Yuuta's cell phone rang later that afternoon. The display showed an unfamiliar number, but he answered it anyway. "Hello?"
"Fuji-kun," a deep voice said. "I have a question for you."
Confused, Yuuta glanced at the display again, as if it might tell him who he was talking to. Then the voice registered and he asked, "Inui-san?" He thought about asking how Inui had gotten his number, but if his experience with data-obsessed people like Inui had taught him anything, it was to never be surprised at the information they could round up and not to bother asking where it came from. He settled for asking, "Did you figure something out?"
"I don't know," Inui answered. "I'm still collecting data. I need to ask you a question."
"What?"
"Is your brother gay?"
Of all the questions Inui could have asked, that was the last one Yuuta would have expected. "What?" he repeated stupidly.
"It's a simple question," Inui said calmly. Maybe to someone like him who thought of people as little more than percentages and probabilities it was, but this was his brother they were talking about, not just a bunch of numbers and facts.
Never mind the inappropriateness and apparent irrelevance of the question, why did Inui think he would know something like that? He and Syuusuke barely even talked about the weather anymore; he wouldn't know something that personal, and he wasn't about to ask. Surely with all his data collecting, Inui knew what kind of relationship Yuuta and his brother had.
"I don't know," he said grudgingly. Even if he had no desire to know anything about his brother's love life, he didn't like admitting that they'd grown so far apart he couldn't even guess. "He's never had a girlfriend that he's told me about, but...I don't know. He could be, maybe, as far as I know." He shook his head, more in confusion than denial. What difference did it make? "Why?"
"Data," Inui said shortly, and Yuuta had to restrain the urge to yell at him. This wasn't tennis where you could take plenty of time to collect data before deciding on a strategy. This was real life and he needed to know what had happened to Syuusuke in order to help him and be sure that he was safe now. But the only alternative to having Inui figure this out was to ask his brother directly. He'd already tried that without success, so he held his tongue.
"Do you have an idea?" he asked instead, trying to hide his impatience.
"I'll call you when I know something," Inui said, and hung up before Yuuta could say anything more.
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Yuuta fell asleep in front of the TV that night, but he woke up when Syuusuke came home. He didn't get up right away, but he froze when he heard Yumiko's voice, wondering if she was going to talk to Syuusuke now. "How was the movie?" she asked.
The sound of Syuusuke's footsteps stopped. "It was fun," he said vaguely. Then he yawned loudly and said, "I think I'm going to go to bed." Yuuta suspected he was trying to get away before Yumiko could start asking questions.
"Syuusuke," she said sharply. Then in a softer voice, "You'd tell me if something was wrong, wouldn't you?"
"Of course I would," Syuusuke said, as though he had no idea what she was talking about. He sounded earnest enough, but Yuuta knew better than to believe him; Syuusuke could lie with a straight face better than anyone else he knew.
"Then tell me," Yumiko said flatly, not convinced either.
"What makes you think something's wrong?" That won't work and you know it, Yuuta thought. Of course Syuusuke did, but he was going to try to avoid this conversation for as long as he could. He obviously didn't want to explain himself, even to Yumiko.
"Syuusuke," Yumiko chided, and Yuuta thought he heard his brother sigh.
"It doesn't matter," he said softly.
"Don't say that," Yumiko protested. "Just tell me what's going on."
"It won't happen again, nee-san, and there's nothing you can do. Don't worry about it," Syuusuke said firmly.
Yuuta half hoped Yumiko would get angry at him for being patronizing and trying to brush her off—if anyone could cow Syuusuke into a confession, it would be her—but she didn't say anything for a long time. Just as he was starting to wonder if she was going to let the matter drop completely, she said, "You don't have to be able to do everything yourself, you know." Her voice was gentle, almost pleading.
Syuusuke's response was so quiet Yuuta had to strain to hear it. "Some things I have to."
Yuuta heard Syuusuke's footsteps again, and then silence. A minute passed before Yumiko said, "He's gone. You can get up."
Somehow it didn't surprise Yuuta that she had seen through his fake sleeping. He only wondered if his brother had noticed it too. It didn't matter, anyway, since nothing had really come of the conversation. He opened his eyes and stood up, stifling a yawn.
Yumiko was standing still, looking sadly toward the bedrooms where Syuusuke had gone. "I forget sometimes," Yumiko said distantly after a moment, not looking at him, "That you're not little boys anymore."
It was easier when we were, Yuuta thought bleakly. He put a hand on his sister's shoulder in silent comfort, then walked past her to go to bed.
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Author's Note: This next chapter is the last one, which means that everything will finally become clear, hopefully. ;-) It's mostly written, so it should be up within a week.