Kano could basically feel himself dying of boredom. The base was empty. No one had been home when he came back from buying some magazines he'd been waiting to be published.
Now that autumn was approaching and the stuffy heat made way for more pleasant weather the Dan was out and about on a daily basis, and Kano was happy about that. He didn't like being stuck indoors all day and he did enjoy spending time with their little gang. But it really wasn't any fun if they went out without him. They could at least have left a note! He didn't particularly care about where everyone went, but it bothered him that there was absolutely no one to entertain himself with while they were gone.
After lounging on the couch for who knows how long an idea began to form in his mind. Now that everyone was gone he could do a little snooping around here and there, right?
A grin spread across his face. Oh yes, that was sure to cure his boredom, after all he had noticed some slight changes in some Dan members' behaviours, and he was intent on finding out what it was. Mary and Seto had been awfully secretive lately, sneaking into each other's rooms at odd hours of day and night. And quite frankly, everyone knew why. Ah, they were so completely obvious about it too, it was adorable. And his precious leader had been going out alone a lot lately. Maybe she had a secret boyfriend? He chuckled at the thought. Yeah. As if!
He needed to find some clues.
So he hopped off the couch and began investigating. To his amusement, and addition to his collection, he found some of Mary's poems, directed at Seto. Aw, how she compares his eyes to those of the squirrel she saw in the park the other day. And how she describes his hugs as "warm like a fuzzy blanket fresh out of the dryer". Puppy love at its finest.
Kano took a photo of the poem with his cellphone and went to check out Seto's room. To his disappointment there wasn't much to discover. The raven haired boy was rarely in his room anyway. There was nothing suggestive to be found anywhere. Not even one dirty magazine hidden under the bed. That guy was too pure for his own good.
That left one room.
Kano shoved the door open and entered the room, not bothering to close it again, and began his treasure hunt. Kido's room was like a gold mine. He found cute animal magazines and romance novels hidden here and there, and he was sure to document it all with his smart phone. He must have looked dumb, sitting alone in a room and giggling to himself like an idiot. Then something else caught his eye.
Something peeked out from under Kido's pillow and he was quick to examine what happened to be...
Jackpot!
A diary.
Kido's diary, to be exact.
"Oh man, this is going to be good. This is really my lucky day, isn't it?" He snickered as he plopped down on his adoptive sister's bed and opened a random page.
August 22nd
Dear Diary,
Oh my god, she actually adresses it like that.
Today was so exhausting. The whole Dan went out to the ice cream parlour down the road. It's literally just a few hundred metres but two members managed to get lost on the way there. Said members being Konoha and Hibiya. I don't know how or why, and I really don't care, but their thoughtlessness is going to drive me nuts one day.
They weren't the only ones who misbehaved though. That idiot Kano wouldn't stop teasing Mary about how her hair looked, and I quote "like vanilla ice cream", so she froze him in the middle o the road. In public. I swear, if it wasn't for my ability they would all have been locked up in a mental institute already. Or in jail.
Pffft, since when did Kido have a sense of humour? That ironic sort of writing is really like her, huh?
I feel tired. But I have to make them dinner now. Someone has to make sure they don't starve after all.
Until next time,
Tsubomi Kido
To sign with her full name, kukuku. Ah, isn't that a little childish, Danchou? What a cute little habit you got there.
He opened another random page.
September 3rd
Dear Diary,
I slept in today. I would have missed breakfast if Seto didn't wake me up. I really didn't mean to sleep in, but last night was horrible. I woke up with a sore throat this morning. Maybe I'm getting sick?
I hope not, it's just going to be more exhausting to take care of everyone if I really did catch a cold. Though I don't doubt they would take some things off my hands if I asked them to, I'd feel bad if I didn't do my job as a leader properly.
Hm? Danchou caught a cold? I didn't notice at all...
There's no helping it. I'll just have to make sure to get better as soon as possible.
Until then,
Tsubomi Kido.
That's no good, Danchou. You need to tell us when you're not feeling well...
September 4th
Dear Diary,
I'm afraid it's gotten worse. I couldn't sleep at all because of my throat and I had trouble breathing this morning. I guess I'll have to see a doctor about this before it gets really bad.
Luckily there's no trips planned for this week, so I should have enough time to sneak away and make an appointment. I don't want to worry them about something as trivial as a cold. They don't need to know.
Until tomorrow,
Tsubomi Kido
Kano didn't like this. He didn't like this one bit. How come she never told them? Was that strong leader act she liked to pull really that important to her? Didn't she trust them enough to talk to them about her problems?
...Is this what it feels like, being lied to?
September 5th
Dear Diary,
I'm a little concerned. Lately my chest has been burning quite a bit, too. The doctor said it's probably nothing serious, but he still wants to run some more test to be sure. I'm thinking about not going, I hate doctor's appointments. But I know that if I don't it might get worse.
And what if it really is something serious? That would just trouble everyone...
No, I shouldn't get worked up over this. It's probably nothing.
I need to go now,
Tsubomi Kido
Kano put the book down for a bit.
Something serious? Even if it was only a suspicion, she should have told them about this. Or at least him and Seto, they were family after all. Just what was she thinking?
He quickly turned the page.
September 8th
Dear Diary,
There's something wrong with my lungs. They don't know what it is yet, but they narrowed it down to two possibilities. First possibility, it's something treatable and will be gone after taking antibiotics for a few weeks, second possibility, I'm dying.
Kano's breathing stopped.
His knuckles turned white as he clutched the small book in his hands. A sickening weight seemed to press down on his chest and his stomach churned in what felt like a wave of disgust, worry and distress.
The sheer thought of his sister dying had him trembling like a leaf. This had to be a misunderstanding. She wasn't sick. She'd been okay these past few weeks, hadn't she? She made them lunch and dinner like nothing was wrong. She spent time and played games with them like she was as healthy as ever. Was she only pretending? Had she been in pain all this time?
How did he of all people not catch such a lie?
His gaze was fixed to the tiny book as he kept reading those painful words.
I don't know what to feel, to be honest. I'm scared. I'm really really scared. I don't want to die! It's not fair...
I want to tell them, but I need to be sure first. All I can do now is wait for the test results to be out. The doctor said it can take a few days...
This has all been too much lately. I just want to know where I'm at, or else I'll go crazy.
I'm tired,
Tsubomi Kido
Droplets obscured the words written in blue ink.
No, no, no, this couldn't be happening, no! How could his innocent little game of detective work lead to such a horrible discovery?
He couldn't stop the hot tears that deformed the world around him from spilling out. For Kido to keep a secret like this, the possibility of her dying...his world was turned upside down in such a violent way it almost ripped him apart!
Those words she wrote...she was hurt, and alone. How did no one notice? How did he not notice?
Kano was not dumb. He knew exactly how fragile life was and how quickly it could slip through your fingers if you weren't careful. But what pained him the most was that there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
He sat there, alone in her room, on her bed, sobbing quietly to himself.
He opened the next page. It was empty. There were no more entries.
He heard the front door open quietly and a familiar voice called "I'm back!"
Kido.
He got up from his spot, book in hand, and stormed into the living room, all but slamming the book onto the table and glaring at the greenette in front of him.
"Oi, Kano-"
"When were you going to tell us about this?!" He yelled and her eyes widened as she recognized the object he had so rudely thrown onto the piece of furniture.
"Where did you-"
"Answer me!" He snapped again, his face contorted with anger and tear stains running along his cheeks. "You were in pain all this time and didn't say a single word! All because of that stupid 'leader role' you like to play? How could you hide something like this from us?!"
"Y-you're one to talk!" Kido took a defensive step back. "You're not the only one to have secrets, Kano!" She hissed with a scowl.
"Not something like this!"
He could feel the hot sting of tears filling his eyes again as he stared at the girl in front of him. Her face, her voice, her scent, all this could be ripped from his life in a matter of what, months, weeks, days? It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all...!
"Damn it, Kido..." He whispered and wiped the tears off his face with his hands.
"Damn it all..."
Kido took a few hesitant steps in his direction and put her hands on his arms.
"H-hey, calm down..." She said.
"H-how could I calm down when you're...you're...!"
Kido sighed.
"Kano. Look at me." She said with a firm voice to which he could only comply.
"I'm fine." She whispered as she cupped his face in her hands and softly stroked his tears away with her thumbs.
"Y-you're..?" He stuttered, trying to determine whether she was being serious or just trying to comfort him.
"I just came back from the hospital. I do have a condition, but I'll be back on my feet in a couple of weeks." She explained and lifted his face to look him in the eyes.
They were red and swollen from tears as he didn't care about wearing a mask in this moment, too preoccupied with confronting the girl before him. The girl who so gently held his face in her smooth hands, and whose eyes gave him such infinite comfort. The girl who meant no less than the world to him.
"Oh thank God..." He breathed and wrapped his arms around her. The tension in his body faded as he was washed over with relief and he buried his face in the crook of her neck as she returned his embrace.
"I thought you were..."
"I am not dying." He flinched when she said it out loud and she hugged him tighter.
"Kano, that thing over there...I use it to vent and to let some steam off, it probably sounded way more dramatic than it really was. And I'm sorry that it scared you so much."
Her grip around his thin frame tightened and her voice took on a slightly sharper edge.
"However, you would never have gotten this worked up if you didn't stick your nose into my diary."
He felt like his ribs were about to be crushed and gave a nervous laugh.
"Ah, about that..." He struggled to find an excuse, but couldn't come up with anything. Was there even a valid excuse to snoop around someone's belongings? He didn't think so.
However, instead of the expected kick she gave him a smile and punched his shoulder lightly.
"I'll let you off the hook this time. You've had enough punishment for today. This is an exception."
He chuckled, a carefree expression hiding the traces of his earlier outburst, and rubbed his shoulder, smiling back at the green haired girl.
"Okay, okay, I won't snoop around again. But you gotta promise not to hide those things anymore, okay? You gotta tell us when something's bothering you, Danchou!"
"Fine, fine, I promise. I'd like to avoid another misunderstanding like that." She muttered and turned to look at him with slightly accusing eyes. "It wouldn't really do much to ask you to do the same thing, would it?"
"Nope~!" The notorious liar chimed as he stuck his hands into his pockets while balancing on his heels, smirking.
She gave a grunt and plopped down on the couch. Kano joined her and, using her temporary sympathy to his advantage, leaned his head on her shoulder. She didn't protest, so he snuggled even closer and relaxed against her.
"Does it hurt?" He voiced the thought that had plagued him ever since he'd calmed down.
"Not really. Not right now at least. It's worst during the night and in the morning, but I have meds now."
"You're gonna tell the others, though, right?"
"Yeah, I will."
Satisfied, he closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the feeling of warmth and the comfort of having Kido so close to him. He smiled when he felt her resting her head on his.
All characters and Kagerou Project belong to Jin
(Whoops, there were some words missing at the end. How embarrassing! Anyway, I fixed it. Thank you for pointing it out! ;v;)