Aniki
Continuing Dysphoria

Exhaustion did nothing to prevent the dreams from coming. Shiro felt the heat of the fire pouring in from under the doorframe, Keith's small frail body huddled next to his own thin frame, his small hands attempting to clutch his young brother to him. The seven-year-old blinked a few times, choking on the smoke, trying not to pass out as he looked around for a way out.

The oldest of the Shirogane siblings sat up, one small hand shooting up to grab at the front of his kimono. His dark eyes blinked, realizing he lay on the futon, his mind recognizing the room as the one his grandfather's servants placed him into. The seven-year-old looked at his side, his breath catching upon realizing Keith no longer lay at his side, clutching to his clothing. His breath drew tightly, turning his head to look at the yard, his mouth opening.

"Keith?" Panic welled in Shiro's chest, and he pushed his small body up from the futon, rocking onto the balls of his heels, before quickly moving to a standing position. He saw no sign of his four-year-old brother outside of the room in the traditional yard, making his chest and throat tighten. Stepping out of the room, the seven-year-old looked both ways, but still found himself unable to see Keith. Shiro's dark eyes narrowed, wondering what managed to catch the attention of Keith this time.

His throat tightened, suddenly fearing the family took his little brother away without telling him, remembering the threat looming within the family gossip his young mind heard. A shriek of a young female, however, caught his attention. "What do you think you're doing, you little brat!"

Shiro took a deep breath, carefully sliding his sandals back on, and grabbing onto the ones Keith left behind. He moved quickly, his eyes narrowing as he rounded the corner, turning to see a traditional pond. His four-year-old brother stood in the middle of the pond, pulling his feet up and down within the shallow water, making the cool liquid splash up between his toes. The small child also vocalized the sound of splashing, his tone of voice laughing as the water soaked the leggings of the black kimono, as Keith hadn't bothered to pull the leggings up.

Two young females dressed in black glared at Keith, covering their mouths with the sleeves of their kimonos. "Doesn't he understand this is a funeral."

"He's going to get in trouble for playing in ojii-sama's koi pond."

The seven-year-old swallowed, walking over to the pond, his frown deepening. Keith looked up in time, just as Shiro let out a sigh. Keith's dark blue eyes blinked a couple of times, becoming as wide as the bright smile. "Wanna play Shiro-nii?"

One of the girls giggled. "He's the heir's little brother? No wonder…"

The other girl nudged the smaller of the two. Shiro took a deep breath. "Keith, you need to get out of the water."

"Why?"

"Because you have to?" The older brother's mind couldn't think of any reason which a certain four-year-old would find logical, making him miss their parents even more, as not many people knew how Keith's mind worked. Shiro set down Keith's shoes, before slipping off his own, along with his socks, making him realize Keith was wearing the socks in the pond. He carefully rolled up the legs of his black kimono.

Keith threw his hands up into the air. "So, you're coming to play."

"No. I'm coming to get you out of the pond because you won't come out like I told you to."

"You're not mom! I'm going to tell mom that you're being mean, Shiro-nii!" The four-year-old folded his arms across his chest.

Shiro felt his voice strain, wanting to suddenly yell at his younger brother that their mother was dead, and why couldn't he just get it, but bit his tongue lightly, shaking his head as he stepped into the pond. "Keith… you really need to stop this. We're both going to get in a lot of trouble."

The water felt good in the summer heat, but also tempting, yet Shiro felt the need to act like an adult, to find some way to deal with the change. He walked slowly over to Keith, hoping his younger brother wouldn't do something stupid. He watched his younger brother's mouth twist up into a pout, the dark blue eyes reflecting anger. When Shiro arrived within a couple of feet, Keith quickly lunged at him, at first making the seven-year-old think his little brother was throwing a tantrum.

Instead, when Shiro pushed himself up from under the surface of the water, gasping for air, hearing a giggle from Keith as the younger brother sat on top of him, suddenly splashing him with the cold water. "Keith! Stop!"

A laugh escaped Shiro's lips as his younger brother switched to tickling him, only for his breath to draw shot upon hearing the voice of an adult male snapping at them. "What do you two think you're doing!"

Shiro heard an adult getting into the pond, but before he could turn his head, felt two large hands yanking the two children up by the front of their kimonos. A calloused thumb and forefinger then latched onto his ear, tugging him along. He looked up to see a man who looked like his father but wasn't glaring ahead, and the man's other hand on Keith's ear. His younger brother twisted away, screaming and crying, only for the man to grab the four-year-old roughly by the arm.

The man pulled the two along the halls, before shoving them into a hall. Keith collapsed to the ground in tears, curling up into a ball, while Shiro instinctively covered his brother's small body with his own frame, wrapping his arms around the child protectively. The man stood there, folding his arms. "What happened?"

"Takashi-nii and the little monster decided to play in the koi pond, Uncle Takeo." The oldest girl folded her arms together.

Shiro felt Keith's body shake underneath his own, the sobbing still racking his small body. The man leaned forward then, his hand latching onto Keith's arm, pulling at the limb, the look in the man's eyes scaring the seven-year-old. "Come now. If you misbehave, then you get punished."

"Punish me first." The words choked out of Shiro's first.

The man's eyes narrowed. "I can't."

"Why not?" A shiver ran down Shiro's spine, his wet clothes clinging to his small frame as Keith continued to tremble underneath his thin body.

"You know why." The man attempted to pull the seven-year-old off, making Shiro realize the difference in treatment, as he was easily able to pull away.

"Takashi-nii did try getting the little monster out of the pond," the second girl piped up from behind the other girl.

"Then punish me instead of him!" Shiro held onto Keith tighter.

"I can't lay a hand on you, Takashi."

"Why not!"

"Because you're the heir to the head, Takashi-nii." The first girl piped up, sending a shudder down Shiro's spine.

The man tugged on Keith's arm, making the crying worse. Shiro's eyes narrowed, his voice becoming gruff, his facial features tightening. "Touch my baby brother, and I'll kill you."

The smirk left the first girl's face, while the other dived behind her in fear. One of the man's eyebrows raised up as Shiro gritted his teeth together in defiance. The man's stern frown suddenly cracked into a smile, one that scared the seven-year-old, almost making him drop the look. However, the man let go of Keith's arm, as he knelt down beside Shiro, his rough hand reaching to grab Shiro by the back of the head, pulling him up while the small child attempted to hold his brother close and protected.

"So, you've already got a killer aura, Takashi?" The man's hand loosened, then spread across the back of Shiro's head. "In other words, you are the child of Shirogane Hiroshi. You are actually a Shirogane. I like you."

"My father isn't a killer, and I don't like you" The words came out as Shiro attempted to bite back his anger as Keith continued to sob. The four-year-old somehow managed to twist around, burying his head into Shiro's chest.

The man's facial features softened. "You really don't know anything about the family, or your father, do you?"

Shiro felt a heavy, painful feeling in the pit of his stomach, just as his grandfather stepped in from the side. "Takeo, what are you doing?"

A shudder went down the spine of the seven-year-old as he watched the man pull away, and bow low to the ground. "I apologize father. The youngest of Hiro-nii's children decided to play in the koi pond, so I was rectifying the situation."

"If either one needs to be punished, I'll take care of that Takeo. Takashi is my heir now, but Akira's temperament is problematic." The old man folded his arms. "Is there something else you would like to say?"

"I know this isn't the best time to bring this up, but…" The man rose up, so he could look Shiro's grandfather in the eye. "After the time of morning, I would like to discuss taking Takashi on as my student."

"I'll think about it. Have you taken a liking to the boy?"

The man looked back at Shiro, making a shudder down his spine. "I don't know about the younger one, but the older one is definitely a Shirogane."

"Please join the rest of the family in the family room." The man made another bow, leaving Shiro on the floor of the room, Keith pulled into his arms still sobbing while his grandfather continued to glare at the two. The man knelt down, his facial features stern, and remained silent in the traditional position, almost as if waiting for Shiro and Keith to do the same. Instead, the older brother sat with his younger brother in his lap, holding on tightly while the younger continued to cry.

Eventually, Keith stopped, sliding out of Shiro's lap. A smile burst across his lips, and he waved his small hand. "Hi."

The old man startled, before lifting his hand to wave half-heartedly back, before he lowered his hand. "What were you two thinking."

Shiro turned to look at Keith, watching as the younger one turned to look at him, his facial features revealing he honestly didn't know what was going on. The older brother turned, bowing to the old man in the same way he saw the older man too. "I take full blame for what h#appened, and apologize. As such, I'll take whatever punishment you see fit."

The seven-year-old waited for the old man to say something, anything about the incident, but a silence loomed over the entire room. When the man finally spoke, he said, "Akira?"

"Keith!" The tone of defiance from the four-year-old made Keith turn his head to look at his younger brother. Keith's facial features twisted up.

"No. Akira. That's the name your mother gave you."

Two dark blue eyes widened. "Where is momma? I went looking for her, but I found the fishies instead. I wanted to pet them, but they wouldn't let me, so I played in the water because it was hot out."

A silence fell over the room, making Shiro think Keith's behavior left a lot to be desired. The old man let out a sigh, before saying out loud. "Well, you're a rather interesting child." The words didn't sound like a compliment, but Keith took it as such, his mouth breaking out into a wide smile. "A couple of servants will be by to help you two change into fresh kimonos."

The man got up and left, making the two boys feel very alone in the rather large room, part of the maze which comprised the old traditional home.