mission report for maplarojcan (part 1 of 3)
Mission report for maplarojcan
Delivered by: crazyfaucet
Title: Raspberry Bushes surprisingly have Thorns
Groups/Pairings: Hey! Say! JUMP : Takaki/Chinen, Takaki/Hikaru
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Language
Summary: Yuya and Yuri are brothers not of blood, but that doesn’t mean their bond is weak. When Yuya finally becomes aware of an important aspect of himself and he finds he can’t tell Yuri regardless of their ability to talk about anything. Does it break them apart? Will Yuya lose the most important person in his life because of it?
Notes: My endless thanks goes out to Lauren who held my hand, motivated me and corrected all my errors throughout this process. Also, thank you to all the others who motivated me kept me smiling and gave me tips. This piece would be not have been completed without you guys! Lastly, an actual important notes, yuukisaibai means orgranic(food product) and mayo means (in my case) lose your way or go astray. To Map-chan, I hope you enjoy this at your own pace.
When Chinen Miki, better known as television news anchor Oozawa Yuuri, told her 10 year old son and 12 year old daughter about remarrying right after a rather messy divorce from their father, her son Yuri had a fit and locked himself in his room for the following 24 hours.
As she waited, she wondered whether she was making the right decision or not. Maybe it was too soon.
When he finally came out of his room, he apologized to his mother, who in turn, gave him a big hug and apologized too.
“I know you really loved your father and I don’t expect you to let Iwao-san take his place but please, just try to get along, okay? I love you Yuri, and our new family will love us too, okay?” His mom said softly, holding him tightly. Yuri nodded his head.
“I love you, Mom.” He mumbled into her shoulder.
“I love you too,” she smiled, “How about you start getting ready? We’re going to have dinner with the Takaki’s tonight. Tell Saya too!” Yuri nodded again as he headed down the marble hallway and up the wood steps to his bedroom.
The Chinens lived in one of Shibuya’s best penthouses that had a great view of the Tokyo Tower. It was the most beautiful thing Yuri had ever seen, and on most nights he would look out his window and watch as the lights brought the city to life. He really was going to miss it, especially since President Takaki would probably want them to live in his home. It was a lot bigger and could easily accommodate for the 8 person family they would be.
That’s all Yuri could think about now, as he watched the city pass by him through the car window that was driving the 3 of them to their new home.
When they arrived Yuri kept close to his sister’s side. It was the first time he had stepped into such a big home before, and it was the home of people who were practically strangers to him. But would soon be part of his family. He felt like an ant below the high ceilings and amongst the wide, empty rooms.
“Miki!”
Both the boy and his mother whipped their heads toward the voice of none other than the Liberal Democractic Party President himself, who smiled and kissed his mother’s cheek lightly. Yuri held tighter onto his sister’s dress, trying to distance himself from his new ‘father’.
“Yuri-kun, it’s okay, I won’t hurt you. It’s really nice to meet you,” the man smiled, before turning to Saya, “It’s nice to meet you too! My daughters will love having a little sister, and my son Ryutaro is really looking forward to having a younger brother too!”
“Um…dear…Yuri is older than Ryutaro-kun,” Miki corrected her fiancé, who blanched, while the little boy gave the politician a black stare.
“Uh…well…um…why don’t you go play with everyone? Shigemi, Saya-chan and Yuri-kun are here!” Immediately the clicking of heels echoed against the walls in the hallway as the girl in question came to the front door. She bowed.
“Takaki Shigemi, it’s nice to finally meet you. Thank you for making my father so happy,” she greeted, bowing again, with a smile. Miki was shocked at the young teen’s neat, plain attire that consisted of a long skirt and white blouse. “Saya-chan, Yuri-kun, let’s go to the game room! We have lots of video games you can play. Ryu-kun will be happy to teach you.” Emi said with that same smile, kneeling down to the level of both children.
Yuri found himself taking Emi’s out stretched hand with a nudge from his sister and let himself be led away by Emi. Meeting his little brother was fun too, although Ryutaro got really upset when he’d lose to Yuri in a game, and would start crying, but Saya and Emi cheered him up with a tickle fight. Then Yuri found himself also in the tickle fight, and he grew to like his new family a lot more than he had ever imagined he would.
Though, he found all of his previous worries resurface when he met Yuya. When they crossed paths in the hallway, both on their way to the dining room, the look in Yuya’s eyes was dark. With his nose up in the air and the smallest shove, the elder walked past them dragging his feet with clenched fists. Shigemi attempted to stop the boy and have him apologize but he shoved her away too. In that brief second Yuri saw a deep hurt in Yuya’s eyes that he understood well. Maybe they had something to bond over.
All throughout dinner, Yuya refused to make eye contact with anyone as he played with his food. Making it hard for Yuri to try and talk to him. After a light scolding from his father about proper manners, he did manage to raise his head but only to stare coldly at the Chinens. He stopped when he felt the necessity to excuse himself from the table, though he left behind a full plate of Italian food in his place.
“Excuse me, Takaki-san,” Yuri addressed Iwao carefully, “Could I be excused as well?”
The man raised a brow but nodded his head gently in agreement. With a smile, Yuri placed his napkin on his empty plate and got off his chair only to scurry up the stairs just like Yuya. When reaching the landing, there were many rooms and no clear indication that Yuya was in any of them. That was until Yuri heard the sound of faint cries in the distance. Letting his ears guide him, he was taken to a large dark room that smelt of must and was covered in thick layers of dust. His coughing fit caused the still quiet sobbing to stop. Two dark brown eyes shone through the dark and met Yuri’s from across the room; they narrowed as Yuya’s hands squeezed the pillow tighter.
“What are you doing here? Get out!”
“Nii-chan,” Yuri called in the voice of a mouse as he looked around the darkened, picture clad walls, “whose room is this?”
“It’s none of your business just get out! And don’t call me Nii-chan, either, we’re not brothers.”
“But we are going to be,” he said sitting cross legged in front of Yuya, “as much as I don’t want to have a new Daddy, it’s what my Mommy wants. And your family is really nice so I wouldn’t mind being your brother. ”
Yuya sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve, placing the pillow onto the ground beside him, “Okay.”
Yuri smiled and crawled into the boy’s lap where he took his long nails and began to play with them, “So, if you don’t want me to call you Nii-chan what should I call you instead.”
Yuya rested his cheek on Yuri’s small head, “Nii-chan is fine actually. My name is Yuya though. I’m 13 years old and this was my Mama’s room while she was sick.”
Yuri nodded lightly, clicking the boy’s long nails, “I’m Yuri, 10 years old. Let’s do our best together okay?”
Yuya smiled and squeezed his little brother after freeing his nails, “Let’s do our best.”
The stale atmosphere collapsed into one of warmth as the journey of becoming a family began.
7 years later
“Nii-channnn,” Yuri’s small voice ripped through the hallways of his large home. Yuri took off his shoes and marched around the house in his slippers, until he found his brother lounging in the TV room watching a drama with a bag of potato chips in his hands. Yuri rolled his eyes at the boy.
“Wow, is today ‘I’m-going-to-look-like-a-hobo’ day?” he asked, sarcastically.
“Shut up!” Yuya called from the couch, turning to look up and down at this brother who was still clad in uniform, “Yuri, why haven’t you changed yet? We have to get going in a few minutes.”
“I just got home from school. I ended up talking with Yuto longer than I meant to,” the younger boy explained while loosening his tie and removing his blazer, folding it neatly over the couch, “Though, would you get off your butt so we can go?”
“Ya ya, I’m moving,” Yuya groaned in return, turning off the TV before making his way into the open concept kitchen where he put his bag of chips back in the cupboard , “But y’know… Emi is home, you could have always asked her to drive you.”
Yuri sighed, walking slowly towards the front door once more, “I guess Nii-chan doesn’t have to take me if he really doesn’t want to. Even though my stuff is already in your car and,” the boy paused, looking down at the series of shoes laying in the genkan. There lay a pair that stuck out like a sore thumb, because they were the only pair of running shoes that were so beautifully polished. When Yuya followed his brother’s line of vision he was kind of glad Yuri had demanded his attention.
“Nishikido-kun’s here.” They both whispered. Yuya grabbed his car keys from the crystal bowl on the front table and left the house dragging Yuri with him.
“I dunno how she puts up with him. He’s shit scary. Kei told me he once made this guy break down and cry. I really don’t care that his father is some big shot architect or whatever; Nee-chan doesn’t need the Nishikido’s money. She can take care of herself.” Yuya went on, driving towards Yuri’s gymnastics studio. His teeth were clenched and his grip on the steering wheel tightened as he muttered more about his sister’s boyfriend, until he felt a reassuring poke to his cheek, courtesy of Yuri who smiled softly.
“You know that Ane-chan doesn’t care about the money. She loves Nishikido-kun for some reason and that’s all that matters. Now, if it were Yuuko-neechan, then I’d be worried, especially since Dad already doesn’t sound happy with her.”
Yuya sighed since he knew deep down, Yuri was right. No matter what it came down to or who she had to fight, it was Emi-chan’s choice and if she loved Nishikido-kun, she’d stay with him.
He cut off the engine to his car upon setting into a roomy parking spot.
Simply Air was one of the best gymnastic studios in the country. Many participants were handpicked to join the gym; otherwise, they joined based on an audition, which did not provide easy entry. Yuri and Saya were handpicked, chosen to train by the owner, Yabu Keigo, after he watched both of them in the regional tumbling championship for their divisions some years ago. Despite their extraordinary talent, they were not treated any differently than the other young teens who trained hard every day. Everyone respected each other and it was where Yuri found himself most at peace, especially when home got a little crowded.
Immediately upon entering the studio, Yuri ran into the changing room while Yuya made his way over to the bleachers. Sometimes he envied his trophy winning step brother, but a majority of the time he admired the boy for being so well disciplined as well as having such an extraordinary ability to launch himself around the room landing each sequence flawlessly. He really was proud to call Yuri his brother.
“Excuse me, Takaki-kun…” a quiet voice broke Yuya from his daze. Snapping his head around, he saw the tall, lanky son of the owner standing over him. With a large smile, Yuya patted the seat beside him inviting Kota to sit.
“How’s Yuri doing?”
“He’s doing very well. But that’s not news,” Kota said with a smile, tugging out a manila envelope from the file folder he had in his hands. Yuya looked at him with a raised brow.
“This,” he handed Yuya the envelope, who looked at its contents instantly, “is the new dietary plan and exercise routine that my father has approved of in hopes for our students to place well at Nationals.” Yuya read it carefully and found himself grow more and more uncomfortable with the early morning practises, increased training times and days as well as the disgusting sounding foods that Yuri had to eat. “I recommend you buy these at yuuHIKAsaibai. I talked to the owner, Yaotome Hikaru a-head of ti- Takaki?” Kota watched as the boy nearly fell out of his seat in laughter, which in turn made him crack a smile too.
“YuuHIKAsaibai! Seriously?!” Yuya found himself in a post-laughter coughing fit soon.
“Yes? Why wouldn’t I be serious, anyways, why don’t you get the things on the list before you start distracting me or my athletes further?”
“You came to talk to me, Kota, so you go back to work!”
“I am doing my work! Go Takaki or I will be sure to force Chinen to give me something to blackmail you with!”
“Alright alright, I’m leaving! I’ll be back though so, watch it.” Yuya continued to laugh, punching Yabu playfully in the arm before jingling his keys and walking out the front door.
~~~
When Yuya arrived at the small shop, he smiled widely at the sign above the entrance. The chimes rang as he opened the door and came face to face in an instant with a boy he assumed to be no older than himself. The boy smiled. There was no way he owned this store. There was no way a boy that young owned a whole store. It may not be large in size but the commitment and money that goes into such a thing could not be upheld by someone so young. He should be in school.
“Welcome,” Hikaru greeted, wiping his hands off on the front of his apron while making his way toward Yuya. “How can I help you?”
“Um, Yabu-kun sent me here,” he said handing Hikaru the manila envelope. Hikaru looked inside to see the menu and with a quick roll of his eyes, he began to gather the items needed.
“He’s unbelievable isn’t he? All I said was to lightly advertise and next thing I know he’s changing things around at work to give me more business.” Hikaru half-heartedly complained.
“Wait, what?” Yuya’s eyes went wide as he felt a panic attack approaching. “Is everything okay? It’s not going to give my brother a heart attack is it?”
Hikaru looked back at Yuya with a raised brow and attempted not to burst out laughing from the sheer stupidity of the question. It was an organic health food store after all. “I doubt Chinen-kun is not going to die from anything I give him. Even if he does, sue Yabu for recommending poisonous foods. Though, he does love Chinen-kun a lot so I can’t really see Yabu doing anything stupid like killing him. I’m sure if he did end up killing Chinen-kun his father would kill him. It’d be a very sad day.”
“Actually, it depends on what day. I wouldn’t mind if something happened to Yuri on a Friday.” Yuya said with a smile, “I don’t remember the last time I spent a Friday not driving him and his friends around. ‘Oh Nii-chan, Yama-chan and I want to go shopping but it’s too far!’ Or ‘Yuto and I want to see a concert but it’s at the Tokyo Dome, drive us!’ ”
Hikaru chuckled, “Maybe he just wants to spend time with you. That’s not a crime.”
Yuya shrugged, “It’s not, but I just don’t want to be used like that. He should at least ask if I want to go too.”
Hikaru smiled a toothy grin while he looked straight into the taller boy’s eyes, “You’re a good brother. Least you’re there for him even when it’s trivial. I’m sure you do plenty of other things together though.”
“Well, ya of course we do. Most of the time I stay and watch Yuri’s practise, we’ll go home, do homework, eat dinner and maybe watch something on TV before bed,” Yuya said, returning the smile, “I would never change those moments for even a second.”
Hikaru’s gaze never left Yuya’s. They continued to smile at each other. Hikaru didn’t have the prettiest smile, especially not with those overcrowded teeth of his, nor did he have the prettiest face. But despite all of that, Yuya couldn’t stop smiling back or get his heart to stop drumming itself against his rib cage.
It was Hikaru who broke their staring contest first as he walked behind the cash counter and began to ring in Yuya’s items. The latter stood loosely in front of Hikaru, watching him carefully, as he gnawed on his lip.
“That’ll be $62.02, cash or credit?” Hikaru asked. Takaki handed over his credit card; not failing to take notice of how neatly manicured the boys fingers were regardless of the calluses on the tips.
With a quick swipe of the card, Takaki found himself holding groceries in one hand and his receipt in the other. “You know the name of this place, its funny.”
Hikaru laughed lightly, “Thank you.”
“So,um,I will see you around then?”
“Sure, come by anytime. I’ll be here.”
With a single nod Yuya left, heart pounding faster than it was before. Brushing his finger tips to his face, he could feel the warmth that radiated off it. He didn’t know if he should feel happy or sad as he came to realize what all of this meant.
~~~
“Here,” Yuya handed Yuri a freshly bought juice box size carton of soy milk. “You looked fantastic out there! I am really proud of you, kiddo.” He said pulling the younger into a big hug. With a smile, Yuri hugged his brother back.
Seeing Kota from over Yuri’s shoulder, Yuya pulled away giving room for Kota to give the smaller boy a clap on the back.
“Good work today! That schedule I was talking about, I gave it to Takaki-kun already so be sure to look over it.”
Yuri nodded as Yabu looked up at Yuya with a sly smile, “Your face is a little red, everything okay?”
Feeling his face heat up more, he attempted to hide it with his hair. “Ya, I’m fine. Though, Hikaru-kun did say I could sue you if you give Yuri a heart attack. Actually, he recommended it.” Yuya returned the gesture with an equally tantalizing comment.
Yabu’s eye narrowed and mumbled simply, “Hikaru,” causing Yuya to crack up laughing while pushing Yuri into the change room.
~~~
“I said NO!” The booming voice of Takaki Iwao was what greeted the boys when they came through the front door of their home. The two remained frozen in the hallway, much too afraid to move and find themselves in the crossfire. Even if he was probably yelling at Yuuko for staying out late or leaving the house dressed as a slut again.
“But father, he’s a nice man. He doesn’t treat me with any less care then his family or friends. He is also working his way to earn a doctorate in architecture while attempting to follow in his father’s footsteps and take over their multi-billion dollar company. What other reason do you need in order to let me continue seeing Nishikido-kun?”
That was Emi’s voice. The two boys exchanged glances as they tiptoed closer to the kitchen and television room. When they got close enough, they could see their eldest sister’s bright red complexion and the glistening stains of tear tracks while their father stood sternly in front of her. Yuya felt his heart clench as guilt racked through him.
“The Nishikido’s are a left-wing family. Much of what they stand for is not what I believe in as a politician and as a father. I am only telling you to break up because I love you. Even though you’re 23 you are still my little girl, Emi, I want you to be taken care of under good morals and not just good, reputable money. Do you understand?”
Emi sniffled and choked out a short sob before running out of the room and nearly bowling her brothers down as she left out the front door without a second thought. They watched the door for an instant but turned around to face their father the moment the engine of a car sounded.
The politician just stood there, carefully watching his sons while running a hand through his short greying hair and sighing.
“I am doing this for you too. I care about all 6 of you and want to see you taken care of by respectable elites. Especially Yuri and Saya-chan, I can’t have anyone taking advantage of you guys now can we?” Their father cracked a small smile while patting the teenager’s hair. Yuri smiled back, giving the man a quick hug before taking himself up the corkscrew stairs to his bedroom.
The distant click of Yuri’s door hung in the air as father and son remained unmoving from their position in the hallway.
“She’s probably going to go see him, you know.” Yuya said, breaking the lull in the stifling atmosphere.
His father sighed, “Probably.”
“Mama wouldn’t have been so unreasonable.”
The politician narrowed his eyes at his son, closing the distance between them.
“You know how much he means to her, how could you even consider trying to break them apart?” Yuya’s voice jumped a notch louder which only caused his father to grip the front of his son’s shirt and pull him closer.
“Do not bring your mother into this. She is not here and therefore plays no part in my making of decisions, especially regarding this family.” Yuya twitched as he could feel the spit of each enunciated letter fly onto his face. “He isn’t right for her. His hippie ideals aren’t right for my family. Abortions should be illegal, only women should be the partner of men and our largest concern is Japan’s well-being and not whatever the crap is going on anywhere else. If you majored in political science like I wanted you to, then you would have understood all this by now.”
Yuya pulled himself from his father’s grasp only to storm up the same corkscrew stairs while he wondered why it was his mother to be the one to go.
~~~
“My father is a prick.” Yuya growled the following morning as he slumped down into his regular seat.
“Good Morning to you too,” Inoo Kei replied.
Kei is Yuya’s oldest and closest friend, having first met during their gruelling days in private school. They had been inseparable ever since, minus that one summer Inoo went to music camp. Other than that, Yuya followed Inoo where ever he went including Meiji University where both reside though studying to earn very different degrees, one in architecture the other in Early Childhood Education. Their goals never affected their friendship because prestige, labels and political views never mattered to them.
“Your father has always been a prick though, what happened this time?”
Yuya groaned loudly as he placed his head into the cushion of his arms, “He got mad at Ane-chan for seeing Nishikido-kun. This was all because Nishikido-san doesn’t believe in the same values as my father. Why should Ane-chan be unhappy over our father’s stupid image?”
“I thought you didn’t like Ryo-kun though?”
Yuya just grunted leaving Inoo to raise an eyebrow while he gave his friend a light rub of the shoulders, “What’s wrong, Yuyan?”
“Were you not just listening, Kei!” He roared while having lifted himself from his seat and pull away and his friend’s touch. Inoo remained unfazed as his eyes captured all of Yuya’s anger though remained confused as they searched for a reason for the outburst.
“I heard every word, that’s why I am asking.”
Yuya looked down at his friend though no longer seething. Inoo knew him too well and for the first time, it was to Yuya’s disadvantage. He did not want to admit to his epiphany. But it was too soon, even for his best friend to know.
As things swirled and his chest tightened it made Yuya want to punch a wall or at least the desk. But he did not, he took a deep breath and sat right back down placing his face in his arms once more.
With a sigh, Inoo began to rub his friend’s back once more. It was troubling to see Yuya like this, so he kept a close eye on him for the rest of the day. Inoo even followed the elder home, promising only to leave when Yuri arrived. Inoo knew he could count on Yuri to find out what was wrong with Yuya.
“Inoo-chan!” Yuri greeted him while taking a firm seat in the older boy’s lap, the moment he got home. Inoo ruffled Yuri’s hair a bit before he got up and dragging the younger back to the front door from their position in the living room.
“Yuya, he’s been off all day,” Inoo’s tone was hushed as he looked through his peripheral vision. Yuya was still sitting lazily on the couch, “he won’t tell me what’s wrong, so could you keep an eye on him for me?”
Yuri nodded with a smile, “I’ll do my best.”
With another ruffle of his hair, Inoo left the Takaki house hold a little more at ease than before.
~~~
The moment they got into the car, Yuya turned up the music from the radio in a possible attempt to break the speakers and began to sing along like there wasn’t a care in the world. Yuri took caution and watched his brother smile and drum his fingers along the steering wheel, carefully. Yuri did not like to have to resort to calling Inoo a liar, regardless if he had the tendency, but Yuya seemed as perfectly content as he did the day before.
It was not until they stepped foot into the gym that Yuri was able to say Inoo Kei was definitely not a liar. It was the Miuras that had set him off. Usually Yuya was all for laughing and joking alongside them as they picked on each other but for some reason not today.
“Ta-ka-ki ,” Miura Haruma and Miura Shohei sing songed and nearly back flipped over to the boy in question. Both threw an arm across his shoulder which Yuya attempted to shrug off but they had more strength than he had anticipated. “Why are you trying to run away from us?” Haruma pouted, while he rested his head on the older boy’s shoulder.
“We miss you Takaki, you don’t play with us anymore!” It was Shohei’s turn to whine. This time Yuya managed to pull away and fake a small smile before taking his usual seat in the bleachers.
“Your boyfriend over there locking you up or something?” Haruma teased, as he poked Yuya’s cheek while pointing to Yuri, who was warming up on his own.
While bent down stretching every possible muscle in his legs, Yuri shot back up from his position when he heard a loud thud. Instantly his eyes came in contact with Yabu as he attempted to hold Yuya back with all his might. Yuri’s eyes then flickered down to the ground where Haruma remained shocked, shaking and staring up at Yuya’s furious form.
“Ow, Yuya, that actually hurt! What the hell?!” Haruma yelled as he jumped to his feet and nearly clocked Yuya in the jaw but Shohei held him back as Yabu wrestled Yuya away.
“Don’t say that sort of shit again, you motherfucker! Or I will fucking cut your balls off, not that you have them anyways you brash brat!!” Yuya screamed in one last burst before Yabu managed to get the other out of the gym and into the parking lot.
~~~
“What the fuck was that?!” Yabu shoved Yuya hard up against the closed metal backdoors. The latter glared and threw his fist, hoping to get in contact with Yabu’s face, but Yabu caught Yuya’s fist instead. “Leave your shit at home, Takaki. We instruct people of all ages, the last thing we need is to have complaints about kids going home and using swear words they learned here.”
Upon counting to ten, Yuya took a deep breath before pulling himself off the door and bowing deeply, “I’m sorry.”
Yabu sighed as he ran a hand through his dyed hair and placed a firm hand on Yuya’s shoulder, “It’ll be fine. You should go home. I’ll drop Chinen-kun off at home.”
“Its fine, I’m fine, you don’t have to do that! I’ll just…go for a drive or something…” Yuya mumbled as he fished his car keys out of his pocket and headed towards his car.
“Hey!” Yabu called out one more time, “Hikaru’s got some really nice Chamomile tea leaves. You should go and ask him for some, I’m almost positive you’ll feel better afterwards.”
“Thanks.” Yuya said with a smile, bowing his head once more before getting into his car and driving off.
~~~
Parking the car and cutting the engine on the same strip of sidewalk he did the day before, Yuya took another deep breath. The energy surrounding the small store brought him peace. His chest was no longer squeezing nor was his head swirling with thoughts and emotions. It all went away as his heart began to beat quickly yet evenly and his palm filled with perspiration. He kind of wanted to laugh when he realized what it all meant. With a shake of his head, and a push of the door, he was greeted by the jingle of the chimes and a familiar smile.
“Welcome back!” Hikaru called from his spot behind the register. The customer he was helping turned her head too. She smiled at Yuya, who smiled back and waved.
“Takaki-kun,” the woman at the cash called out to him, “I saw Saya-chan’s and Yuri-kun’s routines at Regionals. They were phenomenal! Your parents must be incredibly proud!”
Yuya could feel his anger surface once more at the thought of his father. His attempt at counting to 10 failed. But Yuya found himself relieved from his irritation the moment he heard Hikaru clear his throat. Yuya’s eyes shot directly to the boy who handed the woman her bag of groceries before giving him a sympathetic smile.
It baffled Yuya how Hikaru was able to cool him down so quickly, yet he was not all that surprised. He managed to force a smile and bow, “Thank you very much. Yes, they are. Father is currently looking for an empty spot to place the Nationals medals as we speak.” The room filled with a high pitched laughter.
“I wish Daiki were that dedicated and focused! He spends too much time sleeping rather than practising.” Arioka Aya complained. Yuya thought he could taste blood from how hard he was now literally biting his tongue. Arioka Daiki had placed second in Regionals. This was strictly due to the fact that he had been competing in the same section as Yuri. Daiki put in 110 percent of his effort into training. As one who entered Simply Air through an audition, he was not one to give up on his dream of being an Olympic tumbler so easily.
“Second place is just as good, Arioka-san. He is up against Chinen-kun after all.” Hikaru said.
Arioka Aya whirled back towards the cashier and in that moment Yuya felt the atmosphere change, “Of course you would believe that,” she snarled, “You do know I wouldn’t be here if I did not have to be.” Her surgeon sculpted nosed turned to the air while her Gucci heels clicked against the tiles as she left out the door.
Once the chimes song became a dull tune, Hikaru sighed deeply running a hand through his brown hair. The hand then slid down his face while his other hand closed the cash register.
“Hikaru-kun,” Yuya slowly spoke. The other did not acknowledge him in any way, but continued in his tasks by closing the entirety of the store down for the day. “What did she mean by ‘of course you would believe that’?”
This time Hikaru did acknowledge the other boy, though eyes were narrowed, “Playing dumb isn’t going to earn you any points.”
Yuya just raised a brow and shook his head, “I’m not.”
“You’re father never told you?”
“Told me what?!”
Running his hand through his hair again, Hikaru tried to stifle a smile but he couldn’t. Taking a few steps towards Yuya he smiled, running that same hand over the other’s face. Yuya thought his heart was going to jump from its place in his chest through the consistent knocking to his ribs. But it didn’t. The glassy eyes of the shop owner triggered an unexpected gut wrenching pain leaving his heart to slow to a dull, repetitive thud.
“You really don’t know.”
Yuya shook his head once more.
Shaking his head and roaring with laughter Hikaru took the boy’s hand, guiding him towards a closed door behind the counter. Upon unlocking it, both were met with a large staircase. Hikaru never let go of his hand as they ascended into the small one bedroom apartment with an equally small kitchen and bathroom. The thing that caught Yuya’s eye the most was the bass guitar that sat in the furthest corner of the central room. It was in beautiful condition, much like it had just been taken out of the box that day.
“Make yourself comfortable, I’ll make some tea.” Hikaru called from the small kitchen. Yuya did as he was told and sat on the futon since it was the most comfortable thing in the room to place his butt on.
Hikaru sat beside him after placing two steaming cups of tea down on the table in front of them. Yuya’s eyes remained fixed around the white washed walls filled with band posters and one on the ceiling of shirtless, basketball star Yamashita Tomohisa. He found his gaze lingered a little longer than he would have liked, but it was hard to resist.
“So…”
“So…you play the bass,” Yuya commented, pointing at the instrument across the room, “Would you show me sometime?”
Surprised, Hikaru kept smiling, “Sure! Just let me practise first, okay? It’s been awhile since I’ve picked it up.”
Yuya shrugged, “Listening to you just practise is good enough though. I mean, no one’s perfect anyways.” Yuya smiled grimly into his still steaming cup of tea. Hikaru’s bewildered brown eyes kept a firm hold on his friend’s face.
“This is your whole place then huh?” Yuya changed subject as he hid his grimace the best he could.
“Yes, why wouldn’t it be if all my stuff is here?”
Yuya shrugged, “I don’t know, it seems kind of small to be comfortable.”
Smashing his cup down onto the table, causing the liquid to slosh and spill over the table, Hikaru’s confusion turned into something much more menacing. As surprised by the outburst as he was, Yuya stood his ground, matching the boy’s dark look.
“It’s not like I had a choice, alright?! My father kicked me out of the house last year.” There was a hitch in Hikaru’s voice as glassy eyes returned, “This was after he found out I was…wasn’t…shit… how do I say this… ‘appropriate to be associated with amongst upper classmen’.” Both voice and face began to crack as Yuya watched the boy dissolved into a large set of sobs.
Here he was thinking that his life was a complete disaster, yet his problems were minimal next to Hikaru’s. Yuya refrained from speaking as he comforted the boy he only met yesterday by pulling his head onto his shoulder. He rubbed his back until the tears had stopped.
“My brothers and sister,” Hikaru mumbled into Yuya’s shirt, “They…they didn’t want to take me in. They were far more embarrassed to learn that I like boys than my father was.” He sniffled, wiping his tears away with his shirt sleeve. “If my uncle didn’t feel sorry for me and let me run his store for him, I would probably be living on the street somewhere.” Hikaru removed his head from Yuya’s shoulder as he sat up straight and took a sip from his tea, “You’re a lucky guy, Yuya, I would kill to have a brother like Chinen-kun; someone so accepting. Yabu’s the closest I’ve got.”
Hikaru laughed lightly, looking out of his small window onto a cloud filled blue sky. Turning back towards Yuya, he noticed the latter never moved. He just continued to stare intently at the younger with so much more than understanding. It made him blush a little.
If either of them blinked the moment would have been lost. Having leaned forward in a flash of sheer spontaneity, Yuya touched his lips softly against Hikaru’s.
With equal impulse, Hikaru wrapped him arms around Yuya’s neck, pushing the other onto his back turning the touch into a full blown kiss. Their hands weaved themselves into each other’s hair as they tugged and pulled the other to be as close as possible.
By no means did Hikaru pull away because he wanted to, but strictly because his lungs lacked a sufficient amount of air. Upon sitting up, Yuya’s eyes never left Hikaru’s brown ones. They were dancing in delight rather than stricken with a blood curdling sadness. Leaning down again, he pressed his lips to the other’s forehead before getting up and taking a sip of tea.
Hikaru could not help but laugh lightly, as he sat up too and rested his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder.
“You know, it feels like we’ve know each other forever.” Yuya stated suddenly, amongst the quiet and looking back up to the poster of Yamashita Tomohisa while placing his hand on top of Hikaru’s.
“Hm… ya, it kind of does.” The latter’s hand lay limp and only with a small tug did he allow for his fingers to close around Yuya’s hand.
“Something the matter?”
Hikaru shook his head, putting his tea cup down and resting his head in Yuya’s lap. They sat in a comfortable silence, as finger tips trailed over clothed limbs.
“I wasn’t expecting you to visit so soon, to be honest.” Hikaru softly said.
“Oh, well, Yabu-kun said I should ask you for some Chamomile tea leaves. I, kind of punched my friend in the face earlier today. My dad’s a huge prick what can I say.” He laughed.
Shifting his head, the smaller of the two looked up at his boyfriend trailing his free hand over the boy’s face. Yuya could see the worry in Hikaru’s brow and attempted to take it away with a gentle kiss, “I’m fine now.” his thumb pad ran over the spot that he kissed. Though the creases in his brow remained.
“Hikaru?”
“What friend did you punch?”
Yuya raised a brow, “Excuse me?”
“Which friend of yours did you punch?”
Yuya blinked, “Miura Haruma.”
That’s all it took for Hikaru’s rigid form to relax, and melt under the other’s touch. Yuya chose not to question it but checked the time instead. He bolted from his seat, causing Hikaru to fall to the ground as he ran to get his shoes on.
“I have to go get Yuri! I’ll see you soon okay? Goodnight!” He called while whirling around to see Hikaru standing centimetres away from him. They held each other’s stare and it broke when Hikaru touched his lips to Yuya’s once more.
“Do you want to grab lunch tomorrow?”
The panic induced Takaki defused so suddenly with the question, he couldn’t help but smile, “Sure, I’ll stop by then around noon. I have the day off.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Yuya found those four simple words as a comfort while they replayed themselves over and over in the same pitch and tone Hikaru had used upon uttering them. For the first time in 7 years, he knew he found someone else who would remain consistent in his life.
~~~
“Now will you tell me what happened this afternoon?” Yuri asked, forcefully putting his pencil down on the kitchen table causing his brother, who was highlighting a passage, to look up. “I’ve done all my homework so you better talk now! You don’t just punch Haruma-kun, leave and comeback with rainbows up your ass without there being a reason. ”
Chuckling, Yuya capped the highlighter and sat back a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, “I had some really great tea; it had a miso flavour to it though.”
Yuri narrowed his eyes from across the table, “What the hell were you doing, Yuya?”
His eyes danced around the room, refusing to meet Yuri’s though the smirk turned into a full out grin as he shrugged.
Unimpressed, Yuri climbed over the table, stepping on their homework along the way until he was mere centimetres away from his brother’s face. The twitch in his eyes, the light redness of his cheeks and the obvious increased heartbeat tipped off Yuri rather quickly, “You hooked up with someone didn’t you?”
Yuya’s dancing eyes came to a halt on Yuri’s smug face while his heart fell into his stomach. Yuri’s perceptiveness never failed to outstand him and was useful many times in the past, yet today Yuya wished with all his might that he was better at keeping a poker face. What would happen if Yuri knew about his attraction to guys? He needed Yuri too much to take that risk. So he lied.
“Ya, I did, she was pretty hot too!”
“You were with that Kato Rubi girl weren’t you?! Haruma-kun said you’ve been hanging out with her a lot recently.” It was true, Yuya had been spending more time with her than he had in the past, but that comes with being project partners.
“Ya it was her. I called her up when I got in the car and she let me blow off some steam.” Yuya wiggled his eyebrows. Yuri’s nose wrinkled as he slid of the table and flattened the folded papers.
“Nii-chan, I love you, but seriously, there are certain things I just don’t need to know.”
“Hey! You asked!” Yuya retorted as his uncapped yellow highlighter ‘accidently’ drew a large mark on Yuri’s cheek. Watching Yuya’s triumphant face carefully, Yuri reached for his own green highlighter which also accidentally found its way onto his brother’s face.
The two found themselves in an all out war as they ran around and hid behind expensive furniture. In one final attempt to run away from Yuya, Yuri found himself caught in the older man’s grasp and thrown onto the hardwood floor where Yuya scribbled all over the rest of his face. Laughter filled the air attracting the attention of the only other person on the main floor of their large home.
“Wow, if I wanted to watch two guys fight over whose topping I would have rented some porn. Get a room you perverts.” The shrill voice of their sister Yuuko caused the laughter to stop and turn all attention to her. Before they knew it, Yuya had gotten off his younger brother. Quickly he made his way towards his sister, who was clad in an outfit fit for a prostitute, gripped onto her low cut shirt and yanked her close.
The look in Yuya’s eyes caused her to blink, in hopes that she was just seeing things, but she was not. He looked unusually pissed regarding a gesture she semi-frequently picked on them about.
His simple warning of, “watch your mouth,” was what tipped her off. She could see right through her younger brother like a light in the dark.
“Wow wow wow, what is this? Is there something Yuyan’s not telling us?” Her volume soared while keeping one eye securely on Yuya the other on a confused looking Yuri. Glaring, he pushed her back, hoping she’d lose her balance on those stilettos and fall on her ass, but she didn’t. Her confidence continued to radiate, as she whispered in his ear, “I had no idea you liked Chii-chan like that? Even if you are step-brothers, it’s still incest.”
“It’s not Yuri that I like.” He grumbled, shooting her another glare before turning away. Yuuko took a step back, licked her glossed lips before smacking them loudly and forming a small ‘o’.
“Well then,” she snickered, “What are you going to tell Dad?” Twisting back towards her, nearly giving himself whiplash, he felt his body shake in fear from the weight of her words. “He’s going to be so disappointed that his eldest son can’t pass on the family name.”
“You’re hardly one to talk, hoe. Go put on some clothes!” Yuya snarled at her under his breath. She just shrugged as she pulled down her shirt and hiked up her skirt. Turning on her heel, her Jimmy Choos clacked until coming to a stop just before the front door.
“Yuya,” she called, jingling his car keys, “I am going to be borrowing your car from now on, alright?”
He gnawed at his lip but nodded in agreement. Smiling and giggling, she went out the door into the night like every other evening.
Yuri had watched the exchange carefully. Whatever was bothering Yuya was not something to be taken lightly. He didn’t know what he, or Inoo, were going to do about it but they were not going to stand by and just watch. Not when Yuya looked like a he just got run over on a freeway.
~~~
“Chiiiineeen!” The sound of his name caused his head to lift from its place on his desk. He looked around to see that not only were the desks in his class room empty but the hallways silent. Checking the clock hanging on the wall, he realized it was after 3 in the afternoon. How long had he been asleep? “Did you have a good nap, Chii?” Nakajima Yuto asked, ruffling the boy’s hair. Yuri groaned as he lifted his lazy form from his chair and gathered his belongings.
“Did you not get enough sleep last night?” Yamada Ryosuke asked, in genuine concern, from his place behind Yuto.
“They are pushing you too hard aren’t they?” Okamoto Keito addressed, just as worried.
Yuri groaned again, adjusting this school blazer and slinging his bag over shoulder, “Training isn’t the problem. Nii-chan has been acting weird for the last few weeks and he won’t tell me what’s wrong. He’s never not told me how he feels before! I don’t think I’ve given him a reason not to trust me either. It’s really starting bothering me.”
“Cheer up! I’m sure Takaki-kun will come around, so don’t think about it so much. Getting sleep is most important!” Yamada said with a smile as he slung his arm over Yuri’s shoulders.
“Ya…”
“Hey! You haven’t seen the store I’m working at have you?” Yuto calls loudly, swiping the smaller boy away from Yamada with a smile and spinning him around. Yuri shook his head, too exhausted to smile back. “Let’s go now then! I’m sure Yabu won’t mind since you’re already late anyways. ” Yuri sighed and nodded causing Yuto to jump up and down as he dragged him down the hall, Keito and Yamada following closely behind.
“Can Takaki-kun drive us? It’s kind of far and I don’t really want to walk.” Yuto asked once more.
Yuri shrugged, “It’s worth a shot!”
~~
“Yuuyaa, c’mon you haven’t been out of the house all day you could use the fresh air!” Yuri whined, while shaking his brother’s shoulders. Yuya was sitting on his butt, yet again; in front of their flat screen TV re-watching his favourite drama for the umpteenth time.
“You were at school; you don’t know what I did today!”
Yuri rolled his eyes, “It’s Wednesday, you have a day off today, and I’m sure you got up two hours ago and have been lazying around since.” Yuya tossed the boy a glare at his accuracy. Turning off the TV with a huff he got up and passed both Yuri and Yuto on the way to the front door in his PJ pants, fuzzy penguin slippers and ripped t-shirt.
Yuto eyed the elder curiously, “You’re going to leave the house like that?”
“I am just taking you there and coming back here to finish my show.” Yuya said digging for his keys in the crystal bowl, “So, where do I have to take you exactly?” Yuya asked, slipping on his shoes.
“yuuHIKAsaibai. It’s Minami-Aoyama 7-3-5.” Yuto answered, causing Yuya to freeze just as he was about to turn the knob on the door. Spinning around he crossed the hardwood floor and bounding up the staircase. He came back down moments later with a nice pair of black jeans, a simple black intact t-shirt, a dark blazer and his favourite baseball cap. Yuri’s eyebrow rose as he glanced at Yuto who was attempting not to smirk.
When they arrived Yuya tried not to run into the store and coolly stayed a few steps behind Yuto who, indeed, ran right through the door. Hikaru barely got his signature greeting in before Yuto threw his arms around the boy’s neck. Catching Yuya’s hard stare, Hikaru shoved his co-worker off of him.
“It’s nice to see you too Yuto, but you’re late.” Hikaru said, patting the high schooler’s shoulder because he was too short to reach his head.
“That’s my fault,” Yuya said raising his hand and flashing a superstar smile at Hikaru. He smiled back, “The boys asked for a ride and well, I had to get dressed.”
Yuri glanced between the two while Yuto frowned, “Wait a minute, you’ve already met Takaki-kun?” the taller was now pouting.
“Yes we have, Yabu sent him here on an errand.” Hikaru said, grinning triumphantly. Yuri remained infinitely confused as he watched his friend’s face elongate and pale.
“No no no no no! Not possible!”
“Yes possible, you know what that means,” Hikaru’s face still plastered with this victorious grin as he made his way across the store to a small broom closet and pulled out a mop, “You lost so you have to clean the bathroom.” The three of them looked over at said washroom. It was as if someone had set off a cherry bomb full of spoiled food in there.
While shaking his head, Yuto tried to put the most amount of distance between him and his employer but he had no such luck. When he felt his back hit something solid and hard, he thought it might be the wall. Unfortunately, he was quite wrong.
Two long arms found their way around the younger boy’s waist and a head rested on his shoulder. “You lost, kiddo, so either you clean that disgusting washroom or you’re my bitch for the week.”
Yuri and Yuya nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sudden rough sound of Yabu’s voice while Yuto screamed so loud at the sudden materialization that he nearly punctured a lung. Hikaru and Yabu burst into hyena-like laughter as they doubled over trying to hold their sides together.
Yuto was on the brink of tears as he fell to the ground holding his chest, trying to regulate his breathing, “You guys suck! And are so unfunny!” he cried, his voice cracking. Yuri made his way to his friend’s side and rubbed his back to help him calm down.
“Hey! You lost! So hurry up and pick; either be my bitch or clean that washroom. You have 10 seconds…9, 8, 7--”
“Alright alright! I’ll be your bitch, just don’t make me look at a washroom you’ve intentionally made dirty in hopes I’d clean it.” Yuto groaned face buried in his hands. Yuri looked up from his classmate to the two elder boys high fiving and then over at his brother who looked so confused it was mildly entertaining.
That’s when it hit him like a ton of bricks.
“Hikaru-kun, you’re Yuto’s neighbour aren’t you?” Yuri proclaimed causing all cheering to stop and silence to ensue.
All attention turned to Yuri, who was smiling happily, “I remember you coming to play with us sometimes. You tried to teach us how to juggle once, but we kept making mistakes. It was funny how fast you gave up.” The smiling face of Chinen Yuri fell as no one else basked in the glory of nostalgia. The air soured, even when Yabu burst into a forced laughter pulling both Yuto and Yuri to their feet.
“Takaki, can I borrow your car? I took the train here and we’re running really late; Dad is going to chew me out. I’ll bring it back when we’re done, okay?” Yabu requested as he pushed the high schoolers out the door. Takaki dropped his keys into Yabu’s waiting hand and waved goodbye.
Yuya and Hikaru remained silent in the empty store until the tires of the Audi screeched down the road. That was when Yuya locked eyes with his boyfriend from across the room. The clapping of his boots had bounced off the walls as he made his way towards Hikaru, who was leaning on the cash counter. Yuya’s foot falls stopped right in front of him, prompting the boy’s two well manicured hands to cup his face and those soft lips to graze against his. Hikaru’s hands found their way around Yuya’s neck, while the latter’s automatically made themselves home on the younger’s slim hips. Hands sifted through hair and fingers swept over exposed skin ceasing only when Hikaru, with all his strength, managed to push Yuya back into the cash counter. Hikaru’s hips dug into him sharply with one thrust causing a whine to cut through Yuya’s lips.
“I will not settle for being the girl in this relationship.” Hikaru breathed into his ear which caused the-more-than-willing bottom to shiver and moan. Smirking, the younger licked his lips before initiating a rough kiss leaving Yuya to wither beneath him.
“You make a really good girl too, with the way you cry and whine.” Hikaru whispered again. This time, Yuya pushed the boy back with a scowl.
“Excuse me, you would cry too if suddenly your car engine wouldn’t start and you needed to pick up your brother.” Yuya huffed leaving Hikaru to snicker.
“Whatever you say,” he claimed waving his hands defensively in the air, “I still don’t believe you though.”
Removing his cap and blazer and handing them to Hikaru, Yuya looked him sternly in the eye before heading towards the broom closet and taking out a small bucket of cleaning supplies, “I will prove it to you that I am not a girl. I’ll clean that washroom and it will be so clean we could eat off the floor later.”
Hikaru shrugged, hiding his smile best he could, “Sure, okay. I’ll be filling stock so, just yell if you need me.” With that he practically skipped away becoming more skilled in the manipulation his boyfriend.
“Hikaru,” Yuya whined loudly, sometime later, from his place hunched over the toilet; sweat was pouring down his face and the fumes from the chemicals were making him dizzy.
“Yes?” The younger called from his spot behind the cash counter, where he was now filing his nails, “What’s the matter?”
“I can’t do this anymore! I’ve barely made a dent and I’m feeling kind of nauseous.” Yuya pouted, crawling out of the small room and into the store, gulping in big breaths of fresh air. Hikaru leaned over the counter and watched as his boyfriend collapsed onto the floor. He couldn’t help but smile.
“That’s fine, I’ll make Yuto do the rest,” he said, coming around the counter and straddling the boy’s hips, “I guess there isn’t going to be a girl in our relationship huh?” Hikaru planted a gentle kiss to Yuya’s lips, causing him to smile widely.
Unexpectedly, Hikaru found himself being tossed onto the tile floor beside Yuya where it was the latter’s turn to mount the boy. He felt his heart skip upon seeing the dark, lust-filled look in the other’s eyes. It was hotter than anything Hikaru had seen before. If University didn’t agree with Yuya in the future, then he could definitely make just as promising a living in the porn industry. Though, having to share his Yuya wasn’t something he was willing to partake in so easily.
“Tell me something, Hika-chan,” Yuya’s words melted like chocolate in his brain, “What was your little bet about?”
He was finding it infinitely harder to resist that look, though he knew he should keep his mouth shut but he couldn’t. Damnmit, why did he have to pick such a sexy guy. “They wanted to know which one could get you to meet me first.”
Yuya raised a brow making a silent ‘o’ with his full lips, "I had no idea I was so wanted!”
Gnawing on his lip, Hikaru attempted to turn away, but Yuya still caught the forming blush on the boy’s cheeks, “I’ve wanted you for a while now. They just kind of had enough of my window shopping.”
Yuya chuckled lightly before it hit him, “Wait, how did you know I …well…swing that way.”
Giving him a look of utter disbelief Hikaru just shook his head, “A gay guy knows when he sees another gay guy. Haven’t you heard of gaydar?”
Feeling not only kind of insulted, but significantly embarrassed, Yuya resulted in jabbing the younger in his side. This made the boy twitch and laugh hysterically. Not being able to resist the urge, Yuya did it again and again until Hikaru’s strong grip caught his wrist. Yuya felt it could snap with a single movement. So he held still and waited until Hikaru let go of his wrist, got to his feet and brushed himself off. He offered Yuya his hand. Taking it gingerly, he pulled Hikaru into another kiss that was still filled with raw lust.
Now it being his turn to whimper, Hikaru watched in anxiety as Yuya fished into his back pocket for his wallet. “How about I go grab us a snack? Is shaved ice okay?” he asked, side stepping his boyfriend. Though Hikaru prevented Yuya from taking a step more by pushing the boy back into the counter, “If you’re hungry I’ve got something for you to snack on.”
It was reasons like these that Yuya never liked to over think. Putting his wallet back into his pants, Yuya let himself be dragged upstairs to enjoy what Hikaru had to offer.
Part 2.
Delivered by: crazyfaucet
Title: Raspberry Bushes surprisingly have Thorns
Groups/Pairings: Hey! Say! JUMP : Takaki/Chinen, Takaki/Hikaru
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Language
Summary: Yuya and Yuri are brothers not of blood, but that doesn’t mean their bond is weak. When Yuya finally becomes aware of an important aspect of himself and he finds he can’t tell Yuri regardless of their ability to talk about anything. Does it break them apart? Will Yuya lose the most important person in his life because of it?
Notes: My endless thanks goes out to Lauren who held my hand, motivated me and corrected all my errors throughout this process. Also, thank you to all the others who motivated me kept me smiling and gave me tips. This piece would be not have been completed without you guys! Lastly, an actual important notes, yuukisaibai means orgranic(food product) and mayo means (in my case) lose your way or go astray. To Map-chan, I hope you enjoy this at your own pace.
When Chinen Miki, better known as television news anchor Oozawa Yuuri, told her 10 year old son and 12 year old daughter about remarrying right after a rather messy divorce from their father, her son Yuri had a fit and locked himself in his room for the following 24 hours.
As she waited, she wondered whether she was making the right decision or not. Maybe it was too soon.
When he finally came out of his room, he apologized to his mother, who in turn, gave him a big hug and apologized too.
“I know you really loved your father and I don’t expect you to let Iwao-san take his place but please, just try to get along, okay? I love you Yuri, and our new family will love us too, okay?” His mom said softly, holding him tightly. Yuri nodded his head.
“I love you, Mom.” He mumbled into her shoulder.
“I love you too,” she smiled, “How about you start getting ready? We’re going to have dinner with the Takaki’s tonight. Tell Saya too!” Yuri nodded again as he headed down the marble hallway and up the wood steps to his bedroom.
The Chinens lived in one of Shibuya’s best penthouses that had a great view of the Tokyo Tower. It was the most beautiful thing Yuri had ever seen, and on most nights he would look out his window and watch as the lights brought the city to life. He really was going to miss it, especially since President Takaki would probably want them to live in his home. It was a lot bigger and could easily accommodate for the 8 person family they would be.
That’s all Yuri could think about now, as he watched the city pass by him through the car window that was driving the 3 of them to their new home.
When they arrived Yuri kept close to his sister’s side. It was the first time he had stepped into such a big home before, and it was the home of people who were practically strangers to him. But would soon be part of his family. He felt like an ant below the high ceilings and amongst the wide, empty rooms.
“Miki!”
Both the boy and his mother whipped their heads toward the voice of none other than the Liberal Democractic Party President himself, who smiled and kissed his mother’s cheek lightly. Yuri held tighter onto his sister’s dress, trying to distance himself from his new ‘father’.
“Yuri-kun, it’s okay, I won’t hurt you. It’s really nice to meet you,” the man smiled, before turning to Saya, “It’s nice to meet you too! My daughters will love having a little sister, and my son Ryutaro is really looking forward to having a younger brother too!”
“Um…dear…Yuri is older than Ryutaro-kun,” Miki corrected her fiancé, who blanched, while the little boy gave the politician a black stare.
“Uh…well…um…why don’t you go play with everyone? Shigemi, Saya-chan and Yuri-kun are here!” Immediately the clicking of heels echoed against the walls in the hallway as the girl in question came to the front door. She bowed.
“Takaki Shigemi, it’s nice to finally meet you. Thank you for making my father so happy,” she greeted, bowing again, with a smile. Miki was shocked at the young teen’s neat, plain attire that consisted of a long skirt and white blouse. “Saya-chan, Yuri-kun, let’s go to the game room! We have lots of video games you can play. Ryu-kun will be happy to teach you.” Emi said with that same smile, kneeling down to the level of both children.
Yuri found himself taking Emi’s out stretched hand with a nudge from his sister and let himself be led away by Emi. Meeting his little brother was fun too, although Ryutaro got really upset when he’d lose to Yuri in a game, and would start crying, but Saya and Emi cheered him up with a tickle fight. Then Yuri found himself also in the tickle fight, and he grew to like his new family a lot more than he had ever imagined he would.
Though, he found all of his previous worries resurface when he met Yuya. When they crossed paths in the hallway, both on their way to the dining room, the look in Yuya’s eyes was dark. With his nose up in the air and the smallest shove, the elder walked past them dragging his feet with clenched fists. Shigemi attempted to stop the boy and have him apologize but he shoved her away too. In that brief second Yuri saw a deep hurt in Yuya’s eyes that he understood well. Maybe they had something to bond over.
All throughout dinner, Yuya refused to make eye contact with anyone as he played with his food. Making it hard for Yuri to try and talk to him. After a light scolding from his father about proper manners, he did manage to raise his head but only to stare coldly at the Chinens. He stopped when he felt the necessity to excuse himself from the table, though he left behind a full plate of Italian food in his place.
“Excuse me, Takaki-san,” Yuri addressed Iwao carefully, “Could I be excused as well?”
The man raised a brow but nodded his head gently in agreement. With a smile, Yuri placed his napkin on his empty plate and got off his chair only to scurry up the stairs just like Yuya. When reaching the landing, there were many rooms and no clear indication that Yuya was in any of them. That was until Yuri heard the sound of faint cries in the distance. Letting his ears guide him, he was taken to a large dark room that smelt of must and was covered in thick layers of dust. His coughing fit caused the still quiet sobbing to stop. Two dark brown eyes shone through the dark and met Yuri’s from across the room; they narrowed as Yuya’s hands squeezed the pillow tighter.
“What are you doing here? Get out!”
“Nii-chan,” Yuri called in the voice of a mouse as he looked around the darkened, picture clad walls, “whose room is this?”
“It’s none of your business just get out! And don’t call me Nii-chan, either, we’re not brothers.”
“But we are going to be,” he said sitting cross legged in front of Yuya, “as much as I don’t want to have a new Daddy, it’s what my Mommy wants. And your family is really nice so I wouldn’t mind being your brother. ”
Yuya sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve, placing the pillow onto the ground beside him, “Okay.”
Yuri smiled and crawled into the boy’s lap where he took his long nails and began to play with them, “So, if you don’t want me to call you Nii-chan what should I call you instead.”
Yuya rested his cheek on Yuri’s small head, “Nii-chan is fine actually. My name is Yuya though. I’m 13 years old and this was my Mama’s room while she was sick.”
Yuri nodded lightly, clicking the boy’s long nails, “I’m Yuri, 10 years old. Let’s do our best together okay?”
Yuya smiled and squeezed his little brother after freeing his nails, “Let’s do our best.”
The stale atmosphere collapsed into one of warmth as the journey of becoming a family began.
7 years later
“Nii-channnn,” Yuri’s small voice ripped through the hallways of his large home. Yuri took off his shoes and marched around the house in his slippers, until he found his brother lounging in the TV room watching a drama with a bag of potato chips in his hands. Yuri rolled his eyes at the boy.
“Wow, is today ‘I’m-going-to-look-like-a-hobo’ day?” he asked, sarcastically.
“Shut up!” Yuya called from the couch, turning to look up and down at this brother who was still clad in uniform, “Yuri, why haven’t you changed yet? We have to get going in a few minutes.”
“I just got home from school. I ended up talking with Yuto longer than I meant to,” the younger boy explained while loosening his tie and removing his blazer, folding it neatly over the couch, “Though, would you get off your butt so we can go?”
“Ya ya, I’m moving,” Yuya groaned in return, turning off the TV before making his way into the open concept kitchen where he put his bag of chips back in the cupboard , “But y’know… Emi is home, you could have always asked her to drive you.”
Yuri sighed, walking slowly towards the front door once more, “I guess Nii-chan doesn’t have to take me if he really doesn’t want to. Even though my stuff is already in your car and,” the boy paused, looking down at the series of shoes laying in the genkan. There lay a pair that stuck out like a sore thumb, because they were the only pair of running shoes that were so beautifully polished. When Yuya followed his brother’s line of vision he was kind of glad Yuri had demanded his attention.
“Nishikido-kun’s here.” They both whispered. Yuya grabbed his car keys from the crystal bowl on the front table and left the house dragging Yuri with him.
“I dunno how she puts up with him. He’s shit scary. Kei told me he once made this guy break down and cry. I really don’t care that his father is some big shot architect or whatever; Nee-chan doesn’t need the Nishikido’s money. She can take care of herself.” Yuya went on, driving towards Yuri’s gymnastics studio. His teeth were clenched and his grip on the steering wheel tightened as he muttered more about his sister’s boyfriend, until he felt a reassuring poke to his cheek, courtesy of Yuri who smiled softly.
“You know that Ane-chan doesn’t care about the money. She loves Nishikido-kun for some reason and that’s all that matters. Now, if it were Yuuko-neechan, then I’d be worried, especially since Dad already doesn’t sound happy with her.”
Yuya sighed since he knew deep down, Yuri was right. No matter what it came down to or who she had to fight, it was Emi-chan’s choice and if she loved Nishikido-kun, she’d stay with him.
He cut off the engine to his car upon setting into a roomy parking spot.
Simply Air was one of the best gymnastic studios in the country. Many participants were handpicked to join the gym; otherwise, they joined based on an audition, which did not provide easy entry. Yuri and Saya were handpicked, chosen to train by the owner, Yabu Keigo, after he watched both of them in the regional tumbling championship for their divisions some years ago. Despite their extraordinary talent, they were not treated any differently than the other young teens who trained hard every day. Everyone respected each other and it was where Yuri found himself most at peace, especially when home got a little crowded.
Immediately upon entering the studio, Yuri ran into the changing room while Yuya made his way over to the bleachers. Sometimes he envied his trophy winning step brother, but a majority of the time he admired the boy for being so well disciplined as well as having such an extraordinary ability to launch himself around the room landing each sequence flawlessly. He really was proud to call Yuri his brother.
“Excuse me, Takaki-kun…” a quiet voice broke Yuya from his daze. Snapping his head around, he saw the tall, lanky son of the owner standing over him. With a large smile, Yuya patted the seat beside him inviting Kota to sit.
“How’s Yuri doing?”
“He’s doing very well. But that’s not news,” Kota said with a smile, tugging out a manila envelope from the file folder he had in his hands. Yuya looked at him with a raised brow.
“This,” he handed Yuya the envelope, who looked at its contents instantly, “is the new dietary plan and exercise routine that my father has approved of in hopes for our students to place well at Nationals.” Yuya read it carefully and found himself grow more and more uncomfortable with the early morning practises, increased training times and days as well as the disgusting sounding foods that Yuri had to eat. “I recommend you buy these at yuuHIKAsaibai. I talked to the owner, Yaotome Hikaru a-head of ti- Takaki?” Kota watched as the boy nearly fell out of his seat in laughter, which in turn made him crack a smile too.
“YuuHIKAsaibai! Seriously?!” Yuya found himself in a post-laughter coughing fit soon.
“Yes? Why wouldn’t I be serious, anyways, why don’t you get the things on the list before you start distracting me or my athletes further?”
“You came to talk to me, Kota, so you go back to work!”
“I am doing my work! Go Takaki or I will be sure to force Chinen to give me something to blackmail you with!”
“Alright alright, I’m leaving! I’ll be back though so, watch it.” Yuya continued to laugh, punching Yabu playfully in the arm before jingling his keys and walking out the front door.
~~~
When Yuya arrived at the small shop, he smiled widely at the sign above the entrance. The chimes rang as he opened the door and came face to face in an instant with a boy he assumed to be no older than himself. The boy smiled. There was no way he owned this store. There was no way a boy that young owned a whole store. It may not be large in size but the commitment and money that goes into such a thing could not be upheld by someone so young. He should be in school.
“Welcome,” Hikaru greeted, wiping his hands off on the front of his apron while making his way toward Yuya. “How can I help you?”
“Um, Yabu-kun sent me here,” he said handing Hikaru the manila envelope. Hikaru looked inside to see the menu and with a quick roll of his eyes, he began to gather the items needed.
“He’s unbelievable isn’t he? All I said was to lightly advertise and next thing I know he’s changing things around at work to give me more business.” Hikaru half-heartedly complained.
“Wait, what?” Yuya’s eyes went wide as he felt a panic attack approaching. “Is everything okay? It’s not going to give my brother a heart attack is it?”
Hikaru looked back at Yuya with a raised brow and attempted not to burst out laughing from the sheer stupidity of the question. It was an organic health food store after all. “I doubt Chinen-kun is not going to die from anything I give him. Even if he does, sue Yabu for recommending poisonous foods. Though, he does love Chinen-kun a lot so I can’t really see Yabu doing anything stupid like killing him. I’m sure if he did end up killing Chinen-kun his father would kill him. It’d be a very sad day.”
“Actually, it depends on what day. I wouldn’t mind if something happened to Yuri on a Friday.” Yuya said with a smile, “I don’t remember the last time I spent a Friday not driving him and his friends around. ‘Oh Nii-chan, Yama-chan and I want to go shopping but it’s too far!’ Or ‘Yuto and I want to see a concert but it’s at the Tokyo Dome, drive us!’ ”
Hikaru chuckled, “Maybe he just wants to spend time with you. That’s not a crime.”
Yuya shrugged, “It’s not, but I just don’t want to be used like that. He should at least ask if I want to go too.”
Hikaru smiled a toothy grin while he looked straight into the taller boy’s eyes, “You’re a good brother. Least you’re there for him even when it’s trivial. I’m sure you do plenty of other things together though.”
“Well, ya of course we do. Most of the time I stay and watch Yuri’s practise, we’ll go home, do homework, eat dinner and maybe watch something on TV before bed,” Yuya said, returning the smile, “I would never change those moments for even a second.”
Hikaru’s gaze never left Yuya’s. They continued to smile at each other. Hikaru didn’t have the prettiest smile, especially not with those overcrowded teeth of his, nor did he have the prettiest face. But despite all of that, Yuya couldn’t stop smiling back or get his heart to stop drumming itself against his rib cage.
It was Hikaru who broke their staring contest first as he walked behind the cash counter and began to ring in Yuya’s items. The latter stood loosely in front of Hikaru, watching him carefully, as he gnawed on his lip.
“That’ll be $62.02, cash or credit?” Hikaru asked. Takaki handed over his credit card; not failing to take notice of how neatly manicured the boys fingers were regardless of the calluses on the tips.
With a quick swipe of the card, Takaki found himself holding groceries in one hand and his receipt in the other. “You know the name of this place, its funny.”
Hikaru laughed lightly, “Thank you.”
“So,um,I will see you around then?”
“Sure, come by anytime. I’ll be here.”
With a single nod Yuya left, heart pounding faster than it was before. Brushing his finger tips to his face, he could feel the warmth that radiated off it. He didn’t know if he should feel happy or sad as he came to realize what all of this meant.
~~~
“Here,” Yuya handed Yuri a freshly bought juice box size carton of soy milk. “You looked fantastic out there! I am really proud of you, kiddo.” He said pulling the younger into a big hug. With a smile, Yuri hugged his brother back.
Seeing Kota from over Yuri’s shoulder, Yuya pulled away giving room for Kota to give the smaller boy a clap on the back.
“Good work today! That schedule I was talking about, I gave it to Takaki-kun already so be sure to look over it.”
Yuri nodded as Yabu looked up at Yuya with a sly smile, “Your face is a little red, everything okay?”
Feeling his face heat up more, he attempted to hide it with his hair. “Ya, I’m fine. Though, Hikaru-kun did say I could sue you if you give Yuri a heart attack. Actually, he recommended it.” Yuya returned the gesture with an equally tantalizing comment.
Yabu’s eye narrowed and mumbled simply, “Hikaru,” causing Yuya to crack up laughing while pushing Yuri into the change room.
~~~
“I said NO!” The booming voice of Takaki Iwao was what greeted the boys when they came through the front door of their home. The two remained frozen in the hallway, much too afraid to move and find themselves in the crossfire. Even if he was probably yelling at Yuuko for staying out late or leaving the house dressed as a slut again.
“But father, he’s a nice man. He doesn’t treat me with any less care then his family or friends. He is also working his way to earn a doctorate in architecture while attempting to follow in his father’s footsteps and take over their multi-billion dollar company. What other reason do you need in order to let me continue seeing Nishikido-kun?”
That was Emi’s voice. The two boys exchanged glances as they tiptoed closer to the kitchen and television room. When they got close enough, they could see their eldest sister’s bright red complexion and the glistening stains of tear tracks while their father stood sternly in front of her. Yuya felt his heart clench as guilt racked through him.
“The Nishikido’s are a left-wing family. Much of what they stand for is not what I believe in as a politician and as a father. I am only telling you to break up because I love you. Even though you’re 23 you are still my little girl, Emi, I want you to be taken care of under good morals and not just good, reputable money. Do you understand?”
Emi sniffled and choked out a short sob before running out of the room and nearly bowling her brothers down as she left out the front door without a second thought. They watched the door for an instant but turned around to face their father the moment the engine of a car sounded.
The politician just stood there, carefully watching his sons while running a hand through his short greying hair and sighing.
“I am doing this for you too. I care about all 6 of you and want to see you taken care of by respectable elites. Especially Yuri and Saya-chan, I can’t have anyone taking advantage of you guys now can we?” Their father cracked a small smile while patting the teenager’s hair. Yuri smiled back, giving the man a quick hug before taking himself up the corkscrew stairs to his bedroom.
The distant click of Yuri’s door hung in the air as father and son remained unmoving from their position in the hallway.
“She’s probably going to go see him, you know.” Yuya said, breaking the lull in the stifling atmosphere.
His father sighed, “Probably.”
“Mama wouldn’t have been so unreasonable.”
The politician narrowed his eyes at his son, closing the distance between them.
“You know how much he means to her, how could you even consider trying to break them apart?” Yuya’s voice jumped a notch louder which only caused his father to grip the front of his son’s shirt and pull him closer.
“Do not bring your mother into this. She is not here and therefore plays no part in my making of decisions, especially regarding this family.” Yuya twitched as he could feel the spit of each enunciated letter fly onto his face. “He isn’t right for her. His hippie ideals aren’t right for my family. Abortions should be illegal, only women should be the partner of men and our largest concern is Japan’s well-being and not whatever the crap is going on anywhere else. If you majored in political science like I wanted you to, then you would have understood all this by now.”
Yuya pulled himself from his father’s grasp only to storm up the same corkscrew stairs while he wondered why it was his mother to be the one to go.
~~~
“My father is a prick.” Yuya growled the following morning as he slumped down into his regular seat.
“Good Morning to you too,” Inoo Kei replied.
Kei is Yuya’s oldest and closest friend, having first met during their gruelling days in private school. They had been inseparable ever since, minus that one summer Inoo went to music camp. Other than that, Yuya followed Inoo where ever he went including Meiji University where both reside though studying to earn very different degrees, one in architecture the other in Early Childhood Education. Their goals never affected their friendship because prestige, labels and political views never mattered to them.
“Your father has always been a prick though, what happened this time?”
Yuya groaned loudly as he placed his head into the cushion of his arms, “He got mad at Ane-chan for seeing Nishikido-kun. This was all because Nishikido-san doesn’t believe in the same values as my father. Why should Ane-chan be unhappy over our father’s stupid image?”
“I thought you didn’t like Ryo-kun though?”
Yuya just grunted leaving Inoo to raise an eyebrow while he gave his friend a light rub of the shoulders, “What’s wrong, Yuyan?”
“Were you not just listening, Kei!” He roared while having lifted himself from his seat and pull away and his friend’s touch. Inoo remained unfazed as his eyes captured all of Yuya’s anger though remained confused as they searched for a reason for the outburst.
“I heard every word, that’s why I am asking.”
Yuya looked down at his friend though no longer seething. Inoo knew him too well and for the first time, it was to Yuya’s disadvantage. He did not want to admit to his epiphany. But it was too soon, even for his best friend to know.
As things swirled and his chest tightened it made Yuya want to punch a wall or at least the desk. But he did not, he took a deep breath and sat right back down placing his face in his arms once more.
With a sigh, Inoo began to rub his friend’s back once more. It was troubling to see Yuya like this, so he kept a close eye on him for the rest of the day. Inoo even followed the elder home, promising only to leave when Yuri arrived. Inoo knew he could count on Yuri to find out what was wrong with Yuya.
“Inoo-chan!” Yuri greeted him while taking a firm seat in the older boy’s lap, the moment he got home. Inoo ruffled Yuri’s hair a bit before he got up and dragging the younger back to the front door from their position in the living room.
“Yuya, he’s been off all day,” Inoo’s tone was hushed as he looked through his peripheral vision. Yuya was still sitting lazily on the couch, “he won’t tell me what’s wrong, so could you keep an eye on him for me?”
Yuri nodded with a smile, “I’ll do my best.”
With another ruffle of his hair, Inoo left the Takaki house hold a little more at ease than before.
~~~
The moment they got into the car, Yuya turned up the music from the radio in a possible attempt to break the speakers and began to sing along like there wasn’t a care in the world. Yuri took caution and watched his brother smile and drum his fingers along the steering wheel, carefully. Yuri did not like to have to resort to calling Inoo a liar, regardless if he had the tendency, but Yuya seemed as perfectly content as he did the day before.
It was not until they stepped foot into the gym that Yuri was able to say Inoo Kei was definitely not a liar. It was the Miuras that had set him off. Usually Yuya was all for laughing and joking alongside them as they picked on each other but for some reason not today.
“Ta-ka-ki ,” Miura Haruma and Miura Shohei sing songed and nearly back flipped over to the boy in question. Both threw an arm across his shoulder which Yuya attempted to shrug off but they had more strength than he had anticipated. “Why are you trying to run away from us?” Haruma pouted, while he rested his head on the older boy’s shoulder.
“We miss you Takaki, you don’t play with us anymore!” It was Shohei’s turn to whine. This time Yuya managed to pull away and fake a small smile before taking his usual seat in the bleachers.
“Your boyfriend over there locking you up or something?” Haruma teased, as he poked Yuya’s cheek while pointing to Yuri, who was warming up on his own.
While bent down stretching every possible muscle in his legs, Yuri shot back up from his position when he heard a loud thud. Instantly his eyes came in contact with Yabu as he attempted to hold Yuya back with all his might. Yuri’s eyes then flickered down to the ground where Haruma remained shocked, shaking and staring up at Yuya’s furious form.
“Ow, Yuya, that actually hurt! What the hell?!” Haruma yelled as he jumped to his feet and nearly clocked Yuya in the jaw but Shohei held him back as Yabu wrestled Yuya away.
“Don’t say that sort of shit again, you motherfucker! Or I will fucking cut your balls off, not that you have them anyways you brash brat!!” Yuya screamed in one last burst before Yabu managed to get the other out of the gym and into the parking lot.
~~~
“What the fuck was that?!” Yabu shoved Yuya hard up against the closed metal backdoors. The latter glared and threw his fist, hoping to get in contact with Yabu’s face, but Yabu caught Yuya’s fist instead. “Leave your shit at home, Takaki. We instruct people of all ages, the last thing we need is to have complaints about kids going home and using swear words they learned here.”
Upon counting to ten, Yuya took a deep breath before pulling himself off the door and bowing deeply, “I’m sorry.”
Yabu sighed as he ran a hand through his dyed hair and placed a firm hand on Yuya’s shoulder, “It’ll be fine. You should go home. I’ll drop Chinen-kun off at home.”
“Its fine, I’m fine, you don’t have to do that! I’ll just…go for a drive or something…” Yuya mumbled as he fished his car keys out of his pocket and headed towards his car.
“Hey!” Yabu called out one more time, “Hikaru’s got some really nice Chamomile tea leaves. You should go and ask him for some, I’m almost positive you’ll feel better afterwards.”
“Thanks.” Yuya said with a smile, bowing his head once more before getting into his car and driving off.
~~~
Parking the car and cutting the engine on the same strip of sidewalk he did the day before, Yuya took another deep breath. The energy surrounding the small store brought him peace. His chest was no longer squeezing nor was his head swirling with thoughts and emotions. It all went away as his heart began to beat quickly yet evenly and his palm filled with perspiration. He kind of wanted to laugh when he realized what it all meant. With a shake of his head, and a push of the door, he was greeted by the jingle of the chimes and a familiar smile.
“Welcome back!” Hikaru called from his spot behind the register. The customer he was helping turned her head too. She smiled at Yuya, who smiled back and waved.
“Takaki-kun,” the woman at the cash called out to him, “I saw Saya-chan’s and Yuri-kun’s routines at Regionals. They were phenomenal! Your parents must be incredibly proud!”
Yuya could feel his anger surface once more at the thought of his father. His attempt at counting to 10 failed. But Yuya found himself relieved from his irritation the moment he heard Hikaru clear his throat. Yuya’s eyes shot directly to the boy who handed the woman her bag of groceries before giving him a sympathetic smile.
It baffled Yuya how Hikaru was able to cool him down so quickly, yet he was not all that surprised. He managed to force a smile and bow, “Thank you very much. Yes, they are. Father is currently looking for an empty spot to place the Nationals medals as we speak.” The room filled with a high pitched laughter.
“I wish Daiki were that dedicated and focused! He spends too much time sleeping rather than practising.” Arioka Aya complained. Yuya thought he could taste blood from how hard he was now literally biting his tongue. Arioka Daiki had placed second in Regionals. This was strictly due to the fact that he had been competing in the same section as Yuri. Daiki put in 110 percent of his effort into training. As one who entered Simply Air through an audition, he was not one to give up on his dream of being an Olympic tumbler so easily.
“Second place is just as good, Arioka-san. He is up against Chinen-kun after all.” Hikaru said.
Arioka Aya whirled back towards the cashier and in that moment Yuya felt the atmosphere change, “Of course you would believe that,” she snarled, “You do know I wouldn’t be here if I did not have to be.” Her surgeon sculpted nosed turned to the air while her Gucci heels clicked against the tiles as she left out the door.
Once the chimes song became a dull tune, Hikaru sighed deeply running a hand through his brown hair. The hand then slid down his face while his other hand closed the cash register.
“Hikaru-kun,” Yuya slowly spoke. The other did not acknowledge him in any way, but continued in his tasks by closing the entirety of the store down for the day. “What did she mean by ‘of course you would believe that’?”
This time Hikaru did acknowledge the other boy, though eyes were narrowed, “Playing dumb isn’t going to earn you any points.”
Yuya just raised a brow and shook his head, “I’m not.”
“You’re father never told you?”
“Told me what?!”
Running his hand through his hair again, Hikaru tried to stifle a smile but he couldn’t. Taking a few steps towards Yuya he smiled, running that same hand over the other’s face. Yuya thought his heart was going to jump from its place in his chest through the consistent knocking to his ribs. But it didn’t. The glassy eyes of the shop owner triggered an unexpected gut wrenching pain leaving his heart to slow to a dull, repetitive thud.
“You really don’t know.”
Yuya shook his head once more.
Shaking his head and roaring with laughter Hikaru took the boy’s hand, guiding him towards a closed door behind the counter. Upon unlocking it, both were met with a large staircase. Hikaru never let go of his hand as they ascended into the small one bedroom apartment with an equally small kitchen and bathroom. The thing that caught Yuya’s eye the most was the bass guitar that sat in the furthest corner of the central room. It was in beautiful condition, much like it had just been taken out of the box that day.
“Make yourself comfortable, I’ll make some tea.” Hikaru called from the small kitchen. Yuya did as he was told and sat on the futon since it was the most comfortable thing in the room to place his butt on.
Hikaru sat beside him after placing two steaming cups of tea down on the table in front of them. Yuya’s eyes remained fixed around the white washed walls filled with band posters and one on the ceiling of shirtless, basketball star Yamashita Tomohisa. He found his gaze lingered a little longer than he would have liked, but it was hard to resist.
“So…”
“So…you play the bass,” Yuya commented, pointing at the instrument across the room, “Would you show me sometime?”
Surprised, Hikaru kept smiling, “Sure! Just let me practise first, okay? It’s been awhile since I’ve picked it up.”
Yuya shrugged, “Listening to you just practise is good enough though. I mean, no one’s perfect anyways.” Yuya smiled grimly into his still steaming cup of tea. Hikaru’s bewildered brown eyes kept a firm hold on his friend’s face.
“This is your whole place then huh?” Yuya changed subject as he hid his grimace the best he could.
“Yes, why wouldn’t it be if all my stuff is here?”
Yuya shrugged, “I don’t know, it seems kind of small to be comfortable.”
Smashing his cup down onto the table, causing the liquid to slosh and spill over the table, Hikaru’s confusion turned into something much more menacing. As surprised by the outburst as he was, Yuya stood his ground, matching the boy’s dark look.
“It’s not like I had a choice, alright?! My father kicked me out of the house last year.” There was a hitch in Hikaru’s voice as glassy eyes returned, “This was after he found out I was…wasn’t…shit… how do I say this… ‘appropriate to be associated with amongst upper classmen’.” Both voice and face began to crack as Yuya watched the boy dissolved into a large set of sobs.
Here he was thinking that his life was a complete disaster, yet his problems were minimal next to Hikaru’s. Yuya refrained from speaking as he comforted the boy he only met yesterday by pulling his head onto his shoulder. He rubbed his back until the tears had stopped.
“My brothers and sister,” Hikaru mumbled into Yuya’s shirt, “They…they didn’t want to take me in. They were far more embarrassed to learn that I like boys than my father was.” He sniffled, wiping his tears away with his shirt sleeve. “If my uncle didn’t feel sorry for me and let me run his store for him, I would probably be living on the street somewhere.” Hikaru removed his head from Yuya’s shoulder as he sat up straight and took a sip from his tea, “You’re a lucky guy, Yuya, I would kill to have a brother like Chinen-kun; someone so accepting. Yabu’s the closest I’ve got.”
Hikaru laughed lightly, looking out of his small window onto a cloud filled blue sky. Turning back towards Yuya, he noticed the latter never moved. He just continued to stare intently at the younger with so much more than understanding. It made him blush a little.
If either of them blinked the moment would have been lost. Having leaned forward in a flash of sheer spontaneity, Yuya touched his lips softly against Hikaru’s.
With equal impulse, Hikaru wrapped him arms around Yuya’s neck, pushing the other onto his back turning the touch into a full blown kiss. Their hands weaved themselves into each other’s hair as they tugged and pulled the other to be as close as possible.
By no means did Hikaru pull away because he wanted to, but strictly because his lungs lacked a sufficient amount of air. Upon sitting up, Yuya’s eyes never left Hikaru’s brown ones. They were dancing in delight rather than stricken with a blood curdling sadness. Leaning down again, he pressed his lips to the other’s forehead before getting up and taking a sip of tea.
Hikaru could not help but laugh lightly, as he sat up too and rested his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder.
“You know, it feels like we’ve know each other forever.” Yuya stated suddenly, amongst the quiet and looking back up to the poster of Yamashita Tomohisa while placing his hand on top of Hikaru’s.
“Hm… ya, it kind of does.” The latter’s hand lay limp and only with a small tug did he allow for his fingers to close around Yuya’s hand.
“Something the matter?”
Hikaru shook his head, putting his tea cup down and resting his head in Yuya’s lap. They sat in a comfortable silence, as finger tips trailed over clothed limbs.
“I wasn’t expecting you to visit so soon, to be honest.” Hikaru softly said.
“Oh, well, Yabu-kun said I should ask you for some Chamomile tea leaves. I, kind of punched my friend in the face earlier today. My dad’s a huge prick what can I say.” He laughed.
Shifting his head, the smaller of the two looked up at his boyfriend trailing his free hand over the boy’s face. Yuya could see the worry in Hikaru’s brow and attempted to take it away with a gentle kiss, “I’m fine now.” his thumb pad ran over the spot that he kissed. Though the creases in his brow remained.
“Hikaru?”
“What friend did you punch?”
Yuya raised a brow, “Excuse me?”
“Which friend of yours did you punch?”
Yuya blinked, “Miura Haruma.”
That’s all it took for Hikaru’s rigid form to relax, and melt under the other’s touch. Yuya chose not to question it but checked the time instead. He bolted from his seat, causing Hikaru to fall to the ground as he ran to get his shoes on.
“I have to go get Yuri! I’ll see you soon okay? Goodnight!” He called while whirling around to see Hikaru standing centimetres away from him. They held each other’s stare and it broke when Hikaru touched his lips to Yuya’s once more.
“Do you want to grab lunch tomorrow?”
The panic induced Takaki defused so suddenly with the question, he couldn’t help but smile, “Sure, I’ll stop by then around noon. I have the day off.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Yuya found those four simple words as a comfort while they replayed themselves over and over in the same pitch and tone Hikaru had used upon uttering them. For the first time in 7 years, he knew he found someone else who would remain consistent in his life.
~~~
“Now will you tell me what happened this afternoon?” Yuri asked, forcefully putting his pencil down on the kitchen table causing his brother, who was highlighting a passage, to look up. “I’ve done all my homework so you better talk now! You don’t just punch Haruma-kun, leave and comeback with rainbows up your ass without there being a reason. ”
Chuckling, Yuya capped the highlighter and sat back a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, “I had some really great tea; it had a miso flavour to it though.”
Yuri narrowed his eyes from across the table, “What the hell were you doing, Yuya?”
His eyes danced around the room, refusing to meet Yuri’s though the smirk turned into a full out grin as he shrugged.
Unimpressed, Yuri climbed over the table, stepping on their homework along the way until he was mere centimetres away from his brother’s face. The twitch in his eyes, the light redness of his cheeks and the obvious increased heartbeat tipped off Yuri rather quickly, “You hooked up with someone didn’t you?”
Yuya’s dancing eyes came to a halt on Yuri’s smug face while his heart fell into his stomach. Yuri’s perceptiveness never failed to outstand him and was useful many times in the past, yet today Yuya wished with all his might that he was better at keeping a poker face. What would happen if Yuri knew about his attraction to guys? He needed Yuri too much to take that risk. So he lied.
“Ya, I did, she was pretty hot too!”
“You were with that Kato Rubi girl weren’t you?! Haruma-kun said you’ve been hanging out with her a lot recently.” It was true, Yuya had been spending more time with her than he had in the past, but that comes with being project partners.
“Ya it was her. I called her up when I got in the car and she let me blow off some steam.” Yuya wiggled his eyebrows. Yuri’s nose wrinkled as he slid of the table and flattened the folded papers.
“Nii-chan, I love you, but seriously, there are certain things I just don’t need to know.”
“Hey! You asked!” Yuya retorted as his uncapped yellow highlighter ‘accidently’ drew a large mark on Yuri’s cheek. Watching Yuya’s triumphant face carefully, Yuri reached for his own green highlighter which also accidentally found its way onto his brother’s face.
The two found themselves in an all out war as they ran around and hid behind expensive furniture. In one final attempt to run away from Yuya, Yuri found himself caught in the older man’s grasp and thrown onto the hardwood floor where Yuya scribbled all over the rest of his face. Laughter filled the air attracting the attention of the only other person on the main floor of their large home.
“Wow, if I wanted to watch two guys fight over whose topping I would have rented some porn. Get a room you perverts.” The shrill voice of their sister Yuuko caused the laughter to stop and turn all attention to her. Before they knew it, Yuya had gotten off his younger brother. Quickly he made his way towards his sister, who was clad in an outfit fit for a prostitute, gripped onto her low cut shirt and yanked her close.
The look in Yuya’s eyes caused her to blink, in hopes that she was just seeing things, but she was not. He looked unusually pissed regarding a gesture she semi-frequently picked on them about.
His simple warning of, “watch your mouth,” was what tipped her off. She could see right through her younger brother like a light in the dark.
“Wow wow wow, what is this? Is there something Yuyan’s not telling us?” Her volume soared while keeping one eye securely on Yuya the other on a confused looking Yuri. Glaring, he pushed her back, hoping she’d lose her balance on those stilettos and fall on her ass, but she didn’t. Her confidence continued to radiate, as she whispered in his ear, “I had no idea you liked Chii-chan like that? Even if you are step-brothers, it’s still incest.”
“It’s not Yuri that I like.” He grumbled, shooting her another glare before turning away. Yuuko took a step back, licked her glossed lips before smacking them loudly and forming a small ‘o’.
“Well then,” she snickered, “What are you going to tell Dad?” Twisting back towards her, nearly giving himself whiplash, he felt his body shake in fear from the weight of her words. “He’s going to be so disappointed that his eldest son can’t pass on the family name.”
“You’re hardly one to talk, hoe. Go put on some clothes!” Yuya snarled at her under his breath. She just shrugged as she pulled down her shirt and hiked up her skirt. Turning on her heel, her Jimmy Choos clacked until coming to a stop just before the front door.
“Yuya,” she called, jingling his car keys, “I am going to be borrowing your car from now on, alright?”
He gnawed at his lip but nodded in agreement. Smiling and giggling, she went out the door into the night like every other evening.
Yuri had watched the exchange carefully. Whatever was bothering Yuya was not something to be taken lightly. He didn’t know what he, or Inoo, were going to do about it but they were not going to stand by and just watch. Not when Yuya looked like a he just got run over on a freeway.
~~~
“Chiiiineeen!” The sound of his name caused his head to lift from its place on his desk. He looked around to see that not only were the desks in his class room empty but the hallways silent. Checking the clock hanging on the wall, he realized it was after 3 in the afternoon. How long had he been asleep? “Did you have a good nap, Chii?” Nakajima Yuto asked, ruffling the boy’s hair. Yuri groaned as he lifted his lazy form from his chair and gathered his belongings.
“Did you not get enough sleep last night?” Yamada Ryosuke asked, in genuine concern, from his place behind Yuto.
“They are pushing you too hard aren’t they?” Okamoto Keito addressed, just as worried.
Yuri groaned again, adjusting this school blazer and slinging his bag over shoulder, “Training isn’t the problem. Nii-chan has been acting weird for the last few weeks and he won’t tell me what’s wrong. He’s never not told me how he feels before! I don’t think I’ve given him a reason not to trust me either. It’s really starting bothering me.”
“Cheer up! I’m sure Takaki-kun will come around, so don’t think about it so much. Getting sleep is most important!” Yamada said with a smile as he slung his arm over Yuri’s shoulders.
“Ya…”
“Hey! You haven’t seen the store I’m working at have you?” Yuto calls loudly, swiping the smaller boy away from Yamada with a smile and spinning him around. Yuri shook his head, too exhausted to smile back. “Let’s go now then! I’m sure Yabu won’t mind since you’re already late anyways. ” Yuri sighed and nodded causing Yuto to jump up and down as he dragged him down the hall, Keito and Yamada following closely behind.
“Can Takaki-kun drive us? It’s kind of far and I don’t really want to walk.” Yuto asked once more.
Yuri shrugged, “It’s worth a shot!”
~~
“Yuuyaa, c’mon you haven’t been out of the house all day you could use the fresh air!” Yuri whined, while shaking his brother’s shoulders. Yuya was sitting on his butt, yet again; in front of their flat screen TV re-watching his favourite drama for the umpteenth time.
“You were at school; you don’t know what I did today!”
Yuri rolled his eyes, “It’s Wednesday, you have a day off today, and I’m sure you got up two hours ago and have been lazying around since.” Yuya tossed the boy a glare at his accuracy. Turning off the TV with a huff he got up and passed both Yuri and Yuto on the way to the front door in his PJ pants, fuzzy penguin slippers and ripped t-shirt.
Yuto eyed the elder curiously, “You’re going to leave the house like that?”
“I am just taking you there and coming back here to finish my show.” Yuya said digging for his keys in the crystal bowl, “So, where do I have to take you exactly?” Yuya asked, slipping on his shoes.
“yuuHIKAsaibai. It’s Minami-Aoyama 7-3-5.” Yuto answered, causing Yuya to freeze just as he was about to turn the knob on the door. Spinning around he crossed the hardwood floor and bounding up the staircase. He came back down moments later with a nice pair of black jeans, a simple black intact t-shirt, a dark blazer and his favourite baseball cap. Yuri’s eyebrow rose as he glanced at Yuto who was attempting not to smirk.
When they arrived Yuya tried not to run into the store and coolly stayed a few steps behind Yuto who, indeed, ran right through the door. Hikaru barely got his signature greeting in before Yuto threw his arms around the boy’s neck. Catching Yuya’s hard stare, Hikaru shoved his co-worker off of him.
“It’s nice to see you too Yuto, but you’re late.” Hikaru said, patting the high schooler’s shoulder because he was too short to reach his head.
“That’s my fault,” Yuya said raising his hand and flashing a superstar smile at Hikaru. He smiled back, “The boys asked for a ride and well, I had to get dressed.”
Yuri glanced between the two while Yuto frowned, “Wait a minute, you’ve already met Takaki-kun?” the taller was now pouting.
“Yes we have, Yabu sent him here on an errand.” Hikaru said, grinning triumphantly. Yuri remained infinitely confused as he watched his friend’s face elongate and pale.
“No no no no no! Not possible!”
“Yes possible, you know what that means,” Hikaru’s face still plastered with this victorious grin as he made his way across the store to a small broom closet and pulled out a mop, “You lost so you have to clean the bathroom.” The three of them looked over at said washroom. It was as if someone had set off a cherry bomb full of spoiled food in there.
While shaking his head, Yuto tried to put the most amount of distance between him and his employer but he had no such luck. When he felt his back hit something solid and hard, he thought it might be the wall. Unfortunately, he was quite wrong.
Two long arms found their way around the younger boy’s waist and a head rested on his shoulder. “You lost, kiddo, so either you clean that disgusting washroom or you’re my bitch for the week.”
Yuri and Yuya nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sudden rough sound of Yabu’s voice while Yuto screamed so loud at the sudden materialization that he nearly punctured a lung. Hikaru and Yabu burst into hyena-like laughter as they doubled over trying to hold their sides together.
Yuto was on the brink of tears as he fell to the ground holding his chest, trying to regulate his breathing, “You guys suck! And are so unfunny!” he cried, his voice cracking. Yuri made his way to his friend’s side and rubbed his back to help him calm down.
“Hey! You lost! So hurry up and pick; either be my bitch or clean that washroom. You have 10 seconds…9, 8, 7--”
“Alright alright! I’ll be your bitch, just don’t make me look at a washroom you’ve intentionally made dirty in hopes I’d clean it.” Yuto groaned face buried in his hands. Yuri looked up from his classmate to the two elder boys high fiving and then over at his brother who looked so confused it was mildly entertaining.
That’s when it hit him like a ton of bricks.
“Hikaru-kun, you’re Yuto’s neighbour aren’t you?” Yuri proclaimed causing all cheering to stop and silence to ensue.
All attention turned to Yuri, who was smiling happily, “I remember you coming to play with us sometimes. You tried to teach us how to juggle once, but we kept making mistakes. It was funny how fast you gave up.” The smiling face of Chinen Yuri fell as no one else basked in the glory of nostalgia. The air soured, even when Yabu burst into a forced laughter pulling both Yuto and Yuri to their feet.
“Takaki, can I borrow your car? I took the train here and we’re running really late; Dad is going to chew me out. I’ll bring it back when we’re done, okay?” Yabu requested as he pushed the high schoolers out the door. Takaki dropped his keys into Yabu’s waiting hand and waved goodbye.
Yuya and Hikaru remained silent in the empty store until the tires of the Audi screeched down the road. That was when Yuya locked eyes with his boyfriend from across the room. The clapping of his boots had bounced off the walls as he made his way towards Hikaru, who was leaning on the cash counter. Yuya’s foot falls stopped right in front of him, prompting the boy’s two well manicured hands to cup his face and those soft lips to graze against his. Hikaru’s hands found their way around Yuya’s neck, while the latter’s automatically made themselves home on the younger’s slim hips. Hands sifted through hair and fingers swept over exposed skin ceasing only when Hikaru, with all his strength, managed to push Yuya back into the cash counter. Hikaru’s hips dug into him sharply with one thrust causing a whine to cut through Yuya’s lips.
“I will not settle for being the girl in this relationship.” Hikaru breathed into his ear which caused the-more-than-willing bottom to shiver and moan. Smirking, the younger licked his lips before initiating a rough kiss leaving Yuya to wither beneath him.
“You make a really good girl too, with the way you cry and whine.” Hikaru whispered again. This time, Yuya pushed the boy back with a scowl.
“Excuse me, you would cry too if suddenly your car engine wouldn’t start and you needed to pick up your brother.” Yuya huffed leaving Hikaru to snicker.
“Whatever you say,” he claimed waving his hands defensively in the air, “I still don’t believe you though.”
Removing his cap and blazer and handing them to Hikaru, Yuya looked him sternly in the eye before heading towards the broom closet and taking out a small bucket of cleaning supplies, “I will prove it to you that I am not a girl. I’ll clean that washroom and it will be so clean we could eat off the floor later.”
Hikaru shrugged, hiding his smile best he could, “Sure, okay. I’ll be filling stock so, just yell if you need me.” With that he practically skipped away becoming more skilled in the manipulation his boyfriend.
“Hikaru,” Yuya whined loudly, sometime later, from his place hunched over the toilet; sweat was pouring down his face and the fumes from the chemicals were making him dizzy.
“Yes?” The younger called from his spot behind the cash counter, where he was now filing his nails, “What’s the matter?”
“I can’t do this anymore! I’ve barely made a dent and I’m feeling kind of nauseous.” Yuya pouted, crawling out of the small room and into the store, gulping in big breaths of fresh air. Hikaru leaned over the counter and watched as his boyfriend collapsed onto the floor. He couldn’t help but smile.
“That’s fine, I’ll make Yuto do the rest,” he said, coming around the counter and straddling the boy’s hips, “I guess there isn’t going to be a girl in our relationship huh?” Hikaru planted a gentle kiss to Yuya’s lips, causing him to smile widely.
Unexpectedly, Hikaru found himself being tossed onto the tile floor beside Yuya where it was the latter’s turn to mount the boy. He felt his heart skip upon seeing the dark, lust-filled look in the other’s eyes. It was hotter than anything Hikaru had seen before. If University didn’t agree with Yuya in the future, then he could definitely make just as promising a living in the porn industry. Though, having to share his Yuya wasn’t something he was willing to partake in so easily.
“Tell me something, Hika-chan,” Yuya’s words melted like chocolate in his brain, “What was your little bet about?”
He was finding it infinitely harder to resist that look, though he knew he should keep his mouth shut but he couldn’t. Damnmit, why did he have to pick such a sexy guy. “They wanted to know which one could get you to meet me first.”
Yuya raised a brow making a silent ‘o’ with his full lips, "I had no idea I was so wanted!”
Gnawing on his lip, Hikaru attempted to turn away, but Yuya still caught the forming blush on the boy’s cheeks, “I’ve wanted you for a while now. They just kind of had enough of my window shopping.”
Yuya chuckled lightly before it hit him, “Wait, how did you know I …well…swing that way.”
Giving him a look of utter disbelief Hikaru just shook his head, “A gay guy knows when he sees another gay guy. Haven’t you heard of gaydar?”
Feeling not only kind of insulted, but significantly embarrassed, Yuya resulted in jabbing the younger in his side. This made the boy twitch and laugh hysterically. Not being able to resist the urge, Yuya did it again and again until Hikaru’s strong grip caught his wrist. Yuya felt it could snap with a single movement. So he held still and waited until Hikaru let go of his wrist, got to his feet and brushed himself off. He offered Yuya his hand. Taking it gingerly, he pulled Hikaru into another kiss that was still filled with raw lust.
Now it being his turn to whimper, Hikaru watched in anxiety as Yuya fished into his back pocket for his wallet. “How about I go grab us a snack? Is shaved ice okay?” he asked, side stepping his boyfriend. Though Hikaru prevented Yuya from taking a step more by pushing the boy back into the counter, “If you’re hungry I’ve got something for you to snack on.”
It was reasons like these that Yuya never liked to over think. Putting his wallet back into his pants, Yuya let himself be dragged upstairs to enjoy what Hikaru had to offer.
Part 2.