A/N: Welcome back to When The Brothers Cry! I hope you enjoy Chapter 13 - Choice!
Chapter 13 - Choice
As the townspeople walked along the streets, they paused when they heard a faint rumble. Turning round, they were shocked by the Charger and Skyline of the brothers zooming by them. Inside the vehicles, Adam and Jamie were laughing, due to the adrenaline pumping through them. They were actually racing, their destination being the School.
"Not this time, Adam!" Jamie said, as he shifted the Skyline ahead of his brother. Looking to his side, Adam saw Jamie flip him off, before driving off in front. "Smartass." He muttered, before shifting gears, and speeding up, coming level with his brother once again. Driving off in front, he looked to his wing mirror, and said quietly, "Alright, bro, I got something for your ass!" He said under his breath, before surprising his brother by pulling on his handbrake & spinning the Charger's wheel to the side, causing the car to spin on the road, coming to a stop with Adam driving backwards.
Rolling down the window, the younger brother held out his arm, and flipped his brother off. "Yeah, bro, how'd you like them apples?" He yelled, before the walkie in his car buzzed to life. "Fucking showoff!" Jamie's voice blared out, drawing a grin from Adam. "That's the Adam Robertson School of Driving right there, baby!" He stated, before spying something in his rearview mirror. "Oh, shit!" He shouted, before grabbing his handbrake, and spinning his car back round. Shifting gears, he sped ahead of his brother, before pulling the car into a drift, coming to a perfect stop in the courtyard of the School, the Skyline following behind, with the both of them narrowly missing their teacher as she went to enter the grounds.
"Those two are unbelievable..." Chie groaned, as the brothers exited the cars, and locked them. As she walked up to them, she saw Adam clap Jamie on his back. As the brothers exchanged a laugh, Adam looked to Chie.
"Ah, Miss Chie! How are you this good morning?" He asked, before Chie shifted her bag up her shoulder slightly. "I'm doing fine, Adam, although it was nearly ruined when you nearly hit me with your cars." She stated, before Adam winced visibly. "Really? Well, I apologize for that, for both of us. Got a bit too wrapped up in our race. I promise, it won't happen again." He said, before bowing to her, Jamie copying him. "Well, I'll let it go this time..." She started, causing the brothers to look to each other and smile, "If...You two take after-school class duty today." This caused the pair to scowl, before Adam sighed. "Alright, we'll do it."
Smirking, Chie moved towards the School. "Shall we, then?" She asked, getting a nod from the boys. "Lead the way." Jamie stated, as he and his brother followed her inside. After they entered the classroom, they went straight to their desks, and tossed their bags under it.
"Guess we're first in the day." Jamie piped up, causing Adam to skirt his eyes to the class, which was empty, except for the brothers and Chie. "Right, I need to jump to the office for a couple of minutes. You two going to be okay on your own?" The teacher asked suddenly, before the pair nodded. "Yeah, we'll be fine." He replied, getting a nod from her, before she left the room. At the exact instant that the door slid shut, Adam kicked Jamie in the leg. "Get your books out. You've got till she comes back to finish off that homework for the day." He ordered, causing Jamie to groan, as he pulled his study materials out of his bag. Opening to the relevant place in his book, the older brother got to work...
After a few minutes, Jamie placed his pencil on the table. "Done." He stated, sliding the paper to Adam, who lifted it up and scrutinised it. "Not bad. Enough to avoid getting scolded, but also enough to show that you're a bit thick." Adam explained, making Jamie glare at him. "Fuck. You." Was all the older brother said, making Adam place his head on his palm, and look out the window. Smirking at the look on his brother's face, Jamie's inner monologue decided to pipe up; "He looks like a lovesick little puppy. Rika must have a good grasp on his heart. Not that I'm saying Shion doesn't have one on mine." "Well, this is certainly a surprise! Not only are you two early, but Jamie's doing homework." A voice said suddenly, causing the brothers to snap out of their respective trances, and look towards the door, where they saw the Games Club standing. Immediately, Adam locked eyes with Rika, just as his brother did the same with Shion.
"Hey guys." Adam called out, as the Club entered the room. However, he was caught off guard by Rika walking up to him and kissing him on the cheek. "Good morning." She said, as Adam's eyes bulged. "Rika...?" He started, before the girl shrugged. "It's practically common knowledge at this point." She stated, making Adam nod after a second. "Fair enough." He said, getting a chuckle from his side. "Well, in that case, guess I've got something that should be made common knowledge as well." Shion said, causing the Club to look at her, before she surprised them all by kissing Jamie. On the lips. Just as the rest of the class filtered through the door.
"Called it!" Adam cried out, as the couple separated. "You're not the only one." Mion said, as Adam smirked in her direction, before his eyes locked on the joined hands of her and Keiichi. "Interesting." He thought to himself, as he looked to Satoko. "What about you, Satoko? Any boys catch your eye?" He asked the yellow-haired trap master, who broke into a blush. "Not a boy, exactly..." She said, under her breath, causing Adam to narrow his eyes, as he had heard her regardless. "So she does have someone. But not a boy? Either she has fallen for an older man, or she's in love with a girl. Not that there's anything wrong with either option. The heart wants what the heart wants." He thought, before clapping a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry about who it is, Satoko. We won't judge you. We're family, after all." He explained, looking to the Club. "Right, guys?" Nodding, the Club all smiled at her, getting a nod from her, before she raised a hand, and pointed...
At Hanyuu.
"We started dating at the Cotton Drifting." She said, before the Club looked to the purple-haired girl, who started to mumble. "Hauhau." she said, with a bright red blush on her face. "Well, I think I'm speaking for all of us when I say we're cool with it. Not like it's harming anyone." Jamie said, getting nods from the rest of the Club, just as the door slid open, and Chie walked in. "Damn, and just as I was about to ask Rena about her love life. Ach, well, there's always later." Adam thought to himself, as his friends got to their feet.
"Good morning, everyone!" Chie called out, after the class settled into their seats. "Good morning, Miss Rumiko!" The children replied, as the teacher placed her register on the podium at the front of the class. "Well, let's go over roll call, before we get to work." The blue-haired woman stated, flipping open the register...
Later On...
"Well, as per usual, you have free rein to do as you please. Just come and get me if you need me." Chie called out, before heading inside the school. Immediately, the children got into their groups, and started to play whatever game came to mind.
"Alright, what game we playing today, sis?" Shion asked her sibling, who shrugged. "Well, I didn't actually think about it, as I forgot that we had PE today." Mion replied, scratching the back of her neck sheepishly. "Well, in that case, Jamie and I are out." Adam stated, causing the Club to snap their necks towards him. "Why?" Keiichi asked, getting a smirk from the brothers. "We've got to remain in shape, and the only way that we do that is by sparring." Jamie explained, making the Club raise their eyebrows. "Sparring? You mean you two are gonna...fight?" Hanyuu asked, shuddering at the nods from Adam and Jamie. "Don't worry. We won't be getting too rowdy here. All we need is a ring." He said, before picking up a nearby stick and using it to create a ring in the dirt. "Well, shall we?" Jamie asked his brother, who cracked his neck. "Let's." Adam replied, before he and Jamie walked into the ring.
As Jamie stretched, Adam saw that the rest of the class had gathered round, and even though his back was to them, he heard Mion say, "100 yen on Adam?", as Keiichi said, "Done." "Alright, let's get on with this." Jamie said, before Adam smirked. "Agreed. Just don't hold back." He replied, getting only Jamie crouching into a combat stance in reply. "Alright then." He stated, launching himself forwards...
As Adam leapt at his brother, Jamie ducked underneath him, causing Adam to fly over him, and nearly out of the ring. Luckily for Adam, however, he managed to place a hand on the ground, using it to spin himself back towards his brother. Pushing off the dirt, he kicked Jamie in the back, pushing him closer to the other edge of the circle. "Oh, no you don't!" The elder brother stated, after regaining his balance. Spinning round, he saw that Adam had raised his fists, and Jamie replied in kind. "Fine, then." He spat, before swinging at Adam, who dodged the punch, and delivered a punch to Jamie's side, but his brother caught him off guard by swinging the hand he had originally thrown out backwards, catching Adam in the cheek. Staggering back, Adam spat out a small glob of phlegm that had built up. "Nice." He stated, wiping his mouth, before clenching his fist.
"My turn." He continued, before swinging at his brother, who dodged to the side, but he then tried to feint, bringing his arm back up, but Jamie blocked it with his arm. As they were locked together, Adam discreetly placed a foot behind his brother's leg. "Game, set, and match, bro!" He called out, before decking Jamie, spinning under his arm, and pulling him over his shoulder at the same time. Due to his position, this meant that Jamie did indeed land in the dirt, but in the dirt on the other side of the line.
"Adam wins!" Rika called out, signifying the match was over. "You gotta be shitting me!" Jamie thought, as he picked himself up off the dirt. As he sat up, he looked to Adam, who was holding out a hand. "C'mon." Adam stated, causing his brother to take his hand, and allow Adam to pull him back to his feet, before they embraced, and clapped each other on the back, as the rest of the class applauded Adam's victory.
"Good fight, bro. You almost had me a couple of times there." Adam stated, drawing a laugh out of his brother. Yeah, but I always fall victim to that last move, every fucking time!" Jamie replied, getting a chuckle from Adam, as he saw Chie walking back out of the school.
"Adam, Jamie & Rika!" The teacher called out, drawing the specified trio's attention. "There's someone here to speak with the three of you. He's waiting for you out front." She explained, getting a nod from both of the brothers, but unbeknownst to her, Rika was thinking to herself, "This'll be Ōishi again. But if Tomitake heeded the warning I gave him yesterday, it shouldn't be that bad."
"Alright, we'll go and see him now." Adam said, before he led his brother and girlfriend round the front of the building, where a large grey-haired man was standing, smoking a cigarette. As the trio approached, the man threw his cigarette on the ground, and stamped on it to extinguish it, before turning to them.
"Ah, how nice to see you again, Adam! And you as well, Jamie." The man exclaimed, extending a hand to the brothers. "Wait, they've met?" Rika thought to herself, as both of the boys shook his hand. "Same to you, Ōishi." Adam said, before the man smiled, and turned his gaze to Rika. "Oh, sorry, Furude, I didn't see you at first. Good to see you as well." He stated, causing the girl in question to smile. "Good to see you, Detective Ōishi. ~Nippa!~" She replied, in her normal happy-go-lucky demeanour, drawing a smile from the man.
"So, what's this all about, Detective?" Jamie asked, sitting on the hood of his Skyline. "Glad you asked, Jamie. I wanted to talk to the 3 of you about a certain individual, if I may?" Ōishi asked, causing the kids to look at each other, then back to him. "Go ahead." Adam said, before the detective reached into his shirt pocket, and withdrew a photo, which he then passed to Adam. "This man hasn't been seen since the Watanagashi Festival. According to eyewitness accounts, you three were the last ones to see him." Ōishi explained, as the kids looked at the photo of Tomitake in Adam's hand.
"Missing, you say? Not...dead?" Rika asked suddenly, to the shock of Ōishi, Adam and Jamie. "No body has been found yet, so we're treating this as a missing persons case for now. But, you sounded like you know something, Miss Furude." The cop replied, getting a nod from Rika. "Enough with playing defence. If I'm going to survive, I need to act first, and I can only do that if everyone's on the same page. I need to beat Takano. I WILL beat Takano!" Rika thought to herself, as Ōishi approached her, but stopped when he saw Adam place a defensive arm round Rika's shoulder.
"People are out to kill me, Ōishi, and they intended to weaken me by killing Tomitake the night of the Watanagashi Festival. I warned him of this last night, and told him to go into hiding. If he's heeded my warning, he'll be doing just that." Rika explained, getting a look of surprise from the males. "That's quite an accusation to make, Miss Furude. And who do you believe is trying to kill you?" Ōishi asked, prompting Rika to take a breath.
"I don't have proof, but I know for a fact that Miyo Takano is behind it. She leads a group of people called the Yamainu. They think that by killing me, and then the rest of Hinamizawa, Takano can become a god." Rika explained, causing Ōishi to look at the brothers, both of whom were looking at Rika. "It's a tall tale, sure, but it would explain why Rika was uneasy around Takano at the Festival. Come to think of it, why the fuck am I suddenly getting a sense of déjà vu?" Adam thought to himself, before he was caught off guard by Ōishi addressing him.
"According to the village chief, Adam, you and Miss Furude are romantically involved. What do you think about all of this?" The detective asked, causing Adam to look at Rika, who he noted had a pleading look in her eye. "Guess the game's up." He said to Jamie, who nodded, before turning back to Ōishi.
"My brother and I received a phone call from a woman a couple days before the Festival. She wanted us to spy on Rika, and report her movements. We declined the job. We didn't know the voice at first, but after meeting her last night, I'm positive it was Takano. I can't speak for murder, but she's definitely up to something." Adam explained, to Rika's shock. "He never betrayed us in this world. Yes! That's the Adam I fell in love with!" The blue-haired girl thought, as Ōishi processed what he had been told. "This correct, Jamie?" He asked the older brother, who nodded.
"Well, if all of that's true, then I'll see about putting Miss Furude under official police protection..." Ōishi started, before Adam cut him off. "If anyone's gonna protect her, it'll be me." He stated, drawing a chuckle from Ōishi. "Admirable as that is, Adam, if these 'Yamainu' are as dangerous as Rika says they are, then an official police protection detail would serve her far better." He said, but Rika stopped him by hugging Adam's arm. "I'll stick with Adam. That way, I know I've got discrete protection. A police detail will draw too much attention." She explained, causing the boy and detective to look at each other, before Ōishi extended a hand.
"Well, she's under your care now, Adam. The police will be standing by, just in case." He explained, before Adam clasped his hand. "Fine with me." He replied, before Ōishi looked at his watch. "I'd better get back to the station. See you all. Take care of yourselves." He said in a low voice, before getting into his car, and pulling out of the grounds.
"Rika..." Adam started, causing the girl to look at him. "Tonight, I'm moving in temporarily." He stated, getting a nod from his girlfriend. "Jamie..." He continued, as his brother cracked his knuckles. "When we get home, you're making a call." He ordered, causing Jamie to look confused for a second, before he smirked. "How many we calling?" He asked, getting an identical smirk from Adam. "All of them." He replied, cracking his neck. "What are you two thinking?" Rika asked, before Adam looked to her. "You'll need to trust me on this, Rika." He replied, giving her a quick kiss. "Now…" he said, jerking his head towards the School. "Ready to tell the others?" He asked, causing his girlfriend to look to the ground.
"What if they don't believe me?" She asked, which prompted Adam to look to his brother, who nodded, before he held up his hand next to her head, waiting for her to look up. When she did, he delivered a hard flick to her forehead, causing her to recoil in pain. "What was that for?" She asked, as Adam knelt down to look her in the eye. "You seriously think that they'll not believe you? Rika, any person who doesn't believe you, doesn't deserve to be called your friend." He explained,before he held out his hand. "Now, if what you said is true, Takano has her army. Time to go get ours." He stated, causing Jamie to smile, as Rika tentatively took his hand. Smiling, the younger Robertson led them back into the school...
Later...
"So, let me get this straight; Takano wants to kill Rika, so that the residents of Hinamizawa go crazy and kill each other. This will turn her into a god. Also, Rika's been stuck in a time loop, repeating the summer of 1983 for...how long was it, again, Rika?" Keiichi asked, causing the blue-haired girl in question to sigh. "Well over 100 years." She replied, before the Club nodded, and looked to Hanyuu.
"You've been with her throughout those other worlds, isn't that right, Hanyuu?" Satoko asked of her girlfriend, who nodded. "Every one. Even in the previous world, which was the only one where the brothers appeared, but I could never interact with any of you. Not until this world." She explained, prompting Adam to rub his jaw. "What you thinking, bro?" Jamie asked, drawing a smile from Adam. "When did you say Takano will kill you, Rika?" He asked his girlfriend. "It varies. But it's always after Watanagashi." She replied, before the Club nodded.
"So, we've still got time to prepare. Start getting ready when you get home, guys." Adam ordered, getting nods from his friends. "Ready for what...?" Shion asked, causing Adam to look at her, his Cheshire grin back in place.
"War."
A/N: Now we're getting to the good shit! I gotta admit, I'm actually looking forward to the next couple chapters. I'll see you all in Chapter 14 - War. Madman out!