It had been summer when they first met.
Kiku had just moved into the neighborhood. His biggest brother, Yao-nii, had turned 18 only last month! And Nii-san had promised to Kiku and their younger siblings that as soon as he did, he would take them away from their mean oto-san.
Kiku had the best big brother ever and the best little sister ever, even though the others...
They were all splayed out on the lawn, and Kiku had been given the big responsibility of helping Nii-san babysit, which showed how much he trusted Kiku. Kiku was growing up!
Li Xiang, the youngest at three years, was bawling. Five-year-old Cheng was drinking tea and pretty much ignoring the world. Unhelpful! But the twins were the worst. Just the thought…
At least four-year-old Mei was good. She played with her dolls and occasionally shushed Li Xiang. She was like a delicate cherry blossom. Kiku was determined to protect her from all the mean stuff in this world. But he was sure it was going to be okay with Nii-san around. Nii-san protected them from everything.
"Yo, dudes!" A loud voice shouted.
It was a blond kid, with bright blue eyes and a friendly grin. He was covered in band-aids, which made Kiku wonder. Did his big brother not protect him enough? Or… what if… he didn't have a big brother?
The big-brotherless kid grinned. He looked surprisingly cheerful for someone who didn't have a big brother.
"You guys must be the new neighbors! I'm Alfred, and I'm eight!"
Yong Soo waved back with an equally ridiculous smile. "I'm Yong Soo, and I'm six! This is my twin brother Hyung Soo!" He gestured to a scowling Hyung Soo.
Alfred walked up to them. "Wanna play?"
Yong Soo was obviously about to agree, but Nii-san shook his head.
"I don't trust you, Yong Soo! Now come clean up the mess you've made."
Yong Soo looked at Alfred apologetically, before walking over to Nii-san, with Hyung Soo close behind. Hyung Soo kept on casting suspicious glances over his shoulder at Alfred.
Alfred's happy face immediately disappeared. "B-but… I'll have no one to play with me!"
Nii-san frowned, looking worried. "Aiya, you poor thing." He glanced at Kiku. "Xiao-ju-hua, why don't you go and play with Alfred? I can handle your little siblings on his own."
Kiku didn't want to because that would mean leaving the safety of his big brother. But he needed to be nice and helpful like Nii-san was. So he agreed.
"I'm Kiku," He introduced, trying to be refined and polite like he was supposed to be. "And I'm nine."
Alfred beamed and gave Kiku a hug, causing Kiku to yelp. "I'm Alfred, and we're going to be best buddies!"
Kiku nodded, trying to recover from his shock. Alfred then grabbed Kiku's hand, causing the boy to yelp again. As Alfred dragged him to wherever, Kiku voiced a question,
"Alfred-san? Do you have a big brother?"
Alfred stared at him blankly. "Wha- Duh!" Alfred grinned. "His name is Arthur, and he's 17! He's super smart. Daddy says he's going to Ox-turd or something like that for college."
Kiku blinked. "B-but… he must be a bad big brother, right?"
Alfred's cheerful expression immediately vanished, overtaken by storm clouds. He threw Kiku's hand to the side. "Whatcha mean? No way! He gave me this super cool toy-"
"But you're all injured-"
"So what? My big brother is smarter than yours anyways."
Kiku narrowed his eyes, feeling a cold anger creep over him. Nii-san was the best!
"My Nii-san's going to be a doctor," Kiku proclaimed, "He's going to help save people! Your big brother can't even keep you uninjured!"
Alfred turned bright red, clenching his fists. "W-well, your big brother's girlish!"
Kiku snarled. This was the last straw! No one was allowed to insult Nii-san!
Hissing and scratching, Kiku leaped at Alfred. In turn, Alfred punched him the eye. Kiku cried out in pain, but there was no way he was going to surrender. He was going to be like a samurai! He was going to defend his family's honor!
Grabbing a nearby stick, Kiku smacked Alfred in the nose. Blood, red like the Japanese flag, spurted out. Both boys ignored it, leaping back at each other and dissolving into a storm of tangled limbs.
"What the bloody hell are you two doing?" And angry voice suddenly demanded, just as Alfred was about to punch the pinned Kiku again.
The weight was lifted off of Kiku, who soon found himself dragged back by a familiar pair of hands. Through the daze, Kiku could only register his own pain and two worried, scolding voices.
In the end, Kiku and Alfred were forced to apologize to each other. The one who had dragged Alfred off of Kiku was Alfred's big brother, Arthur. Arthur was super ugly, with bushy eyebrows. Nii-san was way prettier. Kiku was about to inform Alfred of this fact but was halted by Nii-san's angry words as Kiku got dragged home.
"I let you go play with your new neighbor because you need to make friends! And what do you do? You get into a fight with him and break his nose, that's what! And to think, you're already nine years old... Aiya, all of you are too much trouble sometimes…"
Kiku felt betrayed and sad. He had been fighting for Nii-san! But now… what if Nii-san was so angry he made Kiku go back to the orphanage? That's where Oto-san had said that Kiku would be if it wasn't for Yao-nii.
A fat tear made its way down Kiku's cheek, clearing away the dirt and dried blood there. Nii-san noticed. His expression melted into something kinder.
Stopping, he knelt down in front of Kiku.
"It'll be okay, Xiao-ju-hua. I just don't want my sweet di-di getting hurt, okay?"
Kiku nodded, sniffling. "Alfred was calling you girlish and dumb, and I couldn't let him do that! Because my Nii-san is the smartest, prettiest person ever!"
To Kiku's shock, Nii-san laughed. "Aiya… well, I'm glad I have my little shi-bing to defend my honor, huh?" He gave Kiku a tight hug. "It's okay, Xiao-ju-hua."
Kiku accepted the hug happily, burying his face deep into Yao-nii's shoulder.
He still didn't like Alfred, though.