Visibility

By: Aviantei

Chapter 17: Conference

"Oh, you must be Tetsuya's guests!" the woman gushed when she opened the door. Youta hadn't even been given the chance to say anything. That was probably for the best, though, considering he was a bit stunned. Really, a female Tetsuya was staring him right in the face, a smile way larger than Youta could ever imagine being part of the blue-haired boy's expression.

"Nii-san, is something wrong?" Airi asked, trying to lean around him. Youta shifted so Airi could move as she wanted. They hadn't needed to walk for long, but she had to be tired. "We are at the right place, aren't we? You're being too quiet…"

What was he even thinking? Youta had managed to crack enough jokes to make Airi smile on the way over, but she still had to be worried. They had just run away, even if Youta didn't want to see it that way. He had at least left a note behind, another plea for more time. It would only work for so long, but Youta just needed to focus on the little victories to keep strong for Airi's sake.

"And you must be the Airi-san I've heard so much about," the woman continued, reaching out for Airi's hand and shaking it. "My son talks about you all the time. Here, step forward, dear, so the shadows aren't so thick. That's better. Oh, you're even cuter in person!" Youta couldn't even bring himself to do anything; it was too shocking. Someone like Tetsuya had come from a mother like that? "And that makes you Watanabe-kun."

"A-ah, yes," Youta stammered, his hand getting the same treatment as Airi's. For such a small woman, Tetsuya's mother had a strong grip. "I'm Watanabe Youta. It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Watanabe Airi. It's nice to meet you," Airi echoed, delivering a small bow. Youta would have done the same if his head wouldn't have collided with the woman's chest.

"Oh, you two are so well mannered! I completely forgot about introductions." Tetsuya's mother smiled. "I'm Kuroko Chinatsu, thank you for taking care of my son, Airi-san, Watanabe-kun."

Youta wasn't really sure if he needed to be included in that expression of gratitude. After all, all he had done was give Tetsuya a hard time, and Airi had spent way more time around the boy than Youta had. To be more accurate, it was like Tetsuya had been taking care of them. It would have been rude to argue, though, so Youta just nodded.

"Oka-san," the familiar monotone voice said, "you really should let them in the house first." Tetsuya appeared at his mother's side out of thin air, and Youta was the only one that jumped. Of course Chinatsu would be used to him and Airi had always been able to pick him out. Maybe they could share tips or something.

"Ah, you're right Tetsuya!" Chinatsu exclaimed, stepping aside. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home. It's nothing special, but it should be good enough." Youta took Airi's hand and led her inside. Tetsuya shut the door as the twins set out on taking off their shoes. "How long were you two planning on staying again?"

Youta grimaced without meaning to. Airi turned to him, her eyebrows arching down. She didn't want to leave town, but she didn't want their family to be divided, either. Youta understood. He felt the same way, so they needed to work as quickly as possible. "A few days at the most," he guessed, trying to think and appear positive. "We shouldn't need more than that."

Tetsuya put a hand on Airi's shoulder, who smiled at the contact. Chinatsu nodded, her long, light blue hair bobbing with the movement. "Alright, that should be no trouble at all. Feel free to stay as long as you need to."

"Thank you so much," Airi whispered, standing back up. Tetsuya's hand hadn't changed its position.

"It really is no problem, dear," Chinatsu assured. She made eye contact with Youta, but didn't neglect looking at Airi, either. "Our guest room is free, and kids need to do interesting things while they're growing up." Interesting things didn't cover the half of it. "Well, you all ate at that party of yours, but there's food in the kitchen if you need any. And Souta won't be home until later, so that takes care of introductions. Tetsuya, would you mind showing them to the guest room?"

"Of course."

Chinatsu nodded again at her son's response. "Well, I'll get out of your kids' way, now. It was nice to meet you!" The woman turned down the hallway, disappearing once she turned to the right.

Tetsuya turned to the Watanabe twins, most of his focus on Airi. "The guest room is upstairs, okay?" he said.

"Alright," Airi replied. Youta just nodded, not wanting to sound redundant. Tetsuya took Airi's school bag so that he could hold her hand. Youta was alright with letting them walk ahead, but Airi reached back, hand groping in the air until Youta was holding onto her as well. Airi smiled a little, and they let Tetsuya lead the way. "Chinatsu-san seems nice, Tetsuya-kun."

Tetsuya smiled a bit at the words, but Youta frowned. It may have just been his imagination, but Youta had the feeling that Airi was avoiding the word mother. "She can be a bit forgetful at times, but she does her best," Tetsuya agreed. "She barely even hesitated when I asked if you could stay over."

Now Youta felt bad. His request had not only been selfish, but it had been sudden. The only way it could have been more last minute would have been if they had just showed up on the Kurokos' doorstep! Even so, he was grateful that this had worked.

They stayed silent while climbing the stairs, letting Airi focus. She normally didn't have trouble with these sorts of obstacles, but she adamantly refused the railing in favor of keeping hold of her brother and Tetsuya's hands.

"This is it," Tetsuya said, opening the door to the room. Youta surveyed the place as they walked Airi to the bed, sitting down on either side of her. It wasn't much bigger than their own rooms at the house, and all the furniture was against the walls, limiting the chance of Airi tripping—Youta wondered if it had been like this or if Tetsuya had moved things before they got there. "Now, I didn't ask questions because it sounded like an emergency, but what exactly happened?"

Youta wondered where to start. That had been part of the reason why he hadn't explained things before, aside from the time limit. Now that they were out of the house, that factor was gone, even if the content of the explanation remained a mystery.

"Oka-san and Otoo-san said we need to move back to Sendai," Airi said, her voice a whisper. Her grip was starting to cut off the circulation in Youta's fingers, and the same was probably true for Tetsuya. The latter's expression, as always, was unreadable to Youta. "Nii-san got into a fight with them about it and we left. They said we won't have enough money to pay the bills otherwise…"

Finally, Airi's voice caught, the sharp intake of air signaling tears. Youta brought his free hand to try and wipe them away. How long had it been since she had cried? He couldn't remember. And all this time he had been trying to be strong when Airi had been capable of standing on her own all this time.

I'm such an idiot.

Tetsuya frowned a little. Youta wished for the other boy to be more expressive, even if it was just a little. Youta knew Tetsuya cared, but at times it was hard to convince himself. "We could talk to the Basketball Club, see if we could pull together some more money," Tetsuya supplied, though Youta got the feeling even the blue haired boy knew it was weak.

"Money could help, but it isn't going to solve the real problem," Youta said, trying hard not to spit out the words. He expected Tetsuya to look at him in confusion, but not Airi. "You didn't notice, Ai-chan? Oyaji was fidgeting all over the place. They were still hiding something."

"They were?" Airi asked, frowning. She didn't believe it. How could Youta just expect her to believe it? "I don't understand, Nii-san, what would they have to lie about?"

Airi was hurt by the idea. Youta didn't want to make it worse, but she had asked the question, and this wasn't really the time for anyone to be coddled. "It means that the money is just an excuse. Not any less serious of a problem, but an excuse." Youta sighed, trying to take some of the frustration out of his voice. "I don't know how they talked about things with you, Ai-chan, but when they were with me, they made it very clear that they don't think that this place is safe for you."

"Safe for me," Airi repeated, a tone of disbelief in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Tetsuya interrupted. Youta wasn't sure, but he thought it was the other boy's way of showing interest.

"What it means," Youta said, "is that they were against the idea of moving down in the first place." Airi opened her mouth, but Youta shook his head. "They liked it up there. They knew the area, knew all the people and had solid resources. The reason they agreed was because Oyaji talked Ka-san into it. He understood how much you wanted to be independent, and recognized that moving into a new area could help you with that.

"They never told you this, Airi, but I overheard them. They picked Seirin because it was small, and that would make it easier. They also thought this neighborhood would be peaceful, free of trouble. Ka-san's a realist and knows it's not entirely possible, but I think if she could find a danger-free bubble to put you in, she wouldn't hesitate to do it."

Youta stopped there. Airi could put together the implications. Since he had screwed up, the illusion of safety was gone. If Youta had managed to get into this much trouble within a month, how much more would follow in the next month, in a year? At least when they were in Sendai, Eiko had a handle on the environment and knew how to deal with trouble in the small chance that it came up.

"This isn't what I wanted," Airi finally said. She was shaking, but there was more of an angry tilt to her eyebrows than a sad one. "Why didn't they just say any of that? I would have understood. I wouldn't have asked to come here if that's what they were worried about."

"I think they might have known that," Tetsuya said. Youta was tired enough to not be able to come up with an argument. Airi only turned to Tetsuya, patient as always. "It's true that I've never met them, but I'm sure they know you by now, Airi-san. If you knew about it, you wouldn't have asked. I think they wanted to give you that opportunity anyway."

Airi finally loosened up her grip, letting go of Youta's hand but still holding onto Tetsuya's. Youta didn't mind, rubbing his fingers to return the feeling to them. "I guess that makes me the one to blame," he said crossing his arms. "I mean, I brought the trouble they were worried about. It's frustrating knowing things were going to be fine otherwise. Sorry, Ai-chan."

"I'm not mad, Nii-san. I mean, I don't want to leave, but…" Airi's voice faltered, but she still smiled. "I guess if that's the end result, it can't be helped."

Tetsuya frowned, and it was enough for even Youta to notice it. "Wasn't the point of coming here because you want to stay?" he asked, and Airi's smile dropped. "I don't mean to be too imposing, but I would rather that you stay here, Airi-san. So if it's possible, I'd like it if you didn't leave."

Airi paused. Youta had to agree with Tetsuya, even if the other boy hadn't directly said it. Airi tended to prioritize other's needs over her own, and no matter how much she wanted to stay, she would move back if their parents really needed to.

"Don't give up, okay, Ai-chan?" Youta said. "You told me earlier that you didn't want to leave, so just hold onto that desire a little bit longer. I'm sure with everyone's help we can stay here. So don't you worry about making others happy. You're the most important one right now."

He watched Airi. She fiddled with the smaller of her braids, like she always did when she thought. He wondered if it was strange for her, the idea of prioritizing herself over others. It probably would be. She had always been selfless, no matter what. Youta just hoped that the motivation he had given would help her to at least consider herself first for once.

"You're right," she said, and Youta almost sighed in relief. "I don't know about being more important than others, but I should at least respect my own feelings." Tetsuya nodded his approval, and Airi smiled. "I believe in you both, so let's try to find a solution we all can be happy with as soon as possible."

"You got it," Youta agreed, feeling more confident even though they hadn't really made any true progress. Somehow, with Airi cheering him on, everything seemed easier.

"Man, that's pretty harsh," Miura commented, his arms folded behind his head. Whenever he took a step, his schoolbag bounced against his shoulders. While they didn't really live in the same neighborhood, the route Tetsuya took to school after the train ride happened to coincide with the upperclassman's that day, so he had joined the trio. "Hm, what could be a good solution to this? Oh, I know, a mysterious benefactor swoops in and pays off your debt!"

It was clearly meant to be a joke, and Airi smiled, laughing a bit. "Isn't that a bit too much of a deus ex machina, Miura-senpai?" she asked, almost playing along. She seemed to have cheered up from when she had arrived on Tetsuya's doorstep, but the boy was still worried. Not only did she eat less than usual at the breakfast table that morning, Tetsuya couldn't help but be concerned about the problem from his own perspective.

Even if it seemed impossible, he definitely didn't want Airi to leave.

"We already tried the charity route and it didn't go so well anyway," Youta grumbled. There was a bit of resentment in his voice, but Tetsuya didn't take it personally. The charity tournament and the accident were linked together in almost everyone's minds. "We'd probably have better luck with my lottery tickets than that."

"Are you still buying those?" Airi asked, and Youta gave a small nod.

"They're obviously the cheaper ones, but I figured I might as well try anyway…"

The combined confusion from Tetsuya and Miura must have been in some way tangible to Airi's senses, because she said, "Nii-san started spending part of his allowance on lottery tickets once we got to middle school. Things were kind of tough since I was still adjusting to losing my eyesight, so he got into the habit hoping he could win enough money for me to get the surgery."

It was amazing how she could talk about sensitive topics like they were nothing. Even though Tetsuya understood what she was saying, it took him a moment to realize just what sort of things she was dealing with. Maybe that was part of her desire to move on past about her blindness—if you didn't talk about problematic things like they were an issue, then they were suddenly easier to deal with. You could even smile while you mentioned them like Airi did.

"Eh, no way, Youta-kun, you're that kind of guy?" Miura asked, letting out a gasp. "I thought you were just the type to only get in fights over your sister's honor, but you do those sorts of things, too?" He laughed. "You're way cooler than I thought." It was a joke, bait not even worth taking, but Youta went for it anyway.

"What do you mean by 'way cooler'?" Youta retorted, a growl in his words. "I already attacked you for being lame and picking on people, don't go ahead and make things worse for yourself." Tetsuya almost thought he was going to need to intervene, but something seemed off. Part of the tension that snuck out through Youta's eyes when he was around Miura wasn't there anymore.

Tetsuya looked to Airi for confirmation that there was nothing to worry about. Sure enough, she was smiling, understanding Youta's body language without even needing to see it. She was laughing a little, a surefire sign that everything was okay, too, except…

"You're crying," Tetsuya said, keeping his voice soft. Miura and Youta heard him anyway, stopping their banter to look back to Airi. Her hand met her face at the same time Tetsuya's got there, both of them aiming for the tears.

"No, no, don't worry," Airi said, even if it was a futile statement given that Youta and Tetsuya were in her company. "I'm just really happy is all… Nii-san, you haven't been able to bicker with someone like that in such a long time, so I'm glad that you've made a friend again."

Youta immediately went to protest, but was cut off by Miura swinging an arm around his shoulder. "Ah, I knew it, Youta-kun, you do like me!" the older boy said, Youta trying to get out of his grip.

It may not have looked like it on the outside, but Tetsuya had to agree with Airi. He was a bit ruder, but it was still more open than he had been before. Judging by Airi's words, he had cut himself off before, so this was definitely progress, and it was caused by the people and experiences here.

It was just another reason for them not to leave.

Well, here we are. A more contemplative chapter, but one nonetheless.

Thanks to OtakusOnline, Tamani, Killerddj, CherryPop0120, FluffyBunny96, xOxO LostAngel OxOx, ParkYuujin, lanka24, Xakura Revolution, A Very Desperate Reader, and raigalcc for your respective favorites, follows, and reviews. Again, your support really keeps me going.

In two days, it'll be a year since I first posted Visibility. I didn't expect this story to be as popular as it has been, but I want to thank every single person that has taken the time to read this. I know it sounds corny, but it really is because of all of you that I've been able to keep working on this and my other stories. Thank you all for making Visibility my most favorited (121), followed (153), reviewed (64) and viewed (13,804) story so far. I hope I continue to be worthy of your support in the future.

I mean to do something special (like omake or content notes) as a treat, but didn't have enough time. Maybe next week?

But in regards to this chapter, I had a lot of fun developing Kuroko Chinatsu. Since it's mentioned that Tetsuya looks like his mother but acts like his father, I figured I'd have a bit of fun.

The challenge of what to do has been presented to everyone. Now, it's time to see who will make the first move. As per usual, the update will be in two weeks!

Next time, contemplation is needed, a time limit is set, and the Seirin High School Basketball Club steps up. Please look forward to it!

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