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Minami remembers the first time Baku got hit with bad luck.
Getting hit with lightning might've been what started this awful chain of events, but to her, the first time is when the two were out. The weather was starting to get warm, and Baku must've noticed her being bothered by the sudden shift, so why not get something to cool down?
It was supposed to be a fun outing — short and simple, just by the nearest convenience store to get some ice cream, but before Minami can register what is about to happen, she tumbles forward. With a small yelp, she crashes onto the ground. There's no time to properly register the scratches on her hands and knees or wonder who pushed her with such force when she hears another crash — louder, harder, and her head whips around to see Baku on the ground and a motorcycle speeding off.
She scrambles up and runs to her brother, tears rolling down her face, but even with a trembling voice, Baku reaches out to her, "I'm okay." He tries to reassure her, wiping away her tears. "It's just a scratch," he says, but Minami wants to argue that it's more than that, that she can see that he's bleeding. Baku is hurt, isn't he? Then why is he more concerned over her?
"You're safe, right?" He asks, and Minami nods, but what is the point of her safety if it's at the cost of Baku's?
It's hard to accept the reality that no matter what Baku tries, whenever he helps someone, the world punishes him. Minami doesn't want to believe that. She tries not to, even when years pass and nothing changes. Even when Baku comes home with hands covered in bloody scratches, gets his bag stolen, falls down a flight of stairs— it hurts to think about the many, many accidents he's been in, and Minami doesn't want to think about the possibility that one day, he'll help someone only for it to cost his own life.
It's way too scary to think about, yet it keeps haunting her. It plagues her day-to-day life, and she can't even escape it while she's asleep.
Nightmares were worse when she was young, with many nights awake because she couldn’t fall asleep again. Scared that if she did, she'd instantly be greeted by Baku’s dead body in front of her. When tossing and turning in her bed wouldn't ease her worries, she'd sneak into her brother's room and sit right by his bed. Maybe she stayed there for too long sometimes, but even if she had school the next day, Minami would be right there, eyes darting from one corner of the room to another, and then she would look at Baku, fast asleep, unaware that she was in the room with him. Though all the lights were off, she could see the corners of his lips curved upwards — he always seems to be at peace when sleeping, as if his dreams were the only place his bad luck couldn't follow to.
Staying in his room sometimes wasn't enough to help calm her down. Even if Minami wanted to argue that she shouldn't be doing this, her mind wanted to scream at the thought of going back to sleep. Although this idea was cheesy and corny and some people would argue that this did not provide any help at all, Minami would make a wish — to who didn't exactly matter, but she'd wish for her brother to be free of his awful luck, to be able to help people to his heart's content. Maybe this stupid curse would lift one day.
It never happened, of course. Years passed and his bad luck still follows him around. Minami has begrudgingly begun to accept it — it’s tragic, really, but after many attempts of trying to stop this curse, nothing has changed. It isn’t very in-character for her to just give up though, so she tries to do something about it. If she can’t get rid of the bad luck, then maybe she'll have to lessen the chance of it happening. Minami will have to try to protect Baku from it, because even if accidents only happen because of his good deeds, she can't just tell him to stop helping people. That's just cruel, and she wouldn't want to be told such a thing either.
A recent realization made her wonder if all the work and effort she put into that was all for nothing, because apparently, her brother is a secret agent, exactly like the ones he has always admired.
Minami still can't believe it. How is she supposed to even digest that information? Sure, this is something Baku would love doing but... he dives into people's dreams to rescue them from their nightmares? His base is right there behind his closet? Even though it has all been explained to her already, both by Baku and his boss, it all sounds too crazy, nonsensical, straight out of a fantasy. It's like she's having a strange dream, but then she pinches her cheek and nothing happens. This is all very real, and it terrifies her.
Maybe the reveal could've been done in a proper manner — maybe in a world where Minami didn't discover things on her own, or in one where Baku didn't explain everything right after he's had a long, long sleep. If that had happened, their home probably wouldn't feel uncomfortable to be in. It's nothing bad, really! Just slightly awkward, but Minami should be doing something about it. There's no point in keeping this weird tension in the air. Maybe another conversation would fix their situation? But she doesn't know what they haven't talked about. Baku has explained everything about his work, and Minami confessed to finding out about what he does already.
There isn't a single thing they haven't discussed—
"I'm sorry." Baku says, their conversation taking more of a serious turn while they're at the dining table. "For hiding it from you— the secret agent thing."
"It's okay," she tells him, even though it's not. Minami's happy that Baku is doing something that he likes, but at the same time, she doesn't like it — that Baku is constantly throwing himself in danger, willing to get himself hurt as long as he can save someone. She's upset that she's had to watch him almost die twice, and she might have to watch it happen for a third time in the future. Baku is too kind, too self-sacrificing, and this job is too perfect but also horrible for someone like him. The missions the organization assigns to him could easily take advantage of his good-natured heart, and…
"I'm sorry too," she says, and she notices her brother's eyes widening, his eyebrows raising, and the way he's about to say something but decides on not doing so. "I found out about your... new job, and I never talked to you about it." It would've been an awkward conversation anyway, she thinks, but still, there’s a lingering guilt in her heart.
“No, it’s okay.” Baku shakes his head, “I don't think I would have said anything as well.”
And then there's silence. Their small exchange over dinner doesn't help much to ease the tension — Minami bites her lips. This problem has to be fixed tonight or else.
She plays around with the food on her plate, watches her brother take a bite, and then looks at his plate. Great, there's still a good amount of food, and he's not the type of person to devour his meal in minutes. Plenty of time to brainstorm what to do! Her fingers tap against the table, only for a few seconds when an idea pops up into her head. It's like a lightbulb flashed right above her head because Baku looks at her again after being focused on his dinner. With lips curved into a wide smile, she claps her hands together. "Baku, take me on your missions."
Baku almost coughs up the food he had just swallowed. "No— No, you can't." It's only him who's able to enter other people's dreams after all, but Minami refuses to budge on the request she just gave him.
"I know it's impossible to be with you in dreams—" and it's not like she really wants to be a secret agent, no way, not when the only other person she knows from CODE is too suspicious, "—but I can be here in to support you, right? I'll be ready to investigate the dreamers in real life."
Baku blinks at her. Is her request really that bizarre to him? With every passing second, Minami begins to wonder if maybe she should've said something else instead, and she's ready to open her mouth again, ready to take back her words when a chuckle comes out of her brother's mouth. It's like there never was a weird, small conflict between the siblings. "Extra help is always nice."
"Extra help— from who, your boss?"
There's no quick response from him. "Wait, there's other people you didn't mention?"
"I didn't mean to do that! I just forgot!" He shakes his head, defending himself, and laughter begins to fill the room, which just makes Minami wonder why she didn't think of doing this sooner, wonder why they even had a problem in the first place when it could easily be fixed with a simple conversation.