AUTHOR'S NOTES: Did everyone order their copy of MARS 4? I sure did! I haven't read it yet because my bookstore has to special order them every time. Doesn't that suck? It won't get to me for another week or so. Boo-hoo! Scratch that; make it another month, because this time they "couldn't order it yet." The first three pages of this is mainly dialogue because I was in a dialogue writing mood, I suppose. There's so much dialogue after that, too, now that I mention it. Oh, well. Enjoy this anyway! Be sure to review when you finish, because I'm not pleased with my current number (this is my favorite fic, too)!
What Wasn't Meant to Be by Sushifishie
Chapter Three: Father's Boys
"Really? You beat him by that much?" Sei asked, surprised at his brother's achievement. The two of them were walking home from school after their first day. They had met at the gate, as planned, much to Rei's delight. Unlike the last day of school the previous year, Sei had met his commitment.
"Is it really that surprising?" Rei asked, making fake puppy-dog eyes. "I'm hurt, Sei. Hurt!"
Sei grinned, "Art club wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, at first."
"Oh," he replied, nodding. "You met a girl," he stated.
"I never said that! Why would you think that!" he burst out, shocked.
"Well, it's true, isn't it?"
Sei hung his head, and then started laughing. "Yeah, I guess it is!"
"Hah! I knew it!" he said, beaming in his success. "Who is it? Is she hot?"
Sei debated telling his brother, and then decided for it. He would find out sooner or later anyway. "Her name is Kira, Kira Aso."
"How do you spell that?" he asked, being the person that he is.
Sei shook his head, amazed at his brother's apparent stupidity. "It's ki-ra."
"I see," he replied. There was a pause, without any conversation before Rei chimed, "I met someone, too."
"Is that so?" asked Sei.
"Yeah, his name is Tatsuya."
Unable to contain his laughter, Sei almost collapsed in a heap. "His name?" he asked through laughs. "It's a guy?"
"You're a dork!" Rei said, lightly pushing his brother. "Not like that! He's my new basketball buddy. We're going to be with the guys from Shibuya and make some easy cash. I made twenty bucks today."
"Oh," he said. "Feel like getting a cone?" he asked as they approached an ice cream shop.
"Always!" Sei said gleefully. "You're treating, right?"
"You don't have any cash on you, do you?" he asked skeptically.
Sei shrugged, "Nope, sorry, man."
Rei pushed open the door and met the eyes of a familiar face. One of the girls from the basketball court was sitting at the front table, eating a little sundae. It was the one with the long hair. As he walked past, she glanced up slightly, and then did a double take when she saw Sei follow. She appeared to be very interested in her ice cream, because she didn't look at them for a few minutes after that.
The shop was a quaint little hut with green and white trim. There was a glass counter under the register filled with cakes, cookies, and bars of all kinds. The ice cream was in a case next to it. The types varied from rocky road to triple chocolate fudge with almonds, and the place claimed to have 'more than forty varieties (try our new mocha caramel)!'
They walked up to the counter, each ordering a single-scooped mocha caramel cone. "This is tasty stuff," Rei commented, licking the edge of the dripping cone.
"Yeah," Sei agreed.
They sat there, licking their cones, and pointing and laughing at people who walked by. What they weren't counting on, though, was someone walking up to them. It was the girl from the courts, saying, "Hello, Rei," with a flirtatious smile. "Who's your friend? He's hot!"
"He's my significant other," he replied with an almost straight face. "No way, I'm just playing with you. Who are you, anyway?"
She wrapped both hands around his, and with a charming grin answered, "Rika."
"How's that spel..." he began to say, before he was rudely hit over the head with a backpack. "Ow! Jeez, Sei! What'd you do that for?"
"You don't just go around asking girls how to spell their names, silly!" he shook his head in dismay. "That's weird!" The thing about Sei is that he isn't afraid to talk to people he knows in front of people he doesn't. He just doesn't like to talk to people he doesn't know. He's confusing in that way.
Rei grinned at Sei, "Au contraire, my dear brother. 'Tis nobler to ask a girl the spelling than how her name came to be," he said, trying his hand at being 'poetic.'
Rika giggled with a hand over her mouth. She said, "Wow, a poet. Can you do anything else?"
"I can say a lot more than poetry," he said with a wink. "And I don't mean nursery rhymes!"
Sei rolled his eyes in annoyance, and turned his head from the annoying two. He glanced around the shop to see if anyone else he knew was there. He saw some kids from other schools that he'd seen around, but didn't know very well. There was a few middle aged couples at the tables, and only one person he knew. Kurasawa was sitting by himself at a small checkered table near the back. He was reading a large art book and eating a chocolate cake. If he'd known that Kurasawa at least knew his name, he might have talked to him, but seeing that he might not know that much, he decided against it.
At the table, Rika and Rei were flirting heavily, and Sei needed something to break the atmosphere. His luck came when he noticed a certain somebody walk by outside. "Rei, that's her!" he said, loudly enough to free Rei from his rapture. "It's Kira!" he said, pointing.
"That's Kira?" he asked, apparently shocked. "Well, I guess good taste can only go to every first child. But, judging by the look on your face, I'd assume that you were thinking that she was in good taste, huh? Poor, naive Sei. We'll pick up some nice girls sometime, okay?"
"Rei!" Sei exclaimed angrily.
"I'm joking, just joking!" he raised his hands in defense. "She's actually kind of cute, if you like that sort of girl."
Sei stared at the figure that'd just passed the window. Why did he feel so close to her already? He'd only known her for a day. Was it because she reminded him so much of himself?
* * *
Back at the house, later that evening, Sei sat next to Rei at their double desk. Rei had on his headphones, and was trying desperately to do his homework, but was finding it very difficult. "It's just too boring!" he cried out. "I want to go riding! Sitting here is so dull!"
"Stop complaining," suggested Sei. "Maybe if you'd just shut-up and try to do some real work, it wouldn't be so bad. Have you ever thought of that?"
"I don't want to, though!" Rei whined. "I'm going to go see Kyoko and see if she'll take me to the circuit. I'll see you later, okay?"
"But Rei, Dad's coming home early tonight, remember," Sei reminded him unhappily. "He's planning on a family dinner!"
"Too bad for him!" he scoffed. "I don't want to sit around and wait for that guy to get home when I could be out racing right now!"
"But Rei...!"
"Never mind, Sei!" Rei yelled. "Just stay out of this, it doesn't concern you anyway. Just butt out!" He stomped outside and slammed the door.
"Dad's not going to be pleased with you, Rei," Sei whispered to the wall. "Not pleased at all!"
He looked back down at his work. This had happened before; Rei walking out in a huff, Dad coming home especially early. His dad had always gotten so mad at Rei that he lost privileges and had no allowance for a week, and things like that. But this time was different. This time, Rei was going out to the circuit.
His dad was going to love that! Sei's father hated the circuit. He thought that races were demeaning and hazardous. Sei couldn't completely disagree, and he couldn't say that he liked Rei's love for racing, but at least he supported him. Their dad absolutely refused to see Rei race, since his old friend was killed in a motorcycling accident many years ago. No matter how much Rei tried to convince him that motorcycles were getting safer and safer, his dad just wouldn't listen.
Yet, Rei continued going to the races, competing in and supporting them, Sei sighed. Their dad wasn't so bad as to keep his son from racing, but he had never once seen him race. When Rei flipped over on his bike just a few months ago, his dad had gone ballistic. He'd made Akitaka take him out of all events he'd planned, and the 4-hour endurance champion was out of the race track for almost three months.
No one could hold Rei back, though, Sei smiled. Even with the offer of millions, Rei wouldn't change his mind once he got his heart set. Well, maybe millions, but not thousands, he afterthought. He was one of the most confidant and cool people that Sei knew, and he admired his brother for racing, even though their dad expected Rei to become a business man.
Sei stopped himself from reminiscing anymore and got to homework. This English was nasty stuff! He was only working for a half hour or so until his dad walked in. For once, he was happy, with a goofy smile on his face. Probably drunk, Sei decided, and his prediction was confirmed when the man walked over and embraced his son with a, "Hello, my fine boy! How was your day? Mine was lovely, thank you!"
Sei watched in awe as the grown man turned pirouettes around the room, picking up the lampshade and starting into a waltz. Almost afraid to say anything, Sei cautiously asked, "Dad, is there anything that you want to tell me?"
"Let's just say, that pretty soon, we're going to be having many more family dinners!" he said with a grin. "I've found myself a wonderful woman who wants to meet you both!"
Giving him an all-knowing nod, Sei turned back to his work. So, his dad wasn't drunk, he had gotten himself a new girlfriend. It was only a year ago that he had started dating again, and Rei had despised every woman that came his way. Even though the vow says, "Till death do us part," Rei had a belief that the marriage should extend beyond death, and that if you truly love someone, then there is no one else perfect for you in the world.
Not really having an opinion, Sei tried his best to be kind to each of his dad's suitors. After all, they might become his mom someday, and they weren't all bad. He also felt that he had to be especially nice to them to make up for Rei's hatred and snide remarks.
Seeming to be coming off the high, his dad stopped dancing. In a slightly less amused tone, he asked the dreaded question, "Where's your brother?"
* * *
"Rei, Sei told me something about your dad calling a family meal or something tonight, is that true?" Kyoko asked watching Akitaka race around the track.
Rei looked up at her and sighed, "Yeah. The old man wanted us to eat together 'as a family' he said. If we really were a family, then he wouldn't have to tell us to eat together 'as a family' would."
"Do you really believe that?" she asked.
"Of course I do!" Rei bellowed. "That guy has done nothing for Sei but cause him grief, and he's done even less for me. It'd be better off if it were just me and Sei, no Dad at all."
"Would that really work? I mean, could you live without him? He does give you food and money and everything."
"It would work without him."
Rei went into the back room to change into his racing suit. Putting on the tight suit, he thought about what Kyoko had said. Sure, the old guy gave them money, but as a wise person once said, "money doesn't buy happiness." The thing that really brings happiness is to have someone that understands you completely, to find your soul mate. To live with the person that never judges and can always read you. It's nice to have lots a people who you can call friends, but to not have one special confidante can make a person lonely easily. So, if Sei wanted to continue to live with their father, then Rei would stick it out with him. After all, he couldn't leave his soul mate, could he?
"Rei!" Kyoko called into the room from outside. "There's someone here to see you, so hurry up, okay?"
"Coming," he replied, grabbing his helmet off the shelf.
He strolled out wearing a fake smile, trying to cheer himself up. Rei wasn't the kind of person to let his sad emotions show through. He was supposed to be happy, happy Rei Kashino. But, even Rei couldn't keep up a fake smile when the next sight befell his eyes. It was his father.
"Rei, come home with me," he said sternly. "It's time for dinner, and we're eating it as a family today."
"At least let me ride a couple laps first," he pleaded. "It would be pointless to come here and not do something during this time!"
"Well," his dad said with an offhand smile. "I guess this was a worthless trip then. You're coming with me now," he finished, grabbing his son's shoulder.
"Kyoko!"
Rei asked for help.
She made a face that told him,
"I'm sorry, but I can't do anything in this kind of a situation!" and Rei was
dragged off.
When they got to the car, Rei burst out, "Dad, why the hell did you do something like that? You just made a fool of me in front of my friends!"
"You broke the rules Rei. You know when it's time for a family dinner that it's your job to be at home and ready to go out. Your brother was all ready and doing his homework when I got in and I find you at the race track! Do you realize how that makes me feel? It makes it seem like I only have one son!"
"Well," Rei began, starting to lose his nerve. "Maybe you do only have one son!"
"What's that supposed to mean, boy? Are you trying to say that you're disowning me?"
"What if I am?"
"In that
case, I'd cut off all ties to you and leave you stranded in the middle of this
road," he said, gesturing to the busy highway that they were driving home on.
Rei thought over his options,
and decided that even if he were stupid enough to get out of the car, that
would mean abandoning Sei to deal with this monster of a father, so he decided,
"Just take me home."
His father nodded, looking intently on the road with tremendous concentration. Soon, they were pulling into the parking lot outside their apartment complex. Sei was sitting on the steps leading to the main entrance, apparently waiting for their arrival. He dashed to the car and hopped in the backseat.
"Where are we going to eat at?" he asked, breaking the silence you could cut with a knife.
"I don't feel like eating anymore," Rei said with a grumpy face.
"We're going to the campus dinner theatre," their dad said, throwing a stern look in Rei's direction.
Rei stared at his father, getting more disgusted by the minute. It was the last straw when his dad said, "We're going to meet my date there."
"Let me out, now!" Rei demanded. "I do not want to deal with this today, or any day for that matter. You should still be loyal to Mom! It's like you're disrespecting her!"
Slapping Rei across the cheek his dad shouted, "Don't talk to me like that, boy! Get out of my car!"
Rei got out of the slowing car and slammed the door. What an idiot that man could be! Not only was he disrespecting his wife, but his children, too! He turned, ready to walk home, and ran into someone he didn't expect to see. "Sei, why didn't you go with Dad?"
"I didn't want to leave you alone," he said in a small voice. "Where are you going to go now, Rei?"
He pondered this for a moment before finally replying, "I guess I'm going back to the apartment. I've got to get my stuff out of there sometime."
"You're really moving out?" Sei gasped.
"Yes." After looking at Sei's face, he added the question his brother was searching for, "Do you want to come with me?"
"Definitely!" Sei chirped, almost happily now. "Where do you figure we'll be living?"
"To be perfectly honest with you, Sei, I've been thinking about this for some time now. I figure that we can use some of my race money to rent an apartment and eat ramen for a while. We can get a single with futons for a pretty good deal! As for later expenses, we can always get part time jobs; it's really not that hard. You can win an art contest or two, and that'll rake in quite a lot, too."
"Wow, you've really thought this out, haven't you?"
Rei just smiled at him and said, "It's my dream."
* * *
Rei couldn't believe his luck. Not only had his dad let he and Sei move out of the house, he let them rent an apartment a mile away, paying the moving expenses and everything. Now, looking at their new apartment, Rei smiled. Sure, the ceiling was caving a little bit in the corners and the wall had a little bit of water damage, but it was home. The single room was meant for one person, but they could make it work. They just needed floor mats and blankets to lie on.
"So, you're in the art club, then?" Tatsuya grunted at the twin who was helping him carry a bookcase, one of the Kashino brothers' few possessions. "That's pretty cool. Have you won any awards or anything, yet?"
"Naw," Sei grinned, liking his brother's new friend. Although he looked like a mean jock, he was actually pretty nice to be associating with a person such as himself. "I'm not that great."
"What're you talking about?" Rei exclaimed with an expression of disbelief. "You were one of the best artists in our junior high. You were the best after that one kid transferred. What was his name?"
"Dallas," Sei replied, blushing slightly.
"Didn't he change schools because you beat him in that one school mural contest -- the one where the winner got to paint a mural on the garage?"
"Yeah, he only made it to semi-finals," Sei grinned with pride. "But I only got second place. Kurasawa participated, even though he came from a different school, and won it."
"You could've kicked his butt if..." Rei stopped to hear the sounds of a fight going on down the hall. There was a distinct noise that signified a punch, and a very obvious one that meant a blow to the head. "Stay back for a minute," Rei told them, cautiously opening the door.
In front of him lay a man coughing up a mass of blood. Someone from across the hall was already calling an ambulance, and a woman nearby the man was crying. Apparently the assailant had already fled the scene, because he was nowhere to be found. Asking about the fight seemed like a bad choice, so he kept quiet.
Sei peeked over Rei's shoulder to see what was going on, and almost fainted at the sight of the wounded man. Instead, he ran back inside and took a recently unpacked blanket from a box. Coming back in the hall, he wrapped around the choking man, who was beginning to stop coughing and looking weaker and weaker. Approaching sirens told them that help was coming, and they watched as the man was carted off to the hospital. Everything happened so quickly, and Sei barely remembered to take the blanket back when the man was carried away.
"That was freaky," Tatsuya said, closing the door as they went back in the room.
Sei was breathing heavily, and looked close to tears. The only reason he managed to hold himself together was because they had a guest. Had it been only Rei, he would have let it all out. He did show a little emotion when he said, "This place is too sketchy, Rei. It's too sketchy."
Rei gave him a pitying look for a moment before replying, "It's the best we could get for so cheap. If we wanted to live in a good neighborhood, we should have born with rich, healthy parents who cared about us. At least this is better than being with Dad, right?"
"I'm not so sure about that," Sei admitted. "But I'll stay with it. I'm no quitter!"
"That's the spirit!" Tatsuya encouraged, not really knowing what they were talking about in the first place. "Sorry, guys, but I've got to run. My sister told me to pick her up from soccer practice on my way home, and it's about time for me to go."
"That's all right," Sei said. "Thanks for your help. We've got to go, too." When Tatsuya gave him a questioning look, he only told him, "Appointment."
"I see," he nodded. "Well then, catch you later!" He sidestepped the blood stains as he walked out of the apartment complex and down the sidewalk.
"He's pretty cool," Sei commented, once Tatsuya was out of hearing range.
"I know," Rei replied.
"It's about time we leave, though, isn't it?" Sei asked.
"Aw, man! Do we have to go to counseling? It's not like Dad's making us go anymore!"
"Why is it that you don't like counseling, Rei?"
"I dunno. I guess I just don't like telling someone I don't know all of my secrets. It's kind of creepy, don't you think?"
"I like it. It's like having a diary that talks back. Just come to this session, Rei, please?" he begged.
"Fine," he replied and with a slam of the locked door, the Kashino twins made their way to the doctor's office from their new home.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Ahh! That was too short! Oh, well. Did everyone like it anyway? Even after I finished writing this (it's taken about a week) I still haven't gotten MARS 4! Isn't that terrible? The store said they'd call me, but that they couldn't order it yet! Ugh! I'm angry with them, but happy because I finished writing this. Sorry it took awhile to update, but I've had some things going on recently, and I'm getting kind of stressed out. This fic is the least of my worries!
That was funny! I stopped there for a second to get the phone. It was the store calling to say that the book is in! HAHA! I'm off to get it now, but a couple more notes before that. This chapter had A LOT of dialogue, and I'm sorry. This one was more about people's relationships with each other than anything else. Don't worry; I'll get back to Kira soon! I was going to say one other thing, but I've forgotten what that was! ^_^;; Just don't complain in your reviews, okay? I'm not quite sure where this story is going (I know only the next chapter or two). Look forward to more of my (un)predictable chapters!
