"I want to break up."
Tsubasa dropped his eyes as he was hit with the full impact of these words.
"Come on Misaki it's not that bad, can't we at least talk..."
"All we ever do is talk," she sighed frustratedly, "and it's getting us nowhere."
"Is there someone else?" he asked spitefully, immediately not wanting to know the answer.
"No there isn't," Misaki said firmly, wanting to slap him for that comment but she knew him well enough to know he was just hurt.
She turned away from him to collect her thoughts but when she looked back she noticed a single tear running down the side of his cheek.
"I don't want anybody else," he said in a small voice.
Misaki felt the tears starting to well in her own eyes. She hated hurting him like this but she had to remain strong.
"We just need to get away from each other, all we ever do is fight. I can't handle it anymore, I'm sick of crying every night about the stupid things you say to me."
Tsubasa looked shocked. He couldn't picture her crying, she wasn't that type of girl. She was stronger than that.
"I love you," he said desperately.
"It's not enough anymore," she said sadly.
Natsume opened the front door of his house only to collide with his step-brother's anger challenged girlfriend.
"Watch where you're going you hag," he said moodily.
He didn't notice the evidence that she'd been crying until it was too late. The emotionally charged girl swung her hand back and with a loud crack slapped him across the face before running out the door.
"Shit, was that for you?" Natsume asked when he noticed his step brother slumped on the couch.
But Tsubasa barely acknowledged he was there as the tears continued to trickle slowly down his face.
Figuring they'd just finished another epic fight Natsume made a mental note to keep clear of the house tomorrow afternoon for the inevitable and disturbing reconciliation.
"Natsume!" called out a small voice from the top of the stairs. His little half-sister Aoi came bolting down the stairs and took his hand excitedly, "did they have one?"
He reached into his back pack and pulled out a magazine to the delight of the little girl in front of him. What a six year old wanted with a woodworking magazine was beyond him.
"Thank you," she said squeezing his leg tightly before he picked her up and gave her a squeeze.
"Here," he said turning around and throwing a packed of cigarettes to the motionless boy on the couch. "You should stop buying these things for that..." he remembered Aoi, "rude guy," he finished lamely.
Tsubasa wiped his face quickly and stood up, "it helps that 'rude guy' keep his hands off other things," he explained.
"I don't know why you hang around with that pervert," Natsume said mouthing the last word.
"Are you crying?" Aoi asked her other half brother, only now noticing his red eyes.
"Yeah kid, I am," he said sadly.
"What happened," she asked alarmed. Boys don't usually cry, especially not big brothers.
"Misaki said she doesn't want to be my friend anymore," he said gently, "I feel very sad that she said that."
So they broke up, Natsume realised. No need to steer clear from the house tomorrow after all.
"That's too bad," Natsume said coldly but nevertheless dropped Aoi to the ground so she could be scooped up by Tsubasa. He realised the guy could do with some comforting.
"I'm going out," Natsume said to nobody in particular.
"You just got home," Aoi said, surprised.
"I just knew how badly you wanted your magazine," he said squeezing her hand before walking towards the door.
"Okay bye nii-chan," she called as he closed the door.
Not having any other particular place to go he decided to visit has Dad at 'work'.
Natsume gently opened the worn door which had been threatening to break away from its hinges for the past couple of years and stepped into the make shift studio. Recognising the faint smell of turpentine he pulled back a ragged sheet to reveal his father, staring intently at a charcoal stained canvas. The hand that waved in greeting was stained black which contrasted sharply with his brilliantly white teeth.
"How's it going?" Natsume asked as his father pulled a wobbly stool for his son to sit on.
"Uh, well...not well," the older man admitted sheepishly, the charcoal stains getting lost in his dark hair as he run his hands through.
"You look like a girl," Natsume smirked as he handed his father a rubber band to tie his hair with.
"It is getting a bit long," he admitted flashing his son another blinding grin. He turned back to the canvas and let out a defeated sigh. "I think I better give up for today, I'm not getting anything done."
He reached behind him to pull a shabby coat over his paint stained shirt and wiped his hands absent mindedly on his pants. He reached for a small bag overflowing with sketches and made his way to the door.
"What's the job?" Natsume asked conversationally as they started walking towards the house of the person who shared the shabby studio with his father.
"Portrait," his father said ruefully.
"I thought you decided to stick to landscapes after you made that guys wife look like a..."
"I couldn't say no to the pay check," he explained, "It seems I really don't learn from my mistakes, it's a commission for another portrait of a wife actually."
"What's the trouble?" Natsume asked, failing to hide a smirk.
"This woman has the most expressive eyes I've ever seen in my life," he explained reaching into his bag to pull out a photograph of the woman in question.
Natsume studied her face, only temporarily distracted by her beauty he seen something oddly familiar. He felt like he had seen her before.
"She looks familiar," Natsume murmured but his father was in the middle of explaining the problem of the eyes and didn't hear him.
"Why don't you just ask her to sit for you, it's better than working off a photograph?" he asked.
"Ahh," his father said, suddenly wishing he'd never bought this up. "She can't sit for it," he said softly, "she's passed on."
Natsume felt his chest tighten painfully as he dropped his gaze to the ground.
"Hey you two!" called a voice from inside the house, breaking the beginnings of an awkward silence, "finished for the day?"
"Yeah Noda," Natsume answered for his father.
"Joining us for some tea Natsume-kun?" the friendly man asked.
"I have things to do," Natsume said quickly breaking into a run, sprinting away from the two men.
The next day Ruka noticed his best friend's dark mood as he approached the school gates. He looked past him to see Tsubasa's shoulders hunched over in depression. He was beginning to wonder if something terrible had happened when he seen Aoi bouncing cheerfully toward the gates.
"Ru-chan!" she cried swinging a teddy as she ran towards him.
"Morning Aoi," he said, smiling at her, "how's Mr Bear this morning?"
"He's angry," she said seriously.
"Any reason for that," Ruka asked, amused at her reaction.
"Because both my big brother's were so sad last night we were the only ones who helped Daddy with the chores."
"That does sound unfair," Ruka sympathised. "I hope he cheers up soon."
"He will," Aoi said in her same cheerful manner, "but Natsume better be careful, Bear's already angry at him for throwing him at the couch."
"It's not my fault you can't catch," Natsume said standing behind his sister.
"I can," she protested, "you just threw it too hard."
"Do you want me to walk you over to class?" Natsume asked, ruffling her hair.
"No it's okay," she said before running in the direction of the elementary school.
"What's wrong with Tsubasa?" Ruka asked when Aoi was out of earshot.
"Misaki broke up with him," Natsume said disinterestedly.
"Poor guy," Ruka said sympathetically.
"Poor nothing," Natsume snorted, "we should be celebrating, I finally have that dragon out of my house."
"Don't be so heartless," Ruka smiled, slightly amused at his friend's reaction. Misaki was famous for her angry outbursts.
The two entered their homeroom to the sound of whispers and the occasional squeal. Natsume rolled his eyes and made his way to his usual spot at the back of the room, ignoring the various greetings that had stopped his kinder friend as the blonde boy attempted to respond to everyone greeting him.
Natsume pulled his manga over his face and was in the process of beginning to pretend he was asleep when his permanently joyful teacher entered announcing the arrival of a new student.
"A lot of you will recognise her from when she was at the Academy in the elementary branch," he was saying to the curious students, "I'd like you to welcome back Mikan Sakura."
He stepped aside to allow the girl into the room and Natsume realised why the woman from the photograph had seemed so familiar yesterday. The girl who stood at the front of the class now looked exactly like her.
