Acacia

Chapter VI: Acacia

After the girl left, he dragged his feet down the halls and paced around until he lost track of time. Stretching, he looked around the empty house and sighed, it felt too big for a single person, for two people even. It wasn't as noticeable in the day but after the sun set, he couldn't help but wish there were more people. Then suddenly, the door opened, causing his gaze to shift towards the entrance, "ah, Satoshi, you're back early."

The blue haired boy shrugged, "there was nothing to do at work so I left. Did you eat yet?"

Krad shook his head and made his way down the stairs, "No, I was just walking around to clear my head."

The younger boy furled his brows slightly as he made his way towards the kitchen, "you were walking around the house? Why not walk outside? …whatever, something you want to talk about?"

A shrug, "not really…I just never thought of my art as angelic or anything before."

"I suppose everyone sees things differently."

The blond smiled wistfully as he sat down and sprawled himself over the table. Watching the younger boy cook, "you're probably right, especially since she's ill, hm? Hey Sato, would you like me to draw you some time? I'll do it free of charge."

Satoshi wrinkled his nose as he threw a glance back at his brother, "no thanks, I'd rather not know what I'm going to look like after I die."

Krad laughed, "Didn't you just say that everyone sees things differently? Well if you really don't like thoughts of angels and heaven, I'm sure I can make it darker…add some black and red to it…would that be more appealing to you? Maybe I can draw horns on you too and flames in the background."

Sapphire eyes narrowed, "what an excellent idea. And how about I burn your food to match the theme?"

The elder held his hands up in defeat, "joking, Sato."

Satoshi snorted and turned his attention back to the stove, grumbling as he did, "Why am I cooking anyways? You were just walking around while I was at work."

The blond shrugged, "I thought you were cooking because you were hungrier than me." Suddenly his phone buzzed. Blinking, he pulled it out of his pocket and studied it for a moment. "Hm?"

"A call? Who's it from?"

He shook his head, "No, it's a message…from Dark."

Fact #1 that you didn't know about Dark:

He never goes out with the same person for more than 2 dates.

Satoshi wasn't sure how to react to the message, "that's…"


"…so random Dark, I don't get it…"

The elder looked over at the redhead and grinned, "And that's why you don't get dates on the first and second and third and forth day of school, Dai-chan."

The redhead snorted, "Not that any of them worked out."

A shrug, "it was worth a try."

Daisuke frowned, "how's he supposed to reply to that anyways? It's so out of the blue…"

Amethyst eyes glittered confidently, "Just watch and learn. It's a little trickier since he's a boy and he's really smart, you can't just say something cheesy and wait for results. In the end, it doesn't really matter if he replies or not, all that matters is my next message."

"And when are you going to send that?"

"…I guess in a few days or something, if you send one right after another, it loses its effects. I mean when you're waiting to open Christmas presents, there's that excitement in you that grows because you have to wait, right? He's going to wonder if there's going to be another message and within a few days, he'll have sort of forgotten about it and then bam, a pleasant surprise."

The redhead looked over skeptically, "your messages will be a pleasant surprise? How can you be so sure of that?"

"Because it's from me, obviously. I'm kidding, even if it isn't a pleasant surprise for him, he'll find it interesting for sure. It's because he's sure to pick up the pattern," he quickly added, face reddening slightly, "yes, this is how much thought I put into this, there's even a pattern, Dai. Shut up."

Daisuke grinned, "I've never seen you embarrassed like this before. But then again, after having been through this, it feels like I'm getting to know a whole new you. Don't worry, it's a good thing."

Dark pursed his lips, "thanks? Oh, I have practice tomorrow so you're on your own, alright?"

"Yea, I'll see if Hikari-kun wants to hang out for awhile…unless I get stuck with cleaning duty again…"


After school, Daisuke was finishing up the classroom clean up duties when he began talking idly, "I wonder what this year's play's going to be. I didn't think they'd start this early but I guess it's also good since we'll have a lot of time to prepare for it this way…and thanks for waiting for me again, Hikari-kun."

Satoshi looked up from his book as he sat on the desk, "anytime…but one thing bothers me. Why is it that you're always stuck with cleaning duty? It's not even your turn today."

The redhead let out a small laugh, "I'm not sure either, it just seems to happen…all the time." After he finished, he glanced over at the other boy who continued staring at his book without reading a word, "…want to talk about it?"

Sapphire eyes blinked in surprise, "what do you mean?"

Daisuke reddened slightly, "something seems to be bothering you, and you've always been there to listen to my rants, so I was just wondering if I could be of any help, I guess. I mean, if it's something you can't deal with by yourself, I can try to help or something. Sorry if that came out really weird, Dark calls me socially awkward sometimes, this is probably why…sorry."

The blue haired boy could only sit and stare at the other for a moment before laughing, "You're not awkward at all. Thank you though, I'll definitely find you if there's something I can't handle…but right now, everything's still fine. I was just kind of lost in thought, sorry if I worried you."

He shook his head, "there's no need to apologize, really."

Satoshi put his book down and smiled thoughtfully, "You know, I'm glad I went back to do high school, because otherwise, I would've never met you."

Daisuke blushed and stared at his shoes for awhile before remembering something, "Hikari-kun, awhile ago, you said that the reason you're in school again is for someone important?"

The boy adjusted his glasses, "yes, what about it?"

"Who was that important person?" He asked curiously, but then immediately added, "Of course, you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"It's Krad."

Crimson eyes blinked, "Krad-san?"

Satoshi nodded, "yea…well for me, it's for Krad. For Krad, it was probably for our mother. I didn't really know her since for as far back as I remember, she's been sick and Krad's been the one who's had to take care of me. He pretty much raised me while taking care of her, not to mention he had a job…and we since we both got accepted into university at an early age, neither of us ever really had friends our own age. But before mother passed away, she mentioned how it'd be nice to see us living normal lives and going to school and making friends like regular children…so that's what we did."

"But if that's what she wanted why isn't Krad-san…?"

For a moment, the taller boy looked out the window to avoid eye contact, "Oh, that…he can't make it to school anymore. But I'm pretty sure that from the start, he was more concerned for me coming here and making friends than he was about himself, that's just the way he is."


Fact #2 that you didn't know about Dark:

He never takes the initiative to reestablish contact with someone after a break up.

"Hmm…?" Krad smiled curiously at the text just as the front door opened. He put his phone away and returned his attention to the canvas in front of him, "welcome back, Satoshi. How was school?"

His brother poked his head into the room a moment later with an indifferent look on his face, "same as always, we decided to do 'Ice and Snow' as this year's play though. We're choosing the cast tomorrow and Niwa volunteered to paint the backdrop and he was wondering if you'd help him out sometime."

"I wouldn't mind at all."

Satoshi watched as his brother dipped his brush into the paint, "That's what I told him. So how did it go this morning?"

A shrug, "same as always…" giving the painting a few finishing touches, he leaned back and nodded approvingly, "there, that looks about right. Come over here, Satoshi, what do you think?"

The blue haired boy blinked, "it's amazing as always…is it just me or are there less canvas in the room? Normally it's super chaotic in here, and it's not as chaotic right now. Should I go out and buy more canvas for you?"

Krad shook his head, "I'm just finishing as many pieces as I can…"

The younger boy remained silent as he watched his brother give a wistful sigh as he signed the piece.


A week later, the girl returned during the day, looking a little paler than she had before. Krad frowned as he set everything up. And as he painted, Menou continued looking deep in thought until suddenly, she asked, "Hikari-sama…do you think I'll go to heaven after I die?"

The question had come unexpectedly causing golden eyes blinked and stared at the girl for a moment before he nodded reassuringly, "don't worry, you definitely will. I can almost promise you."

Giving a weary sigh, the girl smile and muttered something that he couldn't catch. But she kept that satisfied smile on her lips until she left. "Just one more time, right?"

Krad dipped his head, "well, it's optional, but if you'd like, you can come in anytime."

Menou bowed politely as she stood in front of the door, "thank you, Hikari-sama. Even though I've only been here twice, it's going to be strange not coming to your house anymore. I've never met anyone as kind as you."

He rubbed the back of his neck before giving a brotherly smile, "and I've never met anyone as brave as you." She smiled and leaned in, whispering something to him before bowing again and walking off. Wide golden eyes watched as the girl in red slowly disappeared down the street, "how…?"


He had retreated back inside and was lounging around when the doorbell rang. Sighing in annoyance, he walked over to the door and opened it. Looking down, he did a double take at the two. "…Satoshi, can you explain to me why you're dressed like Dark," then he looked at the figure behind his brother and furled his brows, "and Daisuke, why are you in a dress? It's not Halloween yet."

Satoshi looked at him indifferently though his eyes spoke otherwise, "I thought it'd be fun to surprise you. This is for the play I told you about, 'Ice and Snow'? I got the male lead and Niwa got the female lead, except they changed Elliot into Dark and Freedert's still Freedert."

The blond nodded slowly, trying to contain his amusement, "which is Daisuke…the leading lady how…fitting. And you two walked all the way here from school, dressed like that? Anyone that's seen you must be thinking about what a cute pair you make." Then he turned to the redhead and had to cover his grin with his hand as he spoke, "Would you like anything to drink, leading lady-san?"

Daisuke's face reddened, "i-it was Hikari-kun's idea!"

Putting on a surprised look, he faced his brother, "Sato? You put him up to this? I never knew you were such a sadist," then he ruffled their hair, "poor Daisuke-kun, you can go get changed you know, I'll go make you two something to drink."

After they changed Daisuke found the brothers in the kitchen, "actually, Krad-san, I was wondering if you'd help me with the backdrop…"

The blond nodded, "of course."


Dark's eyes widen as he turned to stare at his brother in disbelief. Grabbing the shorter boy by the shoulders, he shook him violently, "What? What do you mean you went to Krad's house and saw him and he gave you pointers on how to paint a snowy backdrop for your school play?"

Daisuke held his hands up in defense, "Calm down, Dark!"

"But you got to see him! How am I supposed to calm down? I haven't gone on a date for weeks now because of him and here you are getting art advice from him! Daisuke, if you don't tell me every single detail, I'm going to murder you in the grossest way possible! I'll lop off your arms and barbeque them and then force you to eat them or something!"


Later that night, he received another message from Dark.

Fact #3 that you never knew about Dark:

He's never jealous of his brother for spending more time than him with someone-even if it's only for art advice.

He smiled.


A few days later, Satoshi returned from school, running into the house in an urgent manner. The noise caused Krad to step out of his studio, "Satoshi? What happened?"

The blue haired boy looked up at him from the bottom of the stairs, "Krad, it's Kurashina-san. I heard from Saehara that she's really, really sick. No one don't knows how long she's going to last…"

Golden eyes widened, "what?" After a moment of thinking, he looked at his brother, "can you get me her address for me from this Saehara person? I'll have the painting done by tomorrow."

Satoshi shot him a confused look, "Krad…?"

The blond turned around and headed back to his den, "I'll be making a personal delivery."


When Satoshi woke up for school the next morning, he crept into his brother's studio to check up on him. And he found the blond asleep against the stand where he kept his extra paint and brushes, hand and hair partially dipped in paint as he let out slow and even breaths. Satoshi sighed and returned to his room to grab a blanket for his brother. When he returned, he inspected the other again as he draped the blanket over him, "you're a mess…even your face is covered in paint."

The blond let out a quiet mumble and shifted a little.

Eyes moving towards the painting and the signature at the bottom right corner, he gave a small sigh, "you really did finish, didn't you? Hn…I guess you really do draw angels." He let out quietly, placing a slip of paper under the sleeping boy's cell phone, but not before reading the message. He held back a laugh, "I'm off to school then."

Fact #4 that you never knew about Dark:

He never has the inability to stop thinking about a single person.


Golden eyes fluttered open. The sunlight was streaming in through the windows, momentarily blinding him. Groggily, he looked at the portrait and then his phone, then the piece of paper, then the portrait again in confusion before shooting up, "Kurashina-san, right!" As he stood up, he noticed that his hand felt wet and slightly slimy. Looking down, he found that it was covered in green paint. Slightly confused and horrified, he stumbled off to the bathroom to wash the paint off.


There was still dry paint crusts in his hair when he arrived at the address written on the piece of paper. Panting slightly, with the wrapped painting clutched tightly under his arm, he rang the doorbell.

"Hello?"

He looked over at the speakers, "…hello? This is Hikari Krad…I was hoping to see Kurashina Menou-san. I have something to give her."

The door opened, revealing a very weary faced woman who had been clearly crying earlier. Judging by her actions, she was probably more sleep deprived than he was, but she managed a weak smile anyway. "Are you a friend from school? Please come in, she's upstairs…please follow me." Krad nodded and quietly followed the woman up the stairs and down the hall. She knocked on the wooden door gently, "Menou? There's someone here to see you." The mother turned to him and nodded, "just head on in."

Giving his thanks, he walked into the room where the girl was lying in bed. She turned her head and spoke wearily, "Hikari-sama? I'm sorry I couldn't make it for the last session."

Krad shook his head, "it's fine, look," he unwrapped the painting and held it up, "your painting's finished. What do you think?"

Blue eyes widened as tears streamed down her cheeks. Menou covered her mouth for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. "This…it's really me…I don't look sick…I…Hikari-sama, thank you, I can't tell you how much this means to me. Thank you, thank you so much. I look so happy…and you came here to deliver it too…"

He shrugged, "It wasn't any trouble or anything…"

The blonde looked over at him, "but you look so tired, and you still have paint in your hair…and," she reached out, lightly touching the bangs that covered one of his eyes.

The elder frowned, "so you did notice, I thought you did."

Menou nodded and retracted her hand, "you seemed to be having a hard time adjusting to it…"

He smiled softly, "you're very observant, aren't you?"

"I wanted to see as much of this world as I could before, you know."

A nod.

The girl's smile wavered as she continued, "I…never really realized until now just how much I'm going to miss everyone. I'm going to miss my parents, my friends… I'm going to miss Hikari-sama, I'm going to miss attending classes and all my friends there." Her fists were clenched as she fought the fresh wave of tears, "To be honest, I don't want to go to heaven. I want to stay here with everyone. I'm happy here. I'm not brave, I'm really scared and it feels like I'm alone. I want my mother to hold me, I want someone to help me, to tell me that it'll be alright. I…I don't want to die…Hikari-sama, what do I do?"

The elder didn't have an answer for her question so he just sat there and listened until she wore herself out. Standing up, he placed the painting beside her and exhaled sadly, "I wouldn't know what to do either…and even if you say otherwise, I still think you're the bravest person I know."

Blue eyes lowered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go off like that…"

He shook his head, "It's fine, it's better to let it out, but you look exhausted, so you should probably rest now. I'll come by again if I can."

Menou looked over at the painting then at him with a weak smile, "thank you…goodbye Hikari-sama."

"Goodbye Kurashina-san."

That was the last time he saw her.


Krad returned home a little later that day and looked around his studio. Somehow, it felt a lot emptier than it had before. Drained of energy, he sighed and left to wash the paint out of his hair before crawling into bed to sleep.


A week later, Daisuke and Dark attended her wake and funeral. Above her casket was a painting of her smiling down at everyone with sky blue tones in the background and the faintest hint of wings behind her. Violet eyes continued staring at it as her parents explained the significance of the painting to the group, reminiscing on how thoughtful Menou was even though she knew her time was limited.

Dark leaned over and whispered to his brother, "That's Krad's painting."

The redhead wiped the tears out of his eyes and looked up at the signature at the corner of the piece of art, "Krad-san knew Kurashina-san?"

He shrugged and remained silent.


Golden eyes were staring intensely at the different array of colors on the canvas when a voice called from the door, "So how did your check up go?"

Krad shifted is attention over at his brother and shrugged, "same as always."

The younger boy continued watching him from the doorway, "I heard from Niwa that Kurashina-san passed away awhile ago, not long after you delivered her painting. He attended her funeral last week."

There was no reply.

Satoshi pursed his lips as he tried to think of more to say, "Niwa said that her parents were really grateful for your painting, it helped them get over the grief a little faster."

Finally, there was a quiet answer, "…I'm glad."

He looked over at his brother worriedly, "I have to get to work, are you going to be alright, Krad?"

Krad gave a soft scoff, "I'm the older brother here, remember? Be careful at work."

Glancing at the blond one last time, he reluctantly left, "I will, bye."

After the younger boy was gone, he continued to stare at the canvas before giving a sullen sigh and burying his face in his hands.


The next day, Dark was walking home after practice and had decided to take a detour by the seaside. The sky was gray and droplets of rain began falling. Frowning, he opened his umbrella and continued walking until he came across a lonely figure curled up by himself on the stairs that led to the beach. His chest tightened slightly. Approaching the other slowly, he held his umbrella over the blond. "Fact #9 that you didn't know about Dark: he never offers to be 'just friends' with someone he likes…but you look like you could use one right about now. Mind if I join you?"

The other shook his head silently.

Taking the cue, he sat down next to the blond and held the umbrella over the both of them as the rain continued to fall. After a long while of silence, he finally asked, "Did something happen?"

He had to strain his ears to hear the other boy's reply.

"I…I can't paint anymore."


Nya~

Would you believe that I had this finished two dayys ago but due to technical difficulties with , I'll be updating today. What else? Oh no, school starts Tuesday! Other than that, let me voice/type out my appreciation to those who still read and those who review because I was going through my old fics and reviews while I was waiting for to fix the problem, and I realized that the amount of readers really has gone down compared to before but even so, I was super touched and happy thanks to the reviews I'm still getting. So for those of you stil reading and those of you still reviewing thanks a bunch. That was probably poorly phrased and awkwardly structured-not to mention vague and undescriptive, but if I went in depth, I'd ramble on and on and no one wants that. So all in all, I was at a low point and the reviews cheered me up; let's end this rant here. Thanks again and enjoy!