Chapter 2 – Some Dreams Die
Ryousuke raised his glass of water to his lips and drank as he continued to listen to Keisuke as he talked to his parents about all those long practices.
"That's the result of hard work. You can't get anywhere if you don't work." Fujimaro said nodding.
Ryousuke lowered his glace to the table and stared at his unfinished food.
"Our sons have always worked very hard dear." Emi said smiling. Ryousuke's diminished appetite had not gone unnoticed by her.
"Well yes, but there is always room to do better." Fujiwara told his wife.
"Ryousuke always tells us that too." Keisuke said smiling as he turned to his brother.
Ryousuke simply nodded and pushed out his chair. He picked up his plate and looked at his father, "Are you finished Otousan?"
"Hai." He picked up his plate and bowl and passed it to his eldest son.
Ryousuke turned to his mother.
"Thank you, Ryousuke." She said giving him a smile.
He nodded and looked at his brother who was serving himself some more noodles. He took a step back and bowed lightly, "Please excuse me." He said politely. He waited for his father to nod before he turned and walked out of the dining room.
"So when will you be replying to them?" Emi asked curiously as she turned back to look at Keisuke.
"Aniki sent them a reply with my cell number. I'm still waiting for them to call."
"This doesn't mean you can relax, Keisuke." Fujimaro said.
"I know, dad." He smiled and ate some more noodles.
Emi glanced towards the door. Ryousuke had not yet returned.
Ryousuke had made his way to his room and packed his school bag. He moved towards the closet and pulled out a warm jacket and slipped it on before grabbing his bag and car keys. He stepped out of his room, closed the door and made his way to the foyer. By the front doors, he slipped on his loafers and left the house, closing the door silently behind him. The cool night air filled his senses and wiped his thoughts from his mind for a split second. He shut his eyes briefly to relish in the feeling before he re-opened them and went to his car. He climbed in started the engine and took off towards Akagi. He really needed to find his focus. The quiet solitude he knew he would find there, called out to him and he couldn't wait to get there.
Keisuke excused himself from the table, "I'm going to go practice on Akagi." He told his parents and left the room.
"Be careful!" Emi called after him.
"I will!" He called back from around the corner.
Fujimaro sipped his sake, "He'll be fine." He said casually knowing his wife worried everytime the boys left to go race or practice.
"Aa." She turned to him, "You know, you didn't have to remind Ryousuke to work harder. He knows. You could have just let him relax tonight. We were celebrating."
"I didn't say that he should go study right now. And I was referring to both of them."
Emi sighed. She knew her husband had said that comment with Ryousuke in mind. He was constantly pushing him, expecting the absolute best out of him. She wondered how much more he could take, "He didn't eat much tonight."
"I noticed."
"And you don't think you're pushing too much?"
"If he's going to be a doctor, he's going to have to be able to cope with a lot. I'm only preparing him."
"Even so, a day off would have been good for him Fuji. He looks tired."
Her husband sighed, "He'll be able to have a day off when he becomes a successful doctor."
Emi frowned, "You keep pushing him like this and you're going to lose him." She said softly.
"Ryousuke is strong. He'll be okay." Fujimaro said shrugging but deep down in his heart, his wife had planted a small seed of doubt that was slowly germinating.
Keisuke re-entered the dining room, "Okay, I'm off." He waved and turned about again. Suddenly he stopped and turned to his parents, "Oh, I forgot. Aniki is gone too. His laptop and books are gone, so I guess he went to the library or something. Anyway, bye!" he turned and disappeared again.
Emi glanced at her husband. He was sipping his tea. She shook her head and sighed before getting to her feet to clear the table.
As soon as she left the dinning room, Fujimaro lowered his cup to the table. Was he pushing Ryousuke too hard? His son couldn't afford to burn out now…
Keisuke frowned and parked his car beside his brother's white FC. What was he doing here? He stepped out the car. The FC was empty. Where was he? He walked towards the guardrail and looked about the area. Suddenly his eyes caught sight of a movement and small bright square shaped light. He stepped over the guardrail and walked over to a set of trees.
"Aniki?" He called as he approached.
"Coming to practice?" His brother asked without turning to him.
"Hai." He sat down beside his brother, "What are you doing here Aniki?"
"Studying."
"Do you want to take a break and practice with me for a while?"
"Not today."
Keisuke sighed, "You study too much Aniki." His brother didn't reply, "Aniki?"
"Yes Keisuke."
"Thank you for helping me with my driving. I mean you taught me so much."
Ryousuke stopped and turned to look at his younger brother. He offered him a small but genuine smile, "You don't have to thank me Otouto, you're my brother." He would have done anything for his brother, "I have a lot of work. Why don't you go start your practice?"
Keisuke smiled and nodded, "Okay. I'll come see you when I'm done."
Ryousuke nodded and watched as his brother got to his feet and went back to his FD. He winced as the sound of the finely tuned rotary engine floated over to his ears. He turned away shutting his eyes as he listened to the sound of the FD getting further and further away…
"Aniki! Aniki! Aniki!" Keisuke yelled as he burst into his brother's room the next morning and rushed over to where his brother was sitting working at his desk.
Ryousuke turned to him, "They called?"
Keisuke nodded, "I'm going to meet up with them on Friday! This Friday! At the Nihonkai Maze Circuit in Niigata!"
Ryousuke smiled, "Congratulations Keisuke."
"Thanks Aniki! I'm going to go tell mom and dad before they leave!" He rushed out of the room again.
Ryousuke was so happy for his brother. He couldn't wait to see Keisuke up against some of the best in the world. He turned back to all the books on his desk and his smile faded. He turned to glance at the clock, it was about time he got ready to go as well. He gathered his books and his laptop and placed them in his bag before getting ready to leave for school.
He walked to the main floor of the house and stepped into the kitchen to bid his parents good morning.
"Ryousuke, good morning. Did Keisuke tell you?" Emi asked smiling.
He nodded.
"It's great isn't it?"
"Hai."
"I can't wait until we go on Friday Aniki." Keisuke said turning to his brother.
"We?" Fujimaro repeated lowering the file he was studying to look at Keisuke and Ryousuke.
"Yeah," Keisuke turned to his brother, "You're going to come with me right Aniki? You have to come with me, I expect you to be there. It makes sense."
Ryousuke stared at his brother. Keisuke's words touched him deeply and he was honoured. He glanced over at their father. His fathers overwhelming presence quickly overshadowed any thought of possibly going to Niigata.
"Keisuke, your brother can't go. He has school." Fujimaro said sternly, "Maybe after his classes he can visit you."
The smile fell from Keisuke's face and he turned to his older brother, "Aniki?"
Ryousuke smiled, "I'll try and come on Friday, Keisuke."
His brother smiled again and turned to look at their mother and father again, "This is going to be great!"
Emi and Fujimaro returned his smile.
"Excuse me." Ryousuke said politely. He glanced at his father who nodded ever so slightly and Ryousuke backed a step before turning around and leaving.
Keisuke turned and watched his brother's retreating back. When he was out of sight he lowered his eyes to the spotless tile floor, "Hey Dad, would it be so bad if Ryousuke missed one day of school?" He asked softly.
Fujimaro sighed, "I know you really want him to be there with you Keisuke, but school is very important. Medical school is not easy, you can miss a lot of important things in just one day."
"Aa…" He raised his head and walked over to the kitchen window. His brother had just climbed into his car. It idles there a moment before it backed out and left.
"Don't worry Keisuke, I'm sure he'll come see you right after school." Emi said trying to bring back his happy mood.
"It's almost seven, we have to go." Fujimaro said getting to his feet. He looked at his youngest son, "What are you going to do today Keisuke?"
"I was going to go to Akagi for a few hours."
His father nodded his approval and his mother smiled.
"Be careful."
"I know. I will." Keisuke said and watched as his parents walked out of the kitchen and left him standing there alone. He couldn't get the image of Ryousuke's eyes holding his when he had told him he expected his brother to come to Niigata. There was something in that look. He wanted to see it again. It had faded when his brother had glanced over at their father.
Keisuke sighed. He had always thought Ryousuke was the gifted one his father expected the world from, but when he looked back on their lives, he realized that his brother had never had it easy. Their father had always expected a lot from both of them, but whenever a mistake was made by either of them, his brother was always the one who seemed to be punished more severely. Because Ryousuke was older, he was supposed to be a good example for his younger brother. Ryousuke should have known better, they would say.
Through it all, his brother had always stuck up for him, even taking the blame for things he had done. One memory came to mind.
He had been playing a game on the computer and he had known that food and drinks were not allowed anywhere but in the kitchen. His parents weren't home, so he figured they would never know. Well that had been a mistake. He had gotten so excited that he knocked over his glass of juice and spilled it all over the keyboard and down onto the white carpet. He had tried to clean it, but there really wasn't much a ten year old boy could do.
Scared of what his parents would do to him he rushed up to his room and started to pack his school bag with the things a boy his age considered to be his most prized possessions. Ryousuke had walked into his room then and had curiously asked what he was doing. Keisuke had frantically told him what had happened as he broke down in tears. He was so scared of what their father would do to him…
'Don't worry Keisuke. I'll talk to Otousan. He won't be mad. Trust me.' He had said smiling gently at him. His brother's confidence and smile had calmed him.
When their parents had come home, Ryousuke told him to stay in his room while he went and spoke to them. So he did. Later when he came down to diner, he found everything to be normal. But as soon as diner had been over, he was shocked to see his brother clean the table and do the dishes by hand instead of using the dishwasher. He had remained silent.
That night, Keisuke found Ryousuke in the study doing his homework. He was typing away on a very old manual typewriter. On his left was the paper he was trying to copy and on the floor under the table was the garbage can full of used paper. He watched as his big brother typed a few words before the page would be pulled out from the typewriter tossed into the garbage and a new one loaded. One mistake and he had to start all over again. He had never said a word, nor had he turned one angry or frustrated gaze onto him. No… His brother had taken the blame and had suffered for him…
Keisuke shook the thought away. When was the last time he had seen his brother truly happy? The race against Takumi on Akagi… That had been so long ago… He had been happy then… He couldn't think of another time…
"I'll make you happy Aniki. I promise!" He said softly to himself, "I'll make sure you're happy… No matter what…"
Author's note:
Hmm. Keisuke really sounds like a child... Might need to redo considering he seems to have matured in the stage 4 eps.
Anyhoo... Needed a break from 'The R.R.H."
Cheers,
CelicaChick.