Hello, and reviews!
SifTheGreat: Your faith in me is all I need.
BreezyNymph2375: It's all about the burger for Neo, haha! And I'm glad you think that way. Thanks.
Guest: Oh. Well, if you're talking about that, then I might, or will. I was planning to in the first place. Heh. Someone's eager, eh? And as for Adam, I guess you could say that he's done for. Though he might appear again in the future. Maybe.
Anyway, have a special.
I own nothing.
-IIXII-
"Say, Kazuma."
Kval tore his gaze away from the little book he was reading and focused on Yang, smiling his usual smile as he questioned, "Yes?"
"Don't get me wrong, but I'm curious," she said. "What do you actually think of your older brother?"
He noticed how Weiss and Blake lowered their respective books and shot him their intrigued stares, while Ruby continued on with her crusade on her piece of paper with her army of colorful crayons.
"Pardon?"
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to. It's just…" she paused, picking her words carefully he noted. "Well, you two seem way different from one another, that's why. I wanted to know what you think of him."
Kval smiled. "What I think of him, you ask? Well, let's see…"
-IIXII-
"Watch where you're going, dork!"
Kval moved his eyes to the side as the older boy gripped his collar, right in the middle of the school hallway at that. He hated the looks others were giving him. All they did was laugh and point at him as if he was their plaything.
It was sickening.
"Bumping into me like that, who do you think you are? Haven't you learned anything after that beating I gave you?" He pulled him up a few inches off the ground. Just what were the teachers doing even? "Huh? Answer me."
Kval's face turned sour. "I need to get to class. Let me go, please. I'm in a hurry."
"Are you seriously going to say that?" The imbecile chuckled. "I'm not gonna let you go that easily."
Kval sighed, on the inside anyway. He didn't want to provoke this person too much.
Been around a few months since this all started. It was his routine, as some would even call it.
Attend school. Learn whatever he could. Get his lunch stolen. Get beat up. Repeat.
All for looking like an absolute wimp.
He hated it.
He hated his routine.
He hated everything.
But he endured it.
"Aren't you tired of assaulting me every single day?" Kval decided to question.
"Nah," the boy replied. "That's 'cuz you're fun to mess with."
"Tch…"
"Oh what was that? You annoyed, runt?" Kval gritted his teeth when the boy started raising his fist. "How about I-"
Kval found himself dropping down to the floor a second later. Confused, he rubbed his sore butt and looked up, only to see his brother holding his abuser up by the head with an extremely unpleasant face.
"W-What the heck!? Let go of me!"
What was he doing here? He was supposed to be at work! And to make matters worst, he saw everything. There was no doubt about it.
He found himself looking away, nervously avoiding his intense stare.
"I came here 'cuz you forgot your lunchbox. What's going on here?" asked his big brother.
He remained silent.
"I had my suspicions. Were you being harassed in school without my knowing? Answer me."
Kval gulped.
"Kazuma."
He eventually nodded.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"B-Because…" he paused. "…I didn't want to bother-"
"To hell with that, Kazuma!" His brother practically threw the kid he was holding to the wall and leaned down, grabbing onto his shoulder, making him flinch. "Look at me, Kazuma. Hey, I said look at me."
He was hesitant, but in the end, he did as he was told.
And was quite surprised to be met with a pair of worried eyes.
"I'm your brother. Don't keep things like this away from me. You got that?" He moved his hand from his shoulder to his cheek. "I'm trying my best to be a responsible older sibling here, and I need you to stop hiding things away from me. Things like this, specifically."
Kval looked down. "I'm sorry…"
"You should be. Just don't do it again. If anyone ever touches you again, you can bet your ass that I'll kick them to the next dimension." He huffed. "Oh, and here." His older brother handed him his forgotten lunchbox. "I didn't have much time, but boiled eggs." He patted his head, before putting up a small smile in order to lighten up the mood a bit. "Your favorite."
"No." Kval sniffled, tearing up somewhat. "Our favorite…"
"Heh. You better believe it. Now get to class. I gotta head over to work-"
Kval dropped his lunchbox and immediately hugged his brother. "I'm really sorry for being stupid. I'll…be more honest next time." His embrace tightened. "Be safe…"
His brother simply patted his head once more and nodded. "I will."
-IIXII-
"He is…"
-IIXII-
Kval woke up and rubbed his eyes. He looked to the clock hanging on the wall, and noted that it was 3 something AM. Huh.
He turned to the futon placed beside his, and tilted his head upon noticing the lack of his older sibling. Where was he? At a time like this, he should be-
"Ngh…"
Kval curiously turned his head over to the source of that sudden noise, and his eyes were then greeted with the sight of his supposedly missing brother. He was sleeping soundly on the couch, it seemed. He looked silly, too, with his legs dangling over the edges and all.
Smiling, Kval grabbed a blanket and headed his way over. He placed it over his brother and made sure to be extra quiet as to not wake him up.
But still, where was he? When he slept, his brother hadn't even arrived home yet.
All he said was that he needed to go on a trip to the nearest bookstore, and for what purpose? Couldn't have been that important, now could it?
He then noticed one particular book near his feet, with the cover being an image of a young woman holding hands with a toddler, whom he could only assume was her daughter. Huh. It might have fallen off the edge at some point.
Kval lowered himself down and picked up the book with extra care. He inspected the silly book with the silly cover further, and the title was what got to him.
"Quick Guide To Parenting…For Dummies?" he read, confused.
Though it wasn't long before a silly smile came breaking out onto his confused face.
"You're so silly, Brother…"
He lowered the book and gazed at his brother's sleeping face.
"You don't need this stupid guide. To me, you're already an expert."
Grabbing one of his pillows as well as the covers from his futon, Kval then later sat down on the floor and soon made himself comfortable by leaning his back onto the couch, right where his brother was sleeping.
-IIXII-
"…without a doubt…"
-IIXII-
"Open up."
Kval pouted. "I'm fine." He coughed. "Really, I am…"
"What you got there is a fever, which automatically means that you're not," said his persistent brother. "Now finish this chicken soup that I made before it gets cold."
With a small groan, Kval did as he was told and opened up his mouth.
His brother then started feeding him the hot soup with extra care, careful as to not spill some of the soup on their lovely cheap carpet.
"I may not be attending school for today, but…" Another spoonful of soup. "…work…"
"I told my boss about your fever and that I needed to care for you."
Kval tilted his head to one side. "You did?"
"Yep. He didn't take it too well thanks to how busy it's gonna be today, the bastard, so he fired me while we were talking on the phone," Terumi explained with a slight shrug. "Figures."
"What!?" Kval exclaimed with widened eyes. "Y-You're-"
"Here. Open wide." He held out the spoonful of soup near his mouth, utterly ignoring his reaction.
"B-But…you're fired," Kval said, eyes downcast. "Because of my fever too. Brother, I'm so sorry for causing this-"
"Kazuma, I prioritize you more than I do my work. It's fine," he said in an annoyed manner. "Now open up. I can get another job later after you're done recovering."
Kval silently opened his mouth and took in the spoonful of soup. He swallowed, then asked, "You're not mad at me?"
"I'd be stupid if that were the case. Besides, I didn't like that job anyway, so it's all good." He chuckled. "Cheer up. And as your responsible older brother, what matters most to me now is your recovery. Understand?"
"G-Got it…"
-IIXII-
"…the most…"
-IIXII-
"Here."
Kval inspected the item which was handed to him by his brother, and his eyes soon widened upon registering what it was.
The novel that he always wanted. Limited edition? It was limited edition too!?
"T-This is…the book that I planned on buying. H-How? You knew?" Kval excitedly looked up to his older sibling, his eyes filled with so much joy that he could have sworn that they were emitting some kind of holy light or something.
His brother scratched his cheek and looked away, and he could tell that it was because of the way he was looking at him. Easy to say, his brother was embarrassed. "Just saw you staring at the book the other day. It was obvious," he said. "Think of it as an early birthday present."
Kval laughed. "We celebrated my birthday a few months ago, so how could I even?"
His brother made a silly face. "Oh yeah…"
"But really, thank you so much!" He ran up to his brother and gave him the most warmest hug he could possibly manage, just all so he could show how grateful he was. "You really do know how to make my day better…"
"Stop it with that crap. Yeesh." His brother patted him on the head with his gaze still elsewhere. "Just take good care of it."
Kval grinned. "I will!"
-IIXII-
"…amazing brother…"
-IIXII-
"T-They wouldn't…"
His brother kept his eyes on him as he sat down in front of him, cross-legged.
"…become my friends…" He hiccuped. "I-I was being nice…and they…"
Pushed him away. Like everyone else did when they first met him.
"Oh you…" His brother reached out and pulled him in an embrace. "Crying about this will get you nowhere. Who needs those morons anyway?"
"B-But I just want someone to talk to in class…" he whimpered.
"Talking in class will benefit you none, Kazuma, and having idiots with shitty personalities as friends will give you nothing but trouble. Besides," His crying died down somewhat when his brother started caressing his hair. "you got me, remember? I'll always be here for you. Dry up those tears and keep your head up high. Show those losers what they're missing out the next time you see them."
"I guess. M-Maybe you're right…" Kval rubbed at his eyes. "A-And I'll try…"
"That's my little snake. Go get 'em."
-IIXII-
"…that I could ever hope for."
He noticed how wide-eyed the others were as they stared at him.
"W-What is it?"
"Kazuma, you're…" Blake trailed off, pointing a finger at his face with a slightly concerned expression.
Kval, confused, brought a hand up to his face, and it took him a second to realise why the girls were giving him such looks.
"Haha…" He sniffled. "…I'm such a crybaby."
"Kazuma, I-I'm so sorry!" Yang quickly sounded as she rushed over to the table for the box of tissues, frantic as she could be. "Oh Dust, I shouldn't have asked that! Idiot!"
Weiss went up to him and took a hold of his hand, gazing at him with worry. "Are you feeling well? Do you need anything?"
Ruby also came in, hugging at his side. "I'm here too if you need me!"
"I'm fine, girls. But thanks for worrying." Kval chuckled, and grinned. "I'm just…filled with joy right now. Haha…"
Indeed. He felt like the luckiest younger brother on the planet.
How silly of him, really. He was always the luckiest to begin with.
-IIXII-
Even individuals like Kazuma has their weak moments in life. Plus the fact that he's still a kid, it comes as no surprise, really.
How did I do? Was it good? Cringey? Rusty? A bit out of it? Tell me in your review so I can improve. I require feedback from you guys greatly. I've been having some doubts recently, so your feedback would be much appreciated.
Anyway, I was busy rereading this story in order to refresh myself on the transpired events so I can remember what I was planning for the future updates. I had a few laughs here and there, and damn it was worth it. Got me back to writing I guess. Though I highly, highly, highly highly highly recommend you guys to read this story from the start to remember the little crumbs and pieces that I left which would eventually play a part in the future. Thanks to my long absence, I won't blame you if you've forgotten everything.
Also, I plan on adding characters from different series for cameos and references and such. Still working on that one.
Anyway, that is all from me.
CPL, signing out.
