Things only kept getting worse for Tsukasa, he felt like he was losing his mind as he realized everything was starting to click together, piece itself together.

His abuser's death.

His father's death.

Mei's dad being the guy he saw get killed.

It was all too much.

Tsukasa had pulled himself towards the bathroom and forced himself to look into the mirror. He was pale and he felt sick. But most of all it was like he was mocking himself.

Mei had left a few hours ago so he didn't care about looking like death. He still didn't understand why she was being so nice to him. They've only known each other for a few days after all.

He shook his head trying to forget everything, trying to desperately ignore his pounding headache. Trying to ignore his entire body screaming at him.

You're pathetic.

Tsukasa paused and looked up to see his reflection smiling at him… rather creepily…

You're no better than him and you know it.

No that's not true!

Admit it, you're a weakling, you couldn't stand up to him or maybe… you secretly wanted Amane to die-

"NO!" He screamed and punched the mirror- breaking it and hurting his hand. He didn't care about the pain or any of his surroundings.

He didn't even hear Amane coming home and hearing the mirror breaking. He thought the worst when he quickly ran up the damn stairs and looked for his sibling. Only to see him crying with a bloodied hand and a broken mirror.

"TSUKASA!" Amane quickly grabbed his hand and flinched at the damage. "Everything is going to be okay." He tried to reassure him but Tsukasa only kept crying. This was his breaking point- Amane could barely hold it together as he quickly got the first aid kit and tweezers to get the glass shards out of his skin.

"Amane," Tsukasa said between cries. He couldn't calm himself down enough to even say anything to his brother.

"Shh it's okay Tsu, I'm going to patch you up." Once he got all the shards out he began cleaning the wounds. Tsukasa momentarily flinched but relaxed after a while. It didn't take long for Amane to bandage his hand. He led him towards his room and sat him on the bed.

Tsukasa still had tears in his eyes but wasn't making any noise.

Amane sat beside him. "Why did you do that? Why did you hurt yourself?" He wasn't sure if asking was a good idea but he needed to know. Tsukasa was not okay, neither of them were, but he needed to realize they're not alone because they had each other.

"It was mocking me." He said in a low voice.

Amane was confused. "What was mocking you?"

"My reflection."

Amane stayed silent at this revelation. His reflection was mocking him? Why did Tsukasa hate himself so much? "What do you mean Tsu? You can trust me with your problems-"

"Stop."

Amane paused, if he continued he could lose his chance at getting through to his brother. Amane needed to give Tsukasa time for him to open up to him on his own. "Okay, I won't ask anything."

Tsukasa stayed silent for a few moments before sighing in frustration, in anger, in sadness. He hated feeling this way… he doesn't have to feel this way… he doesn't have to. "Amane I… I'm sorry for hurting you."

Progress!

This is what Amane wanted.

"It's okay Tsu, I forgave you a few days ago." He smiled at him to reassure him he wasn't angry.

But Tsukasa didn't seem to feel any sort of relief. "Why don't you hate me?" He asked.

His question caught Amane off guard. "What do you mean? Why would I hate you, Tsu?"

"Because I've always hurt you."

Amane looked at him dumbfounded. "What are you talking about? You've never hurt me, Tsu, if anything I'm the one who kept hurting you." He remembered his conversation with Tsuchigomori about Tsukasa. His problems, Amane's apparent abandonment during middle school.

Everything.

Tsukasa shook his head. "No, that's not true… I've… I was always jealous of you Amane and I hated myself for it. I did a lot of things, you remember that failed science project?" He asked, he looked at Amane.

Amane tried to remember what he was talking about. He did a lot of science projects that failed. "Which one?"

"The next level volcano project you made with Akane."

"Oh that one, that was fucking cool not gonna lie." He chuckled remembering the massive explosion that took place. It was a failure, yes, but it was an epic one.

Tsukasa's breath hitched. "You're not mad?" He looked down onto the floor.

Amane was still confused. "No? Why would I be?"

"I'm the reason it failed…"

"Oh."

There was silence. Tsukasa was too scared to meet Amane's eyes but he had to continue… it was too late to back down.

"I also destroyed your solar system… and I burned your science test that Tsuchigomori hung up on the refrigerator. The random pranks that were pulled were me. I'm also the reason a lot of your plans to hang out with Akane failed." He continued to spew his deepest darkest secrets. "I made sure you couldn't wake up to go see a movie with Akane because I wanted to see it with you. I hated when everyone would talk to you and ask you to be their friend. I hated it when people would talk shit about me and compared me to you. I hated being told I was the bad one while you were the golden child. You were so fucking perfect that I hated me for not being like you!"

There was another pause. Amane couldn't bring himself to say anything.

"But that's not the worst thing I've ever done…" He trailed off as he began to visibly shake. "One day I went out by myself because you wanted to go hang out with Akane. I didn't tell Tsuchigomori, I escaped from the window… I ended up going down the wrong street and he was there… he saw me and I froze in fear." His shaking began to increase as he tried to recall that day. "He threatened me, he beat me up and told me to do what he asked or he would kill you." His tears came back.

Amane wanted to hug Tsukasa so badly but he knew this would probably make him recoil.

"I had to do things, I'm not sure what it was, delivering drugs I guess? Nobody would suspect a kid after all." He laughed bitterly. "Then you got sick… and he asked me to steal money from Tsuchigomori… the money that was going to be used to pay for your medicine and medical bills."

Oh god…

Amane remembered this.

He remembered Tsuchigomori's panicked expression he had as Amane's condition got worse.

"And I did it… because I was so scared. I pleaded with him… told him that it was for you because you were sick… he laughed at me and said I was a horrible person and that now you were going to die because of me."

What Tsukasa did next really messed with Amane. He got on his knees and bowed to him.

"I'm so sorry Amane, please forgive me. I'm weak, I'm spineless, I'm an asshole, a horrible person. I couldn't look at you in the eye anymore, I was afraid I would be the reason you would die. I was afraid that I would be hated for what I did."

Amane wanted to break down so badly. He had no clue… absolutely no clue that their sperm donor had come back and was the reason Tsukasa was so messed up.

Again.

"Tsu…"

"Amane I'm so sorry, I understand if you hate me. I just couldn't take it anymore. The pain, the guilt, it was all eating me alive. Always wanting to be like you, always comparing myself to you. My reflection was mocking me… I didn't want you to die! That's not true, I would never murder you!" He was having a full-on breakdown at this point.

Amane felt himself panic. "Tsu it's okay, listen to me-"

"I'm so sorry Amane, I don't deserve to live, I don't-"

"LISTEN TO ME!" He grabbed Tsukasa's head and forced him to look at him. "Listen to me Tsu, I don't hate you, I'm not angry, and I don't blame you! Listen, all the science stuff, it's okay because I can easily make way better shit than I did back then and my test grade is immortalized on a picture frame remember?" He looked at him, awaiting confirmation. Tsukasa slowly nodded his head.

"That stuff doesn't matter, hanging out with Akane, I do that every day, he doesn't even remember that stuff and he didn't mind. The guy is obsessed with Aoi, a neighbor of his. Do you want to know how many times he canceled our plans just to go see her? Plenty." He snorted remembering young Akane. He was worse than he is now. He then sighed. "About the money… listen, Tsu, I understand why you did it. We were kids, you were scared, that man killed our mom! He was threatening you! Besides Tsuchigomori resolved that issue in two days, I was at the hospital getting treatment. Everything was okay-"

"But what if it wasn't?" Tsukasa interjected. "What if the problem hadn't been solved? What if you had died? It would have been all my fault Amane… you're all that I have now… I can't lose you." He hugged Amane tightly as he began to cry again.

"We don't know that. Don't blame yourself Tsukasa, it was out of your control. If anything it was his fault, he hurt us and continued hurting you." Amane returned the hug and felt immense relief. They finally talked… he finally understands his brother…

Tsukasa felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders. "I'm sorry Amane."

"I know you are."

"...I think I know why he died."

There was silence before Tsukasa's words registered. Amane broke the hug and looked at Tsukasa. "What do you mean?"

"Dad… our sperm donor… and the guy I saw get murdered last week ago."

Amane blinked and looked at his brother. "Wait… YOU WHAT!?" He exclaimed. "What do you mean you saw a man get murdered last week!? Did Tsuchigomori know about this!?"

Tsukasa sighed. "I saw a man die… I snuck out the day we fought and went smoking with Natsuhiko and Mitsuba and we were in the slums-"

"THE SLUMS!?" He bellowed.

"YES! Anyway, we heard a car, we saw a man and he got run over and… I couldn't save him… and yes I did tell Tsuchigomori." The memories of that event were still haunting him. He had to tell this exact story to Mei just a few hours ago.

Amane had to pause his lecture on why the slums was a bad place to comfort Tsukasa. "Tsu, there are things way out of your control."

"I know, I know, I just… had a minor flashback." He breathed in shakily. "I went back and ended up having to hide out in a house because I saw the car that ran him over again. I heard two guys talking and mentioned his last name."

Amane nodded as a way for Tsukasa to continue talking.

Tsukasa held Amane's hand since he was still freaking out about everything. "I immediately recognized it but couldn't remember where I had heard it. Then Shijima-san came today and we talked… she told me Tsuchigomori was investigating her dad's death… her dad was the man I saw die."

Amane's eyes went wide as he began to piece things together himself. "Wait… that's a lot of coincidences. Also, why do you always get into trouble!?" He needed to get Tsukasa on a leash. The constant times he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time was too much.

"I know! At first, I was hesitant but I ended up telling her everything. She decided to investigate the incident and she didn't care about sacrificing herself if it meant I would be safe… I don't know why, she e and cares about me for some reason… she told me she had suspicions and she also thinks Tsuchigomori's death wasn't a coincidence or an accident."

At this, Amane wanted to throw up. He knew and yet... "You don't think…"

"I think he was killed, Amane."

The deafening silence was freaking them out. Amane didn't know what to mention because… he too thought the same thing… but not over the same reason Tsukasa did. He thought his actions might have costed Tsuchigomori's life. After all, he got threatened the other day by powerful people. But this, knowing what Tsukasa just told him and the information he knew- opened a can of worms he wasn't sure should have ever been opened.

"So who killed him?" He was afraid of that answer for some reason.

"Well… we knew our sperm donor was involved in shady businesses right? Which means someone is running this town. Tsuchigomori was looking into that before he died, it was years worth of investigation and it seemed like it was going nowhere." Tsukasa did suspect perhaps he did find something eventually but never really told them and he was sure there was more than one person behind it all but thinking about it made his head spin. "And the guys I ran into pretty much implied they were paid to do it… who else would have the money to pay for someone to get killed?"

Amane looked at Tsukasa with wide eyes. "A literal millionaire…"

Tsukasa nodded. "Or someone in a powerful position, granted there are many suspects, it doesn't narrow it down but we can assume it was a corrupt politician, an officer, or someone from the big families."

Amane flinched at that. "The big families? Like…" Amane swallowed hard. "The Minamoto family?"

Tsukasa tried not to show any reaction upon hearing that. "Yeah… but also the Akane family is on the list. Not sure what their motive would be though."

Amane almost flinched. "The Akane's?" Wasn't that… wasn't that Aoi's family? Or did Tsukasa mean another family… there could be more than one Akane family after all.

Tsukasa nodded. "Yeah the Akane's, it's a powerful family and a lot of people have speculations that they're doing shady stuff."

It was then that Amane remembered that story about Aoi's aunt Sumire and how she suddenly disappeared. "Oh god, you might be right."

Tsukasa raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Akane Aoi is Akane's neighbor, the girl he likes." He began to explain but saw Tsukasa's confused expression. "Yeah, their names also confuse me."

Tsukasa nodded semi understanding.

Amane continued. "Akane knows everything about Aoi and he told me about her aunt Sumire and how something happened to her… it was mega shady and you saying all this makes me think something is going on with that family."

At this revelation, Tsukasa suddenly felt his heart sink. "You don't think…"

They looked at each other voicing their same concern. "The Akane's most likely did it."

Amane hated this, Aoi was Nene's best friend and he was sure Aoi was innocent in all of this. If they outed her family and it turned out to be true she would be devastated. He isn't close with Aoi at all but the girl spent the last few days defending Nene with all her might.

She was a true friend.

Tsukasa couldn't wrap his head around it though. "But again, what's their motive? Was Tsuchigomori investigating them too?"

Amane shrugged, unable to answer. "I mean if the aunt disappeared without a trace perhaps a missing person's report was filed? And since they didn't want the scandal to get out of the public they didn't want him looking around?"

Tsukasa sighed. "And knowing Tsuchigomori he most likely didn't close the case."

Amane nodded. "This is mere speculation though… the Minamoto's seemed more likely to do it."

"Why is that?" Tsukasa asked curiously.

Amane rubbed his head. "Well since we're on the topic. I fought at school and-"

"You fought!?"

"Yes, anyway I got confronted by Minamoto Teru and he somehow knew his name." The threats were still fresh on his mind.

Tsukasa thought for a bit. "That's too shady Amane."

"Tell me about it… the accusation for the Akane's is merely speculation, I honestly have more reasons to suspect the Minamoto's." He said feeling pain since he was suspecting his friend's family.

It was all crazy to think about. It was almost as if they bumped into a crazy murder mystery.

And they were the protagonist's

"Amane I'm scared… I don't want to lose you… please don't leave me." Tsukasa hugged Amane again, clearly coming to the same conclusion as him in all of this.

Two powerful families, three murders and they were all somehow connected.

And Amane needed to find out how. "Don't worry Tsu, nothing is going to happen to me. We just gotta keep quiet for now and investigate on our own. We gotta be discreet, maybe search through Tsuchigomori's apartment, he might have left some clues." He said, trying his best to reassure his already emotionally vulnerable sibling.

Tsukasa sniffed and wiped his tears, he felt better although all this new information was still causing him a headache. "I was going to do that with Shijima-san anyway. You have school, try and find out as many clues as you can about the two families."

Amane wasn't too sure about this idea. On one hand yeah, it would be good to split the work but right now Tsukasa was emotionally unstable, anything could probably set him off, especially since he's going to Tsuchigomori's apartment. "I don't know Tsu…"

"I'll be fine."

"I trust you but I'm worried." He placed his hand on his shoulder. "I'm not sure if you should go alone."

Tsukasa sighed. "Amane I promise I'll be fine… it's for Tsuchigomori… his death will not be in vain."

He knew and he understood now how important this was to Tsukasa. He needed closure and while Amane was going to the apartment later himself, for now, it was best to let Tsukasa have his moment on his own.

The conversation came to a stop and both brothers finally felt better and ready to move on despite this new development. They both went downstairs to have some dinner and maybe watch a movie or two.

Things are starting to get better.

--

Another update so soon?

Yeah despite my very frequent authors block I tend to suddenly not have it for a few days and take advantage of it to write xD

I do have important updates, anyone reading this story that's reading boys are better than chocolates, I apologize for slow updates, I made a mistake writing a romance story knowing full well I'm not in a romantic mood (due to personal issues lol)

So yeah updates for that will be incredibly slow

I'm also in transition to write for two other fandoms I'm in because variety is good!

I won't stop writing for the Hanako-kun fandom I'm just very low on inspiration for anything Hanako related

For further updates and more you can support me on my ! (if you wish)

(Link on my profile)

Reviews!

JustARandomGirl:

Lmao when I say angst I mean it xD

Hopefully this chapter was enough to dry some tears