Chapter 6
Dad's anniversary with Satomi was always the worst time of the year. He always made me get flowers for Satomi, as if she really was my mother. I wanted to dump the flowers in the trash rather than give them to her, but the one time I tried Dad on their second anniversary Dad had grounded me for a month and had made me get another bouquet...With my own allowance. That was the main reason I didn't try that on their next anniversary, but that didn't stop me from wanting to.
Their third anniversary was different. This was their first anniversary since Mom, the mother I'd spent years thinking was dead, had really died. I had Kouichi to go through it with me. He got along with Satomi well, and was willing to at least smile and tell them to have a nice time, even if I wasn't. In fact, he even volunteered to give her the flowers this year. He also came up with the idea of getting a second bouquet for our real mother that I could place on her shrine.
Just under one week after both the anniversary and Takuya's brother Shinya's birthday, which happened to be on the same day, Takuya invited the two of us to watch yet another movie. He'd already dragged us to several before school had started, which I didn't mind as much as I thought I did. Takuya's movie choices were mostly ones I was into, and to a lesser extent Kouichi.
Although that didn't mean his taste in movies was great..
"Tyranno versus Gorri?" I asked irritably. "It sounds like a Godzilla ripoff."
I wasn't too thrilled with Takuya's timing, either. He had called right when we were doing homework. Kouichi was already sitting on the floor with his English textbook in one hand. He tended to prefer the floor when we were both doing homework together, letting me take the desk Dad had bought for him.
"There aren't any real Godzilla movies playing at times we can get to them," Takuya retorted over my phone. "Besides, it won't be just you guys and me. There's a girl in my class that I wanted to show it too..."
"If you were having a date, why didn't you just say so?" I smirked a little. "Unless you want us as chaperones."
Kouichi snorted with amusement and Takuya choked. I imagined him turning a bright red from embarrassment. That was payback from when he had spilled his drink on my jacket the last time we had gone to the movies.
"It's not like that," Takuya finally managed to say. "There's another boy from my school going with us, too."
I somehow managed to avoid making any more jokes about Takuya's love life. "So, why do you want us to come?"
"'Cause I want you guys to have more friends than just me, okay? The girl I'm inviting is the same way...I don't know much about the other guy, but I think he's the same way, too. Besides, don't you like monster movies?"
"Only good ones."
"You never know if you'll like something unless you've seen it, Kouji."
"How about by reading reviews for it?"
"Oh, yeah...Seriously Kouji, I really think you guys need this. Especially Kouichi."
I glanced over at my brother. He had gone back to his homework and was now scowling down at his paper. Did he really need to watch such a stupid movie?
"Why don't you ask him?" Takuya asked as the silence over the phone stretched thin.
"Hey, big brother..." Kouichi looked up, an expression of curiosity on his face. "Want to see Tyranno versus Gorri tomorrow with Takuya and a couple of his friends?"
"Sounds more like your thing than mine." Kouichi tilted his head to one side. "But, I'll go if you're going."
"Well?" I rolled my eyes at Takuya's impatience.
"He says he'll go if I'm going."
"Great. I'll see you guys tomorrow!"
"Who said I was going?" I demanded, but Takuya had already hung up.
"Takuya, evidently." Kouichi flipped through his textbook. "You should probably tell Dad we're going."
I was tempted to tell my brother that he should be the one to tell Dad about our latest trip with Takuya, but he still tended to clam up when he was around our father.
Dad not only approved, he also gave us our allowance earlier than I'd expected so we could afford the movie. I wondered about that as we left home the next morning for the train station. Dad wasn't normally the type to give allowance early. He was probably still trying to make up for both his absence in Kouichi's life and lying to me...And while I hadn't forgiven him for that, seeing him trying to talk to my brother in spite of both of them not knowing anything about how to talk to each other at least made me a bit less likely to think badly of him.
That day wasn't as hot as the day we'd met Takuya, but it was humid. I was tempted to take my jacket off again just to stop sweating for a while. Luckily the subway's air conditioner was actually working so by the time we arrived at the park I was only a bit sweaty.
Takuya was in the park across the street from the theater, fiddling around with his phone.
"Hey! You did come after all. I wasn't sure you would."
"Well, you hung up on me before I told you I would," I replied pointedly.
"I just got a message from the other boy we're supposed to meet, he stopped at the store to get something cool to drink...I should've done that. I haven't heard from Izumi yet...She's the girl I was talking about..."
I noticed a blonde girl walking up behind him, most likely Izumi. Takuya didn't see her and kept on talking.
"I hope she didn't get lost trying to find this place...She isn't very good at asking for directions."
"Or maybe I just follow them better than you do," the girl said from right behind him, making him jump.
"Izumi, don't scare me like that!"
"What? It's not my fault you didn't notice me."
"Whatever." Takuya crossed his arms irritably. "Guys, this is Izumi Orimoto. Izumi, that's Kouichi, and that's Kouji. They're twins."
Normally people's reactions to finding out we're twins is either "I knew it," or "That's so cool." Followed in both cases by an exclamation about how much we look alike. It annoys both of us, but there really isn't much either of us can do about it. Izumi's reaction was different.
"Gemelli, huh? My aunt has a twin sister...Not that I've seen her sister since she married my uncle."
"That doesn't sound like a Japanese word," Kouichi remarked.
"It isn't. Sorry, I recently came back from an extended trip to Italy, so I'm still adjusting." She turned to Takuya "Have you heard from Junpei yet?"
"I just got a message from him, he stopped at the store to get a cold drink. He'll be here soon."
"I hope so...I'd hate to miss the beginning of the movie because we had to wait for him."
Luckily we didn't have to wait for more than two minutes before a slightly out of shape boy a bit older than the rest of us jogged over, breathing heavily and almost plowing into Kouichi before he came to a stop.
"I-I made it, Izumi!" He gasped. He then paused to take a long gulp from the drink he was holding. "Man, I needed that!"
"Junpei, you didn't have to run. We've still got ten minutes!" Izumi's exasperation was obvious. "And you really need to look where you're going. You almost ran over..." She looked at my brother. "It's Kouichi, right?"
"Sorry." Junpei sounded a bit better after the drink. He then looked at me and Kouichi. "Hey, you two sure look alike. Are you twins?"
I rolled my eyes. Kouichi just smiled politely and nodded.
"Thought so...I'm Junpei Shibuyama. Nice to meet you."
"Kouichi..."
"Kouji." I wasn't really in the mood to talk, but for Kouichi's sake I could at least introduce myself.
"Kouichi and Kouji...At least it's easy to know which one's which." Junpei turned to Izumi. "Oh, I got something for you too, Izumi." He suddenly produced another cold bottled drink out of seeming thin air. I suspected he'd had it up his sleeve, but didn't say anything.
"Junpei, you didn't need to..." Izumi turned bright red.
"Trying to get on Izumi's good side again, huh Junpei?" Takuya elbowed Junpei in the ribs.
"I thought she might be thirsty!" Junpei also turned red. "There isn't anything wrong with that, is there?"
"Of course not." Izumi opened the bottle and drank some. "Delicioso! Thanks, Junpei."
"He'll be offering you a wedding ring next..." Takuya's rather rude comment was cut off by Izumi storming in his direction, bottle still in hand. He, having enough sense to see that he'd gone too far this time, ducked behind me.
"Izumi, I was just joking...Calm down! Kouji, help me out here!"
"Why should I help you? This isn't any of my business."
"Because you're my friend! My best friend!" Takuya dodged around to my front as Izumi darted around me. I had no idea what she was trying to do to him, but I didn't want to be involved.
"And you're the one with the big mouth that set her off in the first place."
Izumi tried catching Takuya again, causing him to run behind me again, this time putting his hands on my shoulders in an effort to keep me between him and Izumi.
"Let go of me, you idiot!" My fingers itched to throw him to the ground, but I didn't...Mostly because it wasn't worth the effort.
"But she'll get me if I do!" Takuya managed to turn me as Izumi tried again. Just as I was about to actually give in to the desire to throw him, a new sound caused us all to stop and turn to Kouichi. He was doubled over laughing loudly.
"S-Sorry." Kouichi managed to say. "You...You should see your faces..."
"Well, I was only going to tickle him." Izumi picked up her hat which had fallen on the ground during the chase.
"We should get tickets for the movie." Junpei finished his drink, and began looking for a place to recycle the bottle. I glanced over at Kouichi, who had mostly recovered from his laughter. I hadn't really heard him laugh like that since the day we had moved his stuff. Oh, I heard him giggle, snort or guffaw every now and then, but actually laughing like that...Maybe Takuya had a point about him needing this.
The movie was pretty much everything I predicted it would be, a third-rate monster movie with the plot pretty much ripped from the Godzilla movies. The only thing that happened during the movie itself was during one particularly suspenseful scene I glanced at Kouichi to see his eyes were closed. Was he scared? I remembered his words from that time he was sick. "I was scared of a lot of things when I was a little kid," he had said. I leaned over to him.
"Scared, big brother?"
"Only this scene. Everything else isn't too bad."
"If you need to take a break just ask me, all right?"
"I know. I can just close my eyes, too." He paused for a moment, then added "Thank you, Kouji."
"Are all monster movies like that?" Izumi wondered as we left the theater an hour later.
"No, that one was pretty bad." I told her. "If you want a good one, watch the original Godzilla someday."
"We've got it at home, if you ever want to." Kouichi absent-mindedly ran a hand through his hair. He was right, we did have the original at home along with some of the better sequels. I wasn't sure if he'd ever watched any of the Godzilla movies, but I had a suspicion he hadn't. I made a mental note to correct that when we had the time.
"There's an idea," Takuya flung an arm around Kouichi's shoulders, causing my brother's eyes to drop to the ground. "We can all go to your place and watch it someday."
"I don't think Dad would object..." Kouichi glanced up at me. I had the sinking feeling that I'd be seeing these people next weekend.
"You guys should ask your Dad if we can." Takuya had that idiotic grin back on his face. "Let me know what he says, then I'll let Junpei and Izumi know."
"Or we could just exchange phone numbers so they can let us all know directly." Izumi held up a cell phone.
"Or we could do that." Takuya pointed to her cell phone.
"I haven't been able to see any movies like that," Izumi remarked as we went through the process of turning on phones (All of our phones were off for the movie, but Kouichi had, as usual, just left his off.) "Italy isn't known for monster movies...Most of the famous Italian movies are American Westerns."
"That's like cowboys, isn't it?" Junpei asked.
"Sort of...They used Italian actors to play Mexicans, since they looked the part. The Americans call them 'Spaghetti Westerns.'"
"Spa-Spaghetti?" Junpei struggled with the word.
"It's food, a kind of pasta. I haven't had any since we left Italy. Maybe I could make some for you guys."
"I-I'd like that." Junpei was blushing again.
"Yeah, we can all get together at Kouichi and Kouji's place and have s...Spaggu..." Takuya also couldn't pronounce the foreign word.
"Spaghetti?" Izumi giggled.
"Yeah, that stuff...If your parents agree." He looked at me.
"Don't get your hopes up, he might say 'no.'"
"So? Then maybe we can watch the movie at my place. And have spagedy."
I looked at Kouichi. He was looking at the ground with the polite smile he used for people he didn't know very well. He wasn't the kind to make friends easily, although he was more likely to than I was. Takuya was right about him needing friends...Well, who was I to deny him a chance to be happy?
"I think our Dad will let us do this," I said. "He'll probably be out working, anyways."
Izumi and Junpei said their goodbyes after that, since they had other things to do, and then it was down to Takuya, Kouichi and me.
"I wonder what we should do now?" Takuya wondered as we walked down the street. "Dinner's not for three hours, maybe we can go to the arcade?"
"There's a bookstore across the street." Kouichi had that wistful look on his face. "I want to see if they have the next book in a series I'm reading...The library's copy is taken out."
"Books? Aw..." Takuya stopped when I glared at him. "Okay."
Kouichi being Kouichi, the stop at the bookstore took longer than it would have if it were just me and Takuya. We waited patiently, or in Takuya's case impatiently for him to finish.
"How long's it normally take him to pick a book?" Takuya grumbled, leaning against a nearby bookshelf.
"No idea. Big brother likes to go to the library to just hang out there, he can take hours...But I think he's making it fast for our sake."
"I can hear you guys..." Kouichi's voice was muffled by the bookshelf. He sounded exasperated though. "I'm nearly done."
Takuya and I exchanged glances, then he got that goofy grin again.
"Sorry, Kouichi!"
My brother came around the bookshelf a minute later, carrying not one but two books.
"D'you have the money for that?" I asked. "I can get the rest if you don't..."
"I'm okay. I don't spend a lot...And this second one's from the used shelf. It's cheaper."
Kouichi paid for his books and we went on to the arcade. Not that the arcade was much of an improvement on the bookstore. Kouichi just leaned against the wall and read his book while Takuya repeatedly beat me in some fighting game he insisted I play. Seriously, what do people see in those things?
By the time I persuaded Takuya that I was not going to spend another yen losing a game to him, the sky had turned an ominous shade of cloudy and an increasing amount of rain was coming down.
"Aw man..." Takuya groaned. "My house isn't far from here. You want to come over until it blows over?"
"We can just stay here, you know." I glared out at the rain. Why did I have to go with Takuya after the movie ended? I could be at home practicing guitar or showing my brother the Godzilla movie.
"I think it's gonna take a while to settle down. C'mon!" Before I could object, Takuya grabbed my arm and pulled me out into the rain. We were both instantly soaked, as was Kouichi whose only choices were to either stay there until the rain stopped or to follow us. After a few minutes of running, I began recognizing the neighborhood as Kouichi and I had been there a week before for his brother's birthday party. Finally we stopped at the door of Takuya's house, pausing a bit for Kouichi to catch up.
"You okay, big brother?" I asked as he leaned against the wall to catch his breath. Kouichi wasn't quite as out of shape as Junpei had been earlier, but he definitely preferred walking to running.
"Y-yeah." He was hunched over his books, in the hope that they wouldn't get wet. It didn't quite work, I noticed as he pulled his books out and looked at them in dismay. He hadn't thought to get a bag for them...I guessed he assumed that he'd be home by the time the rain started, like I had.
Takuya had already opened the door and was taking off his shoes. I could see his brother Shinya sitting on the floor in front of a TV playing some video game, or at least he was until we got in.
"Big brother, you're back!"
"Well of course, little brother. I live here!" Takuya took off his hat and tossed it on to the couch.
"Takuya, how was the movie?" His mother came down the stairs and stared at us. "You're soaked! Takuya, you could've just stayed in the theater."
"Well, the rain was gonna get worse, so I figured it'd be easier just to run." Takuya said rubbing the back of his head. His mother shook her head.
"Easier for you maybe, but your friends? I'll just get some towels for you." She ducked into a nearby closet and came out with several towels. We took them gratefully.
"What are you playing?" Takuya put his towel around his neck and wandered over to look at the TV. "Bolt Blasters? Aw, that's my game."
"You weren't here. Besides, you were playing Wonder Kid yesterday, and that's my game." Shinya glared up at him. Takuya glared back.
"I was only playing it to see if I could beat it. You couldn't even get past the first level!"
"Yes I can!"
"No you can't!"
"Can, too!"
"Hey!" Their mother cut through the loud argument. "We have guests, if you didn't notice. If you're done drying off, why don't you play that board game they gave Shinya for his birthday?"
They looked at each other.
"It's in my room. I'll get it!" Shinya took off up the stairs. I found myself exchanging glances with Kouichi. Compared to those two, we weren't that bad...But we hadn't known each other for quite as long...And neither of us were as hardheaded as Takuya was! I wondered if we'd have been more like them if our parents had stayed together...Or if Mom had somehow survived.
The next hour was spent in the living room playing Shinya's board game, and waiting for the rain to stop...But it didn't. As a matter of fact, the game was ended when a loud boom of thunder echoed through the house.
"There isn't gonna be lightning, is there?" Shinya asked with a worried expression.
"Probably," I sighed. "That usually comes with thunder, doesn't it?"
Shinya's eyes went wide in sudden terror. "I don't wanna be zapped by lightning!"
"Shinya, you can relax. We're inside. The worst that can happen is that the power goes out." Takuya picked up the dice. "It's my turn, right?"
"No, the worst that can happen is being stuck in a ferris wheel with you." I smirked at him.
"I don't want the power to go out!" Shinya protested. "The last time that happened my night light went out and I couldn't sleep!"
"You were sleeping just fine when I got back." Takuya threw him an exasperated look. "I don't see why you need a night light, anyways. Unless you're trying to get rid of the boogeyman in the closet..."
"M-my closet? Mom!" Shinya got up and ran away, leaving the two of us with a baffled Takuya.
"What did I say?"
I buried my face in my hands. "Do us all a favor and just shut up."
"Oh. I'd better go tell him I was just joking before he gets Mom on me." And he too got to his feet and left, leaving me and Kouichi as the only people in the room.
There was another crack of thunder. I saw Kouichi twitch slightly as it died off.
"Are you scared?"
"No, just startled. It's different...I tend to jump at unexpected noises a lot."
"Oh."
Kouichi looked down at the game. "Are they coming back? Maybe we should pick this up."
"Let's just leave it for now. Takuya's such an idiot!"
"Yeah..." Kouichi's gaze focused on the rain outside as thunder rolled through the air again. "It's really coming down out there...You should call home and tell Satomi where we are."
"Why don't you call? It's your home, too."
He blinked at me. "Yeah, I know it is...But, I...It doesn't feel like home. Mom's not there."
I put a sympathetic hand to his shoulder.
"I know I'll have to get used to it. I will, eventually...It...I..." Kouichi faltered a little before recovering. "I don't like talking on the phone much, anyway. You're better at it than I am."
"I'm not that much better..." I pulled out my phone. The only adult at home would be Satomi, since Dad would be on his way home from work. So of course she was the one who picked up
"Hello?"
"Satomi, it's Kouji...We're at Takuya's place."
"That's good to hear...I've heard the rain's supposed to keep up like this until past midnight."
"Lovely."
"You said 'we're,' Kouichi's with you, right?"
"Yeah. You want to talk to him?"
"No, I wanted to make sure he was there. Let me know if anything comes up or if you two need a ride back."
"Right." I hung up.
"What did Satomi say?" Kouichi asked.
"It's pretty much gonna rain like this all night."
"It sure looks like it will." He glanced out the window again.
"You gonna be all right, big brother?"
"Yeah...Sorry. Every time I think of home, it's never your place...It's always our old one."
"It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault."
"Hmm." He looked down at the game board. "Wonder how much longer it'll take them to get back?"
As if on cue, the loud sound of thumping feet heralded the return of Takuya.
"Mom says that dinner is nearly ready, and you guys are welcome to join us." He looked down at the half-finished game. "Oh, I forgot about that...We'd better put this away before Dad steps on it. He's gonna be back from work soon."
It didn't take us too long to put the game back in the box and the box on the table, out from underfoot. Then we followed Takuya into the kitchen where his mother was making dinner. Shinya was already sitting at the table, using crayons to fill in a coloring book.
"Would you like some ramen?" Takuya's mother asked. "I've got some chicken in the freezer too, if you want something else."
I want mochi!" Shinya called.
"Shinya, that's for dessert. You gotta eat your dinner first." Takuya sat down at the table next to him. Kouichi and I sat across from them. A few minutes later, the food was done and we began eating. Then just after that Takuya's father got home.
"Hi, Dad!" Shinya called cheerfully as his father entered the kitchen.
"Dad! You remember Kouichi and Kouji, don't you? From Shinya's birthday?" Takuya suddenly realized he had food in his mouth and quickly gulped it down. "We got stuck in the rain, so I brought them here."
"Hey, I remember you guys." His father said. "You're the twins, aren't you?"
"Yeah." Kouichi looked down at his ramen. Takuya's father took a full bowl from the stove and sat down at the table.
"Cool. I forgot chopsticks..." He got up to get them, only to meet his wife who had beaten him to it.
"I swear, you'd forget your head if it wasn't screwed on." Takuya's mother shook her head in exasperation and handed him the chopsticks.
"It's screwed on? Where are the screws?" Takuya's father comically felt his head, making Shinya laugh. Takuya joined him after a moment. Something that wouldn't have happened with my father...Not that Dad was serious all the time, but the few times he tried to be funny, it would fall flat with me or Kouichi. Satomi would be the only one who laughed.
After dinner we sat around and played video games. Or rather Takuya and Shinya sat around playing video games. Kouichi curled up on the couch behind them with one of the books he'd bought and I sat down next to him. Eventually my phone rang. This time it was Dad.
"Kouji, you're still at Takuya's place, right?"
"Yeah, did you think we were going out into the thunderstorm?"
Dad ignored my sarcasm. "Satomi says it's going to be like this for the rest of the night. So I can drive over there and pick you boys up whenever you're ready...I just need directions"
"Right." I nudged Kouichi to pull him out of the book. "Dad says he can pick us up whenever we're ready."
"Oh. That's good."
"You ready to go, big brother?"
"Sure, if you are."
"You guys going home?" Takuya paused the video game. "It's still raining out."
"Our Dad says he can pick us up whenever we're ready. He needs directions though."
"Mom's better at it than I am...Hey, Mom!" Takuya got up and stomped up the stairs. He stomped back down a few seconds later, followed by his mother who moved at a slightly less breakneck pace.
"Your father needs directions?" She asked. I nodded. "He's on the phone, right? Let me talk to him."
I handed her my phone.
"Hi, you're Kouichi and Kouji's father, right?" She paused. "I was wondering if instead of dragging you out at night like this, perhaps the boys would like to stay over for the night? It would save you the hassle of trying to find this place, and they can borrow Takuya's pajamas." There was another pause, then: "I'll ask them. Kouichi, Kouji, would you like to stay here for the night?"
We looked at each other. True, our home was a lot quieter than the Kanbara home, but I didn't really want to go out in the rain again, even if it was for a few seconds.
"I'd like to," Kouichi said before I could. "I don't want Dad to go driving around at night in an unfamiliar place, and if I go out again my books will get wet." There wasn't anything else I could add to that, so I simply nodded.
"Really? They're staying here? Great!" Takuya threw his arms around both of us, causing me to yelp.
"Let go of me, idiot!"
"Here, your father wants to talk to you again." Takuya's mother handed me the phone again. I managed to wriggle out of Takuya's grip long enough to grab my phone.
"Dad?"
"Kouji, you guys are gonna stay at Takuya's place, right?"
"Right."
"Is your homework done?"
"Mine is...Big brother, Dad wants to know if your homework's done."
"All except the math, it's not due until after lunch...I can do it tomorrow."
I repeated Kouichi's words to Dad.
"Okay," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
I hung up the phone then turned to see Takuya and Shinya arguing. Again.
"No fair, how come big brother's friends get to stay tonight? Why can't Tomoki come over?"
"We had Tomoki over last week. Now it's my turn, little brother."
A sudden boom of thunder silenced them both.
"Is the power gonna go out?" Shinya asked in a small voice.
"I hope not." Takuya walked over to the window and looked out. "Yeesh, it's really coming down out there...Good thing you guys are staying here."
"Yeah..." I glanced at Kouichi, who had gone back to his book. At least he didn't have to worry about the books getting wet.
There was another crack of thunder and then the lights went out.
"The power's out! Mom!"
"Shinya, calm down. Give me a moment to find the flashlight." There was some movement and I could sort of see Takuya's mother trying to feel her way around.
"You guys okay?" Their father felt his way down the stairs. "Where's the flashlight?"
"Found it!" I could see the beam of a flashlight coming from the kitchen. The two adults both joined us in the living room.
"So, now what?" Shinya asked. "When's the power coming back on?"
"Soon, I hope." Kouichi's statement was punctuated by a burst of lightning and another crash of thunder.
"What do we do?" Shinya whined, leaning closer to his mother and the flashlight.
"The best thing we can do in a blackout..." Takuya snatched the flashlight out of his mother's hands and dramatically held it up to his face. "Tell ghost stories!"
I felt Kouichi suddenly tense up against me. What was that idiot thinking?
"No!" Shinya yelled before I could object. In the glow of the flashlight, I could see him bury himself into his mother's side. "Mom!"
"Takuya!" His mother grabbed the flashlight back. "No ghost stories!"
"Aw, c'mon! I just picked up some good ones..."
"No, thank you!" Kouichi had a slight tremor to his voice, and Takuya's eyes widened as he realized what he'd been about to do.
"Oops. Sorry, Kouichi. No ghost stories..."
That was when the lights came back on, causing all of us to sigh in relief.
"Well, that was some fun family bonding," Takuya's father said. "Let's do it again sometime!"
Takuya grabbed a nearby pillow from the couch and threw it at him. It missed by a mile.
"And this is why you'll never make goalie!" His father called, then bolted for the stairs before Takuya could try again.
"I'm not a goalie, I'm a striker!" Takuya crossed his arms in annoyance. "Geez..."
"Takyua, don't throw pillows at your father." His mother bent over to pick up the pillow before tossing it onto the couch again, then went to put the flashlight away before heading back upstairs herself.
"What? He throws pillows at me all the time..." Takuya paused as he noticed Shinya turning on the game again. "Hey Shinya it was my turn to play."
"No it wasn't!"
I scowled irritably. They never stopped, did they? I thanked whatever divine power had given me a quiet guy like Kouichi for a brother.
"Hey Takuya."
"What?"
"I want to hear your ghost stories...Is there any place we can go where Shinya and Kouichi won't have to hear them?"
Kouichi had a look of gratitude on his face, no doubt relieved that he wouldn't have to hear it. That was good. I didn't want him to break down again.
"Well, there's my room. I've even got a spare flashlight in there, so we won't have to borrow Mom's..." Takuya flashed that idiotic grin at me. "Let's go!"
Once we were in Takuya's room, he dug through a pile of assorted stuff until he found a flashlight, then paused to look at me.
"You weren't telling me that because you wanted me and Shinya to stop arguing, were you?"
"No. I like ghost stories. It's just that I didn't want to hear them with Kouichi around."
"Really? I thought you wouldn't because your Mom died and all."
"Kouichi was the one who lived with Mom. Dad told me she'd died years ago...He was trying to keep me from trying to see her."
"Aw, that's awful!" Takuya moved to sit down on his bed.
"I wish I'd known her enough to mourn her...It's like mourning for a stranger. I can't feel it in the same way that big brother feels it...Mom's death didn't hurt me in the same way it hurt him."
"Well, maybe it didn't hurt you in the same way, but you're definitely feeling it. Anyway, why don't you sit down and we can start?" Takuya got up to turn off the lights and put on the flashlight.
That was how we spent the last hours before Takuya's father knocked on his door to inform us that it was bedtime. Kouichi was with him, his books still in hand. Takuya was happy to lend us his spare pajamas, although Kouichi was still too shy to change into them with us. He slipped into the bathroom to change.
"There's more space to sleep in the living room," Takuya's father pulled out two sets of spare blankets from a nearby closet. "The couch is probably the next best thing we have to a bed, there's enough space there that at least one of you can take it." He gave the couch a thoughtful glance. "Maybe both of you, if you try sleeping at either end."
"I'll take the floor." As fond as I was of Kouichi, I didn't like the thought of sharing a slightly too thin couch with him. Besides, I was better at sleeping in places other than a bed or futon than he was. Takuya's father shrugged, and put the thicker set of blankets on the floor. Kouichi settled down on the couch the instant it had blankets, no doubt it was that time of night when his brain started shutting down.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Takuya called, and thumped up the stairs presumably to bed. His father followed him after turning off the light, and we were alone again.
"You gonna be okay, big brother?" I asked. "It's darker here than it is at home."
"I'm fine. You're here too, and besides...It's not thundering anymore."
He was right, I realized. The thunder had subsided.
We both lay there for another minute.
"Kouji?"
"Yeah?"
"I...I didn't know you liked ghost stories. There's still so much I don't know about you."
"That goes for me, too. I wonder what would've happened if Mom and Dad hadn't gotten divorced?"
He rolled over, going by how much more muffled his voice became, I guessed he'd rolled over to face the back of the couch.
"I think about that all the time...But if they hadn't gotten divorced, we wouldn't be here...We wouldn't have met Takuya."
"Hmm..." I looked up at the ceiling, invisible in the darkness. "You're right."
"I know we shouldn't be thinking about the what might have beens...I mean, we have enough problems dealing with what actually happened...That doesn't stop me from thinking about it."
There wasn't really anything I could say to that. I struggled for a minute, trying to find something to say.
"I can at least concentrate on here and now most of the time," my brother continued. "It's mainly when I find out things like you liking ghost stories happen...That's when I start wondering what we'd be like if we grew up together."
"Well, we'd be a lot different, that's for sure." I turned my head to look in the direction of his voice. "For one thing, you'd be more comfortable changing clothing when I'm around."
He snorted with laughter.
"Seriously, big brother...I like you just the way you are, now. Can you imagine if we turned out like Takuya and his brother?"
"I think we'd have driven Mom crazy, if we were like that..." Kouichi's voice faltered a little.
"Dad, too. He's not the noisy type, like Takuya's father."
"Yeah, you're right."
We were both silent for a few minutes.
"I'm...I'm glad we turned out this way, too." Kouichi rolled over to face me again, going by the fact that his voice got a bit louder. "You're a good brother, Kouji...I'm glad I met you."
"Really?"
"Well, yeah..." I imagined him with that sweet smile at that point. "Who else would wait for me in the bookstore? Or listen to me as I ramble..." He yawned.
"Or keep you awake past your bedtime?" I suggested pointedly.
"Yeah, that too..."
"Goodnight, big brother." I closed my eyes.
As I drifted off to sleep, the last thing I heard was Kouichi's soft chuckle.
"Goodnight...Little brother."
Author's note: Once again this one took longer than I thought to write (Darnit, why must Pokemon have such addictive games? Why can't Digimon have something similar?)...But it also turned out longer than I thought it would. Go figure.
About the only other thing worth mentioning is Izumi's Italian phrase, "Gemelli", which according to the translator is Italian for "Twins."