Sorry for the massive delay!
I knocked on the door of my brother's "secret hideout" (as I like to call it) and felt his hand drag me inside. Adjusting my hat, I leaned on the wall. "Well, where is it?" I asked. Flavio slid to a drawer and opened it to reveal tons of gadgets he probably accumulated for who knows how long. He took out a lapel headset and earbuds that were connected by Bluetooth, judging from the blue LED light that was on their sides. "Here." He gently placed the gadgets on my open palms. "So, how will these help me?" I asked, dumbfounded.
Flavio giggled. "You just put this headset on and let the lover boy wear the buds. He'll just listen to every instruction you dictate to ensure that he gets his one true lover." He formed a heart with his hands after explaining their use. Simple enough, as I prepared to make my leave, I heard him clear his throat. "What now?" I asked, a little annoyed. "All my services come with a fee, you know." I felt my head explode at that. "Wahttttt?" If it were possible, my jaw would've hit the floor by now.
"You may be my little brother but that doesn't mean you get them for free." My brother explained. I clenched my fists tightly, trying to hide my anger. "But just be thankful that I don't ask for money with my services. All I want is..." He trailed. "Is what?" I egged. "Doujins!" Flavio yelled. "It's like manga but made by fans for fans, you know, like fanfiction on the internet." He explained when he saw my confused look. "Alright, if that's what you want, I suppose you'll at least tell me where they are?" I requested.
Flashing me a smile, Flavio patted my head. "All of our schoolmates keep dropping them everywhere. I really mean it. So much that our teachers stopped giving a shit about it. Isn't that hilarious?" The thought of it made him laugh. "That's too messy..." I muttered, thinking about the big bins each student carries during cleaning time in order to pick them up. "To you, but to me, it's an absolute heaven." Flav made an imaginary rainbow with his hands, which made me mentally face palm.
"Can I go now?" I requested, wanting to get away from his cringe now. My brother did a "off you go" motion with his hand and I stepped right out, closing the door behind me. I took a deep breath and sighed. "Here I go..." With that, I walked around the school to find whatever the hell are doujins. Whatever they are, I'll never understand why my brother loves and wants them.
That's when I suddenly tripped and fell to the ground.
Thud!
"Owwww..." I groaned, pushing myself up with my elbows and leaned against the wall so that I wouldn't block the hallway with my big body. I adjusted my eyes to see what I tripped on and finally saw what it was.
It was a book.
I guess this is a doujin? From the cover, it looks like it. I reached out to it and grabbed the book to prevent more (embarrassing) accidents like mine. The cover had three boys on it, along with the name and maker of it in big letters. On the upper left corner of it, had a "R-18 ADULT ONLY" mark in yellow. I opened the doujin to a random page and it had one of the two protagonists in bed.
"That's not it, Ven! I can't...control my body..."
"O-Ouch..."
Deciding that I had enough, I closed it and dusted myself off, holding the doujin with my left arm. I explored more of the school to find the scattered books that our school mates carelessly littered everywhere without caring for the fact someone could trip over them. And what do you know, there was another one on top of the lockers. Standing on my toes, I reached for the book on top and grabbed it, blowing the dust off that it collected.
This time, the cover had a boy with spiky brown hair and blue eyes in a Santa outfit while hugging a black coat close to him. The mark, this time, was on the lower left, with a pink "no" sign drawn on it. I flipped it open to a random page and it was a bedroom scene between the cover boy and another boy.
"Sora, lift your arms and say "hooray"..."
"Hooray?"
"Who even makes these?" I thought to myself as I closed it and just went back to the secret hideout. As I was walking, I felt a bunch of other books hit my feet. I looked down to be greeted by a literal sea of doujins. "Whattttt?!" I yelled, luckily no one heard me. Most of them had that one mark plastered on the cover that I couldn't even tell which one is safe or not anymore.
Since I got what I needed, I just skipped over them and went to the third floor. I knocked on the door and shoved the two doujins to Flavio's face when he opened the door. "Here! Take them! This building is like a dumpster!" I ranted. I felt a hand pat me, as if I were a puppy. "Nicely done, this payment is enough. Oh and here, something for your head." Flavio's placed a bandage on a bruise that I didn't even know formed when I fell. "G-Grazie..." I thanked and he closed the door. Not even a second later, I heard squeals from the inside.
I ghosted my fingers on the bandage and sighed. If I were to win my future husband's heart, I'll have to work my ass off to pay those services my older brother is offering to me.
