A/N: Here's the final chapter of When The Brothers Cry that will be uploaded tonight. Enjoy!
Chapter 3- Family No More
The morning after the argument between the brothers, Adam decided to get on his bike early, and headed to school. After dismounting, he saw the Games Club run up to him. "Where's Jamie?" Mion asked, after Adam secured his bike. "We…had an argument. Jamie thinks he can handle himself, without my help. So, I allowed him to take care of himself. Until he apologises, I'm going to act like he doesn't exist." He said, before the Club looked to one another, and nodded. "Alright, we'll play along. But, doesn't this seem a tad too drastic?" Mion asked, before Adam shrugged. "He wants to act like a prick, let him. I'm sick of pulling his ass out the gutter." He said, before going to follow the Club inside the school, but after only a few steps, he heard the roar of an engine, followed by the sound of crashing metal, before he stopped, and some of the younger class members ran out of the school. "Mion…" he said, clenching his fist. "Please tell me that wasn't what I think it was." Hesitantly, Mion nodded, before Adam growled, and turned round, where he saw the Nissan Skyline that belonged to his brother, perched over the wreckage of his bike. "Oh, now you've just made a big mistake, Jamie." He said, before he looked to Mion. "Get the little ones inside. This is not gonna be pretty." He said, before the girl nodded, and the Club started to funnel the younger ones inside. "And you, Rika and Satoko." He said, turning to the two youngest members. "You don't wanna see this." He said, before the girls nodded. "I'll get Miss Rumiko." Rika said, before the two entered the school building. When Adam saw that he was alone, he turned back to the Skyline, where Jamie was getting out of the car.
"You think you can screw me over like that, and walk away unscathed? Doesn't work like that!" Jamie yelled, before slamming his car door shut. "You're going down, little brother!" he said, storming towards Adam, who started walking towards him. "What are you waiting for, Jamie? I'm right here." He said, before he flung a punch into Jamie's jaw, who quickly returned the gesture. Immediately, the two got wrapped into a brutal fight.
Inside the school…
"Miss Rumiko!" Rika called out, rushing into the classroom. "Furude, what is it?" Chie asked, before the girl stopped to regain her breath. "Adam and Jamie are getting into a confrontation out front!" she said, before the teacher's eyes widened. "Stay in the class! Sonozaki, get the class ready!" she called to Mion, who nodded, before she took off out the door.
Back outside…
Adam had tackled Jamie backwards into the Skyline, but his brother grabbed his wrist, and spun him round, slamming him into the hood of the car, pinning him. "Face it Adam, you never could beat me!" Jamie said, before Adam growled, and leapt up, putting his feet on the hood, before pushing back, causing Jamie to fall backwards, landing on his back, with Adam on top of him. "Eat shit, Jamie!" Adam yelled, elbowing Jamie in the face, before he rolled off him, and grabbed his brother, pulling him up to his feet. Kneeing him in the stomach, Adam spun him round, slamming him into the car, and stunning him. Stepping back, Adam ran up, and leapt up, kicking him with both legs, causing him to be launched backwards, over the hood of the car, sprawling out on the ground on the other side. Getting back to his feet, Adam slid over the hood of the car, landing next to his brother. Pulling him back up, Adam started punching him over and over.
"Mister Robertson, stop!" Miss Rumiko's voice echoed out, but Adam kept going, until another voice called out. "Adam, he's had enough!" Rika yelled, causing Adam to halt, before kneeling down to his brother. "You're still alive, Jamie, because of her." He said, before punching Jamie one last time, knocking him out cold. After tossing his brother to the ground, he turned to Chie. "I'll head to the teacher's office." He said, before the woman nodded in fear, and Adam went to enter the building. "If I was you, I'd get Jamie to the medical room." He said, before entering the school. Taking his words to heart, Chie walked over to the unconscious boy, and heaved him up, and carried him into the school.
After leaving Jamie in the medical room, Chie went to the teacher's office, where Adam was sitting in the chair on the other side of her desk, his arms crossed. "Well, Mister Robertson…" Chie started, sitting behind the desk, before Adam held up a hand. "Just call me Adam. I hate being called Mister Robertson. Same goes for my idiot of a brother." He said, before his teacher sighed. "Alright." She said, before continuing. "Adam, can you please explain what just happened between your brother and you?" she asked, before Adam sighed himself. "My brother is sick of me constantly helping out of trouble, so I told him to do one until he learns his lesson." He said, before Chie scowled. "Bit of a drastic measure." She said, before Adam nodded. "I suppose." He said, before Chie scowled. "I only have a couple things to ask: Is this going to happen again?" she asked, before Adam shrugged. "I can't say, but it ain't going to happen in the grounds again. Outside of school, I wish I could tell you." He said, before Chie nodded. "Okay, and second: Are your other classmates at risk from this feud of yours?" she asked, before Adam shook his head. "When Jamie crashed into my bike, I told Mion to get the kids out of the way. I ain't going to let Jamie hurt a fellow student." He said, before Chie smiled. "I'm happy to hear that." She said, before she frowned. "Unfortunately, after your fight today, I have to suspend you and your brother from school." She said, before Adam nodded. "I'll accept that. But, I have to ask one thing: Is there anywhere I can store my bike, at least until I can get it back to my garage?" He asked, before Chie nodded. "I think there's an empty shed on the grounds. In fact…" she said, before rummaging in her desk, and withdrawing a key. "Here." She said, passing it to Adam, who pocketed it. "Alright, I'll lock up my bike, then head home." He said, before the teacher nodded. "How long am I suspended for?" he asked, before Chie said, "A day or two. I believe that should be long enough." Bowing, Adam said, "I guess I'll see you in a couple of days.", before leaving the room. As he walked down the hallway, he saw Jamie coming out of the medical room. As he walked past him, he glared at his brother, whom he heard say, "Prick." Smirking, Adam said, "Wanker," in reply, before continuing down the hall, and out the front door.
After storing his bike (or what was left of it) in the shed, Adam walked straight home and got changed, but he decided to take a walk round the town, as he knew he'd likely run into Jamie, and that really wasn't something he wanted to endure. Deciding to see the sights, he managed to find a map of the city, and quickly memorised every route to every possible landmark. Smirking, he chose his first destination: the Furude Shrine. Walking in the general direction of it, he stopped at a couple of shops on the way to gather some food and drink for himself, along with a new backpack. After stuffing his supplies into the bag, he started to head back towards the shrine. Finally arriving at the shrine, he sat down on the stairs, and sighed. "That walk fucking killed me!" he groaned, before he heard a chuckle. "I must say, I'm surprised to see you here, Adam." Rika's voice said, causing Adam to turn round, and see the blue-haired girl sit down beside him. "Rika, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at school?" he asked, before Rika smirked. "I pretended I had something to do for the village, which allowed me to get out of school." She said, making Adam smile. "That's devious, Rika. I'm impressed." He said, before the girl smiled. "~Nippa!~" she said, before Adam sighed. "So, what's the real reason you left early?" he asked, before Rika tilted her head to the side. "Well, if I'm perfectly honest, I wanted to see how you were." She said, before Adam smiled. "I'm fine, Rika. You don't have to worry about me." He said, before the girl shuffled closer to him and placed her hand on his cheek. "This bruise here says different." She said, before Adam's eyes widened. Pushing Rika's hand to the side, he put a hand over the supposed bruise. "Well, I'll be damned." He said, before Rika chuckled. "I didn't even notice that. Seems Jamie has a better right hook than I thought." He said, causing Rika to smile. "Here, I'll make it better." She said, making Adam raise an eyebrow. "How do you plan on doing that?" he asked, before Rika smiled, and lunged forward, and Adam felt a wet sensation on his cheek.
When Rika pulled back after a couple seconds, Adam raised a hand to his cheek. "Rika, did you just…?" He went to ask, before Rika tilted her head to the side. "Was the cheek not enough? I could kiss you on the lips, if you want." She said, causing Adam to blush, and jump up, but he fell backwards, rolling backwards down a couple of stairs. "Ahh, son of a bitch!" he said, clasping the back of his head, which was throbbing. "Rika…" he said, peering up at the girl, who was chuckling, "Why did you say something like that?" Smiling, Rika said, "Well, I'll be honest, you've peaked my interest, Adam, even though we've only known each other a couple of days." She said, before Adam blushed. "Really?" he asked, before Rika nodded. "Well, shit." He said, lowering his head back down, but all he got was another shot of pain up the back of his head. "Pretty foul-mouthed, aren't you?" Rika asked, before he held a thumb up. "Just, please don't tell anyone, or use what I say in polite conversation." He said, before Rika smiled. "Well, getting back on subject, do you want me to kiss you again? You do like me, don't you?" she asked, before Adam's face erupted in a bright blush. "Well, I, um, eh…" he stammered, before relenting and falling back down. "Yeah." He finally said, before Rika smiled. "Well, that settles it…" she said, before leaping down beside Adam. As she got closer to kissing him, Adam held her back. "Rika, as much as I want to do this, we can't. You're way too young." He said, getting to his feet. "I don't think anyone will bother." She said, before Adam smirked. "It's more so my dickhead of a brother doesn't have any ammunition against me." He said, before Rika sighed. "Well, I guess I can only wait for the future, huh?" she asked, before Adam nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately." He said, before getting back up to his feet. "I need to get going, see if I can stomach the presence of my brother." He said, before Rika smiled. "Well, if you ever need to get away, feel free to come over to my place. It's quite close to here. You're welcome to stay over anytime." She said, making Adam grin in response. "I might take you up on that offer, Rika." He said, patting the girl on her head, before she grinned. "~Nippa!~" she said, before she walked off, but not before waving farewell. "Nippa." Adam said, looking up at the sky, before he decided to walk off. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he was suddenly struck by a thought…
"What the fuck does ~Nippa!~ mean?"
A couple of days later…
Adam and Jamie had continued their feud, but a punch-up like the one in the courtyard had not occurred. After he was allowed to return to school, Adam had pulled a chair over to beside the rest of the Club, and had kept absolutely silent when it came to his brother, only shooting glances over to him periodically. Along with this, Adam had decided to take Rika up on her offer, and the night after he met Rika at the shrine, he had taken his Charger to her house (which she shared with Satoko), and knocked on the door, soon after being given a spare room by Rika. He had also decided, when he was given a free lesson, or if the Club had finished their activities after school, that he would use his toolbox, which he took with him in the Charger, to try and fix up his bike. In return for allowing him to stay over, he had given Rika and Satoko a ride to school each day, and the two would sit to the side while Adam worked on his bike, having a laugh between the three of them, then he would give them a ride back to the house.
As for Jamie, he had remained in a foul mood, and he had gotten into a couple more scrapes, but he had refrained from asking Adam for help, as he kept letting his pride get in the way. Whenever he went to talk to his brother, he could only manage to glare at him, which was always returned by Adam. When a class would end, Jamie would immediately run out of the room, and Adam could always hear the roar of his Skyline as it pulled away. He also outright refused to attend the Club's activities, as he would have to interact with Adam.
A couple of weeks later…
After a while, Adam had all but made his brother non-existent, and was lying under his bike, working on part of the frame, with Rika and Satoko sitting nearby. "You're really determined to get this bike repaired, huh?" Satoko asked, before Adam slid out from under the bike. "Of course. I don't like taking my Charger out on the town, so I have to get this bike finished." Adam said, making Satoko smile. "Alright, so can we do anything to help?" She asked, before Adam shook his head. "Unless you two are able to lift this bike to allow me to replace a part, no." He said, before the girls looked to each other, smirked, then leaped down from the table they were sitting, before grabbing the front of the bike and lifting it up, to the surprise of Adam. "Well, I'll be damned." He said, before quickly replacing the part he needed to, and stepping back. "Alright, down." He said, before the girls nodded, and lowered the bike back down. "Where were you two hiding that strength?" he asked, before they shrugged. "Alright, I'm still quite a ways off from finishing, but it's mostly just simple work from now on. A few more sessions should do it." He said, cleaning his hands. "Alright, we should get going." He said, before the girls nodded, and followed him outside to the Charger.
After Adam placed his tools back in the car, he perked up when he heard a scuffle. Looking over, he saw Jamie being pinned to the wall by the three bikers from a few weeks earlier. As they all looked to him, Adam said to the bikers, "Carry on," before closing the boot. Smirking, the bikers went back to beating on Jamie. "Adam, he's your brother." Rika said, before Adam scoffed. "I told you, until he apologises, I have nothing to do with him." He said, even though the girls could see him tense when the bikers connected a punch with Jamie's stomach, causing the boy to grunt in pain. "Let's go." He said, going to enter the car, before Jamie called out…
"Adam, I'm sorry!"
Smirking, Adam said, "There it is!", before shutting the car's door. "Please, get in the car, you two." He said, before the girls got into the car. Smiling, Adam started to walk over to the bikers. "Hey!" he yelled, before the head biker went to turn round, only to be met by a fist from Adam. After a small round of fists flying, all three of the bikers were on the ground, with Adam standing over them. "Let me make this clear, punks…" he said, dragging the lead biker to his feet, "If you come near my brother again, I'll make what happened here look like child's play, got it?" he demanded, before the boy nodded. "Good boy." he said, playfully smacking the boy's cheek. "Now, get lost!" he said, throwing the man to the side. Scrambling to his feet, the boy got his two friends and ran off. "Wankers." Adam said, before turning to Jamie, who was groaning in pain on the ground. "Get up, you sorry sack of shit!" he said, extending a hand, which Jamie took, before pulling his brother to his feet.
"Now, do you realise why you need me?" Adam asked his brother, who hesitated, before nodding. "Yeah, I do." Jamie said, before Adam nodded. "Good to know." Adam said, before turning round. "Just one more thing…" he said, causing Jamie to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Suddenly, Adam spun back round, and socked Jamie right in the stomach, sending him to the ground. "That's for being an asshole. You can start making it up by helping me fix my bike." He said, before Jamie smiled and nodded. "Alright, so, I'll get these two home, and I'll see you at the house." Adam said, before entering the Charger and driving off before Jamie could respond.
As the Charger pulled up to the Furude house, Adam followed the girls inside, before picking up his bag. "Well, it was fun having you, Adam." Rika said, before the boy smiled. "Yeah, so now I need to go and sort things out with Jamie." He said, before he went to leave. "Alright, I guess I'll see you at school." He said, before the girls waved him goodbye, and watched him get back into his car. Eventually, Adam pulled back up outside his house, parked his car in the garage, and with his bag on his back, he opened the front door.
"So, what now?" Jamie asked from the couch, before Adam flopped down onto the cushion beside him. "Well, you've learned your lesson, I hope?" he asked, before Jamie scoffed. "Yeah, I have." He said, punching Adam lightly on the shoulder. "Prick." His younger brother said, before smiling. "Alright, after the Club activities, we're working on my bike. Got it?" he said, before Jamie nodded. "I suppose it's only fair." He said, before Adam smirked and got up from the couch. "I'm done in from the day, so I'm going to bed." He said, before heading to his room. Flopping down onto his bed, he sighed when he felt the mattress sag. "I'd almost forgotten how this bed felt." He thought to himself, as he almost immediately drifted off to sleep…
A/N: And that's a wrap! Three chapters uploaded. See you next chapter. Madman out!