A/N: It'll be so confusing if I kept using Hiroto for both so, Kiyama is the living one everyone knows and Kira is the dead one.
Dark teal eyes had centered upon one person in this household. They were aimed upon someone with the same eye color, but lighter, the same hair color, still lighter, same skin tone, that was lighter to. This boy looked exactly liked him. If they were to stand side by side, they could easily be called twins.
How distasteful.
But, that is not what Kira Hiroto had wanted to hear. He didn't want to hear anything about Kiyama Hiroto, nothing at all. This boy was replacing him in this home, in this family, in his life. Why? Why was he getting everything that he had? His father should be missing him! He shouldn't be doting over that silly boy!
All he wanted to do was see this replacement suffer.
There was nothing Kira could do. He didn't have a physical form, that had been lost years ago. Now he was just a spirit, a floating ghost that had come back to his home. He had come to see his family after his death, they were so heartbroken. Even if he had no physical body, he could nearly feel the same heartache they were experiencing.
Why did he have to die?
Although, things started to look better once his father had left to some orphanage. It was there that he had found Kira's look a like. It was there were he had begun to favor him over the others.
It was there were he had forgotten his son.
Kira loathed seeing Kiyama in his home, being given his room, taking all of father's love. He felt like he was disappearing; he meant nothing to his father anymore. At least he could still turn to his sister. Hitomiko still didn't seem excited for the sudden replacement. She was cold, distant to him. His replacement failed with her.
She couldn't forget her dear brother.
But as time went on, eventually she to gave into seeing Kiyama as family. How could she have forgotten him to? She had cried the most upon hearing of his death and now he was nothing to her!
He could only wish that they could hear his painful cries.
Kira didn't know why he decided to stay. He had nothing else to do except cultivate the hate growing in him. Everyday, he seemed to find a reason to hate Kiyama even more. It ranged from him ruining his life to the other accidentally forgetting to say a 'please' or 'thank you'.
Why did he have to be the one to die?
One night, he was expecting his double to be kissing up to his father, but instead, he found the living red head looking at a photograph. It was one of him, his father, and his sister. One that did not include Kiyama. One that was before he was ever brought into this household.
He didn't have the right to look at that.
Hitomiko came in a few moments later, walking up to the boy and taking the photograph out of his grasp. She gently put it back on the counter, a sad look in her eye as she recalled her brother. There was a silence between the two as they remained together, unmoving.
"Am I…doing a good job?" Kiyama spoke up as he noticed she was going to move.
"A good job at what?" She was playing dumb, a part of her knew what he was getting at.
"At being him." Small fingers were raised and pointed at the picture, specifically pointed at the deceased one.
This had caught Kira off guard. What did the living boy mean by that? He was…really trying to replace him, wasn't he?! What a stupid little living human being!
"You shouldn't be trying to be like him. You should be yourself."
"I can't. Father misses him. He…sees him in me. You've heard him tell me stories of his son. And he looks at me expectantly as if I have to…do something. I think he wants me to be him…"
There was more silence. Both siblings seemed to be surprised at how aware Kiyama was about the situation. Hitomiko had picked up on this, but Kira had been to blind by his hatred.
He was doing this for father, to make him happy.
As his thoughts returned to when he was looking upon Kiyama, he realized that he had been trying to imitate him. All the quirks that he had, what father had told him, he had tried to replicate them.
Had he been hating himself the whole time?
Hitomiko placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, kneeling down to his level and pulling the boy into a tight and warm embrace. She must have known what he was doing all this time. The boy only had good intentions.
He never wanted to steal his life.
Kira felt so stupid for having jump to conclusions. He was just so angry his father accepted someone else so quickly into his life. It hurt having to see him love someone else. It hurt being pushed aside.
And that pain had turned into anger.
The spirit began to sob. He had been so foolish. Pain began to rise up in him. Oh god, he just wanted someone to comfort him. He just needed a hug, someone to tell him that everything would be okay.
Someone to tell him he was still alive.
As he wept, the other two continued to talk. He didn't listen. His sister was probably comforting the boy. Kira should be apologizing and he was. Although he knew it was impossible for them to hear, he continued to cry and apologize.
When had his heart become so black?
Kira was left alone in the room, the two heading to bed. He was left to stare at the photograph, one of happier times when he was alive. Having a replacement still hurt, but seeing that replacement try so hard to please his father, to be like the original son, that hurt just as much.
A ghostly hand reached out to grab the photograph, but just as he thought, it phased through. The spirit could only touch the tears on his cheek, wiping them away from his earlier crying. He took in a breath, calming himself. And although no one would hear his voice, he decided to speak.
"Please, take care of him for me."