Aniki
Cursed Ones
The distinct feeling of unwelcome didn't fade despite their older cousin's attempt to try and make the two siblings feel welcome. One thing put Shiro's mind at ease, the fact Keith remained oblivious so far to the dislike their family showed the two, but in particular the youngest. After eating, the grandchildren found themselves dismissed into another room so the adults might discuss important matters. Other parts of the family took their children to their respective A servant set out cushions, and Shiro watched his cousins sit down, making the child feel he and Keith should follow suit.
Keith, however, seemed unwilling to sit still, and Shiro found himself reaching up to grab the back of his younger brother's black kimono to pull him back down, which resulted in a pout from the four-year-old. When Keith didn't attempt to move, he clung to Shiro's side, looking at the other children warily. Finally, Keith's eyes blinked a few times. "Gundam."
Shiro's eyes widened, realizing his younger brother either wished to watch Gundam, or play act. He shook his head. "Gundam's not on today."
"Oh." Keith's eyes widened, indicating he in fact did recognize the time of day to be the time when the two watched the Anime with their mother. His head tilted slightly to the side, his small body now standing beside his brother. "Play?"
The older brother felt his eyes narrow, his mouth twisting into a frown. Kyomi folded her arms across her chest. "Who imagined the family heir and his little brother would be so childish." The words which were meant to sting succeeded. Shiro's hand continued to latch onto the back of Keith's kimono, but found himself unable to look his cousin's in the eye. Kyomi continued. "You both realize that this is a time of mourning, right?"
Keith's ears heard a new word, and turned his head to the girl, excited about learning something new, while Shiro pulled his brother down into his lap, wrapping his arm around the four-year-old's middle, making it so he could hold onto his younger brother lest Keith lost his temper. "What's a time of mourning?"
Peeking from the other side of his brother's dark locks, Shiro saw the looks of confusion on the other children's faces. Shinji's eyes widened. "A time of mourning? That's when someone you care about dies. It's a grieving period."
The dark blue eyes of the four-year-old blinked. "What does that mean?"
"That means they're never, ever going to come back." Ryo folded his small arms as he sat on his cushion.
"Who's not coming back?"
Shiro felt his lips push together, wrapping his arms around Keith's middle tighter. Ayami shook her head. "Don't you understand? It's your mom and dad who aren't coming back."
Keith's mouth opened up, his dark blue eyes blinking a couple of times. His four-year-old mind started to work out what Ayami meant by this, and his lip began to tremble, while tears began to well in his eyes, the confusion still there. "Why?"
Ryo's small eyes nearly bulged out of his eyes, finally acting like a four-year-old. His small finger pointed at Keith. "Curse!"
Shiro felt his throat tightening, remembering the gossip he overheard at the funeral, his head looking down. Shinji's voice, however, strained. "Hey, don't talk such nonsense?"
"Nonsense?" One of the other females for whom Shiro couldn't remember the name of spoke up. "All of the aunties are talking about it. She took Uncle Hiroshi away, making him leave the family. And he…" Her tone of voice made Shiro hold his little brother tighter. "He's a monster. He's not even Uncle Hiroshi's kid!"
Shiro felt his throat tighten, wondering why someone would say such cruel things. Keith's small body trembled as he sat in his older brother's lap. Shiro felt a few hot tears hit his arm. "I'm not a monster."
"Yes you are!" One of the other male cousins spoke up, following the lead of the others. "You're bad luck! You're the reason Uncle Hiroshi's dead! He's not even you're real father!"
Keith leaned over, his entire body shaking as heavy sobs escaped his small frame. Soon, Shiro's little brother began to scream. "I'm not! I'm not!"
Ryo glared at Keith, covering his ears. "Make him stop!"
"What's wrong with him?" Yugane narrowed her eyes. "Even if they're not right about him being a curse, there's definitely something wrong with him."
"He doesn't act like a Shirogane."
"He doesn't have the same father as Shiro-nii."
"What's going on here? You're…" The voice of Shirogane Takeo made Shiro look up, and he saw how his father's brother looked at Keith, his eyes narrowed. "Not this again." Shiro felt his body tremble as his grandfather appeared, and the look on the old man's face said he was displeased. Their grandfather dismissed the other children before coming and sitting across from the two.
"Akira."
"No!" Keith continued to curl up into a little ball.
"You need to behave."
"He's not doing anything wrong!" Shiro's voice strained.
"He's old enough to know he shouldn't throw a tantrum. It's late, so it is time for you two to prepare for bed."
"Can we stay together?" The older of the two brother's felt his face twist up with hope, only to quickly sour upon seeing the old man's face.
"No. The two of you are old enough to sleep in your own rooms." The man watched the two until Keith's sobbing stopped, and the body of the four-year-old relaxed, having cried himself to sleep. The man walked over, kneeling down in front of Shiro. "Let go of your brother, Takashi."
"You're going to take him away." Shiro narrowed his eyes at the man.
"I'm going to put him to bed." The man waited patiently, until Shiro finally loosened his grip, letting his grandfather lift Keith up into his arms. The man stood, before reaching down to take Shiro's hand. The seven-year-old followed after, watching the man stop outside of the room the old man gave to him. The man let go of his hand, before touching his head lightly. "Go to bed as soon as the servants bring you a change of clothes."
"What about K…"
"Akira." The man looked down at him, making Shiro feel uncomfortable, like he'd done something wrong. "I told you. I'm taking him to bed."
Shiro swallowed, a rather large ache lodging itself in his throat, his entire body freezing up as he watched the man walk off with his little brother. His dark eyes closed, a memory of a lilting voice flowing through his head. "Takashi, do you want to hold Akira? Do you like being a big brother?"
Shiro's eyes opened, realizing the old man had left, and the ache grew worse, but he held firm, not knowing whether disobeying would make things better or worse. In Keith's four years of life, however, Shiro found himself unable to remember a time when the small child wasn't without him, their father, or their mother, nor could he remember Keith ever making attachments with anyone else. The other families in the small village avoided them, as if they were the plague, or like their cousin's said, a curse.
Instinctively, Shiro began to walk out of the room, to go after Keith, only to stop when someone called out. "Young master, where are you going?"
Rather apprehensively he turned, noting the female servants. Shiro felt his shoulders tighten, realizing the nightwear they brought was yet another kimono. He attempted to change mostly on his own, still finding himself needing help to tie the eveningwear, before slipping into the bed. "I'll sneak away after a bit, to find Keith."
The child nodded off, his tiredness getting the better of him, waking when something pressed against his back. Shiro's eyes blinked a couple of times, realizing something small managed to climb in with him. Turning his head, Shiro found himself seeing Keith in the moonlight, while the small child's head buried into his shoulders. He felt something wet against his back, and realized Keith had been crying.
