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Seven
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2021-07-04 13:35:41“Kake-jii!” A shrill cry went up the moment that I opened the door to the house with my key. Even before I could announce that I was home, I had a pair of arms thrown around my legs and sobbing filled the entryway. While this shocked both Hiro-san and I into freezing up, my brother just stood there and shook his head in exasperation. Even Kaori-nee peeked around the kitchen doorway, greeted us and disappeared back inside. The little one, however, was practically pouring her heart out to me.
“What happened? How come you’re crying?” I pat her head as soothingly as I could in my confusion. Hiro-san too crouched beside me and looked at her closely.
“Hey, Aki-chan. What happened? Did your father get angry at you?”
“Why is this my fault?” Hikaru-nii asked, coming over and trying to pull Aki-chan off my legs but to no avail. “Aki, you’re getting Kake-jii’s pants dirty. Give him some space. He just got home.”
“I don’t want to! I don’t want to let Kake-jii go! Uwah!” She bawled, squeezing my legs even tighter.
‘I don’t want to let Kake-jii go’… “Ah! Hikaru-nii, you told her?!” I asked. I had wanted to talk to her about it myself and ease the news to her. It looked like she had already found out though.
“She was playing in her room. I was talking to Kaori in the kitchen. We didn’t notice that she had wandered over.” He shrugged. “Sorry that she got to know that way but… she had to know sooner or later.”
That was true but… what do I do now?
“How cruel, Kakeru. You have broken this young maiden’s heart.” Hiro-san commented and looked at her gently, his grey eyes filled with warmth. “Come here, Aki-chan. Let’s talk to Kake-jii properly first, okay?”
“No! No! No!” She shook her head vigorously and cried. “I-I won’t let you go! Kake-jii…”
I sighed. I swear, this girl was probably the only one I could cry over too. “Aki-chan.” I bent to pick her up. She put up a fight at first but, probably because I was still holding her, she let me pick her up. Soon after though, she clung to my neck and sobbed.
“Don’t go, Kake-jii! Please! Please, don’t go!”
Oh boy…
“You’re dearly loved, aren’t you?” Hiro-san chuckled, patted my head and went in.
…Why was I the one receiving a head pat?
“Come in.” Hikaru-nii said, gave me a wry smile and followed Hiro-san in.
…And why did I get the feeling that both Hikaru-nii and Kaori-nee were letting Aki-chan cry for the sake of the two of them as well? Or was that just wishful thinking on my part?
Either way, I’m not going to fall for it. I’ve steeled my resolve.
I stroked her back as I carried her in. “Aki-chan, listen to me. I am not going anywhere far. I will be near here. I will come for dinner and to play with you so often that you won’t even know I am not living here anymore.”
“No! I don’t want that either!” She yelled, clinging to me all the more. “I want to sleep together!”
I heard Hiro-san let out a small laugh at my expense. I was flummoxed, really. I didn’t quite know what to tell her. Seeing her cry like that, I was barely keeping myself together.
“I c-can stay over once in a while too.” I offered up. “And you can come over to my place whenever you want to see me. In fact, I will need you to help me at home. You can come and give me company and help me decide what goes where and… you know? You can come hang out any time you want. You’ll have one more house to play in.” I was desperate to get her to stop crying.
“No… One house to play is enough…” She groaned.
“Aki-chan, you will have a new place to run to and hide when Otou-san gets angry at you.” Hiro-san added.
What? Why would you tell her that?!
She pulled herself away a bit and looked at me with moist brown eyes so pained that I wanted to curse myself for being the reason for it, even though I did make me a little happy to know that I was so loved. “…Really?”
Wait. THAT worked?!
Hiro-san laughed at that. Hikaru-nii gave him a disapproving look and I could hear Kaori-nee laughing in the kitchen. I was put in quite the spot but I couldn’t refuse those earnest eyes at all. “A-Ah. You can, if you want to.” Then, on second thought, I added. “But only if you promise to make up with your parents later.”
“Mm.” She nodded, then went right back to hugging me, still crying a little. “But… Kake-jii will still come every day, play with me, eat with me and Aki can go over whenever. Okay?”
Ah… Why do you have to make it so hard, Aki-chan? “Yes.”
“Promise?” She held up a pinky finger to me, not lifting her head from my shoulder.
I intertwined our pinkies and gave her pudgy little knuckles a kiss. “It’s a promise.”
“Hiromitsu, you are the worst.” Hikaru-nii commented and sat on the couch next to his friend. “I love my daughter. Very much.”
“Aki loves Otou-san too.” Aki-chan said, sticking to me again. “Aki loves Otou-san, Kaa-chan and Kake-jii most!
“What? What about Hiro-jii?” Hiro-san pointed at himself and smiled.
“No… Hiro-jii showed Kake-jii new house…” She grumbled.
“Hey! How am I the bad guy here?” Hiro-san was genuinely horrified. “Aki-chan!” I’m not the bad guy! I’m the good guy!”
We laughed. Aki-chan refused to yield and was merciless towards Hiro-san but it worked to dispel the damp mood.
She refused to let go of me the whole evening, eventually falling asleep soon after dinner even before Hiro-san left. All that crying must have tired her out. I felt like a very cruel person all of a sudden though. To that little soul, this house and this family were her entire world. My leaving probably sounded like her world would shatter to her. It was no wonder that she was so heart-broken.
“That got you good, huh?” Hiro-san commented, standing beside me when I finally lay the sleeping girl in her bed and parted from her for the first time since I came home that evening.
“You think?” I let out a breath, stood straight and stretched my back a bit. “It’s not like I want to leave her either.”
He placed a hand on my head, which surprised me. “You’re a good guy, aren’t you?”
I gave him an interrogative glare at that. “You did this earlier too. Who are you trying to comfort?”
“You, obviously.” He shrugged. “You’ll probably cry to me about this the next time you get drunk anyway. This is in advance.”
“I am not calling you even if I’m drunk out of my senses. Geez.” I swatted his hand away. “Who do you think you are anyway, you old geezer?”
“Ah. That’s hurtful, you know?” He pretended to be wounded by my words.
“Shut up.”
“Hm. Not cute. You were so ready to apologise at everything when you were drunk.” He followed me out of the room.
“I thought I forbade you from ever bringing that up?”
“I never agreed.” He grinned. “Ah, Hikaru, Kaori-chan. I’ll be leaving. Thanks for having me as always. I don’t know what I would do without you two.”
“You’re welcome here whenever, Hiromitsu-san.” Kaori-nee smiled. She was always the most hospitable.
“Thanks. Well, then.” He messed up my hair again and proceeded to the entryway before I could offer protest.
‘You, obviously.’
… That promise earlier to Aki-chan was probably more for my own sake too.
Ugh. Pathetic. Just how dependent had I become?
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“Where’s Hiro?” Hikaru-nii’s voice came from behind me as I was attending to the egg that I was frying. I turned to the doorway to find my brother leaning against the doorframe, his hands folded over his chest. He had been sleeping when I had gone to check on him earlier. So, I had started preparations for breakfast while trying to think of the various possible scenarios I would have to make my through once he woke up. “Not here… now.” I responded rather cautiously. “He hadn’t stayed?” He frowned. “I thought I had told him that he could.” “You… remember all that?” I had hoped that we could ease into this conversation but this being brought up right off the bat made me a little anxious. “I was a lot more sober by the time you had gotten home. I don’t remember sending
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“You’re still not done?” I asked as I sat on the floor next to Hiro-san at the coffee table after my bath. “Maybe… one hour more?” “That’s okay.” I leaned against his arm. “I’ll wait.” “If you’re sleepy, please go to sleep.” “I can’t sleep properly without you, Hiro-san.” A lie… Maybe. “What is with that?” He laughed and patted my head. “Then, you can wait.” I nodded. I was planning on waiting anyway. I had left my phone on the coffee table next to his laptop. When I began looking around, I saw that the notification light was blinking. I reached out to take it. “Had someone called?” “No. I think you had a message though.” Hiro-san replied. “I did not check.” It definitel was a message and it had surprised me enough to make me sit straight up on reading it. “It’s from Hikaru-nii.” “Hikaru?” Hiro-san stopped what he was doing and looked at my phone as I opened the message. There were just two words on the
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I was the first one to wake up the next morning. However, I could not even bring myself to move from the position that I was in. For one, Hiro-san was still holding on to me closely. Secondly, my back hurt a bit. Moreover, I did not exactly want to move. The clock on the bedside table revealed that it was a little past 10:00 am. I had managed to somehow apply for leave on my phone last night before falling asleep. Considering that I had been wide awake before it, it was incredible how much that sex had taken out of me- actually, taken out of Hiro-san and I. Once was far from enough for the both of us and by the time we settled into each other’s arms after that, we barely had enough energy left to move. I looked up at his sleeping face. It was no wonder that he was so popular. Anyone would want to see a face like that as soon as they woke up. Ah… Now I wanted to kiss him. It was past 10:00 am anyway. He had slept enough. I moved his arm
Home Forty-Eight
He held my gaze and slowly smiled. “You seem sure enough about this.” Sliding one hand down my right arm, he grasped my hand. “Let’s go back to bed though.” Saying that much and indulging in a soft kiss, he led me back to the bedroom. He came to a stop next to the bed, turned to face me and took both my hands in his. I gave him a questioning look. “You don’t have to treat me like one of your women.” “What? This?” He raised our hands to ask. “It’s not that I am trying to be really gentle or anything. It’s… Despite all my experience and how eager I am now,” he placed my hands on his chest and smiled sheepishly. “I feel like such a boy.” His heart was pounding against my palms. I let go of his hands and wrapped my arms around his neck. “When was the last time that you dated someone for real?” “Towards the beginning of college. Why are you asking me that now?” I shrugged. “Because I wanted to know.” Then I kissed him. “Because this is… amu
Home Forty-Seven
I opened my eyes fast because it was still too dark for me to see anything. I was breathing heavily and my eyes felt moist. There was a throbbing heaviness in my chest and my entire body felt numb. I had had a dream and it was painful enough to jolt me awake, almost crying, but I couldn’t even remember what it was about. It was rare for me to dream in the first place and, hence, a dream that was capable of leaving me in a wreck like that was even rarer. It made me close my eyes and try to recollect it again but all I could remember were the emotions and that I was not alone. Maybe… it was a good thing that I couldn’t remember it. I turned on my side and picked my phone up from the bedside table. The time was 01:57 am. I had barely just fallen asleep at 12:30 am too… I turned back and looked at Hiro-san. I was still lying on his arm but he had turned onto his back, his other arm lying over his stomach. He hadn't been awoken by my movement
Home Forty-Six
On unlocking the door, Hiro-san let me in first. He followed me in after locking the door and proceeded straight to the kitchen. "I'll get you something warm to drink. Go change or freshen up if you want to.” I could at least change into something warmer. “Mm. I’ll… be out on the balcony after that.” “Kakeru, it’s cold out on the balcony too.” He said apprehensively. “I’ll take a blanket with me.” I said and went into the bedroom. He had offered no further protest, so I changed into warmer home-wear, wrapped a blanket around me and headed out onto the balcony. It was a little cold but I felt a lot better after changing and wrapping myself up like that. With my back to the wall, I sat on the floor and brought my knees up to my chest, covering myself up with the blanket and looking out at the night. My eyelids felt heavy. It was probably because of all that crying from earlier. “Why are you sitting on the floor?” Hiro-san asked on findin
Home Forty-Five
What seemed like an entire lifetime to me was probably just an hour or so on the clock. That was all the time it took for Hiro-san to get there. I had already seen that shocked look on his face two times before. It was easier for me to offer up a smile the third time. Nevertheless, he was by my side in an instant- his eyebrows scrunched up in a way that told me that I was the only one finding this pattern of meeting strangely amusing. “Kakeru, what are you doing out here?” He crouched before me and took my face in his palms. The worry I saw on his face just then- I wished that I was seeing it on my brother’s. “Meeting out in the hallway like this is really becoming our thing, isn’t it?” I chuckled. “It shouldn’t be though. What happened?” He looked me up and down. “Where are your shoes?” He found them soon after asking, then looked at me seriously. “Hikaru?” I looked towards the door. “I don’t think he’ll want to see you now.” “Huh?” “
Home Forty-Four
Did I have to actually say it out anymore? It seemed to me as though he had already figured it out. I could not bring myself to admit it. Confronted like that, I could not bring myself to deny it either.I had thought that it would be easier to tell my brother about us. I had not told him till then because he was still mourning Kaori-nee and I was trying to be considerate. I had thought that he would understand.“Kakeru, answer me.”What for? And, then what?“Kakeru!”“We’re dating.” I finally said it.“What?” He lowered his voice, his eyes pinning me to every word that I spoke.“I-I said that we’re dating.” I spoke deliberately and clearly. “Hiro-san is my lover.”He stared at me, then nodded. “Lover.”I swallowed nervously. “Yes.”“Since when?”“Almost two months now.”
