Ritsuka looked out of a small window, on of the few that dotted the walls of his new room. He head been sent up there for the remainder of the afternoon while his father had cleaned up the mess in the kitchen and started dinner.
"It's always better for me to cook alone. " Ritsuka remembered his father saying, and Ritsuka decided that with the scorched cookware as evidence, he should remember to stay out.
The young thirteen year old sighed then sat down in a white chair.
He looked down at his remaining pictures then placed them in his bag for safekeeping.
"I've know Soubi for nearly a year and he's protected me. Scared me, lied to me, told me he loved me, and held me when I was in pain. I can't just forget about him. Semei… what should I do? Did Tousan know about you and Soubi?" Ritsuka asked the cool night air.
He knew he wouldn't get answerers but he couldn't help wondering what his brother would have said.
A loud clang was heard from downstairs and Ritsuka reflectively flinched.
"Ritsuka-chan! Time to eat!" He heard his tousan yell, only loud enough so that it could be heard from downstairs.
Ritsuka slowly left his room and descended the stairs. He couldn't help but feel dread.
Jyoukin looked up from setting the table when his young son came in.
"We're having tempura tonight You like that, right?" He asked.
He was surprised to see his son stop short and have a pained look on his face.
"Hey, calm down, I'm a good cook! You'll love it!" Jyoukin said trying to get the bad feeling he had at his son's face out of his mind. The boy shouldn't look so… scared.
"Come now, sit." He said, indicating the chair across from his.
Ritsuka went and slowly sat down. Jyoukin noticed the boy's long tail tightly wrapped around the leg of the chair.
That's a sign of fear, he thought, feeling strange. Why?
He started to eat his meal then after a few minutes looked up to see how his son was enjoying it.
Dark eyes narrowed when he saw his son's plate was untouched.
"Ritsuka, I can hear your stomach grumbling from over here. Why aren't you eating?" He asked, not quite sure what was going on in his son's head.
"My… favorite?" Ritsuka asked uncertainly.
Jyoukin frowned. "Yes. Well, when you were eight. I guess I should have asked, since it probably changed. I know! We'll have whatever you want for dinner tomorrow to make up for my mind slip. But anyways, it taste good. Eat son, your pretty thin. Your kaasan not feeding you properly?" He asked, wondering why his son looked down when he mentioned his ex wife.
Ritsuka slowly took a bite from his food, and prepared for it to taste horrible and make him sick. After a few seconds of waiting, his ears shot up and his eyes widened.
"It's ok." Jyoukin heard his son whisper, and he smiled.
"I don't really burn the food, just the cookware. You like it alright?" He asked, a slow smile forming on his face.
He saw Ritsuka blink in an owlish kind of way, then nod. The rest of dinner was silent as Ritsuka actually enjoyed a meal with a member of his family.
After dinner, Jyoukin Ayogi cleaned up the mess from dinner and let the burned items soak a bit in the sink.
Ritsuka looked lost at what to do next, so his tousan decided they should play a game.
"Kids still like games at his age." He muttered under his breath as he went in search of something fun to play.
"Ritsuka." He softly called out and he smiled when his son walked into the living room.
"We'll have to go shop for some fun things later, but how about a puzzle?" Jyoukin asked.
He almost changed his mind when he saw Ritsuka's stupefied face.
"Um, yeah, a puzzle should be fun. I used to play them when I was a kid." He said again, then placed it down on the table in the living room.
An hour passed by in play, then the clock chimed 9:30.
"Go to bed." Was all Jyoukin said as he cleaned up the puzzle and left out what was already finished.
"We'll do some things tomorrow, alright?" He said as Ritsuka ascended the stairs.