Disclaimer – I don't own Voltron: Legendary Defender or Hanasaku Iroha. This was written for The Fanfiction Award's challenge for August 2016 where the theme was Spontaneous Trip in 1,500 words or less. This works with the theory that Shiro and Keith are actually siblings.

Trip to Kissuiso

The one consistent thing in Keith's life was his older brother, and Shiro ended up being the one thing to bring stability into his life ever since their parents died. There was nothing spontaneous to Shiro's actions, making Keith able to easily predict what his brother was going to do, or even when something was off emotionally for the older sibling. The stability meant Shiro was the one thing which put him at ease.

Thus, Keith would argue, the times Shiro decided to be spontaneous always led to the worse situations possible.

"Let's take a trip to Kissuiso."

The words came out of Shiro's mouth as Keith opened the door to his foster parents home, his eyes widening at seeing the older sibling showing up like he did. The younger sibling felt his mouth twist into a frown, knowing full well Shiro likely didn't have permission from his foster parents.

"I got permission from grandfather."

Keith took a deep sigh, knowing full good permission from grandfather didn't mean permission from foster his foster parents but did mean the head family's decision on the subject trumped that of a branch clan. He felt his dark blue eyes narrow, his lips pushing together before thinking it better to go with Shiro than to stay where the owners ignored him unless he did something to their displeasure. "I'll go pack."

The younger packed lightly, not at all sure what Shiro had in mind, a cold sweat breaking out realizing Shiro was being spontaneous again. His older brother placed a hand on his shoulder, guiding him through the bus and train system which would take them out to the countryside in Yunosagi.

A sudden realization hit Keith. "Shiro, is Kissuiso a town?"

"Mmm, nope." The older youth let out a laugh while he sat on the train taking them away from the big city. "It is in a small community, though. Grandfather made arrangements."

Keith let out a sigh, shaking his head. The train stopped, allowing the two to walk to their destination. The young man felt his cheeks flush from the exercise, a smile appearing on his face despite the agitation of doing something new and unexpected hitting him in the pit of his stomach. They finally arrived at an old fashioned inn from the Taisho period, and Keith felt his voice tighten. "We're here?"

"Yeah."

"But..." Keith felt his throat tighten, and his shoulders tense up. His dark blue eyes darted to the ground.

"Grandfather takes me here quite often, and likes to use the place at times for business purposes." Shiro gently pushed Keith forward, only to stop upon seeing the look on his brother's face. "Something the matter?"

Keith shook his head, worrying his bottom lip, not wanting to bring up the fact his older brother was the only one who ever spoiled him like this, and at times it felt uncomfortable. Shiro let out a laugh, before pushing him forward. They found themselves met by an old woman and a rather nervous Keith's mouth twisted into a frown, a red tinge flushing his cheeks. The younger youth kept quiet most of the time, wondering exactly what Shiro was up to. The younger sibling finally relaxed when the two got into the hot spring bath, the tension in Keith's muscles leaving as his head rested against the side.

He was otherwise allowed to wander the countryside of Yunosagi with Shiro, the two tending to track in quite a mess despite their best efforts. Keith always gave the owner a rather apologetic look, only to be told cleaning up was none of his business. Sometimes he went places without Shiro due to the fact he couldn't sleep, so he overheard a call from outside of the staff room.

"I'm sorry, but I'm fully aware of the Kogane's status within the Shirogane clan. You can't go against the heads decisions, and if I let you come and take the young master from here I'd be breaking my oath to my customers."

The phone clicked, and the old woman turned to look at him. Keith held up both hands looking away as he did.. "I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep."

The woman stepped out. "Normally I wouldn't say something, but you really shouldn't worry about what you heard. You're here to relax with young master Shirogane."

Keith wasn't sure what to think of the old woman's words, and simply went to bed, lying awake on the futon until Shiro spoke up. "Want to make a tradition of this Keith?"

Keith's eyes blinked a couple of times, his head turning. "What?"

"The whole point was for us to do something together, without having to deal with family politics."

"Does the owner know?"

"No way she couldn't. Not sure why you asked. The place is very peaceful, so I thought it would be a nice change."

Keith looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah. It would be nice to do this again."

A soft snore told him that Shiro was asleep. looking man. The two bowed to them. "Young master Shirogane, we could have sent someone to pick you up at the train station."

"It's fine Mrs. Shijima. The exercise did us some good." Shiro turned his head to look at Keith, a smile on his face. "This is my younger brother, Kogane Akira."

The rather nervous looking man pushed up his glasses. "He's not a Shirogane?"

"Enishi." The old woman glared at the man, making him nearly jump out of his skin while Keith ducked behind Shiro, finding the family matter being brought up rather displeasing to his mood.

The man quickly bowed. "I apologize young master Shirogane."

"Really, it's really not a problem." Shiro lifted his hands up, trying to deflect the matter. Keith's mouth pushed together, knowing full well that the mistake did matter to both of them. Shiro though preferred to avoid conflict.

The inn staff led them to a room, and the door closed as the two changed into traditional kimonos. Keith thought about asking Shiro why but then shook his head knowing full well the trip was one of those things his older brother randomly came up with. A knock came at the door, and Shiro gave permission to come in as they sat at the table.

A waitress entered, setting down the treys of food, making a blush set across Keith's face as his eyes became wide. Shiro's eyes sparkled. "Thank you, oba-san Tomoe."

A smile flittered across Tomoe's face as Keith put food into his mouth, trying his hardest to remain polite about how he ate. He stopped chewing when he saw the woman pinch Shiro's cheek. "I know I'll get in trouble with Shijima for doing this if she finds out, but you're such a darling young man."

Keith's mouth hung open as he stared at Shiro hugging the woman. His mouth snapped closed remembering food was in his mouth, only for the young man to flinch upon realizing the woman had eyeballed him. "So this is your younger brother. He's adorable."

Her hands reached out to pinch both of his cheeks, causing Keith to nearly choke. His eyes blinked a couple of times as the woman left, not liking the way Shiro burst out laughing. Keith finally relaxed, and noticed the entire staff smiled at him, whereas most places he went with the family gave him the same dirty looks as the rest of the family. Even the owner, who typically remained with a perpetual frown like Shiro and his grandfather managed a few smiles. After a few days, though, it became time to leave.

"Thank you for staying with us, young master." The old woman and her staff bowed.

"Thank you for having us." A smile on Shiro's face felt good, particularly since the smile was genuine.

Keith looked up at the old woman, before spontaneously giving the woman a hug, startling everyone. Her hand reached up to ruffle his hair before he let go. Keith's face turned red, his head turning to Shiro. "I wasn't supposed to do that?"

"Normally, no." A chuckle escaped Shiro's mouth. "You're not one to hug strangers, though, so I guess this means they're not strangers to you anymore." The young man bowed, making Keith bow with him. "Apologies."

"I don't mind. Your younger brother is actually quite polite, despite what some of your other family members have said. Our job is to make you feel welcome here, and we hope you come back."

Keith raised his head slightly to see the old woman smiling softly, a glint of mirth in her eyes. She looked like she needed a hug anyways, and for some reason he pictured this is what a grandparent should be like.