(Intruder!)
And so, from somewhere, from behind the stairs, he moves
With no lights, his stealth took a boost
Truly a shadow
*Thud*
*Thud*
*Thud*
The footsteps now so loud, audible to any ear
The figure, now at the door
"Huh? Why's the door open?"
Close of the door
Whoever they are, nonchalantly they ignored the mystery
Retrace of the steps and he returns from initially
Yet, this time, it would prove useless
Silent, from behind, another shadow emerges
From there, a foot combats another foot
Tripped, and with full force
*Thud!*
Loud and clear, the thud, the technique, almost proved brutal
On the ground, the full body now laid, with one arm, the right arm, pulled up by this shadow
The face, planted thoroughly on the ground, weight came from his back, a knee dropped down to the back shoulder
"Guh-What the
"Ahhhhhh!"
Laid on the ground, a scream of pain
His arm, raised to be restricted, his body, unmoving, unable to
Legs stunned and stationed, the other arm, pinned by an arm as well
Grunts of pain, continued in this dark space
His body, in pain, his muscles, bones, ligaments, as if fragile glass, almost breaking
A moment that only lasted seconds, with new footsteps coming, faster than ever
"What happened!?"
A voice, panicked and fearful, the lights opened, what was revealed was
"Onii-chan!?"
He, on top of another person, he was the restrainer
"What are you doing!?"
Asking his brother
"There's an intruder, let's call the police"
"He's not an intruder!"
He looked at who he pinned down, a man with a face almost losing consciousness
"That's Taishi-kun!"
"Eh?"
.
.
.
There they were, in the sofa they sat currently
In front of him, his sister, and the "intruder"
Yet he, he did not sit, his figure straight and tall
"Anyway! Onii-chan! Why did you have to pin him down like that!?"
Komachi, voicing the first complaint
"Someone I don't know is in my house, either I call the police or I take him down myself"
His voice, stubborn, and tough
"And also, why is he here?"
"Uhmm"
A raise of the hand
A subtle action, he now joins the conversation
"I heard from Komachi that you were back, so I wanted to pay my respects"
Both siblings, heard his words, yet differently they felt about it
"Oi, brat, who gave you permission to call her that?"
Indeed, a threatening voice, sharp and powerful
The "thing" was shrinking
And Komachi, cold sweat, slowly, dripping slightly, her eyes swimming everywhere
(Wait, respect?)
"What do you mean by paying respects?"
(And the fact that he calls her so casually)
"Komachi"
"Eeeeek"
Instantly, a flinch, a fast one, it seems she's feeling the pressure
"What did he mean by paying respect? Why did he call you that? Aren't you sitting a little too close to him? Hey, hey, explain"
With every second passing, his presence turned ever more frightening in this space
"Eh, ah, Onii-chan...about that..."
"Hikigaya-san! I'm dating your sister!"
Out of nowhere, a proclamation, a sudden one, power in his voice, the content was enough
Both siblings, eyes almost popping out
"Why did you have to say that!?"
What followed such a statement, was a slap in the back
"Ouch! I'm sorry, but we need to come clean"
What followed...
"Komachi~
His voice, incredibly scary
An unknown reason, his eyes were not seen, masked by his hair
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
The rarest occurrence, even more so than anything astronomical
The one to apologize, was Komachi
"Komachi, and you"
His voice, to the two in front of him, it sounded, yes, petrifying
"Both of you, Seiza"
Right now, to the both of them, his orders, absolute
Fearful they were of him, they followed
A change in the scenery, a change in position
The two, sitting on the floor, while he, continued standing
To the two who once sat on the sofa, he was intimidating
To the two who now did Seiza, he was completely menacing
His silence, his tall figure, boosted it even more
As if the space around them, rumbling
His figure, unmoving, unchanging
A ghostly presence, a demon standing right behind him, such a thought came to the both of them
"Now"
His new words
"Talk"
Also an order
"First of all"
The "thing" speaks
"I'd like to re-introduce myself, I'm Kawasaki Tais-
"I remember you"
(Rather, you've been on my list)
"Oh you do? Ehehehe"
(Don't you grin at me like that)
His figure continued brooding, enough for Taishi to stop smiling, immediately, his head, bowing down in submission
"So, Komachi"
His sister, now subjected to the unnerving interrogation
"I've never heard of this"
"Ah, Onii-chan, I just thought now was not the right time to talk about it"
("Wh-what? It's n-nothing Onii-chan, why are you looking at us like that?")
(Figures)
"Then, when were you going to tell me?"
"Or, were you not planning on doing it anyway?"
"N-no! It's not that I won't tell, it's just that, I-I don't know how to"
"I-I mean, you must've been really tired, and I know you don't like any annoying surprises, so...I thought I'd wait until you've settled down"
"I didn't want to trouble you at all"
"I just didn't want you to have a bad start to your stay"
"You worry a lot after all"
"Do you hate Komachi now?"
Eyes, pleading for an answer
(Sheesh, this sister of mine, what a pain)
"You didn't have to do that, and it's not like I'll hate you for it"
A voice, full of reassurance
"You could've just went honest, Komachi, you can talk to me about anything"
A voice, so distant from before, a voice, so kind and caring
"You're still my little sister"
A flutter in her eyes, a glimmer of hope, as if all sins forgiven
"Then, Onii-chan, will you approv-
"Anything but that"
A voice, so stern, strict as a father
"What!?"
Nice retort, Komachi
"I'll forgive you for hiding this, but don't think this is all under the rug"
"Eh?"
"First up, you"
The eyes, sharp and deadly, and its target was him
"I need details"
"When did you two start?"
"Uhmm we started dating 6 years ago"
(College?)
"College?"
"Yes"
"Who started it?"
"It was me"
Said by Taishi
"How did it happen?"
Instead of him, the eyes now gazed to her
A change of suspect, the new target for interrogation:
Komachi
His eyes glued onto her, rather, they seemed to be speaking:
{How? Komachi? Why did you accept him? Did he do something to you? Was it compensated? Were you a rental? Don't tell me you went Enjo-kōsai!?}
Those questions, seemingly shot to her through his eyes
"Don't look at me like that Onii-chan! Well, yeah...at first he was a little pushy, and he confessed out of nowhere...but when you get to know him, he's really kind and considerate, I remember once, I forgot to bring my umbrella, and he gave me his, even though he didn't have a spare, and he ran through the rain like an idiot...
A blow to the Kawasaki, yet she wasn't finished
"At that time, I thought...he was...kinda cool"
Her face said it all, no, her face was covered, the palms glued hard to her face, not coming off at all
But what shocked his brother the most was...
Her face before it was hidden
The face his brother had never seen before
The face all women want to experience even once
The face so pure and honest, so true and full of emotion
The face of a maiden in love
Unknowingly, somewhere, a vein popped
It was his
Again, the air was rumbling
His figure, bent to lean forward upon the "thing"
Arms bursting with energy
Teeth, gritting again and again
A face with veins ever so visible
Fists so eager to punch something
"Oi brat, what did you do to my sister?"
True fury, a voice so threatening
"Eh-n-nothing, please believe me, I did nothing wrong!"
"He's right Onii-chan! We have an honest relationship!"
He listened
Her words were enough to stop him, at least for now
A breath, a deep breath, he took it, to calm himself down, for himself, for the sake of not committing any trouble
Now, this time, arms crossed, an action he made, looking at him, judgmental was the air around him
"So"
"What do you do?"
"I work for Shueisha"
(The Shueisha?)
"And, what do you do there?"
"I'm an editor"
"Hoh, is that so?"
Optimistic, this Kawasaki was, for the stern brother to show a hint of interest, truly, an achievement for him
"Who did you work with?"
"Um, when I was new, I was once the temporary editor for Fujimoto Tatsuki-sensei"
(Fujimoto-sensei?)
"Anything else?"
"At a business party, I once met with Sasuga Kei-sensei"
(Wait...the Sasuga-sensei!?)
Only a second, only for a second, his face showed true shock, so subtle, so faint, yet it was there
Calm, he hid all remnants of before
(That's not enough to impress me brat, also, that's not enough for Komachi)
(I really have set the bars higher, ever since going there)
"Enough about that, what about mom and dad?"
"Oh, about that, mom was happy with it, but..."
"Dad almost killed him?"
"Yeah, and he tried kicking Taishi-kun out of the house the first time he visited"
(Good job, dad)
"But it's ok now"
(Huh?)
"I made sure that the two of them bonded, it was hard at first, stopping dad from committing assault, but now, the two of them even hang out occasionally, I'm so proud of them!"
A shining smile from Komachi, beaming even
A fluffy world
The couple was happy, yet not him
A turn of the back, his face unseen by the two of them
(Damn you old man! You lost yourself with age! You couldn't even protect Komachi while I was gone! Not only did you fail your duties, you even went to the enemy's side! Seems like it was a good choice coming back, I'll do what you couldn't!)
Turning back, facing them
His sight, locked on, to Taishi
Without even looking at her, an order made
"Komachi, go to your room"
"Ehh?"
"Why?"
"We're gonna have a little talk, a mens talk"
"I don't know about that, I can't trust you right now"
"Don't worry, I won't kill him"
"Don't worry, this is my chance"
Someone else's voice, it was Taishi
Suddenly, a hand reaches for Komachi's
A serious face, Taishi made
A hand on Komachi's hand, rather enraging to Hachiman
Convinced enough, standing up, and to the door she goes
"Just don't do anything to him, Onii-chan"
An open door, a closed door, and suddenly, footsteps heard, lower and lower in volume, with another door being opened, closed as well
Komachi: Now in her room
With that, the two men eye each other up
"Alright, let's have this talk"
Another gesture from him, to translate it into words
{Stand up}
A gesture answered
The two, only a meter separated them
Yet, for little Taishi, almost as if a mountain stood in front of him
3 inches of difference
A sturdy mountain, unyielding
His inner Onii-chan, now unleashed
The air rumbling, Taishi's final challenge
.
.
.
Final Boss: Hachiman
"Oi brat"
"I don't think you're good enough for Komachi"
(No one is)
"Maybe you're right...but"
"With all due respect, Hikigaya-san, I think you're wrong"
"Why do you say that?"
"To me, Komachi...Komachi-san is important!"
"Me too, what about it?"
"What makes you different?"
"What makes you think you're worthy?"
"You're right, I can't prove much of anything right now..."
"But the fact that we're still together still stands"
"Hmph, she's just putting up with you, one day she'll be fed up"
A surprised face, from Taishi, with a hint of...disappointment?
"Do you really think she's that kind of girl?"
"Hmm?"
"I've heard from her that you were a no-good brother, you had no friends, you had nothing exceptional about you, yet she still cares"
"That made me believe that maybe I can be with her too"
"If she can tolerate someone like that, maybe I had a chance"
"It turns out you weren't as bad as she said you were"
(What is this thing talking about?)
"You helped me with my problems, you're smart and caring"
"I probably felt like I wasn't good enough again"
"But now...here I am"
"I managed to do it"
"Even after many errors, I got what I wanted"
(This...brat)
Silent he was
"Now, I'm not gonna let you ruin it all!"
"I'm prepared, I've resolved myself!"
"Even if you stand in the way, even if you become an enemy, I won't budge!"
Not a single word muttered
(You...damn brat)
Only standing there, menacingly
"Unlike you who was gone, I'm here!"
"I worked hard! And I got my reward! I'm not letting you take it!"
(You...little bastard)
"Hikigaya-san! It's a fight!"
Those eyes, so lively, so bright, so energetic, such determination
Those eyes, resolute, unchanging, such tenacity, a firm will
Still silent
To him, those eyes were annoying
So full of spunk
Brave
Strong
Fearless
Stubborn
Genuine
Contrary, what he felt for those eyes weren't hatred, rather...
Envy
Such eyes, such eyes never belonged to him
(That's it!)
"Hikigaya-san! Please give me your siste-
*POW!*
And a thud came
What made such a sound was...
A punch
A stern punch
A strong punch
To the floor dropped Taishi, his whole body dropped
To recover, his body on all fours
Dripping, something was dripping
Blood
From his mouth, blood spilled constantly, little amount yet all the same
"Ughh"
Such pain stayed in his cheeks
A silent air
Only to be ruined by footsteps
*Step*
*Step*
*Step*
It was him
His location? To the fridge
Opened, and closed
What was taken out, a can of beer
*Psshh*
Opened
Slow steps, he moved to the door
With it opened, a tired voice, his parting words were:
"Brat, I'll let you off for now"
A ceasefire?
Taishi thought so
A surprised face that slowly turned hopeful
"If you do anything to her..."
An unseen face, Taishi can only see his back
"I'll definitely kill you"
A final warning
"Y-yes! T-thank you very much!"
The door closed
Welp, I almost forgot about this one as well. Anyway, dun, dun, dun, it was him all along. This specific Chapter, I kinda already planned it out since around writing Chapter 3, so yeah, I got a little antsy writing this, but, a fun kind of antsy.
Anyway, Chapter 10's gonna be long.
Kiryu