Otanjoubi no Monogatari 2/3: Lucky (Part 5/6)
Title: Lucky
Pairing: YamaJima (with other pairings at the side)
Notes: Another belated birthday present for Yatsuiko-chan… and to keep up the Yamajima spirit during the holiday seasons… :3
→Part 2 of 3 of your very belated birthday present :3
Disclaimer: I own nobody. Johnny janai yo~
The evening breeze was cold, tickling Yamada’s neck with its gentle little fingers on his way home. Constantly he rubbed his arms to create heat as he walked home, quite alone. Usually, there was a chattering Yuto by his side when he went home this time of night… but apparently things are different. He passed the park near his house and could not resist looking back, half-expecting to see two children on the swing laughing merrily without a care in the world... but apparently, that was the past. He wanted things to go back to normal... he wants to be himself with Yuto again... but apparently, he has to do something... he can't always wish on shooting stars and four-leaf clovers and hope that things would go well...
He has to take a stand.
He finally arrived at his home and went straight to the living room. His younger sister was there, doing her homework in front of the TV.
"Why don't you go up to your room so you could focus?" Yamada said in a lazy voice, dropping down on the couch next to his sister. Misaki chucked a pillow at his direction which Yamada deflected with an arm across his face.
"Okaeri... I have to do a report about the news tonight, and I need to submit it tomorrow... that's why I'm staying here," she explained.
"Ah, sou... Nee-chan wa?" Yamada asked, filching some cookies from the platter next to his sister. She swatted his arm away, but not before he succeeded in cramming some into his mouth.
"She's not yet home, but she called me earlier... she said she's already on the way home, she just stopped to buy something from the store," Misaki answered. "Have you eaten already? Kaa-san left curry for you at the table."
"Nah, I'm not that hungry... Just keep it in the refrigerator..." Yamada answered, staring at the television screen. Misaki rounded at her brother and watched him with narrowed eyes.
"Something happened, right?" she asked, making her brother choke on the cookie he was trying to eat.
"W-what are you talking about?" Yamada asked, pounding on his chest to clear his throat.
"You don't want to eat. That by itself is weird in its own right. And you look weird... although you always look weird ever since your projects piled up, but now you look weirder than ever. Doushitano, nii-chan?" his sister asked, genuinely concerned.
"I...I'm just... tired, I guess... and what did you mean by me looking weird?" Yamada replied. To his surprise, his sister looked down and, of all things, blushed.
"I just noticed... but... you look different, somehow... you became more popular, but instead of being happy you would only look tired, frustrated or sad... also, Yuto-kun doesn't come to visit these past few weeks, right? Did... did you fight?" she asked in a rush. "Sorry for being nosy! I... I just..." she fumbled, playing with the edge of the pillow on her lap.
"Daijobu..." Yamada whispered, and Misaki looked up to look at him for the first time since she spoke. "That's it, I guess... we didn't fight... but it's my fault..." he said softly, covering his face with his hands. A gentle hand touched his shoulder and he looked up to find his sister's face smiling down at him.
"Well, if it's your fault... whatever you did...
...the only thing to do is to fix it, deshou?"
•••
Yamada was lying face down on his bed, thinking about all the conversations that he had gone through today. His mind was opened to the things he had carelessly done... all his misgivings... and the stupidity he manifested the past few days.
"Aah~ baka, baka, BAKA! Self-centered idiot who doesn't understand his best friend's feelings... BAKA!!!" Yamada screamed into his pillow.
"Ryo-chan? Doushitano?" a female voice sounded from his door. Yamada looked up to find his older sister standing by his door frame, holding a bowl of strawberries in her hands.
"Ah... nee-chan..." Yamada said slowly, looking at his sister with unreadable eyes.
"The least you could do when screaming in your room is to close the door; you could wake up the whole neighborhood... sorry if I didn't knock, it was open anyway..." Chiharu said, letting herself in and sitting down next to the sprawled figure of her younger brother, placing the strawberries on his bedside table.
"Ah... gomen nasai..." Yamada mumbled, sitting up but refusing to meet his sister's keen gaze.
"So... besides being an idiot, what happened to you? Why are you screaming your head off?" she gently probed. Yamada blushed a brilliant red, shaking his head and refusing to answer.
"You won't tell me? Then do I have to call Yuto-kun and ask him?" Chiharu threatened. Yamada's head snapped up in an instant.
"NO! Please don't... don't do that..." said Yamada in a rush. Chiharu smiled.
"So, it's true.." she said with a smug smile.
"Eh? You know already?" asked Yamada, shock--and embarrassment--registering in his face.
"Un. Your sister told me," she said matter-of-factly.
"Mou~" groaned Yamada, face palming in his embarrassment.
"Look, I don't know why you guys fought or anything, and if you don't want to tell me then I won't ask if that's what you like... but let me tell you one thing... whatever the cause, please make up with Yuto-kun... I've noticed that he doesn't come here anymore... though I like Chinen-kun, something about Yuto-kun makes you a Yamada Ryosuke that I like... with Nakajima Yuto, you become the Yamada Ryosuke that I haven't seen for a long time. I miss my brother who will giggle endlessly with his best friend in this same room; I even miss the chaos that you make in our kitchen whenever you make your weird food experiments with him... the person I see on TV is different from the one I know... I miss the real you... your real smile, your real laugh..." Chiharu said with a small sigh.
"You know... you're the third person who told me that today..." said Yamada in a quiet voice, making his sister look up.”All of you said the same thing, more or less... that I've changed... that I've been acting differently... that I'm a different Yamada Ryosuke from what they remember... truth is, I realized that a long time ago. It was too fast, you know? All the things that happened to me, it was all a blur. I could barely see myself or the people around me. My friends drifted away before I realized how stupid I have been acting... and it was my entire fault. I was wrapped up in my busy world, too caught up in the moment to realize that what was important was right in front of me the whole time. I want to get back what I lost... but I don't know where I should start... Nee-chan... What should I do?" said Yamada, speaking to his hands the whole time.
Chiharu placed a hand on Yamada's chin and lifted up his face so she could look at him in eye. She placed a finger on his forehead, smoothing out the frown that dominated his face. "Talk to him the first thing tomorrow morning. Not through the phone," she warned, stopping the younger boy from reaching for his phone. "Things like this are better discussed face to face; that way you could properly convey your emotions."
"Wow, sugoi... you really know a lot about this things, Nee-chan," Yamada said, awe in his voice. Chiharu smiled and got up from the bed, pinching Yamada's cheeks and walking towards the door.
"There are certain advantages to being older, you know... Oyasumi nasai..." she said with a smile, closing the door to her brother's room behind her gently.
"Oi! That hurt, you know!" Yamada called out after his sister. Hearing his sister's answering laugh, he couldn't help but smile himself. That smile was a shadow of the Yamada Ryosuke that the people have missed... the Yamada Ryosuke of the past...
Oyasumi nasai...
Chii-chan... Misaki... Nee-chan... Hontou ni arigato gozaimasu...