Family Matters: Chapter 9
Title: Family matters ~ Chapter 9
Pairing: Jun, Masaki, Sho, Satoshi, Kazu (there are going to be additional side-characters though. No OCs.) I'm trying to give each of the five their well-deserves spot-light <3
Rating: PG
Multi-chapter
Beta: lover_youshould
Genre: family!AU in which Arashi are brothers :-) slice of life, a little drama (and I'm trying to add some light-hearted, funny moments to it too)
Summary: Since they were little they were always close to each other. And when unfortunate events force them to live together without their parents, it's only natural that they try to make the best out of it.
Kazu swiftly switches his clothes and hurries downstairs. To his surprise, he can see Satoshi basically hovering over a cup of coffee and Sho leaning against the fridge tiredly. “What happened?” Kazu asks, not able to hide the scared tone in his voice.
“Jun is nowhere to be found!” Masaki calls out.
“J?” The panic leaves Kazu immediately. “What do you mean?”
“We’ve searched everywhere, but he isn’t anywhere close.”
“Maybe he went for a walk,” Kazu suggests, already feeling a bit pissed for being woken up so early.
“At 6 AM?” Masaki wants to know. “On a public holiday?’”
“Or maybe he went to jog a bit. He likes sports, you all know that.”
Satoshi sighs slightly. “His sport clothes are here. I thought the same and wanted to check on it.”
Kazu looks at the three of them insistently. “So, what do you think he did? Rob a bank?”
“No-“ Masaki looks seriously miserable. Not half as miserable as Sho though. Looks almost hangoverish. He apparently got pulled down by Masaki’s overdramatic reaction even further. “He most likely ran away.”
“Ran away?” Kazu can’t even hide the disbelief in his voice. “Are you nuts? Jun would never do something like that. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m half on Kazu’s side here,” Satoshi agrees carefully. “Still, a little doubt remains.”
There is not even a hint of panic left inside him anymore. Instead, he feels very annoyed and pretty angry. “Little doubts?” he huffs. “Why? Because he had a fight with Sho? It’s Jun for god’s sake, not some sort of overdramatic, misunderstood teen! Jun doesn’t handle fights like that, he doesn’t run away from something like that!”
“But what if?” Sho wants to know. He looks pale and drained. He is basically the only one Kazu can slightly feel sympathy for right now. He must feel pretty guilty for snapping like he did.
“Don’t tell me you want to search for him?” Kazu asks. “Aren’t you over-reacting? At least wait until lunch!”
By the expression on his brothers’ faces he pretty much knows his efforts are in vain. He sighs deeply. “Fine. I’m coming along, just so you feel at ease. But let me tell you one thing. The problem is not Jun. The problem is that you are not having any faith in him. Or me. You are lacking fundamental trust. And I don’t mean trust as in I-know-you-won’t-lie-to-me. I mean trust as in you don’t trust him to know what he’s doing, to have his own abilities and his own strengths, make his own decision. You think we are both helpless little idiots.”
“You are pushing it too far, Kazu. Watch what you are saying,” Satoshi says unusually sharp. He sounds angry and his eyebrows are furrowed all of a sudden.
Right now Kazu couldn’t care less though. “You don’t understand,” he huffs. “It’s the worst thing you could possibly do to Jun. A fight with Sho is nothing in comparison to that. You can’t tell apart a misunderstanding and a real cry for help. Jun leaving before 6 AM is a misunderstanding, Jun driving the bicycle even when it’s raining like crazy is a cry for help.”
Meeting and joining a motorbike-gang is a cry for help he adds in his mind, much to his own surprise, but doesn’t say it out loud.
Satoshi stares at him thoughtfully now. He is still looking a bit angry, but there is also something else in his eyes now. It’s rare that he looks at him like that, with these awake eyes. Like he is seeing more and reading more into Kazu than Kazu actually wants to give away.
“We should talk about it later,” Masaki says all of a sudden. He sounds a bit sad, like Kazu has seriously hurt him with his words. He probably has, but Kazu can’t help it. It was necessary to finally say it out loud.
Satoshi is still watching him. He has that calm aura, that knowing gaze, these eyes that are always awake even when his face looks sleepy or all emotionless. Kazu full heartedly fears these eyes. He would rather swap with Jun and take it up with Sho. At least Sho is predictable. Satoshi isn’t. What he sees and knows, he keeps for himself for a while until he has finished watching. Kazu wonders what he found out at school yesterday or if he found out. And what he is going to do once he has finished watching. It drives him nuts.
When they all get up and leave, Kazu looks at Sho warily. “It’s not just your fault,” he finally says. And means it.
~~~
They split up. Satoshi and Sho. And Masaki and Kazu. Kazu angles for his phone while Masaki drives. They go to several places, like their school, the park, the lake, and it’s only because Masaki looks really depressed all of a sudden that Kazu decides to be supportive.
“Why do you think he ran away?” he asks.
“It’s just...” Masaki licks his lips as he continues driving towards the cemetery. “I know, I should have more faith and all, but that’s not the main problem.”
“If you trust Jun, what’s the problem then?” Kazu wants to know.
“I’m worried,” Masaki admits silently. “What if something happened? What if arguing with Sho pulled him down more than we thought? I mean, we left him alone yesterday, but what if we shouldn’t have? It’s our fault… We should have been more persistent. We should have helped Jun a lot earlier. As a bigger brother it really is a bad feeling to know that you just didn’t realize anything, didn’t understand anything. Why couldn’t we see the signs that something is wrong?”
“Masaki,” Kazu says softly. “This is not your fault, okay? You are just a human being; you can’t see everything and you can’t look into J’s mind, or mine. It’s okay.”
“Still…” Masaki hammers against the wheel. “He hates to sit in a car, and we didn’t even realize. How much more can we possibly fail?”
Kazu sighs slightly. He understands exactly what Masaki means; after all he has dragged Jun into his own problems throughout the last year too. He needs to stop that, seriously, and be a good older, and younger, brother too. Knowing Masaki’s sincere worries now, he decides to be a supportive younger brother for now and to help him in finding Jun. He goes for the easiest solution. Facebook chat.
Jun, where are you?
The answer comes five minutes later. At Shun’s place. Why?
Did one of our brothers call you?
No. Why should they?
Kazu leans back a bit and rolls his eyes. So easy. And none of them even tried to call him? “You know Masaki,” he says, smiling wickedly. “I know it’s still early, but why don’t we look at one of his friends’ place first?”
Masaki looks at him in surprise, before he nods. “Good idea! I’ll drive to Shun’s place.”
They find Jun in the garden of Shun’s house. They are both collecting plants there, while Shota - that gangster-looking dude - is scribbling something on a sketch block. Each of them has a pen in their hand and some sheets of paper. Jun is wearing glasses. Biology class assignment, Kazu would say if he had to guess.
“I’m so glad I found you, Jun.” Masaki sighs deeply when he hugs a very surprised Jun. “All of us have searched for you. We were so worried. I don’t like you running away!”
Jun sounds surprised. “Running away?” He looks at Kazu who just taps his forehead to signal to him how stupid he thinks everyone is.
“Yes, after you had that fight with Sho, you just disappeared and-“
“The STD-brother?” Shota asks curiously.
Jun winces slightly, almost unrecognizable to anyone else. Kazu knows he should act more mature, but he just can’t help it. He is turning to the side, hiding his laugh. Even Masaki’s lips are tugging slightly. This is going to turn into a joke soon, he is sure about that, Sho won’t hear the end of it ever. Not even in ten years. Masaki clears his throat. “What I wanted to say is that you shouldn’t run away from Sho. He feels sorry and-“
“Masaki, I left a note.”
“What?”
“I left a note, you idiots! Right next to the mirror of the corridor, the place we always leave notes for each other. I’m here for a school project. Shun, Shota-kun and I have a biology project assignment together and want to get done with it as soon as possible so that we can watch some movies later.” Jun pauses, looking deeply insulted and quite angry. “Do I seriously look like the type of person who would run away just because of a fight with his brother!? How overdramatic do you think I am?”
Kazu can’t help a grin.
That other dude, Shota, grunts in amusement. “Your family is so much fun, Jun-kun!”
“Told you!” Shun agrees, grinning. “It’s like out of a comic!”
~~~
They called back the other two immediately after they found Jun. Kazu still has to grin a bit. And gloat. He knew that Jun wouldn’t do something that reckless and overdramatic. It was ridiculous to begin with.
And Kazu has enjoyed the fact that he had been right. Awesome feeling.
“Say it,” he demands.
Satoshi grunts, while Sho lets out a sigh. “Fine,” the latter finally says. “I’m going to say it.” He chuckles. “You were right, Kazu.”
“I was!” Kazu grins, deciding that he should be happy with at least Sho accepting his genius.
When he is about to turn around to leave, Satoshi and Sho are exchanging a glance. “Are you going somewhere?” Satoshi asks, obviously in what’s supposed to be a light tone.
Kazu frowns. “Yes, visiting a friend. Why?”
The others stay quiet, awkwardly so. Something inside his head rings. They can’t possibly know, can they? But it’s impossible. Jun is the only one who knows he is meeting guys outside of school and that they are not the best. He doesn’t know it’s an actual gang though, gladly. So there is no way the others would know. Has to be something else…
“I’m meeting that friend from school,” he explains further.
Masaki has a sudden relieved look in his eyes. “The one from yesterday? Who helped you with the math exam?”
The mere mention of the word exam and help together, has also obviously put Sho at ease. “Just don’t come home too late please,” he says casually. He fails with it, but Kazu doesn’t mind much.
Only Satoshi stays weirdly quiet and doesn’t say anything. But his eyes are awake again, like they are so often when he has sensed that something is off. It ticks Kazu off so badly to see that look. He just wants to run from it.
“Sure, meet you for dinner,” he says before Satoshi actually finds his speech again, and hurries to the bus station.
~~~
Karina and Ryo almost break down laughing. “You aren’t serious? They basically all stormed off to look for the missing baby brother who was just at a friend’s house?” Ryo giggles.
“And he left a note,” Kazu explains with a smile. “Not to mention that none of them thought of calling him before running to look for him. Glad no one called the police.”
Ryo laughs. “Your family is so much fun.”
“You know,” Karina smiles and hands them both some hot chocolate. “Your mother was really impulsive too, and the moment she thought something was off, she would just run. A bit like Masaki-kun and Sho-san. Satoshi-kun is more like your father.”
“But my father had a pretty bad temper sometimes,” Kazu muses. “Wouldn’t that make Sho similar to him?”
“Hm, I’m not sure,” she tilts her head and sits down next to Kazu. “It’s the only thing they really share. Your father was a pretty thoughtful guy, kind actually but it was difficult to understand what he was thinking sometimes, which means Satoshi-kun probably has that side of him. Sho-san only has his temper, but the sharp mind and the honest, open-hearted personality are rather from your mother. When she did wrong, she would always try to solve it. She was also really kind and she was full of emotions, and liked to show them. And she could be so stubborn.”
“A bit like Jun too,” Kazu rests his chin on his folded hands. “He is like that. So good-hearted though he looks a bit dangerous sometimes, but freaking stubborn.”
“He is interesting,” Ryo says. “People are drawn to him immediately. I finally understood why when I met him yesterday.”
“Hm, so who do I resemble?”
Karina grins. “You are snarky like your mother, but also charming like she was. And calm and composed like your father sometimes, and witty.”
Kazu scratches his head and exchanges a look with Ryo. “She is your sister. Was that a compliment now or should I be worried?”
Ryo chuckles. “I think she meant it in a good way. Didn’t you?”
Karina sighs. “I think these can be pretty positive characteristics. Besides that you are loyal and have a high sense of protection, which is lovely actually. Just try to protect yourself too.” She throws him a worried glance, which is so obviously full of concern that Kazu feels bad immediately.
“I’m trying to quit,” he says honestly.
“Is that true?” Karina asks, eyeing Ryo.
The latter nods. “He is. I even went to this club with him that some of the guys are frequenting.”
“Hey,” Kazu complains. “Don’t you trust me? Why would I say that I will quit if I won’t…”
“It’s like a drug, Kazunari-kun.” Karina stands up and takes her cup along to the sink. She takes some vegetables and meat out of the fridge. “Even if you want to stop, it doesn’t mean you really will. It’s not so much about trust-“ She pauses. “Or yes, maybe it is.”
“Well, thank you,” Kazu grumbles. It’s difficult to admit it, but the lack of trust from others does sting. He knows that Jun is slowly losing his faith in him too, which is even worse. He doesn’t want that to happen. He has to react fast.
“I will leave,” he says calmly and he hopes his resolution comes through. “I’ve made up my mind a while ago.”
“If you do,” Karina eyes him in worry. “Tell me beforehand. Seriously Kazunari, don’t do anything reckless. It’s dangerous. Tell me, or Ryo. Promise me!”
He doesn’t want a fuss, that much is already clear for Kazu, and there is no way he will involve Karina or Ryo - definitely not. He can’t do that to them, can’t put them into that danger. He will deal with that problem alone. But he obviously can’t tell her exactly that, so he just nods and smiles. “I will.” He decides to change the topic swiftly. “I think I’m in different problems though.”
“Why’s that?” Ryo asks curiously, gladly immediately taking the bait.
“Satoshi was completely weird today. Sho too. I guess they heard a little too much yesterday at the school event, even though the whole drama with Sho and J might have come to my advantage.” He stays silent for a moment. “I doubt though that they will forget it. They might just wait for good timing. Awesome.”
“But if they know and didn’t jump at you immediately, isn’t that actually a good thing for you?”
Kazu shrugs. “It was just a coincidence that Sho and Jun got into a fight right now, otherwise they would have definitely told me all about what they heard.” When Karina puts a plate with fried noodles in front of him, he smiles thankfully. He chews on his first bite thoughtfully. He needs to clear his business before Satoshi and the others decide to ask him about why he was missing in school so much. He could wholeheartedly tell and promise them he is going to do better from now on, and it wouldn’t even be a lie, because he would have cleared everything beforehand.
He needs to do that. He can’t mess it up.
~~~
Jun stayed at Shun’s place until the afternoon to finish his work and hang out with him - coming home after Kazu did. Now he is back at home but nowhere to be found.
Kazu knows him well enough to leave him alone. So he grabs a set with cards and goes to the kitchen. “Wanna play a round of Shithead?” he asks casually.
Satoshi grins a bit. “Haven’t played that in forever.” He puts his drawing block to the side and nods. “Sure, why not.”
“It’s such a ridiculous game,” Masaki complains while he shifts around some plates.
“Ridiculous but fun,” Satoshi argues.
Kazu smiles. Sometimes it is still nice and all casual to be with Satoshi, he thinks. Not that weirdly tensed or worrisome. He has originally just brought the card game along to distract his brothers but now he thinks it’s not a distraction anymore but an actually good idea. It’s been long since he hung out with Satoshi almost alone and had fun.
“Where is Jun now?” Masaki asks when he sets the table for their dinner. “And Sho?” he adds. “I’ve called for them several times already. Dinner is almost ready. My perfect Tempura.”
“Leave them alone for a while. They need some time.” Satoshi says calmly while he picks up some cards. “They will for sure join us later. For now, just let them be alone with each other. Sho is not an idiot, he knows what he is doing.”
A/N: I'm so sorry for teasing you all with the last cliffhanger :-) In the end it was just a misunderstanding it seems? ^^
So, what do you think about Kazu's resolution?
Pairing: Jun, Masaki, Sho, Satoshi, Kazu (there are going to be additional side-characters though. No OCs.) I'm trying to give each of the five their well-deserves spot-light <3
Rating: PG
Multi-chapter
Beta: lover_youshould
Genre: family!AU in which Arashi are brothers :-) slice of life, a little drama (and I'm trying to add some light-hearted, funny moments to it too)
Summary: Since they were little they were always close to each other. And when unfortunate events force them to live together without their parents, it's only natural that they try to make the best out of it.
Kazu swiftly switches his clothes and hurries downstairs. To his surprise, he can see Satoshi basically hovering over a cup of coffee and Sho leaning against the fridge tiredly. “What happened?” Kazu asks, not able to hide the scared tone in his voice.
“Jun is nowhere to be found!” Masaki calls out.
“J?” The panic leaves Kazu immediately. “What do you mean?”
“We’ve searched everywhere, but he isn’t anywhere close.”
“Maybe he went for a walk,” Kazu suggests, already feeling a bit pissed for being woken up so early.
“At 6 AM?” Masaki wants to know. “On a public holiday?’”
“Or maybe he went to jog a bit. He likes sports, you all know that.”
Satoshi sighs slightly. “His sport clothes are here. I thought the same and wanted to check on it.”
Kazu looks at the three of them insistently. “So, what do you think he did? Rob a bank?”
“No-“ Masaki looks seriously miserable. Not half as miserable as Sho though. Looks almost hangoverish. He apparently got pulled down by Masaki’s overdramatic reaction even further. “He most likely ran away.”
“Ran away?” Kazu can’t even hide the disbelief in his voice. “Are you nuts? Jun would never do something like that. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m half on Kazu’s side here,” Satoshi agrees carefully. “Still, a little doubt remains.”
There is not even a hint of panic left inside him anymore. Instead, he feels very annoyed and pretty angry. “Little doubts?” he huffs. “Why? Because he had a fight with Sho? It’s Jun for god’s sake, not some sort of overdramatic, misunderstood teen! Jun doesn’t handle fights like that, he doesn’t run away from something like that!”
“But what if?” Sho wants to know. He looks pale and drained. He is basically the only one Kazu can slightly feel sympathy for right now. He must feel pretty guilty for snapping like he did.
“Don’t tell me you want to search for him?” Kazu asks. “Aren’t you over-reacting? At least wait until lunch!”
By the expression on his brothers’ faces he pretty much knows his efforts are in vain. He sighs deeply. “Fine. I’m coming along, just so you feel at ease. But let me tell you one thing. The problem is not Jun. The problem is that you are not having any faith in him. Or me. You are lacking fundamental trust. And I don’t mean trust as in I-know-you-won’t-lie-to-me. I mean trust as in you don’t trust him to know what he’s doing, to have his own abilities and his own strengths, make his own decision. You think we are both helpless little idiots.”
“You are pushing it too far, Kazu. Watch what you are saying,” Satoshi says unusually sharp. He sounds angry and his eyebrows are furrowed all of a sudden.
Right now Kazu couldn’t care less though. “You don’t understand,” he huffs. “It’s the worst thing you could possibly do to Jun. A fight with Sho is nothing in comparison to that. You can’t tell apart a misunderstanding and a real cry for help. Jun leaving before 6 AM is a misunderstanding, Jun driving the bicycle even when it’s raining like crazy is a cry for help.”
Meeting and joining a motorbike-gang is a cry for help he adds in his mind, much to his own surprise, but doesn’t say it out loud.
Satoshi stares at him thoughtfully now. He is still looking a bit angry, but there is also something else in his eyes now. It’s rare that he looks at him like that, with these awake eyes. Like he is seeing more and reading more into Kazu than Kazu actually wants to give away.
“We should talk about it later,” Masaki says all of a sudden. He sounds a bit sad, like Kazu has seriously hurt him with his words. He probably has, but Kazu can’t help it. It was necessary to finally say it out loud.
Satoshi is still watching him. He has that calm aura, that knowing gaze, these eyes that are always awake even when his face looks sleepy or all emotionless. Kazu full heartedly fears these eyes. He would rather swap with Jun and take it up with Sho. At least Sho is predictable. Satoshi isn’t. What he sees and knows, he keeps for himself for a while until he has finished watching. Kazu wonders what he found out at school yesterday or if he found out. And what he is going to do once he has finished watching. It drives him nuts.
When they all get up and leave, Kazu looks at Sho warily. “It’s not just your fault,” he finally says. And means it.
~~~
They split up. Satoshi and Sho. And Masaki and Kazu. Kazu angles for his phone while Masaki drives. They go to several places, like their school, the park, the lake, and it’s only because Masaki looks really depressed all of a sudden that Kazu decides to be supportive.
“Why do you think he ran away?” he asks.
“It’s just...” Masaki licks his lips as he continues driving towards the cemetery. “I know, I should have more faith and all, but that’s not the main problem.”
“If you trust Jun, what’s the problem then?” Kazu wants to know.
“I’m worried,” Masaki admits silently. “What if something happened? What if arguing with Sho pulled him down more than we thought? I mean, we left him alone yesterday, but what if we shouldn’t have? It’s our fault… We should have been more persistent. We should have helped Jun a lot earlier. As a bigger brother it really is a bad feeling to know that you just didn’t realize anything, didn’t understand anything. Why couldn’t we see the signs that something is wrong?”
“Masaki,” Kazu says softly. “This is not your fault, okay? You are just a human being; you can’t see everything and you can’t look into J’s mind, or mine. It’s okay.”
“Still…” Masaki hammers against the wheel. “He hates to sit in a car, and we didn’t even realize. How much more can we possibly fail?”
Kazu sighs slightly. He understands exactly what Masaki means; after all he has dragged Jun into his own problems throughout the last year too. He needs to stop that, seriously, and be a good older, and younger, brother too. Knowing Masaki’s sincere worries now, he decides to be a supportive younger brother for now and to help him in finding Jun. He goes for the easiest solution. Facebook chat.
Jun, where are you?
The answer comes five minutes later. At Shun’s place. Why?
Did one of our brothers call you?
No. Why should they?
Kazu leans back a bit and rolls his eyes. So easy. And none of them even tried to call him? “You know Masaki,” he says, smiling wickedly. “I know it’s still early, but why don’t we look at one of his friends’ place first?”
Masaki looks at him in surprise, before he nods. “Good idea! I’ll drive to Shun’s place.”
They find Jun in the garden of Shun’s house. They are both collecting plants there, while Shota - that gangster-looking dude - is scribbling something on a sketch block. Each of them has a pen in their hand and some sheets of paper. Jun is wearing glasses. Biology class assignment, Kazu would say if he had to guess.
“I’m so glad I found you, Jun.” Masaki sighs deeply when he hugs a very surprised Jun. “All of us have searched for you. We were so worried. I don’t like you running away!”
Jun sounds surprised. “Running away?” He looks at Kazu who just taps his forehead to signal to him how stupid he thinks everyone is.
“Yes, after you had that fight with Sho, you just disappeared and-“
“The STD-brother?” Shota asks curiously.
Jun winces slightly, almost unrecognizable to anyone else. Kazu knows he should act more mature, but he just can’t help it. He is turning to the side, hiding his laugh. Even Masaki’s lips are tugging slightly. This is going to turn into a joke soon, he is sure about that, Sho won’t hear the end of it ever. Not even in ten years. Masaki clears his throat. “What I wanted to say is that you shouldn’t run away from Sho. He feels sorry and-“
“Masaki, I left a note.”
“What?”
“I left a note, you idiots! Right next to the mirror of the corridor, the place we always leave notes for each other. I’m here for a school project. Shun, Shota-kun and I have a biology project assignment together and want to get done with it as soon as possible so that we can watch some movies later.” Jun pauses, looking deeply insulted and quite angry. “Do I seriously look like the type of person who would run away just because of a fight with his brother!? How overdramatic do you think I am?”
Kazu can’t help a grin.
That other dude, Shota, grunts in amusement. “Your family is so much fun, Jun-kun!”
“Told you!” Shun agrees, grinning. “It’s like out of a comic!”
~~~
They called back the other two immediately after they found Jun. Kazu still has to grin a bit. And gloat. He knew that Jun wouldn’t do something that reckless and overdramatic. It was ridiculous to begin with.
And Kazu has enjoyed the fact that he had been right. Awesome feeling.
“Say it,” he demands.
Satoshi grunts, while Sho lets out a sigh. “Fine,” the latter finally says. “I’m going to say it.” He chuckles. “You were right, Kazu.”
“I was!” Kazu grins, deciding that he should be happy with at least Sho accepting his genius.
When he is about to turn around to leave, Satoshi and Sho are exchanging a glance. “Are you going somewhere?” Satoshi asks, obviously in what’s supposed to be a light tone.
Kazu frowns. “Yes, visiting a friend. Why?”
The others stay quiet, awkwardly so. Something inside his head rings. They can’t possibly know, can they? But it’s impossible. Jun is the only one who knows he is meeting guys outside of school and that they are not the best. He doesn’t know it’s an actual gang though, gladly. So there is no way the others would know. Has to be something else…
“I’m meeting that friend from school,” he explains further.
Masaki has a sudden relieved look in his eyes. “The one from yesterday? Who helped you with the math exam?”
The mere mention of the word exam and help together, has also obviously put Sho at ease. “Just don’t come home too late please,” he says casually. He fails with it, but Kazu doesn’t mind much.
Only Satoshi stays weirdly quiet and doesn’t say anything. But his eyes are awake again, like they are so often when he has sensed that something is off. It ticks Kazu off so badly to see that look. He just wants to run from it.
“Sure, meet you for dinner,” he says before Satoshi actually finds his speech again, and hurries to the bus station.
~~~
Karina and Ryo almost break down laughing. “You aren’t serious? They basically all stormed off to look for the missing baby brother who was just at a friend’s house?” Ryo giggles.
“And he left a note,” Kazu explains with a smile. “Not to mention that none of them thought of calling him before running to look for him. Glad no one called the police.”
Ryo laughs. “Your family is so much fun.”
“You know,” Karina smiles and hands them both some hot chocolate. “Your mother was really impulsive too, and the moment she thought something was off, she would just run. A bit like Masaki-kun and Sho-san. Satoshi-kun is more like your father.”
“But my father had a pretty bad temper sometimes,” Kazu muses. “Wouldn’t that make Sho similar to him?”
“Hm, I’m not sure,” she tilts her head and sits down next to Kazu. “It’s the only thing they really share. Your father was a pretty thoughtful guy, kind actually but it was difficult to understand what he was thinking sometimes, which means Satoshi-kun probably has that side of him. Sho-san only has his temper, but the sharp mind and the honest, open-hearted personality are rather from your mother. When she did wrong, she would always try to solve it. She was also really kind and she was full of emotions, and liked to show them. And she could be so stubborn.”
“A bit like Jun too,” Kazu rests his chin on his folded hands. “He is like that. So good-hearted though he looks a bit dangerous sometimes, but freaking stubborn.”
“He is interesting,” Ryo says. “People are drawn to him immediately. I finally understood why when I met him yesterday.”
“Hm, so who do I resemble?”
Karina grins. “You are snarky like your mother, but also charming like she was. And calm and composed like your father sometimes, and witty.”
Kazu scratches his head and exchanges a look with Ryo. “She is your sister. Was that a compliment now or should I be worried?”
Ryo chuckles. “I think she meant it in a good way. Didn’t you?”
Karina sighs. “I think these can be pretty positive characteristics. Besides that you are loyal and have a high sense of protection, which is lovely actually. Just try to protect yourself too.” She throws him a worried glance, which is so obviously full of concern that Kazu feels bad immediately.
“I’m trying to quit,” he says honestly.
“Is that true?” Karina asks, eyeing Ryo.
The latter nods. “He is. I even went to this club with him that some of the guys are frequenting.”
“Hey,” Kazu complains. “Don’t you trust me? Why would I say that I will quit if I won’t…”
“It’s like a drug, Kazunari-kun.” Karina stands up and takes her cup along to the sink. She takes some vegetables and meat out of the fridge. “Even if you want to stop, it doesn’t mean you really will. It’s not so much about trust-“ She pauses. “Or yes, maybe it is.”
“Well, thank you,” Kazu grumbles. It’s difficult to admit it, but the lack of trust from others does sting. He knows that Jun is slowly losing his faith in him too, which is even worse. He doesn’t want that to happen. He has to react fast.
“I will leave,” he says calmly and he hopes his resolution comes through. “I’ve made up my mind a while ago.”
“If you do,” Karina eyes him in worry. “Tell me beforehand. Seriously Kazunari, don’t do anything reckless. It’s dangerous. Tell me, or Ryo. Promise me!”
He doesn’t want a fuss, that much is already clear for Kazu, and there is no way he will involve Karina or Ryo - definitely not. He can’t do that to them, can’t put them into that danger. He will deal with that problem alone. But he obviously can’t tell her exactly that, so he just nods and smiles. “I will.” He decides to change the topic swiftly. “I think I’m in different problems though.”
“Why’s that?” Ryo asks curiously, gladly immediately taking the bait.
“Satoshi was completely weird today. Sho too. I guess they heard a little too much yesterday at the school event, even though the whole drama with Sho and J might have come to my advantage.” He stays silent for a moment. “I doubt though that they will forget it. They might just wait for good timing. Awesome.”
“But if they know and didn’t jump at you immediately, isn’t that actually a good thing for you?”
Kazu shrugs. “It was just a coincidence that Sho and Jun got into a fight right now, otherwise they would have definitely told me all about what they heard.” When Karina puts a plate with fried noodles in front of him, he smiles thankfully. He chews on his first bite thoughtfully. He needs to clear his business before Satoshi and the others decide to ask him about why he was missing in school so much. He could wholeheartedly tell and promise them he is going to do better from now on, and it wouldn’t even be a lie, because he would have cleared everything beforehand.
He needs to do that. He can’t mess it up.
~~~
Jun stayed at Shun’s place until the afternoon to finish his work and hang out with him - coming home after Kazu did. Now he is back at home but nowhere to be found.
Kazu knows him well enough to leave him alone. So he grabs a set with cards and goes to the kitchen. “Wanna play a round of Shithead?” he asks casually.
Satoshi grins a bit. “Haven’t played that in forever.” He puts his drawing block to the side and nods. “Sure, why not.”
“It’s such a ridiculous game,” Masaki complains while he shifts around some plates.
“Ridiculous but fun,” Satoshi argues.
Kazu smiles. Sometimes it is still nice and all casual to be with Satoshi, he thinks. Not that weirdly tensed or worrisome. He has originally just brought the card game along to distract his brothers but now he thinks it’s not a distraction anymore but an actually good idea. It’s been long since he hung out with Satoshi almost alone and had fun.
“Where is Jun now?” Masaki asks when he sets the table for their dinner. “And Sho?” he adds. “I’ve called for them several times already. Dinner is almost ready. My perfect Tempura.”
“Leave them alone for a while. They need some time.” Satoshi says calmly while he picks up some cards. “They will for sure join us later. For now, just let them be alone with each other. Sho is not an idiot, he knows what he is doing.”
A/N: I'm so sorry for teasing you all with the last cliffhanger :-) In the end it was just a misunderstanding it seems? ^^
So, what do you think about Kazu's resolution?