six: baby steps pt. 3
"I want some food."
Those were the first words her sister said. When they departed from the police station, it was strangely quiet. Her usually boisterous sister didn't utter a word, cranking up the radio to let the music replace any talking. There was no lecture or complaint. Just the sound of some cheery pop music while they drove through the late night.
But then, as soon as they arrived home, Azriel threw herself against the couch, propping her legs against the coffee table, a notion Jibril herself was always disparaged for committing. Jibril stood by the door with her mouth ajar, not quite sure what to say.
"Nani?" Azriel asked, after noticing her sister's inaction. "Get in already. It's cold with the door open."
"Oh, uhm…" Jibril closed the door shut, still wondering what she should do or if she was going to be punished. "…nee-chan—"
"—oh ho, ho, now I'm your older sister?" She stood up, striding towards Jibril, who backed up out of fear until her back touched the wall. Shoot. There was nowhere to run.
Jibril looked fearfully into Azriel's predatory gaze full of serious irritation. There had been very few times that Jibril had truly angered Azriel and that was only because Azriel never had the time to become angry. Thinking this, Jibril felt her stomach knotted out of guilt and she bit her bottom lip for what was to come.
Well, whatever is to come, I deserve it.
"Yes, that's right," Azriel's hoarse voice cut through Jibril's thought and the girl looked up at her sister. "I'm your older sister. Not daddy, not mommy. I can't be that for you so please—tell me if I'm doing something wrong."
Jibril stared incredulously at Azriel. She had completely misjudged her sister. While she should be the one punished, Azriel was the one being punished—being punished for not being a good parent for her. What ridiculous notion was that?
She noticed her sister's shoulders shaking and her eyes glowing under the lights—tears. Her sister was shedding tears.
"Nee-chan!" Jibril wrapped her arms around her sister's shoulders, cutting Azriel's sharp breathing intakes short. The warmth was unfamiliar but comforting and even though Jibril felt Azriel struggling to escape, Jibril didn't let her.
"But it's not your intelligence I'm criticizing you for. It's your arrogance."
Right, right. Because even with her intelligence, she hadn't realized what was the most important thing in front of her: Azriel, her sister who had to grow up for her. She had chosen to not question the times when Azriel came home so early, despite the commitment her job required. It was all for her. Azriel had chosen to spend some time with her, cutting back the hours when she could've made money.
"Had I always been this ignorant?" Jibril suddenly murmured, her thoughts wandering back to Sora's dilemma. "Thinking that I know everything, always in my own content world—"
"—baaaaka." A fist landed on top of her head and Jibril pulled back in response, her head throbbing and eyes tearing. "Ouuuuch! My face still hurts nee-chan!"
"Which is why I didn't slap you," Azriel replied. "But what was with that serious face you had on? Not like you at all. Don't you worry your little face about the past, little sister."
"Eh?" Her eyes widened. "H-how did you know?"
"It's obvious what you're feeling."
"B-but even so," Jibril looked down at the ground. "I-I caused a lot of trouble and I didn't help you out when you needed and, and…"
"And even if you did, it wouldn't have helped out at all, anyways," Azriel interrupted. "Doing stuff when you don't have the ability to is just as harmful you know. Dumbie."
"B-but—"
"—but if you still insist," Azriel crossed her arms, flipping hair over her shoulder. "You can get some ice cream for me at the conveience store."
"…what?" Jibril cocked her head to the side. "R-right now?"
"Yes."
"It's dark out now."
"I know."
She opened her mouth to further point out the absurdity of her request but closed it when she saw the playfulness glinting in Azriel's eyes. So this was her punishment. "Hai, hai, nee-chan. I'll get some to you quickly."
"—at least four cartons okay?"
"F-four?! Isn't that too heavy for me, a delicate flower blooming in the midst of her youth?"
"Just get four missy."
"O-okay."
—
Walking out in the city while it was nighttime was not something Jibril did frequently. Being the indoor person she was, she felt uncomfortable staying out, let alone late when she could be the victim of ghouls, gang lynching, psychopaths…
I should seriously stop reading manga.
But still, this punishment Azriel gave her was actually pretty nice. It felt refreshing to have the night air blow in her hair and see the streets empty of people. It felt like she was the only person in the world and she
"Oh," Azriel said to herself as she recognized that the neighborhood she was walking in was not the one that led to the convenience store. Instead of passing by apartments, she was nearing trees and walking on a cobblestone path.
The playground.
Sure enough, with the help of the glowing lampposts, she soon made out the playground, the place looking ominously different from when she was there earlier that afternoon. The bright red paint of the slides was menacing, appearing as if a murder had happened and blood splayed messily.
"—girls would want that?"
As she neared closer to the playground, she could make out a male figure standing absentminded under the street lamppost. She could recognize the dry tone and flicker of red hair from anywhere.
"Sora?"
The figure turned his head, revealing the ruby eyes and pale skin she had always compared to Snow White's complexions. Come to think of it, he had always behaved more of a prissy princess than anything.
He recognized her immediately, his open mouth slacking and eyes widening. He turned towards her immediately but tripped on his feet, falling body flat into the sand beneath him.
"Ouch..."
Jibril couldn't help but giggle, rushing to the boy's side to help him up. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she pulled him up with a grunt.
"You okay?" She immediately regretted her question, remembering his earlier treatment towards her. She backtracked. "Not that I'm worried or anything. You just look like you'll become a public menace; playing at a kid's place in the middle of the night and all."
The boy brushed off the sand on his clothing, his eyes rolling. He bent towards the ground and fumbled around in the sand until he found his cellphone, putting it to his ears.
"Tet, I'll talk to you later. No, it's not Shiro. Who the heck have we been talking about? No, shut up. Bye."
Tet, that nickname reminded Jibril of the boy's energetic bestie and her crush. He was talking to Teto? What was he talking to him about? Was he, perhaps, talking about her?
As he hung up and turned towards her, Jibril realized that he had talked to Teto, her crush, yet her mind wasn't swarming with questions about him but, rather, questions about Sora. She tried stopping the red spreading to her face as she remembered that she was supposed to be angry with Sora, not flustered and—
"I'm sorry," the boy suddenly said, his hand stuffed into his pockets and head turned nervously towards everywhere but her. If Jibril didn't know any better, she would say that Sora was nervous.
But that couldn't be true...
"Wh-what?" Sora said when she didn't respond. "I said I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for yelling and getting mad at you earlier. You didn't do anything wrong. It's just…I don't talk to girls that much and it felt great for once but uhm…doesn't mean that I don't like talking to you…oh…uhm…"
His eyes finally met hers and she was able to see the anxious and begging glint glowing in night's darkness. He was nervous. Smooth talking, confident asshole Sora was actually nervous.
"Ohhh~" She couldn't resist, the corners of her mouth turning upwards. "Is Sora Nai nervous? Thee Sora Nai?" She sashayed over to the boy's side, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "What? Were you afraid that I was mad?"
The boy was visibly uncomfortable, the way his body stiffened when she brushed her shoulder against his side and her face neared his. Yet, he didn't make a move to distance himself. Instead, he nodded numbly.
"That's right. I was afraid that you were angry."
Jibril froze, the teasing mischief inside of her dissolving. She wasn't sure if she heard him carefully because what he implied was that she meant something to him more than a person to give him leverage in his love life. He remained silent though, not saying anything to take back his words and waiting patiently for her reply.
She tried too. She opened her mouth, which went dry immediately, and closed it.
"Why...were you afraid?"
"Does that have to be asked?" He looked exasperated at her, as if disappointed at her for not getting the bigger picture—which she felt she did but didn't dare believe. "We're friends right? Even though we didn't start out as friends, I've come to rely on you a lot and...you're pretty cool."
That solidified it. The blush on her face became impossible to stop, like water rushing through a broken dam. She turned her back before she was caught and dived for a swing seat, moving her legs.
The boy didn't say a word, having been used to the girl's erratic whims. He approached her, gazing at her with a weirded face.
The girl didn't stop swinging, trying to let the night breeze cool the warm blush forming. "Can I help you Mister Nai?"
"Nah, just...what the hell are you doing?"
"Should you spew profanities at the person you just apologized to?" Jibril sneered, a bit bewildered how her blush didn't stop even after Sora returned to his usual self. "Well, don't make me look like an idiot. Grab a swing!"
Even at her offer, the boy didn't move an inch. "Naah, I'm good."
"Why? Does lil' Sora not know how to swing?"
She was only joking but Sora didn't respond, lowering his head a bit. She screeched to a stop and let her blush cool to a shocked expression.
"You...can't be serious?"
"I was a delicate child!" He cried his outburst akin to a kid who had his toys taken away. "And I knew playing outside was a waste of time! And, and,"
I was holed up in the house throughout all my life, was his unsaid explanation.
He didn't finish as Jibril laughed away his poorly made up justifications, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him over to the swing. She pushed him onto a seat and he looked up at her with large, scared and childlike eyes.
He's so cute.
She brushed that thought away, putting her hands over his and forcing it to latch onto either side of the chain that was attached to the seat.
"Look," she said, "when you are going forward, lean backwards and straighten your legs. When you are going backwards, straighten back and cross legs backwards. Got it?"
"Do I have a choice?" He asked grimly but Jibril didn't answer, pushing the boy forward. He yelped, absolute terror written in his body motions as his legs curled up to his chest. Jibril tried coaxing him out of it but no number of encouragement and threats could deter him. Finally, the swinging stopped and Jibril saw the boy visibly shaking.
"D-Don't ever do that again."
"Fine," she tried containing her laugh. "I'll push you instead, okay?"
"Please no!"
"Come on. I won't push too hard."
The boy reluctantly relented and Jibril pushed him gently. After a few minutes of pushing and swinging, Jibril noticed the trembling stopped and a new smile forming on his face.
"Enjoying the ride?" She teased.
"Only because I have someone to land on when I fall!"
"Please," she rolled her eyes, "I'll make sure you fall on the floor."
"I highly doubt that."
Silence blanketed them though it felt comforting to be outside without all the hustle and bustle that forever came with people. When her eyes arbitrarily scanned around the playground and then to the back of Sora's figure, a thought came to her.
"Sora, why did you talk to her? Even if you say it's because you normally don't talk to girls, there's a bigger reason, right?"
His lack of immediate response was an unsaid answer: Bingo. She waited patiently for him to elaborate, which he did eventually. "It's because…of Shiro."
"Shiro?"
"Yes, she asked me an odd question earlier today. 'Nii, what if I was away for awhile? How would you feel?' I didn't know how to answer. I didn't know how to behave."
"…so?"
"It made me feel like Shiro didn't need me anymore. It was as if she was warning me that she'll be away."
"Well, it's natural for siblings," the words accidently slipped from her mouth and almost immediately, Jibril regretted it. She noticed Sora's figure slackening and his head lowered.
"Yeah, but we're not regular siblings you know."
"Yes, I know." For some reason, the idea of proving that a love between two siblings could ethically work was no longer appealing to her. She had an inkling what Sora was trying to allude to but while she would support him before, she had the strongest urge to yell at him to stop. She didn't have a clue why she felt this way though, suppressing her desires.
"And it's strange," Sora continued. "I thought I would support Shiro in whatever she wants but I just want her to stop. To stop doing all these things and remain the Shiro I've known all along. To stay my sweet little imouto."
"But she doesn't want to?"
"She doesn't want to," Sora nodded again.
Jibril waited for Sora to continue but this time, he didn't and Jibril didn't bother continuing. She didn't like the direction the conversation was heading and it wasn't just the fact that he talked about liking his sibling. It was the general nature of it. It felt like it had manifested into something darker than what Jibril thought his love was.
And Jibril refused to believe Sora's love had become that way because Sora wasn't like that.
Then, in that second, Jibril noticed a trash bag drifting dangerously in front of Sora's swinging. She ran over to remove the garbage but when she turned her around, Sora was flying off the swing and towards her.
"What the hell—"
Poof!
Sand circled around them from the impact and Jibril opened her eyes, feeling a heavy weight on top of her. Seconds later, the weight was lifted and she looked up to see Sora's face close to hers, coated with layers of worry.
He was on top of her.
"Jibril! Are you okay?" His voice was worried and rapid. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"N-no," she turned her face to the side, bothered by the close proximity. "I'm fine. Why the hell did you have to fall?"
"I was scared and surprised!" He was about to elaborate more when he paused, inching closer to her face.
Jibril's eyes widened. "Wh-what are you doing—"
"—what happened to your face?" His voice cut sharply, with no hint of humor. Just seriousness that could kill. "It's black and all."
"Oh this?"
Since the moment she saw Sora, she now remembered the reason why she was out in the first place. Her eyes flitted towards the digital clock that hung against the glass window of the corner bank. 9:15. Oh shit, Azriel was going to kill her—
Before her mind could conjure all the punishments Azriel would dish out for taking so long, either side of her face was cupped by two hands—more specifically Sora's.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
"Inspecting your bruises," Sora replied, his face as neutral as ever. It was tinted with concern and concentration as he observed her. "It's not that bad but you should really get it treated."
"No duh. That's what I was doing before I bumped into you," she would reply sardonically but his touch intoxicated her mind for some reason and she lost her ability to speak. He talked for some more and though Jibril listened, all his words were muted by her rapid heartbeat.
This can't be. This can't be.
Finally, he released her. "We should go to the convenience store quickly."
She tried masking her disappointment when he no longer touched her but then tried masking her happiness when he slipped his hand into hers.
"Let's go!"
She numbly nodded her head as he led her away into the night to the nearest store, hand in hand.
Word Count: 2808
A/N: When this fic is finished, which is in two to three chapters if I decide not to split those, I am so going to work on a Shiro/Yandere!Sora fic. I call it. :P *totally not forgetting I have another NGNL fic to work on, psht*
But anyways, yeah, I really should've waited to finish this part before uploading the previous chapters. Oh wells. Hope you like this one!
And hope to have your continued support! Let me know what you think in your reviews and thanks for all the favorites/follows!
(Also, I know there may be details mentioned here but not previously and I apologize thoroughly as writer for this. OTL I'll be editing this fic when I'm finished so hopefully it's not too glaringly annoying!)