Butterfly Child

by sourpatchsofie

Seirin had their big match against Kirisaki Daiichi where Kiyoshi Teppei injures his knee. Teppei's sister, Chouko, now has to learn to deal with the sight of her knight fallen off his white horse and with the guilt that she can't do anything to stop Hanamiya from injuring even more players. Or can she? I try and post New Chapters on Thursdays.

1. My Brother (Prologue)

Prologue – My Brother

My brother was always my protector, my rock. He always had my side and I never thought I could live with out him. When we were kids I was such a brat, and he was always a gentle child. I ended up doing a bunch of crazy things to get the attention of our grandparents, which lead to me getting scolded for hours for not thinking about my actions. But, my brother always understood why I did those things; and he held my hand through all of it.

But there comes a point, in every little sister's life, where she realizes that her older brother isn't her knight in shining armor. That he cannot and will not always be there for her. That he has his own struggles and his own battles to fight. I will admit that it took me longer than most to realize that. It wasn't until my last year of middle school that I finally woke up to reality. My brother, Kiyoshi Teppei, wasn't actually made of iron.

~x~

Drip. Drip. The sound of water dropping is the only sound that I remember from that day. A leaky faucet from a hospital sink, no matter how many times I pointed it out, no one ever bothered to fix it.

The sun had been setting, casting a shadow on my brother's sleeping face. It was a beautiful orange and purple backdrop that brought some color into the white sterile room. I was thankful for that sunset, for it brought some life with it, if only for a moment.

I don't know why I remembered that sound so vividly or why that sunset left such a mark in my memories. That wasn't the first time I visited my brother in the hospital, or the last for that matter, but I always happen to remember that specific sound, sunset, and shadow.

I had been sitting in the same plastic fold up chair as any other day, analyzing the room, noticing every little thing there was to notice. Taking in the space that my brother had been staying in.

My brother, I remember staring at him for quite a while. I had never seen him like this; I had never seen him this vulnerable. This six foot four giant seemed so small to me that day. My knight was wounded, and for the first time I felt like I was the one who needed to protect him.