A/N: well, considering my love for the Nase family and its three members, i figured i might as well make a collection pertaining to their relationships with one another, and then some. ...yeah, i don't actually know Izumi as a character all that well. we don't even truly know their family dynamic. canon will shut this one-shot out of the water. probably.
here's me making something out of essentially nothing.
I. Reason;
Hiroomi hates the cold; Izumi's the epitome of cold. He'd like to keep warm, but she's freezing and he doesn't know how to deal with a sister who has no reason to care.
When Hiroomi enters the room, Izumi is by the window, like always. He wonders if it's because she's still thinking of a reason to step outside for herself and no one else.
Hiroomi almost freezes up when she turns her head a second later, a fleeting glance over her shoulder, before looking back to the window.
"Is there something you need, Hiroomi?"
He ignores the chill that lines her words, pretends not to see the cold that surrounds her room, and breathes through tight lips because Izumi always had a freezing air with her.
"You should go shopping with us," the words slip before he has a chance to proofread – to think about what he has to say, "with Mitsuki and I,"
The silence that follows after is surprisingly short, interrupted by the quiet chuckles of his older sister.
"I have no reason to,"
Hiroomi's brows furrow infinitesimally at the implications his sister brings. It's all he has to hear to make him withdraw from the room, and the offer entirely. He knows he doesn't mean it, but it certainly doesn't feel like it when he lets it pour from his mouth like it laid upon his tongue the whole time he's been there.
"Are we not a good enough reason for you?"
Hiroomi leaves before Izumi utters a single word; not that she ever has a reason to say anything else.
/
He wonders if it's a sign that the world is ending.
Hiroomi stares at the gates of their home, his younger sister stopping just short of the door as their eldest sister steps out with a small smile he doesn't recognize.
"I-Izumi-Neesan?" Mitsuki stutters as if she's seen a ghost.
He can't deny that he shares his sibling's surprise, but he refrains from letting it show as Izumi looks between the two of them as if nothing's changed. And perhaps nothing did.
"Is something wrong?"
The lilt in his older sister's voice is as cold as always as Mitsuki stands beside her, looking like a fish out of water; her lips unable to decide whether to stay open or closed. Izumi merely cocks her head to the side with a small smile still lining her mouth, patient.
"N-no, it's just..." Mitsuki sends him a wary glance, clearly feeling the same as him (completely, and utterly, lost), "...is there another errand for you to run?"
Because they all knew there was none; they have each already completed their assigned responsibilities a week prior.
"Something like that," she pats Mitsuki's head and it keeps the youngest sibling mouthing for air at their doorstep.
Izumi always had a softer spot for their youngest sister; though Hiroomi can't quite complain; he definitely shares the same sentiment, except a lot more differently.
He supposes errands were common for the eldest member. It was the only reason Izumi would ever leave the house, anyway. Hiroomi snorts to himself as he watches Izumi walk by, pass him like he's nothing.
Seems like an errand was the only good enough reason for Izumi.
/
It's late and Hiroomi isn't surprised Izumi's not back yet.
Nase family relations tended to be tenacious when it came to getting some particular things done. He's glad he doesn't have to deal with such overbearing responsibilities like keeping the goodness between business partners for the sake of making some sort of progress, but he figures such a huge role was the reason for his older sister's distant presence; quite figuratively and literally.
The moon is up from where he can see at the hallway window, the sky dark and looming. Hiroomi's about to enter his room when her voice calls him out amidst the quiet house that never really feels like home.
"Here,"
He catches something soft, warm, and long. Hiroomi inspects the odd material cradled above his cold hands. It takes a silent moment before recognition plays on his face and it finally strikes him that it's a scarf.
...Did his older sister just–?
"You aren't required to keep it,"
Hiroomi looks up only to find that Izumi's back is already turned, her steps slow as she begins her stride to her respective room. He attempts to speak, to say anything at best, but just like his younger sister earlier during the day, his lips are dry and his tongue is empty of words.
He can't pretend he doesn't hear how her voice isn't cold.
"Goodnight, Hiroomi."
He understands the rest of the words that don't leave her lips; stay warm – even from me, and he snorts to himself because they're more alike than ever. Izumi never was good with expressing her feelings.
Hiroomi turns back and enters his room, listens to the fading steps of his eldest sister before looping the scarf around his neck and staring at the large peculiar mirror wedged against his wall.
Izumi went shopping for him.
When the thought actually registers in his head – that Izumi's been in a clothing store, he is chuckling, clinging onto his stomach and refusing to let out a howled laugh because it'd be inappropriate and Izumi might take his present back for laughing. But it makes him warm.
Guess they were a good enough reason for Izumi, too.
25.11.13