworks on such an important night because he was about to share a kiss with a boy, and a supernatural boy no less -

Well, not a boy, he doesn't think. He's not quite sure what to refer to Mitsuba as in his head, and it'd be too awkward to ask now.

Either way, Teru would flip, either about one thing or the other. Kou would love to confidently say that he believes his brother would love him no matter what he turned out to be. However, there's no way to know for sure until he tells him.

If Kou had ever doubted what he was before, he'd have to be certain now. Just thinking about Mitsuba being that close to him makes his heart pound.

The worry now becomes - should he bring up the incident to Mitsuba, or hope that he does it first? It's impossible to tell what he should do. Maybe it's a good idea that they hadn't gotten the opportunity to share that kiss. Kou would have been so awkwardly bad at it that Mitsuba probably would have made fun of him forever.

He just needs time to think. He shouldn't have tried to rush anything, especially when he so recently came to the conclusion that Mitsuba couldn't possibly be into him. Kou is only confusing himself.

He gets changed quickly, shivering in the cold - Teru had a shower before they left, and he'd neglected to close the bathroom window. He does this now, and then jumps, barely muffling a small shriek. There's a black spider on the windowsill, legs twitching.

It and Kou stare at each other. At least, he thinks that's what they're doing. It's possible it's not looking at him at all.

The wounds on his side ache. Kou winces as he unbandages them, keeping eye contact with the horrible creature. He doesn't know how to feel about a spider being in the room while he tends to his spider-inflicted wounds, but he can't do much about it unless he calls Teru in here to deal with it, which will be much too embarrassing to do until he's fully clothed again.

He hisses in pain and ducks his head to look at his side, only to gasp softly. The wounds on either side of his hips have swelled slightly, the skin tinging purple around the edges.

That doesn't seem good.

If it gets bad enough that he thinks it might really be a problem, he'll say something to Teru. The prospect is just too awkward right now, especially given that he'd have to explain that he was hurt two full months ago and had never said a word about it.

He wraps the bandages around his waist and frowns. They only hurt when he presses down on them, so they can't really be too bad.

Yanking his shirt back on, he prepares to leave the room and bumps into Teru.

"Sorry," Teru says, blinking with surprise. "I thought you were in there, I was just coming to knock. Are you ok? You're shaking."

"Oh, y-yeah," Kou says, nodding quickly. He is shaking, although he thinks it's just from the cold. "I'm fine. Sorry if I was in there for too long, there's a spider on the windowsill and it really threw me off."

Teru scrunches up his face. "Eugh. I'll take care of it when I get in there."

"Great," Kou says. He swallows, shifting the bundle of clothing in his arms and considering if he should say something else. "Um... are you angry at me?"

It comes out sounding small and pathetic. The words catch in his throat against his will.

Teru's lips part, a sharp breath of air being sucked between them. "Of course not," he says with a frown. "Kou, you were with your friends. Besides, I can't be mad at you now. I haven't forgotten about tomorrow."

At this, Kou laughs, unable to help himself. "I sure hope you haven't," he says teasingly. "Ok, if you're sure you're not mad. I really would have been there if I remembered."

"I know," Teru says. Then, his gaze softens, his tone becoming quieter to match it. "You were right. It was screwed from the beginning without Dad there, and I was being ridiculous, too, thinking that changing up what we did for New Years would make a difference. It never would have mattered."

These words of bitter defeat strike right into Kou's heart, and before he even has a chance to think about it, he leans forward and pulls Teru into a tight hug.

"You're wrong," he says, muffled against Teru's chest. "If we'd stayed home, we would have all been miserable and bored, especially Tiara. She was already so on edge without Dad around to entertain her like he usually does. I appreciate us trying to do something different. You did a good job with that, Teru, don't beat yourself up about it."

He hears a smile in Teru's voice when he next speaks, a few beats later. "If my clever little brother says so, then I suppose it must be true."

"I do say so," Kou grins, and pulls away to look up at Teru, eyes sparkling. "Besides, if we hadn't gone out tonight, you wouldn't have gotten number forty four. You're basically blessed for the rest of the year."

"I am, aren't I?" Teru says with a laugh. He ruffles Kou's hair, lingering there slightly longer than necessary to look upon him fondly. "I must be the luckiest guy on the planet, to have you and Tiara here with me."

Kou tips his head as Teru takes his hand away, then frowns. "Where is Tiara, anyway? Asleep already, I take it?"

"Sure is," Teru smiles. "Out like a light. Is that gonna be you in the next ten minutes, too?"

"It might be," Kou tells him. "I really am tired. It's a good thing we all ate at the stalls, I would have hated having to make a meal this late."

"Oh, we would have just ordered takeout," Teru says, shaking his head. "I know the sushi place around the corner is still open. Anyway, you should get to bed. It's not long until we're back in school."

"Don't remind me," Kou mutters, shuddering. "Goodnight, Teru. I love you."

Teru steps back towards the bathroom, the door creaking open. "I love you too."

Kou flashes him a smile and turns around to go back to his room.

However, only a second passes before he hears - "Oh my God!"

"What?" Kou yelps, darting back into the hall. He's accidentally dropped half his dirty laundry onto the floor in his rush. "What happened? Are you ok?"

Teru pokes his head around the bathroom door, azure eyes wide. "This spider is enormous!"

Kou breathes a sigh of relief. "It really is, isn't it?"

It makes him grateful he never technically saw the one that gave him the injuries on his sides. He probably would have fainted on the spot. As it is, the one in the bathroom made him shudder nervously even though it couldn't possibly hurt him.

He heads towards his bed in the dark, throwing his washing away into the basket at the end of his bed. He'll deal with it all tomorrow.

For now, he wants to lie down and go to sleep. Anxiety is thrumming through his veins at the thought of Mitsuba, and if he doesn't sleep soon, he's going to go insane.

He flops down and tugs his blanket over him, already feeling the exhaustion taking him over. Just before he gets fully comfortable, however, he hears his phone ping from underneath his pillow.

He rolls over to check it with a frown.

Mitsuba (00:37): Hello Loser

Mitsuba (00:37): How is it in Losertown（＾ω＾）

A ridiculously large smile quickly spreads across his face at the sight of these two, quite frankly, insulting messages. He'd planned to go straight to sleep, really, he had, but suddenly, he couldn't be more wide awake.

He pulls up his keyboard and starts typing back.