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Natsu narrows her eyes.
Video calling her brother was easier than she was worried it was going to be. Brazil was exactly 12 hours behind Japan, so her 9pm was Shouyou’s 9am. That was just right for her to be done with her homework but still awake, and Shouyou…
Well, he didn’t talk much about his schedule, actually.
That’s not to say her brother didn’t talk. He was a motormouth on the best of days, their mom was constantly saying how much quieter it had gotten without him. He told Natsu about Rio, about the beach, about the cat that lived on the block, about his roommate who liked One Piece.
But he didn’t say anything real.
Which brings her to this. Outright asking, in the most blunt little-sister way she knows how to: “How are you doing, Shouyou?”
His mouth opens, and closes. A smile pushes onto his face, almost identical to a real smile. “I’m doing great!”
Natsu sighs.
“You know,” she says, conversationally, “if I was the one flying halfway across the world… I’d be super excited, but I’d also be kind of scared, and a little lonely. I mean, I’m the one who stayed home and I’m lonely, too. You see, my super cool awesome brother is out there, totally fine apparently, but it’s quiet here and I miss him. Isn’t that wild? I think I’d feel better if he missed me a little, too.”
The silence after that is… loud. Specific. She watches as a few different expressions pass over Shouyou’s face, each harder to describe than the next.
Then, finally, he breaks on a massive sigh.
“Of course I miss you, Nacchan. I miss everyone! Mom and dad and Kenma and Yachi and Yuudai and… I even miss Kageyama,” he adds in a low, disgruntled mutter. (She thinks his ears might be a bit red, though—unless that’s just sunburn.) “But I really $am& having a great time. I’m excited to play beach volleyball, I know I can learn so much.” And that was real, the sparkle in his eyes. Natsu props her chin on her hands, grinning.
“You can be both, niisan. You can be having fun and want to be there 100%, but still miss home. You can have both of those emotions at the same time. It’s okay.”
Shouyou’s brow furrows. “Two emotions… at the same time…” he strokes his invisible beard. “No, no, that can’t possibly be true!”
Natsu lets out a delighted laugh. There, that was her niisan, the brother she knew and loved so much.