Chapter 11-confessions from brother to brother
It was 11:30pm of the next day and Keisuke was sitting on the couch at home, watching TV. He heard a familiar engine sound arrive and parked in their garage. 'He's early' thought Keisuke. He glanced at their wall clock. 'He usually arrives at around 12:30pm. I wonder what happened?' His thoughts were interrupted when his Aniki closed the door and hung his keys on the key rack.
"oh hello, Aniki. You're home early…" Keisuke greeted his brother
"I'm a bit tired so I went home early, Keisuke-san" Ryousuke said
"I see…" Keisuke said as he went back to his TV show
"Keisuke…" Ryousuke said slowly.
"what?" Keisuke said defensively.
"you're a bit odd today, what's up?" Ryousuke questioned, as he plopped down on the couch next to his younger brother.
"what do you mean 'what's up?" what's up with you?" Keisuke said, looking at his brother.
Ryousuke smiled at his brother, saying, "oh…I see what's wrong. Its about Yuki, isn't it?"
Keisuke blinked at him then looked away.
"well, for my brother's happiness, I'd be happy to answer any question you have in mind"
Keisuke grabbed this opportunity so he launched his questions. "why have you been seeing her everyday? Is she 'just your friend'? why's she here, anyway?"
"slow down, Keisuke! One by one…"
"okay…" Keisuke breathed in "it's just that, you've been with Yuki-chan every SINGLE day since she arrived and I was just wondering if…um…"
"if I'm weakened by her or in love with her?" Ryousuke continued
Keisuke looked at him, quite astonished
"how'd…you know…?"
"those specific questions usually get questioned when a guy meets a girl…"
They kept silent for a while then Keisuke said
"okay, so…"
"Alright then. Keisuke-san, since you're my brother and I FULLY trust you, I have a small confession to make…"
Keisuke just looked at him
"I met Yuki before when I was in College. We went to the same university and we became friends, even though we already belonged in one whole gigantic group…"
Ryousuke paused for a moment, then continued on shortly.
"we shared a lot in common, like being the top in our class and being able to think accurately. And do you remember? At that time, I wasn't interested in girls at all before. I never really liked them because they were a bit…um…wild and rowdy around and about me. I never liked that feeling, being followed by a group of girls around the campus…"
Keisuke rolled his eyes and said, "yeah, I know exactly how you felt…"
"all my other female friends were like that, but Yuki seemed different. She was able to restrain her feelings and emotions and shield them from anyone else. The only person who really knew how she felt was her best friend, Kadsukai."
"but, actually, I sort of blame this on my good looks because Kadsukai accidentally spilled to me Yuki's secrets and emotions…which was mostly for me…"
His brother stared blankly at him. Ryousuke turned his attention to the coffee table instead and continued talking
"after that little spill, I became extra nice to Yuki-chan, maybe its because I knew her secrets or I liked her…I really didn't know at that time…"
"I treated her like my best friend, because she listened to me and so did I. It was great, having a female friend you can talk to freely, but all good things must come to an end, right? So when she informed me that she'll be permanently living in Tokyo, I saw the end of our…bond"
Ryousuke shifted his position a bit. Keisuke was still staring blankly at him.
"and this is where I had my BIGGEST regret all my life…I let go of our friendship. We didn't fight or anything, but I saw no more way to continue so I just placed an end to it…"
"now…after around 6 years of living without her, she came back. I felt like life was poured back into me once more. I felt more alive around her. That's why I'm so preoccupied with her. I'm building up our friendship from scratch again"
"oh…so that's why. NOW I understand…carry on then, Aniki…" Keisuke said with a smile on his face. He continued on, saying
"Aniki, I have one more question, and you really don't necessarily have to answer it right now…" Keisuke said
"what is it, Keisuke-san?"
"do you truly love her?"
Ryousuke's eyes widened.
"hey, like I said, you don't have to answer that now. Think it over, then I'll ask you again some other time." He stood up and approached the stairs leading to their bedrooms.
"oh…don't worry, your confessions are very safe with me. You're my Aniki so I dearly respect whatever you tell me to keep…"
"ah…Arigato, Keisuke-san" Ryousuke said
"it's fine, alright? Well then, I'm off to bed. Good night and DO get a night's rest…"
"I will. Good night, Keisuke-san" Ryousuke replied.