AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you for all the reviews! =] Yes, I did know that the car model for Eclipse was not an official Japanese vehicle, the story about that car will emerge slowly! More feedback wanted! =]
CHAP 7 : MEET YOU THERE
CHAP 7 RATING : PG
'Ding dong...ding dong...' Keisuke shifted around in his bed, disturbed by the sudden sound coming from above his head on the ceiling. 'Ding dong...' The melody continued as he grumbled muffles into his pillow, but at the same time enjoying the scents of leftover cologne after-shave from a week ago. He had forgotten about the doorbell device Ryousuke had installed in each of their bedrooms. Ever since their parents' absence, neither of them could hear the doorbell from upstairs in their four-story mansion. On a normal basis, their maid Hitomi, who paces around downstairs, would answer the door, but since she isn't here either, the doorbell is useless to get any of their attention when they were not downstairs. Keisuke's room was stationed on the third floor, accompanying rooms include: Ryousuke's, Tsugumi's, parents' master room, and bonus rooms. They rarely stepped foot into the fourth floor, it was a gigantic storage attic.
Keisuke swung his left leg onto the floor, and smashed CDs that were scattered around. He huffed a noise and reluctantly positioned his body to sit up. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and staggered up towards the door. His vision was still blurry from the early morning. //What. The. Hell. Can't bro get the damn door?!// He stepped on a bag of unopened Cheetos and the chip bag exploded, flying out numerous contents throughout the floor. He swore loudly as he yanked open his door and plodded down the stairs carelessly. When he reached the double-door main entrance, he peeped through the door-hole to discover a mailman with a medium sized brown package in hand, ready to get one of the Takahashi's signature on his clipboard.
The mailman was awfully familiar, with a smile still pasted on his face, like permanent glue. Keisuke wondered how anyone could possibly still be in a joyful mood, even after waiting for so long before a household member of the Takahashis actually answered the door.
"Good morning, Mr.Takahashi! Will you please sign here for your mail?" The mailman's brown bangs framed his face perfectly, making him look approachable in a friendly way.
"Morning." Mumbled Keisuke as he grabbed the clipboard and fumbled with his signature. They made an exchange, Keisuke thanked him and closed the door with the brown package in hand. He started to examine the package in his hands. There was no return address, but it was for Ryousuke. He started trudging up the stairs and decided to drop off the package in Ryousuke's room. He knocked once, didn't bother to wait for an answer, and barged in. What he saw made him drop the package onto the floor and snicker.
Ryousuke was wearing earmuffs. Earmuffs that were whiter than his FC. Fuzzy earmuffs. Through the laughter, he had noticed that his brother had not moved one bit to the sudden noise brought in. He strolled over to check his brother's pulse rate. //Good, he's still alive. Are his earmuffs anti-sound?// A mischievous grin grew on his face as he suddenly yanked off Ryousuke's earmuffs, causing Ryousuke's head to fall back abruptly on his silk pillows. Ryousuke stirred a bit under the comforter. Keisuke then proceeded to pounce his whole body onto his brother. Ryousuke's eyes fluttered open--at first, in awe and curiosity, but then, in shock. His eyes widened in an alarmed state, but before he could proclaim an exclamation, Keisuke strived his best to produce a horrific look on his baby face, "BRO! Fire! Fire! I accidentally set our damn house on fucking fire! Get up!" Keisuke practically screamed his lungs out to the astonished Ryousuke lying beneath him. Ryousuke blinked. "AHHHH!" Keisuke mocked a manly scream and waved his arms frantically like a monkey to get his message across. Ryousuke blinked. When the words finally registered in Ryousuke's mind, he instinctively threw the Keisuke-monkey to the floor.
"Keisuke! Good grief! Don't just sit there, get hel-", Ryousuke paused. "Oh just wait a minute here, why didn't the fire alarm system go off then?" Ryousuke flung himself off the bed, but accidentally on Keisuke, who was sprawling on the ground, still in pain from the sudden throw.
"Bro! My legs! Get off!" Keisuke whined. Ryousuke wobbled off, but managed to balance himself.
"Whoops."
"Oww...I think you broke my legs, bro." Keisuke looked up at the now glaring Ryousuke. "Umm, morning?" Keisuke grinned.
"Why on earth did you pull a prank like that at...noon?" Ryousuke checked the clock again. "Impossible, how could it be noon? I'm running late. But still, Keisuke, your behavior worries me." Ryousuke started to walk towards the door, but noticed the brown package on the ground and picked it up.
"Oh, and that's for you, bro. The prank was for not answering the door for the mail this morning! Ha ha!" Keisuke staggered up and went over to his brother, who was now tearing the package open carefully, ignoring Keisuke's comments. "One more thing, why did you wear ear-muffs in bed?" Ryousuke looked up.
"Oh finally, my Mazda handbook that I ordered a month ago, came! Oh, our neighbor was mowing their lawn at five thirty, it was a distraction for quality sleep. Those earmuffs are useful, they warm you up as well as blocking out any disturbing sounds."
"Which will perfectly explain why you didn't answer the door this morning! Which also leads to why I'm up so friggin' early!" Keisuke said in a mocking-cheerful tone. That comment managed to pull a mere smile on Ryousuke's face.
"Might as well get up, after all, it's noon. We're on bliss that today is a weekend. I want to go over some courses with you. Tsugumi won't be coming over today, so we're both free to leave the house."
"Oh, that's great. I had also inform the Candies team about our Project D meet today, so you could expect them to swing by while we're at it."
"Oh? Pleasant, I'm looking forward to that. Now, I'm going to take a shower. By the way, it is your turn to prepare our lunch. Let's see how far your culinary skills stretch, Keisuke." With that, Ryousuke turned his back and heaved open his closet to choose an outfit. Keisuke was watching his brother, curious about what he was going to select from the wide variety of polos, turtlenecks, pull-overs, wife-beaters, multi-categories of pressed pants and coats. He rolled his eyes.
"Bro, there is no way on earth...that a purple shirt and a pair of green pants go together. Here, let the ol' mighty God of Fashion can help you." Keisuke seized the clothes in Ryousuke's hands and replaced them carelessly back in the closet with a light blue wife-beater, white tank top, and a pair of khakis. "Take these. Oh, if you want to drive the ladies crazy, wear the white tank top inside the wife-beater without buttoning anything." Keisuke winked.
"Um, no, I think that would be unnecessary." Ryousuke frowned and folded the tank top, placed it back into his closet and took out the clothes Keisuke had thrown in. "Keisuke, please fold these properly and put them back. After that, get ready yourself." Keisuke wrinkled his nose.
---
Kakumi stretched her legs, rubbed her eyes and sat up from the sofa. "Holy moly, it's twelve thirty already?!" She mouthed the words to herself in a shocked whisper. //Wasn't Mitsuko here half an hour ago?// She shrugged as she got up and went into the bathroom for a quick shower.
---
Keisuke opened the refrigerator and scowled. //Arugh, I can't believe we ran out of ham!// He continued to take out the butter, eggs, cheese and bakery biscuits Ryousuke had brought home the other night. "Oh, perfect. How the hell am I going to make English muffins? Not a single slice of ham in this gigantic kitchen, how pathetic." A thought crossed his mind that made the scowl disappear. //Hmm, I wonder if I can take my FD out to the grocery store and come back with ham on time before bro gets out of the shower?// With that in mind, he ran without second thought for the garage. Once in his beloved car, he happily cranked up the engine and screeched his tires on the way out into the driveway and accelerated on the gas into the city. Keisuke had so much energetic determination that he had forgotten he was still in his sleep-wear, which consisted of: boxers with imprint designs of rubber ducks, a thin gray tank top and a pair of brown house slippers.
---
"Where did half of my Italian cakes go?!" Kakumi cried to herself, as she struggled to dry her hair in a towel with one hand. She took the remaining cakes out and slammed the refrigerator shut. "Oh. Mitsuko..." She caught sight of the bright neon green post-it note with the familiar handwriting. //Weird, I must have been in a frenzy coming out of the shower to not see that note the first time.// She reached for the cordless phone and punched in Mitsuko's cell number. "Mitsuko, you dork! Those cakes in your body right now were for my grandpa! What do you mean you didn't know? I told you the night before...Oh, shut up! Ha ha ha, it's alright. I'll just make new ones. Where are you right now? Oh, if I get done with the cakes, I'll stop by. Yeah, my legs are feeling better, thanks. Okay, see you then." Kakumi placed the phone back to recharge and sighed. She threw her towel across the room to land on the sofa and gradually gathered up all the ingredients for her recipe.
---
CHAP 8 : WHO ARE YOU
CHAP 7 : MEET YOU THERE
CHAP 7 RATING : PG
'Ding dong...ding dong...' Keisuke shifted around in his bed, disturbed by the sudden sound coming from above his head on the ceiling. 'Ding dong...' The melody continued as he grumbled muffles into his pillow, but at the same time enjoying the scents of leftover cologne after-shave from a week ago. He had forgotten about the doorbell device Ryousuke had installed in each of their bedrooms. Ever since their parents' absence, neither of them could hear the doorbell from upstairs in their four-story mansion. On a normal basis, their maid Hitomi, who paces around downstairs, would answer the door, but since she isn't here either, the doorbell is useless to get any of their attention when they were not downstairs. Keisuke's room was stationed on the third floor, accompanying rooms include: Ryousuke's, Tsugumi's, parents' master room, and bonus rooms. They rarely stepped foot into the fourth floor, it was a gigantic storage attic.
Keisuke swung his left leg onto the floor, and smashed CDs that were scattered around. He huffed a noise and reluctantly positioned his body to sit up. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and staggered up towards the door. His vision was still blurry from the early morning. //What. The. Hell. Can't bro get the damn door?!// He stepped on a bag of unopened Cheetos and the chip bag exploded, flying out numerous contents throughout the floor. He swore loudly as he yanked open his door and plodded down the stairs carelessly. When he reached the double-door main entrance, he peeped through the door-hole to discover a mailman with a medium sized brown package in hand, ready to get one of the Takahashi's signature on his clipboard.
The mailman was awfully familiar, with a smile still pasted on his face, like permanent glue. Keisuke wondered how anyone could possibly still be in a joyful mood, even after waiting for so long before a household member of the Takahashis actually answered the door.
"Good morning, Mr.Takahashi! Will you please sign here for your mail?" The mailman's brown bangs framed his face perfectly, making him look approachable in a friendly way.
"Morning." Mumbled Keisuke as he grabbed the clipboard and fumbled with his signature. They made an exchange, Keisuke thanked him and closed the door with the brown package in hand. He started to examine the package in his hands. There was no return address, but it was for Ryousuke. He started trudging up the stairs and decided to drop off the package in Ryousuke's room. He knocked once, didn't bother to wait for an answer, and barged in. What he saw made him drop the package onto the floor and snicker.
Ryousuke was wearing earmuffs. Earmuffs that were whiter than his FC. Fuzzy earmuffs. Through the laughter, he had noticed that his brother had not moved one bit to the sudden noise brought in. He strolled over to check his brother's pulse rate. //Good, he's still alive. Are his earmuffs anti-sound?// A mischievous grin grew on his face as he suddenly yanked off Ryousuke's earmuffs, causing Ryousuke's head to fall back abruptly on his silk pillows. Ryousuke stirred a bit under the comforter. Keisuke then proceeded to pounce his whole body onto his brother. Ryousuke's eyes fluttered open--at first, in awe and curiosity, but then, in shock. His eyes widened in an alarmed state, but before he could proclaim an exclamation, Keisuke strived his best to produce a horrific look on his baby face, "BRO! Fire! Fire! I accidentally set our damn house on fucking fire! Get up!" Keisuke practically screamed his lungs out to the astonished Ryousuke lying beneath him. Ryousuke blinked. "AHHHH!" Keisuke mocked a manly scream and waved his arms frantically like a monkey to get his message across. Ryousuke blinked. When the words finally registered in Ryousuke's mind, he instinctively threw the Keisuke-monkey to the floor.
"Keisuke! Good grief! Don't just sit there, get hel-", Ryousuke paused. "Oh just wait a minute here, why didn't the fire alarm system go off then?" Ryousuke flung himself off the bed, but accidentally on Keisuke, who was sprawling on the ground, still in pain from the sudden throw.
"Bro! My legs! Get off!" Keisuke whined. Ryousuke wobbled off, but managed to balance himself.
"Whoops."
"Oww...I think you broke my legs, bro." Keisuke looked up at the now glaring Ryousuke. "Umm, morning?" Keisuke grinned.
"Why on earth did you pull a prank like that at...noon?" Ryousuke checked the clock again. "Impossible, how could it be noon? I'm running late. But still, Keisuke, your behavior worries me." Ryousuke started to walk towards the door, but noticed the brown package on the ground and picked it up.
"Oh, and that's for you, bro. The prank was for not answering the door for the mail this morning! Ha ha!" Keisuke staggered up and went over to his brother, who was now tearing the package open carefully, ignoring Keisuke's comments. "One more thing, why did you wear ear-muffs in bed?" Ryousuke looked up.
"Oh finally, my Mazda handbook that I ordered a month ago, came! Oh, our neighbor was mowing their lawn at five thirty, it was a distraction for quality sleep. Those earmuffs are useful, they warm you up as well as blocking out any disturbing sounds."
"Which will perfectly explain why you didn't answer the door this morning! Which also leads to why I'm up so friggin' early!" Keisuke said in a mocking-cheerful tone. That comment managed to pull a mere smile on Ryousuke's face.
"Might as well get up, after all, it's noon. We're on bliss that today is a weekend. I want to go over some courses with you. Tsugumi won't be coming over today, so we're both free to leave the house."
"Oh, that's great. I had also inform the Candies team about our Project D meet today, so you could expect them to swing by while we're at it."
"Oh? Pleasant, I'm looking forward to that. Now, I'm going to take a shower. By the way, it is your turn to prepare our lunch. Let's see how far your culinary skills stretch, Keisuke." With that, Ryousuke turned his back and heaved open his closet to choose an outfit. Keisuke was watching his brother, curious about what he was going to select from the wide variety of polos, turtlenecks, pull-overs, wife-beaters, multi-categories of pressed pants and coats. He rolled his eyes.
"Bro, there is no way on earth...that a purple shirt and a pair of green pants go together. Here, let the ol' mighty God of Fashion can help you." Keisuke seized the clothes in Ryousuke's hands and replaced them carelessly back in the closet with a light blue wife-beater, white tank top, and a pair of khakis. "Take these. Oh, if you want to drive the ladies crazy, wear the white tank top inside the wife-beater without buttoning anything." Keisuke winked.
"Um, no, I think that would be unnecessary." Ryousuke frowned and folded the tank top, placed it back into his closet and took out the clothes Keisuke had thrown in. "Keisuke, please fold these properly and put them back. After that, get ready yourself." Keisuke wrinkled his nose.
---
Kakumi stretched her legs, rubbed her eyes and sat up from the sofa. "Holy moly, it's twelve thirty already?!" She mouthed the words to herself in a shocked whisper. //Wasn't Mitsuko here half an hour ago?// She shrugged as she got up and went into the bathroom for a quick shower.
---
Keisuke opened the refrigerator and scowled. //Arugh, I can't believe we ran out of ham!// He continued to take out the butter, eggs, cheese and bakery biscuits Ryousuke had brought home the other night. "Oh, perfect. How the hell am I going to make English muffins? Not a single slice of ham in this gigantic kitchen, how pathetic." A thought crossed his mind that made the scowl disappear. //Hmm, I wonder if I can take my FD out to the grocery store and come back with ham on time before bro gets out of the shower?// With that in mind, he ran without second thought for the garage. Once in his beloved car, he happily cranked up the engine and screeched his tires on the way out into the driveway and accelerated on the gas into the city. Keisuke had so much energetic determination that he had forgotten he was still in his sleep-wear, which consisted of: boxers with imprint designs of rubber ducks, a thin gray tank top and a pair of brown house slippers.
---
"Where did half of my Italian cakes go?!" Kakumi cried to herself, as she struggled to dry her hair in a towel with one hand. She took the remaining cakes out and slammed the refrigerator shut. "Oh. Mitsuko..." She caught sight of the bright neon green post-it note with the familiar handwriting. //Weird, I must have been in a frenzy coming out of the shower to not see that note the first time.// She reached for the cordless phone and punched in Mitsuko's cell number. "Mitsuko, you dork! Those cakes in your body right now were for my grandpa! What do you mean you didn't know? I told you the night before...Oh, shut up! Ha ha ha, it's alright. I'll just make new ones. Where are you right now? Oh, if I get done with the cakes, I'll stop by. Yeah, my legs are feeling better, thanks. Okay, see you then." Kakumi placed the phone back to recharge and sighed. She threw her towel across the room to land on the sofa and gradually gathered up all the ingredients for her recipe.
---
CHAP 8 : WHO ARE YOU