Author's notes: A poll on whether Murasakibara or Himuro is a better match for Kohaku has been set up! Do visit for a vote. Once again, I apologise for the belated update. I got hit by a particularly bad case of writer's block, and lost touch with the story. As such, I hope my writing style does not suffer too much, and characters are no too OOC. Do read and review for feedback and comments! Thank you for reading!
Murasakibara waits patiently at the entrance of the haunted house, ignoring the startled glances passers-by throw at him when they notice his impressive height. He is busy devouring the bag of strawberry flavoured pocky he specifically bought for the trip in silence - until he overhears a pair of teenage girls discussing a nearby sweets store.
"Mika-chan, I heard that store is selling those exclusive flavoured chocolate - the fruit parfait ones that you really like! It's on offer too, let's go check it out!"
"Really? Let's hurry!"
Murasakibara stiffens very subtly, the cogs in his mind churning. Should he prioritise that special sale above waiting for Himuro and Kohaku? Or should he go check it out before the special edition chocolate is sold out...?
Murasakibara comes to a decision within seconds.
He straightens visibly and trails off in the direction of the two girls.
"Do you know what it's like to feel inferior?" Himuro suddenly asks. For some reason, the earlier talk about brothers seems to have sobered his mood a little.
"Hm?" Kohaku does not need to ponder a lot about that. "Yes." She is not the least embarrassed to admit that Yoshie's large shadow, along with her bullying, is more or less the root to these feelings - though that expression is more figurative than literal seeing as she is still a few inches taller.
Himuro looks momentarily surprised at her straightforward answer. He blinks before his eyes grow indecipherably distant again. Kohaku can see his grip on Satoru's hand loosen slightly, as if he is deep in thought.
"I see..." While he seems to have closed the subject, Kohaku waits patiently for him to expound on his words. She knows there's more that he wants to say. Catching sight of her expectant look, Himuro laughs, though it sounds a little strained.
"You seem to know there's more that I want to say," Himuro drops his grin and speaks with a more serious tone now. "I had a friend who was like a brother to me back in the States. I was the one to introduce him to basketball... But he surpassed me in no time. I never fully realised it then. But when I look back, I've always been desperately pushing myself, because deep down in my heart, I was afraid of being left behind." Kohaku is silent as Himuro gives a rather wry smile. "I suppose I was bitter - I was the older brother, the one who taught him how to play. But in almost no time at all, he surpassed me. He's the talented one, while I'm nothing-"
"I... I don't understand." Himuro gives a start when Kohaku whispers this gently. Granted, he has never expected an outsider like Kohaku to fully make sense of the situation. But Himuro has secretly hoped that she'd be able to understand his frustration, since that is something Murasakibara most definitely cannot grasp.
"I don't understand why people must draw such clear distinctions between players who are talented and players who are not. Does it matter as long as we do our best for it? I know it might not be as good, but even the talented have to work hard to get somewhere." When Himuro's expression turns unreadable, Kohaku backpedals furiously.
It is rude and obnoxious of her to be making such ludicrous claims when she is not the one in Himuro's shoes - working desperately to stay ahead, only to taste the bitterness of being surpassed. In fact, the more she thinks about it, the more she realises how wholly inadequate her words are.
"I'm sorry," she rushes out, trying to find words to justify her stand. "That was only my opinion. It's pretentious of me to say something so casually," Kohaku pauses, desperately searching for the correct words to express her beliefs. While it has never been established nor stated outright, she does not think Himuro holds much faith in emptily optimistic words, despite his laid-back nature. There seems to be something hidden under that constantly friendly facade - something steely and cold that does not take to losing well. Kohaku is not entirely sure, but she can tell that there is definitely much more to Himuro than meets the eye.
"To me, there's nothing else I can do other than work hard for basketball. As long as I, or anyone, do that, for that matter, I believe that anyone can push through the limits and restraints of 'being talentless'."
"But what if you lose?" Himuro bursts out. It is the largest reaction Kohaku has ever seen coming out from him.
"What if you lose, even after working so hard? What do I do then? Do I give up?" His slip in pronouns are barely conscious, and the quiet frustration in his words makes Kohaku realise that Himuro may not be as secure as he has always established himself to he.
"There are absolutely no words able to dilute the bitterness of losing - especially after you have tried your best, and still failed." Kohaku admits this calmly, given how it is already deeply acknowledged by Himuro.
"Every time you lose, you have three options. Remain the same, quit, or work harder. Losing is always frustrating; but I don't think it's bad. I think always winning is the worst thing to happen to a basketball player - because it takes the fun out of everything." She is dredging up memories of her father's teachings, of how he defined an exciting game and how he taught her the enjoyment of sports.
"I think that if you really love basketball, it's best to do everything you can for every game. And even if you lose, I also don't think giving up will make you feel any better." Kohaku's voice fades to a bare whisper at the end, when she realises that she is rambling without thinking.
At Himuro's impassive expression, she feels embarrassed. Were her words meaningless and empty to him, after all? But while the traces of melancholy on Himuro's face have yet to fully fade, he seems more at ease than before. "I see. Thank you, Kohaku-chan."
It is the first time he is smiling so peacefully. Kohaku realises it has never occurred to her that any smile other than this one can be insincere.
Nibbling on the last few bags of chocolate he has snatched from the special sale, Murasakibara trudges back to the haunted house lightheartedly. The only thing marring his fairly good mood is the unwanted presence behind him.
"... How long are you going to follow me?" Murasakibara finally demands peevishly, turning to address the young child walking barely a few feet behind him. He has long detected the latter's presence, seeing as the kid is hardly being inconspicuous. But almost as soon as he says that, the child freezes in a comical mixture of shock and fear.
"S- S-" He is stuttering so badly that Murasakibara can hardly makes heads or tails of the situation. "S- S- Satoru-Nii told me to stay at a- a- a noticeable place if... If I get lost!" The child squeaks, bursting into a flood of tears quite promptly. As he continues to bawl loudly, Murasakibara regards him a little blankly. Given how all of of his siblings are older than him, he is despairingly unaware of how to treat someone as young as this.
"... Here." He ends up handing the child a stick of pocky, reluctant to part with anything more than that. He sincerely hopes that the snack is enough to pacify the young child or put a temporary end to his tears, at the very least.
Thankfully, privy to his wishes, the child's tears stop in a span of seconds, if only because he is now busy eyeing the snack in ill-concealed suspicion. Murasakibara heaves a silent sigh of relief when he grabs it swiftly with a mumbled thank you.
They lapse into an awkward silence - which is only broken by the sounds of sporadic munching. The child nibbles cautiously on his pocky, punctuating his chewing with occasional sniffles.
By the time he has finished eating, Murasakibara has long demolished his arsenal of snacks. Upon ascertaining that it is truly empty, Murasakibara crushes his wrapper gloomily and prepares to dispose of it.
However, the realisation that the wastepaper basket is situated a considerable distance away from him is enough to motivate him into shooting it instead despite of his dislike of basketball. As he positions his arms and hurls the the wad of metal foil in the air, it bounces off the rim and falls in despite the incredulity of the distance.
"T- that's cool!" The child suddenly squeals, his tears one again fading at a miraculous speed. His eyes are bright with admiration and awe, but Murasakibara ignores him. Having secured his snacks, he is more preoccupied with looking for Kohaku and Himuro now. Almost on cue, his phone rings.
"Hello?" Murasakibara mumbles into the phone. The child is still staring at him with wide-eyed amazement and he returns it unabashedly with an annoyed glare.
"Atsushi?" It is Himuro. "Kohaku-chan and I have a lost child at our hands. We're helping him look for his brother. Where are you? Let's meet up so you can help too."
Murasakibara begins to voice his dissent, but he can hear a mild scuffle over the phone, before Kohaku's voice surfaces instead. "Please, Atsu-kun, he's really worried about his younger brother. Can we help him look for just a few more minutes?"
Murasakibara hesitates briefly, debating whether to reject her pleas. With Kohaku's earnest request and the inconvenience of the situation weighing in his mind, he eventually ends up with a reluctant compromise. "Okay, but I still want to buy more candy." He can hear Kohaku exhale a sigh of relief before giving him instructions to meet at the tall and iconic ferris wheel.
"Ah, but there's–" Before Murasakibara can inform Kohaku of the strange child tailing him, she has abandoned the conversation. Slightly affronted, he takes his irritation out by glaring at the child once more, deeply convinced that the entire situation is somehow his fault. He tries to determine the best way to get him to leave.
"I'm busy," Murasakibara informs as coldly as he can, "I'm helping my friends look for a lost child." He hopes that his words will discourage the child enough to chase him off. It seems to work when he adopts a somewhat crestfallen expression - until he brightens up swiftly.
"That's good! I can ask him if he's seen my brother," he determines gleefully. Murasakibara feels a vein pop in his forehead as he concludes that the brat is rudimentarily clueless.
While on the way to the ferris wheel, Kohaku finds herself making small talk with Himuro to lighten the sober mood he has set before. "What... What kind of girls does Himuro-senpai like?" When she sees his startled gaze, Kohaku hurries to clarify herself, already embarrassed by the nature of her question. "I'm a little curious. Tatsuya-senpai is really popular, but you've never accepted any confessions before."
"Ah, that's because I want to concentrate on basketball." Kohaku nods absentmindedly at the logic of it. It is a pretty sound reason given the taxing nature of basketball. On the other hand, Himuro is still mulling over her earlier question, unexpectedly serious about it.
"The type of girl I like? I never really thought about it..." Himuro mumbles, scratching his cheek. The fact that he is genuinely pondering about it - in spite of the long line of confessions he receives - amuses Kohaku. "I suppose if I had a girl that I liked, she would be someone strong."
"Strong?" Kohaku echoes, a little surprised. She knows Himuro is definitely capable of looking beyond the physical qualities of a girl, but strength is something she does not expect him to prize. Yet, the more she thinks about it, the more sense his answer starts to make.
"Yea, is it bad?" Himuro gives an embarrassed chuckle, especially when even Satoru regards him curiously. Kohaku laughs. She has never seen any expression other than a smile exist on Himuro's face, and it comforts her that she is a little closer to understanding what lies beyond his constant smiling tranquility.
Given how she has tried to always hide her emotions behind a smile before, and how painful it has been for her, Kohaku does not want anyone else - especially Himuro - to experience it.
"No. I think a strong girl would suit you."
"Ah, I see Atsu-kun!" Kohaku finally catches sight of Murasakibara when they near the ferris wheel. With his eye-catching hair colour and height, it is impossible to miss him, and Kohaku stifles a giggle when Satoru's eyes widen at the sight. She is taken aback, however, when they widen even more upon seeing what is behind Murasakibara.
"Satoshi!" He dashes towards the tall purple-haired man, who only spares him a vacant look even when Satoru nearly bumps into his feet out of sheer speed. It takes Kohaku and Himuro a moment to catch up. But when they finally have a closer view of Satoru, Kohaku realises that he is embracing a younger child. It is his brother.
"Don't ever run away again," Satoru chides fiercely, ruffling his younger brother's hair anxiously. And while it seems a little backward for him to say so, when the situation only started because of his antics, Kohaku can see from the redness of his eyes that he is both equally guilty and relieved. She finds her heart warming when Satoshi nods evidently and wraps his tiny arms around Satoru as well.
"Thank you, Nii-chan. I wouldn't know what to do without you." Kohaku can hear Himuro stir slightly when he hears those words. Maybe both brothers' dependance each other has reminded him of something from the past as well. As if to strengthen this point, Satoshi wriggles out of Satoru's grasp and jabs an excited finger at Murasakibara, who only looks away in obvious irritation. "He's tall, Satoru-Nii! He's a basketball player. Can you teach me how to play basketball too?"
When Himuro stiffens at the sight, Kohaku hesitates only briefly. "I think Satoshi admired Satoru as much as Satoru wanted him to," she offers Himuro a tentative smile. "I didn't know your brother-figure back in the states, but I think he must have felt the same way about you - you taught him something so important whole-heartedly."
Himuro smiles wistfully. It is then that Kohaku decides he has never been truly at ease until now.