School and study. Study and school. This was Osamu Ichijouji's life. Even walking to school was no excuse not to focus on learning - not with the advanced classes at the prestigious academy he attended bearing down on him. One hand carried his schoolbag, which he only occasionally raised to turn the page of the weighty tome he cradled in his other arm. To the casual observer, he was lost in college-level scientific theory, but his sharp eyes saw everything of his surroundings through his gold-rimmed glasses. From the cars passing by to his little brother following him like a duckling, nothing escaped his notice.
"You're trailing behind, Ken," Osamu said, watching his brother out of the corner of his eye. Only three years apart in age, but they looked very similar in appearance, with eyes colored the same hue as their hair, which was a shade somewhere between indigo and midnight blue. Osamu didn't bother brushing his hair - he barely had the time to bathe every day - which left it an unruly mess that his mother constantly fussed over. Ken's hair was at best rumpled, but it always tried to lay smooth and limp no matter how he tried to mimic Osamu's appearance.
Ken was always there following in Osamu's shadow. It was both annoying and endearing all at once.
"S-sorry," Ken said in response as he quickened his steps, his smaller legs trying to match Osamu's pace. He carried his own heavy bag and wore the same school uniform as Osamu, though naturally much smaller for his frame. While he had the option of wearing one of two uniforms, he always opted out of wearing the more complex black with navy and gold to wear the same uniform as his older brother - a simple, solid gray.
Osamu came to a halt at the crosswalk as the light flashed a warning shade of red. He held his schoolbag out as a barricade for Ken when his brother ran up to meet him to keep Ken from stumbling into the street. "Careful."
Ken blinked at the sight of his brother's bag before he looked up at Osamu. "I-I know..."
Osamu turned the page in his book before lowering his bag. "You've got to watch out for cars. They won't be able to see you until it's too late."
Ken frowned as he held his bag tightly to his chest. "I know... look both ways, wait for the light, use the crosswalk."
Osamu merely grunted, pleased that Ken was keeping that in mind, even if his little brother wasn't as conscious of what was going on around them as he was.
"Hey, Ken!" shouted a cheerful voice that set Osamu's teeth on edge.
Much to Osamu's growing irritation, Ken immediately perked up, turning to face in the direction the voice had come from. A bright smile graced his face, the young boy positively beaming. "Ryo! Good morning!"
Osamu glared through the crowd at the boy his age rushing to meet them, willing the light to change faster so that they could move on quickly. From the flashy black, navy, and gold uniform to the brush of brown hair above that empty-headed smile, everything about Ryo irritated Osamu. Worst of all, however, was the fact that Ken's eyes would always light up whenever Ryo came around. "If it isn't Mr. Lucky himself. Don't you have anyone else to bother?"
Ryo rubbed the sleep from his bright blue eyes before blinking at Osamu, his mouth turning wry. "Good morning to you too, sunshine." He turned to Ken, his expression brightening. "Good morning, Ken. How far did you get last night?"
"I finally got past that one boss!" Ken said, his voice eager as he swung his bag back and forth. "I had to level up all the way to thirty to do it, but I finally won!"
"Awesome!" Ryo cheered. "I haven't got past him yet, but that's because it took me until bedtime to finally find that secret passage to that chest that was driving me crazy." He chuckled ruefully. "At least I know I can beat him when I get there, since all that searching has me up to 32 already."
"Really!? You found it?" Ken asked as he turned to face Ryo with wide eyes. "Could you show me?"
"I'll show you after school at my house," Ryo said cheerfully. "It's pretty tricky to get. Afterward, you can show me how best to beat the boss."
Osamu grunted, trying not to outright growl at Ryo. "Don't you have someone else your own age to prattle on with yet?"
Ryo looked at Osamu and his eyes rolled upward briefly with a grimace before he set his expression back to normal. "Don't you get tired of saying that every time I hang out with Ken?"
Seeing the light finally change, Osamu walked briskly forward. "I'll stop saying it when you finally leave my brother alone."
Ken glanced between Osamu and Ryo anxiously, walking quickly after his older brother. It always bothered him when Osamu started going after Ryo. Ryo was one of the few friends he had that hadn't yet been chased away by his older brother's briskness, and he always worried that the other boy might one day get tired of it. "I-I... it's fine, I don't mind that he's older than me."
"Of course you wouldn't mind, Ken," Osamu said. "That's not the point."
Ken flinched slightly at Osamu's annoyed tone before he frowned. "...Then what is?"
Ryo made sure to keep pace with the two brothers. "Yeah, just what is your problem with me, anyway?"
Osamu bit back the urge to growl and turned the page in his book. "Maybe if you actually took school seriously for once, you wouldn't have to rely on dumb luck to pass tests."
Ryo sighed and shook his head. "I do take it seriously."
"No you don't," Osamu growled. "You goof off all the time and don't study and you brag about it to everyone. No wonder you can't get any friends your own age. Everyone in class hates you."
"I don't brag!" Ryo said, his face turning hot.
"You do with this carefree idiot act of yours while you goof off with games and run around all the time pretending like you don't even realize how much you're rubbing it in everyone's faces," Osamu snarled as he shot Ryo a glare dripping with venom. "Everyone sees through you and everyone hates you for it and the only one falling for it is my little brother because he's too nice to tell you to shove it."
Ken stared at his brother, aghast. "T-that's not true-"
"Keep out of this, Ken," Osamu snapped.
Ken flinched and came to a stop, hugging his bag closely to his chest.
Ryo's expression skewed with distaste before he leaned in to whisper to Ken. "Did something happen, or did Osamu just wake up on the wrong side of the bed again?"
Ken looked at his brother before he leaned towards Ryo, keeping his eyes cautiously on Osamu. "...You scored higher on the last test." His voice was barely a whisper, kept as low as he could to allow Ryo to hear - and his brother to not hear.
"Oh," Ryo muttered before rubbing the back of his neck.
Ken gave his friend a sympathetic look. "He'll... calm down sooner or later." More than likely later, but they both knew that without him having to voice it.
"If you're going to talk about me behind my back," Osamu said with ice in his voice, "you can at least wait until I'm not around to do it."
Ken jumped with a squeak before he clasped his right hand over his mouth, staring at Osamu with wide eyes.
"We're not talking behind your back," Ryo sighed. "We're concerned about why you're in a bad mood."
"That's none of your concern," Osamu snarled. "We're not friends, so don't even pretend you care about me."
Ken paused before he cast his gaze to the sidewalk, hugging his backpack to his chest as he slowed his steps. "...I care..."
Osamu paused for a moment before resuming his pace. "I wasn't talking about you, Ken. I was talking about the barnacle that's always sticking to your side."
Ken glanced up at his brother as he felt a wave of relief and resumed walking. However, the relief quickly turned to guilt as he glanced over to Ryo. Even though Ryo looked more annoyed than angry, he still felt sympathetic that his best friend was the victim of Osamu's ire.
Ryo slowly shook his head as he kept up with the Ichijouji brothers. He considered saying something to smooth things over between him and Osamu, but he had lost count of how many times he had tried and failed to at least make things tolerable between them, if not pleasant. As he gave Ken a helpless shrug, he suspected that he and Osamu would never get along.
Osamu saw the look his brother and rival exchanged and gritted his teeth. What Ken saw in an idiot like Ryo Akiyama, he would never know.
