"But Ha'ri..." Shigure's whine cuts through me and I have to clench my teeth behind my lips in order to stop myself from leaping over the desk and strangling the idiot. His pouting is wasted on me and I go back to my cigarette. Beside us, the porch door is open and I blow my inhaled smoke out into the open air. When I don't reply to his whine, Shigure shuffles round until he's sitting in front of me. Just by the look in his grey eyes, I can tell he's either going to sing or whine -
"Please Ha'ri!" I close my own eyes. Yes, I was right. It was something between singing and whining; a new genre of music altogether. And one that I did not care for at all.
"I don't see why I have to be involved." I state plainly, taking another drag on my cigarette. It calms me somehow, even though it would take a whole pack just to drown out Shigure's moaning.
"Yuki's done it before." His hands tucked in his kimono sleeves, Shigure looks like an adolescent. No. Worse. He looks like a spoilt child.
"Yuki didn't and still doesn't know he did it." My eyes open and I study Shigure. Still as immature as ever. I contemplate just how I managed to survive my teenage years hanging around with him and Aya; it baffles me just how normal I am compared to them. Though I suppose some may say I'm just plain cold. And yet, somehow, I'm glad Shigure and Aya don't seem to think so.
"Yes, well..." Shigure sits back, scratching his head with a nervous laugh, "I promise I won't make you out to be as cruel and unfeeling as you actually are." The glare he receives is enough to make him wince and shuffle back a few inches, "Okay, fine. I'll use Haru instead..." He mumbles as he crawls back round the desk to his computer.
As I stub out my cigarette, I glance over at the dog, "Is it really that hard to create your own character?"
"No..." Shigure admits, avoiding my eyes and tapping away at the keys of his keyboard to distract himself, "It's just more fun when I can imagine those I know in a situation I know they'll... never be in..." He trails off. He realises what he's said but I do nothing. I don't react. I simply lean back on my hands, gazing at nothing on the wall, "I'm sorry Ha'ri." Shigure's voice is quiet. Ashamed.
"Don't be. I'm the only one who would know. Besides," I look over to him, "I suppose Haru would like to know what it's like to be in a romantic situation, don't you agree?" It's as if I'm dismissing her altogether, along with the time we spent together. The truth is, I'm not. I never will. And Shigure knows this more than anyone. There's a slight pause, a silence when only the humming of Shigure's old computer is heard.
"Well, I'd better get started then," The man I know as 'cousin' laughs, "Do you think Haru would mind if I used him in one of my special books like I did with Yuki?" His finger presses to his lips as his eyes look up and search the ceiling for inspiration.
"Goodbye Shigure." I say as I stand. My doctor's coat, hanging on a hook on the wall, is in my hand within an instant and slipping it on is soothing.
"You're leaving already?"
I sigh, "I must attend to Akito. He's been getting worse of late."
"I see." Shigure replies. The undiscussed and undiscussable topic of whether this is a good or a bad thing hangs in the air between us.
Then, without warning or me realising it, his arms are clamped around my leg and his eyes look like they're trying to cry.
"Don't go Ha'ri!" Again with the whining.
"Shigure, you are an idiot," With one swift movement, I kick him off and make my way over to the door, "For that, your next injection will be very painful." A feigned tear slides down his cheek.
"Ha'ri... You're so cold..." He hugs his knees, burying his head in them. And I can't help but scoff. Just a way of hiding my smile. The door shuts on the immature man inside his study and I make my way down the hallway of his house. No one else is around. I can assume they're all at school but with Kyo, it's always safe to assume he's gotten sick of school and has run away from his problems. Like he always does. Sliding open the front door, I step out into the spring sun. It warms me instantly and, as I follow the narrow path away from the house, my thoughts drift back to Shigure.
Yes. The man I know as 'cousin'. Though that is technically what he is, through blood relation, I cannot seem to bring myself to class him in the same category as Yuki or Kyo. Yes. 'Cousin'. But it's more than that. And a slight smile tugs at the corners of my lips as I wander through the forest. I think I can safely say that we are more than 'cousins'. We are... brothers.