Disclaimer: Junjou Romantica is the rightful property of Nakamura Shungiku. This is a fanwork written purely for both your entertainment and mine.

Spoilers for volume 7 of the manga.

"Risako? Can I talk to you?"

Risako turned from the kitchen counter, where she'd been making her morning coffee, towards her little brother. Shinobu was sitting at the kitchen table in his school uniform, playing with his cereal with his spoon.

"What about?" Risako responded, picking up her coffee mug and digging in the kitchen drawer for a teaspoon. She and Shinobu weren't exactly close, and it was most unlike Shinobu to ask her about anything at all; the kid mostly kept to himself, studying alone in his room or going to the library. She didn't really blame Shinobu for their not being close; after all, Shinobu was born when she was sixteen years of age and just starting to gain her own independence.

"It's about Miyagi," Shinobu murmured, avoiding her eyes, and Risako frowned at the mention of her ex-husband.

"... oh. What is it that you want to ask about?"

"... was he married before he married you?"

"No, he wasn't. Or, not that I know of," Risako replied, taking a sip of her coffee, "What makes you think that he was?"

"... I saw a photograph at your- at his apartment," Shinobu quickly corrected himself, and the corners of Risako's mouth twitched.

"Don't worry about it, brat. It doesn't hurt me anymore."

"I'm not a brat!" Shinobu snapped, flaring up, but Risako calmly held out her empty hand to silence him.

"Every year that I was married to him, on the twenty-fourth of January, he'd return to his hometown."

"But that's not unusual..."

"Let me finish. He'd never take me with him. He'd go to visit the grave of a woman he once loved."

Shinobu sat in stunned silence for a moment, before averting his eyes from his sister.

"She died when he was your age. He still loved her, after all these years. I tried to trick myself into thinking I could compare to her, but..." Risako turned as the rice cooker shut off, "I guess some people's hearts never change."

"I see..." Shinobu replied, staring into his cereal bowl miserably.

Risako frowned.

"Why do you ask?"

"N-no reason..." Shinobu murmured, "I just saw a photograph when I was staying with him while Father was away..."

"He still has that?" Risako replied, sounding supremely unamused. How could Miyagi be so insensitive, really? Despite their fight after she settled the divorce, her little brother seemed stressed; perhaps he was more upset about the divorce than he'd initially let on.

"I'm sorry that I had to ask you this, Nee-san."

"Don't be," Risako replied, smiling a little, "Like I said, it doesn't hurt me anymore. Anyway, don't you have school this morning?"

"Yeah," Shinobu replied, getting up to empty his bowl. "I won't be home until late. My friend Thomas, from Australia's over here on an exchange program, so we're going to grab lunch once class is done."

"That's fine. Remember to take your key," Risako replied, finished off her coffee, "I'm going back to Kazuhiro's today."

"Okay," Shinobu replied, "I'll guess I'll see you sometime soon."

Risako nodded, and Shinobu ran towards the staircase back up to his bedroom, grabbing his book bag from the stand in the hall on the way.

"I've got to go find my key."

"You'll be late for your bus! Father's going to be mad if you miss it!" Risako yelled after him. Really, she didn't know what was on her little brother's mind at all...

She was broken from her thoughts by the sound of the phone ringing. Running into the hall to retrieve it, Risako grumbled as she remembered that she'd left her car keys on the bench next to the coffee machine.

"Hello?"

"It's me. I-I mean, it's Miyagi."

"... oh."

"Is your little brother there?"

"Wait a minute," Risako replied flatly. She put the receiver down on the telephone table and walked halfway up the stairs to call her brother.

"Shinobu!"

"I know, I'm running late!"

"Yoh's on the phone for you!"

Shinobu had stopped moving; Risako could no longer hear the echo of his feet stomping on the upstairs landing.

"T-tell him I'm not here!" Shinobu yelled back as he emerged at the top of the stairs, tugging his blazer over his shoulders and tucking his key into his pocket. He pushed Risako out of the way and was out the front door quickly, but not quickly enough to hide the troubled expression on his face from his big sister.

What in the world?

Risako frowned, before walking back down the stairs and picking up the phone again.

"He's not here. Or, that's what he told me to say. Is something wrong?"

"No, that's fine, sorry for interrupting..."

"Oh, and he was asking me about something... did you show him that photograph?"

Silence on the other end of the line.

"What?"

"... nothing," Risako sighed, "Goodbye."

She heard her ex-husband call her name even as she slammed the phone back on the hook.

Risako didn't understand what was going on, and she wasn't sure she wanted to.

All she knew was that, when she got a hurried phonecall later that day from Shinobu telling her that he'd be spending the weekend with her ex-husband, she wasn't as shocked as she should have been, and that in itself shocked her to the core.

END