Sorry this later than I expected! I went on vacation for a few weeks and a new story invaded my mind. But don't worry, this one is my top priority ~
Warning: MASSES AMOUNT OF DIALOGUE, OH MY GOD. I FEEL A LITTLE LIKE ANNE RICE.
Rikuo landed on the soft grass under the balcony, clutching his duffel bag strap. Out of habit, Rikuo began looking around. This time, it was so he could find his brother who had wanted to come along. It stumped him, Rikun's reason to watch him spray paint. A small nagging feeling told it was more than having brothers bond together.
"Yo! Rikuo!" Rikun said, waiting by the iron gate.
"Shush! Rikun! You're going to get us caught!" Rikuo said, glaring at his brother as he made way to the iron gate.
Rikun waved off his brother's worries. "It's fine, they're all busy with stuff anyways."
"Whatever," Rikuo said, throwing his duffel bag over the fence and climbing over it like last night. Once on the other side, Rikuo looked back to his brother through the iron bars. "Hmm..do you think you can climb this?" he asked, suddenly remembering that most people couldn't climb a gate that was this high.
"Don't have to," Rikun said, taking out a card from his pocket. He swiped the card underneath the speaker, and the gates slowly opened.
Rikuo glared at his brother, who was looking at him in mirth. "Of course..."
"Hey now, don't get grumpy at me because you didn't know." Rikun said, closing the gate behind him.
"Bastard." Rikuo said picking up his duffel bag. "Since you know this area so well, do you know any abandoned buildings?" then he added "That aren't brick?"
Walking ahead of his younger brother, Rikun gestured him to follow with a nod of his head. "Right this way...my dear."
"I'm not your dear, you fucked up bastard." was Rikuo's harsh reply, thinking back on the somewhat kiss Rikun gave him.
Seriously, what kind of brother did that?
"So, Rikuo you never did tell me the reason why you do gra-I mean spray-art." Rikun corrected himself when he saw the heated glared his younger brother gave him.
After finishing Rikuo finished his painting, Rikun suggested that they go to the park for more brotherly bonding. On the walk there, Rikun constantly teased Rikuo for messing up a few times-most of which being Rikun's fault. It was when Rikuo slapped his brother upside the head with his bag, did the older man shut up but, not without a heated glare towards his younger brother.
Rikuo drew his eyes away from his older brother and looked back to the sunset. Drawing in his knees close to his chest, Rikuo put his arms around them and his exposed chin on his knees. "Well, it started when I was 12, a few days after I visited for the first time. Before I met everyone..I hated all of you. Every. Single. One. Of. You. Even Yamabuki. But, most of all...I hated dad. No, I despised him."
A feeling a guilt pooled at his stomach, making him feel somewhat uncomfortable. "I always wondered...why didn't he ever visit us? Why didn't he even call on my birthday?!" Rikuo's grip on his pants tighten, past questions filling his mind. "Did he not love me and mom?! Were we not good enough to fit in his world?! Was his other family better than us?! Why was I the one that had no father to turn to?! Why did he pick you guys over us?! "
"Rikuo...You know" Rikun tried to say, but was Rikuo didn't stop.
Tears rolled down his cheeks, and his shoulders shook from his sobs. He lifted his hand to wipe away the tears, as his voice lowered with each why spoken. "Why...why...why...why?"
Rikun looked at his younger brother, not being to force any comforting words. Instead he pulled his brother close to him, keeping his arm wrapped around Rikuo. After a few minutes, the sobs died down to hiccups and sniffles.
Gaining better control of himself, Rikuo pulled away from his brother. "Sorry...I didn't think that would be so painful. Since, now I know it was mom who left dad and Yamabuki." Rikuo said, turning to his brother and gave him a small grateful smile.
"But...before I knew that, I hated him and the happiness your family had with him. It just felt...so unfair." Rikuo paused, thinking on how to word what he was going to say next. "And then, I heard him talking about the city and why he loves everything here. And that his favorite thing about the city, was the old abandoned buildings. Something about the buildings having history, or whatever."
Rikun guessed what Rikuo meant to say next. "And so, you decided that graffiti was the best way to get back at him."
Rikuo nodded, "So, a few days later I bought a few cheap paint cans and went to the closest building I could find. And...when I looked at the concrete...it reminded me of a blank canvas. But...it appealed much more to me, because it was so unconventional," He explained, the edges of his lips twitching upward at the memory. "So, before I knew what I was doing I ended up creating a mural."
Rikun looked away from his brother and to the sunset at the horizon. "I remember when it was first found. Kubinashi took a picture of it to show us...A bright white moon on a black sky, the rays shinning down on a beautiful cherry blossom tree. The petals were like pink stars, and it seemed to have sort of unearthly glow to it."
Rikun looked back to Rikuo "You don't know how crushed our old man was when he had to cover it up. He said it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen."
Rikuo perked up a little, some-what surprised. "Really? He liked it?" he asked, his voice ridden with glee.
Chuckling at Rikuo's obvious happiness, Rikun patted his brother's head. He laughed even more at the junior's attempt to swat away his hand. "He likes all your paintings Rikuo. He even said at dinner before that he would have kept them up, but that would bad on him as the head councilman. Attempts at capturing The Sprayer are all for show!"
Rikuo tilted his head thoughtfully, "So...if I told dad that I was The Sprayer, he wouldn't be angry then?"
"Silly, Rikuo! The whole family already knows!"
Rikuo's expression slightly remind Rikun of a fish. "What! How?!"
"Remember when you almost got caught by Kubinashi?" At Rikuo's stiff nod, he continued. "Well, along with the paint cans you threw at him, a few papers fell out with your name on it."
Rikuo slapped his forehead, how was he so stupid enough to forget that he left his homework in his duffel bag. "Well...that explains where I left my English homework that night."
"It wouldn't have mattered anyways. Your grammar was atrocious, and you had a lot of sentence fragments." Rikun told his brother happily, as if he just didn't insult Rikuo.
"Shut up Rikun!" Was Rikuo's angry reply, which just made Rikun laugh.
Rikuo looked back to the sunset, trying to ignore his brother's teasing laughter. He thought back to when he spent time with his family earlier in the day. Personally he found the soccer game some-what boring and, didn't pay much attention to it since he didn't know any thing about the sport, besides kicking the ball. The only high-light was seeing a rather hot-tempered Rikun getting a yellow card. His said brother trash-talking back the referee while his teammates held him back. How Rikun wasn't benched, Rikuo wasn't exactly sure he was too busy laughing at Rihan, who was being held down by Yamabuki. Apparently, Rikun got his hot-temper from their father. Which, surprised Rikuo greatly since his father always seemed, like a cool and rather aloof person with infinite amounts of wisdom.
He also learned that his father was a flirt. When they went to the snack-stand to get a couple of hot-dogs and sodas, they ran into a rather pretty woman that was looking at Rihan. And, Rihan being that gentleman he is, gave her one of his most alluring smiles and asked her how she was enjoying the game. After a few minutes, the woman was completely charmed by Rihan. However, Rikuo didn't want Yamabuki to wait anymore and told Rihan that he would tell her. The instantaneous rushed good-bye and fast-walk had Rikuo chuckling back to his seat. When they got back, a very riled up Yamabuki cheering Rikun on, was the thing Rikuo least expected to see.
After the game ended on (forced) friendly terms, Rikuo spent sometime with Nurarihyon. Rikuo learned that his grandfather was very egoistical. His grandfather had no problem boasting about his glory days, leading a protest against the councilman man at the time and how he was the best political leader the city had. Nurarihyon also had no qualms in telling Rikuo that he tricked the most beautiful fashion model into marrying. How? Rikuo felt it was better not to ask.
All these events brought a smile to Rikuo's face, as he thought more about the normal family he had. Yamabuki seemed to have a tendency to take most things to the extreme, Rihan was much too full of himself, Nurarihyon was a chain smoker and Rikun liked getting to childish arguments.
Like fighting over the last piece of pizza with dad...
Then, he thought back to breakfast and the dreamy looks Rihan and Yamabuki had when they thought about his mother. The why behind those looks picked at him all day, but he didn't have the heart to ask either Rihan or Yamabuki. Rikuo had a feeling that it might bring up some unneeded memories.
"Hey Rikun?" Rikuo said, trying to get his brother's attention.
"Hmm?" was the response given back.
"Do you...uh...happen to know why dad and Yamabuki looked so dreamy when they thought about mom?"
Rikun hummed, tilting his head but still looking at the horizon. "How much do you know about the three of them?"
Rikuo tapped his chin in thought. "Well, when I asked, she said that she and Yamabuki were best friends in high school but, lost contact when she went to study abroad. Then, when mom came back she volunteered to be a surrogate for Yamabuki and that was how she met dad. Mom also said that she refused to live with them, and said no contact was good because, if the press knew dad had a child that wasn't with his wife, the Nura family would have been torn to pieces. And, lose it's good standing with the people."
"Is that all she told you? Wakana didn't tell you how she got with dad or anything?" Rikun asked when Rikuo was finished.
Rikuo shook his head in response. "I never asked about it, I...I thought it would bring her pain if she told me. So...I kinda thought she was dad's mistress. But, I could never think of a reason why Yamabuki didn't look at me with hatred."
That surprised Rikun, "Why would you think mom would hate you?" He asked, his voice in a slightly higher pitch from disbelief.
"Well...It would make sense, right? I mean...if dad cheated on Yamabuki with mom, shouldn't Yamabuki hate us both? Even if they were best friends, that's a betrayal of trust." Rikuo explained.
"Well, that does makes sense. But, my dear brother, you are completely wrong!" Rikun told him, flicking the middle of Rikuo's head. "I asked them about everything once, when I saw mom and dad looking at their picture of you and Wakana in their room. I'll tell you what I remember.
"Mom said that she and Wakana were best friends in high school, and they were inseparable. Like joined at the hip. They always stayed the night at each others homes, played on the same sports teams and chose their classes together. And, if they weren't in the same hour, one of the them would switch a few classes around so they could be." Rikun laughed as his eyes soften.
"You know...mom admitted that Wakana was her first love."
"Wha...wha...huh?" Rikuo sputtered. The admittance threw his head into chaos and he had no idea what to say. "Are you sure Yamabuki said that?"
"Positive."
"...Really sure?"
"Yes, Rikuo I am sure."
"...How sure?"
"Oh my God, Rikuo! I'm not playing this stupid game with you!" Rikun snapped. "I am very sure that is what mom said. Wakana was her first love."
Rikuo leaned away from his brother, afraid that Rikun would start shaking him. "Okay, okay sorry." He apologized, hands up in a friendly surrender.
"Anyways," Rikun continued. "Mom wanted to tell Wakana about her feelings before they separated at the end of that summer."
"And I'm guessing that she couldn't, right?"
Rikun nodded, "Mmhmm. Mom said she couldn't risk ruining their friendship over it. She wasn't exactly sure how Wakana would react. So, she just buried her feelings and tried to make their last summer together unforgettable." Rikun shrugged, blowing at a piece of sliver hair that fell in front of his eyes. "Then, they parted. Wakana went to England and mom went at a local university to study child-care. And as timed passed on with lack of contact, mom moved on."
Rikuo clicked his tongue "When you say it like that, it sounds...rather bittersweet."
"Well, I'm just telling you what I remembered. Forgive me if I don't sound so emotional." Rikun responded rolling his eyes.
"So, how did they all meet? Did Yamabuki meet dad during her college years?"
"Yep. During her second year and dad's third year. Mom told me that she lost her way around campus, since she had to go into another building she was unfamiliar with. Dad just happened to be the first person she saw for directions. And, dad being dad fell in love with her instantly! After that incident, he began to woo her to the best of his abilities." Rikun said happily.
Rikuo, on the other hand smacked his hand onto his already abused head. "Why doesn't that surprise me...and of course, like all women she fell for it instantly, didn't she?"
"Of course! But, don't worry Rikuo! Wakana didn't fall for him that easy" Rikun told his brother, trying to cheer him up a little.
"Oh? She didn't?" he was genuinely surprised.
"Mmhmm, but I'll get back to that later. To make long story somewhat shorter, mom was wooed over by dad. They dated during college and married when they both graduated and all the typical junk." Rikun waved it off, deeming that bit of information not necessary. "And they had a few good years of marriage, very happy and what-not. But..." he trailed off.
"But..." Rikuo urged on.
"Well, they wanted a family. They tried, they really tried but...mom couldn't get pregnant. And, after their fourth year of marriage they went to see a doctor. He told them...that mom had Hydrosalpinx...and even if she had surgery there was still a good possibility that she still couldn't get pregnant...The news crushed them. Mom told me she started crying in dad's arms...A month later, mom spiraled into depression, blaming herself."
"But that wasn't her fault! There was no way she could have prevented that!" Rikuo reasoned.
"That's what dad kept trying to tell her, but she couldn't help it. It didn't help that...the information leaked out somehow, and the tabloids turned it into a scandal. Everywhere...there were articles that the Nura line wouldn't continue anymore. She tried her hardest to not let it affect her, trying to live happily with her husband. But.. Mom couldn't take it anymore, so she wrote father a poem as her farewell and left on a rainy day. Hoping to just...disappear from the world." Rikun said, with a somber expression.
Rikuo glanced to the ground, clutching at the grass. He felt...so bad for Yamabuki, who had to go through such sadness. "But...Yamabuki is still with us though."
Rikun's face lit up, and his crimson eyes danced with happiness. "We owe a lot to Wakana, she was the reason Yamabuki came back and the reason they were able to start a family." Rikun turned back to Rikuo, with a smile on his face. "When mom was waiting at a bus stop, ready to leave with her one way ticket, Wakana happened to board off. Mom said that when Wakana looked at her, they recognized each other immediately. Your mother went up and hugged mom, being so glad to see her best friend after so long.
"Mom hugged back too, but not with much enthusiasm. And, you know how hard it is to hide anything from Wakana. Wakana asked mom what was wrong, and she broke down crying in her arms. They stayed like that, for over half-an hour. Mom crying in Wakana's arms under her umbrella, at a bus stop." Rikun tilted his head in thought. "Now that I think about it...it sounds like a scene between two reunited lovers, from a romance film.
"Anyways, being the good person she is, Wakana walked mom back to her home. She then sat mom down, gave her some hot chocolate and let mom pour out all her emotions. Mom said, that she felt terrible for putting her troubles on her friend that she just reunited with. But, Wakana just smiled at her and said:
"Do you feel better now?"
"And to mom' surprise, she did. A wave of relief just spilled over her, to have someone...not comfort or criticize her. That it felt wonderful to have someone to just...listen. After that, they caught up on the years without each other. Like how mom and dad met and what Wakana did during her time in England. Wakana even convinced mom to go back, despite the fact she felt so ashamed on almost leaving her husband. Then, Wakana took mom's hands and said she would go back with mom. So that she wouldn't be alone." Rikun paused, taking a break from talking so much.
"Is..that how mom and dad met?" Rikuo asked when he felt like his brother was ready to begin speaking again.
Rikun nodded, "You wouldn't believe how surprised-and relieved dad was, when he saw Wakana and mom at the door, hand in hand. Wakana still held onto mom's hand, when she cried out her apology for leaving. Then dad took mom by the shoulders and led her back inside the house, and nodded thanks to Wakana before shutting it, while she continued to smile at them."
"The next day, Wakana went back. She was worried how mom was doing, since being in the rain and the emotional stress could have gotten her sick. And, she was. Mom was in bed with a really high fever, so dad ordered the servants to tend to her. Wakana, would have none of it. She stomped up to dad and told him "You have to take care of sick yourself. Nothing feels better than being pampered with love." Rikun laughed, shaking his head. "Then she proceeded to shoo the cooks out kitchen, and told the maids she would take care of mom."
"And dad or grandpa didn't even try to stop mom?" Rikuo asked with disbelief.
"Nope! Dad was in a shock that his charming looks didn't have her drooling, and the old geezer was laughing at him, apparently." Rikun shook his head while barely containing his chuckles. "It was after Wakana left mom's room to put away the dishes, did they finally talk one on one. And dad was in one hell of a ride. She didn't fall for his usual charm, and even laughed at him a few times for it. Dad said Wakana was an odd one, she wore her feelings on her sleeve and just always seemed very happy. She danced while cooking and, sang when washing the dishes. Wakana was...interesting to him.
"And that was how it was, for the entire time mom was sick. Wakana would come over and cook and take care of her. Even when mom got better, Wakana still came over and cooked for all of them and the help. She would do it just because she wanted to, or because she was bored. As time went on, dad was enthralled by watching and talking to her. Dad said he felt terrible, his wife had just recovered after being sick and a emotional break down and, he was looking at another woman. Not just harmlessly looking but, actually interested in her. Dad wanted Wakana." Rikun said, holding Rikuo's gaze while clutching his brother's hand.
"Was it just psychical attraction then?" Rikuo asked lightly.
Just as Rikuo expected, his older brother shook his head. "No, he said it wasn't just that. There were...other feelings he felt with her, the same with mom."
"When did he realize that it might have been love?"
"When Wakana told him and mom that day, that they could have a child. That...if they wanted, she would be their surrogate." Rikun answered, letting go of Rikuo's hand. "They were ecstatic."
"They didn't think about surrogates before mom suggested it?"
"They did, but...they couldn't trust strangers...giving birth to their baby. And, they were still reluctant to have Wakana be it. Mom and dad didn't want to put that kind of thing on Wakana. But, he wouldn't have it! She laughed at them and said it was no problem, since she was the one who offered it. And, Wakana being the impossible woman that she is, pushed it on them until they accepted.
"During the nine months she was carrying me,Wakana stayed with them while mom and dad babied her. They forbid her to do more than necessary, told her to get plenty of rest and let the help do their job. As you can imagine, Wakana wasn't very pleased in not having anything to do. But, during those nine months he fell harder and harder for Wakana. It got to the point where he would start hovering over her, and constantly scolded her for doing something unnecessary." Rikun paused, his tongue feeling dry and his throat score.
Rikuo, suspecting the reason for his brother's sudden pause, reached into his duffel bag. He pulled out a half-full bottle of water and handed it to his brother. Said brother snatched it out of Rikuo's hand, unscrewed the cap and chugged the remaining water. "Oh God, thanks Rikuo. I really needed that." Rikun said, tossing the empty bottle to Rikuo who just put it back into the bag.
Digging around a bit more, he pulled another bottle that was full. He tossed it to his brother with a smile. "I think you're going to need more."
Chuckling, Rikun uncapped the bottle and took a quick drink. "Thanks. Anyways, dad felt terrible. Falling for another woman while being married, and the guilt started to eat away at him. But he crushed it. Dad said he didn't want mom to feel like she wasn't loved -he loved her dearly. But, she's already suffered so much and he couldn't do something that could make them part. However, one night when they were making love, he accidentally called out Wakana's name."
"Oh my God..." Rikuo said, eyes wide and hand over mouth.
"I know! Big slip up, right? He broke down at that point, and told mom everything. Mom said he couldn't stop babbling, so she pulled him into her arms and kissed him. "It was only a matter of time, before you fell too." Was what she said to him, which shocked dad a lot."
"I thought you said that Yamabuki moved on when mom left?"
Rikun nodded "I did. But you know what they say, there will always be a place in your heart for your first love."
"So...what happened between the three of them then?" Was Rikou's curious question.
"Well, a few months after I was born, mom gave dad the okay to pursue Wakana. She told him that he better succeed for the both of them!" Rikun said, somewhat appalled. "They convinced Wakana to stay with them, saying that she had a right to see the baby she gave birth to. So, it wasn't hard meeting Wakana but...trying to get her in a relationship was hard. It wasn't because she didn't have feelings for dad, because she did. She might not have fallen for his flattery, but her face was always in a blush around him and she was a bit more clumsy too. It was because dad was married, that Wakana was so against it.
"Dad couldn't blame her reasoning, it made sense after all. Wakana and mom were best friends, she couldn't betray mom in that way." Rikun said, taking another sip from the water bottle. "Aye, Rikuo. We better head on back, it's night already." He got up from the ground, panting way the dirt on his jeans.
Were they really out that late? Rikuo blinked and saw the bright moon light shinning on his brother's pale skin. He was so wrapped up in the story, Rikuo didn't even notice that the orange, red and violet sky changed to black and white. Taking the hand that was offered, Rikuo hoisted himself up and put his hands above him in a stretch. A small whine escaped his lips when he felt one of his joints crack.
"So, do I get to hear more?" Rikuo asked hopefully, following his brother back home.
Rikun sighed, rubbing his hand at his sore throat. "Ugh, you're really killing my throat with all this talking."
"Oh shush, you just don't want to tell me because it isn't about you."
"Hey! I don't have an ego that big!" Rikun argued, feeling slightly insulted. "I mean, I am awesome. There's no use in denying that. But I don't go around talking about myself for almost an hour."
"It's because no one lets you." Rikuo said flatly. "Anyways, enough about you, tell me more of what dad and Yamabuki told you!"
"Fine, fine, fine. As I was saying," He took another sip of his water. "Wakana couldn't do that to mom, and voiced this to dad. She even threaten to tell mom everything, if he didn't stop trying to get with her. Of course, since mom gave the OK dad wasn't concerned."
"But...if mom was so against it...how did they get into a relationship?" Rikuo asked, rubbing at his chin.
"Well, during one night when Wakana was getting water from the kitchen, dad followed her. He said that he took her by the waist, and kissed her. Just like that. Square on the mouth!" Rikun said, making a smacking noise with lips. "And of course, Wakana struggled in his grip but dad didn't relent. She just eventually went limp, but didn't kiss back. When dad pulled, Wakana pushed him away before she went to slap him. However, mom caught the hand and pulled Wakana's into her.
"Mom told me that she had to control her laughter, when she saw Wakana's face in horror. Then, she went into a string of apologizes and "this isn't what it looks like!". To say, Wakana was surprised when mom laughed and kissed her was an understatement. While holding Wakana, mom looked to dad and said "Now, now, Rihan. You almost scared Wakana off." Mom ran her fingers through Wakana's hair, and touched her cheek. She said that she wasn't upset, because now she could have her two loves.
"Wakana was confused, and...somewhat angry when they told her everything. She felt like a lot of this could have been avoided if they told her." He finished, taking another gulp of his water.
"So...mom was fine with it right?" Rikuo asked, somewhat unsure.
"After thinking heavy on it. It's not exactly...normal for people to be involved in polygamous relationships." Rikun said. "But, she accepted it after a few weeks. And thus, our strange little family. However, months before you were born...she left them. For the reasons you said...because the press would eat them up. And...knowing Wakana, she probably didn't want to put something like that on mom...or the whole family. So, she gave them final goodbye kisses and, even though she said no contact, Wakana promised to send a picture and a few letters as updates."
"Wow...did Yamabuki and dad take it hard?"
Rikun nodded. "That's the one I remember seeing. I might have only been two, but...damn. After your mom left, dad punched the wall...and mom she fell to the floor crying." Rikun stopped and turned around to face his brother, grabbing Rikuo by the shoulders. "You don't understand...how...how much they adore Wakana. They really, really lover her Rikuo." Turning back around, Rikun started walking a head of him. "Come one, we better get home."
Rikuo nodded, feeling slightly dazed. He never knew how much Yamabuki and his father loved his mother. Briefly, he wondered how they would react if he told them his past feelings of him and his mother not belonging in the family. Shaking his head, Rikuo went to catch up with his brother.
TEN PAGES
TEN PAGES
KILL ME PLEASE.
To authors who can easily write 10k words, please share that with me. This thing was barely 5k and I wanted to die. I didn't think that the history between Yamabuki, Rihan and Wakana would be that long. My goodness.