The Ordinary Life of Chizuru Yukimura
Disclaimer: Hakuouki isn't mine.
I can do this. It's not too difficult. He's just my brother, right? Chizuru hadn't seen Kaoru so far today but she knew he probably was perched at the kitchen table. It was the only room she hadn't checked yet.
Chizuru had chosen a day that she was going to be out of the house within half an hour so if the conversation went south too quickly, she could use plans as an excuse to flee. It was something that she needed to talk about now; Kaoru and Shin had been on a couple more dates and it seemed like he was very keen. Now she had to find out what Kaoru was playing at. Her conscience wouldn't allow her to leave it alone.
Chizuru just had to restrain herself from knocking on the damn door in her own house before shuffling in, carefully watching Kaoru who was chomping his way through a bowl of cereal. He'd definitely been clothes shopping recently, judging by the unfamiliar blue dress he was wearing. He has much better taste than me… And he seemed to have a slender figure that suited that style of dress.
"Going somewhere nice?" Small talk was a good place to start.
"The park with the 'other girls'." He grinned. "What do you think?"
"It looks cute. New?"
"None of the stuff you had was cute enough. You need to go and get some nicer things."
"So you can wear them?"
"Exactly." Chizuru smirked a little.
"And… How are things going with Shin?" Not the most subtle and Kaoru was now eyeing her warily.
"Why?"
"I wanted to know?" He only stared at her for a few seconds but it still felt like hours.
"It's going well. He bought me lunch the other week." Kaoru had a vague sense of detachment as he spoke.
"Nice…"
"Does he tell you all about me?" Eyelashes fluttering, Kaoru smirked.
"Not really. He's private about it all."
"So you came to get the gossip from me?"
"Basically."
"Hmm… And why should I tell you"
"Because I'm genuinely interested in my brother's first boyfriend?"
"Or you're trying to catch me out. No one's realised yet." It didn't seem like he was lying from the direct gaze she was receiving.
"I know you'd tell me. And neither have I before you ask."
"Good to know." That was now the end of the conversation.
"OK, there's something else I want to talk about." For a moment Kaoru looked worried.
"What?"
"…What exactly are you doing with Shin?" Whatever he'd been expecting, it wasn't that.
"Does it matter to you?" He'd gone straight on the defensive.
"He's my friend, so yes it does."
"What do you think I'm doing?"
"I don't know Kaoru, but Shin is a nice guy. If you're pulling him into this to just farther this stupid game, I think you're being unfair." A little harsh of her to presume but she wasn't going to let this stand if it was the case. It hadn't been obvious but for just a second, Kaoru looked a little hurt. Chizuru went to apologise but just missed her chance before he started.
"Whatever I do is my business, not yours. And Shin went after me without knowing me. If he gets shocked by what he finds out, it's his own fault." She really had hit a nerve.
"Kaoru-."
"Sorry I'm such an asshole, 'brother'."
"Kaoru, I'm sorry. I was just worried."
"About your poor friend being picked on by your cruel brother; I know." It had been a long time since she'd seen Kaoru this upset about something. He'd always hidden it a lot better than she had, but knowing someone as well as she knew him, you learned to read the signs.
"Do you care about him a lot?" Chizuru hadn't really considered that as an option but it could happen. Kaoru had never specified his preferences before.
"It doesn't matter." He'd abandoned his food and was now pulling his bag back across the table.
"Where are you going?"
"Out."
"But-."
"We're done talking." There was no point in pursuing him when he was in that mood so Chizuru let him pass without any attempt to stop him. At this point it would make things worse.
I could have handled that better. It had seemed like she was accusing him of being an unfeeling bastard when it was possibly something else. Maybe this bet was about something different.
Is he into guys? Is he bicurious? Is he a cross-dresser? Is he transgender? Has he just got a random crush on Shin? Chizuru almost felt dizzy at the speed her thoughts were travelling. I really need to fix what I just did.
Her brother could have been really stressed out and she wouldn't know. She'd been too busy worrying about her own problems and getting annoyed with Kaoru. It really hit home to her how distant they had become as they got older. One day we need to talk things out properly… But right now I need to leave. All this pondering about her brother's love life was going to make her late.
-Page Break-
"Eat my dust fool!"
"This is stupid."
"You're stupid."
"Oh for god's sake!" Sano tutted as Shin leaned over and nudged his arm. "You're cheating now?"
"I am not cheating, I am giving you a bit of friendly encouragement."
"Bullshit." Chizuru stepped back from the two consoles so Sano and Shin could bicker it out in 'peace'. She wasn't a part of this thank god
The arcade wasn't somewhere she usually would go but Shin had insisted that Chizuru needed to enjoy the wonders of the arcade and as summer vacation was currently underway, they had the time for it all. It seemed like it was more of an excuse for Sano and Shin to try beating each other in different games but at least it was more interesting than staying at home all day.
"How much did I miss?" The fourth member of the party had returned.
"Shin kicked Sano out the chair."
"What a surprise."
"That was accidental!"
"Accidental my ass!"
Chizuru still felt strange being around Souji. He'd done odd things and made her confused, but he was apparently a friend of hers so she couldn't avoid him forever. Talking about it though? Not going to happen. Souji wasn't the worst person in the world but he was a troll and kind of an ass. So no, she would not be discussing this.
It had hopefully not been too obvious that she was a little more distant and recently she'd been attempting short bursts of conversation. Chizuru still did all she could in her power to avoid being alone with him, lest he ask her why.
Oh he'll know. Definitely. He'd likely planned it too. This was probably one of his many attempts to irritate one of his team mates. It was just annoying that this was actually succeeding. Chizuru saw him glance in her direction and she looked away with a scowl. It was just fuelling him if she reacted but it was an automatic response.
"Right, Souji swap with Shin."
"Why don't you swap?"
"Because I want to play with someone who doesn't cheat."
"Souji cheats!"
"No he doesn't."
"Yeah, I just play like a dick." Well at least he admits it.
Shin gave Sano a small shove as he slid out of the chair, joining Chizuru in her vantage point. She wasn't sure if this was better or worse than Souji, because now she had to worry about letting other things slip.
No, this could be good. It would be a chance to find out how things lay on his side. Though she wasn't sure why she was doing this when it was nothing to do with her. Fuck it. I'll ask something.
"How's it going with Kaori then?" Shin actually spluttered. It had probably been too sudden. On the plus side, Souji actually crashed his car in game.
"Why did you ask me that? Isn't that kind of weird?"
"No! I'm just worried about my sister! I don't want her getting hurt." Partially true.
"It's… Um…" He was really freaking out by the look of things. There was the sound of screeching tyres and Sano popped his head over the seat.
"Yeah Shin, how is it going? I'd have thought my best friend would tell me everything about his girlfriend. Bitch." Souji joined them soon afterwards and Shin was faced with three very intense stares.
"The fuck guys?"
"Come on, we won't tell anyone else."
"And we won't stop until you tell us anyway." At least they were helping. With this multiple assault, Shin was practically recoiling.
"It's kind of a weird things to just talk about."
"So easily embarrassed. OK, are you properly a thing or are you just kind of dating?"
"The fuck guys?"
"Come on!" Souji started nudging his arm.
"Oh for fuck's sake! She agreed to be my girlfriend!"
"Aww." Sano fucked as Shin took a swing at him. His face was too red. "You're in love~."
"Shut up!"
"So you really like her?" Chizuru was probably coming off as really intense. Shin started playing with his hands.
"Yeah I guess… Don't tell her though!" He can be cute sometimes.
"Ah good. She really seems to like you too." And suddenly Shin was right in her face.
"She does? What did she say?" He forgot the embarrassment in his haste.
"Not much but she gets this look in her eye when your mentioned. And she seems excited to go on dates with you." Shin really looked happy.
"You bastard."
"What?" Sano was glaring at him.
"You get a cute girlfriend. How dare you."
"Fuck you!" Shin looked smug. Too smug. He deserved the kicks he received from Souji.
In her interaction with Shin she had completely forgotten her other awkwardness, only reminded when they moved on to another game and she ended up walking next to him.
What was I supposed to do? That was her main point of confusion. She didn't know if she was supposed to respond or if she should have laughed it off. It showed how unused she was that any of his comments flustered her that much.
"You're quiet." Souji was smirking.
"I don't usually talk that much."
"You haven't nagged me about something in a while."
"I don't nag that much."
"You and Hijikata like to take turns with me."
"If you're comparing me to him, that's not a bad thing."
"It almost feels like you've been avoiding me." She could see the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, a sure sign he was attempting to annoy someone.
"Oh really?" Be vague. Don't let him get ahead.
"Yeah. It's odd. Ever since that training camp."
"The training camp?" He better not mention it. Especially with Shin right there.
"Or more specifically since I said you were-." Chizuru elbowed him. "It seems I touched a nerve."
"Just shut up." One of the more irritating sensations in the world was when you could feel your face heating up and could do nothing about it. She heard the chuckle but didn't look over. At least Shin and Sano weren't listening.
"I'm going to guess that you haven't really been flirted with before." What?!
"Flirted?!" She spluttered.
"Yeah?" He didn't seem bothered.
"But why?" Souji shrugged.
"It seemed funny." Well. Well! Chizuru scowled. She did not enjoy being screwed with. "Something wrong?"
"Don't do it again."
"But-."
"Never!" She checked the other two weren't listening before leaning over. "Or I will get one of Kaoru's high-heeled shoes and stick it up your-."
"What are you guys doing?" She quickly moved back as she saw the others were watching, both smirking. Souji hadn't been too worried about the insult, apparently more amused than anything else.
"Ruo was talking shit towards his favourite Senpai!"
"That would not be you."
"Yeah, it's clearly me." Sano received a look.
"If anyone it's Saito, because he doesn't annoy me."
"Wow."
"Why are both of our first years so ballsy?"
"I think it's you Souji. You're a terrible influence on our kids."
"…I'm walking away now." She was not going to get involved in some kind of strange familial argument.
The scene with Sano and Shin fighting over the game was partially inspired by my younger brother and his girlfriend playing Super Mario Kart, because they are hilarious to watch. She goes from being really nice to 'Eat my dust you shit!'
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed :)