Chapter Text
Sitting on a yellow carpet, crayons in hand. Bent over a small, dark, wooden table.
‘Jiniiiiichi, what is thaaat?’
Toji asks, crawling towards Jinichi, steadying himself against the table. He still draws out his words. He’s still little after all, only 2 years old. While Jinichi is already 5.
‘A monster.’ Jinichi says grumpily.
‘A monster?’
‘Cursed spirit.’
Coloured pencils laying on a paper.
‘You’re too little, so you cannot see them yet. But they’re very ugly.’
Toji stares at his drawing and sticks out his tongue.
‘Bleeee.’
‘Yeah.’ Jinichi agrees.
‘Do all of them look like dat?’ Toji asks.
‘No, but they are all ugly.’
Jinichi stops drawing, scans the fence on which the cursed spirit is sitting, then continues. Toji understood what that gesture meant. He opens his mouth in surprise, then stares at the fence, turns his head back towards Jinichi and asks in disbelief: ‘It’s there?’. Pointing his finger at the fence.
‘Yep.’
Toji pouts, then asks fearfully: ‘What if it comes inside?’
‘It’s too little, it can’t hurt us.’
‘But what if it does?’ Toji was getting closer to crying with every second now.
‘Nothing will happen, dummy. I just told you. And if it does, then dad will kill it.’
Jinichi tries to calm his brother down, but it seems it’s all futile. Toji backs away from the window from which he is supposed to see the cursed spirit, then sits down on the floor. Tears start welling in his eyes. Jinichi stands up but it is too late. Toji starts wailing.
Mom comes in running a few seconds later. She has her beautiful green kimono with flower patterns.
‘What is happening?’
‘Toji is afraid of the cursed spirit sitting on a fence.’
Toji sprawls up his arms, reaching for Mom to comfort him. She bends down for him but stops in the middle of the action, hearing what Jinichi had said.
‘He can see them?’
‘No, but he got scared of my drawing.’
‘Jinichi! You’re not supposed to scare your little brother like that!’ she scolds him.
‘I didn’t mean to!’
It’s true. Jinichi didn’t mean to scare his younger brother like that. Mom keeps swaying from side to side with Toji in her arms, whispering in a comforting manner.
‘Shhh, shhh it’s okay Toji, you are safe here. There, there.’
Jinichi just stares at them, then returns to his drawing. She keeps whispering.
‘Nobody can hurt you here. Not cursed spirits, nor anyone. They cannot hurt you here.’
Toji seems to calm down at the words, just slightly hiccupping into their mom's shoulder now. He then sits upright, stares at her wide-eyed. Nose stuffed.
‘It won’t come in here? For real?’
‘For real, and it cannot hurt you yet. Jinichi will make sure you won’t bump into any, until you can see them yourself.’
Jinichi perks up at the sound of his name, turns to look at her. She comes closer, turns to him too.
‘Right, Jinichi?’
‘Mhm!’ Jinichi agrees proudly.
‘You’re an older brother now, so make sure Toji won’t bump into any cursed spirits, okay?’
‘Yes Mom!’
Jinichi feels so proud to be a big brother. He wasn’t sure how to feel about Toji at first, since Mom and Dad needed to tend to him a lot at the beginning. Making Jinichi feel a little forgotten. But now he has grown fond of Toji. He’s fun, and it’s not as boring at home anymore. When they’re bored, they can just play together.
Toji wants to go down so she gently puts him back on the ground. He lifts his right index finger up to his mouth, hesitates. Then goes back to Jinichi and stares at his drawing once more.
‘It’s still ugly.’ He concludes.