A normal life. That's all I ever asked for. Normality. Things that are usual.
So, what does karma send me? An unattainable. A tease. A test? A student. Restraint find a slot for me some time soon, please.

Usami Akihiko glanced down at the entry form in his free hand as he took a small suck on his cigarette. Trills of grey smoke trailed over the words on the page as he exhaled and unfamiliarly desperate thoughts prodded his mind.

Name: Takahashi, Takahiro.
Major: Economics & Sociology.
Siblings: Takahashi, Misaki.

A small slip of honesty, the page fluttered between his forefinger and thumb as a sweet smelling breeze skipped through his slightly open office window.

So, now he knew the person behind the name: Misaki. Akihiko had stared countless times at the slip of paper so as to feel somehow closer to Takahiro and more times than not, his eyes had slanted just an inch enough to see the other name. But he'd never really taken it into account. Now, he was forced to.

How had he not seen the boy before? How had he not heard the name yelled in the hallways before? Why should this matter to me? Akihiko thought to himself. A blotted image of the boy banging his head on the wall outside his office formed in his mind and made Akihiko smile, subconsciously.

The boy seemed so innocent. Naïve. But, somehow, at the same time there was an air of tragedy about him. Something crushing. Ah. Of course. How stupid of me. His parents were killed in that car crash. Akihiko's hand balled into a tense fist as he remembered the pain Takahiro had gone through.

There was another memory trying to push into Akihiko's mind and, restlessly, he let it through. A very, very faint picture of a small, slight boy with a head of feathery, brown hair flickered, as though illuminated by candlelight, in his mind's eye- Misaki as a young child. For several seconds, all Akihiko could think of was the young boy and with a touch of affection he recalled how fondly Takahiro had spoken of his younger brother to him. After Takahiro had moved to America with his new wife, however, hardly any conversations had been had between the two men and a distinct sense of starvation had begun to stroke, perversely, around Akihiko's body.

Well, that youngster had certainly grown up. Still slight, the boy had grown to an average height and had maintained his feathery, brown hair, though it was slightly thicker than when he had been younger. Again, a small smile spread on Akihiko's face as he saw in his head the small nose the boy had but the smile vanished as he gritted his teeth on recalling another feature: those eyes. Big and chocolate brown. So open to seeing new things. He'd been so bloody entranced by them, that he'd called on his major defence: acting like he was unconcerned and bored. He'd acted like a stupid bloody teenager. He felt like one, actually… heart pounding…

The boy… oh, what else was he supposed to call him? He was ten years his senior. Twenty-eight isn't that old, though, Akihiko comforted himself, stubbing out his cigarette in a makeshift tinfoil ashtray.

"No, I have to get the bus home, I've got homework!" Was that Misaki shouting outside? As though his body was in autopilot, Akihiko stood up from his chair and walked around his big teddy bear- a "comfort blanket" item from childhood days of secluded, albeit pampered materialistically, days- and some stacks of books. He got to his window and looked down, hands on the windowsill.

Yup. There he was, calling over to a slightly taller, blonde kid. Akihiko's eyebrows pushed up slightly as Misaki protested determinedly against going out clubbing for the night.

"I've got to get these grades!" Misaki yelled over to the other boy and Akihiko noticed how Misaki tugged at the bottom of his green, short-sleeved shirt as though embarrassed. A tidal wave of sympathy veered up in Akihiko's chest. He hated himself for it, but he was suddenly very eager to help the boy. He was just so damn- No, don't think of him like that. He's a student… Takahiro's brother! Akihiko criticised himself. But still, he was searching for a way in his mind that he could help the kid…

"Oh fine," shouted the blond kid, "Do you want a lift home, anyway?"
"Wow, that would be really helpful," Misaki beamed. Oh God, Akihiko thought, his lips parting in shock, what a cute smile… sexy, even… stop it! Then, another voice in his mind piped up, with a much more sly tone. You don't have to stop it. You're not doing anything wrong, Akihiko. The boy is sexy. Accept it. "But I wouldn't want to be a burden on you." And he's bloody selfless. He's beautiful. Fucking beautiful. Hah. I never use swear words. Must find another word… As Akihiko subconsciously ran through his vocabulary for another word, he felt his mobile buzz in his trouser pocket. Takahiro calling… me?

"I'm taking you home, Misaki. The bus isn't here for another half an hour. Where do you live?" The blond yelled in the background. In the corner of his eye, he saw Misaki move towards the blond, speaking at the same time.
"Just behind the multiplex next to The Rose Gardens." Multiplex! Rose Gardens!

Akihiko flipped open his ringing mobile as he realised how close he and Misaki lived.
"Takahiro, how are you?" he asked, unable to stop the smile spreading on his face as he heard the man speak. He saw the black haired guy in his mind along with those glasses…
"Really well, thank you, Akihiko. Listen, this is really rushed and I'm sorry." Akihiko's smile disappeared as he heard the anxiety in the man's voice and watched Misaki and the blond converse by the school gates, presumably waiting for a ride. "But I heard you're now teaching at the high school and see, Misaki goes there and he has no other family there and I need to get a message to him-"
"Calm down, Takahiro. What can I do?" Here's your chance, Akihiko.

Hey, I hope you guys are enjoying it so far- don't worry, -things- will happens, -things- I'm fairly sure you guys are all waiting for. I hope you comment and review, anything constructive is welcome. Hope You Enjoyed =)