tokyo, september 19 2005
"you've been going out quite a lot lately." a male voice sounded behind you before you could open the door. "where are you going anyway?"
his voice sounded disinterested, but you knew him well enough to know that he wasn't. "i know this is hard to believe for someone like you since you rarely come out of your room. it's been months since i last saw you, i thought you died in there." you replied after turning to him.
he put on a fake hurt expression as he leaned against the wall in the hallway. "you thought that and didn't check up on me? how heartless of you."
you got right to the point because he didn't. "what do you want." you asked him monotonously. normally, he would let off a snarky comment and then disappear. it irritated you that he was winding you up in a conversation, especially when you had plans. you would be even more late than usual.
"you are rude and really lost all your respect. you are still the youngest, you realize that, right?" he said while his casual body language slowly turned into a pissed off one. not necessarily because of your behavior since just looking at you was enough to put him in that mood. you didn't say anything back to what he said, so he finally said what he had to say. "you don't show up at training anymore. our family may overlook your behavior and all, but they certainly won't let that slide that easy. they're pretty pissed."
you were fully aware of this. "why are you telling me this. you know I don't care."
"you don't?" he repeated, watching you clench your fists at your side as he stepped a step closer to you with each of his words. "no, I don't think so. my little people pleasing sister cares very much about the feelings of her family members, so now she is trying to restrain herself from crying when she hears that she disappoints mommy and everyone else very much with her behavior, isn't she?" he said and spoke to you as if you were nothing more than a street dog, which he pitied. he grabbed your cheeks with his hand and shook your head slightly to the side as he continued to humiliate you. "are you too stupid to understand all this? you're just a silly little girl, aren't you?"
his hands dug deeper and deeper into your jaw while he stared at you with hateful eyes. when he looked at you like this, he didn't really see you as a person, but rather as the obstacle that kept him from getting what he really wanted. "what's the matter? you always have so much to say, don't you?"
"...shouldn't you be strong, kenji?" you said calmly, grabbing his wrist to force it away from you since it's the only language he understands. "that's what your name means, right? but you are just so weak. that's why you're treated as an outsider." you said while seriously, considering ripping off his hand for a second before taking a breath to calm yourself. though, even in this calm state, you couldn't stop yourself from wanting to kill your older brother.
in this family, those who had their mind under control were considered strong. control of the mind and control of your emotions lead to control of the body and action. your brother was the first child of your parents and you always knew him as someone who was quick to anger, so no matter how much he trained his body and his cursed technique, he remained a disgrace in the eyes of the family.
no matter how strong your body was, as long as your soul is weak, you will never reach your full potential, and how will you win against others if you lose against yourself?
"you think you are so high and mighty only because you got the two inherited techniques, but you are nothing." he spoke out, not caring about your tight grip on his arm since you weren't really doing any harm. he couldn't kill you without being banished, but that same rule applied to you. not that you had it in you to do that.
you would always be the little girl who cried because your older brother would always bully you to ensure that you knew that he was better than you, no matter what. no matter how the others favored you or treated you kindly, it wasn't because it was you. it wasn't because they loved you. they just loved what potential you had and poor little you couldn't handle the fact that you were just a tool.
that's why you ran like a coward from your responsibilities to the family instead of fulfilling them. that's why it should have been him who had the inherited techniques. it should be him. he deserved it.
"i really hate to see your face since you're so ugly. makes me want to kill you every time i see you. the only reason why i let you live..." you said and interrupted his train of thought and met him with sharp eyes. "...is because i know you will suffer more this way than if you die. although you will end up in hell anyway, so don't make me rethink my decision."
kenji shook his hand from your grip after you said that. he was about to continue arguing with you when his heart suddenly skipped a beat. his words stuck in his throat as he continued to look into your eyes. it wasn't because he believed your words or anything. you were always spitting out threats. they were just empty words.
but he realized that you weren't wearing the piece of paper on your wrist like you normally did. it was the seal that suppressed your cursed energy at all times, so you couldn't use it outside of training. it was a sign of control they had over your power. when did she stop wearing it? i still can't feel her cursed energy. has she learned to suppress it by her own will?
kenji wasn't sure how good your control over it would be, and well, accidents happened when people got emotional. he was an asshole, not stupid.
besides, he was aware of how the rules you grew up with seemed to interest you less and less, unlike him, who followed them like a dog. so without the seal, you unfortunately had the upper hand. "whatever, do what you want." he tried to sound harsh, although his nervousness started to form sweat on his forehead, and his voice was much quieter than usual. after that, he made his way back to his room.
you looked a little confused at his disappearing figure. your brother wasn't usually the type to flee from the scenery. "i was going to do that regardless, whether you said it or not." you still shouted after him, whereupon he only showed you his middle finger.
what's his problem? why can't he just be normal. always has to act dramatic as if he is the main character in his own movie or something. you finally set off, knowing that the others were waiting for you.
just normal sister and brother interactions, right? i wonder if all brothers are crazy like mine. you wondered as you ran outside. of course not. i'm just incredibly lucky.
a while after that...
"where is she? we've been waiting for ages." howled shoko from her place on the bench. usually, they told you to come an hour before their actual meeting time, knowing you would be late. even with that arrangement, you usually ended up arriving ten to fifteen minutes after them.
geto wondered, too. "it's been forty minutes. do you think something happened? she usually texts in the group chat if she comes later than half an hour." he wasn't necessarily worried, but wondered what had happened that caused you to be this late.
"she's not answering my calls either..." satoru replied after trying to reach you for the umpteenth time. "i'm going to beat her up if she doesn't have a good reason - wait, you know what? i'm going to do that regardless, cause i'm just pissed off."
shoko didn't listen to his nagging as she narrowed her eyes, seeing a familiar figure in the distance. she spoke up when she realized it was you. "there she is."
you sensed the somewhat tense mood as you emerged but didn't comment on it and waited for a signal so you could go. it didn't come after some time, which is why you finally spoke up. "are we going, or are we waiting for something?"
satoru looked at you incredulously with his arms crossed. "ehm? an apology, maybe? the reason why you left us waiting this long? or maybe, i don't know, flowers and chocolates for wasting our time?"
you felt bad already, he was right. "sorry, guys." you weren't sure if he was serious about the flowers and chocolates, probably. maybe you could also make it up to them by inviting them to dinner. "my brother stopped me just as i was leaving."
that left them a little surprised. "you have a brother?" asked, geto. somehow, he couldn't quite picture that. "i thought you were an only child. i mean, you never said anything about siblings, but that was kind of the vibe i got."
you shrugged your shoulders. "well, i hate my brothers, so you could say i wish i was an only child." you knew that with you using the plural, they were about to ask you how many brothers we were talking about here. "i have five brothers. i'm the youngest. can we go now? i want to go to the cinema, i've been waiting to see this movie for weeks."
shoko joined you and went ahead with you. "let's go then."
"five brothers?!" satoru repeated shocked, and followed you. "how do you live like that? it must be a nightmare."
you didn't want to think about it too much. how does a girl survive in a world full of men, let alone in your own house. "trying not to kill them or myself has been working pretty good so far, so i'll just hold on to that for as long as i can."
to be continued...