Well, here we go! Drabble/oneshot 1.
It had taken Ryuuichi some time to realize that his little brother had never actually eaten cotton candy. Sure, he's stared at it with that bright-eyed wonder in his eyes, seeing something truly special in the candy, but he has never eaten it. Ryuuichi's eyebrow twitched thinking about the few times in the past couple of years he'd indulged and bought his brother cotton candy only for Kotarou to never eat it, only staring at it, willing it to stay fluffy forever before it deflates and leaves the boy disappointed. Maybe if Kotarou ate a little bit of cotton candy he would start actually eating it when it was bought for him. Ryuuichi created his plan, determined to have Kotarou taste one of the fluffiest and most sugary treats the world had to offer.
Ryuuichi didn't think his plan through too much, thinking that if he bought himself cotton candy and ate it before offering Kotarou a bite, the boy, now in the second grade, would take it. He had to wait until a festival happened, and of course he went with the Kamitani brothers, Taka dragging Kotarou like a helium balloon behind him. Hayato stared on in irritation, mumbling about "if that brat gets lost…" and Ryuuichi sweating slightly while trying to calm down the older Kamitani brother with a promise that they would not lose sight of the two kids.
"Taka-kun talks really loud," Ryuuichi pointed out, "if we lose sight of him we'd only have to wait until he talks." Hayato seemed to accept this reassurance and fell into step beside Ryuuichi. "Hey, Kamitani," Ryuuichi asked, and Hayato glanced at him, slowing his pace to match that of the now intensely thinking Ryuuichi, "do you want to buy cotton candy?" Hayato made a noise in the back of his throat.
"And give the little idiot a sugar rush?" Hayato responded, staring ahead at where Taka was pointing at games, saying how good he was at all of them despite never having played them to Kotarou, who full-heartedly believed him and nodded to every statement. Hayato scrapped up his sense of humor and turned to Ryuuichi. "Your little brother looks like of like a bobblehead when he nods like that." Ryuuichi made a noise similar to a poorly held back laugh before looking at the cotton candy booth with an intense determination. He bought the cotton candy.
"Kotarou! Taka-kun!" Ryuuichi called out from where he and Hayato stood next to the cotton candy booth, out of the way of people walking. The two boys instantly ran over to Ryuuichi, Kotarou stumbling on the last couple of steps when Taka sped up and he couldn't keep up. Taka was tugging at his brother pleading to play all of the games and eat some cotton candy as Hayato did his best to ignore him and only give a sliver of attention to the Kashima brothers. Kotarou's eyes lit up as he pointed at the cotton candy. Ryuuichi nodded and tore off a piece, eating it. Kotarou's face changed to one of slight horror, only intensifying when Ryuuichi offered a piece of the cotton candy. Taka had gotten bored of his brother ignoring him and turned to Ryuuichi, demanding a piece of the cotton candy. Ryuuichi ruffled Taka's hair and stared at Kotarou, who was still processing that Ryuuichi, the most perfect person in the world, had just destroyed (and eaten) a fluffy pink cloud. "It's really yummy," Ryuuichi promised, and Kotarou reached out to grab a piece of the cotton candy, putting it in his mouth with confusion.
The reaction was instant: Kotarou's face shriveled up as the cotton candy dissolved in his mouth, leaving the taste of pure sugar on his taste buds. He shook his head and looked up at his brother.
"Too sweet," he said choppily, still being a little worse off at speech than his friends, and Ryuuichi tried not to laugh at the slightly adorable face his brother was making.
"Do you want water, Kotarou?" He asked, and when Kotarou nodded he really did look like a bobblehead, Ryuuichi noted as he gave his brother a water bottle. The little boy groaned after gulping down some water and looked at the cotton candy with a slight horrified respect, like when he learned about deadly animals that looked really cute in the photos. He wasn't able to stare at it for long, though, because Taka took a clump of it in his hands and ate it to Hayato's annoyance and Ryuuichi's amusement. Kotarou turned away from the sight and his eyes widened in interest as he looked at some ants on the ground, trailing their march with his eyes. Ryuuichi followed his gaze and chuckled to himself. He then convinced Hayato not to hit Taka, because he didn't want the rest of the cotton candy anyway and he couldn't give it to Kotarou. "Do you want something to eat, Kota—" Ryuuichi blinked and paled at the empty space where his brother was just a few seconds ago. "Do you know where Kotarou is?" He asked Hayato in a hurry. Hayato made a face of confusion, wondering how he was supposed to know. Taka looked up at Ryuuichi and his eyes steeled over in determination.
"I'll find him!" Taka yelled, and before Ryuuichi could respond the kid had already run off. Hayato let out an angered sigh and an incomplete threat under his breath as they raced behind Taka.
"Taka-kun! Don't run ahead! You'll get lost," Ryuuichi called out but Taka wasn't listening, too focused on running in between and even accidentally shoving some people aside in his quest to find his friend.
"He's not even looking at his surroundings," Hayato noted with an edge to his voice. "Taka! Come back here!" Taka rounded a corner and Ryuuichi stopped, staring at a panda plush hanging on a tent with a ring toss game, and the very still Kotarou staring at it. Ryuuichi sighed and turned to Hayato to tell him he'd found Kotarou, but Hayato was gone with dust in his wake.
"Kotarou! You shouldn't run off," Ryuuichi scolded lightly, and Kotarou turned to face him slowly with a confused grunt. Ryuuchi felt his brow twitch the way it did every time Kotarou went into his own little world and wasn't listening.
"Nii-chan, panda." Kotarou pointed at the plushie, and on closer inspection Ryuuichi realized it was Teary-eyed Panda-chan with an almost embarrassed sigh. He took his brother by the hand.
"I really can't tell if you're listening…" Ryuuichi mumbled to himself, before ruffling his brother's hair. "You already have some panda toys at home, Kotarou." Kotarou turned back to face the panda plush and blinked slowly at it. Just then, the wails of Taka were heard and Ryuuichi turned around to see Hayato dragging his little brother by the collar, death glare focused on the air in front of him.
"Taka, stop crying." Hayato nudged his brother ahead of him. "We found Kotarou." Taka immediately stopped crying as he ran towards his friend and enveloped him in a hug that threw Kotarou off balance. Both boys fell on the ground and Kotarou nodded at his friend. Then Taka followed Kotarou's gaze and smiled wide.
"I could win that game for you!" Taka promised, and Ryuuichi scratched the back of his neck with a smile at the kid's antics. "Aniki, I can play!" Hayato found himself wanting to say no, but he had just stopped Taka from yelling and crying so it was easier if he relented.
"Just one try," he said and gave the tent owner 300 yen. Taka gave the sticks he was supposed to get the rings in a look of determination and Kotarou finally looked at Taka with a surprised grunt before staring at the game with a determined look, too, as if the emotional support would carry through. "Just throw it," Hayato said brusquely and Ryuuichi told Taka to take his time. When Hayato stared at him with a raised brow Ryuuichi mouthed 'humor him'.
Surprisingly, all the rings but one landed, and since the two weren't aiming for the big prizes they got the panda and a wolf enamel keychain that Taka found no use for and threw at his brother. Hayato shrugged and said he'd give it to their mother.
"Okay, now what do you two want to eat?" Taka started listing off all the food booths he'd seen, and Kotarou was too busy gazing at the Teary-eyed Panda-chan toy to neither hear nor answer the question. In the end, Hayato decided for them, settling for yakisoba* which the kids liked, and Ryuuichi made sure to walk past the karumeyaki** stand quickly before Taka (or Kotarou) could look at it and ask for any. As a compromise for Kotarou's cotton candy nightmare, Ryuuichi bought him a strawberry crepe, Hayato also relenting and buying Taka a chocolate one. When the festival ended and the group left to go their separate ways, Ryuuichi grinned. "I'm glad we had fun. Thank you for the experience, Kamitani." Hayato nodded and looked up at the moon, waiting for his brother to finish talking so he could go home. "Kotarou, be sure to say thank—" Ryuuichi began, but Kotarou was already hugging Taka and showing off the panda toy with a quiet 'thanks' while Taka said (screamed) it was no problem and bragged about his skills.
"Baa-chan! Panda-chan!" Kotarou said excitedly, showing it to Saikawa as well, and Ryuuichi reminded him to at least say he was home first. Kotarou nodded and said a butchered version of it, but Ryuuichi let it go, announcing himself as well. Saikawa and a reluctant chairwoman welcomed them.
"What an excellent panda toy, Kotarou-sama," Saikawa said. "I am delighted that the two of you had an excellent time." Kotarou grunted happily and said 'panda' again to the chortle disguised as a 'hmph' of the old woman as she walked off with a curt 'good night' and Saikawa left for the night with a formal 'farewell'.
Kotarou put the panda plush on his shelf with a satisfied smile, and once the brothers got ready for bed Kotarou spent a few minutes staring at it much to Ryuuichi's amusement. "Okay, time for your book," Ryuuichi said, and Kotarou grinned as he pointed at the book already on the bed before climbing on it with slight difficulty. Despite not needing the stepladder anymore, he was still a little short for the bed.
Kotarou dreamed of pandas that night.
Notes: definitions and clarifications.
*Yakisoba: Fried soba noodles.
**Karumeyaki: Fried caramel. Essentially pure sugar, popular with children as a festival food.
Teary-eyed Panda-chan: A panda from a storybook series Kotarou really likes. Also known as "Ururun Panda-chan," which is the onomatopoeia for teary eyes.