Me: Oh, gosh. It's been a year since I posted the first chapter. I'm sorry about that! I grew unexpectedly busy with school that I couldn't find the time to sit down and type the chapter, not to mention that I lost the notebook that had all the information for my story. *sigh*
Still, thank you so much for the support, faves, and follows! I wasn't expecting ten reviews in the first chapter! That's just awesome!
Here is the second chapter you've all been waiting for. Thank you for being patient!
~Ten in A Rainbow~
Just Your Usual Day
The siblings with rainbow-like hair colors were an unusual, yet intriguing sight. Still, it was a little over a week since they first started the school year, so the stares lessened… a little.
As usual, Ryota and Shogo dropped off their three youngest siblings to school before making their way to their middle school, where they were, as usual, greeted by the squealing of numerous fangirls.
Satsuki walked her little brothers to their classroom, in an effort to prove that she was a reliable older sister, before heading upstairs to her classroom, where Takeru gave her a smile and a wave. Her face flushed slightly as she returned the greeting. Even after a week, she still wasn't used to his natural charm. "Good morning, Yagami-kun."
"Good morning, Nijimura-chan," he grinned. "How was your weekend?"
"It was great!" Satsuki beamed. "Okaa-san and Uncle Shige took us to the beach, and I built a sandcastle! I'll bring the pictures tomorrow. What about you?"
"Nothing much," Takeru chuckled. "Just spent it playing basketball with my cousin."
Satsuki blinked in surprise. "You play basketball, too?"
It was Takeru's turn to blink as well. "I never told you?" At the pink-haired girl's shake of the head, he added, "Ichi-nii gave me my first basketball last year. I always played ever since."
Satsuki's eyes twinkled with delight. "That's great, Yagami-kun! I should introduce you to my brothers. They're all obsessed with basketball, well, except for Tetsu-kun and Sei-kun. They're too young to play with our older brothers, so they haven't started playing against them, but I saw Tetsu-kun and Sei-kun dribbling a ball together, so they must be in to it!"
Realizing that she had completely babbled on, Satsuki's face flushed once more. "Sorry. I get excited when I talk about my brothers."
"It's okay, Nijimura-chan," Takeru smiled. "I'd do the same if I had brothers like yours."
And with that smile he showed her, Satsuki's heart stopped for a moment as she forced herself not to faint.
~Ten in A Rainbow~
Shintaro was fiddling with his pineapple keychain, placing it in his pocket carefully. It was the lucky item for Cancers today, and he wanted to buy it, even if Cancer was ranked first. To his surprise, Scorpio was ranked second, making him wary of Kazunari's antics for today.
"Shin-chan, guess what!" Kazunari bounded over to him with an enthusiastic grin that, for a second, reminded him of his older brother, Ryota.
"What now?" Shintaro sighed, pushing his glasses up and showing that he was not truly interested in what Kazunari was about to say. Regardless of his efforts, Kazunari seemed to just see through him. Perhaps it was why Shintaro was able to tolerate his presence.
"Scorpio was ranked second, right? So I listened to it and it said that meeting your brothers was okay today!" Kazunari grinned excitedly.
Great. Midorima sighed. He recalled telling Kazunari once that he couldn't meet his two youngest brothers because Oha Asa said it would spell bad luck. He didn't count on Kazunari actually remembering it and listening to Oha Asa until it said he could. He was… oddly pleased by the effort, not that he would mention that out loud to anyone. "Hmph, fine. I have to fetch them later, so I suppose you could tag along from behind."
"Yay! I'm so excited, Shin-chan! Are they adorable? Are they as smart as you say they are? Well, I wouldn't be surprised considering you're their brother, but –" Kazunari rambled on, making Shintaro wonder why he ever agreed to this.
~Ten in A Rainbow~
"I… am so bored," Daiki sighed as he glanced at the Math worksheet that was assigned to them for the day. He could honestly care less about Math, so he always wondered how every single one of his siblings – even those baka-Anikis of his and Atsushi – understood it and some of them – *cough* Seijuuro, Shin, and Tetsu *cough* – even liked it. No, he would never love Math, but he also couldn't disappoint his Okaa-san with an abysmal Math grade.
He supposed he could always ask Shin for help later on, but that tsundere aniki of his would probably be busy watching Oha Asa and going out to buy his lucky item. Who even did that? Whatever.
"Oi, Ryo," he called out to his seatmate.
"H-Hai?" Ryo responded unsurely as he finished writing his answer for the fifth problem.
"…" Daiki was honestly unsure of how to ask the smaller, shier boy for help. He never usually asked for help because his siblings immediately knew when he needed it and what he needed it for. "This worksheet is a bore. What have you answered so far?"
Well, he supposed that was one way of putting it.
Luckily, recognition was seen through Ryo's eyes as the boy nodded to himself. He then began helping Daiki solve the first problem. It seemed that, when it came to Mathematics, the shy boy couldn't be seen. But, of course, once Math was done, Sakurai Ryo would revert back to the twitchy boy he was.
Surprisingly, Ryo was as good as Shin when it came to teaching Daiki, and Daiki would deny that he the thought ever passed his mind, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to reward the smaller boy with some snacks or something.
He didn't even need to spend for it, anyways. That was what Atsushi's snack supply was for.
~Ten in A Rainbow~
"Muro-chin, I don't like this." Atsushi sighed as he finished another lap around the gym. "I'm tired and I'm hungry."
Tatsuya jogged right next to Atsushi, and to an outsider, it would have seemed as if they were brothers since they were so in sync. "Oh, Atsushi. We'll get some food afterwards. We just have to get through English and then it will be time for lunch."
Atsushi pouted next to him. "But the lunch food isn't nice. I finished Okaa-san's bento a while ago."
Tatsuya chuckled, a smile forming on his face as he gazed at someone who he saw as a little brother, much like his biological one, who was still all the way in America, finishing his pre-school. "We could always ask your brothers for some snacks. If not, we could ask around."
"Okay, Muro-chin…" Atsushi sighed as they completed yet another lap, much to the shock of their other classmates who had long since given up and collapsed dramatically onto the ground.
~Ten in a Rainbow~
"Nijimura-kun~, would you like to eat lunch with us?" one of the fangirls in his class asked him, batting her clearly fake eyelashes at him as she stood next to her three other friends.
Ryota put on a charming smile on his face as he said, "I'm sorry-ssu, but I need to do something. Maybe next time?"
"Okay, Nijimura-kun~!" the fangirl replied with a blush on her face as she and her friends squealed as Ryota walked past them.
He sighed to himself. Fangirls gave him an ego boost, but sometimes they could be a little too much. He made his way to the next classroom, which was his twin brother's classroom. He typically ate with one Kasamatsu Yukio, but unfortunately, one of Yukio's younger brothers was sick, and so he had to stay home and care for his brother.
So, Ryota had to eat with Shogo. He didn't mind, really. Shogo and his friends, Imayoshi Shouichi and Hanamiya Makoto, sometimes joined him and Yukio at the rooftop to eat lunch or just chill. It also probably helped that they were all first-string regulars in the basketball club.
"Shocchi, let's eat lunch together-ssu~!" Ryota cheerfully said as he opened the door of class 2-B, ignoring the squeals of some female students in the room, walking towards the window seats where Shogo and his friends were at.
"Let me guess, your precious Kasamatsu ain't here?" Hanamiya Makoto laughed at him as Ryota released crocodile tears.
"Yes-ssu! His brother was sick, so he had to stay home, and then I was left alone, but I don't mind." Ryota pouted as he took the empty seat next to Shogo without asking for permission, placing his bento on the table and digging in to the onion gratin soup his Okaa-san made for him.
"Maa, we have a practice match next month against Meiko," Shouichi began a conversation. "Coach had Inoue scout them a while back, and while at first, they seem like pansies, they might actually put up a fight."
"Sounds interesting," Ryota smirked before a confused look was seen on his face. "Er, who's Inoue again?"
Makoto snickered. "He's the manager of the first-string, doofus."
Ryota nodded. "Oh!"
Shogo snickered as well. "Don't pretend that you remember, Ryota. We all know you forgot about him."
"I'm not pretending-ssu!" Ryota hissed, but the pout was seen on his face once more. "You're all meanies."
"And you're a pansy, what's new?"
~Ten in A Rainbow~
Seijuuro raised an elegant eyebrow at Kenta, who was clearly seething inside. He stopped himself before he could smirk at the weakling, although Tetsuya could see the smug look on his twin's face. Tetsuya knew this would escalate further, and he still wondered why Kenta held such a grudge against them.
FLASHBACK
"Good morning!" Erika-sensei greeted them as she entered the classroom, her cheerful smile plastered on her face as always.
"Good morning, Erika-sensei!" the preschoolers greeted her back with equally cheerful smiles as well, save for the shy Nijimura Tetsuya and the stoic Nijimura Seijuuro.
"Today, we'll be having a quiz on addition and subtraction. I hope you all reviewed during the weekend!" Erika-sensei said as she distributed the test papers to each student. "I'll give you twenty minutes for this test. When you're done, you can hand me your test and I'll check it, and then we can all talk about your weekend!"
Seijuuro held the paper once it was given to him and placed it on his desk, bringing out his favorite mechanical pencil, which Shintaro had gifted to him, and readying his hand.
"Time starts… now!"
Seijuuro flipped his paper over and scanned the questions before writing his name and speeding his way through the test. It was simple addition and subtraction. Had he been any other kid, he would probably have been intimidated by the questions at first, but he wasn't just a kid. He was a Nijimura, and considering his father and mother's reputations, he had to be the best. His parents were a little taken aback by his mentality at first, but grew to accept it as a part of him after a while. He was also grateful that his (secretly second favorite) brother, Shintaro, took the time to tutor him and Tetsuya in more advanced subjects.
He had finished four minutes and three seconds later, glancing at his twin brother who finished two seconds later than he did. They both stood up and handed their papers over to Erika-sensei, who beamed once she saw her two favorite students hand in their tests. They waited in front of her as she checked their papers with her signature pink pen, a wide smile growing on her face as she silently showed them their perfect results. A pleased look came across the twins' faces as they nodded and headed back to their seats.
A few minutes after they did so, Kenta walked up to the front with a smug look, handing in his test. After Erika-sensei checked it, Seijuuro noticed a satisfied look on Kenta's face. The latter boy's eyes flickered to Seijuuro's heterochromic ones and the boy let out a vicious smirk of victory. Seijuuro raised an eyebrow as Kenta walked back to his seat.
Once everyone had finished their test, Erika-sensei stood up, holding the test papers in her hand, which were arranged from the highest score to the lowest score. "I'm happy to say that none of you failed!" Cue the cheers from her students, which made her happy. "I'd also like to commend our top scoring students." At this, Seijuuro saw Kenta's smirk grow wider.
"First, we have Kenta, who got 89% of the answers correctly!" The students clapped politely for their classmate.
"We then have Tetsuya, who got 97% of the answers correctly!" The students clapped a little louder for the shy boy. They genuinely liked him, even though he stuttered sometimes. The girls, especially, found him adorable and saw him as one of them, much to Seijuuro's amusement once he heard them giggling about it.
"Finally, we have Seijuuro, who got 100% of the answers correctly!" The students also clapped for Tetsuya's twin, although they weren't surprised at this point. Despite being children, they always noticed how he got everything correctly, and how he could answer hard questions. While at first they had been jealous of him, he had been nothing but polite to them. He never insulted them nor did he laugh at their mistakes. Sometimes, he'd even help them learn a difficult concept. For that, they clapped, and perhaps, being Tetsuya's twin helped, as well.
As Seijuuro let out a smile as Tetsuya was getting attention from his classmates, he also observed that Kenta was glaring at them once more, an annoyed, childish pout on his face. Hmph, let him face frustration, Seijuuro thought. Clearly, the boy deserved it for his unnecessary efforts at being 'rivals' with himself and Tetsuya. Those efforts only seemed to bother Tetsuya, who was a pacifist at heart.
"Let's talk about our weekends, shall we?" Erika-sensei told them as they all sat in a circle around the classroom. "I ate at a café in Kanagawa yesterday, and they had such delicious chocolate cakes!" She then gestured to the girl on her right. "Aimi, you're next."
"My sister took me to the park yesterday, and we had fun in the monkey bars! I loved the swing, too!" Aimi said excitedly. The boy to her right was next, and the cycle moved on until they reached Kenta, who was determined to use this opportunity to once more try to have the upper hand against the Nijimura twins.
"My father took me to the zoo yesterday! I saw a lion, an elephant, a snake, a turtle, and a duck! I even petted a snake!" Kenta bragged as his classmates 'ooh'-d and 'aah'-d at his tale of his adventure to the zoo. He basked in their attention and smirked at the twins, who glanced back at him with blank faces that secretly unnerved him.
After a few more students, it was the twins' turn to share their weekend adventure, with Kenta narrowing his eyes at them.
"W-We went t-to the beach the other day, and we slept in the resort there. R-Ryo-nii and Sho-nii went surfing with Dai-nii. Shin-nii was reading a book, and Atsu-nii was eating his cakes. Okaa-san and Otou-san were helping Tsuki-nee, Sei-kun, and me build a sandcastle." Tetsuya said shyly. Although he stuttered at first, he was happy to be able to recount what he did with his family.
(Somewhere in the classroom, a group of girls whispered to themselves that they should protect their angelic Tetsuya-kun from mean boys.)
Seijuuro gave him a reassuring smile when Tetsuya turned to look at him. The redhead decided to continue Tetsuya's story. "Afterwards, Uncle Shige took us all to play beach volleyball with him, and we also played basketball in the sand. It was hard at first, but it was enjoyable and helpful in the end. Once night fell, we stayed at the resort and ate food that the chefs prepared. The following morning, we returned home."
The class then babbled into conversation, asking the twins what they did and what else they saw, and if the beach was really great, and why chefs were preparing food for them. They were all interested in what the twins did, making Kenta's mood sour greatly. He really didn't like how the twins got all the attention.
Then, the lunch bell rang and Erika-sensei made them go back to their seats to eat lunch. Fortunately, the twins were the last of the batch, so there was no loss when their 'story time' ended. As they ate, Erika-sensei excused herself to go to the washroom, but only after making them promise to behave.
Kenta took that opportunity to stomp over to the twins, who were almost finished eating the omelet their Okaa-san prepared for them. "I hate you!"
FLASHBACK END
"Oh? Please, do enlighten us." Seijuuro hummed, smirking inside as he watched Kenta's eyebrows furrow in confusion. He, most likely, did not know the meaning of 'enlighten'.
"W-What he means to say is, well, why do you hate us, Kenta-kun?" Tetsuya translated for him, in hopes of getting Kenta to understand. Kenta did not thank him for it, not that Tetsuya expected him to, but he didn't count on Kenta's face turning red, almost as if he were about to cry.
"I knew that! I'm not stupid, you know!" Kenta hissed at them, fists clenching at his sides. He was so, so angry at them! How dare they steal his glory? He was supposed to be the popular one; he knew most of his classmates since they came from the same day care, for crying out loud!
As he seethed in front of them, the twins continued eating their lunch. Once they were finished, they placed their chopsticks and bento into their respective lunch boxes and turned their attention to the boy in front of them.
"We never said you were stupid." Seijuuro hummed, locking his fingers together as he rested them on his table.
"…!" Kenta huffed at them, clearly embarrassed. He noticed the stares they were receiving from the rest of their classmates, and they weren't exactly being secretive about it. They were all staring at the spectacle in front of them, the boys excited to see a fight, and the girls feeling worried for the twins, especially for their precious Tetsuya-kun.
At that moment, Erika-sensei came in and looked at the three boys, who were the center of attention, with a worried look. "Is something going on here?"
"No, sensei. Kenta only came over to share some opinions of his." Seijuuro said, implying the dismissal of Kenta, which the boy was smart enough to understand. He growled inside, but kept his temper in check because there was a teacher here.
"Hmph," Kenta let out as he went back to his seat.
Tetsuya, in the meantime, had brought out a book while his twin and classmate were in an argument, and a one-sided one at that, since Seijuuro wasn't exactly 'arguing' – he was playing with the older kid.
Erika-sensei looked at her star students and their classmate worriedly. She hoped that they would be able to resolve this issue. If not, she might have to step in.
~Ten in a Rainbow~
Lunch for Satsuki was quite eventful, as well. Takeru had invited her to eat lunch with him and his childhood friend, one Furihata Kouki, who was quite shy yet sweet. They were peacefully eating their lunch in the classroom when Satsuki noticed some glares directed at her.
She had thought – wished – that the glares from the other girls would stop. She really wanted a female friend, someone who she could giggle with and gossip with and share ice cream with and talk about boys with. She wanted someone who she could share secrets to, someone who understood her because that someone also knew what she was going through.
Unfortunately, being friends with Yagami Takeru had prevented that, and this thought deflated her cheery mood.
Takeru tried talking to her, but she only responded vaguely and shortly, until he got the hint that she wasn't in the mood for talking. Still, it didn't stop him from sending her worried looks every now and then.
When the bell signaling the end of classes rang, Takeru asked Satsuki if she wanted to walk to the gates with him, but she responded that she would pass for today. Takeru sent her one last concerned look before walking ahead hesitantly.
Satsuki stared at the spot where Takeru once was before sighing and grabbing her backpack. She didn't mean to send him away like that or ignore him. It's just… she was so unsure. She wanted something that she couldn't have if she continued their friendship. She wanted both, but she knew that she could only choose one.
"Ano, N-Nijimura-chan?" a shy voice in front of her asked, startling her slightly as she came face to face with Furihata Kouki.
"Ah, Furihata-kun, what is it?"
"Um… Takeru was really worried about you today. What's wrong?" Kouki looked at her with concern for both her and his friend.
"Oh… it's… um…" Satsuki tried to formulate a response, but found that she couldn't. Her problem sounded selfish, and she was just so confused right now.
"Never mind, Nijimura-chan," Kouki shot her a shy smile. "Um, whatever it is, though, please figure it out. Takeru really likes your company, you know."
"Huh?" His confession surprised her as heat rose to her cheeks slightly. "B-But…"
Furihata Kouki didn't reveal anything more to her. Instead, he shot her a reassuring smile before walking out of the classroom.
~Ten in A Rainbow~
"Oi, Satsuki, what's wrong with you?" Daiki demanded as his sister sighed yet again. She had been sighing a lot since they came home. He was currently in his room, playing on his PlayStation, while Satsuki sat on his bed, hugging her favorite bunny stuffed toy.
"It's nothing, Dai-chan…" Satsuki sighed.
"It ain't nothing if you keep sighing like that." Daiki pointed out, a serious look on his slightly chubby face for once. He waited patiently for his sister to respond. When silence greeted him, he sighed and resumed his game.
"Daiki, don't you have homework to do?" Shintaro asked him with a knowing tone in his voice as he entered the room with arms crossed.
"Aww, come on, Shin! Can't I finish this level first?" Daiki whined as he gestured towards his game, where it showed that he only had a minute left before the mission ended.
"Fine," Shintaro sighed as he glanced at his younger sister. "Satsuki, what's wrong?"
"…" Satsuki looked at him with sad eyes. "It's nothing, Shin-nii…"
Shintaro stared at her for a moment before shrugging. He glanced at Daiki, who was now cheering as he finished his game. He helped Daiki pack up and they both got started on his Math homework.
As Shintaro guided his brother through the equations and the importance of 'x', he stole glances at his sister, who was now staring blankly at the ground. He sighed and said, "Daiki, the rest of the problems go through the same steps as the ones we've solved. I'll come back to check your work. Satsuki, come. Let's make some hot chocolate."
Satsuki nodded, holding her bunny in one hand as she took her brother's hand with the other. He led her downstairs and she sat on one of the chairs by the dining table as he made her some hot chocolate.
"Daiki isn't here now. Mind telling me what's wrong?" Shintaro asked her as he placed the mug of hot chocolate in front of her. Shintaro honestly expected it to be something about the girls in her class, and boy, was he right when she spilled out her worries to him.
He was silent for a moment before he replied, "Satsuki, sometimes, we don't get what we want in life. Sometimes, we have to appreciate what's there. This Yagami Takeru seems like a good friend to keep. You may not be able to talk about boys with him, but can't he be a friend to you, as well? You can laugh with him, talk to him, learn to trust him... You don't need him to be a girl for you to be able to do this."
Satsuki stared at him with wide eyes before she grinned. "You're right! Thanks, Shin-nii!"
"I guess I was right to keep Daiki out of earshot. He would have gotten mad," Shintaro mused to himself. He was pleased that his sister was finally happy again, until her grin disappeared and was replaced by a worried look.
"But… I think I made him sad today, Shin-nii. I ignored him and didn't talk to him, and we didn't walk to school together a while ago." Satsuki sighed, a frown on her face.
"You could always tell him the truth," Shintaro advised her.
"Won't he hate me if he found out?" Satsuki asked him insecurely.
Shintaro shook his head and patted hers. "He'll be happier if he found out why."
"Mm, okay! Thanks!" Satsuki smiled as she sipped her hot chocolate.
And all the way by the staircase adjacent to the dining room, Daiki had a frown on his face.
~Ten in A Rainbow~
Me: Hi, guys! There's the second chapter. I promise that I'll do my best to have faster updates. I studies my books over the summer, so I'm sure I'll be able to find more time in the next month or two to type the next chapter/s.
I have an idea for the third chapter, but I'm not sure if I'll continue to have more ideas. Could you guys suggest some prompts? Thanks!
Once again, I appreciate the support from you all! Please do review, since reviews help out a lot, not just in the author's writing, but in the motivation, as well!
Have a good day!