Disclaimer: I do not own Vocaloids, Akaito or Taito.
Note: All characters in this story are humans, not robots.
--
Walking down the street on a rainy day is nothing new to him. It's always his unfortunate luck to get stuck walking when it's down pouring harder than anything this town has ever seen before.
Kicking up some water in a puddle, the red-head stomped across the sidewalk with a look of annoyance and rage. Yet again, he'd been turned away from a job thanks to his goody-two-shoes brother upstaging him again.
As he moved past the park, something caught his attention on a nearby bench. A figure was laying with one arm hanging loosely behind the wooden planks.
The figure wore a black and purple, much like to his own, and had black hair.
Approaching with caution, he saw the figure was, indeed, whom he had thought.
"Taito?" Akaito's jaw dropped slightly. The bandages around Taito's chest had been removed, and a large gash had been made with blood spurting out.
His eye patch had also been removed, showing the hidden eye behind it.
Akaito had seen his brother beat up and all, sure. He was a fighter, and being a Yanderoid didn't help at all, but since when did it get THIS bad? He shook him for a moment, but when Taito didn't respond, that was when he got worried.
"Oi, Taito, get up! If this is a joke, it isn't damn funny! Get up!!" Shaking him a few more times, Akaito pulled his hands away fast when he felt a warm liquid on them.
His hands were covered in blood.
Wrapping his arms around Taito, he hefted him up off the bench and took off running.
It was possible Taito groaned, and muttered something, but Akaito didn't notice.
--
Sprawling the black-haired man on the couch, Akaito placed a strip of bandage over his chest before circling the roll around his body several times, covering the bloody gash.
It had since stopped bleeding, but some of warm, drying fluid clung to the bandages in clumps.
The look on Taito's face showed pain, though Akaito reasoned he was probably barely awake, too.
Even after a brutal fight, Taito never showed any signs of pain rather than the occasional wince. He swore, if he found the bastard who hurt him like this, he kick them into next year for it.
"...A...Aka...Akaito?" Taito's eyes opened slowly. Though his vision was blurred, the mop of red hair above him was unmistakable.
"Idiot. Why do you always have to go out and get yourself almost killed?"
Assuring himself Taito was breathing and talking alright, Akaito stood from the floor and threw the roll of bandages onto a nearby chair. He watched with some amusement as Taito tried several times, unsuccessfully to get pull himself into a sitting position.
"You'll make your bandages rip if you keep doing that." He pointed out bluntly.
"Shut up," Taito growled, "I didn't ask for your help anyway."
Akaito rolled his eyes and crossed his arms while sitting down on the armchair next to the couch. "Would you rather I'd just left you there to bleed to death?"
"If it would mean I wouldn't be stuck hear talking to you, sure."
"...You're an idiot."
Shifting around slightly, Taito rested his head on one of the arms of the couch. Rubbing his face slightly, he stopped and felt around his right eye.
"...Where's my eyepatch?" If his tone was listened to hard enough, one might pick up a small sense of fear.
"It wasn't there when I found you. What the Hell were you doing, laying around in a public park with your guts bleeding out? What did you do this time?"
Taito ignored his question. "Forget it, just find me an eye patch!"
"No one is around to see it, so shut up and tell me what you did!"
"Someone got on my nerves, like always! It was no big deal!"
"You think almost getting killed is no big deal!?" Akaito stood from his chair. "And what do you mean, 'like always'?! Is it usual for you to get stabbed!?"
"Since when do you care!?" Taito managed to sit up.
"I've always cared!!"
"...You never show it."
"Not like you do either..."
The brothers stared at one another for a minute before flopping back into their previous positions. For a few minutes, there was only silence, except for the pitter patter of rain on the windows.
Akaito found his eyes trailing slightly, looking at Taito's face or more specifically, his eyes.
His left eye was a deep shade of purple, with a brightness to it that made it clearly noticeable. The right one, however, was a dull, lifeless gray. A scar with several old stitch marks went across it diagonally.
The memory of that scar wasn't ever going to fade away, even if the scar managed to someday.
He could still remember it like it happened just yesterday...
--
"Aw, look at the puny little punk!"
"G-Give it back!" Little Kaito lunged for his scarf, only to watch the bully pull it just out of his reach.
"Haha! What a runt! You want this so bad? Huh?" Dangling the scarf from the boy's reach, Kaito could feel tears in his eyes.
He wanted his precious scarf back! That was his special scarf that no one was allowed to wear or touch unless he said so!
"What if I accidentally ripped it? Huh? What would a little weakling like you do?"
He watched with fear as the older boy grabbed the scarf with either hand and pulled it hard.
"S-Stop!!"
R-i-i-i-p.
"Oh, I'm SO sorry, my hands slipped!"
The two pieces of fabric fell to the ground, held together by a thin strip of thread.. Kaito gathered them up in his arms fast and began to weep hard. Why his precious scarf? Why?
A black boot suddenly stomped in front of him, shadow casting over his body protectively.
"What the Hell are you doing to my brother?"
"T...Taito...?" Kaito whimpered, almost more afraid of his brother than the bully.
"What do you want, brat?"
Whipping out a sharp ice pick from behind his back, Taito glared intensely with the darkest look he could muster. Suddenly the bully seemed to shrink away.
"I won't hesitate to stab you. NOW GET AWAY."
He watched as the boy ran away before turning and kneeling down to Kaito. For once, he actually had a gentle look on his face which surprised Kaito greatly.
"Are you hurt?"
"...Scarf..." Kaito presented the torn scarf before Taito snickered. "We can sew it up easy...Don't be so worried over it..."
With his back turned, Taito didn't notice the gang of boys far behind him, until one of them ran forward...
"TAITO, WATCH OUT!" Screamed Kaito, but it was too late.
Taito was slammed into from behind, his face going down towards ice pick he still clenched in his hand...
And then, blood...And screaming, so much screaming...
--
Shaking his head fast, Akaito realized he was sweating slightly. It was hard to block out the screams that ripped from Taito's throat on that day. Those screams that made Akaito run for help upon seeing him.
Being blinded in one eye at the age of...what...seven or eight? The eye patch had virtually become a part of his life after that.
Sometimes, the scar would still bleed a bit, which in reality worried Akaito immensely.
The last thing he wanted was his brother dying of blood loss from a wound made years ago.
"Are you listening to me?" Taito suddenly blurted.
Snapping up, Akaito blinked a few times. "What?"
"I said I was thirsty maybe five minutes ago. Get on that."
Growling, Akaito stomped up from his seat and went to the kitchen. At this point, he was thankful he'd stocked up on that disgusting blueberry juice that Taito loved so much.
"Do this, do that..." Akaito mumbled. "He's lucky I brought him here or I would just...Ugh..." He practically thrust the glass towards Taito the minute he was back in the living room.
"Why so much animosity today?" He questioned, sipping the blueberry drink and smoothing his hair forward to cover his eye.
Settling into his armchair again, the red head was once again met with silence. Despite all the bickering, what he really wanted to do was talk to Taito. Not just chat, actually talk to him like a normal brother. 'Where have you been?' or 'What are you up to?'
"This is your place, Akaito?" Asked Taito.
"Er...Well, yeah...It's not exactly the house I was always dreaming of living in but it's better than begging hopelessly for money out on the streets."
"Nicely put...On my side, however, it's not quite as good either, you know. I bounce from place to place much of the time."
"I'll never understand how you make money when you barely sing." Akaito sneered.
"Maybe I should ask you the same question." Taito retorted, tired of this game. Yet his mind racked itself for more topics. Somehow, talking with Akaito never got old, unlike other people he tried to hold a conversation with.
"...How's Muri?" He finally asked. "Is she doing alright?"
"Naturally when she's with me. What about Kiku? You and her haven't killed each other yet?"
"Would I be sitting here if she had?"
"That depends. Would you be sitting here if I hadn't gotten you out of that park?"
"Why are we back to this again?"
"Because you're a jerk who makes lame excuses."
The purple-haired man tried not to laugh at this. "So are you, Akaito, so are you." He laughed harder as he was glowered upon.
"You better be happy I'm not more pissed right now than I am, because I'm more than willing to throw you back out on the street."
"I know you wouldn't do that, even if you are quite...cruel sometimes."
"ME?!"
For quite some time, this argument went on back and forth until the two lay on the couch and in the armchair, exhausted beyond their belief. How long had it been since they fought like that?
"...You're still an idiot..." Panted Akaito.
"And you...Are still the Habanero Head I remember..." Taito snickered over his own taunt.
Sitting up and glancing out the window, Akaito could still see the rain falling in a horrid downpour outside. There was no way in Hell he could let Taito out in this, let alone with that gash and someone out there still mad at him.
Looking back at his brother, Akaito decided that, even if Taito was a pain for anyone involved, he still was human.
At least, he hoped Taito was fully human and not some demon.
"You want me to stay?" Taito asked, surprised. Akaito hadn't even realized he'd spoken, but he nodded quickly.
"I doubt you want to go out with that eye of yours, anyway..."
As he left the room to fetch a blanket, Taito leaned back on the couch again and covered his eye with a pale, bandaged hand. Stroking it gently, he remembered that day quite well. And now, he could remember what happened after the incident...
--
"Someone help!!"
Even while flailing on the ground while grasping his bloody eye, screaming in absolute pain, Taito could hear someone calling nearby, getting closer and closer.
"Someone help him!!"
He heard skidding on the ground nearby, and dirt flicking all over. Two arms grabbed him, one hand placing itself over his own on the eye. Pressuring it.
"Taito!! Taito, you'll be alright!! I swear!!"
Somewhere in the background, he could hear Kaito's crying, and felt his small hand touching him.
"T-Tai-chan, please be okay!!"
Everything is dizzy and swirly but he still hears them calling and yelling and crying.
Then it's quiet.
--
"Taito?"
The purple-head snapped up fast and looked up to see Akaito above him, draping the blanket over his body. He has a look of puzzlement, like he's seen something abnormal.
"Are you...crying or something?" He reached down and wiped Taito's left cheek, which was indeed wet and warm.
"O-Of course I'm not! I've just got something in my eye! My hair stabbed it, that's it!"
"...Sure it did." Akaito tried to hold back a small smile. "Let me get you more blueberry juice."
He took the glass and patted Taito on the head -something he normally wouldn't EVER do, not in a million years- and left for the kitchen.
'Idiot. We don't need you losing your other eye too...'
Maybe, just maybe, he thought he saw Taito smile, but he doubted it. Taito smirked, never smiled. Of course, there was always a first time for everything.
Perhaps he should give Kaito a 'brotherly visit' some time in the near future, too...