Chapter 2 ; it's a secret
The chirping birds outside his window woke him up. His eyes slowly opened; they were slightly red because he hadnt been able to sleep well. Yuki laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling and not wanting to move.
" '...just a nightmare; this is just a nightmare.'" He thought to himself, as he closed his eyes. Either way it was too early for him to wake up and get ready, and he was definitely not a morning person. So he thought of getting a little bit more of sleep, since he didn't want to worry Tohru.
" 'it's so quiet, it doesnt even look like he's staying he-'"
"Good Morning people!"
" '...' "
The loud voice echoed though the whole house.
"It is time for you to wake up, sleeping beauties! HaHaHa!"
"OI! Why the hell are you yelling so early in the morning! Shut up!" Kyou yelled from his room.
"I only said that the sleeping beauties should wake up, not the beasts, so you can go back to sleep, Kyoun-kichi-kun! HaHaHa!"
"You ass-!"
"Nee, nee Kyou, you don't want Tohru-kun to hear you say bad words, right?" Shigure said.
"...Keh! Just shut up!"
And the exchange of words kept on going. Yuki heard all of this from his room and was about to yell at them as well, but again, he didn't want Tohru to see that 'angry at his brother' mood. It was too early.
"...Yuki! wake up! It is time for us to try and re-build our brotherly love! Early in the morning is always the best time for that!"
"Shut up!" Kyou yelled once again.
Yuki was now sitting on his bed, a red vein popping out on his forehead that seemed about to explode. He grabbed his pillow and burried his face on it. " 'AAAHH!' "
Downstairs, in the kitchen, Tohru was making breakfast; Shigure sat at the table reading a newspaper while Ayame stared at the kitchen door, tapping his fingers on the table. Shigure lowered his newspaper and stared at him.
"...It's still a bit early for them to come have breakfast, you know."
"It is? I thought Yuki was a morning person." He said, puzzled.
"Actually, it's Kyou-kun the one that wakes up early every morning!" Tohru said happily.
"He is?"
"Yup" Shigure said, finally putting the newspaper down. "Yuki usually wakes up late; and even then he is still sleepy."
"I see..." Ayame said, smiling. Shigure stared at him. "There are still so many things I don't know about him; he is probably cursing at me right now, HaHa!"
As soon as she heard that, Tohru turned around, still holding the spatula. "That's not true! Yuki-kun would never curse at you! Ayame-san-..."
Ayame blinked at her a couple of times. She always had these kind of sudden reactions; it was quite funny, Ayame thought.
"Don't worry, I was just joking HaHa"
"Tohru-kun, the food!" Shigure said, pointing at the pan.
"A-ah!"
Shigure stared at Ayame once again. "Nee, Aya-"
"OI!" an angry Kyou yelled, not letting Shigure finish. "What the hell where you thinking by yelling so early in the morning huh?"
"There, there Kyon-kichi, don't get upset."
"Good Mornig Kyou-k-"
"What? Not get upset? Waking up because of a weird man's yelling is more than a good reason to be upset!"
"Well, I'm not the one yelling, you are; just think of what the neighbours will say; you should control yourself Kyon-kichi, no one likes a grumpy morning person"
"What! But-"
"The neighbours, Kyou-kun; think of the neighbours."
"But- ... dammit!" He had been defeated. He took his seat and stared angrily at Ayame.
"Pffft! Hahaha! Kyou-kun, you're so naïve" Shigure said, laughing as a confused Kyou stared at him.
"Huh?"
"We live in the middle of the forest Kyou-kun, we have no neighbours; other than the birds and other animals that live around."
Kyou's jaw dropped. "Shut up!"
"Ah, Gure-san, you're so mean, you didn't have to tell him that."
"I know, I just couldn't help it... pfft hahaha!"
"Why you... that's enough! Shut up already!" he snapped at them.
"That's what you get for being so stupid...baka neko."
"Yuki-kun! Good morning!" said a smiling Tohru.
"Morning, Honda-san" he replied, also with a smile.
Yuki stood by the door, fixing his tie. "And just because we have no neighbours doesn't mean you have the right to yell."
"I wouldn't be yelling if it wasn't because of your idiot brother!"
"That's not true. Even if he wasn't here you'd still be yelling."
Kyou punched the table. "If you're looking for a fight just say it! I have enough stress to kick your ass!"
Yuki's eyes narrowed. "Really?..."
"A-ah- but Yuki-kun, Kyou-kun..." Tohru said, worried.
Shigure sighed. "Not again, I swear someone will have to pay for all the damage caused to my house."
Yuki and Kyou stared at each other.
"Well, what are you waiting for, baka neko."
Kyou stood up and cracked his nuckles. He grinned and launched at Yuki. "Stupid Rat you're gonna-"
"STOP!"
"Huh!" Ayame was now standing in front of Yuki; instead of hitting Ayame, the punch went right to Shigure's head, knocking him out.
"Shigure-san!" Tohru cried, leaving the kitchen and rushing to aid Shigure.
"Stop! In the name of our brotherly love! Before you break Gure-san's house!"
"..."
"What the hell!" Kyou yelled angrily. Ayame turned around and faced Yuki.
"Yuki! You shall not fight because of me! I know you felt deeply hurt when Kyon-kichi called me an 'idiot' but Oh Yuki! You must remember not to pay attention to foolish words!"
"OI!" Kyou yelled at him once again; it was useless though, he was being completely ignored.
"What? I wasn't fighting because of-"
"Yuki! you have no idea how much this makes onii-san happy! But for the sake of your body and Gure-san's almost destroyed kitchen I must beg you to stop!"
"But-"
"A-ano..." Tohru's voice caught their attention. "I think Shigure-san needs medical attention!"
All their eyes focused on a semi-unconcious Shigure, who by now had a big bump on his head.
"Keh! He's fine." Kyou commented, sitting next to them.
"But, Shigure-san is-"
"He's not gonna die or anything; I bet he's just faking it"
"Gure-san!" cried Ayame, who rushed toward him. "Gure-san, don't you dare to die, we have yet to do so many things together!"
"Aya...Aya, I don't think-" he coughed. "I don't think I'll make it this time..."
"Eeh! Shigure-san!" Tohru cried.
"..." a cold breeze blew by.
"I'm leaving!" both Yuki and Kyou yelled at the same time.
"But, Shigure-san!"
"He's just faking, Honda-san. You don't have to worry; come on, we'll have to get something at school, it's a pity that because of these two we'll have to miss the breakfast you made."
"But, are you sure that-"
"He's fine, now let's go before it's too late" Kyou added.
"O-ok then..." Tohru stood up and followed the boys.
"Oh Gure-san, this life wont be the same without you!"
"Aya... please take good care of the children; and don't forget to tell them what a great papa I was"
"Jerks!" Kyou yelled.
"Ittekimasu!" a cheerful voice echoed in the house.
"Itterasshai!" both men yelled, joyfully.
"Well that was fun..." Shigure said, smiling as he stood up and went to serve breakfast.
"Indeed, we should do this more often; I miss role-playing with you, Gure-san."
"I do too, but as you can see, these boys are too 'mature' for this kind of things"
"Ah! But they are missing all the fun of being young, HaHaHa!"
"Yeah..." Shigure glanced at Ayame from the corner of his eye. "...Now, will you tell me the real reason you're here?"
Ayame closed his eyes and smiled. "Of course..."
Outside, Yuki, Kyou and Tohru walked to school. An uncomfortable silence had fallen upon them, until the cat dared to speak.
"Tche! I'm so hungry... and all of this because someone had to come and visit his little brother."
Yuki glared at him from the corner of his eye. "Are you trying to blame this on me, baka neko?"
"Damn right! He's your brother, you should tell him to stop visiting while we're on school. He's so annoying"
"It's not my fault he is that way, you know."
"I think..."
Both boys glared at her. "I think it's wonderful to have him around, he's always so happy when he comes to visit Yuki-kun; and Kyou-kun and Shigure-san as well. Wanting to spend time with those you love cant be that bad, right?" Said Tohru, smiling.
"Keh."
"Hn."
The hours passed; it was lunch time and the Souma boys were gathered on the roof of the school, having lunch along with Tohru.
"Ne, ne Tohru! Are you sure your friends wont mind you being here?" Momiji said happily, sitting next to her and eating from her bento.
"Hai, Uo-chan and Hana-chan had other things to do and said they would meet me after lunch, so it's okay"
"Yuki looks tired." Tohru stared at Haru. "Has something happened?"
"A-ah! Well, Ayame-san-"
"Ayame showed up at the house yesterday and hasn't shut up ever since." An annoyed Kyou answered.
" I see." Haru stood up.
"Eeh, Ayame is staying over at your house?"
"Hai!" a happy Tohru answered.
"Haru...where are you going?" Yuki asked.
"Just make a phone call." Just as he opened the door, a pair of dark eyes met his.
"Hatori..." Haru said, surprised to see him there.
"If the phone call was meant for me you can just stay here"
"Ah, yeah." Haru said, stepping back so the doctor could enter.
"Ha'ri! What are you doing here?"
"Ah! Hatori-san! Did somehting happen?"
"Did you come to check on us? Or maybe only Yuki? Nee, Ha'ri?"
"Calm down, I came to give Yuki a check up. Since he missed his last one..."
"Ah... yeah I guess I forgot" Yuki said as he walk toward the doctor.
"How did you know we were here?" Kyou asked.
"I know everything"
"..."
"Eeeh! Really? Ha'ri, really?"
"Of course not! He's playing with us!"
"Did you ask our home room teacher?" Yuki said, finally approaching him.
"Yes." Said Hatori. "Now, come with me downstairs..."
"Okay" He turned around and gave Tohru a smile. "I'll be right back"
Tohru nodded. "Hai!" Yuki then followed Hatori, leaving the rest behind.
A few minutes later, Hatori was done with the check up; he sat while making notes on his notebook, while Yuki fixed his tie.
"Is that all?"
"Yes..."
"Hatori..." Yuki stared at him as he wrote things down on his notebook.
"Yes?"
"...never mind... I'll go back to-"
"I understand Ayame is staying at Shigure's house."
Yuki sat on the examination table, staring at nothing in particular. "Yeah, he's been there since yesterday..."
"And this is bothering you, right?"
"Yes... no... well, yes; nii-san... he and I are too different, I think that's why we don't get along."
"Different? I think you two have more things in common than what you may think"
"Huh, that's not possible; he's always loud, he makes everything seem like a joke. His life seems like a constant party, laughing here, laughing there... it's like he's got nothing to worry about."
Hatori stopped writing. "I think you're wrong there, Ayame... he may seem to take things for granted, but in truth he's just keeping that all inside, so not to worry others; he has... some issues he's got to deal with, so bear with him Yuki, after all, he is your only brother."
"It's easy for you to say, he's not constantly bugging you-" He then remembered all the times he'd tried to stop Ayame from calling Hatori. "...I take that back."
"Hm?"
"Never mind... can I go now?"
"Sure..." Yuki got off the table and walked to the door; as he was about to leave, Hatori spoke one last time. " Do you think it would be better not to have him as a brother?"
Yuki stopped, he looked up at the ceiling and without turning around, he replied. "Sometimes; some other times, to be honest, I just don't care." And with that, he closed the door behind him.
Inside, Hatori leaned back on his chair. "You have quite some work to do there, Ayame"
Back at Shigure's house, Ayame sneezed. "Aah someone must be talking about me... I hope it's all wonderful things! HaHaHa!"
Shigure stared at him. " Arent you scared?"
Ayame stared at his plate. "I've told you before, there's nothing I can do about it..."
"Have you talked to Hatori about this?"
"I don't think I need to, he was there when I was told."
"But Aya, you cant just-"
"Maa, Gure-san; it's ok, really. I just want to enjoy this moment and try to make up for the lost time with Yuki!" he said cherfully. Shigure sighed.
"Are you going to tell him?"
"Perhaps; I still have time to think about all this"
"You know, you're being very selfish there, Aya"
"I know, havent I always been this way? Keeping secrets is one of my strong points; however, I could not keep this a secret from you, Gure-san. And as your friend, I demand support from you!... and a little bit more of miso soup, please"
Shigure chuckled. "Of course"
a/n: not much happens in this chapter; but dont worry, things start to get more clear in the next episode. :3