Two siblings walked together on the crowded street, stopping to sit on a nearby bench. Blue hair, grey eyes… they really looked nothing alike. Kidou sat next to his sister, quietly glancing up at her occasionally to study her features. It started out a pleasant day until his sister, Haruna, started asking troublesome questions.
"Onii-san, why don't we look related?" It shouldn't be such a difficult question to answer, but to Kidou it was. He knew the answer; he figured Haruna was far too young to remember it. It was simple, they had different fathers. They shared the same mother and were still blood siblings, but the fact of the matter is he looked like his father and she looked like hers.
"Onii-san, did I say anything to upset you?" Haruna asked, looking at him with a worried expression.
"No, I was thinking is all" he replied quietly, looking away from her. An expression of dawning appeared on her face.
"It was about the question I asked, wasn't it." she stated looking straight at him, waiting for his answer. He continued to look away from her, slightly ashamed at his inability to talk about it. A gentle touch on his shoulder made him look up.
"Onii-san, I'm sorry for prying and making you upset." She told him gently with a sobered expression. He really was the worst brother! Why couldn't he move on, tell her what she wanted to know and get on with life? He sighed softly and rubbed his face, and then turned his attention back to her.
"No, it's alright. I'll explain." He said in a voice full of conviction. She shifted in her chair and gave him her full attention, now very curious. He fiddled with his fingers for a moment before taking a deep breath and began to speak.
"Well, you see, we-" he stopped himself before he could finish. That was much to blunt, wasn't he the genius playmaker? Why couldn't that translate to other things in his life? She looked at him expectedly, waiting for him to finish and tell her what she'd been waiting to know for so long. He mentally shrugged. He didn't see another way around this besides the straight forward course.
"We have different fathers." He said with a blank expression. She gave him a look of disbelief.
"Onii-san, this is not the time for jokes! Tell me the truth!" she shouted at him, earning them strange looks from passersby. He really should have thought of a better way to put it, but there was no going back now.
"Haruna. I am not joking. I wouldn't joke around with something like this." he told her, slightly frustrated at his lack of social skills. She looked at him and sighed, she knew he was telling the truth; Kidou would never joke around with people like that.
"I know you aren't." she told him quietly, looking regretful about her previous comment. He nodded slightly as if to show it was behind them.
"You probably don't remember. He only visited three more times after you were born." He told her. She looked at him slightly confused.
"Who, your biological father?" she asked. Kidou raised an eyebrow at her; she smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
"Yes, he lived too far to visit more than once a year." Kidou told her, keeping his voice void of emotion.
"Oh! Where does he live?' She asked eyes shining.
"Jamaica," he stated simply.
"Wow! Onii-san that's really cool! Does he still live there?" she asked in a rush. Kidou flinched and crossed his arms as if protecting himself from the question. Her smile vanished when she said Kidou draw back from the conversation.
"Onii-san, he's still alive isn't he?" she asked cautiously. Kidou held his breath and looked away, he wanted to get up from the bench and run home.
"I don't know… he stopped showing up after I turned five." He said blankly. She looked at him with sad eyes.
"Were you close to him Yuuto-nii?" she asked quietly. He sat for a minute in silence before giving his answer.
"No, I considered him a distant relative rather than a father. I always consider your father my dad, and he treated me like his son." He said ending with a soft smile. Haruna looked at his rare expression. She returned with a bright one of her own.
"I guess it really does explain why we looked nothing like each other." She said wryly, but all together pleased that they had this talk. He nodded with a neutral expression back in place.
"Let's head back, I'll walk you home." He said, getting up from their spot and leading them towards her home. They walked in silence for a while before Haruna spoke up.
"Onii-san." She said suddenly making him jump slightly.
"Thank you so much for opening up and telling me. I hope you aren't too upset with me." She told him, keeping his pace. He slowed down and gave her a soft smile.
"I'd never be upset with you." He said softly pausing before saying his next words.
"I'm glad we had this talk too." He told her, looking forward so she wouldn't see his blushing face. She giggled softly and reached out to grip his hand. He almost pulled back from her grasp, but instead tightened his grip instead
"Bye Onii-san! I'll see you tomorrow at school!" she shouted at him, waving from her door way, as he walked down the street. He waved back without looking up and continued home. He reached his house, avoiding the housekeepers and any sign of his dad, and climbed the stairs to his bedroom. He headed to his bed but stopped at his vanity. He pulled the hair tie out of his hair and messed with his dreadlocks. He'd never admit it but, maintaining dreadlocks always made him feel closer to his biological dad. He was after all, the person to style his hair like that in the first place, all those years ago.