Notes: For the gx_100. Set after Juudai's duel against Kagemaru in season one.
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There was no such thing as a selfless motive. At least not the way Fubuki saw it. Even a motive to save someone's life was because you didn't want them to die - you couldn't allow them to leave iyou/i. And thus the motive was for you, and therefore selfish. It was just selfish for the right reasons.
He was reflecting upon his role as the academia's self-professed love counsellor. He doubted this was selfless either. He wasn't getting anything out of helping these people with their romance, but he did enjoy it.
However, there was one time he helped someone that he knew without a doubt was for a selfish reason.
He'd seen Manjoume on the beach. He'd seen the way he'd looked with disbelief when those two girls who followed Fubuki's sister around had fainted. He knew what Manjoume wanted. Manjoume wanted help with girls.
But not just any girl. There was only one girl good enough for Manjoume. And Fubuki was shocked to learn who it was.
His own sweet little sister Asuka.
As Manjoume had explained to him how he wanted Asuka, and that there were too many others in the way, Fubuki reflected upon his own selfish motives.
Fubuki had a school life and a home life - and like most people he kept those separate. When he was at home he had his serious, caring little sister and when he was at school he had his serious, caring best friend. Both of whom needed his help to get them out or their shells. And both of whom had been quite separate. Or they had been before he went missing.
Time's changed, Fubuki respected that. His little sister was getting older everyday and she had enrolled in the academia in order to find him. So it was only natural that she would meet Ryo, who had the same goal as her to find Fubuki. And it was only natural that the two of them would get close due to their similar natures.
He shouldn't have been jealous of them, he iwasn't/i jealous of them. He wanted her to be happy without Ryo. No. That was wrong. He just wanted her to be happy. Whether or not that happiness came from being with Ryo was not his business.
But here was another boy who wanted to be with Asuka too. A boy who could look after her and make her happy, but at the same time free up his best friend to be his best friend again.
Of course he would help him.
But he didn't take into account that his sister had a strong will of her own, and if she didn't want a guy she wasn't going to have him.
So Manjoume had crashed and burn. But luckily for Fubuki the fate of the world had been endangered soon after, so there wasn't much time to reflect upon this what was wrong with the romance method in the face of approaching death. And by the time Juudai had saved the world all were distracted and had quite put aside Manjoume's earlier attempts to court Asuka. It wasn't difficult for Fubuki to head off naturally as if nothing had happened.
He sighed to himself. The day had felt so long, and now dawn was finally approaching. He found himself walking towards the lighthouse. It was sort of an automatic response. Before he'd gone missing he and Ryo had spent every night here. Though after he went missing it was Ryo and Asuka who had spent every night here.
He couldn't feel as though he was intruding though, because even in light of his absence he felt he had as much right to be there as Ryo or Asuka did.
But he was surprised that when he arrived at the lighthouse it was just Ryo, staring out to sea.
"Where's my sister?" Fubuki asked curiously as he approached.
"She probably needs a rest after everything that's happened today," answered Ryo, turning to face him with an eyebrow raised that suggested that he disproved of Fubuki's earlier actions. Someone hadn't forgot.
"Don't go judging me like that," started Fubuki, raising his arms to the air, "It was for her own good. It was for…" He had to admit that he couldn't justify what he did. He mostly went through life and people wouldn't bother asking him to explain himself because they thought Fubuki did what he did without reason, but Ryo was not like that. Ryo knew that the actions had reasons, and he expected answers for them.
"You put her in an awkward situation and it was absurdly selfish of you," replied Ryo calmly.
"Selfish? But I was helping Manjoume. How could that be selfish?" His voice was too fast, that gave it all away.
Ryo was watching Fubuki with eyes that ran through his soul as he said, "Asuka is capable of making her own choices. She will pursue romance when she wants, if she chooses to. Why do you feel the need to try to force her to settle down with someone?"
That was a harsh accusation, wasn't it? Fubuki sighed. Though it was shrewd he knew Ryo wouldn't have said it unless he was genuinely concerned. He'd have to give him some answer or else he'd live forever with the guilt that he couldn't talk honestly to his closest friend.
"Perhaps it was for a selfish reason…" Fubuki started, looking down at the blue-grey foam of the water below.
"And what would that be?" continued Ryo.
Fubuki smiled.
"Should have known you wouldn't be happy without the elaboration," he said, "I'll admit I was a little jealous."
"Jealous?"
This made Fubuki do a double take.
Staring at Ryo he said, "You can't not know what I mean. About you and her?"
"What about her and I?" asked Ryo, and his face was the calm of truth, not the calm of someone trying to hide something.
"You're not… together?" Fubuki asked, looking across at him.
Ryo shook his head, "I could never do that. It would be too disrespectful to both of you. While you were away she needed a brother, so I wanted to be to her the temporary brother she needed because you were not there. And I wanted to look after her in a way that a brother should…" he paused at this point, enough to make Fubuki consider the actions he'd taken earlier involving Manjoume were not how a brother should act, before continuing, "Her and I were not romantically involved. And even if she'd wanted to be I doubt I'd be able to now."
There was silence for a few moments before Fubuki retorted, "You have your own brother too you know." Though they both knew this was an empty response.
"You were worried about your best friend and your sister dating?" asked Ryo, not getting the subject off-track.
"It's not so much that," Fubuki assured, smirking to himself once more, "You two seem so perfect for each other, so calm, so confident. You'd both make the ideal couple. But… I don't think I could live with her taking you away from me." He laughed, "To think that I got there first but my little sister still left with the prize."
That was a mistake and Fubuki knew it. He was certain that Ryo would not stand for being referred to as a prize. To his mild surprise though Ryo walked over to him, lifting his head up to break Fubuki's gaze at the water.
"You're an idiot most of the time," Ryo said, moving Fubuki's face forward to kiss softly at Fubuki's lips.
And so the two brotherly influences in Asuka's life decided for one night, that they could leave her to be the independent lady that she wanted to be without over-protectively guarding her or trying to set her up with a boy, while they engaged in the selfish desires of their own.