Requiem
Chapter 2
Hoshi was grinning wildly as he gently held the girl's arm. The girl in turn looked up at him in slight irritation and was trying to jerk her arm away from him.
"Hoshi-kun," she started, pulling her arm away from him, "You can let go now. I won't run away."
Hoshi chuckled and released her arm. He gently pushed her into the living room and motioned for her to sit. She obeyed. Glancing at his younger brother, he found the wide-eyed look still plastered on his face. "Hey Hiro…" he said and nudged him.
Hiroaki snapped out of his reverie, turning his attention to his brother. "What?"
Hoshi pointed at the girl. "This is an old friend of mine. I found her wandering the streets and she had no place to go, so I told her she could stay with us. Hiro, meet Natsumi Aino."
The girl smiled weakly and Hiroaki smiled back. It was strange how Hoshi had just decided to take in a homeless girl. His brother was always the good Samaritan, helping the needy.
"Um…Hoshi-kun? Are you sure it's all right? Your brother doesn't look too good."
Of course he didn't look too good. Starting tonight, a homeless girl would be living under the same roof as he was. Who in their right minds would feel all right about this? Hiroaki sighed inwardly and shook his head. "No, no. I'm fine. But I'm going to bed now. I do have classes tomorrow." He proceeded to stand, avoiding the girl's gaze. Nodding slightly to his brother, he walked to his bedroom and quietly shut the door. Leaning against the door, he waited a moment then strained his ears to listen.
"Listen Natsumi, it's all right. Hiro's just like that."
"I'm bothering you though Hoshi, I could just get…" The girl's voice became softer and Hiro couldn't hear the rest.
"Don't worry. Just get some rest now," Hoshi was saying and heavy footsteps headed toward Hiro's direction.
Pulling himself from the door, Hiroaki fell back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. In his mind, the scene at the funeral was still fresh. Haruko's sobbing bother, burying her face into her husband's chest. Hiro could see Takenori Akagi's furious face and how he kept clenching and unclenching his fists. His face was dark with anger and hate, as he stared at the coffin that held the body of the sister he would never see again.
Natsumi woke up with a start. The room was quiet and dark; shadows that were cast by the moon danced languidly on the white carpet. Placing a hand on her forehead, she gasped slightly at the burning touch. She had a fever. Frowning, she closed her eyes again and sighed. Having a fever meant little to her, she would just sleep it off. But the cause of the fever frightened her.
It had been three nights since she had a warm bed to sleep on. The couch on the Koshino household was fine, and she was grateful, because thinking back to where she had been sleeping the past three nights emitted an involuntary shudder.
She could still feel the cold asphalt on the ground, the granite scratching her legs and the chilly air that surrounded her. All because she had no place to sleep in. All because she ran out of money.
Natsumi sat up, staring at the coffee table where there was a messy pile of newspapers. She picked one up and held it by the moonlight to read. It had a picture of a pretty brunette who couldn't have been older than 18. Her smile was sweet as she posed for the camera. Under the picture was the name 'Haruko Akagi'. This was the girl who allegedly had committed suicide.
She flipped through the pages of the paper and read articles, which she found interesting. It was hours later that she noticed the sun had risen and Hoshi's younger brother, Hiroaki had made his way to the kitchen. He didn't say a word as he took out a container of milk and 2 cups.
She stared at him, silently.
"Watch me eat or eat yourself? Is it that hard of a decision?" He asked, not looking at her as he spoke. Opening a cupboard, he took out a box of cereal, two bowls and two spoons.
Natsumi was surprised. She stood and sat at the dining table as Hiroaki came with the cups of milk, cereal box, bowls and spoons. He handed the box first to her and waited for her to pour her cereal into the bowl. After she had finished, she handed it to him as he handed her a cup of milk. They ate in silence, avoiding each other's gazes.
"Good morning!" Hoshi's cheerful voice interrupted the silence and both looked up as Hoshi grabbed a bowl and spoon. Seating himself in between them, he happily poured his cereal.
"Why the hell are you in such a good mood?" Hiroaki grumbled.
Hoshi answered with a smile, "Hiro! It's a new day. You have to go to school and I have a day off. Why wouldn't I be happy?"
Hiro grumbled.
"Hey, did you know Natsumi goes to Shohoku High?"
Natsumi looked up with a start. "I d-ouch!" She cried out in pain, bending over to rub her leg where Hoshi had kicked her. She glared pathetically at him and he ignored her, staring right at Hiroaki.
"Oh?" Hiroaki glanced at them in confusion.
"Yeah, I do," Natsumi muttered and stood up as she finished her food. "I'll be getting ready now." She picked up her back that was lying next to the couch and entered the bathroom.
Once inside, she glared at her reflection and massaged the leg that Hoshi had kicked. She spotted a box with her name on it and opened it. It was a school uniform. Who knew she was going to school? All she thought was that she'd be living in the Koshino household and not actually go to school. Hoshi hadn't mentioned school the previous day.
Nonetheless, she stripped of her old clothes and entered the shower, feeling relieved at the warmth of the water and how it cleansed her of the dirt she accumulated, sleeping on the streets.
Half an hour later, she emerged from the bathroom dressed in Shohoku uniform. She found Hiroaki lazily leaning against the wall, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Finally!" He muttered and shoved past her into the bathroom.
"Ingrate," she responded with a scowl. Heading for the living room, she saw Hoshi was still rooted in the same spot. He was cheerfully taking his time eating his food. She dropped her bag beside the couch and sat across from Hoshi.
"Why didn't you tell me there was school involved?"
He chewed and shrugged, "I didn't think it was that important. Besides, how will you learn?"
Natsumi exhaled and rolled her eyes. "I have a tutor. Besides, I know all that I need to know. Not for this anyway." She tapped her fingers as she waited for a response.
Hoshi grinned. "Then you'll do fine. Anyway, Shohoku is a great school. You'll enjoy it. Hiro goes to Ryonan, Shohoku's rival school in basically everything. Especially basketball."
"Basketball." She repeated.
"Yep. Especially basketball," Hoshi paused glancing at the clock, "Oh! You should be leaving now. It takes a while to get to Shohoku by train. Do you need any money?"
Natsumi stood, grabbing her book bag and shook her head. She headed for the door, saying on her way out, "No thanks. Don't worry about me; I'll get the money from somewhere."
"Just make sure it's not illegal!"
"Very funny. Later." Natsumi exited the compound and headed the same direction she was heading when she bumped into Hiroaki. Rather, he had bumped into her. She was utterly surprised to find out that Hoshi was his older brother. Both seemed very different. Hoshi was the cheerful easygoing brother while Hiroaki was the grumpy and impatient bother.
She reached the station just as the train she needed arrived at the platform. Stepping in, she groaned quietly, seeing the masses of people squished against each other. She delegated stepping out and waiting for another train but did not know when another one would come.
The train started jerkily and Natsumi lurched forward about to hit a pole but was held back by someone holding her book bag. She looked behind her, about to thanks the person but reeled in disgust when the strong scent of alcohol filled her breathing air.
A bulky man with stubble on his face, dizzy eyes and a leering smile leaned toward her and snickered. His left hand grabbed a lock of her hair and the other, slid down her back.
Natsumi groaned, eyes widening.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Reviews are very much appreciated!
Crazed Baron Haha - There was no spam so I couldn't find the will to update. XD Kidding!
Artemis Obscure - Jin fairytale done. Now I'm possibly thinking of another fairytale but I don't know what. I bought the Grimm Fairytales collection for ideas. I just couldn't write or stand the old Requiem so it was back to the drawing board.
Night Strider - Dude! Thanks for the review. I was rushing for the first chapter and I can't believe how many stupid mistakes I made! Hehehe. Hopefully this chapter had little mistakes and thank you so much for the review and specific examples and such. And yes punctuations does make a lot of difference in stories so thank you for pointing all those errors out. I hope by the time this fic ends all your questions will have satisfactory answers. Thank you so much!