Summary: Takao and Hitoshi are in a place they shouldn't be and something happens (dun dun DUNNN!). Silly attempt at a brother bonding ficlet.
Pairings: None that I can think of...yet. (Why? You got any ideas?)
Credits: A Very Special Sahnkyuu to Akira of the Twilight, who gave me the idea for this in the first place and allowed me to use the line, and I quote Hitoshi: "Tyson... I'm a woman." XD BWAHAHAHAHAA-- uh oh. Did I just give away my plot? Yeah. And also, I stole certain plots from Ranma 1/2 and Yuugiou, too. Yupyup! I am unoriginal. Oh well.
Genre: Wannabe-Humor/General/Stupidity
Warnings: Hitoshi/Hiro/Ren-centric, painful lack of romance, occasional deaths of the English language, stupid plots, and even stupid-er authors. Also a rabid plot bunny.
Otras Notas: This is mah first ficcy in a loooong time--several years, in fact. So I really need your guy's critisism. For every single mispelled word, incorrect use of grammar--I want to know about it, okay? I feel stupid not knowing things like, oh, say... BASIC ENGLISH. Yeah. You know the drill--if it's spelled wrong, used wrong, awkward, seems wrong...just..tell me? Alright? Please? I do know that I am making mistakes. So correct me. ...Ne...?
Secrets
Chapter One - Tsuyu
Hitoshi
It all started one late afternoon during a particularly stubborn rain storm.
I
had been visiting my family in Japan, of course, and though I delighted
in being near Takao once he had acquired some level of maturity, there
were times when he--simply put--became too much. And that one
oh-so-fateful afternoon he did just that. It's where
everything began. It's all because of THEM.
Flashback -
2 July 4:43 PM
The streets of Tokyo, Japan were almost completely void of life. The heavens were, and had been, opening themselves unto the city. The rain had been falling since late May, stopping only during rare intervals in which parks and streets would once more be packed. It was a cold, harsh rain, accompanied by a heavy wind and, occasionally, hail.
Businesses suffered greatly during these months. The only places that seemed to prosper were the bathhouses and hot springs, teeming with laughter and bodies thankful to be out of the storms. There was, in fact, a new, larger sento almost finished in its building. The media gleefully referred to it as "Niaso," after the famous Aso onsen. They alluded the waters at Niaso to magical springs, and rumored them to have special healing power. Unfortunately, the rainy season had started up a bit earlier than expected, and with much more force;construction had ceased for the time being.
It was, truly, a dreary afternoon. And Hitoshi had not been pleased at having to brave it.
He cursed openly into the wind as his umbrella disappeared into the mist, carried by forces much more powerful than he. The ninja referred to himself as Shippu, so predictably, he loved storms and all of the power behind them. However, it was not the storm, or the umbrella, or even his having to leave his warm, safe apartment on foot that irritated him; it was the simple knowledge of why he was there.
Soaked through, Hitoshi paused beneath the cover of a bus stop and ran a cold hand through his hair, pushing it from his eyes. He remembered the call he had received from his father not ten minutes ago. The man had sounded desperate as he asked his eldest son a favor with the background noise of his grandfather, Takao, and Daichi yelling. And when Hitoshi had gone along with his initial intuition and turned the man down, his father had proceeded to shamelessly burst into tears and beg.
Strict as he considered himself to be, Hitoshi had found it difficult to turn down his crying old man. So, heaving meaningless sighs every other step, the metal tiger had strapped on some boots and a raincoat, grabbed an umbrella and house keys, and left.
Bitterly, Hitoshi remembered his car, which would not start. So he walked.
And what a terrible walk it had been. But currently he was only a few blocks from the Kinomiya household. So, exhaling deeply, Hitoshi adjusted his coat and darted out into the rain again.
He arrived, more or less, in one great, soaking mess; and somewhat grouchy, he didn't waste time in knocking, but instead threw the door open and marched right in, very nearly slamming it behind him. And then he stalked into the house without taking off his shoes or coat--an insult the eldest Kinomiyas had better not soon forget (ever the proper men they were.)
Hitoshi moved easily into the dining room/kitchen, and glanced around. Takao was watching static on the TV with headphones tightly blaring some sort of music into his ears, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, his back to Hitoshi. An assortment of beyblade parts were scattered before him on the table; but otherwise, the house seemed to be empty. Hitoshi sauntered over to where the dragon was, taking off his coat and throwing it carelessly over a counter as he did so.
Takao, for his part, did not notice his brother's presence until a finger cold as death left a wet trail of ice swiftly up his spine and the left side of his headphones disappeared from his ear, replaced by an unknown, breathy voice uttering, "Where is everyone?"
Understandably, the teenager screeched and jumped quickly to his feet, spinning around as he did so--and tripping backwards onto the table. Takao flushed upon sight of his brother.
"Whe--what was that for?" He questioned angrily. Hitoshi smirked, but wiping stray hairs from his face, decided to answer in a conversational tone of voice.
"Our respective elders. Where are they?"
"Um," Takao said, slowly easing himself back to the floor, "Tousan and Jichan left a moment ago. I think me and Daichi finally got to them. And I don't know where Daichi is. He just left." Once situated in a slightly less embarrassing pose on the floor, Takao stood fully and finished, "Everybody will probably be back by dinner, though, and if not, tomorrow afternoon. They always are. Why are you here? You're all wet. And your shoes are still on..."
"And you are naked." Hitoshi cut in. "I came because the old man asked me to do a quick baby-sitting job."
Takao seemed confused, and turned to inspect his beyblade accessories, which had scattered and broken from his fall on them a moment before. "I don't know about that," he said, morosely holding up a bent attack ring. "There isn't anybody here TO baby-sit. I dunno why he'd call you."
Hitoshi snorted and, picking up his coat, walked back to the front door to inspect the mess he had trailed in. "I'm thinking," he called over his shoulder as he wrung out his jacket, "that he wanted me to come watch YOU."
"That's ridiculus," Takao grumbled to himself, and began gathering his blade parts to put them away. He still had goosebumps and an odd feeling of squimishness in his stomach from Hitoshi's rather dramatic entrance; it wasn't something he wanted to advertise.
"Anyway, they left in a hurry, and I don't think they'll be gone very long!" That said, the teen darted down the hall and through the living room to his bedroom. He started to close his door, but Hitoshi appeared out of nowhere and shouldered it back open again.
"What?" Takao asked, annoyed.
"I don't plan on staying here," Hitoshi responded easily, half wedged between the door and wall, "and as much as I'm sure I might like to, I'm not leaving you alone, either."
Truthfully, Hitoshi simply did not want to trudge back to his apartment and have to live with the knowledge of all that time wasted. Perhaps some small part of him had hoped Takao and Daichi were in their most destructive moods; then it'd be perfectly legal to take a frustration or two out on them. He was certain that they needed the training--and what better way to attain satisfaction via (a somewhat misguided) revenge than through forcing a couple of kids to train in tsuyu weather?
Alas, Daichi missing and Takao mellow. What was the world coming to?
"Newsflash, O Loving Big Brother," Takao announced sarcastically--(still wounded from Hitoshi's joining BEGA during the whole Balkov fiasco several months ago)--and left Hitoshi where he was to place his blade parts in their respective cases. "I don't plan on leaving today."
"Afraid of a little rain?" The ninja taunted smoothly, leaning against the door frame. He left the door where it was, not really interested in what Takao was doing. "Well, Newsflash, O Loving Baby Brother. You aren't staying."
Hitoshi could already tell it was going to be a long night. He had watched Takao on his own before, when they were young children, of course; but now Takao was old enough to watch himself. That made a difference.
"Get dressed," the eldest ordered firmly. "We're leaving."