Akaito grumbled at the alarm clock. He reached over and smacked the snooze button. He rolled over and went back to sleep. This lasted for about five minutes. The alarm clock went off again. Akaito cursed at it and turned it off. It was time to face reality: the day had begun, and his dreams of fire and beautiful women had to end.
The redhead dragged himself out of bed and searched for his black pajama pants. He found them thrown carelessly on the floor. He put them on and walked out the door and into the hallway. He swore he heard himself snoring.
Kaiko stared at him blankly before heading down the hallway herself. She was just a bit older than the seventeen year old. After all, Kaiko and Kaito had turned twenty-four not too long ago. She followed her younger brother to the end of the hallway toward the stairs. She swore she could hear him snoring.
Wait . . . he was snoring . . .
"Akaito! Look ou-" Kaiko tried to warn him.
But it was too late. The sleepy redhead was falling down the stairs. Kaiko watched in horror as her little brother fell down the stairs. Every thud brought back a memory of the times she and Akaito had done something together, anything at all. The final thud left her panicked and afraid.
"Akaito!" Kaiko cried.
The blue-haired woman darted down the stairs to her brother, who was still snoring, as if the fall had not disturbed him in the least. Kaiko heaved a sigh of relief. And then she kicked Akaito right in the butt. Hard.
"Ow!" Akaito yelled, "What was that for!?"
"That's for scaring the crap out of me, you idiot!" Kaiko yelled back.
"What'd I do!?"
Kaiko gave him a death glare.
"Oh . . . ," Akaito said, looking at the stairs, "Well . . . uh . . ."
"Morning, my little darlings!" Kamaito called out to them.
"Wait just a damn minute!" Akaito shouted, "I am NOT little!"
"My, my, someone is loud this morning," Kamaito observed.
"He's loud every morning," Kaiko said.
"I am NOT loud! Kikaito is loud!" Akaito said defiantly.
"This is true," Kamaito said, "But you're much louder."
"BREEEEAKFAAAAAAST!" Kikaito called loudly from the dining room.
Kamaito chuckled a little and headed for the dining room. Akaito started off after him. Kaiko snuck in one last kick in the butt before the three reached the table. Akaito would have sworn at her up and down, but he saw Nigaito out of the corner of his eye and painfully held his tongue. No, that's not a figure of speech . . . he actually bit his tongue.
"Eat up, now," Kikaito said proudly, "These marvelous pancakes were cooked to perfection! And the eggs are almost ready!"
"Wait, you helped cook?" Taito asked, "I'm not sure I trust this."
"Nonsense! They're wonderful!" Kikaito said with a grin, "Here, I made a plate of saaaaamples!"
"Get that thing out of my face," Taito warned.
Kikaito sighed and set the plate on the table. There was no convincing that boy that his marvelous pancakes had been cooked to perfection. The yellow-haired man sulked back to the kitchen. Kaito smiled and tried to hand him a plate of fried eggs. But alas, Kikaito was too wrapped up in his own defeat over Taito not taking an interest in his pancakes. Kaito sighed and went out to the table, leaving Kikaito frozen in his defeat pose.
"Here you go, Nigaito-chan," Kaito said with a smile, "You like them fried, right?"
"Y-yes, nii-chan," Nigaito said shyly.
Kaito handed the plate off to Nigaito and went back to the kitchen. Nigaito sat down next to Taito, who was still making "DO NOT WANT" faces at everything. The green-haired boy began nibbling the eggs with a small smile. The two were three years apart in age-Taito was nineteen and Nigaito was sixteen. Taito was the only person Nigaito ever really sat by. Nigaito looked over at the purple-haired man. He still had that eye patch on. Nigaito was curious as to why but was too bashful to ask.
His thoughts were interrupted when Kaiko sat next to him at the table. It was about nine o'clock in the morning and she already looked worn out. This was the quiet corner of the table. The loud corner was directly across from them. Akaito had initially planned to sneak off to eat in peace, but Kamaito snagged him unexpectedly and put him in a chair. Kamaito, it seems, had then sat down next to him in order to be extremely annoying. Kikaito had regained his cheery face and sat down next to Kamaito. The pair laughed loudly, much to Akaito's annoyance. When the duo began to sing, Akaito decided he had had enough and left, having eaten exactly one bite of his pancake.
Kaito joined the song while Taiko tried to think of what song it was. Was it "World is Mine?" No, that wasn't it. Was it "Levan Polka?" Yeah, that's what it was. She was pretty sure they were singing jibberish, but the song was enjoyable at least.
Taito, meanwhile, was bored. And he still had not eaten a single bite.
"Taito-kun," Kikaito said, "You should really eat so you don't feel weak later."
"You made it," Taito responded, "I don't trust it."
"You should still eat."
"No."
Kikaito was just a little upset.
"Taaaaito, daddy worked really hard on those pancakes and tried to make them taste good!" Kikaito whined, "Pleeeease eat so daddy knows you won't be hungry later!"
"You're not my dad. You're my brother," Taito said coldly.
"Pleeeeeease?"
"No."
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?"
"No."
"Nii-chan, do you want a bite of my egg?" Nigaito asked.
"Sure," Taito replied.
Kikaito gasped at these events. Taito nibbled on the egg and decided to eat his own. He also grabbed a biscuit. The bite of egg had made him realize he was hungry. Nigaito blushed a little and continued nibbling his egg. If he ate too fast, he'd get sick later.
"Well, he's eating," Kaito said, "Blah, I want ice cream now."
"Well you'll have to wait," Kamaito scolded, "Remember what happened last time you ate ice cream right after breakfast?"
The color drained from Kaito's face as he thought of the horrible gas that had leaked from his bottom that day.
"D-don't remind me!" Kaito said anxiously.
Having taken his fill, Taito sat back in the chair and looked around. He noticed that Taiko and Kaiko had slipped out when he wasn't looking and that everyone was pretty much done eating by now. That is, except for Kamaito and Kikiato.
"Meh," Taito let out.
"Meh, nii-chan?" Nigaito asked.
"I'm done," Taito said.
"Oh," Nigaito replied.
"Say, Nigaito," Kaito said, "Don't you need a new coat? Winter's coming and your coat is looking a bit worse for wear."
"Y-yes, Kaito-nii," Nigaito responded bashfully.
"Why don't we run to town today and look for one?" Kaito suggested, "It's been a while since you've been to town, anyway."
"O-okay . . . ," Nigaito replied, unsure if he was actually okay with it.
"Oooh!" Kamaito exclaimed, "I simply MUST come with you! Only the finest furs for my little nephew!"
"Well, I suppose he is the youngest . . . ," Kaito observed.
"Can I come, Kaaaaaito?" Kikaito asked, on the verge of begging.
"I don't see why not," Kaito said.
"Yaaaaaaaay!" Kikaito let out, "Now, Taito, Nigaito, be good while daddy's gone!"
"You're not our dad. You're our brother," Taito said.
Yet another round of Kaito-Kikaito-Kamaito excitement occurred. Taito let out another "meh" and left the room. He walked out to the living room and decided to play video games. Nigaito followed after him, a little overwhelmed at the prospect of going to town with Kaito, Kikaito, and Kamaito all at once.