az: R&R as usual. I know I can be lame with titles.
Final parting
Written by Izzu alias honou-no-izumi
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He knew that he could ask other people to do this for him. He knew that he could just let others do this for him conveniently.
He had done so the last time. When he had thought his brother's assistant was him.
But that was different.
That time was because the condition of the body was too hurtful to see. Not this time.
This time... he would prepare his brother's body himself. As his own way of saying goodbye...
Earlier he had some help from the hospital personnel to bathe and dress his brother. After that was done, he had told them to leave; because he rather continue the rest of it himself.
He started to choke at the serene yet pale appearance of his brother. Suddenly he wondered if he really could do this.
Ainosuke lifted his brother's left hand as he folded some of the fingers to form the usual sign that he missed seeing much. Yumehito had stopped showing that sign to him even when he had appeared before him as Sakisaka. Somehow, with his brother now dead in front of him; Ainosuke realised how much he missed that kind of unspoken reassurance from his brother.
"Daijoubu," he muttered to himself as he strained to not let himself cry again. "Everything's gonna be all right."
"Everything should be," he said again as he placed the hand gently down again.
Ainosuke reached for a comb nearby as he started to slowly comb his brother's short hair. He smiled weakly.
"It's been a while... isn't it?" he said, to no one in particular. "Back then, niichan had always combed my hair neatly... hadn't you? Always... always, even though you might arrive late to school... you've always took the time to get me to school first. Even though sometimes, you even forget about taking care of your own appearance."
He laughed, as his voice echoed in that small room.
"You remembered... right? That time. You even buttoned your shirt wrong. You looked so silly that I couldn't help laughing at you."
"You're so silly. Even when I've entered middle school and junior high after that, you still loved to fuss over me as if I could not take care of myself. Almost all the time, you've always accompanied and waited for me at school. I've always wondered if you're just overprotective but now I know why. You're always liked to appear cool in front of me, weren't you?"
Ainosuke put down the comb as he finished with it before starting to powder his brother's pale face to return some bit of colour into his features.
He glanced towards the black suit that he had his brother wear. It was the same suit that he had worn that day, minus the few ornaments that Ainosuke had decided to keep to himself. It was as if, his brother knew that he would die on that day. Therefore, he had dressed his best for the day.
You're a very cruel person, aren't you? Even that time, you intended for me to continue hating you for hurting my friends. You didn't even answer my last question.
But he did, Ainosuke knew. That night, indirectly... that woman had told him the answer. His brother did not aim at him directly, because he couldn't. That must be why... those other nights, his brother had frequently taunt him to try killing him without remorse. Indirectly or cryptically.
His older brother... had wanted him to aim at his life instead. Because he couldn't do it himself.
Ainosuke blinked away his tears as he tried to concentrate on restoring his brother's appearance while continuing to ponder about the past.
If that night he hadn't gone to see his brother, would he still be alive? Perhaps not. He might just be killed in a different way, just that he probably will not be there to witness it.
It's despair. Unlike how he had ever felt before. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that there could not be a way that his brother could have been saved. Perhaps, even if he had managed to convince his brother to give himself up; that women... probably gonna kill him anyway before he could drag her along. If she could kill Oyasan so easily despite they were in league with each other, it won't be so surprising that she would try killing his brother. Not to mention that other woman, the one whose shot was the one that eventually killed his brother.
It didn't appear that there had been a way for his brother to escape alive. Was that the reason why at that time, he had been so calm despite having a gun aimed at his head? Because he knew he would die anyway? The two women hadn't appear to even consider his presence after all. Their attentions had all been directed to his brother...
Ainosuke shook his head again. There's no use pondering about things that had already happened. Dead people would not be able to return to life no matter how hard you wished about it.
He lifted his hand as he observed his own work. He might not be a very good make-up artist but he wasn't so bad at it. Yumehito looked as if he had only been sleeping now.
Ainosuke stood back to admire his own work as he heard some knocking from outside the room.
"Are you done?" asked Kato as he entered with Sayama-sensei, though Ainosuke knew that both of them had been waiting outside for a very long time. Just that, they didn't want to disturb his time with his brother. Ainosuke shrugged.
"Yes, I'm done. My brother looked so handsome, right?"
Sayama-sensei smiled weakly at him, as she take a look at the body.
"Yeah. You really... did a great job, Ainosuke."