Family Matters: Chapter 6
Jan. 31st, 2016 10:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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yume_to_ameTitle: Family matters ~ Chapter 6
Pairing: Jun, Masaki, Sho, Satoshi, Kazu (there are going to be additional side-characters though. No OCs.) I'm trying to give each of the five their well-deserves spot-light <3
Rating: PG
Multi-chapter
Beta:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lover_youshould
Genre: family!AU in which Arashi are brothers :-) slice of life, a little drama (and I'm trying to add some light-hearted, funny moments to it too)
Summary: Since they were little they were always close to each other. And when unfortunate events force them to live together without their parents, it's only natural that they try to make the best out of it.
“So-“ Satoshi turns to the side, eyeing the guy lying next to him. “Kame-kun, we ended in bed again.”
“Hm~” Kame hums. “You are a pretty good lover, so I have nothing against it. I just wished we would have gone for the udon place first. I love food. But you just had to pick me up personally!”
It sounds like a complaint, much to Satoshi’s amusement. “So, how come you wanted to go out with me anyway?”
“Why not?”
Satoshi shrugs. “I’m not the type of person people normally want to date.”
“Why is that?” Kame asks curiously.
“Well, normal people think I’m kind of boring to be around and not particularly likeable and charming. They only like me when I’m painting.”
Kame blinks, then he chuckles. “Then I’m probably not normal,” he says light-heartedly and crawls out of the bed. “I’m going to make dinner now. You kind of look like the guy who can’t cook to save his life.”
Satoshi chuckles and smacks his butt when he walks by him. “I can cook a bit. But not very well.”
“Then you could set the table,” Kame instructs. He turns around. “And just to say it once and for all: I saw you last week with some of your brothers and you helped a little girl to get back her balloon. I thought that you are an incredibly kind and interesting person. That’s why I tried to seduce you in the first place. And that’s why I called you. So-“ He blushes deeply and hurries to the kitchen. “I said it,” he mumbles and sounds so embarrassed that it’s almost cute.
Satoshi smiles while he gets up and angles for his shorts. Setting the table is definitely something he can do. Especially after he finally managed to get close to something like a relationship.
Kame cooks udon, apparently eager to have his planned dinner tonight. No seafood though. “Why not?” Satoshi asks curiously.
“I hate fish,” Kame says randomly.
Satoshi laughs. “Like my younger brother. Just that he is a teenager and you are not.”
Kame sulks at that. “Hey, don’t compare me to one of your baby-brothers!”
“Don’t worry. They are nice guys. The comparison isn’t too bad.” Satoshi smiles while he takes a sip from his soup. “Just a bit difficult and dramatic sometimes.”
Kame tilts his head. “You are so lucky. I’m a single child. You are getting along well, aren’t you?”
“Most of the times we actually do, though one of my younger brothers – Kazu – seems to have a certain problem with me.”
“What kind of problem?”
Satoshi angles for a flower-shaped carrot piece. “I have no idea. Gladly the other brother seems to have a problem with my twin brother. Hence I’m just facing one of them at once.”
“And what is his problem?” Kame wants to know.
“I have no idea either.” Satoshi smiles awkwardly. “Pretty pathetic, huh?”
“Not really.” Kame shrugs. “Some problems come from something lying deep beneath one’s mind. Maybe he doesn’t even know the problem himself.”
“Maybe.”
Kame sighs. “I still envy you.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.” A grin. “Told you I’m a single child. My parents weren’t around much either. But when you talk about your family, it sounds so… warm.”
“Warm?” Satoshi’s cheeks feel hot all of a sudden. Is that how he sounds when he talks about family? “You say that now,” he stutters. “But wait till you encounter one of Sho’s temper tantrums, though to be honest he isn’t on them often anymore – should have seen him as a teen – he is a lot more controlled now. But sometimes he slips. Or when Jun directs one of his temper tantrums against Sho, until they get into a huge fight. I’m just waiting for Sho being so worked up that he actually snaps for real. They are on some sort of petty arguments each week! Oh, or Masaki crying over how beautiful his cake turned out to be and placing tons of chocolate bars and jelly beans and self-baked animalesque bread all around the house. And the hundreds of women who are basically after him. And Kazu blaming everything that happens in the world on me, like pollution, water shortage, war. It’s all my fault. Even when it’s Jun arguing with Sho, it’s my fault. Oh, or-”
Kame laughs, interrupting him by putting his hand on Satoshi’s arm. “It’s still warm.” He smiles. “You look so happy.”
~~~
“He looks like a gangster,” Satoshi says in serious shock.
“Who?” Masaki peeks over Satoshi’s shoulder, eyeing the little gathering in their living room. Jun has invited some of his friends over for a school project. “Oh, wow,” Masaki blinks. “Is that formerly so awkward Mao-chan? Oh and Shun-kun? These kids grew up so much, it’s unbelievable.”
It is indeed. The last time he saw Mao-chan was when she was only 7 years old, right before they moved to Tokyo. Same for Shun. Once they moved back again, after the accident, because he, Sho and Masaki decided that they wanted to have a new start and give their younger brothers a place that would be a home for them, they didn’t meet Jun’s old and now new friends. It was the first time for him to meet them.
“I didn’t know that he is that social,” Sho says as he approaches them with a cup of Aiba’s newest cinnamon and ginger pudding in his hand.
“Taste good?” Satoshi wants to know.
“It does,” Sho says and offers him a spoon full of it. Satoshi nods approvingly.
“Different, but good,” he agrees. “But will the kids in your store eat something with such a distinctive taste, Masaki?”
Masaki grins. “It’s not for the kids.”
Ah, then it’s probably better not to ask anymore. Instead he picks the former topic up again. “Who is social?”
“Jun,” Sho muses. “He has quite some friends. And they seem to like him. It means he is a lot more social than Kazu and you, and even me.”
“The gangster dude seems to like him in particular,” Satoshi grumbles, not sure why, but even the thought of someone looking so dangerous being in any way close to one of his brothers already ticks him off.
“Oh, the one with the piercing,” Masaki says randomly.
“Not sure if I like that. Don’t you think so too, Sho?”
“Oh please, are you seriously trying to influence Sho now with that topic?” Kazu’s voice comes from behind.
Oh my- This brat is impossible! Seriously. There are at least fifteen retorts that come to Satoshi’s mind immediately; at least twelve of them would probably lead to an argument, but before he can say anything to voice his anger, Sho answers for him in his typical lawyer modus. “Kazu-chan, Satoshi does not influence or manipulate me in any way. Ever.” He pauses, tilting his head while watching Jun with his friends. “I can pretty much build my own opinion on a lot of matters. And in this occasion I know I can rely on Jun’s common sense. Gangster-kun looks more dangerous than he is.”
Kazu stays silent for a while, then – much to Satoshi’s surprise – he nods at Sho with a smile. “You are right,” he says. “Sorry.”
Satoshi’s mouth basically drops open. How the hell did Sho manage to do that!? He was all calm and composed, and diplomatic. Whenever he tries to talk like that to Kazu it basically blows up in his face and ends in a natural catastrophe. He almost wishes Kazu would be more like Jun – Jun’s so easy to deal with and shows his emotions more openly.
“You know, Sho,” Masaki snickers when Kazu walks away to grab one cup of Masaki’s pudding. “Talk like that with Jun and you won’t have any problems anymore!”
“It doesn’t work with Jun,” Sho whines. “I’ve tried several times, but he always looked at me like I lost my mind. Like I’m an alien from outer space.”
“That’s because-” Masaki smiles and rummages through the cupboard next to them. “-you are different when you talk with Jun.”
Sho blinks. “I am?”
“Yep,” Masaki sighs happily when he found the huge plate he apparently was looking for. “You lose your calm and indifferent aura then. You are overanalysing every one of his words and your own, and you are getting extremely tensed, afraid to even set one step wrong. Your approach is not working with Jun, because you already anticipate it not to work. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, you know?”
Sho stares at Masaki, not saying anything, but Satoshi can almost see how his brain is processing his words. He nods all of a sudden. “I need to think about that,” he says. Then he chuckles slightly, throwing a glance towards Satoshi. Satoshi knows exactly what it means. Masaki’s ability to slip into Buddha-mode and mediate without even trying, and simply hitting the nail on the head is amazing.
Satoshi almost wishes he would use his Buddha-mode on him too, but apparently the moment of wisdom is over, because Masaki sighs in delight as he places tons of brownies on the plate, and even gets a whole other one with sushi out of the fridge.
“Is that for Jun and his friends?” Sho blinks. “Did you prepare something?”
“Of course I did!” Masaki smiles. “One of my cute little brothers finally brings his friends home. You think I wouldn’t prepare something?”
“Didn’t Jun say he would never talk to us again, if we embarrass him by talking to his friends,” Satoshi points out.
“That goes for you two,” Masaki grins. “Definitely not for me.”
His self-confidence can be amazing sometimes, but then, he seems to be right, because when he takes the two plates into the living room, Jun simply smiles and introduces his friends. The handsome guy is indeed Shun, and the pretty girl Mao. This Toma-guy seems to be a newer friend though. And Gangster-kun…
Sho blinks and looks at Satoshi in surprise. “Did he just say Matsuda?”
“Like Matsuda-sensei?” Satoshi whispers. “Might be a coincidence? It’s a common name after all.”
“Hm, maybe.” Sho tilts his head. He is obviously not convinced, but then, it’s Jun’s business whom he chooses as his friends. May it be Matsuda’s son or not.
~~~
Over the last quiet and relaxing days Satoshi has almost forgotten that they have to appear at that stupid school festival. He hates events like that, highly sympathizing with Kazu who only came because he had to. His class organized some sort of maid and butler café which Masaki happily checked out.
And Jun’s class a haunted house. Classic. Masaki went for that too, right after a dark-haired pretty woman. Satoshi assumes that it’s Rosa-san.
Now however that they had some fun – at least Masaki had some – they are looking for Jun’s and Kazu’s homeroom teachers.
“This is why I hate school events,” Sho mumbles when they pass a group of giggling girls.
“Yes.” Masaki frowns. “I just wonder why they are paying so much attention to us. I mean, last time when I was here, no one cared.”
Satoshi nods slightly. He agrees with Masaki on that matter and again, he is impressed at how the latter sometimes just hits the nail on its head with his remarks. They are getting way too much attention. It’s not like they are some sort of idol group after all. “Did you meet your Italian sensei at least?”
“You mean after our date last week?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to see her next week.” Masaki blushes slightly. “We don’t want to create a fuss; that’s why we won’t meet here. I just saw her for a few minutes.”
“You know that you need to tell Kazu and Jun?” Satoshi says and can’t help the reproachful tone. It’s unnecessary for all of them to hide something like that. It’s just making things more complicated.
“Let’s grab something to eat,” Sho suggests, probably to interrupt this rather sensitive topic. When he turns towards one of the takoyaki stands, the girls move away slightly and giggle. He blinks in surprise and looks at Satoshi helplessly.
Satoshi only shrugs. “Maybe we should go and see the teachers first, then eat something.” He suggests. The others agree immediately. This is too awkward, really.
They meet Jun’s and Kazu’s homeroom teachers together. “Ah~” Nagase-sensei waves at them. “The brothers are really here. I can’t believe it! Can you, Tatsu?”
Yamaguchi-sensei smiles. “Obviously they are here. So, I can.”
These two were like a comedy duo sometimes, seriously. Gladly Sho is around too, Mr.-Never-losing-his-composure. “Well-“ Sho smiles politely. “After you asked us to come, we just felt like we should go all together.”
“We felt a bit worried,” Masaki adds not particularly diplomatic.
“Yeah-“ Satoshi sighs. “I think we stayed away for too long,” he admits.
Nagase smiles knowingly and hands them all a cup of coffee. “We are glad that you came. Thank you! We didn’t have the intention to worry you though.”
With the smile Nagase was showing them, Satoshi feels weirdly relieved. Apparently, Masaki too, because he suddenly asks directly. “Are there any problems with Jun-chan?”
The two teachers exchange a glance before they burst into laughter. “Did you hear that, Tatsu?” Nagase laughs his deep and loud laugh, sounding so much like an overly manly macho-man that Satoshi feels like a tiny child next to him.
Yamaguchi grins too. “Apparently we are dreaming.” They exchange another glance before the laughter subsides. Yamaguchi coughs most likely to regain his composure and Nagase takes a sip from his own coffee.
“Problems with Jun?” Nagase grins at Satoshi and his brothers in delight like they just were a silly comedy trio who cracked a hilarious joke. “Not at all. He is actually almost studying too much. He is at the top of his age-group. Is doing well during sportive competitions as well. His class likes him. He got elected as class president. His way towards school council is basically open, at least when he finally gives in to their demand and my pushing. He is so stubborn – the only problem with him I have.”
Satoshi stares at the man in serious surprise and plain shock. What? Was he talking about the same Jun? The only part that sounded familiar to him was the one with being stubborn. Other than Masaki and Sho, he was always pretty sure that Jun didn’t have any problems, that he was doing just normally. But this isn’t normal. This is more than that. They have obviously completely underestimated him. He feels guilty and annoyed all of a sudden – why is no one in this family ever saying what lies on their mind and happening in their life!? It’s getting freaking difficult!
“And Kazu-chan?” Masaki asks probably to change the topic. He looks almost scared that the teachers will burst into laughter again. But they don’t.
“Well-“ Yamaguchi lets out a sigh, shifting his cup in his hands. “Tomo?”
Nagase raises his hands in defence. “A member of your class,” he says, grinning slightly apologetically. “Gladly…”
This time, it doesn’t come as a complete surprise to Satoshi. He has expected at least part of the following revelation. “He is very smart,” Yamaguchi starts, like he wants to give them some good facts before revealing the inevitable. “Luckily. He could do really well too, just like his brother. But he is skipping school too much. On a brighter note, he wrote a test last week and two weeks ago, and did a lot better than expected. He also was here regularly during the last two weeks at least.”
“What? Kazu? Are you serious?” Sho asks, apparently still believing that these two teachers are pulling off one of their weird jokes, but Yamaguchi isn’t laughing. And Nagase isn’t either, which makes it even more serious. Satoshi lets out a frustrated sigh, trying to gather his thoughts and put them into an order. One tiny part of his mind finally understands why Sho, and sometimes even Jun, occasionally go for these temper tantrums. Right now he also feels like jumping up, looking for Kazu and just shaking and yelling at him for being such a stupid idiot.
“I’m not joking of course.” Yamaguchi smiles slightly and looks at them almost sympathetically. He clearly feels sorry for them and unlike his usual sentiment, Satoshi feels embarrassed all of a sudden. “I can show you the whole attendance record and the work he has missed and needs to catch up on to pass this school year.”
~~~
Sho looks tired after they went through all the issues Kazu has in school. Academic education is one of his main issues, the one point that is really important to him. Masaki does a little better in focusing on Yamaguchi’s words – in fact he might already try to focus on the more positive things rather than on the negative ones. It’s a gift, really. He is such a kind and good soul – they are so freaking lucky to have him around. He will calm down the storm later on for sure, because right now Satoshi himself feels downright pissed. He hates this kind of stuff and he knew Kazu was up to no good. He has just let it pass because he thought it wasn’t anything too bad going on.
But this situation here overstrains him. Not only a bit. And he feels like the biggest idiot and failing brother ever.
“Don’t worry too much.” Yamaguchi says at the end of their talk. “He is a very intelligent kid.” He waves a bit when Nagase comes back into the room. “Tomo-cha- I mean, Nagase-san can confirm my words.”
“He is. Don’t rush into any decisions now. You should wait for a good moment and talk to him. Once you’ve done that, how about one of you comes back to us, this time together with him, so that we can talk about how he can work on what he missed?” he suggests.
Satoshi looks at him in awe. He has never met such a teacher. There should probably be more types like him, the ones that are openly worried and helpful and don’t judge.
“There is something else though.” Yamaguchi exchanges a wary glance with Nagase. “It has nothing to do with the kids, but more with one of you.”
Satoshi’s senses are awakened immediately. He thinks of the strange looks they received from a lot of students and the attention they received. “What do you mean? A problem?”
“How about you tell them, Tatsu?” Nagase asks his colleagues.
“No way! I already had to tell them about Kazunari,” Yamaguchi argues, and despite the whole weird situation they are in, Satoshi can’t help a tiny grin.
Nagase sighs before he looks at Sho for a while. He seems to search for the right words, looking unusually thoughtful, like he is trying to weigh every word. Satoshi looks at Masaki in surprise, hoping that his Italian love affair gave him some information, but Masaki just shrugs. Apparently he doesn’t know any more. “I think-“ Nagase finally says. “I need to talk to you alone for a while, if you don’t mind?”
Sho looks at him in utter surprise. “Why is that?”
“There is a rumour going around and it’s important for me to know which part of it is true. I’m very sorry about that because I don’t believe it at all, but unfortunately it’s recently even touching red-light district. So the headmaster deliberately asked me to check on it.”
Sho blinks, one of the very rare times that he is actually looking both taken aback and clearly surprised. Masaki pulls his eyebrows up as well. He wants to say something but Satoshi puts his hand on his arm. “We could take our leave first,” he suggests, nodding a bit towards Sho when the latter shows him a grateful smile. “We’ll go home and wait there for you.”
~~~
“Kazu hasn’t been going to school regularly.” Satoshi starts to touch the problem once he and Masaki are sitting in the kitchen of their house and Masaki has put a plate with unicorn-shaped pink mochi in front of him.
“The question is why,” Masaki intervenes and nods approvingly when he tries one of his unicorn-creations. “I mean, he is still not completely failing in school and that’s good, but I wonder why he lied to us like that.”
“I also wonder why Jun never told us that he is doing extraordinarily well in school,” Satoshi adds. “I mean, why wouldn’t he say anything? Isn’t that weird?”
Masaki shrugs a bit. “Maybe it wasn’t important to him?” he suggests. “Or he just thinks that it’s what he is supposed to do. Why make a fuss about that?”
That sounds a lot like something Jun would say when he is in his proud and stubborn mode. Satoshi nods, a little surprised again by how mature Masaki can sound sometimes and at how he can show some deep insight on others. “And Kazu?”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m annoyed too. But I think, instead of getting downright angry and yelling at him-“ Masaki starts. “We should think properly on what to do and discuss it, all three of us. Then we’ll talk to him. No rushed decisions. They never lead to anything good.”
They look up a bit when they hear how the key of the door gets turned. “That’s Sho,” Satoshi analyses.
“Alright, I’m going to get my non-alcoholic mulled wine for tomorrow’s birthday party in my shop out of the car. It’s for 20 children. Tell Sho that we need to talk,” Masaki says and gets up. He leaves the kitchen through the other door, heading right to the garage.
Satoshi turns his head a bit when he hears how the footsteps come closer. He wants to call a Hello towards Sho, but his words get basically stuck in his throat. Sho doesn’t even look at him, he just throws his jacket over an empty chair, an annoyed look in his eyes. Then he leaves, his feet targeting the staircase. He looks like his 14-year old self again (just with more wrinkles), and suddenly Satoshi feels worried.
Pairing: Jun, Masaki, Sho, Satoshi, Kazu (there are going to be additional side-characters though. No OCs.) I'm trying to give each of the five their well-deserves spot-light <3
Rating: PG
Multi-chapter
Beta:
lover_youshouldGenre: family!AU in which Arashi are brothers :-) slice of life, a little drama (and I'm trying to add some light-hearted, funny moments to it too)
Summary: Since they were little they were always close to each other. And when unfortunate events force them to live together without their parents, it's only natural that they try to make the best out of it.
“So-“ Satoshi turns to the side, eyeing the guy lying next to him. “Kame-kun, we ended in bed again.”
“Hm~” Kame hums. “You are a pretty good lover, so I have nothing against it. I just wished we would have gone for the udon place first. I love food. But you just had to pick me up personally!”
It sounds like a complaint, much to Satoshi’s amusement. “So, how come you wanted to go out with me anyway?”
“Why not?”
Satoshi shrugs. “I’m not the type of person people normally want to date.”
“Why is that?” Kame asks curiously.
“Well, normal people think I’m kind of boring to be around and not particularly likeable and charming. They only like me when I’m painting.”
Kame blinks, then he chuckles. “Then I’m probably not normal,” he says light-heartedly and crawls out of the bed. “I’m going to make dinner now. You kind of look like the guy who can’t cook to save his life.”
Satoshi chuckles and smacks his butt when he walks by him. “I can cook a bit. But not very well.”
“Then you could set the table,” Kame instructs. He turns around. “And just to say it once and for all: I saw you last week with some of your brothers and you helped a little girl to get back her balloon. I thought that you are an incredibly kind and interesting person. That’s why I tried to seduce you in the first place. And that’s why I called you. So-“ He blushes deeply and hurries to the kitchen. “I said it,” he mumbles and sounds so embarrassed that it’s almost cute.
Satoshi smiles while he gets up and angles for his shorts. Setting the table is definitely something he can do. Especially after he finally managed to get close to something like a relationship.
Kame cooks udon, apparently eager to have his planned dinner tonight. No seafood though. “Why not?” Satoshi asks curiously.
“I hate fish,” Kame says randomly.
Satoshi laughs. “Like my younger brother. Just that he is a teenager and you are not.”
Kame sulks at that. “Hey, don’t compare me to one of your baby-brothers!”
“Don’t worry. They are nice guys. The comparison isn’t too bad.” Satoshi smiles while he takes a sip from his soup. “Just a bit difficult and dramatic sometimes.”
Kame tilts his head. “You are so lucky. I’m a single child. You are getting along well, aren’t you?”
“Most of the times we actually do, though one of my younger brothers – Kazu – seems to have a certain problem with me.”
“What kind of problem?”
Satoshi angles for a flower-shaped carrot piece. “I have no idea. Gladly the other brother seems to have a problem with my twin brother. Hence I’m just facing one of them at once.”
“And what is his problem?” Kame wants to know.
“I have no idea either.” Satoshi smiles awkwardly. “Pretty pathetic, huh?”
“Not really.” Kame shrugs. “Some problems come from something lying deep beneath one’s mind. Maybe he doesn’t even know the problem himself.”
“Maybe.”
Kame sighs. “I still envy you.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.” A grin. “Told you I’m a single child. My parents weren’t around much either. But when you talk about your family, it sounds so… warm.”
“Warm?” Satoshi’s cheeks feel hot all of a sudden. Is that how he sounds when he talks about family? “You say that now,” he stutters. “But wait till you encounter one of Sho’s temper tantrums, though to be honest he isn’t on them often anymore – should have seen him as a teen – he is a lot more controlled now. But sometimes he slips. Or when Jun directs one of his temper tantrums against Sho, until they get into a huge fight. I’m just waiting for Sho being so worked up that he actually snaps for real. They are on some sort of petty arguments each week! Oh, or Masaki crying over how beautiful his cake turned out to be and placing tons of chocolate bars and jelly beans and self-baked animalesque bread all around the house. And the hundreds of women who are basically after him. And Kazu blaming everything that happens in the world on me, like pollution, water shortage, war. It’s all my fault. Even when it’s Jun arguing with Sho, it’s my fault. Oh, or-”
Kame laughs, interrupting him by putting his hand on Satoshi’s arm. “It’s still warm.” He smiles. “You look so happy.”
~~~
“He looks like a gangster,” Satoshi says in serious shock.
“Who?” Masaki peeks over Satoshi’s shoulder, eyeing the little gathering in their living room. Jun has invited some of his friends over for a school project. “Oh, wow,” Masaki blinks. “Is that formerly so awkward Mao-chan? Oh and Shun-kun? These kids grew up so much, it’s unbelievable.”
It is indeed. The last time he saw Mao-chan was when she was only 7 years old, right before they moved to Tokyo. Same for Shun. Once they moved back again, after the accident, because he, Sho and Masaki decided that they wanted to have a new start and give their younger brothers a place that would be a home for them, they didn’t meet Jun’s old and now new friends. It was the first time for him to meet them.
“I didn’t know that he is that social,” Sho says as he approaches them with a cup of Aiba’s newest cinnamon and ginger pudding in his hand.
“Taste good?” Satoshi wants to know.
“It does,” Sho says and offers him a spoon full of it. Satoshi nods approvingly.
“Different, but good,” he agrees. “But will the kids in your store eat something with such a distinctive taste, Masaki?”
Masaki grins. “It’s not for the kids.”
Ah, then it’s probably better not to ask anymore. Instead he picks the former topic up again. “Who is social?”
“Jun,” Sho muses. “He has quite some friends. And they seem to like him. It means he is a lot more social than Kazu and you, and even me.”
“The gangster dude seems to like him in particular,” Satoshi grumbles, not sure why, but even the thought of someone looking so dangerous being in any way close to one of his brothers already ticks him off.
“Oh, the one with the piercing,” Masaki says randomly.
“Not sure if I like that. Don’t you think so too, Sho?”
“Oh please, are you seriously trying to influence Sho now with that topic?” Kazu’s voice comes from behind.
Oh my- This brat is impossible! Seriously. There are at least fifteen retorts that come to Satoshi’s mind immediately; at least twelve of them would probably lead to an argument, but before he can say anything to voice his anger, Sho answers for him in his typical lawyer modus. “Kazu-chan, Satoshi does not influence or manipulate me in any way. Ever.” He pauses, tilting his head while watching Jun with his friends. “I can pretty much build my own opinion on a lot of matters. And in this occasion I know I can rely on Jun’s common sense. Gangster-kun looks more dangerous than he is.”
Kazu stays silent for a while, then – much to Satoshi’s surprise – he nods at Sho with a smile. “You are right,” he says. “Sorry.”
Satoshi’s mouth basically drops open. How the hell did Sho manage to do that!? He was all calm and composed, and diplomatic. Whenever he tries to talk like that to Kazu it basically blows up in his face and ends in a natural catastrophe. He almost wishes Kazu would be more like Jun – Jun’s so easy to deal with and shows his emotions more openly.
“You know, Sho,” Masaki snickers when Kazu walks away to grab one cup of Masaki’s pudding. “Talk like that with Jun and you won’t have any problems anymore!”
“It doesn’t work with Jun,” Sho whines. “I’ve tried several times, but he always looked at me like I lost my mind. Like I’m an alien from outer space.”
“That’s because-” Masaki smiles and rummages through the cupboard next to them. “-you are different when you talk with Jun.”
Sho blinks. “I am?”
“Yep,” Masaki sighs happily when he found the huge plate he apparently was looking for. “You lose your calm and indifferent aura then. You are overanalysing every one of his words and your own, and you are getting extremely tensed, afraid to even set one step wrong. Your approach is not working with Jun, because you already anticipate it not to work. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, you know?”
Sho stares at Masaki, not saying anything, but Satoshi can almost see how his brain is processing his words. He nods all of a sudden. “I need to think about that,” he says. Then he chuckles slightly, throwing a glance towards Satoshi. Satoshi knows exactly what it means. Masaki’s ability to slip into Buddha-mode and mediate without even trying, and simply hitting the nail on the head is amazing.
Satoshi almost wishes he would use his Buddha-mode on him too, but apparently the moment of wisdom is over, because Masaki sighs in delight as he places tons of brownies on the plate, and even gets a whole other one with sushi out of the fridge.
“Is that for Jun and his friends?” Sho blinks. “Did you prepare something?”
“Of course I did!” Masaki smiles. “One of my cute little brothers finally brings his friends home. You think I wouldn’t prepare something?”
“Didn’t Jun say he would never talk to us again, if we embarrass him by talking to his friends,” Satoshi points out.
“That goes for you two,” Masaki grins. “Definitely not for me.”
His self-confidence can be amazing sometimes, but then, he seems to be right, because when he takes the two plates into the living room, Jun simply smiles and introduces his friends. The handsome guy is indeed Shun, and the pretty girl Mao. This Toma-guy seems to be a newer friend though. And Gangster-kun…
Sho blinks and looks at Satoshi in surprise. “Did he just say Matsuda?”
“Like Matsuda-sensei?” Satoshi whispers. “Might be a coincidence? It’s a common name after all.”
“Hm, maybe.” Sho tilts his head. He is obviously not convinced, but then, it’s Jun’s business whom he chooses as his friends. May it be Matsuda’s son or not.
~~~
Over the last quiet and relaxing days Satoshi has almost forgotten that they have to appear at that stupid school festival. He hates events like that, highly sympathizing with Kazu who only came because he had to. His class organized some sort of maid and butler café which Masaki happily checked out.
And Jun’s class a haunted house. Classic. Masaki went for that too, right after a dark-haired pretty woman. Satoshi assumes that it’s Rosa-san.
Now however that they had some fun – at least Masaki had some – they are looking for Jun’s and Kazu’s homeroom teachers.
“This is why I hate school events,” Sho mumbles when they pass a group of giggling girls.
“Yes.” Masaki frowns. “I just wonder why they are paying so much attention to us. I mean, last time when I was here, no one cared.”
Satoshi nods slightly. He agrees with Masaki on that matter and again, he is impressed at how the latter sometimes just hits the nail on its head with his remarks. They are getting way too much attention. It’s not like they are some sort of idol group after all. “Did you meet your Italian sensei at least?”
“You mean after our date last week?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to see her next week.” Masaki blushes slightly. “We don’t want to create a fuss; that’s why we won’t meet here. I just saw her for a few minutes.”
“You know that you need to tell Kazu and Jun?” Satoshi says and can’t help the reproachful tone. It’s unnecessary for all of them to hide something like that. It’s just making things more complicated.
“Let’s grab something to eat,” Sho suggests, probably to interrupt this rather sensitive topic. When he turns towards one of the takoyaki stands, the girls move away slightly and giggle. He blinks in surprise and looks at Satoshi helplessly.
Satoshi only shrugs. “Maybe we should go and see the teachers first, then eat something.” He suggests. The others agree immediately. This is too awkward, really.
They meet Jun’s and Kazu’s homeroom teachers together. “Ah~” Nagase-sensei waves at them. “The brothers are really here. I can’t believe it! Can you, Tatsu?”
Yamaguchi-sensei smiles. “Obviously they are here. So, I can.”
These two were like a comedy duo sometimes, seriously. Gladly Sho is around too, Mr.-Never-losing-his-composure. “Well-“ Sho smiles politely. “After you asked us to come, we just felt like we should go all together.”
“We felt a bit worried,” Masaki adds not particularly diplomatic.
“Yeah-“ Satoshi sighs. “I think we stayed away for too long,” he admits.
Nagase smiles knowingly and hands them all a cup of coffee. “We are glad that you came. Thank you! We didn’t have the intention to worry you though.”
With the smile Nagase was showing them, Satoshi feels weirdly relieved. Apparently, Masaki too, because he suddenly asks directly. “Are there any problems with Jun-chan?”
The two teachers exchange a glance before they burst into laughter. “Did you hear that, Tatsu?” Nagase laughs his deep and loud laugh, sounding so much like an overly manly macho-man that Satoshi feels like a tiny child next to him.
Yamaguchi grins too. “Apparently we are dreaming.” They exchange another glance before the laughter subsides. Yamaguchi coughs most likely to regain his composure and Nagase takes a sip from his own coffee.
“Problems with Jun?” Nagase grins at Satoshi and his brothers in delight like they just were a silly comedy trio who cracked a hilarious joke. “Not at all. He is actually almost studying too much. He is at the top of his age-group. Is doing well during sportive competitions as well. His class likes him. He got elected as class president. His way towards school council is basically open, at least when he finally gives in to their demand and my pushing. He is so stubborn – the only problem with him I have.”
Satoshi stares at the man in serious surprise and plain shock. What? Was he talking about the same Jun? The only part that sounded familiar to him was the one with being stubborn. Other than Masaki and Sho, he was always pretty sure that Jun didn’t have any problems, that he was doing just normally. But this isn’t normal. This is more than that. They have obviously completely underestimated him. He feels guilty and annoyed all of a sudden – why is no one in this family ever saying what lies on their mind and happening in their life!? It’s getting freaking difficult!
“And Kazu-chan?” Masaki asks probably to change the topic. He looks almost scared that the teachers will burst into laughter again. But they don’t.
“Well-“ Yamaguchi lets out a sigh, shifting his cup in his hands. “Tomo?”
Nagase raises his hands in defence. “A member of your class,” he says, grinning slightly apologetically. “Gladly…”
This time, it doesn’t come as a complete surprise to Satoshi. He has expected at least part of the following revelation. “He is very smart,” Yamaguchi starts, like he wants to give them some good facts before revealing the inevitable. “Luckily. He could do really well too, just like his brother. But he is skipping school too much. On a brighter note, he wrote a test last week and two weeks ago, and did a lot better than expected. He also was here regularly during the last two weeks at least.”
“What? Kazu? Are you serious?” Sho asks, apparently still believing that these two teachers are pulling off one of their weird jokes, but Yamaguchi isn’t laughing. And Nagase isn’t either, which makes it even more serious. Satoshi lets out a frustrated sigh, trying to gather his thoughts and put them into an order. One tiny part of his mind finally understands why Sho, and sometimes even Jun, occasionally go for these temper tantrums. Right now he also feels like jumping up, looking for Kazu and just shaking and yelling at him for being such a stupid idiot.
“I’m not joking of course.” Yamaguchi smiles slightly and looks at them almost sympathetically. He clearly feels sorry for them and unlike his usual sentiment, Satoshi feels embarrassed all of a sudden. “I can show you the whole attendance record and the work he has missed and needs to catch up on to pass this school year.”
~~~
Sho looks tired after they went through all the issues Kazu has in school. Academic education is one of his main issues, the one point that is really important to him. Masaki does a little better in focusing on Yamaguchi’s words – in fact he might already try to focus on the more positive things rather than on the negative ones. It’s a gift, really. He is such a kind and good soul – they are so freaking lucky to have him around. He will calm down the storm later on for sure, because right now Satoshi himself feels downright pissed. He hates this kind of stuff and he knew Kazu was up to no good. He has just let it pass because he thought it wasn’t anything too bad going on.
But this situation here overstrains him. Not only a bit. And he feels like the biggest idiot and failing brother ever.
“Don’t worry too much.” Yamaguchi says at the end of their talk. “He is a very intelligent kid.” He waves a bit when Nagase comes back into the room. “Tomo-cha- I mean, Nagase-san can confirm my words.”
“He is. Don’t rush into any decisions now. You should wait for a good moment and talk to him. Once you’ve done that, how about one of you comes back to us, this time together with him, so that we can talk about how he can work on what he missed?” he suggests.
Satoshi looks at him in awe. He has never met such a teacher. There should probably be more types like him, the ones that are openly worried and helpful and don’t judge.
“There is something else though.” Yamaguchi exchanges a wary glance with Nagase. “It has nothing to do with the kids, but more with one of you.”
Satoshi’s senses are awakened immediately. He thinks of the strange looks they received from a lot of students and the attention they received. “What do you mean? A problem?”
“How about you tell them, Tatsu?” Nagase asks his colleagues.
“No way! I already had to tell them about Kazunari,” Yamaguchi argues, and despite the whole weird situation they are in, Satoshi can’t help a tiny grin.
Nagase sighs before he looks at Sho for a while. He seems to search for the right words, looking unusually thoughtful, like he is trying to weigh every word. Satoshi looks at Masaki in surprise, hoping that his Italian love affair gave him some information, but Masaki just shrugs. Apparently he doesn’t know any more. “I think-“ Nagase finally says. “I need to talk to you alone for a while, if you don’t mind?”
Sho looks at him in utter surprise. “Why is that?”
“There is a rumour going around and it’s important for me to know which part of it is true. I’m very sorry about that because I don’t believe it at all, but unfortunately it’s recently even touching red-light district. So the headmaster deliberately asked me to check on it.”
Sho blinks, one of the very rare times that he is actually looking both taken aback and clearly surprised. Masaki pulls his eyebrows up as well. He wants to say something but Satoshi puts his hand on his arm. “We could take our leave first,” he suggests, nodding a bit towards Sho when the latter shows him a grateful smile. “We’ll go home and wait there for you.”
~~~
“Kazu hasn’t been going to school regularly.” Satoshi starts to touch the problem once he and Masaki are sitting in the kitchen of their house and Masaki has put a plate with unicorn-shaped pink mochi in front of him.
“The question is why,” Masaki intervenes and nods approvingly when he tries one of his unicorn-creations. “I mean, he is still not completely failing in school and that’s good, but I wonder why he lied to us like that.”
“I also wonder why Jun never told us that he is doing extraordinarily well in school,” Satoshi adds. “I mean, why wouldn’t he say anything? Isn’t that weird?”
Masaki shrugs a bit. “Maybe it wasn’t important to him?” he suggests. “Or he just thinks that it’s what he is supposed to do. Why make a fuss about that?”
That sounds a lot like something Jun would say when he is in his proud and stubborn mode. Satoshi nods, a little surprised again by how mature Masaki can sound sometimes and at how he can show some deep insight on others. “And Kazu?”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m annoyed too. But I think, instead of getting downright angry and yelling at him-“ Masaki starts. “We should think properly on what to do and discuss it, all three of us. Then we’ll talk to him. No rushed decisions. They never lead to anything good.”
They look up a bit when they hear how the key of the door gets turned. “That’s Sho,” Satoshi analyses.
“Alright, I’m going to get my non-alcoholic mulled wine for tomorrow’s birthday party in my shop out of the car. It’s for 20 children. Tell Sho that we need to talk,” Masaki says and gets up. He leaves the kitchen through the other door, heading right to the garage.
Satoshi turns his head a bit when he hears how the footsteps come closer. He wants to call a Hello towards Sho, but his words get basically stuck in his throat. Sho doesn’t even look at him, he just throws his jacket over an empty chair, an annoyed look in his eyes. Then he leaves, his feet targeting the staircase. He looks like his 14-year old self again (just with more wrinkles), and suddenly Satoshi feels worried.
