A/N: a Souta drabble for livejournal's iy fic challenge community and it placedthird there, along with another one called "Devil's Workshop." This was for the theme "childhood." Enjoy!
Normal, Whatever That Was
Rating: G / K
Pairing: none
Genre: introspective, general
Words: 269
Souta liked to believe that he had a normal childhood, whatever that was.
Today his sister had syphillis and snoutfalyphilitis and toofapox and a tumor growing right on top of her cancerous mole. It wasn't so bad. Yesterday she had silenphelia, telenfolio and worms. He wasn't worried, though. His sister was a world away, bound by reasons he couldn't possibly understand, but he knew very well that white hair and a pair of fluffy ears were part of them. His sister was safe, though… safe and well in that other world of hers.
But every once in awhile… Kagome would poke her head right in his door and on the top of her lungs (just to spite him) she would yell, "dinner time!"
The banter that followed didn't anger him, frustrate him (well, maybe a little) or even annoy him. It was normal for siblings to argue, and when she ruffled his hair in that Older-Sister way he would (as he always did) stick out his tongue at her and huff away. Then, the warm steam of the rice would fill his lungs and spread rapidly to his chest, where it lightly touched his heart.
When he went to school, he'd sometimes stare (not that he was jealous or anything) at his friends walking with their older sisters or brothers, and thought of his own—the one that was destined for far greater things than walking her little brother to school.
"Souta-kun, wait up!"
He stopped to wave at Hitomi, giving her a shy smile and a welcoming inclination of his head.
Yeah, he was normal.
Whatever that was.