A few days later, Giroro came home from school to a fiery, heated argument.
He had assumed that it was his dad and his mom, but when he glanced at the kitchen, he was bewildered to see that he was only half right. Instead, it was his mother and older brother.
He wasn't sure what they were arguing about, but whatever it was about, it felt… different.
Garuru was the 'perfect child'. Usually when he was misbehaving, it amused Giroro, because it proved that his parents were wrong, that Garuru was extremely capable of being the no-so-perfect child.
But this… the air, it felt hot, sticky. Their words intoxicated the kitchen, making it difficult to breathe.
Giroro swallowed anxiously and turned, more than eager to leave and hide, when suddenly there was a sudden, piercing, slap!
The red Keronian immediately turned around, eyes widening at the sight of Garuru, who's face was turned slightly to the right, a pink, hand-shaped mark slowly forming. Their mother's paw was twitching slightly as it was slowly brought down, and her jaw was set and bitter.
"Garuru," She said in an abnormally penetrating, cold tone. "Go to your room."
Garuru was silent as he stalked past Giroro.
Giroro whimpered in surprise as the door was slammed shut.
He gazed at his mother, confused, expecting an explanation, but was dismayed as she didn't give one. Instead, she coolly walked by him and entered her own room, shutting the door softly behind her.
Giroro didn't know what to do. Go ask mom what happened? Go get dad? Ask Garuru if he's okay? He was so perplexed, frightened.
So he sat down and began to cry.
The next day Giroro saw Garuru talking to a girl.
The same one that was in that picture.
She really was pretty, smiling up at his older brother happily.
Giroro knew he shouldn't be snooping, but he was just so curious. It wasn't everyday that he saw Garuru with his girlfriend.
He couldn't hear anything, but he knew that Garuru had said something wrong, because the girl's face slowly melted away, revealing a puzzled, startled gaze.
You can't be serious, Giroro thought she said, watching her mouth move. Garuru's back was toward him, erect, firm. He knew that stance- whatever it was he said, he was dead serious.
Garuru-
The purple Keronian simply turned around and left her there, without bothering to clarify, without bothering to say anything else.
The girl's eyes filled with tears, and she made a sharp turn toward the opposite direction, sobbing into her hands, walking back home.
Fire.
Giroro awoke sitting straight on his bed, eyes wide, staring at the wall in front of him. He smelled something burning.
Smoke means fire, Giroro thought, half asleep, panicked. He immediately jumped out of bed and ran to tell everyone, but was baffled to realize that there was no one there. His mom, dad, brother- they all weren't here. His initial thought was that they had all left him there in the burning house, without any consideration for his well-being. He was about to cry when he realized that the smoke was coming from the outside, not inside. He walked over to the nearest window and saw the fire.
He quickly ran out to investigate.
To his horror, Garuru had lit a fire in a trashcan, its flames dancing and flickering high in the wind.
"Big bro, what are you doing?"
Garuru turned around, equally surprised to be discovered.
"Where's mom and dad?! Why are you doing that-?!"
"Giroro, go inside." His words were crisp and sharp, a no-nonsense answer.
"…Why?"
"I don't feel like hearing you ask questions." He turned back to the flame.
Giroro was silent for a moment.
"Giroro-"
"If I don't say anything, can I watch?"
Startled, Garuru glanced over his shoulder, to his considerably scared and confused younger brother.
"…Fine."
The little red Keronian walked around Garuru and took a seat, making sure to distance himself safely away from the fire. He had barely noticed the objects laying around the rusty trash bin; the paper and small boxes and… the year book, splayed open, with photos and pages ripped out.
Giroro watched with an astonished, disturbed expression as his brother calmly fed the flames the things on the floor. The paper inside the fire browned at the edges, then curled and blackened. White ashes flew away, escaping the orange hotness; the remains of the burned photo.
There was one on the floor, the bookmark, placed to the side.
At first Giroro was a little relieved; he didn't know why, but that's how he felt.
He rubbed his eyes sleepily as Garuru continued to nourish the blistering flower the things on the grass, slow, almost hesitant at first, and then quickly, like he was impatient to get rid of everything he had.
The picture and the entire yearbook, however empty-looking, were last.
Garuru slowly picked up the photo, staring at it, letting out a shuddering breath, before letting it go to the mouth of the hungry fire.
Giroro's heart sank for some reason. He didn't understand why; he just did.
Garuru stared, stiffly, at the crumbling snapshot that curled and shrank and burned, until eventually it existed into nothing but a few pale ashes, fluttering away, finally, from the flame's grasp, and dancing away to the wind.
Garuru picked up the yearbook and tossed it into the bin.
Giroro gazed up at his brother. It was obvious he was exhausted, but there was this… new look to him. He looked frighteningly older, and hardened, and… gone. It was like he was witnessing some part of his brother die away. What, he didn't know, but it was terrifying. He didn't want this to happen, but he couldn't do anything but stand helplessly on the sidelines, watching.
"Giroro," Garuru said suddenly.
Giroro jumped. "Y-yes?"
"I'm going to be a soldier."
His younger brother nodded timidly. "I know…"
"And I'm going to be impossible to defeat."
He didn't understand where this was going, but Giroro simply nodded, just to agree.
"Love is a war, Giroro, that you can never win. If you fall in love, you lose."
Garuru grabbed at a bucket of water that was sitting nearby and poured it over the fire, killing it, making it sputter and hiss and exhume its gray, black smoke and white, papery ashes into the air.
Giroro noticed the horizon, grayish clouds revealing themselves, tinted with the palest pink and copper-golden hue, a morning blue beginning to dissipitate the deep violet night.
He glanced at Garuru, who had risen his head, watching the thick smoke beginning to thin out, disappear. He closed his eyes, and turned away. "Come on, Giroro. Let's go inside before mom and dad come back home."
Without another word Giroro ran by his side, and in solemn silence they went inside the house.
Well... this is probably the worst story I have ever written. Oh well. Remember I warned you.
To Tera: Garuru broke up with the girl.
To everyone who was hopelessly confused, I apologize. Just hope that I'll make better stories in the future.